Really? I Mean Honestly??

Holy moly. Check this recipe out on Bake @ 350. WOW!!! You know I am making this tonight!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

1+1+1= Dijon Balsamic Dressing

Balsamic Vinegar  +

Extra Virgin Olive Oil  +

Pepper  =

Dijon Balsamic Dressing
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt


Whisk all ingredients together and pour over a lovely green salad. This keeps me going until dinner.

1+1+1= Banana Bread Love

Bananas

 + Non Fat Plain Yogurt  

+ Nutella  

 = Banana Bread

Banana Bread w/ Nutella!

How gooood does that sound? I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light and added my own little delicious twist.

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp  baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3-4 mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt (I like greek yogurt)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Nutella

Cooking spray

Wax paper

Preheat oven to 350

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Stir to combine.
Put butter and sugar in a large bowl & beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until mixed. Cut wax paper to fit an 8 x 4 loaf pan, leaving more on the sides to help you pull out the bread when it is done. Then spray waxed pan with cooking spray. Pour ingredients into loaf pan.
Bake @ 350 for 1 hour or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan and then pull out with wax paper.

Add 1 Tbsp of Nutella in a small bowl and microwave till softened. Cut yourself a piece of bread and spread Nutella on top.

Heaven :) Add fresh berries for extra yumminess.

1+1+1= Goat Cheese & Ricotta Crostini

Lemon +

Goat Cheese +

Olive Oil =








Goat Cheese & Ricotta Crostini

20-24 thinly sliced french bread
3-4 ounces soft goat cheese (leave cheese out so it softens)
1/3 cup ricotta cheese- whole milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Salt & pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle or brush 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the slices of bread. Sprinkle pine nuts on each slice. Grill the bread until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes, but keep an eye on it).

In a small bowl, stir the goat cheese, ricotta, basil, lemon, and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until creamy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture on the bread slices and mangia!

Photos from flickr, weheartit, and murray's chese.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past Christmas my mom, aunt Heidi, and I took out our reliable, never fail Joy of Cooking: Christmas Cookies cookbook and made several dozen cookies. We started with snickerdoodles, mexican wedding cakes, and spritz. We then went on to make linzer, rugala, chocolate chip, and my fave- peanut butter chocolate chip! Just about every recipe worked out well except for the cooking time on the pb&cc cookies. I had to take them out 5 minutes early so they wouldn't burn.

Now, you would think I am all cookie'd out BUT there's always more room for a some post holiday sweets. I decided to make double peanut butter chip cookies adapted from the Joy of Cooking cookbook and found on evilshenanigans.com

The only tweak I made was adding chocolate chips to the batter. Head on over to their website and fill your kitchen (and tummy) with the delicious scent of home-made cookies.

1+1+1= Easy Holiday App's

HOLIDAY COCKTAIL PARTY  +

FESTIVE CHEESE PLATTER  +

 

GREAT FRIENDS  =

                                    
FESTIVE & EASY HOLIDAY APPETIZERS!

The holiday season can get stressful, especially if you are planning a holiday cocktail party. In my house, my husband takes care of the drinks- wine, beer, and liquor. I am in charge of the food and decorations (naturally of course!). I love to cook, although when it comes to a variety of appetizers I get stressed thinking of what to make. I like apps that are of course tasty, but that also do not take a lot of time to make. I love to create a cheese platter with grapes and fruit spread but I also like to serve heartier selections. Here are some of my holiday favorites that are easy, breezy, and your guests will be impressed!

Brie & Raspberry/Cranberry Cups

5 ounce Brie
Box of mini phyllo shells (Athens foods makes one)
Jar of raspberry spread or cranberry spread (jelly would work too)


Place shells on baking sheet and pre-heat oven to 350. Cut rind off of brie, making sure not to cut into the cheese. With a spoon, scoop out 1 tbsp of brie and fill into each phyllo shell. Spread raspberry or cranberry on top of cheese. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Walnut & Parmesan Bruschetta

1/2 french baguette
1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
1/3 cup of crushed walnuts
Pinch of salt,
2 tbsp of olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Slice and drizzle olive oil over bread. Toast bread in oven (maybe 5 minutes, but keep checking so it doesn't burn!). Mash up whole walnuts mix with parmesan and a good pinch of salt. Place on bread.

Blue Cheese & Honey Bruschetta

1/2 of french baguette 
4 ounces of blue cheese
3 tablespoons of honey

Slice the baguette and place on a baking sheet and toast in oven, about 5 minutes- check it does not burn! Divide the blue cheese among the toasted bread and drizzle honey over them.



All photos courtesy of me and flickr

Seared Scallops with Creamed Corn and Bacon

Found these adorable pictures on GoBuggyGo's photostream on flickr

I have to admit I don't eat a lot of fish. I am very picky, especially with fishy smelling fish. However I took a liking to scallops when I was young. Every summer as a child we used to take family trips up to Maine. We would travel up and down the coast for a week, stopping at our favorite seaside towns and eating the freshest seafood I ever tasted. I remember popping fried scallops with homemade tartar sauce in my mouth as we walked around shopping at the outlets. This recipe brings me back to a time when the only responsibilities I had was to hand my homework in on time and be home before dark.

Sometimes I make this dish as an appetizer. I place the creamed corn on the bottom of a long platter and pile the scallops on top.

NOTE: Make Creamed Corn first and then cook scallops. While scallops are cooking, keep corn on simmer to keep warm. 

Seared Scallops (Servings: For Two People)

6 sea scallops

1 tsp of unsalted butter

2 tsp of olive oil

salt & pepper

Wash the scallops and pull off the small muscle on the side. Dry well! This is key when you are searing them. Heat up a skillet large enough to fit all scallops so they aren't touching and put butter and oil in pan. Place heat on high and wait until pan is hot enough. S&P your dry scallops and place in hot pan. Now, depending on how well you like your scallops I would cook them between 1-2 minutes per side. I personally like them done on the inside so I cook them for 2 minutes per side. They should be nice and brown.

Creamed Corn w/ Bacon
3 cups of fresh cooked corn (can also use 1 can of corn or half bag of frozen corn)
4 slices of bacon- preferably apple smoked if you can get it!
1/2 small onion finely chopped
2/3 cup of heavy cream


If you are using fresh corn you will already have a considerable amount of liquid or 'milk' from the ears of the corn so you may not need 2/3 cup of heavy cream. When corn is in season, we cook several dozen ears, cut the kernels and freeze them in small zip lock bags for the year.
Place bacon in a large skillet and cook through. Once they are browned place on a plate. Using the same skillet saute onions for 2 minutes. While sauteing onions, crumble the bacon and keep on a plate. Add corn to skillet and saute corn and onions for 3 minutes. Next add bacon and heavy cream.  Cook on low heat for 4 minutes or until sauce thickens.


Plate corn mixture on plate and top with 3 scallops per person- viola! With this recipe and any non-baking recipe really, feel free to add anything you like into it. Some make this with more onion or add chives or fennel...it's up to you.

A Craving for Bleu

Last night I tossed and turned until 3am'ish. My husband was snoring (per usual) and I had cheese on the brain. After every toss and turn I made an image of bleu cheese would flash in mind. Yes, blue (or bleu) cheese. I love, love, love the big bad bleu. Every cheese is unique: some are buttery, gooey, peppery, or stinky. Some are made from cow's, goat's, or sheep's milk. I don't discriminate when it comes to the bleu, I just eat it. I love it on burgers, on salad, on pizza, as a dip, with french fries...the list goes on. Well, last night I couldn't stop thinking of blue cheese, to the point my mouth was watering! Today I had my fix Green Salad with Marie's Premium Super Blue Cheese, mmmmm.  Tell me, after you look at these photos, that your mouth isn't watering??!

butternut squash risotto w/ rosemary & blue cheese from recipegirl.com

bacon blue cheese butter on steak from steamykitchen.com

the big ben burger featured on cheeseandburger.com

veal chops & roasted potatoes with blue cheese dressing and mint, tylerflorence.com

1+1+1= Skimpy Scampi

LEMONS +

WHITE WINE +

BASIL =

CHICKEN SKIMPY SCAMPI

Several weeks ago I attended a birthday party my girlfriend Meri was throwing for her daughter Amaya. It was all fun and games until dinner was served, because the spread she created was quite serious. We ate shrimp scampi served with rice and a delicious greek salad. As you know some scampi recipes are all bout the butta. Butter, butter, and more butter goes into this dish. Some recipes call for 1/2 cup of butter and 4-5 tablespoons of oil! So I thought how can I skimp on the butter and create a healthier version? In the end I decided to use chicken in place of shrimp and I served it with roasted green beans. It's definitely not the healthiest version out there but the best I could do without losing the rich taste...and I thought it was quite tasty!

Mel's Chicken Skimpy Scampi

2-3 chicken breasts flattened- 1/2 inch thick

2 tbsp of olive oil

3 tbsp butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

juice from 1 lemon

3/4 tsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tbsp dried oregano

3/4 cup of white wine

1/2 cup of chicken broth

flour for dredging chicken

salt & pepper

Dredge the chicken breasts in a mixture of flour, 2 pinches of salt and 1 pinch of pepper. Heat saute pan over medium heat with 2 tbsp of oil. Cook chicken- each side 2 minutes. Take chicken out of pan and put aside. Using the same pan, on low-medium heat, add in the butter and garlic. DO NOT BURN THE GARLIC! Saute for several minutes.

Add the lemon, herbs, white wine, and chicken stock. Simmer for 10 minutes until sauce thickens and reduces a bit. Add chicken back in and saute for 1-2 minutes per side, until fully cooked through.

Place chicken on your plate and spoon sauce on top. Viola!

Roasted Green Beans- Easy Breezy

1/2 pound of green beans

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 450. Toss green beans, oil, and s&p in a bowl. Place beans on a baking dish and spread them out so they aren't on top of each other. Cook for 7 minutes and flip beans. Cook for another 6 minutes and serve! Beans should be brown and shriveled.

1+1+1= Marinade Central!

LIMES +

GARLIC +

SOY SAUCE =

YUMMY THAI INSPIRED STEAK MARINADE

(photos courtesy of flickr.com)

One of my favorite healthy living cookbooks is Ellie Kreiger's The Food That You Crave. I've made just about every single recipe in her book and they all came out wonderful. She takes out the fat and packs the recipes with flavor. Here is one of her inspired recipes that I tweaked a bit.

Thai-Inspired Marinade for Flank/Skirt Steak

1 pound flank/Skirt steak
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 & 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 & 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp of chili-garlic sauce

Rinse meat off and pat dry. Place in zip lock bag. In a small bowl combine all other ingredients. Pour mixture into the ziplock bag with the meat. Make sure you seal the bag tight! Marinade the meat for at least 6 hours+. I marinade mine overnight.

Grill over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. I use a grill thermometer which helps. Take off the grill and let sit for at least 5 minutes then slice against the grain. Delicious! Serve with your fave side.

Hasta La Pasta Pie

Lately I've been on a culinary kick. Every Monday morning I pick out 4-5 recipes to take on for dinner and usually 1 dessert. My husband is lovin the fact that there is a home cooked meal waiting for him when he gets home and not to mention the fabo lunch I make him every day to take to work. Trying new recipes is always trial by error. I baked a blueberry cake last week and although it was edible it didn't look that great. I make a kick butt banana bread but other than that I'm not a great baker. My niche, for right now, is taking an existing recipe & tweaking it for my own taste or with whatever I have in the cupboard.

The five star standouts for this month have been scallops w/ creamed corn & bacon, chicken pot pie, thai inspired skirt steak, and an INSANE pasta pie I made last night. Wow. This monstrosity was soo good and very, very filling (picture unbuttoning your pants and laying comatose on the couch for a good hour). I took this wonderful recipe from a fellow blogger Noble Pig. I tweaked some of the ingredients, added some herbs to the sauce portion and followed her instructions on how to assemble the pie. It came out exactly the way it should have. Jason and I stared at this 'thing' last night for a good 5 minutes as it cooled off. It is definitely large enough to feed up to 6 people. See how it came out below!


Pasta Pie- Taken from the NoblePig.com and tweaked a bit.
1 pound rigatoni- I used De Cecco Pasta
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef  OR Turkey meat
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 shallot minced (make sure it's minced)
2 tablespoons of chopped basil
1 Bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 can (28 ounces) good quality crushed tomatoes- I use San Marzano
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese 
Butter, for pan
8 ounces grated mozzarella
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 SPRINGFORM Pan
 
Boil a large pot of water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook pasta until slightly underdone- take off burner 2 to 3 before cooking time. Noble Pig took the pasta off around 12 minutes. The pot needs to be big enough and the water needs to be at least 6 quarts of water so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat.  Set aside. 
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the ground beef and begin to break up the pieces so they are very small. When the beef is browned add garlic, shallot, salt and pepper.  Cook 4 minutes more. Add crushed tomatoes and bay leaf and simmer for 15 minutes. Add basil and simmer for another 4 minutes. 
Now this is important!
Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese and make sure each piece of pasta is covered.  Butter a 9-inch springform pan and begin to pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end.  

Spread meat sauce on top of pasta and start to push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up.I did this with the end of my wooden spoon. Don't use all of the sauce, set 1-2 cups aside. 
It could have been that I have a faulty springform pan but the pan started leaking a little from the juice of the sauce so I took it out and placed it on a cooking sheet.


Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden.  Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold. 

Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have. Serve with a little garlic bread and voila!  
Again, check out her site for step by step pictures! 


Here's how mine came out...hungry?