Sugar Cookielicious!

 

It's cookie time!  Ky came home from work the other day seeming a bit "American treat" homesick, so I surprised him with some nummy yummy sugar cookies.  It also made my little girl who was pleading to make Santa some cookies pretty darn happy.  (Not sure how Santa's going to get any cookies since my little love and big love keep asking me to bake more of the dough that I froze for the big guy!)

 

Now I've got to give it to you straight, these cookies are AWESOME.  Full disclosure though, the recipe with the Crisco is just a bit better.  The cookies puff up nice and pretty with the Crisco, and if you're not a butter enthusiast, these are just a touch more buttery than they would be with Crisco.

 

This nice thing about these cookies, is that they make about 50 per batch (awesome, right?), and whenever I've been in a "baking pinch", these have saved me from having to devote hours that I don't have to making tons of cookies for that party/event/school lunch that my exhausted, semi-brain dead self may have forgotten about.  Whew.  Also, since I usually do these as 2 inch balls, if you shrink the balls down to 1 inch, you'll have twice as many cookies, and barely any extra work.

 

First, here is the recipe as I would make it in the States:

 

Sugar Cookies

 

You'll need:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees Farenheit.
• Whip the butter and shortening for 20 seconds.
• Add the sugar and vanilla.  Whip until creamy.
• Whip in the egg yolks.
• Beat in the baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Scraping the sides occasionally.
• Gradually beat in the flour. 
• When the dough is well mixed, shape it into 1 or 2 inch balls.
• Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet, and pop them in the oven!
• Bake for 6 minutes.
• Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. 
• Transfer to an air tight container.
• Make sure your container is air tight so that your cookies stay chewy!

Enjoy!!

American Sugar Cookies Italian Style

 

You'll need

• 250 grams butter, softened (I could only find salted)
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 125 degrees Celsius.  (I tried it at a higher temperature and it made the cookies spread too much).
• If you're kickin' it old school like me and don't have a mixer in your beautiful new abode, here's what you do: 
• Put your softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs into a nice big bowl.  Wash your hands thoroughly.  Dry them thoroughly.  Dive those hands in and cream that sugar baby!  Squish until it's mixed!  You'll know it's ready when everything is feeling very thoroughly mixed.
• Next, work the cream of tartar and baking soda into the creamed sugar.
• Add the flour, and work that in until it's a nice, sticky-smooth dough.
• Create 1-2 inch balls.
• Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
• Bake for 5-7 minutes.
• Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet.
• Place the cookies in an air tight container.

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

Laela wouldn't share!

 

Holiday time!

Holy moly, where did the time go?  Life has been a whirlwind for my family and I lately.  We lived in a hotel for six weeks, and now we've finally moved into our beautiful apartment...that has six broken sinks, one squirting toilet, and a partridge in a pear tree.  But we're finally in our home, and the adventure can officially begin!

You might be wondering what my family and I have been eating since we moved to Florence.  If you guessed pasta, you would be correct-a-mundo.  I have eaten so many different types of pasta over the last 7 weeks, that it would make a carb avoiding American run for the hills...then hit the treadmill, and maybe some bikram yoga.

It's interesting though.  Italian pasta isn't as heavy as American pasta.  Everything is fresh.  Typically, what you're feeding your family is what's in season.  Farm to table is just the way things are here.  It's not a trend.  It's not some next big thing.  It's the way Italians have always, and more than likely, will always cook.

We're talking about a place where the residents choose to maintain the history of their buildings, rather than knock them down and make them modern.  The art, architecture, and food are some of the most important aspects of Italian culture, and unlike many other countries, Italians don't want to change their culture.  It's amazing to walk down streets, or walk into a shoppe, and find out that it's been that same shoppe since 1706.

So while I'm on this Italian journey, bear with me as I learn the proper ways of cooking pasta, pizza, and other Italian specialties during my family and my time in Italy.

Lesson 1:  There is no brown sugar in Italy.

It's the holidays.  I found myself with a hankering for a giant ginger cookie- my most absolute favorite cookie in the whole entire world.  After a harrowing search, I came upon some vanilla (score!), and I had thankfully brought baking powder and baking soda with me from the US (for some reason it's flavored here.  Odd.).  Then I went on a molasses and brown sugar search.  Some friends directed me to one of the local shops that sells foreign goods.  I jumped for joy.  Silly, silly, naive American girl am I.

It looks like brown sugar.  It even smells like brown sugar (sort of).  But it is not brown sugar.  It's fine natural sugar that sticks together like brown sugar.  Sure, it'll be fantastic for some pumpkin muffins (which I also scored, even though I grossly overpaid for my tiny can of pumpkin.), but honey, it won't work for my ginger cookies.

So what's a gal to do?  Amazon baby.  I pillaged that website like it was no one's business.  I did however, have to come up with a solution to make my little girl who was BEGGING to make cookies happy.

So what did I do when I didn't have the majority of the ingredients I usually use to make cookies?  I made make-shift sugar cookies.

Tune in Friday for a tastylicious sugar cookie recipe that's super easy to make in Italy and the USA!

Thanksgiving in Italy

Thanksgiving is in a few days, and here I am, kitchenless, living in a hotel in a foreign country.  I have to say, I've gone back and forth about how we'll celebrate.  Should we go to an Italian restaurant claiming to make classic "American Thanksgiving fare"?  Should I take a cooking class that one of the local cooking schools is hosting to learn a way to "fuse" the Italian idea of Thanksgiving with American Thanksgiving?

Maybe this is me having a moment where I don't want to change my culture.  Thanksgiving is not an Italian holiday.  It's American.  I'm American.  So me, with my crazy American, individualist, marching to the beat of my own drummer mindset, will be celebrating Thanksgiving late this year- when I can cook it, and celebrate it, in a way that makes me and my family feel at home.  Until then, I'll just continue to enjoy Italian culture and their culinary expertise.

The truth is, I'm a thankful person.  I was raised by a small village of people (particulary my parents) who taught me that thankfulness and family are not something you celebrate on single days.  You should celebrate them and appreciate them often. 

I'll never forget our first Thanksgiving with Laela.  I was so exhausted (she was barely three months old), that there was no way this milk machine was going to throw a dinner together.  My parents, my husband, and our baby daughter got ourselves together for a simple Thanksgiving dinner that Abner's (the best bbq you could get in the Northeast until they so sadly closed) gloriously threw together for us.  It was a great Thanksgiving- in my Daddy's words: "We should be spending time together...not hiding in the kitchen."

That's what Thanksgiving is.  It's about your family.  It doesn't matter if you're risking your lives frying a turkey, baking pies, having pizza, or gorging on pizza.  It matters if you're being together.  So this year, be present.  Put down the damn phones.  Turn off the computers.  Spend time together.  I'm not giving advice on how to get everything out of the oven in time, or how to get it all hot simultaneously.  I'm telling you to genuinely be thankful for the gifts you have been given.

Quickie Pepper Soup

Every now and then, I want to make a serving or two of soup without any hassle.  I don't feel like making a big batch and having to store it, or sometimes, I find myself with random leftovers, and see if I can whip up something quick and healthy for lunch, or dinner if I find myself in a subsidized single parenting situation.

Right before we moved, Kyle was away on a business trip.  I found myself in the odd situation of not having anything in the fridge (since we were cleaning the fridge out before our big move abroad).  I foraged through the fridge and came across some chopped peppers from a salad I'd had a day or two before and a frozen cup of pasta sauce, as well as a frozen cup of chicken broth in the freezer. It's amazing what you can come up with when you only have a few paltry leftovers in the fridge and you're sick to death of take-out!

This pepper soup is awesome and literally takes five minutes. 

Quickie Pepper Soup

You'll need:

• 1/2 cup pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup broth (chicken, veggie or beef will do)
• 1/2 red pepper (or a whole one, whatever you have in your fridge!- you can mix other flavored peppers in as well if you want)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Heat a medium saucepan to medium-high heat.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil (no more than 1tsp) into the pan.
• Roughly chop the pepper.  Toss it in the pan.
• Cook for 1 minute.
• Pour in the broth and pasta sauce.
• Heat the pan to high.  Bring the pan to a boil.
• Lower the heat to medium-high heat.
• Cook for 3 minutes. 
• Blend with a immersion blender or a blender until liquid.
• Serve!

**Since I was the only one eating this, I added a bit of hot sauce and sriracha!  Make it however spicy or mild you like!

Caprese Salad

 

I love caprese salad.  It's one of my oddball comfort foods.  It reminds me of when I was younger, and would try to wow my grandparents with my cooking ability (little did I know how little I didn't know!)  I remember serving it up with some homemade Italian bread, with the caprese salad placed neatly in a bowl and my family devouring it.  It's one of the first things I ever made where I had hope that I could really be good at this cooking thing, so it'll always be a bit special to me, regardless of the fact that it's incredibly easy to make.  I think it goes to show that sometimes the best things in life are the simplest.  

Since we've been living in a hotel for the last few weeks, I've had to find different ways to make healthy, fresh food.  I don't want to live on take-out or go out to dinner all the time.  I have a preschooler.  She needs her sleep, and we all need some time to relax! 

Caprese Salad is literally the most simple, yet fancy seeming dish that you can make.  And all it takes is a tomato, a ball of fresh mozzarella, a few basil leaves, 2 tablespoons of some balsamic vinegar and 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, with a dash of salt and pepper.  It doesn't matter if you cube, slice, or chop your cheese and tomatoes.  It will be perfectly delicious regardless of how you present it.  Does it get more simply, or more lovely than that? 

A Cookie Cutter Kind of Day

 

I have this silly obsession with old school cookie cutters.  You know the ones, the really sharp metal ones that everyone's Grandma used to use? Those sharp as nails cookie cutters are much better than those rinky dink plastic ones, so when you find them, and you like the shape, pick them up! They can make super cute "rainy day" sandwiches, such as these lovely little butterflies!

 

 

Laela told me that it was a "gloomy doomy day" because it's dark, cold, and rainy, so I busted out one of the old school cookie cutters I brought with me from the US.  (Yes, my favorite cookie cutters were a priority for me.  I've been here two weeks an they've already been useful!  Hah!)

 

We made "sandwich treats", which are sandwiches filled with peanut butter and honey.  Other times we'll use pumpkin butter with a sprinkle of "fancy cinnamon" (Laela's very into Fancy Nancy, can you tell?) or peanut butter with Nutella.  It depends on what kind of day we're having.

 

These are very easy to make.  Make the sandwich of your choosing.  Place the cookie cutter over the sandwich.  When you are inside the crust, push down, and you'll have a lovely shaped sandwich!

 

 

 

Tip:  Did you know you can clean metal cookie cutters to a pearly shine with some Dawn and vinegar?  The solution is just 1 drop of Dawn added to 1/2 cup water mixed with a 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar. It also saves scorched pans. No joke.  To save a scorched pan, soak the pan in the solution for a few hours.  Then, hit it with a tad more Dawn and a scrubbie, and you should be good to go!

My Last Meal in America

Holy exhaustion Batman.  You don't know tired until you move to a foreign country.  A little over two weeks ago, my family and I moved to Florence, Italy for my husband's job.  Thankfully, my husband and I visited over the summer, so I was reasonably prepared for what we would need, and what things we should bring from the States (thankfully I remembered taco seasonings and Old Bay!)

I think people really don't realize that Italians eat pasta every single day.  It's nothing like pasta in the States, it's lighter, more flavorful, and in all ways just better, so trust me, I plan on taking plenty of cooking classes to share my experiences and recipes!  I want to learn not only authentic Italian cooking (which varies by region), but other European cuisines as well.  Italian food is amazing.  Everything is always fresh and homemade.  In Italy, if something isn't homemade, they'll tell you. 

And trust me, Italian food is kind of like dating.  You can weed out the phony "tourist trap" food versus the amazing Italian food very very quickly.  (For example, if you see a huge mound of gelato, slowly back away.  You are being bamboozled.  Go to a small gelateria where there aren't any/many tourists and allow yourself to be completely blown away.)

The thing is, as much as I love Italian food, I had a hankering for a cheeseburger the other day, and me, yes, Little Miss "I only eat healthy food" dragged my husband to Hard Rock Cafe for a huge bbq burger.  I have to say, it was awesome- until I was in a food coma and literally couldn't move for ten minutes. 

After my honkin' "American cheeseburger", I got to thinking...in the whirlwind of packing up and moving to Italy, what was my last homemade American meal?

Shrimp and Grits!!

 

How befitting, I moved to the South a Philly girl, and left the US with grits in my belly.

Here's the easiest recipe for grits you'll ever find.  This is not quite as amazing as my best friend Alexis' shrimp and grits recipe, but she's promised to share that with you all another time.  This recipe is simple and no holds barred delicious.  Give it a go!

Cara's Shrimp and Grits
serves 4

You'll need:

For the Shrimp:

• (1) 1lb bag of shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper
• 1/2 Yellow Pepper
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 Cup corn (I used frozen sweet corn, but you can use fresh if you want)
• 3 Tb Old Bay (You can add more if you like.  I tend to go heavy on the Old Bay)
• **1lb Andouille Sausage, sliced (I didn't have any on hand, but you should definitely try it with the sausage!

Heat a medium sized skillet to medium heat.  Chop, slice the peppers (or if you want, just buy a bag of frozen chopped/sliced peppers) and toss them in the preheated pan with 1/2 the butter, sliced andouille and Old Bay.  Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the corn.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add the remaining butter and the shrimp.  Cook until the shrimp go from clear to white/pink and begin to curl (2-3 minutes).  Stir occasionally.  If it seems like the butter is reducing quickly, lower the heat a bit and add a bit more butter, a splash of fish or chicken stock, or a splash of white cooking wine  Don't overcook them!  Add more Old Bay to taste.

For the Grits:

• 1 1/2 Cups water
• 1 1/2 Cups milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup white or yellow quick grits (NOT INSTANT) 
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tb butter
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (optional)

1. In a small pot, bring water, milk, and salt to a boil.
2. Slowly stir grits into boiling mixture.
3. Stir continuously and thoroughly until grits are well mixed.
4. Let the pot return to a boil, cover pot with a lid, lower the temperature, and cook for approximately 30 minutes stirring frequently.
5. Add more water if necessary.
6. Grits are done when they have the consistency of stiff cream of wheat.
7. Stir in butter.
8. Serve with additional butter on top. (Optional- I didn't do this since the grits were being topped with the shrimp, veggies and Old Bay butter sauce.)

Serve grits topped with shrimp and veggies!  Enjoy!

Just a Note

CaraCakes will be back in action next week!

Helping Our Children Chase and Achieve Their Dreams

"If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves"
                                                                                                     -Thomas Alva Edison

I couldn't sleep last night.  I woke up at 4am and watched my little girl sleep.  Then I wrote some blog posts for the coming weeks.  After cleaning my house, doing some packing, getting breakfast and lunches ready for the day, I decided to hunker down and read The Richest Kids In America: How They Earn It, How They Spend It, How You Can Too by Mark Victor Hansen. 

When I was in college, my creative writing teacher told me that I had too many interests, and way too many ideas.  She told me that I needed to start writing everything down- and she was right.  I still have that little glitter notebook, and I still jot my ideas down from time to time.  Some are great things that I'm working on today, and some are things that I hope to work towards.

As I sat down and read The Richest Kids in America, I found myself intrigued and encouraged by these driven, passionate, and creative kids who grabbed life by the horns and went for it.  They took risks that most people would be petrified to take.  But most of all, they had amazing parents that stood by them, up for them, and by them as they endeavored to do things that their peers clearly had not.  Instead of thinking up ideas, they took the plunge and followed through on them.

"Creating change is not something that you can do alone, and it is imperative to have a strong network of mentors, advisors, and peers."

I learned a lot from this book about how to encourage my daughter to have a successful, thriving life.  Sure, I knew that she should surround herself with positive influences, but sometimes parents have a hard time conveying that to their children.  This book is great back-up.  It encourages the reader to surround themself with positive people, media, books and information that will stimulate rather than stifle.

I really believe that most parents believe that their children should be challenged in some way.  This book takes it one step further and has work-sheets for the children (and adults!) to help use creativity to bring talents to the surface, passion to unleash potential, and to find a way to implement their ideas to a specific target market.  Many times, we are all herded into a group mentality, rather than an individual mentality, but these kids found ways to be individuals that influence and change the group by listening to their inner voice and by trusting their instincts.  You never know what hobby or activity could bring about a new idea that is a profitable enterprise.

"I want you to be a visionary, but I also want you to create sustainable income that does not own you."

Mark Victor Hansen does a great job of conveying the stories of young entrepeneurs that vary in "backgrounds, interests, and personalities", thus proving, that it doesn't matter where you come from to be successful.  What does matter is how you spend your time.  My Mom used to say, "follow your rainbows, follow your dreams", and she was right.  It took time and research for me to learn how to package it and how it serves people.

We're parents.  Our #1 job is to raise our children to be good people that are self sufficient.  We won't be here forever.  That's just a fact of life.  So why not teach them independence, self sufficiency, trust in their instincts, how to hone in on their creativity, and that charity is incredibly important, from the time they are young?  You never know what they can accomplish unless you encourage them to try!

Meatloaf 4 Ways!

I have a confession...when my husband is on business trips, I eat way more popcorn than a normal person would ever consider consuming...and I tend to live on leftovers.

During Kyle's last business trip, I made Laela and I some delicious turkey meatloaf. You might be thinking, "meatloaf? How boring! How on Earth can anyone live on meatloaf for a week?!" Well, let me tell you this- meatloaf is awesome. You can eat it cold on a sandwich (some people like it with mayo, others with ketchup, or some top it with tons of lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and/or pesto). You can eat it hot and steaming with mashed potatoes, veggies, and brown gravy. You can chop it up, mix in some bbq sauce in a medium hot pan until it's well heated, put it on a bun and yum! You've got a tasty sandwich!

My latest discovery for leftover meatloaf may very well be my favorite. I cooked some hericots verts (french green beans) in a medium-hot pan with 2 cloves of finely sliced garlic, 1/2 a roughly chopped tomato, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Once the beans were good and crispy, the tomatoes were oozing flavor, and the garlic was clear and aromatic, I transferred the green beans to a plate.  In the same pan (without turning off the heat) I drizzled a small bit of olive oil (about a 1/2 tsp), chopped the meatloaf to bits (2 servings), threw in 3 chopped up basil leaves, 1/4 cup of chicken broth, and added the other half of the roughly chopped tomato to the mix. I cooked it on medium heat for about 2 minutes, then let it reduce for about 30 seconds on high heat, stirring to make sure nothing stuck to the pan. Man oh man, was it ridiculously delicious. It was like a gourmet meal for the lazy...or the very tired mama.

This meal is proof that no matter how tired you are, you don't have to grab the phone and order that take-out that's just going to make you feel awful.  Sure, it's fine for once in a while, but if you have a life like most people, you're busy, and it's easy to get in a take-out rut.  Do yourself a favor, Drop the phone, and try cooking. This dinner took less than ten minutes to throw together.  The meatloaf itself is only 5 minutes or less of prep.  Plus, the more often you try new techniques and recipes, the more quickly you will be able to get things done in the kitchen.  Be a fearless home cook!

For a really great meatloaf recipe, click here. Just replace the 1lb beef for 1lb ground turkey (I prefer 1/2 dark and 1/2 white for meatloaf).

Once you've tackled that meatloaf, give this one a go! There are more ingredients/steps involved, but it's really delicious! (and it's great for sneaking some vegetables into your anti-vegetable family members!)

Fall Crock Pot Brisket

 

 

Brisket is hands down one of my favorite foods.  There's something so homey about a well made brisket.  Maybe it's because it reminds me of cooler weather and happy holidays with our friends Ellyn and Leon and their family.  Isn't that what comfort food is all about- food that warms us, satiates us, and reminds us of happy times with people that we love?

 

 

This is not a difficult meal to make.  In fact, it's kind of perfect in it's simplicity since you just toss all the ingredients in the crock pot, and leave it alone until the brisket is falling apart and your house is filled with the savory, hearty flavors of carrots, onions, herbs, and beef at its finest.  Laela had a great time helping "shake shake shake" the spices in, as well as tossing in the veggies.

 

Fall Crock Pot Brisket

 

Ingredients:

• 2 lb Brisket
• 1 Medium onion, diced
• 3 Large carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 Stalk thyme (leaves only)
• 1 Stalk rosemary, chopped (leaves only)
• 4 Leaves of sage, chopped
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Cups beef broth
• 2 Tb Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Balsamic vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 Potatoes, chopped or cubed (optional)
• 1 Tb Corn starch

Instructions:

 

For the Brisket:

• Place the brisket, onion, garlic, worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, carrots, celery, thyme, rosemary, sage, potatoes, and broth in the crock pot.
• Cook on the lowest setting (but not on warm) for 6-10 hours, or until the brisket is falling apart when you place a fork in it (brisket will "string" and "pull" apart.)
• Serve as is, or with gravy.

For the gravy:

• Take 1 cup of the drippings/broth from the crock pot and place it in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat.
• In small ramekin or cup, whisk together 1 tsp corn starch and 2 tsp water.
• Whisk in the corn starch mixture with the broth/drippings.
• Taste for seasoning.  Add salt and pepper as necessary.
• For a gravy with more herb flavoring, whisk in a few chopped leaves of rosemary, thyme, and sage.
• Whisk until thickened.
• Serve!

 

Pizza Party!



 

I'm a little burnt out.  We're moving in a few weeks and even though most of the work is done, it's just draining.  What do we do when things are stressful?  We find ourselves some fun!

 

Laela's best friend, Bailey came over for a sleepover a few days ago.  We made all kinds of goodies- cookies, pancakes, and most importantly, PIZZA!  That morning, I had discovered something called "Fleischmann's® Pizza Crust Yeast" that claimed to make pizza crust in 15-minutes instead of having to wait for the dough to rise like with normal pizza crust.

 

The package didn't lie!  I made one batch of pizza dough with the girls, and we had 4 mini pizzas assembled and ready to be eaten in less than a half hour.  We had a lot of fun creating our own pizzas! 

 

The best part was that girls really enjoyed making their own dinner.  Laela and Bailey were so proud of their pizzas!  If you're the type to get nervous having tiny cooks in the kitchen, this is a really great way to have them learn about cooking without stressing you out- just put all of the toppings into bowls, help them mold their pizzas, and let them put on the toppings!               

 

30 Minutes or Less Pizza 

 

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 envelope Fleischmann's® Pizza Crust Yeast

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup very warm water (120 to 130°F)

3 tablespoons oil 1Tb Italian seasonings or freshly chopped basil Toppings:

Pasta sauce

Other toppings as desired

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Combine 1 cup flour, herbs, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky (kind of like if paste and play dough had a baby). Knead ("fold, push, and turn" the dough, and repeat) on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, for about 4 minutes.  If the dough becomes too sticky, just add more flour and work it into the dough.
• If making 4 pizzas as we did, break the dough into 4 even sections.  Gently pat dough with floured hands to create a circle.  If you like thin crust, you can roll it a little less than 1/4 inch thick.  Don't go much thinner though, or it won't hold your toppings well.
• Grease the baking sheet/pizza pan/pizza stone.  I just sprayed our pizza stone with cooking spray.  *I highly suggest investing in a pizza stone.  They'll only run you about $15, and your pizza will taste a lot better.  It gives the pizza a really great crunch to the crust, whereas a baking sheet or pizza pan don't.
• If you like, spread some sauce on the crust. Top with desired toppings and sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake on lowest oven rack for 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.  If making thick crust pizza, add about 5 minutes to the bake time.
• Enjoy!

Spinach and Chicken Casserole

 

With fall upon us, I've begun to crave more soups, comfort foods, and casseroles.  While Kyle was on his last business trip, it was a rainy, chilly week, so I decided to throw together a pretty easy casserole with chicken, multi-grain macaroni noodles, peas and spinach.  It turned out great!  This is definitely one of those dishes that tastes better and more flavorful with each passing day.

 

 

Spinach and Chicken Casserole

 

You'll need:

• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tb butter
• 2 Tb flour
• 1 Tb onion powder
• 1Tb garlic powder
• 2 cups peas
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 spig rosemary, chopped
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 350-degrees.
• Cook macaroni noodles as instructed on box.  (I prefer whole grain or whole wheat noodles.)
• Heat a medium saucepan to high heat.
• Whisk 1 Tb butter and flour into a paste in the heated pan.
• Whisk milk into butter and flour paste.
• Whisk in the rosemary, thyme, onion and garlic powder.
• When the mixture becomes creamy, whisk in the spinach.
• Salt and pepper the sauce to taste.
• When the noodles are done cooking, drain them.  Then, pour them into a 2 1/2 quart corningware or baking pan.
• Add the peas and chicken to the pan.
• Pour the sauce over the noodles, peas, and chicken. 
• Stir to combine ingredients.
• Place pan in the preheated oven.
• Cook for 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix 1 Tb butter with breadcrumbs (I stir them together with a fork.)
• Sprinkle the bread crumb mix over the casserole.
• Cook for 10 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the casserole bubbles.
• Enjoy!

 

Mini Apple Crumble

I love apple crumble.  I love how it makes the house smell, I love its warm, cinnamony goodness, and I love that it means that fall is here!  Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my house that loves it, so I've had to learn to modify the recipe.

This is probably the hands-down easiest dessert that I've ever made.  Give it a try!  You know you're looking for an excuse to go apple picking, so here it is!


Mini Apple Crumble
Serves 2-3 people

You'll need:

• 2 apples (I prefer Granny Smith), peeled and choopped/cubed/sliced
• 3 Tb Cinnamon
• 1 Tb Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1 Tb Butter
• 1/4 cup Quick oats

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 350-degrees.
• In a small (2-3 cup) ramekin or corningware bowl (oven safe!!), mix the apples, 2Tb cinnamon, and 1 tsp sugar (I don't use the sugar, but on the rare occasion that Laela wants cooked apples, she prefers it with sugar).
• In a small mixing bowl, mix the oats, butter, brown sugar, and 1 Tb cinnamon into a crumble mixture.
• Sprinkle the crumble over the apples.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy!

Birthday Cupcakes for School

 

I thought it'd be fun to share some pictures of the flower cupcakes that I made for Laela's school party.  I made tulips for her classmates, and a pink rose for her.

 

 

Laela and I decided to make Kyle a welcome home cake with the leftover icing.  Pink tulips and butterflies are definitely fitting for a "We love Daddy" cake, don't you think?

Enchiladas!

Enchiladas are one of my most favorite things ever.  I know this may seem strange, but they're a comfort food in our house.  Maybe it's because when we first had Laela, our good friend Corinne brought over this huge pan of the most awesome enchiladas ever.  She's such an amazing friend, and while this isn't her recipe, this reminds me very much of what she made, and the happy time that came with it, so you definitely have to give it a try.  And hey, if you like it, make it for a friend who just had a baby.  This reheats pretty well, and I know it will rock their socks as much as it rocked mine!

Chicken Enchiladas

You'll need:

• 1-2 chicken breasts, shredded or chopped
• (1)  16oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
• (4) whole wheat tortillas
• 1/2 onion
• 1/4 red pepper
• 1/4 green pepper
• 1/4 yellow pepper
• 1 cup milk (I used non-fat)
• 2Tb butter
• 2Tb flour
• 1 cup broth
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper
• Hot sauce
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

For the filling:

• Place a large skillet on medium heat.
• Drizzle a little bit of oil to coat the bottom of the pan (cooking spray is fine too.)
• Chop the onion and peppers.  Add them to the hot pan.
• Stir occasionally.
• Once the onions begin to look clear, stir in the black beans, 1tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, cayenne, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper to the veggies. 
• Add the shredded chicken to the pan.  Stir in with the other ingredients.
• Lower the heat to warm, or the lowest setting until ready to assemble.

For the cheese sauce:

• Heat a medium saucepan to high heat. 
• Place 1Tb butter with 1Tb flour in the pan.  Whisk into a paste.
• Whisk in 1 cup milk and 1 tsp hot sauce.
• When the mixture begins to thicken, add 1/4 cup cheese.
• If you like it spicy, you can chop a jalapeno or pickled jalapeno and add it to the cheese sauce.
• Salt and pepper to taste.  Add more hot sauce if you'd like.
• *I added a dash of paprika, garlic, and onion powder for extra flavor, but that's not required.

For the chicken sauce:

• Heat a medium saucepan to high heat.
• Place 1Tb butter with 1Tb flour in the pan. Whisk into a paste.
• Whisk in 1 cup chicken broth and 1 tsp hot sauce.
• Whisk in 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Whisk until a thick sauce is formed.

Assembly:

• Microwave each tortilla for 15 seconds.
• In an 8x8 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, place the tortilla in the pan. 
• Fill the tortilla, leaving 1-2 inches on each side of the tortilla.
• Gently wrap the sides of the tortilla around the filling.
• Place the next tortilla next to that one, holding up the sides so that only the filled part of the tortilla is touching the previous enchilada.  Fill, wrap, and repeat until all 4 enchiladas are formed.
• Top with the chicken sauce. 
• Top with the cheese sauce.
• Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauces are good and bubbly, and the cheese is well melted.
• Serve and enjoy!

,

Happy 3rd Birthday Laela!!!!!!!!

 

My beautiful little girl is 3!!  She requested a princess cake with Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, so I made one to look like the princess castle that she plays with.  I made chocolate dipped cones as the towers and chocolate for the door!  She LOVED it!

 

 

Cinderella and Aurora were almost casualties of the Laela and Bailey cake attack.  Thankfully, I swooped in to save them in the knick of time!

 

 

Laela had a great birthday thanks for our wonderful Greenville family : )  Maybe this wasn't the fanciest birthday party in the world, or even the biggest, but I think it was perfect.  And really, any night that winds up with little girls playing dress-up with princess dresses and silly glasses with mustaches is a good night in my book!

 

 

Quickie Chicken and Pasta

Kyle's been traveling a lot lately, so Laela and I haven't been eating the fanciest foods.  In addition to being a subsidized single parent,  I've been a little worn out from preparing to move.  To prevent us from living a life of take-out, I've been cooking a couple of chicken breasts in the crock pot, or tossing a few chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking sheet.  That way I have a bunch of protein ready to go, and can just add the chicken to some "quickie meals".

First, I'll share how I make the chicken.

Chicken in the Crock Pot:

You'll need:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth  (or water with boullion)

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot.  Cook on low.  When the cooker is done, put the chicken in a container and refrigerate for various dishes throughout the week.

Chicken in the Oven:

You'll need:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and Pepper
• Cooking Spray

Instructions:

• Heat the oven to 350-degrees
• Cover a baking sheet with foil (this makes for less clean-up!)
• Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, combine the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper.
• Sprinkle the spice mix on each side of the chicken breasts.
• Place the spiced chicken on the baking sheet.
• Lightly spray the chicken with cooking spray.
• Bake for about 6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the chicken.
• Place in a container and refrigerate for various dishes throughout the week.

Quickie Chicken and Pasta
serves 2-3

You'll need:

• 1 large, cooked chicken breast
• Pasta
• 1 cup pasta sauce
• 2 cups frozen peas
• Basil (optional)
• Provolone cheese (optional)

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to instructions.
• Place the pasta sauce and peas in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat.
• Chop or cut the chicken into cubes.
• Add the chicken to the pasta sauce and peas.
• After 2 minutes, add the pasta to the sauce, chicken and peas.
• Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until well heated and combined.
• Top with provolone cheese, or rip the provolone apart and gently mix it in with the pasta.
• Serve and enjoy!

Hummus Veggie Sandwich

Hummus is a staple in our house.  Laela sometimes sneaks spoonfuls while I make a platter of pita chips, peppers and hummus.  Kyle loves it with crackers.  I love it with turkey on a sandwich, but mostly, I love it on a veggie sandwich.

You might be thinking, "veggie sandwich?!  Is this chic serious?!"  Well, yes.  Yes I am. 

It was a rainy day here in South Carolina, and all I wanted was a nice warm bowl of tomato soup and a sandwich- or a salad.  I couldn't decide.  I had made Laela and Kyle some yummy, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches, but I wasn't really in a cheese mood, so I went foraging in my fridge.  I happened upon some pesto, hummus, a tomato, some roasted peppers, a cucumber, spinach salad, and some tasty gorgonzola crumbles.  Hmmmm...salad or sandwich, salad or sandwich?

A salad sandwich!  I toasted a piece of double-fiber, whole wheat bread and cut it in half.  Next, I  slathered a thin layer of pesto on one side of bread.  Then I topped it with one slice of tomato, a few pieces of fresh spinach, 2 slices of roasted red pepper, a sprinkle of gorgonzola crumbles, a couple of slices of a cucumber, and a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.  After that, I spread some hummus on the other half of bread, and viola!  A tasty hummus and veggie salad.

This is one of those really healthy sandwiches that you can make with any veggies that you have hanging around in your fridge.  I've made this with just tomato and spinach, or tomato and cucumber.  Sometimes I add pesto.  Sometimes I don't.  I've used fresh basil leaves with tomato and hummus and it was delicious.  Give it a try!

Inside Out Burgers

 

 

Every now and then, my husband requests a "man meal", where the star of the show is a big slab of meat, preferable smothered in cheese, the only "vegetable" permitted is corn, and the french fries are made by well, alexia.  The reality is, while I make a mean french fry, I packed our mandolin and food processor, and the idea of slicing perfectly even potatoes and then soaking them to release the starches just wasn't doing it for me.  And the truth is, I haven't had a bad Alexia french fry, so I bought Kyle's favorite- the waffle fries.

 

Since we hadn't had burgers in a while, I thought a good old fashioned bacon and cheese inside out burgher was in order.  The picture is deceptive, right?

 

On the outside, it looks like this:



 

But on the inside:

 

"Helloooooo Nurse!"

 

These burgers look like they're difficult to make, but I promise you, they're super easy. 

 

 

Inside Out Burgers:

makes 4 regular sized burgers

 

You'll need:

• 1 lb 90/10 ground beef (I prefer grass-fed)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 Egg
• 1Tb Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• 8 slices of cooked bacon (I really like the applewood smoked bacon from Whole Foods butcher counter)
• 4 slices of colby jack cheese, or whatever cheese you have on hand that melts well

Instructions:

• Heat a large skillet to medium heat.
• Spray the pan evenly with cooking spray.  (You can use a few drizzles of olive oil if you prefer.  I experimented with cooking spray, and it turned out great!)
• In a large bowl, combine the meat, egg, breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, worcestershire sauce, and a few shakes of salt and pepper.  I mush it all together with my hands.
• After the mixture is well mixed/mushed together, form 4 patties.
• Flatten each patty until it is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.
• Tear the bacon strips in half.  Place them in the middle of the flattened patty. 
• Fold each cheese slice in half or into 4 squares so that it fits in the middle of the flattened patty with the bacon.
• Make sure the bacon and cheese leave a ring of meat around them.
• Gently fold the burger around the bacon and cheese.  This should form a ball. 
• When it looks like a ball, and no cheese and bacon are showing, gently manipulate the meat into a patty shape.  (It doesn't have to be perfect.  Just try to make sure the cheese and bacon are covered.)
• Place in the hot pan.
• Depending on how well you want your burger done, cook it between 2 and 6 minutes per side.  I like my burger Pittsburgh rare, so I tend to raise the heat like a maniac, cook it for one minute per side, and then chow down on that tasty burger like it's my last day on Earth.  The more firm it feels, the more done it is.
• For the love of all things tasty, do NOT push down on this burger with your spatula.  Don't you like a juicy burger?  Leave it alone.  It's cooking.  Walk away.  Good grief does it drive me crazy when people push the juice out of burgers or slice into them the second they're done cooking.  Ugh.
• Serve with whatever toppings and buns you enjoy! 

A quick lesson on corn:

Whole sweet corn is one of the most delicious things on the planet.  There are bunches of ways of cooking it, but this is by far the easiest and fool-proof:

Peel all of the husk off.  Rinse off all the stringy stuff that freaks people out.  Toss it in a big soup pot of boiling water (I prefer my water salted) for 10 minutes.

Serve!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Tilapia

One of Laela's favorite foods to eat is shrimp.  With butter, plain, in Chinese food, in scampi, cooked in a crab boil, you name the way it comes (she'll even down them with some spicy cajun seasoning!), and she'll inhale them by the pound.

Since Kyle isn't the biggest shrimp fan in the world, and Laela asked to have shrimp for dinner, I compromised and made some lemon-garlic shrimp and tilapia with broccoli and brown rice.  It was a delicious meal that didn't take a ton of time, and was the perfect combo of being both filling but not heavy so that when we went to the park afterwards, we didn't feel like we were laden down from a huge meal.

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Tilapia with Brown Rice and Broccoli

You'll need:

• 1/2 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (I usually buy frozen by the pound since it's generally cheaper)
• 4 Tilapia filets, deboned and filleted
• 4 Cloves garlic, diced
• 2 Lemons
• 2 Broccoli Heads, or broccoli florets
• Brown rice of your choosing (enough to serve 4)
• Onion Powder
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

• Heat a large skillet to medium heat.
• Drizzle the skillet with olive oil (a teaspoon or two, enough to make sure the pan is covered so that the fish does not stick to the pan)
• Slice one lemon into thin slices.
• Lightly sprinkle the tilapia with onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Do the same to the shrimp.
• Place the tilapia and two garlic cloves in the hot pan.  Surround them with the lemon slices.  (Don't overcrowd the pan though.  A few slices will do.)

• Squeeze lemon juice on top of the fish.  If the fillets are thin, they should take about 2 minutes per side.  With fish, when it is ready, it becomes more white rather than clear white, up the sides.  It also releases itself from the pan when it is ready to be flipped, or is done cooking.
• Remove the tilapia from heat.  (Fish is flaky when it is done.  If you need a knife at all for tilapia, it's not done cooking.)
• Place the shrimp and 1 garlic clove in the hot pan, making sure there is enough oil in the pan.
• Squeeze some lemon on the shrimp and toss in a few lemon slices.
• Shrimp cook quickly, so when they begin to curl, change color, and look more firm, take them out.
• Serve with a side of lemon.

For the Broccoli:

• Heat a medium skillet to medium heat.  Drizzle a small amount of olive oil into the pan.
• After the pan has heated, add 1 diced garlic clove into the pan.
• When you can smell the garlic cooking (after about a minute or so), add the broccoli to the pan.
• Cook for 3-5 minutes.  Broccoli will be tender when ready.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• **If you haven't got any olive oil left, or are trying to be extra healthy, use a few tablespoons of water to steam cook the garlic and broccoli.  Just put the heat to medium high heat with the water in the pan, add the broccoli and garlic.  Pop on the lid.  Lower the heat to medium heat.  Broccoli in 5 minutes!
• **I squeezed fresh lemon over the entire meal to make it more cohesive, but if you want some components sans lemon, that's totally up to you.

Enjoy!