Cheese and Pesto Puff Pastries Filed under ( Appetizers, bacon, bread, cheese, party food, pesto, puff pastry )

I know these might not be much to look at, but trust me when i say that this might be the most delicious appetizer you ever make, if not the richest! These puff pastries are stuffed with a sharp provolone cheese sauce, a tangy pesto, crunchy bacon bits, and bright tomato to even it all out. The first time I made these, I didn't add tomato because I didn't think I could make it fit with all the other ingredients, well, I would try hard to make it fit because they are the perfect ingredient to round out the richness of the other ingredients. This is such a delicious party food, and they'll disappear in no time!

I am going to post the original recipe, but here are my notes. I really only need half of the cheese sauce that you are instructed to make, I will definitely half it next time. Also, I wouldn't bother letting this sit in your fridge before cooking. In fact, I think it made them a bit soggy and greasy. The second time I made them, they came out so puffy and crispy, much better. Enjoy!

Cheese and Pesto Puff Pastries
By Favorite Brand Name Appetizers

Ingredients

1 package puff pastry dough, thawed
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup flour
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sharp provolone cheese, shredded
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
fresh plum tomatoes, diced
basil pesto (the refrigerated stuff in the grocery store is the best)
Cooked bacon (4-5 slices) crumbled

Directions

1. Roll puff pastry dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 3-inch circles. Mix egg and water in small bowl. Brush surface of each circle lightly with egg mixture. Set aside.

2. Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Whisk flour, then cream. Continue stirring until mixture thickens and becomes smooth. Remove from heat. Add Provolone, Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Place 2 teaspoons of mixture onto each pastry circle and top each with several pieces of tomato. Add 1/4 teaspoon pesto and a few pieces crumbled bacon to each circle. Cover pastry with another circle of dough and using your fingers, press the edges together to seal. Place pastries on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight (nah).

3. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake pastries about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.


Does this look familiar to anyone? If you are a visitor of Biz's blog, Biggest Diabetic Loser, you know that she's always got such fantastic pictures and food. I always look forward to seeing what she's up to. Well, a few weeks ago, she posted this gorgeous picture after going on a walk during a foggy day. I had commented that I wanted to blow that picture up and hang it on my wall. A day or two later, she sent me the file and I was able to do just that. Isn't it gorgeous! I love my bloggy friends. Thanks Biz, we love it!

Banana Chip Muffins Filed under ( bananas, bread, Breakfast, chocolate, muffins, quick and easy )

I really think those bears have the right idea.

Every winter, after eating a few fantastic Thanksgiving feasts, they hunker down in their cozy caves, wrapped in their plush fur coats, and dream away the winter.


I want in on that. Especially early in the morning when there aren't enough layers in the world to combat that freezing cold wind while dropping my daughter off at school. And then there are days like today, where, barring high-tech warming devices, it might actually be impossible to warm up. Even my fuzzy socks are failing me today. And to think, I used to constantly fight with mom to even wear a coat in the winter!

Well, since I don't get to hibernate like a bear, baked goods like these will definitely help me get through the cold cold days of winter. I grew up on these muffins, and after losing the recipe my mom gave me, I was convinced that any old banana chocolate chip recipe would suffice. WRONG. I actually tried quite a few different recipes, but soon realized that I wasn't going to be satisfied until I had the ones that reminded me of home.

These are everything a good banana muffin should be, moist, flavorful, and rich, but not too sweet. They are also a total snap to whip together, no mixer needed, just a good wooden spoon. Next time you have a few bananas ready to turn, give these a try. And stay warm out there friends!


Banana Chip Muffins
Provided Sweetly by My Mom

Ingredients

1 3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c choc chips
1 egg
1/4 c oil
1/4 c milk
3 mashed bananas

Directions

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.

Beat egg until frothy. Mix in oil, milk and bananas. Pour into the flour mixture. Stir to moisten.

Bake @ 400* for 20-25 minutes.
Yummy!

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins Filed under ( bread, Breakfast, fruit, muffins, oranges )

Call me crazy, but among all of the star dishes of thanksgiving, I honestly think my very favorite is homemade cranberry sauce. I'll never go back to the canned version again, there's no comparison! But I don't just love to eat homemade cranberry sauce, it's fun to make. My favorite part is listening to the POP POP POP of the cranberries, I'm not going to lie, it makes me giggle like a five year old. But then after it's been made, it chills into a thickened tart treat that goes well with just about every meat and side of the meal.

Unfortunately I'm one of the only ones in my family that feels that way, which consequently leaves me with about a gallon of the stuff left when the holiday is over (you'd think halving the recipe would have dawned on me by now, but it hasn't). So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw these beauties on Maria's blog at Two Peas and Their Pod. This is not the first time I've made something from her blog, and it certainly won't be the last. She consistently posts the most delicious dishes and gorgeous pictures.

These muffins were a real family pleaser, I've already made two batches and will most likely be going for a third! My first batch are what you see in the pictures. My second batch I got a bit lazy and just threw the cranberry sauce right in the batter. It turned the them a delightful shade of pink and infused cranberry flavor in the whole muffin. Both were just delicious. If you have extra cranberry sauce on your hands, I highly recommend these. Thanks Maria!


Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins
By Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh cranberry orange sauce (about 2 tablespoons per muffin)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Rub in sugar and orange zest together. Whisk into dry ingredients.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk canola oil, egg, milk, and vanilla together.

5. Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir together. The batter will be thick.

6. Place half the batter at the bottom of six muffin cups. Spoon about two tablespoons of fresh cranberry sauce on top of the muffin batter. Top muffins evenly with remaining muffin batter. Sprinkle each muffin generously with turbinado sugar.

7. Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

Makes 6 large muffins

Clam Chowder in a Bread Bowl Filed under ( bread, main dishes, seafood, Soup )

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? We had a wonderful time with friends this year, lots of food, and I'm still full! Now it's Monday and back to the grind, but luckily not for too long.

A few weeks ago Sara, Alissa and I got together again for another bloggy friend lunch. It's such a great way to explore new recipes and try new things, and of course, the company's not bad either! For our appetizer, Sara made these wonderful lettuce wraps that taste very similar to those of PF Chang's, delicious, keep your eye out for those!

And for the main course I made clam chowder. I made clam chowder for two reasons, one, I love it, and don't eat it often since it's not exactly diet friendly. Two, my husband does not like it, so I needed to take advantage of the opportunity to make it without hearing an hour's worth of belly-achin, hee hee! The recipe I found on food network is absolutely fool proof and SOO delicious. It only takes about a half hour to make too. I served the chowder in bread bowls. If you're going to serve soup in bread bowls, I strongly suggest that you serve a very thick chowder or chili, otherwise you'll probably have a very messy problem on your hands. The bread bowls were also very quick and easy to make. The only problem I had was getting the bottoms to brown completely, and eventually I just flipped them over to get the bottoms crispy and stable. When hollowing out the bowl, just take care not to take out too much center, otherwise it won't be able to hold up to the soup. But oh my gosh, it's so good. I loved scraping the bowl as I ate the soup to get a bit of both in every bite, it's the most filling thing you'll ever eat. Give this a try, you'll be surprised how easy it really is to make!

Clam Chowder
By Union Oyster House

Ingredients (I halved this for three people and still had a LOT leftover)

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
4 pounds fresh or frozen clams, shelled and diced (I used canned clams, it was delish)
1/4 pound salt pork, diced (I used bacon...oh yeah)
2 small onions, diced
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
10 cups clam juice
2 pints half-and-half
Salt and pepper
Dash hot pepper sauce
Dash Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Bring the potatoes and the clam juice to the boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the clams and any of their liquid. Cook about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Add the pork to a saute pan and cook over low heat until rendered. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the flour and cook until slightly colored. Add a bit more flour if necessary if the mixture is too soft. Bring the clams, juice and potatoes back to the boil. Gradually stir in the cooked roux. Bring to a rolling boil to thicken. Stir continuously while cooking. Beat the half and half and add to the soup. It may not be necessary to use all the half-and-half; the soup should be thick. Adjust the seasoning and add a dash of hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce before serving

Bread Bowl
Found in Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115
degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
Cornmeal

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, eggs, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

2. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into eight pieces; shape each into a ball. Grease two baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place four balls 3 in. apart on each prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

3. For bread bowls, cut a thin slice off the top of bread. Hollow out bottom half, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Fill with chili, chowder or stew.

For dessert Alissa made her family's favorite chocolate meringue pie and chess pie. Be on the lookout for those, they were delicious, and the perfect way to finish off our lunch>

Pumpkin Spice Biscuits with Cinnamon Butter Filed under ( bread, holiday food, light recipes, pumpkin, side dish )

I found this recipe in the November issue of Cooking Light (can't say enough about Cooking Light, I always get my money's worth out of that magazine). I was expecting them to be a little more sweet, but they were delicious the way they were. They are only sweetened with honey, so there is a tiny hint of sweetness, but you still get the rich pumpkin spice flavor, and they are wonderfully aromatic. I tried smearing honey on them, as I usually do with biscuits, but it drowned out the pumpkin taste. So I made a very simple cinnamon-sugar (Splenda) butter to go with them, which was a perfect compliment. My kids snarfed these down, my husband loved them and the best news, if you are on WW, only three points a biscuit (or one if you made them teeny-tiny like I did!)

Ingredients

9 oz all purpose flour (about two cups)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

5 TB chilled butter, cut into small pieces (the smaller the pieces, the easier it will be to combine with flour)

1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk

3 TB honey

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles a course meal. Chill 10 minutes.

3. Combine buttermilk, honey and pumpkin, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly four times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch thick) 9x5 inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope, this will give your biscuit it's flaky layers). Reroll dough into a (1/2 inch thick) 9x5 inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4 inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 or until golden (my tiny biscuits only needed seven minutes). Remove from pan; cool two minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.

14 Servings

Serving Size: 1 biscuit

121cal, 4.2g fat, 2.4g prot, 18.4g carb, 0.5g fib, 11mg chol

3 points per serving

Cinnamon Butter

3-4 TB low cal butter

1-2 TB Splenda

1-2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients, add more or less to taste

1/2 tsp=1 pt

Corn Fritters with Roasted Tomatoes and Lime Aioli Filed under ( Appetizers, bread, light recipes, main dishes, meat, veggies )

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away?! It's so hard to believe how fast this month has been going. I am starting to look forward to my turkey and mashed potatoes!

I made this a few months ago as a summer dish, but I also think it would serve as a pretty great appetizer for you Thanksgiving spread. The corn fritters are savory with a hint of sweetness, and paired with the roasted tomatoes, prosciutto and aioli, it's a dynamite combo. And if you're not up for adding another dish to Thanksgiving, it can stand pretty well on it's own, we actually enjoyed these for dinner. Enjoy and happy Wednesday!


Corn Fritters with Roasted Tomatoes and Lime Aioli
By Cooking Light

Ingredients

4 ripe tomatoes, halved (about 1 pound)
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2.25 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (3 ears)
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon cold water
4 cups loosely packed arugula
4 (1/4-ounce) slices prosciutto

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Arrange tomato halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle tomatoes with 1 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bake at 375° for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and have lost a lot of their moisture.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add milk and egg; stir until smooth. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, corn, green onions, and salt.

4. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls into pan to make 6 fritters; cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges are golden. Carefully turn fritters over; cook 2 minutes or until golden. Repeat procedure with remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil and remaining batter.

5. Combine mayonnaise, juice, garlic, and water. Place 1 fritter on each of 4 plates. Top each with 1 tomato half and 1/2 cup arugula. Repeat layers with remaining fritters, tomato halves, and arugula, ending with fritters. Top each serving with 1 prosciutto slice; drizzle with 4 teaspoons aioli.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins Filed under ( berries, bread, Breakfast, lemon, muffins, quick and easy )

Sometimes cold and rainy days are great. You put on your comfies, a sit down to a nice movie or book and enjoy the warmth of your home. Buuuuut then you have days where the weather couldn't have picked a worse day to be cold and rainy. The kids are climbing the walls, trashing the house with every second and driving me absolutely insane. That's when recipes like this are huge life savers. I found this on Recipe Shoebox, a fabulous blog that you should go check out asap. As soon as I found it, I ordered the kids into the kitchen and got to baking. Muffins are so fun to make with kids, they're not complicated, but there are enough steps involved to keep them busy for a while.

The best part is not only are these a snap to make, they are INSANELY delicious. And this is coming from a person that doesn't usually go running to the muffin table. So soft and moist with the best flavor. Lemons and blueberries really were meant for each other. Two days and these bad boys were gone. I can't wait to make them again. Thanks Lara, you saved us on a rainy day!


Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
From the Recipe Shoebox.

Ingredients

2 cups flour (I used King Arthur's white whole wheat flour)
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. cold butter, cut into 6-pieces
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

TOPPING I never did the topping, just covered the top in raw sugar. I imagine the topping is wonderful though!

2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs (you want to be able to see small pea-sized clumps of butter still). In a separate smaller bowl, lightly beat together egg, milk, lemon juice, lemon rind and vanilla until blended. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just blended (do NOT overmix). NOTE: Batter will be somewhat thick.

Fold blueberries into batter. Spoon batter evenly into well-greased muffin pan.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon until well blended. Spread mixture evenly over tops of muffin batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°. Muffins should be golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 12 standard size muffins. Enjoy!

Cheddar Chive Muffins Filed under ( bread )

These were great because they are quite versatile. They have chives in them, which makes them a savory muffin for dinner, but still are just as delicious if you smear honey on them for breakfast. They are also potato based, which makes them so tender and delicious hot out of the oven, sheesh, now I'm craving them again!

1-1/4 cups milk

3/4 cups mashed potato flakes (or pearls)

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1-2/3 cups all purpose flour

3 TB sugar

2 TB minced chives

1 TB dried parsley flakes

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1. In a small saucepan, bring mild to a boil. Remove from the heat; stir in potato flakes. Let stand for 2 minutes. Whip with a fork until smooth; cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl. Beat in the egg, oil and cheese. Combine the flour, sugar, chives, parsley, baking powder and salt; stir into potato mixture just until moistened (batter will be thick).

2. Fill greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Anadama Bread Filed under ( bread, oatmeal )

I'm going to admit a dirty secret to you. I'm not a fan of homemade bread-GASP! I know, I really hope we can all still be friends!

Don't get me wrong, I love a hot buttery slice of homemade bread right out of the oven as much as the next person. But, when it comes to using homemade bread on a regular, day to day basis, mainly sandwiches, I just don't like it. Usually the bread is too dense, or dry, or crumbly. It sits in your esophagus for days since it doesn't seem to absorb any liquid. Not a fan. BUT, a few weeks ago, my friend Kelley had a playgroup involving all sorts of peanut butter sandwiches (emulating the peanut butter place in NY, for those of you that have heard about it). The sandwiches were great, but my favorite part was the soft, nutty and flavorful homemade bread she made it on. So, after hours of begging, crying, pleading and stomping (okay, none of that happened), she gave me the recipe.

It's her dad's recipe and it's delicious! The best part about it is that it makes killer sandwiches. I kid you not, I was just looking for an excuse to make a sandwich every chance I got. It's soft and wholesome and slightly sweet from the molasses. This batch also makes three loaves, and I'm told that it freezes really well, so knock yourself out!

Do any of you have a homemade bread that you love? I've become crazy about baking bread lately, so let me know where the recipe is and I'll try it!

Anadama Bread
By Kelley and her Dad!

Ingredients

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 cups boiling water
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups warm water
2 tsp oil
2 pkges or 2 tbs yeast
5-7 cups flour

Directions

Put oatmeal, corn meal, salt and boiling water in a big bowl, and stir until everything is wet. Wait twenty minutes.

Add molasses, oil and warm water to the bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the mixture. Stir until all the yeast is wet. Add 5 cups of flour to the mix, one at a time, and stir. Add additional flour (probably between 1 and 2 cups) a little at a time until dough sticks together but is not sticky (the dough is still a bit sticky to me, so don't worry too much about that).

Let ball sit for 20-30 minutes. Punch it down and knead it one more time.

Cut ball of dough into thirds, and make a loaf out of each. Place in a greased bread pan and let sit for 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes

Coconut Bread Filed under ( bread, food tip )

Hey guys! I've been slow to post, but I have been making quite a few great things that I think you'll love, so give me a day or two and I will be posting a lot more.

I made this recipe just today for an enrichment activity centering around all things bread. We were instructed to bring one bread dish with accompanied recipe to share. After lots of careful consideration, I went with the easiest option, to make something requiring ingredients that I already had! So I made coconut bread, and it was yummy. Of course, in my opinion, anything with coconut is divine. I understand that there may be an even delicious-er coconut glaze that could be drizzled atop the bread, so if I get my hands on that, I'll be sure to offer an update *wink*!

Coconut Bread

2 cups sugar
¾ cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 tsp coconut extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, stirring just until moistened. Fold in coconut and walnuts.

Pour into two greased 8-in by 14-in by 2-inch loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 60-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

*If you don't have buttermilk on hand (who does), you can easily make your own. Just combine one tablespoon lemon juice with one cup of milk and let sit for ten minutes to thicken. EASY!

Baked Caprese Salad on Ciabatta Filed under ( Appetizers, bread, cheese, quick and easy )

I think one of the biggest reasons I keep food blogging is because of how much I enjoy getting to know my food bloggy friends. Even though we only know each other through the world wide web, I still feel as though I have made great friends who share the same love for food.

However, I also have the pleasure of know two of my food bloggy friends in person, Sara from Sara in the Kitchen, and Alissa from Spunky Girl Eats, and it's been so fun having friends that are perfectly content discussing food for hours on end (because I know I can!). So we finally decided that it was time we come together and enjoy good food and good company for a food blogger's lunch.

I contributed the appetizer and salad, which I will feature tomorrow. I kept the appetizer very simple, but oh so delicious by making a baked caprese salad on ciabatta. I don't think I could possibly ever get enough of the tomato, mozzarella and basil combination, it's without a doubt the best threesome out there (Donna, that's for you!)

This is such a cheesy and flavorful appetizer, and converts very easily into a panini if you'd prefer it as a meal instead. It requires few ingredients and takes about ten minutes to throw together. Just be sure to use FRESH mozzarella. It melts so much better and has such a good flavor, cheesetastic!


Baked Caprese Salad on Ciabatta

Ingredients

1 ciabatta baguette, sliced
1 small block fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly
4-5 Roma or campari tomatoes, sliced
6-7 fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

Place ciabatta slices on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and bake at 400 for 3-5 minutes, or until browned and toasted. Top with 1-2 tomato slices each, sprinkle salt and pepper. Then top with 1 slice of mozzarella. Sprinkle salt and pepper again and bake at 400 for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and just starting to bubble. Just before serving, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle fresh basil. Serve warm.

Be sure to check out Sara and Alissa's blogs for additional fantastic recipes!

Crunchy Cranberry Muffin Tops Filed under ( berries, bread, Breakfast, quick and easy, side dish )

To my absolute delight, my daughter is becoming a little food lover herself. The other day she made me a "salad" which consisted of crushed graham crackers, mixed with orange juice, topped off with some carrot sticks...mmmm. What do you do when your little girl comes up to you with those huge blue eyes and asks you to taste it? So I sucked it up, put on my best acting skills and went in for the kill. It did not. taste. good. However, there was no way I was going to break her little heart by not telling her it was the best salad I've ever had in my life, but I am so full that there is no way I can handle another bite of anything right now!

So after telling my mom about this, she was sweet enough to send my girl her own cookbook of recipes made for kids. It's a William Sonoma cookbook, and I love it because they are easy recipes, but they are also things that I actually want my kids to eat. My daughter loves the cookbook, and I often catch her sitting on the couch leafing through it, makes a mama proud! These muffin tops were the first thing we tried together and they were such a hit. I love the hearty flavor of cornmeal and addition of dried cranberries made them delicious. Great job princess!



Crunchy Cranberry Muffin Tops
Found in Cooking Together

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, buttermilk, butter, and honey. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the cranberries and orange zest and mix well.

3. Drop the batter by large spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, placing them well apart.

4. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 4 minutes. Serve warm with honey.

Panzanella with Balsamico Di Modena Filed under ( bread, cheese, grocery treasures, main dishes, quick and easy, salad, side dish, veggies )

About a month ago I took a trip to Peddler's Village PA. My sister and I had so much fun shopping their cute boutiques, enjoying the beautifully manicured grounds, and eating at their great local pub. I especially loved the several book stores and specialty food and cooking shops that they had there. I spent hours wondering, looking like a glazed over kid in a candy shop. One of the last shops I went to was a fantastic Italian shop called the Casa Casale, with an enthusiastic owner who quickly became my best friend. She let me sample all sorts of stuff, every one as delicious as the last. But then she let me sample this, and I was hooked.

There is a very long and interesting process in making the Balsamic Di Modena, which is a lovely balsamic vinegar. Long story short, it takes at least five years to age, switching from barrel to barrel all made of different woods. It's also incorporated with grapes, figs, juniper berries, cherries, mulberries and a bunch of other good stuff. The finished product is thick like a syrup, and delightfully sweet, along with the rich tanginess of vinegar. I sampled it, giggled like a little girl and immediately bought it. This is one of those products that does not need much at all to compliment it. In fact, you are practically looking for any vehicle you find to prevent yourself from simply drinking it straight from the bottle. It's so delicious on strawberries and melon, it does something completely different to the fruit. If using it on salads, it's recommended to not even mix in oil, or any other ingredient for that matter.

A beautiful product like this calls for beautiful fresh ingredients. I thought panzanella would be perfect, and another first for me. Panzanella is a really simple salad that is usually made of stale bread and tomatoes. I also added chopped red onions, cucumbers, fresh basil and halved bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls). Tossed it with a small amount of the vinegar and kosher salt, and you have sheer loveliness on a plate. I love the sweetness of the Balsamic Di Modena, but it would also be very delicious with any viniagrette. It's a light and healthy salad with a ton of flavor.

BLT Salad Filed under ( bacon, bread, cheese, main dishes, salad, veggies )

Happy Wednesday! I told myself that I would give ourselves a week to recover from our month of travel, but this week is just going by too fast! We've definitely been enjoying laying around watching cartoons. I finally watched Anastasia with my five year old daughter. Do you guys remember that cartoon from the 90's? I may had been in HS when it came out, but I still loved it! It's fun to enjoy those kinds of things with your kids.


This isn't exactly the most groundbreaking salad in the world, most of you have probably had some sort of variation of this before. I still had to post it because my sister and I probably ate this salad about ten times while she stayed the month with me. It's a wonderful summer salad, healthy, but still so flavorful. I got the idea from Cooking Light, which comes with a recipe for a vinaigrette, but in all honesty I just preferred a bottled balsamic or red wine vinaigrette. It's quicker and just as good. My favorite part about the salad was the crusty bread that soaked up all that dressing. It's like biting into little flavor nuggets!

BLT Salad
Adapted from Cooking Light
(Makes 1 salad)

Ingredients

1 serving size of spring lettuce mix
2 slices center cut bacon, cooked crispy and chopped
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup Gorgonzola or feta cheese
1/2 cup ciabatta bread, diced and broiled in oven until crispy and lightly brown
2 tablespoons of preferred vinaigrette
1/4 cup diced avocado (optional)

Directions

Toss all ingredients together, let sit for about five minutes for flavors to combine. Crack open cold beverage of choice and enjoy!

Bananas Fosters Topped Overnight French Toast Filed under ( bananas, bread, Breakfast, light recipes, main dishes )

Maybe I'm way off, but eating healthier doesn't seem to be as hard as it once was. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that as a society, we've become much more aware of what we are putting in our bodies. Grocery stores offer a large variety of fresh produce, whole grain foods, and low-fat products. Restaurants are now required to put the amount of calories next to every dish they serve. Even fast-food restaurants are helping us out by offering healthier sandwiches and sides and making portions smaller.

But another change I've noticed since the first time I did Weight Watchers over ten years ago (TEN!) is that we're learning how to cook really good food without compromising on taste. Gone are the days of a dry piece of chicken with steamed veggies (I literally dry-heaved having to type that) and in are beautiful dishes packed with colors and flavors, as well as nutrition. Less weird ingredients, and way more delicious meals on our plates. I have rarely felt deprived since starting Weight Watchers again in January, something of which I am very grateful of, and has consequently helped me to lose twenty pounds.

One website that I have fallen head-over-heels in love with has been Gina's Skinnytaste blog. All of her recipes have the old and new points value, and every single thing she posts looks crazy delicious, you don't need to be dieting to appreciate her recipes. My husband made this awesome french toast for me for Mother's Day, and as a non-breakfaster, I couldn't have been more excited to gobble this up. It.Was.Amazing. So sweet, so rich, so filling, you must give this a try, the whole family loved it. Check it out here and enjoy!

Green Garlic Bread Filed under ( bread, cheese, quick and easy, side dish )

I totally thought of Sophia from Burp and Slurp when I made this bread. I read a while ago that she has a love for green food, which is a great and healthy color for your food to be!

Of course in this case, I can't necessarily guarantee it to be healthy, but it is dang delicious! I got the idea from Ina Garten who makes an herbed butter, which is really similar. It's very easy to throw together and open to all sorts of variations.

Green Garlic Bread

Ingredients

1 stick of butter
1 handful chopped parsley
1 handful chopped basil
2-3 scallions, roughly chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
Kosher salt
pepper
Parmesan or mozzarella cheese
1 loaf french or Italian bread, cut lengthwise

Directions

Blend butter, herbs, garlic and salt and pepper in a food processor until evenly combined.

Spread over garlic bread and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes, or until cheese gets brown and bubbly and the edges of the bread are crispy.

Poppy Seed Bread Filed under ( bread )

This recipe is so yummy. I got this from a Lanae -one of my first friends in Omaha!

Poppy Seed Bread

3 eggs, beaten

1 ½ cups milk

1 1/8 cups oil

2 ¼ cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 ½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp. poppy seeds

1 ½ tsp almond flavoring

1 ½ tsp butter flavoring

Glaze:

¾ cup powdered sugar

¼ cup orange juice

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp almond flavoring

½ tsp butter flavoring

Combine eggs, milk, oil and sugar. Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture. Add vanilla, poppy seeds, almond and butter flavorings. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for approximately one hour. Run a knife around the edge of the bread to loosen and allow to cool 5-10 min. Poke holes in top of bread and pour glaze over top. Let bread set for 15 minutes; then remove from pan.

Printable Version

Mexican Cornbread Filed under ( Beef, bread, Mexican )

Life is insane right now so I went with one of my standby recipes that I have been making for years. I got this recipe about 20 years ago from Diane - a teacher friend when I taught high school. Nothing fancy but the flavors just work together and everyone in my house enjoys - even my picky middle daughter! Jenna actually said this is one of her favorites! I did take a picture of the final product but this recipe just isn't very photogenic. I promise - it tastes much better than it looks.

Mexican Cornbread

1 lb ground beef
chopped onion (I used minced onion)
1 small can green chiles
2 beaten eggs
2 cups cream style corn
2/3 cup milk
1 - 8.5 oz pkg Jiffy Cornbread mix
4-6 slices American Cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Brown ground beef with onions and drain off excess fat. Add green chiles and set aside. Combine eggs, 1 cup of corn and milk with cornbread mix. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour half of batter in a greased 9 inch square pan. Top with beef, cheese slices and remaining cup of corn. Pour remaining half of batter on top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until brown on top. Serve with green salad and ENJOY!

Lion House Orange Rolls Filed under ( bread, Breakfast, fruit, rolls )

A while back I found this gem on Katy's blog Food for a Hungry Soul. Have you visited her yet? If not, you really must, she's always got such gorgeous pictures and recipes on her blog. So while I was wondering what I should make for Mother's Day brunch (that's right, I make my own brunch, I wouldn't appreciate being forced out of the kitchen on my own day!) these orange rolls came to mind. You can find the link to the recipe here.

Not only were these completely delicious, but they were so much fun to make. This was my first time doing any kind of pastry like this, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Since I did get a little confused at how we were supposed to cut them, I figured I'd take pictures of how I did it...after Glenn explained it to me. I loved rolling these up, it was like play dough for grown ups!



Definitely give yourself enough time if you plan to make these, as you do have to wait for the dough to rise etc. But I promise they will be worth every second! Thanks again Katy!

And hey, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I wish sunshine, good company and great food your way!

A different way to enjoy your waffles... Filed under ( bread, Breakfast, light recipes )

...or French toast, or pancakes...

Tell me something, has anyone else noticed their stomachs becoming more sensitive as you've gotten older? I know that's a weird question, but as the years have been ticking by, I just can't handle being able to binge and gorge like I used to. I remember in HS, being able to down loads of candy, cookies and all sorts of sugary laden sodas without thinking twice, but now? Forget about it. One cookie too many and I've got a gut ache from hell. It's really not a bad thing, it's like my own little biological alarm system to keep me from completely overdoing it, I just wonder if anyone else has the same problem. Of course, it doesn't always stop me from shoving sugar in my face, I just deal with being uncomfortable, and it's usually worth it.

So, in honor of my inability to pound the sugar, I thought I'd share with you a delicious, but lower sugar option for your breakfast carbcakes. I LOVE pancakes, waffles etc, and I especially love them when they are smothered in melty butter and drowning in REAL maple syrup that has been warmed. Oh my gosh, I need a moment...

BUT, early in the morning, eating like that would most likely ruin my day given my tender precious belly, so I've started eating waffles the way my mom does, and it's really not that bad. A few teaspoons of sour cream and your favorite jam, jelly or marmalade. It might sound weird, but it's actually quite fantastic. The sour cream gives a tangy kick which goes great with the sweetness of your jam. And of course, trying to cut calories as much as possible, I use a fat free sour cream and a sugar free jam, which in my mind is much better then sugar free syrup. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

And if you really can't handle using sour cream, a flavored, plain or vanilla yogurt would also be delicious.