Our Christmas Filed under ( Appetizers, cheese, holiday food, onions, quick and easy, veggies )

The few days after Christmas is always a little bitter-sweet isn't it. You start boxing up your decorations, cleaning out your fridge and reminisce over Christmases past. We just barely cleaned up from Christmas, including vacuuming about ten pounds of dead pine needles. It feels good to have our house back to normal, but there's also a small emptiness it leaves behind.

We had such a lovely Christmas this year. Normally we go back to Idaho to spend it with family, but this year we stayed in Philly and kept things fairly quiet. I was a little homesick, but ultimately it was really nice not to have to travel and we got to establish traditions for our own little family.

Once of those traditions has always been to eat nothing but appetizers on Christmas Eve and watch Christmas movies until we go to bed. It's a lot of fun and adds to the excitement of the upcoming morning.

Since I was too excited to dig in, my pictures are less then blogworthy, but here's what we enjoyed Christmas Eve with the help of some friends...

Mini Caprese Skewers sitting in a layer of pesto, one of my favorite combos of all time!

I tried my hand at another cheese platter this year. Brie, Gouda and a very pungent Stilton made for a very delicious cheese platter, along with fruit and crackers. The Gouda was by far the crowd pleaser. This was actually my first time trying it and it just might be my new favorite cheese.

We also had a veggie tray, green olives, cured meats, a shrimp platter and a french onion dip with potato chips.
Gotta have chocolate chip cookies for Santa, they're his favorite ;)

Homemade baklava brought by our friends. It was so delicious that my husband ate some despite his pecan allergy. He said it was worth it.


Cream puffs, so easy to pop in my mouth, which is exactly what I did.

These were easily the star of the show. Baguette with Brie and caramelized onions. My friend brought these and I ate about four of them. The onions are sweet and the cheese is creamy, making these an almost dessert-like treat. With the extra Brie left in my fridge, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing for New Years!

There were also bacon wrapped scallops and water chestnuts, but I'm pretty sure they were eaten too quickly for pictures. And while I think I'm still full a week later from this feast, what are the holidays without good food right? I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season too, enjoy your last two days of 2010!

A Very Bloggy Christmas Filed under ( bars, chocolate, Cookies, dessert, holiday food, mint, peanut butter )

Initially I didn't plan to do this, I was just going to start fresh for the new year. But I just don't feel right about letting these wonderful treats go without giving credit and thanks to the bloggers who posted them.

I basically found all of my baking and treat ideas from the blogosphere this year, and while I didn't get to make near as many things as I would have liked, what I did make turned out ah-mazing! Here are some of the reasons my pants no longer fit :)




I absolutely could not go an entire Christmas season without making my all time favorite Christmas cookie, the Peanut Butter Blossom! So quick and easy, and when I say easy, I mean easy to stuff about ten down my throat at once! I know this recipe isn't much of a secret, but I always visit my aunts cookie blog, Sugarbliss for the recipe every year. Thanks Rebecca!




I found this sweet Holiday Chex Mix on Cooking with Cristine. Look at those adorable homemade Santa hats! So simply made by dipping bugles into red or cherry chocolate, and then into white for the trim. This was a pretty and delicious treat to pass out to friends. Thanks Cristine!




When I found these Creme-de-Menthe bars on Joanne's blog, Eats Well with Others, my oven was still broken and I could barely stand to wait to make this. Rich chocolatey brownies, with a creamy, minty, butter cream center, and a shell-like chocolate finish to this brownies from heaven, made for a very happy Teresa. No one else in my family is big into the mint-chocolate combo (crazies!) so I ate half the pan, and the other half is in the freezer just biding their time until I decide to cheat on my New Year's diet. Oh Joanne, how I love these bars!





And last, but certainly not least, Peppermint Thumbprint Cookie Cups from Barbara Bakes. Okay, so I did cheat a bit by just adding kisses instead of "thumbprinting" them, but I guarantee that either way you make them, you'll love them! Thanks so much Barbara!

And thanks to Blogland for providing us with SO many Christmas goodies, stories and heartfelt wishes. Even if I didn't make your treats, rest assured I imagined their smells and tastes and enjoyed a bit of the season with you! Enjoy the rest of your break and Happy New Year!

Creme De Menthe Brownies Filed under ( dessert, food tip, holiday food, party food )

Okay, it's no surprise at this point that I am a huge fan of the mint chocolate, especially at Christmas time. So, last year, while dedicating my life to the Food Network channel, Paula Deen blessed my life with mint brownies from heaven! These brownies are AMAZING and so rich. I just add entire Andes mints into the brownies, rather then the chips, mostly because mint chips are hard to come by here in Philly. Also, if you want a serious mint brownie, add mint extract into the frosting rather then vanilla. And for those of you that aren't mint fans (I got your back Jordan!), just add regular chocolate chips and you will have some killer fudgy brownies.


Thanks Paula Deen!!

Ingredients
1 cups (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 (10-ounce) package Creme de Menthe baking chips (recommended: Andes)
Shaved Creme de Menthe thins (recommended: Andes)
Chocolate frosting

Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, mixing well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Fold in mint chips. Spoon into greased pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

While brownies are baking, prepare frosting. Combine butter, cocoa, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until dry ingredients are moistened. Beat at high speed until spreading consistency.

Remove pan from the oven and allow brownies to cool in pan on wire rack. Spread with chocolate frosting. Top with shaved mint thins.



*Baking Tip: If you plan to plate your bars, but hate that awkward process of cutting them and then digging them out of your pan, bake them in parchment paper. Then, once they are cooled and frosted, just lift them out of the pan, peel away the paper (it sticks to nothing), and you will be able to cut and plate them very cleanly and easily.

Swedish pancakes Filed under ( Breakfast, holiday food )

These pancakes were actually discovered and prepared by my husband, who is the breakfast guru at our house. They are delicious, and pretty; great for the holidays. They have the flavor of a pancake, but the consistency and flavor of a crepe, so if you are a fan of both you're set. I would also highly recommend eating them with your favorite berry syrup.

Ingredients

2 cups milk

4 eggs

1 TB canola oil

1-1/2 cups flour

3 TB sugar

1/4 tsp salt

favorite berry syrup, or warmed jam or fruit spread

whipped cream

Directions

1. In a blender, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and process until blended. Heat a lightly greased 8-inch nonstick skillet; pour 1/4 cup batter into center of each. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer.

2. Repeat with remaining batter, adding oil to skillet as needed. Stack pancakes with waxed paper or paper towels in between. Reheat in the microwave if desired.

3. Fold pancake into quarters; serve with syrup and whipped topping.

Ebelskivers Filed under ( Breakfast, holiday food )

A few years ago I had breakfast with some friends who served me these delicious pancake balls. They were so cute, and so fun and all I could keep thinking was what a fun holiday tradition. You know, it could be one of those things where years later, while my kids list off our holiday traditions they would always add "and mom made ebelskivers every Christmas morning!" So I went home, got online and bought the special ebelskiver pan on the spot, Christmas spirit in tow.

As of yet, I haven't actually had the opportunity to make these for Christmas morning, but we do make them often and the kids LOVE them, especially my boy, who is a picky little bugger. The fun part about them is that you stuff them with your favorite filling, so you can really go crazy experimenting. Our favorite is frozen blueberries that have been thawed and macerated in sugar. But you can fill them with applesauce, strawberries, raspberries, I've even heard of using pie filling, like pumpkin! You can sprinkle them with powdered sugar or soak them in your favorite syrup. The Ebelskiver pans are easy to find, on the internet at least. I would start at Amazon, or Williams Sonoma and start there. If you are looking for a cool breakfast idea, I would give these babies a whirl!

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated

1 TB sugar

2 cups cake flour (regular works fine too)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup melted shortening

Scant 2 cups milk

Berries of choice for filling

Directions

Beat egg yolk, beat in sugar. Combine dry ingredients. Add alternately with shortening and milk. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Fold into batter. Grease ebelskiver pan. Heat until smoking. Fill depressions with about 1/2 tsp, add filling, cover filling with another half tsp. When cooked on bottom, turn with two forks, or just use a spoon and your fingers, careful not to burn yourself! Cook the other side. Regrease pan between batches.

Black Forest Tart, and my first award! Filed under ( dessert, holiday food )

I'm kind of excited about this, and I have to thank Priscilla, from Priscilla Bakes for this cute award! I strongly recommend her blog for any of you baking fans, she's got some great recipes, and beautiful pictures to go with them, so fun!

So, I'd like to pass this on to Rebecca's Sugarbliss etc blog, which is an awesome blog with very fun and creative ideas for you fellow bakers.

I'd also like to pass this one to Melanie, at My Kitchen Cafe (link on side). I check her blog regularly for fun and family friendly recipes, and I love it!

Okay, now for the food! I LOVE Christmas time because it means Christmas FOOD! There is nothing better then spending a cold afternoon in the kitchen baking goods while the rich aroma fills your home. Mmmm, magic!

This was my first holiday endeavor, which I made for my husband's birthday. He is a fan of anything chocolate, especially when it includes cherries. And I don't know what it is about tarts, but I really love them. They are a bit denser and more concentrated in flavor then a pie, and in a way they remind me of a big cookie! This was a lot of fun to make, and as you can see, it doesn't come out too hard on the eyes either!

If you haven't bought a tart pan yet, be sure to get one with a removable bottom, it will make your life so much easier! Also, if you ever have a pastry that requires this kind of topping that you drizzle, a little trick I discovered is to get a disposable pastry bag, which are really cheap at the craft store, or just a plastic bag, fill it with your topping, snip off the very tip and pipe it on. This way it comes out looking a lot more uniform and you don't run the risk of clumps.

Also, this tart will be the very best if served the day you make it.

Ingredients

1 -1/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs

1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cups butter melted

filling:

1/2 cup butter

6 squares (1 ounce each) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

3 eggs

2/3 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cups all purpose flour

topping:

1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling

2 squares (1 ounce each) semi sweet chocolate, chopped

1 TB heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine wafer crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a lightly greased 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until thickened, about 4 minutes. Blend in chocolate mixture. Add flour, mix well.

3. Pour into crust; spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Spread pie filling over the top. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave on high for 20-30 seconds or until chocolate is melted; stir until smooth. Cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over tart. Chill until set.

12 servings

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Rice Pudding Filed under ( dessert, holiday food, pumpkin )

I have to thank Picky Palate (link in side bar), for this wonderful recipe. This was another one of those experiences where I happened to have a ridiculous amount of brown rice in my fridge, as well as about a cup of pumpkin, I have weird leftovers. Anyway, I was so excited to find this recipe because it looks like the epitome of a comforting fall treat, as well as a great way to spare my leftovers from going to waste, one of my biggest pet peeves! I was a little apprehensive to use brown rice in a rice pudding, but it actually plumped up great and did the job. Of course, that isn't to say that the jasmine rice wouldn't be so much creamier and delicious! If you are a fan of rice pudding, you must try this recipe.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Rice Pudding

Ingredients

3 Cups cooked jasmine rice
2 ½ Cups 2% milk
¾ Cup prepared pumpkin puree, such as Libby’s
½ Cup granulated sugar
¼ Cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 inch cinnamon stick (I didn't have and it turned out fine)
1 fresh vanilla bean (I just added a tsp vanilla extract)

Directions
1. Place cooked rice, milk, pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and cinnamon stick into a medium dutch oven or heavy bottom pan over medium low heat. Stir to combine. Split vanilla bean in half length wise and scrape out the seeds with the back of the knife. Add seeds and split bean into rice mixture; stir to combine. Let rice simmer for 15-20 minutes or until thick and creamy. Before serving discard vanilla bean halves and cinnamon stick. Sprinkle tops of each bowl with brown sugar if desired.
6 servings

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

Dinner in a Pumpkin Filed under ( holiday food, main dishes, pumpkin )

Being new to this whole food blog experience, it has dawned on me now that this is probably one of those things that I should have posted about a month ago, and not after Halloween. Forgive the rookie? Anyway, this is one of those dishes that is full of nostalgia for me because my mom has made this every Halloween for as long as I can remember. I know it seems weird to eat something that was cooked in a pumpkin, but it is so delicious and very comforting. Plus, if you like winter squash, then you will love the soft cooked pumpkin on the inside, mmm. It's like a cross between spaghetti squash and butternut squash, and now that I'm an adult, it's probably my favorite part. You should really try this at least once, it won't disappoint.

Ingredients:

1 small-medium pumpkin

1 onion chopped

1 lb hamburger

2 TB soy sauce

2 TB brown sugar

1 can cream of chicken soup

1-2 cups of cooked rice

1 can sliced water chestnuts

Directions:

Cut off top of pumpkin and clean. Saute meat and onions until cooked-drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar and soup. Simmer 10 minutes. Add rice adn water chestnuts. Spoon into pumpkin and replace top. Place pumpkin on cookie sheet. Bake one hour or until tender.

Happy Easter! Filed under ( food tip, ham, holiday food, meat )

I know I'm always apologizing for my photography, this is not the most visually appealing picture, but I devoured this thing once the camera clicked off!

If I could afford it, I would make this in advance so it was actually useful for Easter, but alas, we are but poor college students! I hope everyone had a great Easter Sunday. I know that we did, I really love Easter, it's Springtime, it's meaningful, and it's so much fun with young kids. But let us not forget the food.

I made my usual ham, potatoes, etc. this year, but I just wanted to give a tip. Most hams come with those little glaze packets to baste on while the ham is baking. I don't like to do it, mostly because there are just some people that don't like to add anything sweet to their meat. So, instead, I get it thickened up on the stove top, and then add about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of pineapple juice, with the pineapple rings or chunks. This dilutes the glaze, and thins it out, so that if anyone wants the glaze, they can just drizzle as much as they want, and it's SO delicious, especially with the pineapple. I've also added cinnamon, honey, cloves, a lot of how you flavor it depends a lot on the glaze itself, so far they've all been different. Anyway, maybe this will help next time you make a ham! Lots of great stuff coming up this week, stay tuned and enjoy the spring!

Tiny Spinach Quiches Filed under ( Appetizers, bacon, cheese, eggs, holiday food, party food, pie, quiche, spinach )

I have a thing for tiny bite-sized food. Having kids might have something to do with that, but it also makes for the most convenient party food. It doesn't require silverware, rarely even a napkin. You pop it in your mouth, no plate, no commitment, and then you grab a second.

I actually made these today for an Easter Egg hunt. I figured we could use an adult snack in the midst of the sugar frenzy we were about to be surrounded in. Truth be told, they're a bit of work, but they're also fun when you're looking for a nice project in the kitchen to focus on. The pastry is quick and easy to make, but next time I'm just going to buy a pie crust, it will save me a lot of time and work. The best thing about the quiches is that they make a great appetizer, but they'd also be a hit as a breakfast or brunch item. Plus, I love that bright green color, so nice for spring.

Tiny Spinach Quiches
Adapted from Favorite Brand Name Appetizers

Ingredients

Pastry:
3 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup flour

Filling:
5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup grated Swiss cheese (I used Mont Jack and Mozzarella)
1 small package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 eggs
3/4 cup light cream (I used fat free half and half)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. To prepare pastry, cut cream cheese and butter into flour. Form into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour. Lightly flour rolling pin. Place pastry on lightly floured work surface, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 16 circles with 3 inch biscuit cutter. Line sixteen mini muffin cups with dough circles.

2. To prepare filling, preheat oven to 375. Sprinkle bacon, then cheese, evenly over bottoms of unbaked pastries. Squeeze spinach dry and spread evenly over bacon and cheese. In medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour evenly into pastry cups. Bake 30 minutes, or until set.

If you'd like to make this into a pie, pour into 9-inch pie crust.

Smile for the camera kids! Smile! Kids!

Happy Easter!!!

What I Learned on My Spring Break Filed under ( dessert, holiday food, my life )

Hello my friends! I have surely missed all of you, and from the looks of it, I've got some mouthwatering catching up to do!

Our staycation with Glenn's family has sadly come to an end and we've been booted back to reality. We sure had a lovely time though, and spent the week exploring all sorts of different areas in Philly, DC, Ocean City and more. And, true to my form, the week was also spent enjoying all kinds of FOOD! And I learned a few things. So, in my classic 5th grade essay manner, I will share what I learned on my Spring Break.


Cooking with loved ones is always much more fun than cooking alone (I'm in the black). Also, cooking an entire Thanksgiving feast in the middle of March is completely acceptable.

It might not be the prettiest way, but roasted turkey in the bag is still my favorite way to do it. Sorry Alton.

I'm still not a huge fan of pie, but I do really love a nice tangy lemon meringue pie. And a bit of grated cheddar cheese on the top of an apple pie makes it all the better!

These things...pretty good!

After reading and watching Julie and Julia (if you liked the movie, you'll love the book, she gets a lot more into the food), I too can get into the LONG line of people that are in love with Julia Child. This is me in front of the replica of her kitchen at the Smithsonian. What I would give for a chance to cook with her!

I'm in love with this picture. She looks like so much fun!


It doesn't matter what I make for Glenn, I'll just never be able to make him happy like this place can...sigh. :-)

Waffles, made with regular cake batter, covered in ice cream and hot fudge makes for a right dandy dessert. Give it a try!

The Reading Terminal in Philly does have a Creperie (I finally found it!), and it's fantastic! This one is filled with chicken, pesto, cheese and all sorts of veggies, delish!

The Shady Maple Smorgasbord, outside of Lancaster, PA is still one of the best buffets I've ever been to. If you're ever in the area, be sure to go, even if you're not a buffet fan. You'll get a taste for good homemade Mennonite cooking, it's well worth the drive!

The Pop Shop, a place that Bobby Flay had a grilled cheese throwdown is a place that I never get sick of. They have a huge menu of different grilled cheese sandwiches, and I recommend going with someone who will order something different and trade with you. I've burned through the menu a lot quicker that way hee hee! My sissy-in-law shared her Haddon with me, which is possibly my very favorite so far. Salty ham, sweet caramelized apples with cheddar cheese on a rich grainy bread, a big messy piece of heaven!



And this is me at my happiest. Okay, I didn't just learn that, but it was definitely reaffirmed! See how my pinky is raised, I'm fancy like that.

And since I don't quite know how to wrap up my posts, here's a picture of me and my guy at the beach. What a great time we had, and my belly was quite happy as well. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the gym!