A blog about life, adventure, and good food.
This week’s cook book recipe is again, from Giada at Home. Banana bread is something that can be enjoyed any time of the day. This recipe intrigued me mostly because of the addition of the blueberries. The buttery banana bread really pops with the juicy, sweet blueberries.
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The slow cooker is really an amazing appliance that I feel everyone should own. It is the perfect way to get a heads start on your dinner plans. You can prep everything the night before, turn the cooker on in the morning, and just let it take care of business while you’re off on your busy day. By the time you get home your kitchen will be filled with the aromas of your upcoming meal.
One of my favorite one pot dishes to prep in the slow cooker is Turkey Chili. Chili is one of my favorite comfort foods. The best part about it is you can really throw anything you want into it. Switch up the meat with beef or chicken or even go vegetarian! There are loads of different beans and veggies that can be added as well. Below is my favorite version. Pair it with a big chunk of corn bread and you have yourself a delicious meal.
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Nothing tastes better than a cup of hot tea and a scone. It really just gives you a chance to sit back and relax for a few minutes letting your worries and stresses of the day pass you by just for a moment. I found this recipe in the Giada at Home cookbook by, you guessed it, Giada De Laurentiis. Sticking with my goal of creating a recipe from my cookbooks, I thought this would be perfect for the upcoming holiday. The scones can be cut into cut little heart shapes to give to your sweetheart. These scones are a great mix of sweet and savory, allowing them to be a great treat any time of the day.
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I have quite a few cook books with dozens of delicious recipes. However, since the creation of Pinterest I have found myself turning towards the web rather than the hardcover. I decided to give myself a challenge and utilize my books by creating a recipe from them at least once a week.
My favorite Food Network star has to be Giada De Laurentiis. She creates dishes that are fun, creative, and most of the time healthy. This past November her cookbook Feel Good Food was released. I received it as a Christmas gift. She created healthy, delicious recipes for any meal. One recipe that caught my eye (mostly because I seemed to have all of the ingredients) was her Cinnamon Kettle Corn. I decided to give it try for a delicious after dinner snack.
Did you ever wonder how someone comes up with a new recipe? What get’s their creative juices flowing to figure out how to combine a few ingredients into a delicious dish? Well today my sister Michele and I did just that. Now I could just describe the recipe to you all per usual but I really think it would be more fun for you to see how we came up with it. Keep in mind that Michele and I work for the same company. So, we are able to communicate easily throughout the day via IM.
It’s crazy to think that five weeks has gone by already…five weeks since the last time I hosted Girl’s Night! Deciding what to make is always a challenge. We’ve had a lot of delicious and different meals over the past month so I want to keep up the trend. I toyed around with a few different ideas and finally settled on Fettuccine Alfredo. It is something we have never enjoyed before over the past, however many years. I have not made this from scratch since Culinary School so I’m a little rusty. I wanted to find a good recipe so I perused pinterest, per usual. One of my favorite food blogs had a “skinny” version which was perfect because I had almost all of the ingredients in my arsenal. Gimme Some Oven makes an appearance at Girl’s Night often. We find their recipes fun and delcious, and usually very simple!
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My girlfriend Ashley’s daughter’s birthday is at the end of December. Every year, she and her husband host a party after the holidays have passed and things have calmed down. Ashley is a very creative person and really comes up with great ideas for a kids birthday party. Each year the theme has been a different children’s book. This year’s theme is based around the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. It has been tradition that I make the dessert for any of my little lady’s events. Sticking with the cookie theme, we decided to make cupcakes with chocolate chip cookies. As a little surprise for the family, I also made a small cake to look like a chocolate chip cookie. This was perfect for blowing out the candles! (more…)
Most of you probably know we got hit with a pretty killer Nor’easter today. After running around with the beast and attempting to shovel half of the driveway (the 1960’s snow blower scares me just a tad), I was ready for something warm and toasty. I had all of the ingredients for this tortellini soup. It’s quick to make and very fulfilling. Enjoy!
Ingredients
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
2 gloves of garlic, minced
32 oz. chicken or vegetable stock
15 oz. tomato sauce
1 tablespoon oregano
salt & pepper to taste
Pecorino Romano (optional)
Directions
Pour about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a cast iron pot.
Add in the onions and garlic along with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Add in the carrots and celery and sauté until the vegetables are al dente.
Pour in the stock, tomato sauce, oregano, and a touch more of salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil then simmer until vegetables are tender.
Return the liquid to a boil and add in frozen tortellini.
Allow tortellini to cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until they start to rise to the top.
Remove from heat and top with Pecorino Romano cheese.
Serve immediately.
Servings: 4-6
There is no better way to spend a snowy Sunday in December than to bake up a bunch of cookies for the Holidays. We spent the morning digging out the driveway after the storm that brought us about 12 inches of snow. After throwing on a cozy sweater, I decided I would spend the rest of the afternoon baking up some delicious treats. This past week I have already made the HERSHEY’S Candy Cane Blossoms that I previously posted, as well as, a small batch of cut out sugar cookies. I might as well add a few more to the list.
Here is today’s line up:
1. Peanut Butter Cookies
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies
Peanut Butter cookies are very easy to be made from scratch. However, I always keep a package of Betty Crocker cookie mix for when I’m in a pinch and need to whip up a dessert fairly quickly. I had a package of Peanut Butter cookie mix in the pantry so I decided to use that up. I must say though, they come out better than most homemade PB cookies I’ve had in the past. The mix is super easy; just follow the instructions and you’ll be good to go. The package makes just under 2 dozen cookies. However, I’m sure you could squeeze in a few more if you make your cookies a bit smaller. These can also can be made into Peanut Butter blossoms with a little HERSHEY’S kiss.
There are a few variations for Chocolate Chip Cookies. My tried and true method is the good ole’ Nestle Toll House recipe. The cookies come out perfect every time. Once in awhile I like to use milk chocolate chips for a touch of sweetness. And of course, I leave a few cookies on the side without chocolate chips for Nick. You may find the recipe attached to the link above.
The last set of cookies I made today were Cream Cheese Thumbprint cookies. There are many variations of thumbprint cookies. I had some leftover cream cheese to get rid of so I decided to use them in this particular batch. This recipe came from a variation of Kraft’s Thumbprint Cookies.
Ingredients
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Fruit preserve of choice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add in flour and baking soda.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Place on baking sheet and indent centers.
Bake for 10 minutes. Take the cookies out of the oven and place the preserve into the center of each cookie. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.
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| Image found off Google. |
I figured I might as well round out the Thanksgiving Series with what some people say is the best part of Thanksgiving…leftovers! As I have previously mentioned, I hosted the meal this year. My mom decided that she wanted to make a smaller turkey at home so that they could have their own leftover turkey sandwiches. This in turn left myself and Nick with a good amount of food in the fridge. I was determined to use all of it though in one form or another. Neither of us like waste and I also did not want to have to eat a Thanksgiving dinner every day. So, with the help of the internet and my somewhat creative mind, I created a few other concoctions with all of the remaining dishes.
Potato Pancakes
This is probably a fairly common dish made with leftover mashed potatoes. They are simple and delicious and take very little time to prepare. I had just about 3 1/2 cups of potatoes left over which was just enough for 8 pancakes. I combined the mashed potatoes with about 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (leftover from the cheese platter), 1 beaten egg, 3 tablespoons of flour, and a handful of chopped green onion. After forming the pancakes, I coated each side with flour and fried each side until golden brown. The fry pan had just enough oil to coat the bottom. Top with a dollop of sour cream and you have yourself a delicious snack or side dish.
Fried Green Beans
I had a decent amount of green beans that I never cooked. I found a recipe for Beer Batter Fried Green Beans. For a dipping sauce, Nick’s brother combined horseradish sauce, ketchup, and hot sauce.
Cream of Turkey & Vegetable Soup
This is a good way to use up a lot of your leftovers. You can throw just about anything into soup.
I used the remainder of the turkey stock I had prepared, turkey of course, and basically all of the vegetables that were left over.
Turkey “Bolognese”
This week was my turn to host Girls Night. I still had a decent amount of turkey left and figured this was a good opportunity to use a lot of it up. I perused the internet for different ideas. I then came across a turkey bolognese recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis. Though I did not make it exactly how she described, her recipe still gave me the idea. I pulled out some of my frozen pasta sauce I had made a few weeks ago. I added in shredded pieces of the turkey breast and poured it over spaghetti. I made a caesar salad and cut up fresh Italian bread and we enjoyed a very hearty meal.
Turkey Salad
After I had prepared all of the above dishes, I STILL had about half of a breast left. I was running out of ideas of what to make. I noticed an apple (leftover from the stuffing) sitting on the counter and thought to myself, I could do a spin off of a chicken salad. So I cut up the turkey breast into bite sized pieces and combined with the chopped up apple and slivered almonds. I then mixed in my desired amount of mayonnaise (some like a lot, some like a little)…add a little salt and pepper. Voila! Turkey Salad! It actually was pretty tasty. I liked having the apple in there for a touch of tartness. For a little more jazz add in some leftover cranberry sauce to the mix as well.