Pasta Bake

One of the nice things about my pantry is that I almost always have pasta on hand.  So for me an easy and quick weeknight dinner is to cook up some pasta and then throw in whatever I happen to have on hand.  So here is a quick run down of some of the combinations that I use to add to a box of pasta.  The directions are pretty simple:

Cook pasta al dente
Add additions (be sure to cook veggies before adding to the pasta or they may not cook completely while baking)
Place in greased baking dish
Put shredded cheese over top
Bake 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees

Favorite Addition Combinations:

1. Jar of red sauce, half a bag of frozen spinach, mini turkey pepperoni, chopped eggplant (already cooked)
2. Can of diced tomatoes w/ juice and can tomato paste, Italian seasoning, cooked mushrooms, half a bag of frozen spinach and ricotta cheese layered in the middle of two layers of pasta with tomatoes
3. Jar of red sauce and block of cream cheese mixed together, fresh spinach, chopped chicken breast
4. Jar of alfredo sauce, parmesean cheese, asparagus (cooked), drained diced tomatoes
5. Parmesean cheese, butter, italian seasoning, asparagus (cooked)

My only warning is this...the more you add, the bigger it gets, so be careful or you may end up with more than you anticipated!

Eggs in a Basket with Creamed Spinach

I love going into the fridge and coming up with a new twist on an old favorite using what I already have available. So this morning when I was craving something hearty and healthy I decided to make Eggs in a Basket topped with some shredded Gruyere cheese and Creamed spinach. It turned out delicious and was the perfect combination of salty, creamy, and crunchy.

Eggs in a Basket with Creamed Spinach

1 slice of bread
1 egg
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fist full of spinach leaves
2 tbs. cream
1/4 c. shredded Gruyere cheese (approximate amount; you can also use swiss cheese)

Cut a hole in the middle of the bread slice (I use a 1/3 measuring cup to do it).

Heat pan on medium, add olive oil to coat bottom of the pan. When hot, place bread in pan, slide it around a bit to coat with oil then flip and do that to the other side. This will coat both sides with oil so the bread doesn't stick.
Crack egg into the hole in the bread. You can break the yolk or leave it as is depending on how you like your eggs.
Then add salt and pepper to taste. Cook on that side until the bread is browned and the egg and bread slide easily around the pan.
Very carefully flip the slice of bread and egg. Allow to cook until bread is browned. If you want the yolk more done, then reduce the heat so that it doesn't cook at quickly.
Shred the cheese over top of the egg and bread while it is in the pan.
When done, place bread on a plate. Add a bit more oil to the pan and add the spinach. I don't chop the spinach. As it starts to wilt, add the cream and some more salt and pepper. Stir it around in the pan until all the spinach is cooked. The cream might boil a bit, that is okay since it will reduce the liquid. Place ontop of the egg and bread.

Mini Caprese Salad

Berry Trifle with Orange Cream, Mini Caprese Salads and Chocolate Covered Strawberries (all chocolate dipping was done by a co-worker and so I unfortunately can't take credit for the beautiful platter on the end pic!)

I recently hosted a happy hour for my department for two fabulous women who are retiring. I enjoy hosting as it gives me an excuse to beak out my nice dishes and really give my house a good cleaning. As I was racking my brain for something light and healthy, but also a finger food (two things that don't always go together) when I came across a great idea from Barbara Bakes. She put the mini salad on an entire skewer, but I was looking for something a bit more compact than that. So I decided why not use a toothpick. I bought a container of the mini mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. I stacked a tomato, piece of basil leaf and then a motz ball. They ended up fitting perfectly. I finished with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. They were a huge hit!

Pasta a la Leftovers

Let me start by saying that growing up we learned to be very creative in the kitchen. When I would go to a friends house and we would get a snack, I was always amazed at the quantity of food in their fridge. It was not like that at my house. Not that we never had a packed fridge, just that more often than not, it was full of very random things or very little at all. So my sisters and I have basically learned how to create something from just about nothing, or remix leftovers into something completely different.

The best way to do the remix dinner is to start with pasta, something that was always lurking in the back of the pantry. In the summer we could always rely on veggies from the garden to create something delicious.

This evening I did some scrounging in my fridge to put together a tasty dinner since I was just back from a weekend away and the pickings were slim.

Here is what I was able to come up with:
1 zucchini
1/2 a jar of homemade bruschetta (tomatoes, garlic, onion, dried basil)
A sprinkle of fire roasted dried tomato bits
Parmesan Cheese
Pasta

Everything except for the pasta and parm went into the pan to cook with a bit of olive oil.

I boiled my new fun shaped pasta from Marshall's (they carry the best random food items to cook with). By the time the zucchini was cooked through, but NOT mushy (nothing worse than mushy veggies!) the bruschetta had cooked down to create a thick-ish sauce. I placed that over the drained pasta and topped it with some grated parm cheese and it was tasty, quick and very easy.

Addressing the Cake Pop Trend Part 1

It finally took some convincing by my friend Claire from grad class, but I have attempted the cake pop! In the end, I was quite satisfied with the results and would definitely make them again. I am including here lots of pictures, since it is definitely a long process, as well as my notes, tips and trick to getting this recipe to work. It was not "hard" however there are things that I know now that will make it easier the second time around... don't worry, I will share!

First though, to address the cake pop phenomenon! Like any other person I started by Googling "cake pops" to gather some research.

I found some absolutely wonderful and inspirational photos, recipes, as well as tips. Listed here are some of my favorites, but the true cake pop master is Bakerella. Check out that blog for fabulous and awe-inspiring baked anything!

Here are some others that I found helpful to guide me through my cake pop journey:

The Kitchn - Great instructions for getting started! This is where I got most of my help.

Bakerella Flicker - Oh to be so talented!

Just a Bite - Strictly selling cake pops, but great images and ideas!

Babble - A site for new moms, but a great recipe for chocolate pops filled with cheese cake!

So after you have become completely intimidated by those images, let me show you mine!

I am going to include the basic recipe here and create a second posting that includes all of the steps and instructions.

To get started:

1 box of cake mix (yes, I didn't do this from scratch because this cut a serious amount of time off the process!)

1 can of frosting (I only needed about 2/3 of the can)

2 bags of candy melts (I started with one and needed a second)

50 Candy pop sticks (It definitely makes more that I realized)

Bake the cake according to the package directions and then let cool completely. I just stuck mine in the fridge for 24 hrs.

Cake/Icing Combination Suggestions

Red Velvet and Cream Cheese Icing
Chocolate and Chocolate
Carrot or Spice Cake and Cream Cheese Icing
Vanilla and Chocolate
Chocolate and German Chocolate Icing
Strawberry and Cream Cheese Icing
and many more...

Stay tuned for the process...

Consumer Testing for McCormick

Super excited about a new opportunity to possibly be selected as a consumer tester for McCormick!

My friend Dana was telling me about a girl she works with that does consumer testing for the spice company and since it is fairly close to home, I thought I would sign myself up. You are only able to participate every three months, however you are compensated for your time. They can send you things to prepare, surveys or even invite you to the testing site to test stuff there! I hope I get picked to do something like that!

If that is something that you might be interested in here is the site: Consumer Testing for McCormick

Moving up in the world... and Baked French Toast

It has been a while since I have posted, but things have been busy.
1. coaching has wrapped up
2. grad school is officially finished (yay)
3. stopped raining long enough to finally do some gardening
4. its spring, more specifically May... busiest time of year for me

As the month comes to a close, I am finding that I finally have time to get in some writing. I have been cooking up a storm, however have just not gotten around to posting about it (sigh).

But before the food... I have finally joined Twitter! I don't know that I will be much better about Tweeting than posting, but my sister has convinced me that I must be involved in all versions of social media if I actually want people to read this.

Now for the food, delayed but here none-the-less: Baked French Toast

This is one that I thought up around Christmas and is kind of a combo of French Toast and Cheesecake and tastes like a cheese danish. I made it for a Royal Wedding breakfast and we ate it with our cup of tea.

Ingredients:

Filling:
16 oz Cream cheese softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Beat together until smooth

Rasin or Cranberry (only available at the holidays) Bread

Dipping Mix:
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups milk or half-n-half
1 tsp. cinnamon
Beat together in a shallow bowl or dish to dip from.

Directions:
Grease an 8x8 pan (can double to use a 13x9 but the bread fits well in the 8x8 to do three layers)
Make a sandwich with two slices of bread and the creamcheese filling in the middle. (I guess you could also do a layer to dipped bread, then a layer of filling and another layer of dipped bread).
Dip both sides of the sandwich in the dipping mix.
Place the dipped sandwich bread in the bottom of the pan. Do this until the bottom of the pan is covered with 4 sandwiches.
Spread the rest of the filling (you should have about half left) over the sandwiches in the pan.
Dip four peices of bread on both sides in the dipping mix then place over the filling. Dump any remaining dipping mix over the top of the bread in the pan.

Bake in the oven at 350 for about a half hour.... I am not 100% on the time... it may need less, it may need more. I would just keep checking to be sure. It will be done when a knife comes out clean (there will be cheese on there, but not runny egg mix)

It is good right out of the oven, but I like it better cold the next day.

French Inspiration

It was the book Lunch In Paris: A Romance with Recipes that did me in! I do not mean that in a negative way at all, however it was the starting point for my newly minted obsession with French cuisine and food culture.

Americans have no food culture, hence the negative relationship we have with food. It becomes something merely to provide sustenance, to be eaten quickly and without pleasure. That alone makes me sad. Luckily, I grew up in a house the appreciated food and spent time in preparation, eating and enjoyment of it. But I digress since that entire concept could be a blog in and of itself.

My point is that unlike the French or Italians or many other European cultures, Americans to not have a relationship with their food. So upon reading Lunch In Paris I have decided to give my relationship with food an overhaul. Compared to many it is not that drastic a change. I already only use sugar, butter and olive oil. I eat very little packaged food and enjoy the preparation of a good meal. What does get changed is portion size, sitting down to eat, and shopping more frequently for seasonal and fresh items.

In my obsession to adopt French food culture, I have checked out the blogging world and here is my inspiration for this week: La Tartine Gourmande. The images are so beautiful you would eat the pictures and the recipes so simple and delicious that you can not help but want to try it. So Saturday morning I tried the following variation of a recipe from La tartine Gourmande.

Baked Egg with Asparagus, Pancetta and Creme Fraiche

Use 4 small ramekins. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3 eggs
1 tbs. Creme Fraiche and a bit more (I found it already made at Shoprite, w/ the sour cream)
4 stalks asparagus (cut up and briefly pan fried w/ olive oil, but still crispy)
1 whole wheat sandwich roll
2 slices of pancetta

Slice roll in half (like for a sandwich) then in smaller pieces so that it fits into the bottom of the ramekin. It should not fill the entire space, just cover the bottom like a crust.
Mix 3 eggs with 1 tbs. Creme Fraiche.
Divide egg mix between the 4 cups. Place asparagus on top, add a dab or two of creme fraiche and place pancetta slice on top.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, basically long enough so that the egg is baked through. These little cups of spring are great warm or cold and the perfect breakfast treat.

And on Sunday we bake!

Pumpkin (Butternut Squash) Bread with Cranberries

When life or your mom hands you Butternut squash... ?

Inspiration struck in the form of my father who made a "pumpkin" pie with summer squash! My mom gave me some squash from the fall that needed to be used because as the temps warm they just don't keep as well in the basement. I am not particularly fond of sweet squash, but realized courtesy of my father that it could be used to replace pumpkin in recipes. So I decided to make pumpkin bread using said squash.

I peeled it and cut it into chunks, then boiled it until it was very soft. Then once drained, used a whisk to mix/mash it all up. It had been boiled long enough that no food processor or blender was necessary! I then used a basic pumpkin bread recipe and replaced the pumpkin puree with the homemade version that I created. I also added some cranberries for additional flavor and sprinkled one of the loaves with chopped pecans. The two loaves are in the oven as we speak and looking beautiful. I will add pics when they are finished.



Yum! Very moist and good flavor!

Domestic Bliss and Apple-Sass

I did not have to work today... woohoo! Like many people I took a look around my messy house and said screw it I am gonna do something other than clean on my day off.

So, instead of cleaning I decided to earn another patch for my domestic diva status and learn how to can food. Now canning food is a process that I have watched my parents do since I was a small child, so naturally I went to my mother, the queen of all things domestic. She could give the circa 1990 Martha a run for her money in the cooking department.

Anyway, I had gone apple picking about a month ago with some friends and had a ton of apples just taking up space in my fridge, so apple sauce was the obvious choice for canning. I decided that I did not want to stand over a pot for an hour waiting for all these apples to cook, so I selected the lazy (or creative) way out. The Crockpot!

I cut and cored and peeled all 30 apples by hand, quartered them and dumped them into the Crockpot on low over night. Magically in the morning I had apple soup and schlepped it to mom's house. I added some cinnamon, put in over the wood stove at the rents house and then let it thicken. About 30 minutes later, after prepping the jars, was ready to fill and steam can my sass.

It turned out beautiful. I should have taken a picture! So for those of you interested in having homemade apple sauce for over the winter check out the Ball Blue Book, basically the bible of home canning.

What to do with a Whole Head of Cabbage?

Part of the reason that I wanted to start blogging is because I have a wide range of interests, well really more like an interest in cooking bloggers. So I am going to share my first recipe!

I ended up with a rather large head of cabbage from my local CSA and thought to myself, what the heck do you do with an entire large head of cabbage, besides make a ton of coleslaw? I for one, am not a huge cabbage fan, but refuse to just throw it away, or even give it away for that matter. It was time to get creative.

After poking around online I decided that I was going to make stuffed cabbage. Sounded like something I would eat. I wanted it to be savory and hearty without being too cabbagey. The biggest thing is once it was made, would I bother to make it again after tasting it and my conclusion is yes. It was hearty (one stuffed leaf filled me up) flavorful and easy to make.

So here is what I ended up with:

Savory Stuffed Cabbage

Makes 10 Rolls
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1 head of cabbage
1 roll of sausage (16 oz I think)
3-5 medium sized potatoes cooked until soft and cut into chunks (think bite sized)
1 egg
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 c. chopped green peppers
1 1/2 tsp. salt or more to taste
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ground rosemary or 1 tsp. chopped
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/2-1 c. chicken broth or liquid of choice

Directions:
1. Cut core out of cabbage and place in pot of boiling water for 7-10 minutes. Remove from water and place on a plate to cool some before handling.
This will allow you to peel the cabbage layers and roll them much easier. Just a heads up, it will make your house smell like cabbage for a bit.

2. Take potatoes, sausage, egg, onion, pepper and seasonings and mix together in a bowl. Much easier to use your hands, kind of like making a meatloaf.

3. Spray bottom of 13x9 glass baking dish with Pam (just-in-case)

4. Gently peel first leaf off of cabbage place open on a plate and plop two heaping spoonfuls of the sausage mix into the center of the leaves (about 2/3-1c. of mix).

5. Starting with the sides, fold in, then roll from thin side toward the stem (thick part). Kind of like rolling a burrito.

6. Place stem/seam side down in baking dish and continue rolling until all the mix is used. I ended up with extra cabbage, still not sure what to do with that, suggestions will be appreciated!

7. Pour broth over cabbage rolls and then bake at 350 for 30 min covered and 30 min un-covered. Be sure to cover them or the leaves will dry out and not steam all the way.

*I made them earlier in the day and placed them in the fridge until I was ready to cook. I also plan on freezing the leftovers. You could probably make them the night before if you wanted, but I wouldn't make them any earlier than that because of the raw meat.

*You could probably replace the potatoes with stuffing mix (2 c. prepared) and go lighter on the seasonings if you don't want to use potatoes. You could even used left over mashed potatoes.




Enjoy :)