Fresh Cherry & Chocolate Chunk Scones

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Angie

Fresh cherry & chocolate scone

I recently purchased a water bottle infuser and along with it, a bag of cherries, thinking cherry and lime infused water sounded good. A few lime chunks and a bunch of halved and pitted cherries sitting overnight in the refrigerator made for a pretty pink water that tasted mostly like limes. Not exactly what I had hoped for. Cherries aren’t necessarily my go to fruit so I nibbled on them for a bit before deciding to try my hand at these scones.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 8 tbsps. butter, cold, cut into 16 pieces
  • 2/3 cup half and half
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups cherries, pits removed and chopped in thirds
  • 1 10oz package of dark chocolate chunks
  • Turbinado sugar for the tops of the scones

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, slightly beat the egg, and stir in the half and half and vanilla extract; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a food processor, add the butter and dry ingredients and pulse until crumbled. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and fresh cherries.

I hadn’t factored in the wetness of the cherries and the effect it would have on the dough, making it much more wet than I’d anticipated. So, I incorporated more flour into the mixture on an already floured surface, turning it, and adding more flour as needed. It may have been another 1/2 cup of flour. Normally, I pat the dough out into a 9 inch disc and using a pizza cutter rolled in flour, cut into wedges; however, the dough was still wet enough, I opted to forgo the pizza cutter and cut into the dough with the top of a glass. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet, brush the tops of each with half and half and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar, pressing lightly into the scones.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the tops of the scones are a light golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes before enjoying.

Posted in Breakfast, Scones | Leave a comment

Cast Iron Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Angie

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Father’s Day was yesterday and earlier in the week Chris had mentioned Pineapple Upside Down Cake so after cleaning up the dishes, and before we headed out, I made him his cake. He was one happy daddy and more importantly, he’s one heck of a dad to our girls. For that, I’m eternally grateful.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 20oz can sliced pineapple, drained (reserve a 1/4 cup pineapple juice)
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup pineapple juice reserved from draining
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Maraschino cherries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On the stovetop, over medium heat, melt the butter in the cast iron skillet. Once melted, remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle with brown sugar and top with pineapple slices.

In a large bowl, beat the remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour the mixture over the top of the pineapple slices. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and turn over onto a heat-proof serving platter or plate. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Top with maraschino cherries and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Posted in Cake | Leave a comment

Chocolate Cookies with Reese’s PB minis

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Angie

Reese'sChocolate cookies

We attended a BBQ this past weekend and the host’s only request was to bring a side. When I looked at the forecast and discovered it was going to be 100 degrees, cookies instantly came to mind. They’re portable and you don’t have to worry about them being refrigerated or maintained at a certain temp for fear of food poisoning. Because, you know, food poisoning is so much fun, said no one ever. Plus, it was an opportunity to try something new. A chocolate cookie with chopped mini Reese’s PB cups. There’s also the upside of baking, sampling, and leaving the cookies to the masses so they’re not lingering around the house calling out my name like they sometimes do.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsps. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 8oz bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup minis, chopped

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually, add the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and combine together. Stir in the chopped peanut butter cups.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes only, too much bake time will dry them out and make them crispy. The goal is for a soft, chewy cookie. Transfer to a cooling rack.

NOTE: I chopped the PB cups to make sure there were some in each cookie, but next time, I won’t do this. I’ll leave them whole and maybe include another bag or half of bag.

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Zoodles & Meatballs

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Angie

Zoodles & Meatballs

More often than not, our meals are only planned a few days in advance, a week at the most (loosely gathered in my head while grocery shopping); typically, the night before. I’ve heard about “zoodles” for a while now and when we were tossing around ideas the night before last, and we settled on spaghetti & meatballs, I figured I’d try my hand at zoodles as I’d recently ordered and received my zoodle maker. The family didn’t let me get very far before they insisted I still make spaghetti noodles.

The interesting thing about zoodles is that there really isn’t a recipe. I’d done my due diligence and reviewed some instructional tips beforehand. One that I came across indicated that once you had the zoodles, to place them in a colander, toss them with 3 tablespoons of Kosher salt and allow them to sit for 20 minutes before rinsing with water really well to rid the salt. The idea behind it was to somewhat dehydrate the zucchini as it’s naturally wet, it helps maintain the moistness in breads, cakes, etc. This made sense to me. Until I made them last night. Dehydrate and then rinse like mad all the salt out of it, essentially reintroducing all the moisture, but then lay the zoodles on paper towels to soak up and pat out the extra moisture.

The next step was to heat a skillet to medium high heat, add just a tsp. of olive oil (to prevent them from sticking to the pan) and sauté for 4 minutes tops.

With my homemade meatballs fresh out of the oven, the spaghetti noodles and my zoodles ready to go, I dished out the meal. It was all good until I bit into my zoodles and quickly discovered that even with as much rinsing as I’d done, these were SALTY! What a disappointment! For next time, NOTE TO SELF: just create the zoodles, blot with paper towels to absorb the zucchinis natural water content, and then sauté for 4 minutes.

Posted in Italian | Leave a comment

Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookies

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Angie

Cookies

I’ve always enjoyed walnuts. . .by themselves, but never in baked goods. For years, I willingly omitted them from breads, cookies, and brownies that called for them thinking they had no place there to begin with. In my book, they were always optional and optional always meant never. Until recently. I can’t attribute the change to anything in particular, but I’ve integrated them more in my baking and found the results to be almost richer, earthier. A bit more decadent. Sophisticated, if you will.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 cups Ghirardelli 60% cacao discs, chopped
  • 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

Preparation:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugars with the melted butter. Beat together the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until fully incorporated. Mix in the dry ingredients until just blended, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, as needed. Stir in the chocolate and walnuts by hand.

In small rounded tablespoons, set cookies 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for a minute or two and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Adapted from: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/03/crispy-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/

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Caprese Salad

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Angie

Caprese Salad

Simple ingredients & voila! Yumminess on a plate. Yes, I’ve seen recipes where it’s also drizzled with olive oil & topped with freshly ground S&P, but honestly, I like it just like this. The way the ingredients meld together is perfect. No  more, no less.

Ingredients:

  • fresh mozzarella
  • basil leaves
  • tomato
  • balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Slice both the mozzarella and tomato to a 1/4 inch thickness. Top with basil leaves & drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Posted in Salads, Vegetarian | Leave a comment

Ricotta Cheese & Spinach Calzones

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Angie

Ricotta Cheese & Spinach CalzonesRicotta Cheese Fork

Truth be told: there comes a time in this wife’s/ mama’s cooking adventures, that I couldn’t care less what anyone else wants for dinner. It’s my way or the highway, or rather, make whatever you want ‘cuz this is what I want. Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking for my family. I generally take into consideration what they want. Except last night. Last night, I put my flip flop foot down. And, let me tell you: no regrets. None. These are good and just what I wanted. The bonus is having plenty of leftovers because no one else even wanted to try it. For shame.

Ingredients:

  • 10oz. frozen-chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
  • 1 cup whole milk Ricotta cheese
  • 4oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 oz. Asiago cheese, shredded
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. minced fresh oregano
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb. pizza dough (I use the 2 ingredient pizza dough)https://thecompanyshekeeps.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/2-ingredient-pizza-dough/
  • 1 egg with 2 tbsp. water, beaten together for egg wash
  • Pizza sauce, for dunking, of course

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking stone with a large piece of parchment paper; set aside. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients from the spinach through the red pepper flakes and mix well until thoroughly combined.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half. Roll each half out to a 9 inch circle. On each rolled out dough, spread half of the filling onto half of each dough round, leaving a 1 inch border at the edge. Brush the edge with the egg wash & then fold the other half of the dough over the filling, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the bottom edge uncovered. Press the edges of the dough together and crimp to seal.

Transfer each calzone to the parchment lined baking sheet. Using a sharp, serrated knife, slice 5  steam vents in each calzone. Brush the tops with the egg wash.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Rotate the baking stone halfway through the baking time. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve with warmed pizza sauce.

Adapted from: http://www.annies-eats.com/2015/05/18/spinach-and-ricotta-calzones/

Posted in Italian, Pizza, Vegetarian | 2 Comments

Deconstructed Pesto Pasta

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Angie

Deconstructed Pesto Pasta

This year I planted my first little garden and I’m happy to say, it has flourished. The wee little basil plant is now nearly unruly and I’m convinced that every time I snip some off, it grows back threefold! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a weed. Nevertheless, I’m on the lookout for ways to use it all up so when I happened upon this recipe, I knew it was a good place to start. This makes for a light, full of flavor, dinner choice.

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces orecchiette (shells), cooked, drained, and cooled
  • 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  •  1/4 cup olive oil
  •  1 cup basil, sliced into strips
  •  1/2 cup grated parmesan
  •  1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
  •  1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • Freshly cracked S&P, to taste

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine the pasta shells with the ricotta, garlic and olive oil. Stir until the ricotta lightly coats the pasta.

Add the remaining ingredients and gently combine.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Adapted from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/02/deconstructed-pesto-pasta-recipe_n_7488226.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

Posted in Italian, Pasta, Vegetarian | Leave a comment

Red Potatoes with Parsley & Butter

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Angie

Parsely Red Potatoes

You know how sometimes the food you like doesn’t really need a recipe? I feel like this falls into that category. However, since I created this blog with my girls in mind, and Brianna discovered about a year ago she happens to like this side, I’ve thrown together the steps for her sake.

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 red potatoes, halved or quartered depending on their size
  • 1/4 cup of butter, melted
  • 2-3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
  • freshly cracked kosher salt

Preparation:

In a large pot, bring the water to boil. Gently add the potatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until a fork can be inserted (somewhat easily) into the potato. Drain the potatoes into a colander, and once the water is drained, place the potatoes back in the pot. Drizzle with the butter, add a few grinds of freshly cracked kosher salt, add the parsley, and stir lightly to coat. Serve immediately.

Posted in Sides, Vegetables | Leave a comment

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Angie

Spoon of Pumpkin DessertPumpkin Dessert

While there’s a bit of novelty about having a certain type of food just one time a year; I’m not the type of person who holds a strict view on preparing a dish based on what the calendar reads. Case in point: this dessert. I prepared it for Sunday night dessert and since Bri is a big fan of pumpkin, I knew she’d like it. Chris thought it was okay (he prefers pudding) and Leah only wanted the Biscoff cookie crumbs. I enjoyed it and discovered it’s even more flavorful the following day. For whatever reason, as time passed, the tastes intensified.

Ingredients:

  • 16 Biscoff cookies, crushed into crumbs
  • 1 1/2 tbsps. of butter, melted
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsps. pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 12 oz. container of Cool Whip (or do as I did and whip your own with a pint of whipping cream, 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, and 3 tbsps. of powdered sugar)

Preparation:

Stir the Biscoff cookie crumbs and melted butter together. In a medium serving bowl, press about 2/3 of the cookie crumb mixture into the bowl, reserving the remaining 1/3 for the top.

With a mixer, beat together the cream cheese and pumpkin together until smooth. Add the vanilla, sugar, pumpkin spice and mix together until well blended. Fold in half of the whipped cream. In the serving bowl with the pressed in Biscoff crumbs, add a layer of the pumpkin cheesecake and a layer of whipped cream and repeat. Top with the remaining Biscoff cookie crumbs. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Adapted from: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-cheesecake-trifles/

Posted in Desserts, No-bake, Pumpkin | Leave a comment