Rosemary and tomato frittata
Posted: March 18, 2013 Filed under: Food | Tags: breakfast, cheese, dinner, eggs, frittata, healthy 1 Comment »
Sundays in my house always involves breakfast for dinner, a tradition that I inherited from my lovely mother. Usually this means French Toast (you can get that recipe here), grits, and either scrambled eggs or an omelet, but last night I decided to shake things up a bit and go all out with a frittata. I really didn’t want to have to make a trip to the grocery on a Sunday afternoon, so I began perusing the endless results on the internet. After reading through several different recipes, I came up with a basic recipe and decided to go from there and make my own flavor combination from what I had on hand. Being blessed with an overachieving rosemary plant in my backyard, I definitely wanted to go the ultra savory route. Digging in my fridge, I found an onion, cherry tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Perfect. Oh, and did I mention that this is also healthy? No milk, only 2 tablespoons of butter (which you could easily swap with vegetable or canola oil), onions (supposed to help fight cancer), tomatoes (filled with plenty of vitamins) and eggs which are full of protein. Eating healthy is easier than I thought!
Rosemary and tomato frittata
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
Half a medium onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
15 – 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
7 eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven broiler to 500°F.
In a medium cast iron skillet, heat the butter until melted over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and cherry tomatoes and saute until onions are soft and tomatoes have relaxed and released some of their juice. While this is cooking, whisk together the eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Once the onions are softened, add the egg mixture to the pan and reduce heat to low. Cook until the edges have started to crisp up, 5 – 7 minutes. Place pan in the oven under the broiler for about 4 minutes, or until the top is golden and the eggs are just set.
Serve immediately in wedges. I also served a baby greens salad and toasted garlic bread. Enjoy!
Baked (not fried!) cinnamon-sugar donuts
Posted: March 15, 2013 Filed under: Food | Tags: baked, cinnamon, dessert, donuts 1 Comment »
Ok, so you all know that I’ve been trying to get back on track with eating healthier meals. I have been doing good, so I decided to reward myself with donuts! But not your average donut that has been fried in fattening oil, no sir. These homemade donuts are baked! Plus they are topped with cinnamon-sugar, instead of the typical heavy glaze. Adapted from the Tartalette blog, these are very doughy and super delicious! In fact, my hubby has eaten almost all of the donut holes already :)
I hope you enjoy these as much as we have!
Baked cinnamon-sugar donuts
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup warm milk (between 95-105°), divided
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
Two pinches of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Place 1/3 cup milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and sugar and set aside for about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter to the remaining cup of milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, vanilla and salt until the flour is just incorporated. With the dough hook attachment of your mixer, beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed until the dough turns smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn it out onto a floured surface (the dough should barely be sticky), knead it a few times and shape into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased or buttered bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise for an hour in a warm place (the dough should roughly double in size).
Punch a whole in the middle of your risen dough and roll it to a half-inch thick on a floured surface. With a 2-3 inch round cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as you can (this dough doesn’t seem to like being re-rolled very much, so try to get the circles very close together). Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cut out the centers with a 1-inch round cookie cutter (be sure to bake these as well for yummy donut holes!). Please note, that if you cut out the smaller circles before you get the larger circles onto the parchment paper, they will distort and lose their shape. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.
Bake in a 375° preheated oven for 8-10 minutes (I took mine out at 9 minutes, and they were perfect), until just slightly browned on the top. Let sit for about 3 minutes to cool slightly. Dip each donut in the melted butter, then toss them in the cinnamon-sugar.
Eat immediately.
White bean and spinach soup with rosemary and garlic
Posted: March 13, 2013 Filed under: Food | Tags: beans, dinner, garlic, healthy, rosemary, soup, spinach 3 Comments »
I’m sure by now that most of you, like myself, have let your new year’s resolutions fall by the wayside. Life has gotten in the way. With 40-50 hour work weeks, by the time we get home, there isn’t much time left for working out or planning a healthy meal. This has happened to me so often that I have lost count. All I want to do when I get home is fall into bed and wish that it was the weekend already. Well this week, I decided to put a stop to all of this. It’s finally starting to warm up outside, and with that comes the realization that I will soon be doning shorts and eventually a swim suit. I have been getting outside and going for walks with my husband whenever possible, plus researching new, healthy and yummy recipes that don’t take a lot of time to make. I also have myself on a strict budget where I plan out what I’m going to be cooking for the next two weeks, and estimate how much it will cost.
This week, I tried out an incredibly yummy soup that takes about 25 mins to make. Talk about fast! Plus, the only things that you will have to clean afterwards is your cutting board, knife and soup pot. Can I hear a resounding, “woohoo!”? Yes, that’s what I thought!
Without further ado, here is the amazingly easy recipe:
White bean and spinach soup with rosemary and garlic
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 stalk of celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch spinach (about 4 ounces), trimmed and washed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat until rippling. Add the onions, celery, garlic and rosemary, and cook until softened (not browned!), about 4 minutes.
Add the broth, bay leaf and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until completely wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in the lemon juice.
Serve immediately, drizzling the remaining olive oil over the bowls.
2012: Year in Review
Posted: December 31, 2012 Filed under: Blogging, Food | Tags: 2012, 2013, chocolate, cookies, cream cheese, dessert, dinner, new year, recipes, year in review Leave a comment »
It’s crazy to me that this year has already come and gone. So many changes have happened this year in my life – good changes – and I’m looking forward to seeing what this next year will bring. My hubby and I will celebrate our two year anniversary in a few months which is just crazy! Seems like we were just walking down the aisle yesterday. I guess this won’t really be a newlywed blog any more, and come to think of it, it hasn’t been for a while. Since getting married, I have found a love for cooking and I have had so much fun trying new things and sharing them with you! This next year I’m planning on shifting gears slightly and doing some home decorating that I have been meaning to do for a while now. I hope that you all are still enjoying following along with me on my little blog here, and I hope you know that I appreciate you following me and taking an interest in what I’m sharing with you :)
I have several small resolutions that I am making for myself, but the big one is to cut out more processed foods and make them at home. Think homemade breakfast bars, crackers, cheese (!!), yogurt, spaghetti sauce, salad dressings…….you get the idea. I think making an effort to make these at home will go along way towards my hubby and I being healthier and being more in control of what we are putting into our bodies. You all will of course be witnesses to how well I stick to my resolution!
Here are a few of my favorite recipes from the past year:
And now, I little new year’s treat to start 2013 (recipe is a Pinterest find from coookiesandcups.com):
Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
1 can Pillsbury seamless dough sheet
1 8-ounce block cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Beat the sugar, cream cheese and vanilla in an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Unroll the dough sheet and stretch into a rectangle shape.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch gap around the edges. Sprinkle the chocolate chips all over the cream cheese. Roll the dough up tightly and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.
After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350°F. Slice the roll into 1/4-inch slices and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Eat warm or at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to two days.
Avocado, Tomato and Goat Cheese Pita
Posted: December 16, 2012 Filed under: Food | Tags: avocado, goat cheese, grape tomatoes, healthy, hot sauce, lunch, pita, resolution Leave a comment »
I have decided to jump-start my New Year’s resolution. Starting this week. Hopefully this resolution will stick, because it will be really beneficial. I’m going to make a real effort to eat better. Now, most of my dinners are pretty healthy, but with long work hours, it’s super easy to skimp on a health breakfast and lunch. So that’s what I’m going to focus on. I figured I would go ahead and start, since I will be shamefully eating all the Christmas cookies and sweets I can get my hands on this month! To start my search for healthy lunches, I went to Whole Living’s website and found this yummy sounding pita! I changed it up a little bit to adjust to what I already had in pantry, and I have to say that I love it! Definitely an easy, healthy lunch option!
Avocado, Tomato and Goat Cheese Pita
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce (Whole Living used green tabasco sauce, I used Bama Nation ha)
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
1/2 cup yellow grape tomatoes, halved
2-3 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
2 whole wheat pitas (6 inches each) top third cut off (I saved the cut off tops and am going to make mini pita chips)
Halve and pit the avocado. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh and then cut into chunks.
In a bowl, gently toss the avocado, hot sauce, salt and pepper, grape tomatoes, and goat cheese.
Open up one of your pitas and fill with half of the mixture. Do the same to the other pita, and serve!
Easy-peasy.
French “Peasant” Radishes
Posted: December 12, 2012 Filed under: Food | Tags: goat cheese, greens, kale, radishes, vegetables, wine Leave a comment »
I am a few weeks into my winter CSA program, and we have been getting lots of radishes! Inspired by this recipe from Food 52 that originally used beets, this has definitely become my go-to dish when I get the yummy beauties in my weekly delivery! This really highlights the flavor of the radishes which have that yummy, root vegetable flavor. The greens have a wonderful earthy flavor, and the goat cheese gives a nice tangy balance to the entire dish. Even if you don’t usually buy radishes, or get them delivered weekly (haha), I highly recommend making this recipe to give them a try!
French “Peasant” Radishes
Ingredients
2-3 red-meat radishes
1/2 pound dino kale
1/2 pound green kale
3 tablespoons butter
salt
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons white wine (I used pinot grigio)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons water (if needed)
2-3 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
Scrub and peel the radishes. Slice into 1/4 inch rounds.
Remove the ribs from both varieties of the kale, coarsely chop, and set aside.
In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Sauté the shallots until they are almost translucent. Add the radishes to the shallot butter mixture. Add salt and pepper, reduce heat and sauté for 15 minutes, turning radishes periodically for even cooking.
When the radishes become tender, add the greens. Sauté for about 5 minutes, then add wine and lemon juice and cover. Cook until green are wilted, adding water if necessary. Allow most of the liquid to be absorbed and add a pinch more salt and pepper.
Scoop the mixture into a shallow bowl and top with the crumbled goat cheese. Serve with a side of crusty french bread.
Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies
Posted: December 9, 2012 Filed under: Food | Tags: chocolate, cookies, dessert, holidays, peppermint 1 Comment »
What can I say? It’s Christmastime and that means it’s time to make delicious cookies. I had to balance out my healthy diet somehow! But I did donate half of them to a bake sale to help children in need, so it made me feel a little better about eating the other half…….in about a day ha!
Anyways, back to the yumminess of this recipe. It is from our good and trusted friend, Martha Stewart. For me, her recipes are the go-to source for holiday cookies. This one did not disappoint. The chocolate peppermint dough was just perfect with the sweetness of the white chocolate, and the crushed peppermint on top gave a nice crunch to this crisp little cookie. The only downfall was that the dough had to chill in between mixing, rolling, and cutting, but other than being a little time consuming, it was easy enough to make. And definitely worth it!
Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
8 large candy canes, or 30 peppermint candies, crushed
1 pound white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add egg, then yolk, beating well after each. Beat in the peppermint extract. Slowly add the flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape the dough into two disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (this can be made up to two days ahead).
Preheat oven to 325°F. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles, and place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll and cut scraps once (if there is still enough dough left to make one or two more after this, roll back out and place in freezer while you cut out the rest from the second disk). Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk.
Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer parchment, with cookies, to wire racks and let cool. (These can be kept covered for up to 3 days).
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Remove from heat. Dunk the cookies into the melted chocolate, using a fork to turn them. Let the excess drip off, and gently scrap the bottom against the edge of the bowl (if you don’t do this, they will start sticking to the parchment!) Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and sprinkle the crushed peppermints on top. Refrigerate until set, up to 3 hours.
Meyer Lemon Curd
Posted: December 8, 2012 Filed under: Food | Tags: canning, curd, lemon, Meyer lemon 2 Comments »
After having bought my meyer lemon tree back in March, I finally have ripe lemons! I had about 9 beautiful lemons on my little tree (which has been brought inside because of the cold weather), and I wanted to use them in a super yummy recipe since I had waited so long for them to ripen! I came across this recipe for lemon curd (which I can mix into yogurt, heap on top of ice cream, sandwich between two small sugar cookies, etc.) on Food in Jars. I have to use some major self-control to not eat this straight out of the jar! It is seriously so good!! You have to try this. Even if you can’t get your hand on Meyer lemons, at least try it with regular lemons, and maybe at about a tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice to mimic the sweetness of the Meyer lemon. Yum!
Meyer Lemon Curd
Ingredients
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 meyer lemons, juiced (should be a generous 1/2 cup, be sure to check for seeds!)
1 stick of butter, cut into chunks
zest from the juiced lemons
In a small, heavy bottom pot over medium heat, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add the lemon juice and stir continually with a wooden spoon for 10-15 minutes, adjusting temperature along the way to ensure that it does not come to a boil. Stir until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon (mine took the full 15 minutes). Drop in the butter and stir until melted.
Pour the curd through a fine mesh sieve in a glass bowl to remove any bits of cooked egg, and to get a silky-smooth texture. Whisk in the lemon zest.
Please note, since I am definitely NOT a canning expert by any means (in fact this is the first time that I have canned in the true sense of the word), I am copying this next bit directly from Food in Jars so that I do not lead you astray:
Pour the curd (a single batch will make one pint of curd) into your prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. If you want to process them for shelf stability, process them in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes (start the time when the water returns to a boil). According to So Easy to Preserve, it is best to process only in half-pint jars or smaller, as they allow better heat infiltration.
I really hope that you try this! So, so, so good!
Oatmeal with Sautéed Apples
Posted: November 14, 2012 Filed under: Food | Tags: apples, breakfast, cinnamon, nutmeg, oatmeal, sautéed 1 Comment »
I found this recipe the other day, and had to give it a try! I try to fit oatmeal into my breakfast at least twice a week because of its great health benefits, usually with honey, brown sugar, and some sliced almonds. Pairing it with sautéed apples seemed like the perfect idea for a Saturday morning, and they were so yummy! The creamy oatmeal went perfectly with the slightly crunchy texture of the apples. I think this might make a permanent appearance on Saturday mornings…
Oatmeal with Sautéed Apples
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 medium apples, thinly sliced
salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar, plus more for serving
Put the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it melts, add the apples and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the oats, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium pot with a pinch of salt and 1½ cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats are tender and the mixture is creamy and thick, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in the vanilla.
When the apples are tender, add the 2 tablespoons brown sugar and stir just until it melts, about 1 minute.
Spoon the oatmeal into individual bowls, and top with the apples and additional brown sugar. Serve immediately.
Chicken Fricassee
Posted: November 10, 2012 Filed under: Food | Tags: chicken, dinner, entree, fricassee, rice 5 Comments »
If any of you have been wondering where I have been, the answer is that my computer power cord decided to quit working. Well, with a new power cord plugged in, I am back in business! I have a great recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart Living, that will warm you up with the days growing colder. This makes a huge pot, which is great for several nights of dinner. I froze half of it, and still had dinner for about 2 nights with the other half. I served the fricassee over rice, but you could also use lightly buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
Chicken Fricassee
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 11 pieces (reserve back and wing tips for stock)
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 carrot, diced (1/2 cup)
1 celery stalk, diced (1/3 cup)
8 cremini mushrooms,trimmed and quartered
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth
2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Season the chicken on both sides with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Preheat a large pot (I used a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and the oil to the pot. When butter melts and foam subsides, add half the chicken, skin side down, in a single layer; do not crow pot. (If butter begins to blacken, lower heat.) Fry chicken, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes total, and transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Reduce heat to medium, and add then onion, carrot, and celery to the pot, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown in places, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms darken, become glossy, and begin to release liquid, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in flour, and cook until flour is absorbed by vegetables and is no longer visible, about 1 minute.
Add wine to the pot, and bring to a boil, stirring until liquid just thickens, about 45 seconds. Add broth, and stir.
Place the chicken, skin side up, in a single layer on vegetables; pour juices that have accumulated on plate into the pot. Tie parsley, thyme, rosemary, and the bay leaf together with kitchen twine; add to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover partially. Cook until internal temperature of thickest part of chicken registers 165°F, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to to a clean plate. Simmer liquid, uncovered, until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Discard herbs.
To make the liaison (sauce thickener), whisk together egg yolks and cream in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, pour 1/2 cup cooking liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, into liaison to temper it. Stir tempered liaison into pot.
Return chicken to the pot. Add the lemon juice, ad the remaining butter. Bring to a simmer, stir gently to combine, and serve.
