chocolate banana crepes This past Friday night was meant for celebrating. The weather was sit-out-on-the-deck-in-the-cool-evening-breeze perfection. Friends gathered from all around the city with chips and salsa and salads and popcorn and laughter and stories to share. The fire pit was aflame. The candles were lit on this (gluten free and vegan) carrot cake. And a very special birthday girl turned the big 3-0. Friends, meet Stacey. Read more TGIF, friends. Hope that you all have had a lovely week, and that a relaxing weekend lies ahead. Did I mention on here that I’m leading an Easter choir at my church?! I’m kind of over the moon about it. Anyway, warm wishes coming your way for a good weekend ahead. Read more Ever since my friends and I met for a tapas happy hour at our neighborhood Spanish restaurant a few weeks ago, I’ve had sangria on my mind. Read more But amongst the thousands of recipes out there using coconut oil, I think I have discovered a new favorite. Read more That recipe is coming on the blog tomorrow.
Savory Breakfast Bake The mornings can be a bit crazy around here. Between getting everyone up and before the coffee begins to kick in, I am faced with what to make for breakfast. While the kids would be happy with cereal or toast and bacon, my husband wants something more substantial. This is a great breakfast casserole with lots of flavor and hearty ingredients. The best part, you can refrigerate it, cutting off a square for breakfast and microwaving for about a minute for an instant, hearty, morning meal. A dollop of sour cream is a nice addition and my husband douses it with hot sauce. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s good. This would also make a great brunch item to feed a hungry crowd. In a large skillet, cook the sausage, mushrooms and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper. In a greased 13 x 9 baking dish, layer half of the bread cubes, tomatoes, cheeses and sausage mixture. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies? Yes! Have I got a treat for you today right before Valentines day! I was getting ready to cut my traditional sugar cookies in the shape of hearts for this post and a little light bulb went off! I don’t know if I was craving cinnamon rolls or what, but I thought to myself….I am soooo making these sugar cookies into cinnamon rolls! My husband and I both agree the only way to enjoy these beauties is after they’ve chilled in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. I’ll stop talking so you can go make these quickly, make them for your Valentine and he or she will LOVE you forever!! Roll your chilled dough into about a 12 inch x 5 inch oval. Just pretend that I’m not spreading all that butter over cookie dough, we’ll all feel better Brown sugar is next up Then the Cinnamon! Time to roll into a cute little log, then use a sharp knife to cut into slices Place onto your baking sheet Baked to perfection, I’m drooling just thinking about them again Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting No words needed! 1. 2. 3. 4.
Apricot-Orange Shortbread Bars Recipe at Epicurious photo by Gary Moss yield Makes 32 For a pretty presentation, dust these cookies lightly with powdered sugar. Preparation Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan; line bottom and sides of pan with parchment paper, extending over sides. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Press remaining dough evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake shortbread until top and crust edges are golden brown, about 1 hour. Big Red Kitchen: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes The original and unique Cinnamon Roll Pancake recipe created by Robin Sue! My little Deven loves pancakes and wants me to make them all the time, but I don’t often enough. Late last night my friend had spotted this Cinnamon Bun Pancake Recipe from the blogisphere and posted it on her Facebook status suggesting for her daughter to make them. Wow, Cinnamon Bun Pancakes, that would be a winner in my house too. So I went to bed with pancakes dancing in my head. I created a typical cinnamon roll filling and placed it in a pastry bag to be swirled over the pancakes as they cooked. After pouring 1/4 cup pancake batter in a hot skillet, I swirled the cinnamon filling mixture over top. Cinnamon Roll PancakesFor the Cinnamon Filling… In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, mix until smooth: 1 stick softened butter, almost melty 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 T. cinnamon Mix until smooth and pour into a second pastry bag just like you did with the cinnamon mixture above. Another Thing of Interest!
The Best Macaroni and Cheese Recipe Ever I can say this is the best macaroni and cheese recipe ever because it's not really my recipe. I tweaked it a tiny bit - basically made it even more fattening - but otherwise, it's someone else's. It's from someone named Bev, who posted her recipe on Recipezaar and to whom I am eternally grateful. See, macaroni and cheese is pretty much my all-time favorite food. Always has been. One of my first-ever memories is of sitting down in front of the TV with a bowl full of macaroni and cheese and watching Emergency! I should probably stop there. So back to Bev. Bev is probably totally creeped out now too. I'm a total freakfest today. Oh - and this recipe is great with many noodles other than macaroni (like penne, yum!) Okay, I'm shutting up now. (Conchiglie pasta - this organic Montebello stuff is out of this world:) Here's the recipe! Adapted from the Bev's Macaroni and Cheese recipe on Recipezaar Serves 5 - 6 Ingredients 8 oz. to 10 oz. macaroni or other pasta (like conchiglie!) Instructions
The Perfect Cookie Dough Truffles Recipe The perfect cookie dough truffles are so easy to make and perfect for entertaining or enjoying as a treat. Cookies hold a definite place of distinction around my house – from our chewy chocolate chip cookies to out of this world peanut butter cookies and let’s not even think about forgetting my absolute favorite cookie dough dip. They all are our favorites. So, I decided I’d combine some flavors from our chewy chocolate chip cookies and my chocolate chip cookie dough dip to make the perfect cookie dough truffles recipe. Let me just go ahead and tell you now, when you pop one of these babies in your mouth, you immediately feel like a kid again sneaking a little bite of the cookie dough. Err… well… I at least did. The best part? I left a few out for all of us to enjoy and then boxed the rest up for her to keep in her freezer so she could enjoy them whenever she needed a little nibble of cookie dough truffles. Here’s how I make my cookie dough truffles. The Perfect Cookie Dough Truffles Recipe
Slutty Brownies Now I don’t want to over sell this, so I’m going to be conservative and simply say, that these are… The Best Brownies In The WORLD. I know, big statement. They’re called Slutty Brownies because they’re oh so easy, and more than a little bit filthy. They’re best served warm from the oven, with good quality vanilla ice cream (devastatingly I didn’t have any in the freezer this time, so I guess I’ll just have to make them again). They take about 45mins to make, including baking time. The ultimate comfort food, whipped up within the hour. You will need… 1 Box of cookie mix, 1 Box of brownie mix, 2 Eggs, 2 Packs of Oreos (double stuffed ones are even better if you can find them) Some oil & your favourite ice-cream (optional) Preheat your oven to 350F, 180C, gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper. Squidge (technical term) the cookie dough into a lined baking tray, until it covers the bottom. Cover this layer with your Oreos. Mix up your brownie batter. & pour over your Oreos. Bake for 30mins.
Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls This was our breakfast Sunday morning. Aren’t they cute? They were very, very good. It’s the whole egg and the toast combo all together in one nice package. These are so easy to make and wouldn’t they be splendid on a brunch buffet table? I think there are a lot of variations you could do nicely with this recipe, such as, swap out the Parmesan cheese with grated Gruyere or crumbled blue cheese to give a different taste. I used sourdough but I think this would also be nice with onion or brioche rolls as long as they are sturdy. Any way you put these together, they will be great. Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg. Arrange rolls on a baking sheet. Top each egg with some herbs and a bit of cream. Place tops on rolls and serve warm. Eat with a knife and fork. Print Recipe Ingredients Directions Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg.