Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

6.06.2014

Recipe: Strawberry Shortcakes

I've been on a sweets kick for the past few weeks and I've been whipping up a storm in the kitchen. And by whipping up a storm, I mean I made these twice.

Strawberry shortcake is one of those desserts that's so light and fluffy, it's just too easy to demolish a whole bunch of them in the span of time it takes to watch one episode of Judge Judy. Speaking of Judge Judy, did you see the primetime special that was on a few weeks ago? Did you see when they were showing footage of her when she was, like, in her 50's pumping iron at the gym like she was about to try out for Mr Olympia? YOU GO, J.J.!



Classic Strawberry Shortcakes

Adapted from BettyCrocker.com

Ingredients

4 cups strawberries (or however many you want)
1/4 sugar (depends on the amount of strawberries)
2 1/3 Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk
4 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted
Heavy whipping cream
Sugar, as needed


Directions

1. Prep the strawberries several hours ahead- preferably a full day, if you have the time. Remove stems and slice. Top sliced berries with 1/2 cup sugar. Depending on how sweet and syrupy you want them to become, you may want to add more or less sugar. The syrup part is my favorite, so I tend to put like a shit ton of sugar on it.


With blueberries, too.

2. In a medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients just until combined. The dough will be lumpy. On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 6-8 spoonfuls, depending on how big you want them.





3. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.






4. In a small bowl, add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to the liquid cream. Start there and add more depending on how sweet you want your whipped cream. Beat whipping cream until it reaches desired consistency. I like mine a little more on the soft, foamy side. Note: there's a fine line between "it's perfect" and "it's butter," so pay careful attention once your cream starts puffing up.

The fine line has been crossed.

The crunchy shortcake with the strawberry syrup and cream- omg. These honestly take almost no effort to make and even less to eat. Now put them all together and kiss that diet goodbye.


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4.02.2014

My Birthday: 34

I turned 34 yesterday and I have to say, it doesn't feel much different from 33. Except that now, I expect to start receiving AARP mags and Boniva coupons in the mail.



The festivities began a little early when we had Pearl for the previous weekend. On a strong recommendation from a friend (Hi Miss), we took a little drive up the coast and had lunch at Padaro Beach Grill. It was a beautiful day and everyone and their mom was there. Literally. Eric's mom and dad met us there.




It was a burger day all around and we took our time catching up on each other's stories.




Later that night, Eric, Pearl, and I went to see a local production of Willy Wonka. It was a little hokey, but I think that's pretty much par for the course. Pearl LOVED it and it provided some family time while also inspiring Pearl's creativity. A win-win, if you ask me.

As you can see, it was a packed house.



On my actual birthday, I was surprised with some low-key decorations at work...



And office cupcakes...



And a doctor's appt.

Womp-womp.

But at least I was able to snag a good-looking recipe.



Last night, Eric took me out to a surprise dinner at a nice restaurant we'd never been to before. More on that to come...

All in all, my birthday was great. And best of all, I received a surprise gift straight out of my SkyMall dreams: The Ostrich Pillow.


34 is looking strong, my friends.



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12.02.2013

Thanksgiving 2013

Highlights from the holiday weekend...

This past weekend, while we were driving in the car, Pearl asked if we have an Elf on the Shelf at our house. She had just seen one at her cousin's house and also has one at her mom's house.

Her question reminded me of a parody version that Eric and I had seen recently at TJ Maxx, called Dwarf in the Drawer. I told Pearl how there are helpers hiding everywhere to catch you when you're bad, including Elf on the Shelf and Dwarf in the Drawer.

By this point, I was all over this "secret helper" thing and couldn't stop myself. I told her that she's always being watched- even when she's in the car...

...by Monk in the Trunk.

I told her how Elf and Dwarf and Monk all work for Santa and God and they report back to them when kids are naughty. She asked what Monk in the Trunk looked like. Eric joined in and described a baldish man with hair around the sides, wearing a brown robe, natch. You know, traditional Monk stylings.

She thought it sounded creepy, but I'm planning my retirement on this cash cow.

......................................................................................................


Do you ever watch way too much of a television show marathon that the next day you can't stop thinking about the people on the island show and you find yourself wondering how they're doing and feeling bad for the woman who was told she has endometriosis, but then happy for her when she miraculously finds out she's pregnant, but then immediately feel sorry for yourself because that kind of hocus pocus bullshit magic only happens to other people or in fake ass television show marathons? Is Sun's baby Jin's? -Or is it the English teacher's? Why isn't everyone fighting to live in the hatch? Charlie's teeth are distracting me.

I watched LOST all day yesterday. I didn't get off the couch once, except to install a hair donut and make myself look "presentable." FYI: the inventors of the hair donut need to have a disclaimer on their product that lets all the people know you will have a floppy donut after laying on the couch for seven hours straight.

.......................................................................................................


Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving.

A pumpkin cheesecake from Trader Joe's


The BEST onion dip that's ever existed (and that I'm now addicted to, thanks to my in-laws)  


This caramel apple upside-down cake is the worth far more than the $6.99 we paid for at Whole Foods. I'd definitely pay at least $9.50. Actually, the outer crust of crispy, buttery caramel is worth the $9.50 just by itself. Really, it's REALLY good. Eric and I polished off the leftovers with coffee for breakfast.


Brownie bites that Pearl basically made on her own.  


My homemade sweet potato casserole (this recipe) was a hit! Growing up, I was never a fan of sweet potatoes. But this recipe turned me, forever. Thanks to my in-laws for this one too.


This Food Network recipe for cranberry sauce was something I tried on a whim and was very happy with. Again, I'm not usually a fan of the holiday cranberry stuff because it all seems overly sugary and brightly colored in a non-edible way. This recipe was super easy and smelled/tasted like holidays. I plan on making it again next year for sure, but I think I'll use a little less juice so it thickens up quicker. 


The dinner spread, complete with my signature burnt rolls. 


Paper table covers and paper placemats, courtesy of the Christmas section at Target. (Cloth was not budget approved.) The clean up was much easier. 


If this meal were a movie, it would be Gone in 60 Seconds 





This is where the magic happens: the dessert table. Cranberry fluff, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, brownie bites, caramel apple upside-down cake, and ice cream.



Mom, lookin' good in the neighborhood! 





Note: I made sure to omit the shots where the exhaustion had arrived and my face was settled into Droopy Dog mode.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!




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7.08.2013

Recipe: Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus Salad

I first tried this dish when Eric and I went to our wedding menu tasting. It was so good! We immediately fell in love with it and knew we had to have it again.



But since it was offered as an "upgrade" option at our wedding venue, we nixed it. Sorry, wedding guests.

A few weeks later, I decided to attempt to replicate the recipe at home. The dish seemed pretty simple and didn't involve that many ingredients.

This is what we came up with.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus Salad

Ingredients

Prosciutto
Asparagus
Balsamic vinaigrette
Sliced apple (We used Fuji because that's all I'm willing to buy)
Candied walnuts
Mixed greens
Olive oil
Fresh Parmesan cheese
Salt / pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse and trim asparagus as usual. Wrap bunches of two or three stalks with a strip of prosciutto.



Set into your baking dish. Once all of the asparagus is wrapped, top with a light drizzle of olive oil and salt / pepper. Bake at 400F (204C) for approximately 20 minutes.



Note: We used thick-stalk asparagus. If you're using the thinner type, maybe cook four in each bunch and check the cooking time starting at 8 minutes.

2. In a small pot, heat balsamic on medium-high heat. Since it's going to be reduced, you'll want to start off with about four times as much as you think you'll actually need.



Bring it to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. I followed this recipe to make mine. Once it's done, set aside. It will thicken a lot more as it cools.



3. For each serving, start with a nest of mixed greens and top with as much, or as little, of the following items that you like: sliced apples, candied walnuts, and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. Drizzle the reduced balsamic over the top. Finish with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese.



4. Eat it all and feel smug for being so fit and fancy.


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1.22.2013

Recipe: Blueberry-Peach Cobbler.

Little known secret: I love cobbler.

Just kidding.

That's totally not a secret.


The other day I was drooling all over the idea of making peach cobbler. And since we had fresh blueberries on hand, my chins were like "Hey, make it a peach-blueberry combo because I said so." To which I replied, "You're not the boss of me, but I'll do it anyway because that's the best thing I've heard all day."



BLUEBERRY-PEACH COBBLER
Adapted from BettyCrocker.com

INGREDIENTS
1 cup original Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 can (29 oz.) sliced peaches

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375 F (190 C).

1.  Drain peaches, reserving a small amount of syrup (less than 1/4 cup) on the side.

2. In an ungreased 8x8 baking dish, stir together Bisquick, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and the reserved syrup. Stir in butter until blended.



3. In a separate bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar and the drained peaches; spoon over batter.



Top with blueberries.




4. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until golden.





5. Eat it with ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.




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