Peanut Butter Torte

An unexpected break...I’m having a hard time staying motivated to blog. I do have recipes I need to post and I have certainly had the opportunity to do so, but I just haven’t. The same goes with staying updated on my GR. I have so many unread posts in there, some of which are from my favorite blogs, but I just can’t get motivated to even read them.

Anyway though… Last year the TWD bloggers posted this fabulous Peanut Butter Torte, it was right before my birthday and I decided it was going to be my birthday cake. Sadly, I was a bit insane last summer taking 17hrs and working full time so I didn’t have time to make it. This year however, GAME ON. I’m not taking any classes this summer, only working (and AHHHH! I only have 1 month left of that!) So I have much more time.

So my birthday came around a couple weeks ago and it was a fabulous day. I took the day off work, went on a nice run with the husband followed by a mani, pedi, massage, a nice big piece of this torte, happy hour and the cinema suites at the new Mainstreet Theater here in KC. It was the absolute perfect start to the big 2-7. I never ever get to relax, so a little pampering is just what I needed.

The Torte is amazing…. to die for, absolutely perfect, fabulous, creamy, super rich, chocolaty, peanut buttery with a hint of cinnamon, espresso, and nutmeg that just gives it a little kick. It’s one of those desserts that you go to sneak a bite of before your meal and somehow end up devouring an entire piece. I took some of this into work and it was very well received. I was told I have to make it again before I leave. The recipe is very simple to make. I made the crust and filling one night and then the ganache topping the next day. This dessert is definitely one of my favorites and will be made again and again!

Peanut Butter Torte
Dorie Greenspan
Baking: From My Home To Yours



¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Last week I must have been in a Mediterranean Mood.

I made Mediterranean Chicken Salad and this Mediterranean Pasta Salad. I was looking for a recipe that was easy and flavorful and after looking through quite a few sites I stopped at RecipeZaar. My biggest regret with this is that I forgot to buy fresh basil and parsley so I was stuck using dried. Don't get me wrong, this was absolutely fabulous and full of flavor, but I can just imagine what fresh herbs would have done.

Besides the flavor from the dressing, I loved the all the veggies and feta, it was just so good. (sadly I didn't get a good shot of the veggies. Believe me, it was very pretty!) Oh and the artichokes, I just love artichokes. The process of making this is easy but long, it's not something to just throw together after work and eat for dinner. That's kind of a pain but it really allowed the flavors to marry. We had this the first night on a Tuesday and it lasted the rest of the week for lunches and dinner. The next gathering we go to I will definitely bring this. I think it will be a big hit with a crowd! It would also be wonderful with some chicken or steak - something I will definitely add next time.

Easy Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Source: RecipeZaar




1 lb shell pasta, cooked al dente, drained well, and tossed with 2 tbs olive oil (I used campanelli and didn't use 2tbsp olive oil, that just seemed ridiculous. I drizzled a tiny bit on the pasta and then tossed it)
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
Handufl of grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup pitted kalamata olive chopped (omitted, I don't like olives)
1 (4 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut into quarters
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 (1 1/2 ounce) envelope tomato basil soup mix
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese





In a large serving bowl, toss together the pasta, onion, cucumber, bell peppers, celery, olives, and artichoke hearts.

Refrigerate the salad up to 24 hours In a medium glass mixing bowl, whisk together the oils, vinegar, soup mix, black pepper, basil, parsley, and feta until well blended. (I only added 1/2 cup of the feta, I wanted some to crumble on top when I served the salad)

Pour 1 cup of the dressing over the salad and toss Refrigerate the salad for at least 6 hours.
When ready to serve, toss the salad with the remaining dressing.

Fresh Strawberry Bars

When I got the May 2009 issue of BHG and saw Fresh Strawberry Bars on the cover I knew they were right up my alley. Recently I've become a sucker for anything strawberry. I also knew I needed to make sure they didn't stay around my house long. I wanted to bring them into work, but one of my coworkers is allergic to Strawberries so I kept putting them off.

Last week that coworker was out of town so it was my chance to make them. The dense peanut butter base of the bars is the perfect compliment to the sweet strawberries. It almost tastes like the freshest, gourmet PB&J sandwich you've ever had. I got a TON of compliments on these. They were everything from "Oh this reminds me of the pastries I used to eat in France" .... "Oh wow this is the best Peanut Butter and Jelly I've ever had" ...."Wait, you MADE those??" "Oh my gosh, this is delicious"... and last but not least "scrapescrapescrape" (The sound of people scraping every last bit off their plate.) Matt was also a huge fan of these and exclaimed "WOAHHHHOMYDISOGOD!" (That's Woah! Oh my gosh this is so good! With his mouthful.) I really appreciated all the compliments and they made me laugh because the recipe is incredibly easy. All in all I say this is a perfect summer time dessert. I highly, highly recommend it!

Fresh Strawberry Bars
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup strawberry jam (I ended up not measuring and just eyeballing how much jam was needed)
4 cups small whole strawberries, halved or quartered (I think quartered is the best bet, I ended up sprinkling mine with brown sugar to make them extra sweet)

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12×9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond edges. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Spread dough in prepared pain. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool completely on rack. Remove from pain by lifting foil. Spread jam and top with berries. Cut into bars. Serve at once or refrigerate up to 6 hours. Makes 24 bars.

Make ahead: Wrap the peanut butter base in foil; store at room temperature up to 24 hours. Before serving, top with jam and berries or freeze the peanut butter base in a freezer container up to 3 months. For individual servings, cut the base in portions and freeze. Pull a portion from the freezer, thaw, and top with jam and berries for a last-minute dessert.**

**What I did was made the base and cut and topped 4 individual bars to take my pictures. I wrapped the rest in foil and the next morning before work I spread jam on the remaing base and topped with strawberries. I took it to work and cut individual squares and then kept it in one of those pyrex carry cases with the compartments for icepacks so it stayed cool all day.

Cookie Carnival: Almond Macaroon Sandwiches

I'm barely getting this posted in time! I forgot all about the recipe until today and decided to throw it together. I didn't want to be like last month when I missed it and posted late.

This month Kate chose Hazelnut Macaroon Sandwiches. I was nervous about making these because 1) I'd never made Macaroons before and 2) I don't get along so well with sandwich cookies. Luckily, the recipe was pretty simple.

Everything was going well while I prepared this until I went to pipe the mixture on the parchment paper. I sort of missed the part where it says pipe MOUNDS. I guess I saw the word diameter and just assumed I was supposed to pipe circles. Well that certainly didn't work for me and I was annoyed so I decided to just take a measuring cup and pour the mixture on the baking sheet. So it really doesn't look like I have macaroons, I have flat circles. But they are still so good! I substituted ground almonds for the hazelnuts and it tastes great . The cookie itself is delicious, it's light and sweet with a hint of almonds. Add the chocolate ganache filling and it's just amazing. I'm looking forward to trying to make this again... the right way!

Almond Wanna-Be Macaroon Sandwiches
Source: Williams-Sonoma

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 egg whites, at room temperature
* 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
* 1/4 cup superfine sugar
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1 cup toasted, skinned and ground almonds
* 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
* About 2/3 cup ganache filling (see below) refrigerated until cool and thick enough to spread

DIRECTIONS:

Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper. Have ready a third rimless baking sheet, unlined.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar and beat on medium speed until the whites begin to thicken. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat just until soft peaks form. Slowly add the superfine sugar and continue to beat until stiff, shiny peaks form. Beat in the vanilla until blended. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the almonds and confectioners sugar until incorporated.

Scoop the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe mounds 1 1/2 inches in diameter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the mounds 1 inch apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Let the cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 35 to 45 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, putting the cookie-filled baking sheet on top of the unlined baking sheet. (This insulates the top bak­ing sheet so the cookie bottoms do not darken too much.) Bake until the tops and bottoms are firm and golden, 10 to 13 minutes. That wasn't quite enough for me (as you can see they look a bit light, not so golden.)

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully lift the parchment, one end at a time, and sprinkle about 2 Tbs. water under the paper. Be careful that the steam does not burn you and that water does not splash on the cookies. (The steam loosens the cookies from the paper.) After 3 minutes, slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet, peel the cookies from the paper and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Turn half of the cookies bottom side up. Spread a thin layer of the ganache filling (about 1 rounded tsp.) over the cookie bottoms. I piped my filling in because the cookies were huge! Press a plain cookie, bottom side down, onto the ganache. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Chocolate Ganache Filling

INGREDIENTS:
* 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and butter.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream just to a boil. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Using a handheld whisk, stir the mixture until the chocolate and butter melt and are smooth. Let cool until spreadable.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups.

Thanks Kate for another great month!

Cookies For Breakfast

But first things first. The other day I received a notification that I had a new comment on one of my posts. It was from Anonymous but I quickly found out it was actually from my Grandma:

Hi Stacey-This is the 23rd of May and I just went in to your blog to see what's new. Surprised and "thrilled" to see the group at the winery for Ann's birthday celebration.. And for anyone else seeing this that birthday cake is fantastic!! Have a good one-love to you and Matt--G'ma M.

The post she's referring to is here. 1) I love that my grandma reads my blog and comments on posts. 2) You know if Grandma says a cake is good, it MUST be good. So everyone needs to make the Italian Birthday Cake!

Ok, now on to cookies for breakfast.

I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies on Baking Bites recently and decided I needed to make it ASAP. Peanut Butter and Bananas make such a good combination I couldn't wait to try. The recipe is fairly simple and the cookies seem fairly simple but the taste is far from simple. One bite and I felt like I was eating a bowl of oatmeal with PB and bananas mixed in. I added some chopped honey roasted peanuts to add to the texture of the cookies and bring out the peanut flavor a bit more. The cookies are soft and chewy, similar to traditional oatmeal cookies, but the peanut butter gives them a bit more substance.

I made these 2 days in a row. The first day in cookie form and the second day in bar form. I took them to work and got rave reviews and requests for seconds. Overall my coworkers seemed to go for the bars over the cookies. Matt loved these - he was definitely not happy when I took them into work. Keeping them in my house would have been trouble. Like I said, they tasted like a bowl of oatmeal and with only 2tbsp of butter I rationalized they were a good choice for breakfast and a good pre-workout snack. :)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Source: Baking Bites



1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used chunky)
1/4 cup mashed banana
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped Honey Roasted Peanuts





Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.In a large bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Beat in egg until smooth, then mix in the peanut butter and mashed banana. Working by hand or with a mixer on low speed, blend dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture. Stir in the oats and chopped peanuts.

Shape dough into tablespoons and place on baking sheet, flattening each slightly with your fingers. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies just begin to turn golden around the edges. Cool on a wire rack.

Bakes approx 2 dozen. I got 2.5 dozen.

Belated Cookie Carnival: Toasted Almond Pink Lemonade Bars

I missed Cookie Carnival last month and was really bummed out. I was so looking forward to making lemon bars. I don’t like lemon bars but really wanted to mess around with the recipe a bit. Even though I missed the carnival I decided to play along when I had time. Rather than just making “plain” lemon bars I made Pink Lemonade Bars using Strawberry and Lemon.

The bars were tart yet very sweet, just like Strawberry Lemonade and the almond shortbread gave a nice crunch to the bars. I took these took work and got as many compliments on the yummy shortbread crust as I did the bars as a whole. They have definitely beat out my old favorite Strawberry Bar recipe. They are a bit labor intensive but well worth it. Kate and Holly, I'm so bummed out I missed this month. These were absolutely wonderful. I just bought 4lbs of Strawberries and I know where some of them will be going…

Toasted Almond Pink Lemonade Bars
Adapted From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy
Makes 1 dozen bars



For the Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 Tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

For the Stawberry Lemon Filling:
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
1 cup strawberries, hulled and pureed 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

To Toast the Almonds:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Before You Start:
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Make a parchment "sling" by cutting two pieces of parchment paper, measuring 16 1/2 inches long by 12 inches wide (you can also use aluminum foil). Place one piece across the length, and the other across the width of the pan, with the excess hanging over the edges. You will use this sling later to lift the finished bar from the pan. Spray the sling with the cooking spray.




To Make the Crust:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, almonds, and salt to combine. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. This was my first time making dough in my food processor and it was so easy. It turned out sooo much better than using my blender.

2. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/4 inches up the sides. (This crust, once it is baked, needs to act as a liner in which to pour the liquidy lemon filling. So be sure to do a good job of pressing the dough up the sides - no cracks!). Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights ( you can use dried beans or uncooked rice as pie weights as well). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Carefully remove the pie weights and the liner and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the whole crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To Make the Filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the almond extract and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice and strawberry puree, and whisk to combine.

To Complete the Bars:
1. Pour the lemon strawberry filling into the prepared crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm and lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

2. When cool use the parchment sling to lift the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into twelve 3 x 3 1/2 - inch bars. Remove from the pan and, using a small sifter, dust with the confectioners' sugar.

The bars keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.




To check out the results of April’s Cookie Carnival, go visit Holly of Phemomenon who was the guest host this month. For more information on Cookie Carnival go check out Kate at the Clean Plate Club.

Spinach Salad with Strawberries

I made this salad for dinner a few weeks ago and it was a big hit. It's based off a recipe I adapted from my friend Leslie. She made this for a shower a few months ago and from what I remember she couldn't keep the bowl filled. I made a huge batch so I was able to have this for dinner and a few lunches. It's a perfect summertime meal!

Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Adapted from: Leslie



Ingredients:

For Salad:
To be honest, I eyeballed the amounts of everything....

Bag of leaf spinach
Fresh sliced strawberries (sliced)
Red Onion, sliced
Sliced almonds
Chopped Walnuts
Crumbled Bacon
Feta
Cooked BS Chicken Breast Seasoned with S&P

For the dressing (I doubled this based off the size of my salad):

1/4 cup of veg oil
1/4 cup of sugar
1/8 tsp worcestershire
2 T cider vinegar

Mix oil, sugar, worcestershire and vinegar to make dressing. Set aside. Put spinach in salad bowl and top of with strawberries, onion, almonds, walnuts, bacon, feta, and chicken . When ready to serve, pour dressing over the salad and then toss well with tongs.

Banana PB Granola

A few weeks ago I was on overload. I didn't really have time to cook any meals and was pretty much living off snack-type foods. That combined with not having time to workout as much as I like left me feeling pretty gross. I stumbled across this recipe for Banana Peanut Butter Granola on Annie's Eats and immediately put the ingredients I didn't have on hand on my grocery list. I made it that evening and have made 4 batches of it since. I have yet to make a recipe from her blog that isn't a big hit in our house. Matt and I absolutely love the crunchy combination of Banana and Peanut Butter with a hint of chcolate. Vanilla yogurt with this granola mixed it has become my number one snack lately.

Another reason I absolutely love this is because with my old oven I could not make a batch of granola without burning it. My new oven however makes this beautifully. Each time I've made this granola I messed around with the amount of ingredients a bit, the first time I made I used more Rice Krispie (3.5cups) than Oats (2.5 cups) because I ran out of Oats. That has been my favorite batch. I also like to add some of the chocolate before mixture completely cools. Below I have the recipe as found on Annie's blog.

Banana Peanut Butter Granola
Souce: Annie's Eats



Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
2 tbsp. honey
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup mashed bananas
1/3-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, warmed slightly (I use 1/2 heaping cup)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1-1 1/2 cups dried banana chips
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts
3-4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional)



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, mashed banana, peanut butter, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the oat mixture is evenly coated. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet in a thick even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then, using a large spatula, turn the granola over in segments. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried. If necessary, remove the edges of cooked granola and bake the remaining granola for 10-15 minutes more or until done, being careful not to over-bake. Cool on a wire rack.

Once the granola has cooled, crumble it into a large bowl or plastic bag. Add in the dried banana chips, honey roasted peanuts and bittersweet chocolate, if using. Mix well to combine. Store in an airtight container.

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

This is a recipe I have heard my friend Leslie rave about for a while but I never made it. At the end of March one of the grocery stores had some excellent 5 for 5 sales on veggies. Red Peppers were one the selected items. I love Red Peppers but was feeling a little overwhelemed at the idea of 5 Red Peppers hanging out in my fridge. I soon remembered this recipe and decided to give it a shot. OK, actually I lied, I was up to my ears in homework so Matt actually made these. He did a wonderful job! These stuffed peppers very tender and juicy, definitely not a diet food but well worth it. I asked Matt how he woluld describe them and he said "Really good, an exquisite meatball in a red pepper". (what a nerd!) I think that means he really liked them. I also loved them and we've been talking about them ever since that night.

Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers Recipe
Courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Sinful Vegetables




Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 large egg
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
2 zucchini, ends removed, halved lengthwise and crosswise
1 short orange bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short red bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short yellow bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
(We obviously just used Red Peppers)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly drizzle the olive oil into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Whisk the onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Cover and refrigerate the turkey mixture.

Using a melon baller or spoon, carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Be careful not to pierce through the skin. Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed vegetables.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown and a thermometer inserted into the filling registers 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the stuffed vegetables to a platter and serve

Where do I begin?

It's hard to believe my last food related post was March 22nd. It sounds like a cop-out to say I've been super busy, but I honestly have. I work for the Layoff King in KC and when we went through the last round of layoffs a massive chunk of my group was laid off leaving the rest of us to do our work and all of theirs. So between all the OT, school, trying to workout, and everyday "stuff" I haven't been very connected to the world of blogging or even the internet in general. Today though, I am back! I spent the morning lying in bed and watching 90210 reruns on Soapnet. I haven't just lounged around in months. It felt great.

My back to blogging recipe is one I got from my coworker Eddie. I know I've mentioned before that I'm not a cake person, but this cake could be reason I'm slowly coming around to the stuff. Back in February Eddie brought some into work and I accepted a piece to be polite, thinking I'd have a bite and bring the rest home for Matt. I quickly ate my words and gobbled up the cake in no time. I asked what kind of cake I'd just inhaled and found out it was Italian Wedding Cake.

I assumed it was some sort of secret family recipe and went home and scoured the internets for what I thought could be the recipe. I found one on All Recipes and bookmarked it to make sometime. Before I had a chance to make it Eddie brought the cake in again. This time I asked her if I could have the recipe, she said sure and started to look it up online and told me it’s just so easy. I was shocked to learn that this recipe came from an episode of Sandra Lee Semi Homemade. Eddie laughed at me when I told her I thought the recipe was top secret. She said one day she was home from work watching the food network and she saw good old Sandy whipping this cake up. Eddie makes a few changes to the recipe which I decided to follow as well.

The first time I made this for my Aunt Ann’s 60th Birthday. The girls (I use the term girls to describe those of us age Twenty-Something to age Eighty-Something) in my family decided to surprise Ann with a Girls Weekend. We spent the day at a winery, a micro-brewery, and ended the night just hanging out at the hotel. It was so much fun and everyone loved the cake. The second time I made this was on Easter and my in-laws all loved the cake as well. The cake itself is incredibly delicious, dense, moist, rich, and did I mention delicious?

It has coconut, walnuts, and pineapple both in the cake and in the frosting. Both my husband and brother in-law dislike coconut, walnuts, and pineapple but loved the cake. I know my description of the cake is very vague, but it’s been so long since I made this I’m having a hard time thinking of descriptors. I would make it again but it’s VERY dangerous to keep around the house! The bottom line is this recipe for Italian Wedding Cake is phenomenal. I'm not even sure I'll ever give Allrecipes a shot.

Italian Wedding Cake
Source: Adapted from Sandra Lee

Ingredients
1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 (20oz) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 cup sweetened flake coconut, divided
2 cups chopped pecans, divided
2 (16-ounce) cans cream cheese frosting I made my own homemade cream cheese frosting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 3 9in cake pans with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, buttermilk, egg whites, and extracts. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in 8oz crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup coconut, and 1 cup pecans. Divide batter into 3 prepared cake pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 31 to 36 minutes or until tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn out on to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1 cup pecans and frosting. Frost the top of each layer with 1/2 cup of frosting and stack on top of the next layer. Use remaining frosting to frost the entire outside of cake. Slice and serve. If you make homemade frosting, add remaining coconut, pineapple, and pecans to the frosting, frost the top of each layer and entire outside of cake. Slice and Serve (I made my frosting usig 1 8oz cream cheese 4ish cups of powdered sugar, 2 sticks of butter and the pineapple, pecans, and coconut and it was enough frosting for 2 cakes)

And just for fun...

All of us at at the winery with some of our loot (yes, thats frost on the already bloomed trees on March 28th)

Sorry my spacing is messed up... I guess I'm just getting used to this blogging stuff again :)

2,559 Days Ago

7 years and 2 days ago....

Those two dorky kids met and fell in love

731 Days ago or

2 years ago

April 21, 2007...

Those same dorky kids take the plunge and get married...

The hubster and I are celebrating our 2nd Anniversary today. We just got back from a fabulolus little stay at Hermann Hill in Hermann, MO. It was a super relaxing trip filled with lots of good wine, food, and hot tubs! The past 2 years have just flown by. It's hard to believe we have been together for 7 years and married for 2 of those 7. It feels like yesterday we were just college kids whose biggest worry was whether or not to go to a party or stay in and order a pizza. Matt is a really great guy and I still wonder what I did to deserve him. It's been a great 2 years of marriage. I can't wait to see what the years ahead bring us.

And because I've been known to be an attention whore from time to time...a few La Vita Dolce....

Oh and lookie what he got me...

I left my house the other morning with this in the kitchen...

And came home to find this....

YAY!! He decided to break it in by making himself a frozen pizza, but I gave it a good use the next night. I swear I'll be back next week with some new posts. Life has just been hectic, I've been working a ton of OT at work and with school ending in 3 weeks, the last month has been insane. I'm looking forward to the summer when school will be O-V-E-R and I can relax and do the things I love!

My Latest Addiction

I hate watching the news before bed at night. It's so depressing and scary! You would think that there is nothing good in the world going on. The last thing I want to hear about before I fall asleep is who was murdered and who is getting laid off. So what do I watch before bed? The Food Network. Specifically Alton Brown's Good Eats and if I'm not tired Unwrapped. I used to think Alton Brown was just plain weird. I thought his show was stupid and didn't want to hear all of his "useless" factoids. Somewhere along the line though he grew on me and I now love tuning into him and his interesting facts at night.

Last week on the episode Sandwich-craft he made an simple, but delicious sounding Roasted Vegetable Spread. Roasted Veggies, Cream Cheese, EVOO and S&P and you got yourself an awesome dip. When I made this, I altered up the recipe a tiny bit by adding some extra vegetables. It almost reminds me of Panera's Veggie Cream Cheese, but much, much better. The roasted vegetables give the cream cheese a great flavor, especially the sweet roasted garlic flavor. I'm so glad I found this recipe. I'm starting to get bored with hummus and laughing cow cheese, this is a great way to change up my lunches and snacks. I served this with pita wedges, home made pita crisps, and veggies. Besides starring in my lunch this will also make an appearance at my next get together. It's simple to throw together, but the flavor is sure to impress company.

Roasted Vegetable Spread
Source: Alton Brown Good Eats



Ingredients
1 red bell pepper, sliced into rings I used 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 handful broccoli florets
1 handful of baby carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces cream cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper (I added quite a bit of pepper)
Challah, foccacia, pita bread, or veggies

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the bell pepper, onion, garlic, zucchini, broccoli, carrots and olive oil in a medium mixing bowl and toss until the vegetables are coated. Spread the vegetables evenly on sheet pan lined with foil and place to the oven. Roast, tossing occasionally, until they are soft and are beginning to turn brown around the edges, approximately 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.


Place the vegetables in the bowl of a food processor along with the cream cheese and process until well combined and spreadable; do not process until completely smooth.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on soft bread, such as challah, foccacia, pita bread, or serve with vegetables. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

White Cake with Strawberry-Lime Frosting

I had the urge to bake a cake the other day despite the fact I don't normally care for cake. I was going to go with Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake, but then decided I wasn't in the mood for chocolate. (I know, I know, what on earth got into me!?) I found a few different recipes but ultimately settled on Classic White Cake that Baking Blonde posted about a few months ago. I distinctively remember this post because it was a change up from the chocolate/peanut butter/cookie goodness I find so often on her blog. I was confident the cake would be delicious because everything I've tried on her blog has been wonderful.

I wanted a layer cake, but only have one round baking pan. (Isn't that odd?) So, I improvised a bit.... I baked the cake in a 9x13 glass pan that I had COATED with butter. When I pulled the pan out, the cake had pulled itself away from the edges a bit. I also took a Spatula and ran it around the edge of the cake. After it cooled, I flipped the cake upside down and gently shook the pan so the cake kind of worked its way out onto a cutting board. I let it cool completely and then I cut the cake in half so I had two squares.

Then, I started on the frosting. The other night we went to Matt's cousin's house and had delicious strawberry short cake. Ever since then strawberry desserts have been on my mind. I had strawberries in the fridge and thought I'd make a strawberry butter cream frosting. I ran the idea by Matt and he told me he wanted cream cheese frosting. I did a little research on strawberry frosting/fillings and found one similarity in all the recipes. I had to put the strawberries in a saucepan, bring them to a boil and crush them. When I went to the fridge to pull out the strawberries, I saw lovely limes looking me in the eye and decided they needed to be used too. The result was an amazing Strawberry-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. A frosting that I will make again and again.

I definitely need to practice my cake decorating skills, but over all I was happy with how my cake looked and very happy with how it tasted. The cake was moist and dense with a very subtle flavor and the frosting almost tastes like a Strawberry Daiquiri. The strawberries are nice and sweet, but then the sweetness is cut by the lime flavor - it's very refreshing. I have some left over frosting that I'm going to use on sugar cookies.

When I asked Matt if he liked it, he told me he did and said this, "You know honey, you're baking skills and my home remodeling skills are pretty similar. Every once in a while something turns out bad, but mostly the results are good things. This cake is a great thing". Men and their compliments. :) He keeps getting himself massive pieces so there isn't enough for him to take to work tomorrow... sneaky, sneaky.

White Cake with Strawberry-Lime Frosting
Cake Source: Baking Blonde
Frosting: Me

Classic White Cake

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 large egg whites

3/4 cup milk

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Butter two 9-inch diameter by 1 1/2-inch deep layer pans or 1 (13 by 9 by 2-inch) pan and line bottoms with parchment or waxed paper. (I was out of parchment paper so I just buttered the pan really well. There was no way I was using waxed paper, I had a bad experience with that once!)

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5-7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture.Scrape bowl and beater often. Pour batter into prepared pan (s) and smooth top with a metal spatula. Bake cake (s) about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.

Strawberry-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks butter, very soft

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, very soft

2 tsp vanilla

3-4 C powdered sugar

8oz strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/2 - 1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

zest from 1 lime

Combine strawberries, brown sugar, and 2 tbsp lime juice in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly and crushing strawberries with the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Cream butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer. Add 1 C of powdered sugar, mix well. Add the second cup and mix well. Add the strawberry mixture, lime zest, and remaining lime juice and (oh wait, you know what's next..) mix well. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. I ended up adding about 1 3/4 cup more powdered sugar. This made a ton, I had enough to frost the cake, use it as the filling, and still have some leftover.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope everyone had an awesome day. I know I sure did! I took the day off to enjoy some green beer and the gorgeous weather. I also made some cookies.....



I took them into work on Monday. My coworkers all loved them. I made Chocolate Shamrock Rollout Cookies with my favorite Dorie Recipe and made Cookies on a Stick with a Candy Four Leaf Clover. I used Royal Icing which I am still learning how to use the right way. I know it's famous for it's smooth look, but I do love when it's a little bit thicker, it gives me an opportunity to practice using my different decorating tips. When I decorated the cookies on a stick though, I thinned it out and got the smooth look.

For the Candy Four Leaf Clover, I used an idea I saw on Pennies on a Platter last week. I printed off an image from the Internet, placed it under a piece of wax paper and piped green candy melts over the image. When the candy set I just CAREFULLY peeled it off.

Blurry Pic of my Cookies on a Stick:

My chocolate cookies and you can also see my candy clovers:

Close up of some of the decorating detail:

I still have a long way to go in the world of decorating, but I think I'm definitely improving.

Recipes

Chocolate Rollout Cookies

Cookies on a Stick

Royal Icing

Are you a Ten? How 'bout a Time Bandit?

I just joined the TBTL Tens Metablog . There has to be at least one other time bandit (or maybe you’re cool and live in Seattle) that knows what I’m talking about. If you don’t, click here and check out the AWESOME that is TBTL.

Rawr!

Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches

I've been receiving the BHG daily recipe emails for a few years now but I rarely pay attention to them. The other day though I was procrastinating (what's new, right?) and my phone buzzed with a new email. It was from BHG. I decided to look at the featured recipes and saw quite a few that looked good. One in particular that caught my eye was Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches.

You make the beef in the crockpot and then throw it in a saucepan with a few other ingredients right before serving. The meat had this awesome spicy flavor to it. I'm usually not a big shredded beef fan, but this was so good. I even had the leftovers for dinner the next night. This meal was perfect for my crazy life because the bulk of the cooking is in the crockpot. We threw it in at 5 when we went to the gym and by the time we left for work at 7:45 the house was already full of the wonderful aroma of our dinner in the crockpot. I was also happy because the nutritional value of the sandwiches wasn't too shabby. I am positive we'll be making this again.

Southwestern Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Better Homes and Gardens


Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1 sliced red pepper, orange pepper, and yellow pepper
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 cups Shredded Beef Master Recipe (see recipe below)
1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles I used the Hot/Spicy Rotel
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro I used 1/4 Cup
1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces)
4 rolls, split and toasted, if desired
1 cup shredded lettuce

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, cook onion in hot oil over medium heat about 4 minutes or until tender. Add shredded beef, undrained tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until heated through and desired consistency. Stir in cilantro.

2. To serve, sprinkle some of the cheese over bottoms of onion rolls. Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture over cheese on each bun. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and the shredded lettuce. Add roll tops.

Makes 4 servings.

Shredded Beef Master Recipe: Trim fat from a 3 to 3-1/2 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast. If necessary, cut beef to fit a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker. Place 2 large onions, cut into thin wedges, sliced peppers and 2 cloves garlic, minced in the cooker. Top with beef.

In a medium bowl, combine 1, 14-ounce can beef broth, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed; 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Pour over beef in cooker. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 11 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5-1/2 to 6 hours.

Remove beef and onion from cooker, reserving juices. Using two forks, shred beef, discarding any fat. Skim fat from juices. Add onion to beef; add enough juices to beef to moisten. Place 2-cup portions of beef in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes 6 cups.

** Nutrition Facts: Calories 114, Total Fat (g) 4, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 1, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 16, Sodium (mg) 230, Carbohydrate (g) 10, Total Sugar (g) 1, Fiber (g) 1, Protein (g) 9, Vitamin C (DV%) 7, Calcium (DV%) 5, Iron (DV%) 7, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet**

Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Oats

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I've made a few things including these fabulously yummy cookies. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. I took the ATK Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and messed around with the recipe a bit. I don't remember why I made these, but my coworkers were crazy for them. I had multiple people ask if I put crack in them because they were so addicting. My bosslady had 6! When you take a bite it's like a flavor explosion. The peanut butter makes these especially moist and the oats give them a somewhat crunchy texture. I must say I agree with my coworkers, these are damn good.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from: ATK



1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2c rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
1 c peanut butter
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus
1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, oats, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, vanilla, and peanut butter. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips. I didn't follow this next step. I just used my good old PC cookie scoop. Although I did use parchment paper and refrigerate my dough for a bit. For an illustration of step 3 click here

3. Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.I found the trick to these cookies was taking them out of the oven before they looked like they were done. They stayed moist on the inside but slightly crunchy on the outside.

The Latest in Baby Shower Dessert

Hosting a baby shower soon? Tired of traditional baby shower food and games? Pay attention to this post.

Jules is having a baby. Somewhere along the line an idea for a Fetus theme came to light. (I think this happened at a lonnnggg happy hour one night.) It may have been a joke at first, but it slowly turned into reality. The evite, the games, the cookies, the shirt Jules wore... all fetus themed.

Around Christmas Julie stopped by and happened to see some of my mad cookie decorating skillz. I had put all the decent looking cookies away, but the super ugly ones were still out. I think it was then she knew I'd be the perfect partner to decorate the fetus cookies

So on Wednesday I headed over to her house and we got busy decorating cookies. Some were normal and others had stories. Each cookie had a bottle in hand, an umbilical cord (Twizzlers Pull and Peel), and a placenta (prune). The whole time we were decorating we just kept cracking up... it was just weirdly hilarious that we were actually decorating these cookies.

I couldn't make it to the shower because I had a wedding to go to, but I went over after the reception (the shower was still goin on... my friends know how to throw one hell of a party!) and found out they were a big hit. There were still a few cookies left so I had to try one, they were surprisingly tasty and believe it or not, it wasn't strange taking a bite out of one of the cookies.

So if you're hosting a shower and are running out of original ideas, consider the fetus theme... you too can have cookies in the shape of a fetus from "America's #1 Fetus Cookie Cutter" (no really that's what the package the cookie cutter came in says).

The somewhat normal cookies...

These fetuses had stories...

And these guys REALLY had stories...