Recipes

S’more Brownies

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Hey, there! I’m jumping on the summer s’more obsession bandwagon. And I’m not ashamed by it one bit. There’s a reason the s’more is the most popular summer food trend. Ooey-gooey melty chocolate and marshmallow. Sitting around a camp fire with family and friends. Enjoying warm weather and late nights. Getting all messy and not giving a care about it in the world.

Unfortunately not all of us have access to a backyard fire pit, but that doesn’t mean we can’t partake in the fun! Make these brownies and you’ll be transported to your favorite childhood memory.

S'more Brownies

You can follow the recipe below, or feel free to take a semi-homemade philosophy and use a boxed brownie mix! Just don’t skip out on making the graham cracker crust. I wonder if you can even fill two pie crusts with the brownie batter and turn these s’more brownies into s’more brownie pies!

S’more Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 15 graham crackers, divided use
  • 2 1/2 C sugar, divided use
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 C cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 C flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 C mini marshmallows
  • 3 chocolate bars

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Crush 12 of the graham crackers into crumbs. You should have about 1 1/2 C of crumbs. Combine crumbs with 1/2 C sugar and 6 tbsp melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9×13″ pan and bake for 7 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together 2 sticks softened butter with 2 C sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract.
  5. In a bowl whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Add to the stand mixer and mix until incorporated.
  6. Pour batter evenly over graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes.
  7. Break chocolate bars and remaining 3 graham crackers into bite size pieces. Top brownies with chocolate, crackers, and marshmallows. Bake another 10 – 15 minutes.
  8. If you have leftovers, they’re best reheated in a toaster oven for a few minutes until chocolate and marshmallows are again melty and gooey.

*This recipe is modified from Nikki at http://www.chef-in-training.com/2014/07/smore-brownies/*

S'more Brownies

Grilled Pork and Pineapple

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Before the summer disappears and the weather gets too cold for grilling you have to give this recipe a try! This dinner is ready in under 20 minutes and according to Better Homes and Gardens is under 320 Calories with only 7 grams of fat. So before you’re switching your menu to comfort foods, enjoy this summer meal.

Grilled Pork and Pineapple

Ingredients:

  • 4 pork chops
  • 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into rings
  • 1/2 C yogurt
  • 3 tbsp orange marmalade
  • 1/4 C cashews

Steps:

  1. Season pork with S+P. Grill pork over medium heat for four minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
  2. Grill pineapple.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt and marmalade.

*This recipe is adapted from http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pork/grilled-pork-and-pineapple/*

Grilled Pork and Pineapple

Neapolitan Cake

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Kate

Today is Kate’s birthday! As you know, Kate is my baking buddy! She is who I turn to if I need to bake a cake – especially if I need to decorate that cake. Kate is very talented when it comes to decorating cakes. Kate is also my quilting pal – together we have completed 4 t-shirt quilts, 8 baby quilts, and 10 others.

Kate's Cakes

Kate and I both share August birthdays and we like to get together to bake a fancy cake to celebrate. This year I took inspiration from a foodgawker find and we did a play on Neapolitan ice cream – but in cake form! We used Kate’s favorite chocolate cake recipe and 3 different flavors of butter cream frosting – strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla! Look below the photo for the frosting recipes.

Neapolitan Cake

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp milk

Steps:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter. Add powdered sugar. Add vanilla extract and milk. If needed, add more milk 1/2 tbsp at a time. 

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 1/8 C cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp milk

Steps:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add milk. If needed, add more milk 1/2 tbsp at a time. 

Strawberry Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp strawberry puree (for puree, pulse a handful fresh strawberries in a blender)

Steps:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter. Add powdered sugar. Add strawberry puree. If needed, add more puree 1/2 tbsp at a time. 

 

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

After a month of quilting posts it’s time for the return of Mexican Monday.

This dinner was the first dinner I made after having my son. My mom was back for two weeks to help out and spend lots of time with her first grandchild, and then we had friends make dinner for us, and I had a couple freezer friendly slow cooker dishes prepared.

It may have been a little ambitious to tackle something this time consuming, but my husband was home and able to help keep our son satisfied. I was able to make the dough and get the sweet potatoes in the oven before needing to feed Wesley. And while he was napping I cooked up the chorizo. Later in the day, after the dough had chilled I started assembling the hand pies. I did have to swap out with Stuart so Wesley could eat – and I am thankful for his help in assembling!

The original recipe suggested using a 5-6″ round cookie cutter and folding the hand pies in half moons. I don’t have a round cookie cutter, so I used a glass – which I do with pierogi. But because there’s more filling in these hand pies than in my pierogi, I wasn’t able to fold them into half moons. So I created full circle hand pies by placing another circle of dough on top of the filling. (Good thing I doubled the recipe!)

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies 1

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided use
  • 2 sticks butter, cold and cubed
  • 1/2 C cold water
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 lb chorizo
  • 1/2 – 3/4 C shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 1 egg

Steps:

  1. Make the pie crust: In a food processor pulse together the flour and 1 tsp salt. Add in the cubed, cold butter and pulse until it becomes crumbly. Stream in the cold water until the dough comes together around the blade. Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill in fridge at least 2 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Poke holes with a fork in the sweet potatoes. Place in oven and bake 40-50 minutes, until soft. Remove and place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until cool enough to touch. Peel away the skin and mash potatoes. Stir in the cumin, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp salt. Set aside.
  4. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown chorizo. Breaking up with a wooden spoon. When cooked through, drain fat and set aside.
  5. Make egg wash by beating the egg with 1 tsp water.
  6. Roll out dough on a clean, floured surface to 1/8″ thickness. Using a cookie cutter or glass cut out circles. Top dough with sweet potato, chorizo, and shredded cheese. Rub egg wash around the edge of the dough and either fold into half moon or top with another circle of dough. Press hand pie closed with a fork. Cut a slit in the top of the hand pie, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden.

*This recipe is adapted from Kelley at http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2014/03/sweet-potato-and-chorizo-hand-pies/*

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies 2

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

In the world of sweets, cupcakes have been the dominating dessert for quite some time now. And one of the popular trends is to turn a favorite beverage into a cupcake flavor. There are countless margarita cupcakes, Guinness cupcakes, and cupcakes using soda.

Kate and I decided to take our favorite mocktail and turn it into a cupcake. It’s such a fun cupcake and would be adorable to use in February for Valentine’s Day, for a summer party, or any little girl’s birthday.

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

  • 1 1/2 C plus 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 C cherry 7-up, at room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
  • red food coloring (optional)

Ingredients for the frosting:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp maraschino cherry juice

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tray with paper liners.
  2. In a bowl, 1 1/2 C flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time until incorporated.
  4. Add one third of the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add half of the cherry 7-up. Repeat until dry ingredients and soda are used (ending with the dry).
  5. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
  6. In a small bowl, mix 3/4 C of the cake batter with the remaining 1 tbsp flour, maraschino cherry juice, and food coloring.
  7. Distribute the red cake batter between 12 cupcakes. Top with remaining batter – do not mix.
  8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.
  9. Meanwhile, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and pinch of salt. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, the lemon juice, and maraschino cherry juice. Frost cupcakes.
  10. Garnish with maraschino cherries and a a straw!

*This recipe is adapted from Shanon at http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/06/26/shirley-temple-cupcakes/*

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

#FoodieExtravaganza: Peaches

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

Foodie Extravaganza

I recently joined yet another food blog linky party. This one, the Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient into recipes to share with you and this month, our host Kaylin of Keep it Simple, Sweetie, chose peaches as the star ingredient.

I admitted in last month’s stone fruit #bundtbakers post that I don’t like peaches. But my husband does! I didn’t want to sit out my very first month as a member of this fun group of bloggers so I “forced” him to actually measure out the ingredients in his morning smoothie so that I could write up an official recipe. 😉

Raspberry Peach Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 2 C frozen peach slices
  • 1/2 C frozen raspberries
  • 4 tbsp vanilla honey (or honey)
  • 1/2 C vanilla yogurt
  • 1 1/2 C milk

Steps:

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Raspberry Peach Smoothie

Be sure to check out the rest of these perfect peach recipes:

Peach & Blue Cheese Prosciutto Bruschetta by Keep it Simple, Sweetie

Old-Fashioned Peach Cobbler by From Gate to Plate

Peach Mousse by Love in the Kitchen

Peach Orange Banana Smoothie by We Like to Learn as We Go

Peach Almond Cake by My Creative Days

Peach Donuts by Rae Gun Ramblings

Peaches & Cream Dessert Bars by The Freshman Cook

Fresh Peach Salsa by Rhubarb and Honey

Skinny Vegan Peach Coffee Cake by Baking in Pyjamas

Pistachio Peach Pie Pops by Pantry Friendly Cooking

Perfect Peach Treats

We hope you all enjoyed our delicious peach packed foods this month and don’t forget to stop by to see what next month’s ingredient is!

If you would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

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Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Making homemade ice cream can be an intimidating project to tackle. There is always that fear of scrambling the eggs when making the custard and having to start all over. But it’s the eggs that create that creamy texture we all know and love.

Or so I thought.

When I saw this recipe for ice cream, and noticed the ingredient list did not include eggs I was skeptical. But I was also anxious to give it a shot! It looked very simple to make and should be fail proof.

The base of this ice cream could be used for multiple applications – add whatever “toppings” you want! I went with classic chocolate chips. The recipe makes the perfect amount to serve 4 people.

Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 1 C milk
  • 1 C heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 C mini chocolate chips

Steps:

  1. In a saucepan over low heat, dissolve sugar in milk. Add in the cream and vanilla. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  2. Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker. Towards the end of churning, add in the chocolate chips. Freeze until ready to serve.

*This recipe is adapted from Amber at http://www.sprinklewithflour.com/2012/08/homemade-chocolate-chip-caramel-swirl.html*

Choc Chip Ice Cream

CIC: Cranberries & Shallots

~ lk529 ~ 13 Comments

CIC-headerThis month members got to vote on the ingredients for the Crazy Ingredient Challenge. I love this new assignment method as it provides more time to allow inspiration to flow. It also gives me the opportunity to sway the challenge in a direction away from one of my many food allergies. I hated having to sit out last month’s Cantaloupe and Capers due to my melon allergy. I’m happy to say that my voted-for selection of Cranberries and Shallots won, by one vote!

There are a lot of directions one could take with this month’s challenge – salad, chutney, cheese log, bread pudding, anything Thanksgiving inspired, etc. I decided to do a simple side dish – elevating Brussels sprouts with sweetness from dried cranberries.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Cranberries

Ingredients:

  • 5 strips of bacon, chopped
  • 1 1/2 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 C dried cranberries
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 C water

Steps:

  1. In a large skillet on medium-high heat cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside.
  2. Add Brussels sprouts to same skillet and cook 5 minutes. Add shallots and garlic – cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Stir in cranberries, honey, and water. Reduce to medium heat, cover, and simmer 7 minutes until liquid is evaporated and Brussels sprouts are tender. Stir in bacon and season with S+P.

*This recipe is modified from http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/brussels-sprouts-with-walnuts-and-dried-cranberries/ and https://sewyoucancook.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/thanksgiving-brussels-sprouts/*

Brussels sprouts with Bacon and Cranberries

To see the other blogs that participated this month click on the link below. And if you’re a blogger and interested in joining us, contact Dawn at spatulasonparade@gmail.com. You don’t have to participate every month, but if you’re up for the challenge, we’d love to have you!

#BundtBakers: Stone Fruit

~ lk529 ~ 22 Comments
BundtBakers

With it being July I knew I had to take this month’s #BundtBakers theme in an All American direction. #BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. This month’s theme is stone fruit and our lovely host is Felice of All That’s Left are the Crumbs.

While I can’t get enough of the smell of fresh peaches and nectarines I don’t particularly care for them. And in thinking of something that’d be great for the 4th of July I knew I had to go with cherries.

Chocolate and cherries are a classic combination. So I knew I wanted to do a chocolate cake. But how to incorporate the cherry? IMG_9243-2I decided to try following the method I use on my popular coffee cake and placing cherry pie filling in the middle of the batter. Well, just like my attempted Mimosa Bundt two months ago the fruit didn’t cooperate like I’d hoped. But this time it created a more beautiful result than I could have imagined! And it also eliminated my need to make a frosting. (For the record I planned on putting some cherry pie filling liquid into a chocolate glaze.) The cherry pie filling fell to the bottom of the bundt pan which created a “pre-made” cherry glaze for the cake. The only downfall is that my brand new star bundt pan didn’t get to shine in all its glory. Thankfully a couple of the stars remained filled with cake batter instead of cherries that I can still show it off.

All-American Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1 C water
  • 1/3 C cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 C flour
  • 1 3/4 C sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 container (5.3 oz) cherry flavored Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease bundt pan.
  2. In a saucepan melt together butter, water, cocoa powder, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, and baking soda.
  4. Using a hand mixer add half of the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients. When incorporated add the remaining chocolate.
  5. Add the eggs one at a time, the yogurt, and the vanilla extract.
  6. Pour half of the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Add cherry pie filling (I did not use all of the can) and top with remaining batter.
  7. Bake 50-55 minutes, or until a knife comes out cleanly. Allow to cool in the bundt pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out.

*This recipe is adapted from Maria & Josh at http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-sour-cream-bundt-cake/*

All-American Chocolate Cherry Pie Bundt

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. All recipes and photographs can be found on our individual blogs, on our Pinterest board, and the #bundtbakers homepage.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Cherry Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days

Cherry Carrot & Banana Bundt by Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Peaches n Cream Melba Bundt Cake by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas

Roasted Cherry Kugelhopf with Cherry Bourbon Glaze by Tux at Brooklyn Homemaker

Peachy Bundt by Margaret at Tea and Scones

Plum, Chocolate, and Orange Bundt Cake by Maria at Box of Stolen Socks

Cinnamon Peach Bundt Cake by Beatriz at I Love Bundt Cakes

Cherry Almond Ginger Bundt by Jane at Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Chocolate Avocado Bundt Cake by Terri at Love and Confections

Black Forest Bundt Cake with Cherry Ganache Topping by Teri at The Freshman Cook

Caramel Mango Bundt Cake by Bea at Secrets from my Apron

Upside-down Apricot Butter Bundt by Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Brown Sugar Tomato Pasta

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

Kelli

Today is Kelli’s birthday. Kelli is my brother’s fiance and has been featured on Sew You Think You Can Cook a few times before. Her parents are passionate cooks and Kelli has shared some of their recipes with me. (Black Beans & Buffalo Chicken Dip)

I can’t wait until she officially becomes a member of the family – having been with my brother for longer than I’ve known Stuart, she’s already a sister to me. Kelli is beautiful both inside and out and is the most fashionable person I know! Every time I spend time with her I’m inspired to refresh my wardrobe, paint my nails, wear makeup and accessorize with fun jewelry. Unfortunately that urge never lasts long enough to become habit and I’m back in t-shirts and jeans, feeling frumpy before I know it. Kelli is incredibly smart and a hard worker and is currently pursuing her dreams in dental school.

Kelli’s favorite dessert is pie. I believe pumpkin is her all time favorite with key lime coming as a close second. As key lime pie is my personal favorite, I featured it last year on my birthday. But, the first time I ever tried making key lime pie was for Kelli on her birthday 3 years ago. I actually squeezed juice from real key limes for it! It was the tartest pie EVER.

I couldn’t do another key lime pie post – my previous one yields the most perfect key lime pie so there isn’t anywhere to go but down from that one! And I just use the recipe on the can of pumpkin puree for pumpkin pie. So, I asked her what she’d like featured on her day. She gave me this simple but beautiful recipe for the pasta dish her mom would always make for her on her birthday.

I absolutely loved this recipe and it is a perfect, light pasta dish for summer. It would make a great side dish too.

Brown Sugar Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:

  • 6 roma tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lb spaghetti

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
  2. Cut tomatoes into eighths and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt, pepper, brown sugar, and olive oil. Bake for 90-120 minutes.
  3. Cook pasta in boiling salted water.
  4. In a large bowl toss together tomatoes and pasta.

Brown Sugar Tomato Pasta