SMASHED POTATOES

Now the picture may not be much....................but the taste is awesome!  Smashed potatoes are super easy, offering a combo of crunchy and creamy at the same time!

Play around with flavors, or keep it simple like I did with just some salt, pepper, and rosemary.  You decide.

INGREDIENTS:

*Small red potatoes (I've also used Yukon Gold)

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

seasoning options:  rosemary, parmesan, minced garlic

*serving size is 2-3 potatoes per person

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot full of boiling water, cook potatoes until they are fork tender  Approximately 12-18 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.   Drizzle some olive oil where each of the potatoes will sit on the pan.  Place a potato on the olive oil and rub to ensure the olive oil is on the bottom of the potato.  Using either a potato smasher, or I like a large glass with a flat bottom, smash each of the potatoes.

Using a brush, generously coat the potatoes with olive oil.   Season with salt, pepper and crushed rosemary.  

Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes,  until brown and crispy.  Garnish with sour cream, and fresh parsley prior to serving.

Enjoy!

CREAM CHEESE SWIRL BROWNIES

Super rich...and super yummy!  A perfect combo of brownie and cheesecake flavors to satisfy everybody.

This recipe has been around awhile, so you may have already added it to your collection.  If you haven't, definitely give it a try!

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING

*8 oz. cream cheese, softened 

¼ cup sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

1 egg, separated, yolk reserved for brownie batter

½ tsp. vanilla

BROWNIES

*1 box Betty Crocker Supreme original brownie mix

water, oil and egg called for on the mix box

reserved egg yolk

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom of 9 inch square pan with cooking spray.  Add a layer of parchment paper leaving it long enough to create "handles" to use when removing the brownies from the pan.  Spray the parchment with cooking spray.  Beat cream cheese and sugar using a mixer.  Add flour, egg white and vanilla; mix until well blended.  Set aside.

Make brownie batter as directed on box, adding reserved egg yolk.  Reserve ½ cup batter; set aside.  Spread remaining batter in pan.  Spoon filling evenly onto batter using a tablespoon.  Create large dollops making 3 rows x 3 rows.  Spoon 1 Tbsp. of the reserved batter in center of each dollop.  Draw knife through mixture in four straight lines horizontally, then vertically for swirled designs.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips. 

Bake 28-32 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean.  Cool 30 minutes on rack.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour until chilled before slicing into squares.  

**NOTES:

Many recipes call for only 3 oz. of cream cheese, but feedback suggested that wasn't enough, so I opted to use an 8 oz. package instead.   Also, I found a Betty Crocker mix that included chocolate chips, so I used it versus adding my own chips

recipe c/o:  Betty Crocker

Enjoy!

BROCCOLI, GRAPE, AND PASTA SALAD

I was recently in need of a second side dish for a family gathering we were hosting.  I knew that I  really wanted something with veggies in it, since the other side was potato salad.

 

This broccoli, grape and pasta salad I found was an awesome choice.  It is super tasty and got really good reviews from the family!  

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup chopped pecans

1 lb. fresh or frozen broccoli (I used frozen)

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup chopped red onion

5 Tbsp. granulated sugar

8 slices cooked bacon

2 cup seedless grapes, cut in half

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 box (16 oz.) bow tie pasta (farfalle)

1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a single layer of pecans on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet.  Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  Set aside. 

Cook pasta according to package directions.    If using fresh broccoli, clean and cut florets from stems, separate into small pieces.  Discard tough outer layers. 

Place drained pasta and florets into a large bowl.  

In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, onion, sugar, red wine vinegar, and salt.   *Pour sauce over the pasta/florets.  Cover and chill for 3 hours.  Just before serving, Toss in pecans and bacon.  Serve.  

Note:  *One individual shared that they pour half the sauce over the pasta and broccoli initially and chill the remainder, then add it at the same time the pecans and bacon are added.  I actually chose to assemble mine this way.  I liked the way the additional sauce "refreshed" the entire bowl. 

recipe c/o:  www.southernliving.com

Enjoy!

FROSTED BANANA BARS

How is it that bananas look great one day, and the next day they're all brown?  So, what to do.....I have an awesome banana bread recipe, but I thought it was time for something a bit different.  In scouring the recipes on the interest, I stopped with frosted banana bars.  I mean.  How could they not be good? 

Here you go....so moist and full of banana goodness finished off with a cream cheese frosting!  They're so good and this recipe makes about 3 dozen!!  I actually froze some to save for another time.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda 

dash salt

FROSTING: 

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, bananas and vanilla.  Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture just until blended.

Transfer to a greased or sprayed 15x10x1 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Frost bars.  

Enjoy!

recipe c/o:  Taste of Home

CALICO QUICHE

I have several "go to" quiche recipes that I've collected over the years, but I'm always up for adding new options to my collection.  Those that I have are more breakfast type, while I would consider this one more of a lunch or dinner option based on the main protein being chicken.

 There is a bit of prep, but it wasn't too over the top....and in the end, the house smelled wonderful, and it was very tasty!

INGREDIENTS:

1  (9 inch ) pie shell, homemade or frozen 

¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped

½ cup green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup swiss cheese, grated

1 cup cooked chicken, cubed

¼ cup butter (½ stick)

½ cup onion, coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp. all purpose flour

½ cup half and half

½ cup sour cream

4 eggs, beaten

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped

*salt & pepper/garlic

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil (in the event of drippage)

Place the shell on the baking sheet.  In the bottom of the pie shell, add the chicken pieces, layer in the peppers and cheeses.

In a saute' pan, melt butter and saute' the onions until soft.  Whisk in flour thoroughly.  Stir in half and half and simmer until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.  Let cool.

In a bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, nutmeg and parsley.  Stir into the onion mixture. 

Pour filling into the pie crust.  ***Bake 35-40 minutes  or until set.   Let cool slightly prior to slicing.

NOTES:  

• ***The center was still runny, and the top was pale at the 40 minute mark....it took my quiche closer to 55 minutes to fully cook and the top was a beautiful golden brown as well.  
• I used the Marie Callendar's deep dish pie shell, there's a lot of ingredients in the recipe, so make sure you have room for everything!
• *The recipe didn't call for any seasoning, but I would suggest adding at least some salt & pepper into the egg mixture (possibly a little garlic powder)

Enjoy!

recipe c/o:  Portland's Palate cookbook

FOAM FLOWERS

I'm hooked!  I just learned how to make foam flowers and I just can't stop making them.  They're so fun.  I've made hairpieces for a number of brides over the years, so being able to add another variety for my clients was my goal.  I loved how realistic these looked, and I've been working on my technique ever since I found the first YouTube video on them.

I'm pleased with what I've done so far, but I know as with anything in life, I'll only improve with additional practice!  The foamiran foam currently is a little difficult to find.  This seems to be very prevalent in Europe, but not so much here in the U.S.   Shipping costs from Europe are crazy expensive, so I was thrilled when I found a source here in the U.S.

I ordered the white foam and have been practicing/learning on it.  I also purchased some oil pastels and have been playing around with "dyeing" the petals versus purchasing lots of different colors of foam.  
In the beginning, I made my own patterns (after all, I'm a professional patternmaker!), which also meant handcutting each of the flowers with my small scissors.  Some of the flowers take 6 layers, so it took a bunch of time and as expected, each layer was not exactly the same size/shape as the other.  It didn't affect the overall look of the finished product, but it meant more time for me to make adjustments along the way.  I've still been using some of my handmade patterns, but I also invested in a die cutting machine and purchased two basic dies.  What a time saver!  I can run four layers of foam through the machine and have absolutely perfect "cookie cutter" shapes in a matter of seconds.

Again, I'm finding plenty of supplies (dies, stamens, inks, etc.) in the U.K. , but the shipping is more than one die!  So, I haven't broken down and purchased them overseas yet.  I've been making due with what I can source here locally and so far so good.  Maybe in time, I'll take the leap.

I'm also playing around with options for my clients, like combs, alligator clips, and u pins.  I'm also  making sure my finishing techniques on each of these varieties is professional.   There's lots to learn, that's for sure!  I'm tending toward the plastic variety of combs since there are lots of teeth and they're really long versus the metal combs.  I absolutely want these to be secure when they're in place!

So that's my foam flower journey so far!  I love learning new things....it's good for the mind and  the soul!  I'm hopeful that these will sell both on my shop and with my local clients.  In the meantime, I'll keep making more, I really find that I get lost in the creative process and before you know it hours have gone by and I'm still at it!

PFEFFERNEUSSE COOKIES

Just about every year growing up my Dad would buy a small box of Pfefferneusse cookies around the holidays.  They really have a totally unique flavor profile, and while I enjoyed all of Mom's homebaked cookies, the Pfefferneusse were also yummy.

Don't ask me why I thought of them or this aspect of my childhood in July....but I did....and, of course, I had to go looking for a Pfefferneusse recipe to see if they tasted like I remembered them as a kid.

They're super easy to make and I had everything but anise extract already in my cupboard! 

They really did taste like I remembered.  Spicy and slightly sweet with a firm outside and soft inside.  This recipe makes 26-30 cookies; it also requires the dough to be chilled for at least an hour so keep that in mind when considering the length of time you'll need before you can enjoy them!

 INGREDIENTS: 

1 ¼ cups confectioner's sugar 

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground allspice

½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

½ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

¼ cup unsulfured molasses

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ tsp. anise extract

½ tsp. cardamom

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients.  

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer beat together the butter, brown sugar and molasses on medium spped until light and fluffy. 

Beat in the egg. 

Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  

Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls.  Place them on a cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are golden brown and firm to the touch, about 14 minutes.  Let cookies cool slightly, then roll in confectioner'sugar.

Enjoy!