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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

pesto pizza




ashley and i made this pizza the other night. all we did was take pizza dough and roll it out (i still havent attempted to make my own!) after the dough was rolled out we cover it with pesto (yumm) mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and mushrooms. bake until golden.

give it a try. you will love it. im offically in love with pesto.

Monday, September 13, 2010

menu monday.



monday. having the girls over! we are having: tomato brushetta, cucumber hummus cups, turkey pesto sliders, caprese salad skewers, cheese & crackers, and snickers cupcakes. oh, maybe some popcorn, too! RECIPES TO COME! :)

tuesday. leftovers.

wednesday. bbq sandwiches & beans

thursday. chili & salad

friday. out to eat! its restaurant week! check it.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

cupcakes. dog friendly.



so, as i mentioned before...pepper's birthday was august 18. i wanted her to have a treat so i decided to make her cupcakes. humans can eat them...but i wouldnt suggest it. they are pretty gross.

someone gave me this but it was from rachel ray!

cupcakes for dogs.

2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 carrot, grated, plus more for garnish
1 large egg
1/4 cup honey
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces softened cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease two 12-cup muffin pans. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, carrot, egg and honey; stir in 3 cups water.

In another large bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and baking powder; mix into the carrot mixture.

Fill each muffin cup about three-quarters full. Bake until firm and dry, about 45 minutes. Let cool, then top each cupcake with more grated carrot and smear with cream cheese.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

mexican night







our neighbors and good friends, jennifer & elise, have decided that one night a week we would cook for each other. this week was my turn, next week is their turn. i decided to do a cute mexican night. the food was delish!

i used lesie's guacamole. which is so so amazing. i also used leslie's homemade tortilla chips. im pretty much in love with her blog at the moment.

GUACAMOLE:

2 ripe avocados

1/4 onion, finely minced

1/2 large ripe tomato, diced into small pieces

a handful of cilantro, chopped

the juice of half a lime

a pinch of salt

Place the meat of the avocados in a medium bowl and roughly mash with a fork.

Add in the onion, tomato, cilantro, lime and salt. Mix together.

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS:

Tortillas

cooking spray

salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tortilla in strips or pie shapes (whichever you prefer) Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and lay the tortilla strips down on it. Spray the tops with cooking spray too and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until starting to turn golden. Eat warm.


for the adorable taco bowls, i found this cute idea on annie's blog.

TACO BOWLS:

place a warmed, lightly oiled tortilla in between the cups of an overturned muffin tin. Bake at 425˚ F for 8-10 minutes. fill it with taco stuff after! :)

and i just used fresh shredded cheese, lettuce, onion, and tomato!

it was super fun and pretty cute!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

no bake peanut butter pie




joythebaker has this on her site but as a no bake peanut butter tart. i cheated. i had a graham cracker pie crust that had been sitting in the pantry forrrever...so i used it!

peanut butter pie

here goes:

if you want to make your own crust:

12 double graham crackers (the kind that measure about 5 x 2 1/2-inches)

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

pinch of salt

Crust the graham crackers in a food processor, in a plastic back with a rolling pin or with your hands in a bowl. Make sure they are very well crumbled with no large chunks remaining. Add the melted butter and stir thoroughly, making sure all of the crumbs receive some butter love. Pour the graham cracker and butter mixture into a 9-inch tart shell with a removable bottom. Press the mixture along the sides of the tart pan and along the bottom until evenly coated. Carefully place the tart pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

filling:

1 3/4 cups heavy cream, divided

1 cup natural peanut butter

3/4 (6 ounces) cup cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

To make the filling combine the peanut butter, softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in the bowl of an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment. You can also use the food processor if you’d like.

Blend the three ingredients until thoroughly incorporated, but don’t over blend or some liquids will separate.

In a separate bowl, whip 3/4 cup of heavy cream to soft peaks. Add the whipped cream to the peanut butter mixture and fold together until well incorporated.

Remove the tart pan from the freezer and spoon in the peanut butter filling. Spread evenly. (if you made your crust.)

Whip up the remaining cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks and add to the top of the peanut butter filling. Refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.

enjoy!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

rotisserie crock pot chicken

fact: rotisserie crock pot chicken is fab.
fact: pulling the chicken off the bone is not fun if you feel bad for the chicken like i do.

this is the chicken whole- (obvi)


and then you pull it apart to make this fab-ness.



i make this all the time. it's great b/c it's easy to do and it makes many, many meals! one time i skinned the chicken before putting it in the crockpot. i would suggest NOT doing that as it makes no different and skinning it first is SO gross...at least i think so.

rotisserie crock pot chicken
source: a year of slow cooking

what you need.

-1 whole chicken, skinned (or not...whatevs) (4-5 pounds)
-2 tsp salt
-1 tsp paprika
-1 tsp onion powder
-1/2 tsp dried thyme
-1 tsp Italian seasoning
-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-pinch of chili pepper (probably not necessary)

-4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
-1 yellow onion, quartered (optional)

what you need to do.

skin the chicken and remove the other grossness from inside the bird. it takes a while and you will say eww at least 5 times. remember not to touch anything. cause its GROSS. (keep in mind you dont have to skin the chicken)

combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. rub mixture over the bird...inside and out. put bird into crockpot.

put onion and whole garlic cloves in the bird if you want. i did.

NO H2O! DO NOT ADD WATER. THIS CHICKEN WILL BE SO JUICY:)

cook on low for 8 hours. (or high for 4-5 hours) longer you cook = more tender the meat.


ps. i cooked mine for like 9-10 hours. it fell apart when i took it out of the crockpot. delishhhhhhh!

make it. now. :)

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

eat.pray.love.




EH. those are my thoughts. maybe i should have read the book first? idk. all i know is it didn't impress me much. but i will take julia's clothes. thanks.

what does impress me... CINEBARRE! on tuesdays tickets are only $5! so 2 tuesdays in a row we have had girls night. do you know about cinebarre?? you can eat & drink while watching a movie. the fried pickles are insane. the wine is fab. and having both of this while watching a girly movie with my friends is the best.