Easy Peanut Butter Cookies, and a little break

I have a super easy cookie recipe for you! And boy do I need things to be easy right now. And because of that, we'll be taking a break. Of course the recipe archive is always open. And if you have a recipe to send over, I'll happily post it. I just don't have oodles (ok, any) time to post regularly from my own recipe stash. Hope your kitchens are happy and full of fun smells!

 

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1egg

Splash of Vanilla

Mix together until smooth.

Drop by small spoon fulls onto lined baking sheet. 

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

Egg in a Nest

Or Toad in a Hole, or Egg in a Basket, or Bull's Eye Eggs, or whatever you might want to call it. But this is a smash hit with the kids (and the grown-ups, too):

Don't forget to grill up the little buttered cut out! I admit to eating those as I am cooking. Don't tell the kids. They don't know that's part of the fun, yet. Also, in my college days when I didn't have cookie cutters, I used a glass to cut a circle (ok, up until a month ago I was still using a glass)...

Rustic Tart with Acorn Squash and Chorizo Sausage

This tart is actually quite simple, requiring few ingredients and enjoying the fall harvest of squash. If you are afraid of peeling an Acorn Squash, don't be; it's so simple. All you need is a good knife, and a sense of adventure!

Acorn Squash and Chorizo Tart

1 sheet Puff Pastry
1 Acorn squash
1/2 lb Chorizo sausage (or mild Italian if you don't like spicy)
1 clove of garlic
1 sweet onion
3 T olive oil
1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 T water

Allow pastry to defrost at room temperature for 40 minutes. Roll into a 14" circle, trimming and shaping dough where needed. After dough is in desired shape, return to the refrigerator.

To peel the Acorn squash, start by trimming both ends. Then, sit the squash on one end, and carefully slice the green parts away in a downward motion, until all the green parts are gone. Slice the squash in two, and scoop out the seeds in the middle. Cut the squash into small cubes, place on a roasting pan, and drizzle with olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast squash at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until deep orange and tender.

In a large pan, saute onion in olive oil until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add minced garlic, and cook for only a minute. Transfer onion mixture into a dish. In the same pan, saute the sausage for a few minutes, until mostly done.

Bring your pastry out of the fridge. Leaving a 2" border, layer the onions and garlic, roasted Acorn squash, and cooked Chorizo. Top with the shredded Monterey cheese. Fold the pastry border over the filling, and brush with egg yolk mixture. Place on top of parchment paper to save clean up time, and roast in the oven for 30 minutes (still at the same 400 degrees).

Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.


I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.
-  Nathaniel Hawthorne

Lemon Linguini

This pasta dish has the comfort factor of Fettucini Alfredo, with a fresh twist added by the lemon and parsley. It is quick and easy, great with garlic bread and a simple salad, and maybe some chocolate mousse for dessert. Sparkling raspberry water would be a complimentary drink—or whatever you like!

Lemon Linguini
1 Package fresh angel hair pasta
1 Wedge parmesan cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
3/4 C Whipping cream
Salt to taste
3 Egg yolks
Fresh parsley, for garnish

Cook pasta according to directions on package. In a saucepan, mix together lemon juice, lemon zest, cheese, whipping cream, and egg yolks. Cook over very low heat until slightly thickened. Add salt to taste, and white pepper if desired. Add pasta to pan, stirring to coat.
Garnish with fresh parsley.

Garlic Bread with Smoked Paprika
Your favorite rustic bread (Rosemary, Sour Dough, French, etc.)
1 Cube butter
1/2 C shaved parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon
2 Cloves fresh garlic, minced

Rub the spices, cheese, garlic and butter mixture on thick slices of crusty bread. Broil in the oven, or the convection oven, until toasty and brown. Serve! 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Tiny Cake Escape, Part Deux

If you happened to buy three tiny cake pans for the previous tiny cake featured, here is another use for them! I combined several recipes in this cake, and then divided the recipe in 1/3 so that if you are cooking for a small party, the proportions match. If you are cooking for a large party, just multiply proportions by 3.

Tiny Strawberry and Mascarpone Cheese Cake

For Cake:
6 T butter
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 C + 1 T sifted cake flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt, generous
1/3 C Mascarpone cheese
1 t vanilla
1/3 C sour cream
2 T cream or milk


For Glaze: 
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 C powdered sugar

For Buttercream Frosting: 
 1 stick of butter
1 package (16 0z) powdered sugar


To Make:

Cream butter and sugar. Sift together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Add egg to butter and sugar, and continue to mix on low. Mix together wet ingredients: Mascarpone cheese, vanilla, sour cream, and milk or cream. Add wet and dry ingredients to mixer, alternating, starting with dry and ending with wet. Allow batter to rest for a few minutes while you butter and flour your three tiny (5") cake pans. If you would like, you may also line them with parchment paper.

Fill pans 1/2 full of batter. Bake at 350 degrees, for about 15 minutes. Remember, these cakes are tiny, so keep an eye on them!

To make the glaze, place sliced strawberries and 2 T water in a pan. Boil for 5 minutes, until liquid is reduced. In a food processor, puree strawberries, and add powdered sugar. Combine until you have a thick glaze.

Make the buttercream frosting by whipping softened butter, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt together in your mixer. 

After cakes are cooled, place on desired cake stand (remember wax paper!), and layer the cake, glaze, and Buttercream frosting. When all cakes are stacked, spread remaining strawberry glaze over the top. Slice some strawberries for garnish. Your tiny cake is ready to eat!


For part one, click HERE.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like the new recipe card design? You can find them HERE.

Guest Post with a recipe from Bridget Hunt

This delicious recipe is brought to you by Bridget of
"Tales of Me and the Husband: Plus 4 kids and a Gracie"

Bridget looking darling in the kitchen:

HOT AND CRUNCHY CHICKEN CONES

MANGO SLAW
1/2 cup diced mango
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T sugar
1 T water
1 small shallot, minced
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup cilantro
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 T fresh lime juice
salt and pepper
7 cups shredded coleslaw mix (I used prepackaged kind)


CHICKEN CONES
3 cups cornflakes
6 T slivered almonds
6 T sesame seeds
3 or 4 T sugar
1 1/2 T crushed red pepper
1 1/2 T kosher salt
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
all-purpose flour
6 boneless chicken breast halves, sliced lengthwise 1 inch thick
Vegetable oil for frying
6 10-inch tortillas


1. To Make Mango Slaw: In saucepan combine the mango, vinegar, sugar, water and shallot. Cover and simmer until mango is softened, 10 minutes.

2. Transfer mango mixture to a food processor and puree. Scrape into large bowl. Stir in mayo, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice. Season with salt & pepper, add coleslaw mix, and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate.

3. To Make the Cones: Wipe out food processor. Add cornflakes, almonds, sesame seeds, sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large, shallow bowl.  In second shallow bowl, whisk eggs with milk. Fill a third shallow bowl with flour. Dredge chicken strips in flour, then egg, then roll in cornflake mixture.



4. In large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil (I used olive oil; recipe calls for vegetable oil).  Working in batches, fry chicken over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden brown, 6 minutes; transfer to rack in warmed oven (the frying part was the most time-consuming).  Set fried chicken on tortillas and top with mango slaw.  Roll up and eat right away.



Voila!  The final product. The slaw, in my opinion, really makes it. It has a sweetness to it because of the mango puree but cilantro, oh cilantro, makes it completely delicious. The chicken by itself has a bite to it from the red pepper flakes so if you don't like any spice at all, maybe half the red pepper flakes.

Make it.  You won't regret it.

Healthier Meal Ideas

Lately I've been trying to get more of the foods that "pack a punch" in terms of antioxidants, and "whole foods" with good fats (like avocados). Here are two of my recent meals. Super easy, super yummy, super healthy!

Good Start Oatmeal

1. Start with your bowl of oatmeal prepared to your liking. (I used half a cup of oats, stirred in one cup of water, and microwaved for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. But slow-cooked or steel cut oats would work, too.)

2. Add in any of the following for extra antioxidant benefits (or more, if you have favorites):
• raw almonds
• dried cranberries
• chunks of dark chocolate (80% or more is the best)
• drizzle with agave nectar
 
3. Enjoy!

Simple Quesadilla Plate (with mango and avocado)

1. Pan grill your quesadilla. I used part-skim mozzarella shredded cheese and corn tortillas. I always make an extra one because my preschooler walks in wanting some.

2. Slice up the avocado, salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar (and/or olive oil, if you prefer)

3. Slice up the mango. Beautiful!

4. Sprinkle everything with red pepper flakes (they go great with mango, surprisingly)

5. Enjoy!

Tip: You could always fill your quesadilla with the avocado and mango. It would be delicious.


Do you have a great, healthy meal? E-mail it to us so we can share!

Butter Top Bread

Maybe it is it's ancient origin, or maybe it's ubiquitous nature, but the smell of bread wafting from the kitchen evokes a feeling of security and well-being. Whatever our many ancestors did and wherever they came from, surely all passed down the memory, somewhere deep in our cells, of the fragrant aroma of wheat being pulled from the hot oven and sliced, releasing its welcoming aroma.

I've been looking for the perfect bread recipe. This one came from a Martha Stewart magazine, although I have altered it slightly, mostly in the method. I find that leaving the bread dough in the refrigerator overnight not only enhances its texture and taste, but divides the work time, giving me a little in-between rest. I also refrigerate the dough a small while after it has risen in the pans. It seems to hold it's shape and is easier to butter when I do this.

Butter Top White Bread

2 1/4 ounce envelopes yeast
2 1/4 Cups warm water (110 degrees)
4 Tablespoons honey
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Cups Bread flour
4 Cups All-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons pink salt or sea salt

• Warm water in microwave. Mix 2 T honey and yeast into water and cover. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Sift flour and whisk salt into it.

• Place yeast water and 3 cups of flour mixture into mixer with dough hook attached. Add remaining 2 T honey and melted butter. Mix on low speed. Gradually, add remaining flour, until dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer. Place dough on lightly floured surface.

• Knead dough for 5 minutes. It should retain a slightly moist feel to the surface, but not be sticky. Butter a large bowl, and place dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap.

• Place dough in the refrigerator and let rise overnight. The next day, punch down and shape into two loaves. Place loaves in two buttered and floured pans.

• Turn on oven to 350 for 1 1/2 minutes. Place a pan of steamy water in oven. Allow loaves to rise in steamy oven for 1 1/2 hours. They should peek over pans 1-2 inches. Place risen dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove bread from refrigerator and butter tops with fingertips. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through. Allow to cool, and butter tops once more.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these yummy cookies tonight on a whim. They were super chewy and delicious, and a hit with the whole fam (of course)! A great fall comfort treat.



Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 ¼ cups brown sugar
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups butter
3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups white wheat or whole wheat flour
2 ½ cups oats
2 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in dry ingredients and then chocolate
chips. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

*Makes about 2 dozen 3 inch cookies.

Fresh Fish Tacos

These are easy, satisfying, and to me, taste better than the restaurant version. Dousing them with as much lime juice as you want just makes them better and better. For a fun and colorful side dish, use the same oil you fried the fish in to make some Sweet Potato fries. 


For Tacos: 

Trader Joe's frozen Battered Halibut
Wheat & corn tortillas (I found these at Sprouts)
Shredded cabbage and carrot mix (like for cole slaw)

For Creamy Sauce: 

2 T Mayonnaise 
2 T Sour Cream
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 T salsa verde
2 T minced cucumber
salt &pepper to taste
1 T minced cilantro
1 T minced scallions

For Garnish: 

Minced cucumber, cilantro, & scallions. Lots of lime wedges.

Method: 
Prepare creamy sauce by mincing green ingredients and combining creamy elements. Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Stir mixture lightly. 
Fry fish according to package directions. Warm tortillas on a cast iron pan. Assemble tortillas, fish, cream sauce, garnish with green mixture, and serve.  

Raspberry Chicken Salad

My Granny Wink always reuses things. I got this idea from Paula Deen, the famous Southern cook. If you are packing a lunch or going on a picnic, you may simply use a strawberry crate to tuck your meal into. A few leaves line the salad, making for edible packaging. And this eco-friendly method looks pretty, too.

M

Raspberry Chicken Salad

2 C Roasted chicken*
1 pint fresh raspberries
3 T red wine vinegar
2 t sugar
3 T mayonnaise
3 T olive oil
1 bulb of fennel, sliced
1/2 cup of walnuts, toasted
2 T green onions
2 T finely diced celery
Romaine lettuce, for serving
Salt & pepper, to taste

Method: Pull roasted chicken from bones. Chop finely or coarsely, whichever you prefer. Make vinaigrette using vinegar, sugar, mayonnaise, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. Add to chicken, along with celery, green onions, and fennel, and walnuts. Fold in raspberries gently. Serve on beds of lettuce.

A wonderful use for raspberries!


*Lately, I have been roasting meats in my Crock pot. It is such a cinch to rub them with some spices, put them in the pot, turn it on, and forget about it for a few hours. You can use a whole chicken if your pot is large enough, or pieces of chicken. I recommend using the whole chicken, otherwise you won't get all the wonderful flavors from the bones and the skin. After it is cooked, you can drain the excess fat and discard the skin and bones.

To enhance the flavors in this recipe, rub your chicken with freshly crushed peppercorns, cardamom, and finely diced shallots. Then rub with salt, and it is ready to roast.

Pasta Florentine

This is my old stand-by. It's originally my mom's recipe. And I love it. It's simple, although it does use a few dishes. But it's always a hit!

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

The Tiny Cake Escape

Chocolate cake with Vanilla Buttercream and Ganache Glaze

This is the cake my mom requests when anything comes around: her birthday, Mother's Day, Groundhog's Day... :) I first saw it when I was in graduate school, watching the Food Network when I was supposed to be writing essays, as usual. It really caught my eye.

This year, I decided to get smart. As glorious as this cake is, I did not want to eat it for the next three weeks. Nor did I wish my siblings to accuse me, as they sometimes do, of wrecking their diets.

So I cut the recipe into a third of the original, purchased some tiny cake pans at Sur La Table, and got baking. The result was a Mother's Day gift that was not too little, not too big, but just right.
Here you see the naked little cake, just waiting to be slathered in Ganache. Ganache is a simple mixture of semi-sweet chocolate, corn syrup, and cream.

Wax paper is useful in keeping your pedestal clean. Just insert little strips under the sides of the cake. Don't put the strips too far in, or it will be hard to pull out when you are ready to present.

The temperature of the Ganache is very important. If it is too hot, it will melt the buttercream. But if not warm enough, it will not cascade over the side of the cake and make beautiful ribbons of chocolate that make the cake so unique.

The rosettes are so easy to make. All you need is a pastry bag, and the proper tip. A black and white cake is very elegant, so sometimes I leave off the green leaves and sprinkles. At this time of year, however, I wanted the cake to express Springtime and freshness.

When you pour the Ganache over the cake, it will fall over the sides like this. Sometimes, if it is not quite warm enough, you can give it a little push to get it moving.

I just love the effect of the creamy white next to the rich cocoa. I dipped my knife in water to smooth out the buttercream. When applying the buttercream to the chocolate cake, I actually used my fingers a bit, because they warmed the frosting and helped it spread more easily.


I found this adorable "tiny" cake pedestal at Crate & Barrel for a very reasonable price. The cake is going, going, gone! (Until the next holiday, at least. But it is perfectly fine to have it for no reason whatsoever.)

For Tiny Cake:
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1/3 Cup canola oil
1 egg +1 egg yolk
3/4 Cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 Cup sour cream
1/3 Cup hot water
1/3 Cup cocoa powder

For Buttercream:
1/2 lb butter, soft
3 Cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pinch salt

For Ganache:
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon corn syrup
1/4 Cup whipping cream

Method:
Preheat oven to 350. Oil 3 (5 inch) cake pans and line with parchment paper. In your mixer, combine brown sugar and oil. On low speed, add eggs. Let sugar, oil, and eggs mix while sifting together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.

In a new bowl, combine vanilla and sour cream, mixing well. Set this aside. In another small bowl, pour hot water over cocoa and stir until smooth. To the egg mixture, alternately add the flour and sour cream, starting and ending with the flour. Clean the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and add cocoa mixture. Divide batter evenly between the pans. Bake until lightly set, 20- 25 minutes. Cool cakes and drop onto waxed paper. Remove parchment paper and let cool completely. To make frosting easier, wrap in plastic and freeze for an hour at least.

To make buttercream, add all ingredients to mixer and whip until very smooth. Spread between the three layers of cake, stacking as you go. Reserve a small bit of frosting for decoration. Frost cake completely.

To make the Ganache, combine ingredients in a saucepan on low heat. Stir until the chocolate is just melted. Pour over cake while still warm, pushing over sides with a spoon to create falling effect.

Enjoy!



"Every day is special." ~Rachel Ashwell

Mother's Day Spotlight on April Kennedy

April is one of my better blogging buddies, and a fine Mother, Crafter, and Cook. Here are two wonderful recipes she shared recently on her blog, Funky Vintage Kitchen. De-lish! Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Hope you all get to enjoy some spoon-licking meals. :)
~Lyndsay

*****

A Strawberry Treat!

If you haven't had this yet.....go treat yourself. All you need is fresh strawberries, sour cream and brown sugar. And, if you don't like sour cream {like some of my adult family members} I promise {and they do too} that you don't taste the sour cream at all. Well at least not the part of the sour cream that you don't like. The combination is delish and perfect for springtime.

After my son Blake goes to bed, my daughter Kaia and I have been enjoying this as a late night snack. Well late is 8:30 - 9:00 ish for Kaia, so we sneak back into the kitchen and eat and smile at each other the whole time. I believe in giving her some extra privileges for being such a good daughter and a sweet big sister.

I remember my mom sneaking down the hall and quietly getting me out of bed when I was 12 and 13 years old, after my siblings had fallen fast asleep, to go to the fair with her for the late evening when it was in town. I remember the first year I was totally surprised. The next year, I laid in bed hoping she would remember our little date night at the fair the previous year and was so excited when she did. We rode the zipper and all the other crazy carnival rides all night long and I remember sharing the same unspoken smile with her on those nights that Kaia and I have shared these past few evenings sneaking strawberries, sour cream and brown sugar on our own date night in the kitchen.

Did you notice in this last picture that the strawberries were almost gone? As was the brown sugar. That was a lot of brown sugar the two of us went through....smiling the whole time.

*****

Caesar Salad Piadini

{or Caesar Salad Flatbread}

All ingredients from Trader Joe's

Lavash Bread

Casear Salad (either bag or ingredients for salad)

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Place lavash bread on a cookie sheet and spray lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese and broil until cheese is melted and lavash bread looks slightly brown. Toss caesar salad with grilled chicken breasts and place on top of broiled lavash bread.

Fold in half and enjoy!

{this was mine without chicken}

Yummy.
Perfect for outdoor dining or indoor easy peasy night.

Read more: http://www.funkyvintagekitchen.com