20 Thursday Sep 2012
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I was introduced to sweet potato fries awhile back in college in Fayetteville, AR. There was a local restaurant/ brewhouse a short distance from campus that had the BEST sweet potato fries. They served them with a maple sauce that was absolutely to die for. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked. If I’m ever given a fry option and sweet potato is on the list, I take it. Not only are they delicious, but healthier too!
18 Tuesday Sep 2012
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My absolute favorite muffin to eat is lemon poppy seed. I love the tartness the lemon brings and the crispy, sugary crust that tops every muffin. I love the little crunchy poppy seeds and the buttery taste. It’s divine. Sure, blueberry is great and banana nut is delicious, but nothing pleases my soul quite like a lemon poppy seed muffin.
When I saw this recipe, my heart skipped a beat. Lemon poppy seed bread? You mean I can make this at home and it will taste like a coffee shop muffin? Is this real life? Continue reading
12 Wednesday Sep 2012
Posted in Good Eats
Do you ever have those days where you just want 5 cookies a cookie? Does that happen to be every day for you? Okay good we’re on the same page.
I’m a dessert gal. I’d take a cookie over a steak any day. When I saw this recipe on pinterest, I knew I had to make it… and I knew I had to make them rainbow.
The fact that these are so easy to make and sooo delicious makes them utterly dangerous. Do not make these! They are addicting! You’ll be eating 5 before you know it! They are chocolately, crispy, melt in your mouth, delicious. And pretty to boot! I’m thinking the sliver sparkly sprinkles hanging out in my kitchen are next. Boy, do I have a weakness for all things pretty and yummy.
THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP: taste test a warm one right off of the pan.
Tad ate about 10 in one sitting after I made these. They didn’t last long in our house and I don’t think they’ll last long in yours… good lookin’ and scrumptious cookies have a way of disappearing!
Chocolate Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies (Adapted from here)- yields ~ 48 cookies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 Large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles (or any kind you prefer!)
8 oz. semisweet baking chocolate, finely chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt, then set aside. Cream the sugars and butter together with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined. Add in the vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, until just combined. Add in the chocolate and sprinkles, mixing by hand.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy!
*The recipe ended up making a lot of dough… it would have yielded more cookies than I should probably allow myself in a week. SO, I decided to freeze a third of the dough to bake later. Below are some pictures of how I rolled the dough and froze it… makes perfectly round cookies to be thawed and baked in no time! (Thaw in the fridge overnight before baking)
Plop about 3 or 4 large scoops of dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap.
Pull both sides of the plastic wrap together and roll the dough between the plastic wrap until it starts forming a log.
Seal the sides together and then twist the ends, making sure the dough is in the shape of a log.
Wrap the dough again in foil to seal in all of the cookie deliciousness. Freeze until you’re ready for another round of cookies!
Thaw, cut, bake!
ENJOY!
Natalie
10 Monday Sep 2012
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Oh these are good. These are really good. Cheesy, beefy (hate that word), creamy, flavorful… I could go on and on. I didn’t expect anything less from The Pioneer Woman though. I have yet to be disappointed by a recipe of hers and this is no exception.
The Set Up
I decided to add beef to the enchiladas for the meat lover in our household. He doesn’t really understand the concept of JUST eating cheese in/on something so I had to add the beef. It was a fabulous decision.
(On a side note: Can I get a shout out from some cheese pizza/ cheese enchiladas/ cheese plate fans? Tad doesn’t understand the concept. I’m baffled. What’s so wrong with just plain cheese?)
CHEESE
Make these right now. Make them tonight. Make them this week. Make them every night of this week (too much?). Do it. You won’t regret it.
I made the filling the night before to save some time the night we had them (didn’t add the beef until right before the filling stage though). The more difficult part of this recipe is the fry–> dip –> fill part but it’s really not too bad. They took me about 20 minutes to whip up. Not too shabby!
Sour Cream and Beef Enchiladas (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
Ingredients
2 cups sour cream
1 cup green onions, chopped
3 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 lb. ground beef
12 corn tortillas
1 20 oz. can enchilada sauce
Canola oil, for frying
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown beef in a pan, drain the juice, and set aside. Mix together the sour cream, green onions, 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, cumin, and chili powder. Add the beef to the sour cream mixture and mix. Set aside.
Heat up the canola oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the enchilada sauce to another pan and heat on medium-low heat. One by one (using tongs!), add the tortillas to the oil for about 5 seconds per side. Don’t leave them in too long as they become really fragile! After the oil, move them to the enchilada sauce pan and coat them in the sauce. Then move to a plate and spoon about 3 Tbsp. of the sour cream-beef mixture to the tortilla. Roll them up and move to a 9×13 baking dish. Continue doing this for the remainder of the tortillas.
(There was quite a bit of the sour cream- beef mixture leftover so we saved it and ate it as a dip for tortilla chips! You can also save it and add it to tortillas for lunch the next day. It’s also delicious on its own… but you didn’t hear that from me 😉 )
Once all of the tortillas are filled, rolled, and added to the baking dish, sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top of the tortillas. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese becomes bubbly!
Serve with sour cream, guacamole, green onions sprinkled on top, hot sauce, etc… you choose!
Olé!
Natalie
06 Thursday Sep 2012
Posted in Good Eats
1. Elephant Butter Dish – I love all things elephant. I even have an elephant pot holder in my living room. Obviously, I adore this.
2. Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook – This cookbook is definitely on the top of my wish list. Head on over to the Sprouted Kitchen blog to see the delicious food and beautiful photography of which this cookbook is made.
3. Circus Dessert Plates – One can never have too many dessert plates.
4. Spades Measuring Cups – Love the color and shape of these.
5. Piece of Cake Tea Towel – How precious is this? I’m thinking a set of these would go perfectly in my kitchen.
Anxiously awaiting Christmas,
Natalie
Planning for Paris 