Cruft: Lasagna Cupcakes When Intelligentsia Coffee opened in Pasadena recently, I was intrigued the lasagna cupcakes they served. The cupcakes are made by Heirloom LA, a catering business. About the size of a muffin, a single lasagna cupcake was a delicious meal. After seeing how much my daughter enjoyed them (she ate my entire cupcake and I had to order a second one), I decided I had to try making them at home. After a bit of research, here is my method. The ingredients are fairly simple. Spray or wipe the cupcake tin with olive oil for prevent sticking and add a little flavor. Once you filled in the first layer, gently press another wrapper in, forming another cup. Once you've placed the second wrapper, repeat the filling as you see fit. A bit of Mozzarella cheese on top of it all. I baked them for 20 minutes at 375° F and then come out perfectly browned. If you remembered to use olive oil, they should slide out easily with top crispy and the wrapper moist and tender. The small cupcake size works well for us.
Penne with Creamy Vodka Sauce Directions Heat the sauce, vodka, basil and pepper in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Put the pasta in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the cheese. Tags: Main Dish, Dinner, Pasta, Italian, Easy, 30 Minute, Entertaining The Infamous Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies Now, I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I swear by. I love it, I think it is incredible, and I haven’t changed my mind about that. However, as much as it pains me to say it, these chocolate chip cookies by Jacques Torres are absolutely, without a doubt, the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever made or tasted in my entire life. I guess that’s why they call him Mr. Chocolate! Either way, I made these and everyone that tried them went nuts. Edit: For more Jacques Torres deliciousness, check out my Jacques Torres Chocolate Mudslide Cookies! Your ingredients. Whisk together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat together the butter and sugars, until light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add in the flour mixture, very gradually, until just moistened. Fold in your chocolate. Milk is, in fact, an essential component to enjoying these amazing cookies. Author: The Crepes of Wrath Prep time:
Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich Earlier on in the week, when I made the spinach, or spanakopita pesto pasta I made sure to keep some of the pesto left over for something new. I had come across the idea of using a pesto in a grilled cheese sandwich and it was the perfect time to try one. I have been experimenting with grilled cheese sandwiches for a while now. It all started when I first tried adding some jam to one then I moved on to chutneys and now it was time to try a pesto grilled cheese sandwich. Since the spinach pesto had some Greek flavours going on I decided to use a Greek cheese, graviera, in the sandwich. Get ALL 8 Closet Cooking eCookbooks in a bundle for 40% off! Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Servings: 1 A tasty spinach pesto smothered in ooey gooey melted cheese and wrapped in buttery golden brown grilled bread. ingredients directions
Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread — Joy the Baker - StumbleUpon I’m sorry. I know it’s Monday morning and you probably came here for some pretty pictures of food that you could glance at, and then move on with your day… and here I go thrusting warm, soft cinnamon sugar bread in your face. It’s not fair. I know it’s not fair. You don’t deserve this sort of torture. This bread hits all the comfort spots in my soul. I’m sorry and you’re welcome and I love you. Let’s start at the beginning. I did this all without the use of a stand mixer and dough hook. This dough can be made and left to rise , then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. This is the dough just before it’s left to rise. After the dough has rested and risen for an hour, I knead it in a few tablespoons of flour. This is the part in the bread process where you can wrap the dough and place it in the fridge to rest overnight. I worked with my dough right away. I can’t even deal. I sliced the dough, vertically, into six long strips. After 30 minutes in the oven… oh man…. bread heaven.
Blue Buffalo Buffalo Chicken is something that I get severe cravings over. It's not something that I want all the time, but when I get that urge, there's no stopping me. However I ran into a problem once I started eating only organic meat and buffalo chicken was something that was found few and far between. Until NOW! For this buffalo chicken grilled cheese, I combined one of my mom's most popular dip recipes and morphed it into a delicious sammie. Feast your eyes... Actually it doesn't really look that pretty, but it's pretty dang delicious. Ingredients -4 thick slices of french bread -2 pads of real salted butter -1 tbs blue cheese salad dressing -3 tbs organic cream cheese -2 tbs crumbled blue cheese -1 tbs shredded cheddar -1/2 cup cooked shredded organic chicken breast -1.5 tbs Frank's hot sauce Once you've got everything out, combine all the cheeses into a small bowl. Stir together until you get a smooth consistency. Now combine your finely chopped chicken with Frank's hot sauce and stir. xoxo,
Plain Chicken: Doritos Cheesy Chicken Casserole This recipe is from Plain Chicken reader, Diane Blake. She was kind enough to share her favorite recipe with me. I've never made a Doritos Cheesy Chicken Casserole, so we gave it a try. This is one of those dishes that isn't pretty, but it tastes really good. We both really enjoyed this. I used some rotisserie chicken meat and this came together in no time. Dorito Chicken Cheese Casserole(Printable Recipe) 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I used a rotisserie chicken) 8 oz sour cream 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 1/2 cups salsa or 1 can Rotel 1 can of corn, drained 2 cups Mexican cheese, shredded 1 bag of nacho cheese Doritos Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
The Little Foodie: Pumpkin Crunch Cake I have a problem with pumpkin. Call me an addict. When the season comes around I want to bake pumpkin non-stop. I made two pumpkin cakes in two days. I think this cake needs no other explanation than the sum of its parts: Pumpkin cake layers (thanks to David Leite for his perfect pumpkin cake) Pumpkin pie layers Cream cheese frosting layers Crunch in the frosting Amaya said, “Thank you for making this cake! Dang it. Pumpkin Crunch Cake (click to print) If you don’t know David Leite’s website, Leite’s Culinaria, you’re in for a treat. This is a really long recipe. Heat the oven to 375 degrees Prepare two 8” round cake pans. Pumpkin Pie Layers: 1 Cup and 2 Tbsp canned pumpkin 1 Cup canned table cream (found in Latin food aisles or supermarkets) 2 eggs 1/3 Cup sugar 1/3 Cup brown sugar ½ tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices Whisk together all of the ingredients and divide equally between the two cake pans. Go to David's web site to get the cake recipe: I did not put in all of the spices. 1. 2. 3.
The Oatmeal Artist: Chocolate Banana Overnight Oatmeal I took one of my laziest recipes and made it even lazier! Dirtying a saucepan can be just so tedious. Now you can carelessly toss the ingredients in a jar, shake it up, and wake up to chocolatey oatmeal at 5:30! Except you probably don't have to get up that early. Good for you. I intentionally designed this recipe to be flexible. If you want it extra chocolatey, you can add an extra spoonful of cocoa powder. Or you can add all those things. This recipe will have vastly different results depending on what type of chocolate milk you use. by The Oatmeal Artist Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: Overnight 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)1/2 cup chocolate milk (I use Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk)1 banana (or just 1/2 of one)pinch of salt1 tsp or more cocoa powder (optional)1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)1/3 cup nondairy yogurt (optional)1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)handful of chocolate chips (optional)
Watermelon Agua Fresca Mimosas Diane, A Broad September 2, 2013 I keep reading things all over the internet about it being the end of summer. Well, from where I sit, with broken air conditioning that is blowing ineffectually into my still-sweltering apartment, and a weather forecast that says it’s going to be in the upper 80′s-lower 90′s all week, it still feels like we’re smack dab in the middle of summer to me. Now that we’re agreed that we still have weeks of summer left to go, let’s discuss how we’ll be cooling down. Watermelon Agua Fresca Mimosas Ingredients 1 small watermelon, peeled and cubed (to yield about 6 cups watermelon cubes) juice of 2 small limes 2 tbsp agave nectar (optional) 1 750ml bottle dry sparkling wine, chilled Directions Purée the watermelon cubes in a blender or food processor until smooth. Notes This is also great as a granita or a slushie -- freeze the mimosa in a baking pan for a couple of hours, then scrape up the ice crystals that have formed along the sides and top layer with a fork.