Summer Vegetable Torta

(Isn't it pretty!?)

I loved, loved, LOVED this Summer Vegetable Torta. A LOT!  It turned out so pretty and so very tasty! It looked quite impressive in my opinion and it was super easy to toss together!  I ate it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.  No, I'm not kidding.  I'm anxiously awaiting for a brunch or potluck that I can prepare this for.  I think it'll be a hit!

INGREDIENTS:

3 TBSP olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
8oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 red peppers, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
8oz. cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
1/4 C heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
3  TBSP fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 C shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Prepare a 9-inch spring form pan by spraying the bottom and sides with cooking spray.  Line the bottom with parchment paper, and spray with additional cooking spray. Then wrap the outside with aluminum foil.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and fresh peppers and saute until vegetables just start to become tender (10 minutes or so). 

Then, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Next beat in the eggs until combined.  Now beat in the cream. Stir in the garlic, basil, salt and pepper.

Now, using a slotted spoon, drain off liquid from the vegetables and add them to the egg mixture.  Add shredded cheddar cheese and stir with a rubber spatula to combine.

Spread mixture into the prepared pan and set the pan on a baking sheet.

Bake for 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 hours, until top is golden brown and the center is firm when shaken. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes in pan, then run a sharp knife around edges to loosen. Gently remove the pan sides. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold. ENJOY!

recipe adapted from: alldayidreamaboutfood.com

Lemon Bluberry Yogurt Loaf

I have a hard time feeding my family donuts that come from a box, but I have no problem what-so-ever baking a decedent loaf of Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Bread and feeding it to them for breakfast.  I know, it doesn't completely make sense to me either.  I think it may have something to do with me knowing exactly what's going into the bread and not having to wonder if there are any hydrogenated rapeseed (whatever that is) or any Monosaturatedaslkdfjalkdiecvmoinweon involved.  Those things scare me.  Don't get me wrong, we eat some of that junk too...It just feels like a let down when it happens.


So two Sundays ago, I had this crazy burst of energy.  I woke up early and got started on this bread.  The rest of the family eventually rolled themselves out of bed and everyone got ready for church. (So we could get our praise on.)  The bread was finished just in time to eat for breakfast, which we did.  And then we even arrived to church ON TIME. (Which unfortunately rarely happens!)  It was the weirdest best Sunday morning ever!

INGREDIENTS:

For the Loaf:

1.5C + 1 TBSP all-purpose flour, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 C plain Greek yogurt
1 C sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp.  lemon zest
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 C veggie oil
1.5 C blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

 For the Lemon Syrup:

 1/3 C fresh lemon juice
1/3 C sugar

 For the Lemon Glaze:

 1 C powdered sugar, sifted
  3 TBSP fresh lemon juice


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil.  Then whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining TBSP of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick test shows it is completely done in the center. Allow the pan to cool for 10 minutes before removing the loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.

 While the loaf is cooling, prepare the lemon syrup. In a small saucepan stir together the lemon juice and sugar over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.

 Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the entire loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the loaf and brush again. Let the loaf cool completely.

 To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and 3 TBSP of the lemon juice in a small bowl. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another TBSP of lemon juice if the mixture is too thick. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of the loaf and let it allow it to drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden for about 15 minutes before serving. ENJOY!


Recipe adapted from: Sweetpeaskitchen.com

Clean Eating Granola

In high school, I lived off of McDonalds fruit and yogurt parfaits.  I ate one almost everyday for lunch my senior year.  Fast forward a year or two (or twelve!) and here I am, still eating fruit and yogurt parfaits, only a much healthier version! My version!

If your looking for a McDonalds granola knock off, this recipe is not it.  This is a clean eating granola recipe that tastes very healthy.  Its sweet without being overpoweringly sweet.  The granola goes great in a bowl with milk for breakfast or to use for any of your snacking needs! :)

INGREDIENTS: (for granola only)

3 C rolled oats
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1/2 C natural, unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C honey
2 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the oats and walnuts.  In a small bowl whisk together the applesauce, honey and cinnamon.  Add the wet mixture to the oat mixture and stir together until well incorporated.  Spread the granola mixture evenly over the prepared cookie sheet and bake for approx. 40-60 min. Stir every 10 minutes to avoid burning.  The granola is done when it feels dry and appears to be golden brown.  Cool completely before serving.  Store in an air tight container.  ENJOY!

To make a parfait like the one I made, use 1/2 C plain Greek yogurt.  Drizzle 1 TBSP of honey over the top.  Top with frozen berries (thawed of course, I like the Kirkland Signature three berry blend from Costco) and about 1/4 C of the granola.  I like to stir everything together really well before eating. 

Recipe from: thegraciouspantry.com

Breakfast Quiche

My favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning is to wake up early, brew up a cup of coffee and make breakfast for my boys.  Of course they wouldn't care if I made pancakes or waffles every Saturday, but that's so boring!  I need variety in my diet.  I knew I'd be taking a risk with this one since the finished product would have specks of red and green.  It was a pleasant surprise that everyone really enjoyed it, even the baby grubbed!  No complaining during meal time = a good day for mom!  :)

This would make a great dish to bring to a brunch or even for Christmas morning.  You may want to drizzle on some hot sauce too.  Yum!

(pretty!)

INGREDIENTS:

3 C hash browns

3 TBSP melted butter

12 oz. sausage links 

6 beaten eggs 

2 C grated cheddar cheese

1/4 C heavy whipping cream

1/4 C chopped sun dried tomatoes

2 TBSP fresh chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

Salt and Pepper

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl mix together the hash browns and melted butter, season with salt and pepper.  Grease the bottom of a 9-in pie plate with cooking spray.  Press the prepared hash browns onto the bottom and sides of the pie plate.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden.  Meanwhile, cook the sausage links and cut into small pieces.  In a large bowl combine the eggs, cheddar cheese, whipping cream, sun dried tomatoes, Italian parsley, and the sausage.  Season with salt and pepper.  When the hash brown crust is done, pour the egg mixture on top.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the eggs are completely cooked.  A toothpick test will work fine.  Cut into pie like slices.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Baking Powder Biscuts

I just now realized that on my earlier post I called these Baking SODA Biscuits, which was incorrect.  :( These are in fact, Baking POWDER Biscuits!! :)  Since my oldest sons favorite breakfast is biscuits and gravy, I often follow a recipe for drop biscuits (since they are very fast and easy).  Today I thought I'd expand my horizon, put my big girl panites on and make the real deal!!! The boys were ever so impressed, which made me a very happy mommy/wifey! :) And we don't need to tell them, but these were just as fast and easy!!

INGREDIENTS:
2 C all-purpose flour
1 TBSP sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C shortening
3/4 C milk

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Cut in shortening using pastry blender or criss-crossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs.  Stir in milk until dough leaves side of bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).  Place dough on lightly floured surface.  Knead lightly 10 times.  Roll 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with floured 2 1/4 inch round cutter.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet with sides touching.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Betty Crocker's Cookbook Bridal Edition

Banana Chocolate Chip Biscotti

I made this recipe for the first time a few weeks ago.  My 7 year old son, Dominic, thought it was awesome that we were having "cookies" for breakfast! I told him not to get used to it ;-) Later that day, he told me "Mom, the cookies we had for breakfast...those were bomb!" (Thats how kids these days express their love for something...weird, I know!)  I was blown away by how easy these were to make! The banana flavor was pretty subtle, but enough to taste and compliement the chocolate well! I'm not much of a baker, so for me...they looked a little impressive too!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1/2 C mashed very ripe banana (1 meduim)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C mini semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a large cookie sheet.  Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with a spoon.  Beat in banana, vanilla and eggs until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in chocolate chips.
Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into 10X3 inch rectangles on cookie sheet with greased hands.  (dough will be sticky).
Bake about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on cookie sheet for 15 minutes.
Cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices.  Turn slices cut sides down on cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and dry on top.  Turn cookies.  Bake about 10 minutes longer or until golden brown.  Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Recipe from: Betty Crocker Cookbook. Bridal Edition

Bangin' Bacon and Cheddar Scones

These scones were most definitley bangin'! My husband suggested that we sell this recipe to starbucks because they go perfectly with a strong cup of coffee.  Unfortunatly, this isn't our recipe to sell :( I am sure I will make these again, they'd work great for a brunch! And I loved them even more because I was able to use up the rest of the homemade bacon bits that I had leftover from that Thanksgiving dish I made,  as well as some cheddar and green onions I had hanging out in the fridge. :)

INGREDIENTS:
3 C self rising flour, plus more for work surface
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 C cold butter
1 1/2 C grated sharp cheddar
4 green onions, thinly sliced
10 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 1/4 C buttermilk
1 large egg, for egg wash
1 TBSP coarse sea salt (I just used kosher)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Add the flour, salt, and pepper to a large bowl.  With a box grater, grate the butter into the flour. (or you can use a pastry blender for this).  Mix the butter into flour with your hands until well incorporated.  Add the cheese, green onion and crumbled bacon.  Mix until evenly distributed.  Add the buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a stiff dough.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle (or a circle as I did) 1/2 inch thick.  Cut wedges of dough out to preferred scone size and arrange on a half sheet tray lined with parchment paper.  In a small bowl, beat the egg and brush each schone withthe egg wash.  Sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt and bake until nicely browned, about 14 to 16 minutes.  Remove from the oven and arange on a serving plater.

recipe is from foodnetwork.com

Candied Bacon

This is a sweet little twist on a breakfast favorite!

INGREDIENTS:
12 slices of thick cut bacon
3 TBSP brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel apart your bacon slices and place into a gallon sized zip loc baggie.  Add brown sugar and shake to coat the bacon entirely.  Remove bacon from the bag and place strips onto a foil lined cookie sheet with a wire rack.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Mmmmm!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

I was SO excited about trying the Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes two Sundays ago and although they were good, I knew it was a recipe that I'd never follow again.  And after the fact, the idea of the Cinnamon Swirl Pancake just  WOULD  NOT leave my head and I knew that I could possibly recreate the pancake to better meet my needs. So I had to try it again!  Some of you may recall me saying that the recipe involved a lot of ingredients and time, and the pancake itself had a lack of fluff that I tend to  look for in a pancake.  I really enjoyed the cinnamon filling and cream cheese icing so I went with the original recipe on those, but decided to use the cinnamon filling as a topping instead since it got a little messy the first time around.  This recipe can be found in its original form on recipegirl.com

PANCAKE:
2.5-3 C boxed pancake mix (I used Mrs. Butterworths Buttermilk Complete)
3/4 C canned Pumpkin puree unsweetened
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice

CINNAMON TOPPING:
1/2 C salted butter melted
3/4 C brown sugar
1 TBSP ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE ICING:
4 TBSP salted butter
2 OZ cream cheese
3/4 C powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. PREPARE THE CINNAMON TOPPING:  in a small microwave-safe bowl heat butter, brown sugar and cinnamon for 40-60 sec, just until butter is melted.  Whisk the filling ingredients together.  If you want to get fancy with it you can pour the topping into a plastic sandwhich baggie with a zip top and set aside. ( I did the first time around, but for my simplified version I left it in the bowl and used a spoon to drizzle on top)

2. PREPARE THE ICING: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat butter and cream cheese 30-60 sec. just until butter has melted and cream cheese has softened.  Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla and combine until smooth.  Set the icing aside.

3. PREPARE THE PANCAKES:  In a large bowl mix water into the pancake mix.  (I never measure when doing this, but keep in mind that the thinner you make your batter, the flatter your cakes will be.  Keep the batter on the thick side if you like fluffy cakes) After you get your mix to the right consistancy stir in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.  On a large preheated skillet or griddle (Medium heat) add the batter to the pan.  (At this step you can do it one of two ways; cook the pancake like you normally would, or for the fancy factor you can use the cinnamon topping from the zip top baggie before flipping the cake.  To do that, snip a small corner off of the edge and starting from the center of the pancake, drizzle the topping onto the batter creating a swirl resembling a cinnamon roll.  I chose to leave this step out the second time because my cast iron griddle became too hot and melted the mixture once I flipped the cake creating a huge mess! It tasted just as good using it as a topping instead.)  Cook the pancakes 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden.  When plating, if you havent already...drizzle the top of the cakes with the cinnamon topping.  Then drizzle  with the cream cheese icing and serve.  :)

this is what it will look like if you use the cinnamon mix as a filling instead of a topping

finished product when using the filling vs topping

the finished product using my easy revised version. Not as fancy, but tastes even better than the original recipe. IMO. :)