Today's delicious side dish, Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, comes from my friend Kristin from The Food Geek Diary. Not only can she cook, but she's an awesome mom, too! Please take a minute to check out her blog and her Facebook Page also 🙂
Recipes
Cherry Clafoutis - Guest Post from Manila Spoon
I am really enjoying the recipes my guest posters have shared with us this summer! So many different things than what I usually make and share with you all 🙂 I can't believe summer is half over though 🙁
Today's recipe for Cherry Clafoutis comes from my friend Abby from Manila Spoon. Please check out her blog, she has amazing recipes from having grown up in the Philippines to traveling around the world. The recipe she is sharing today is a French dessert that she had while on a recent trip to Europe. You can also check out and follow her and all her yummy recipes by following Manila Spoon on Facebook.
When my friend Bernadette asked me to guest-post for her lovely blog, I was very excited although at that time I didn't quite know what to share yet. I thought I ought to share something that I really love and something extra special, too. Thankfully, this year we went to France as part of our European holiday. My husband and I took a few days off, left the kids with Mark's parents in England, and went to France to celebrate our 10th Wedding anniversary. Being a blogger, I couldn't wait to try all the lovely cakes, pastries and other French baked goods while we were there. Needless to say apart from the usual touristy sights we visited, we also went from one patisserie to another all the while adoring all the yummy treats we saw on each glass case and shop windows! For a foodie, it was pure heaven!
One of my favorite French desserts is a Clafoutis (also spelled without the s). It is a baked French dessert which traditionally uses dark cherries which are arranged in a dish and then covered with a thick flan or custard-like batter. Not only is it so easy to make, it is flavorful as well and so delicious when paired with freshly whipped cream or ice cream.
I have previously made a Strawberry and Almond Clafoutis which I totally love because it is so yummy. However, I didn't even want to attempt to make the traditional Cherry Clafouti because I do not have the patience or the endurance to pit a pound of cherries!!! Hence, I thought to myself, I'll stick to easier fruits that don't need much work. 🙂
Lo and behold, during one of our daily rounds in the Parisian patisseries, guess what I found - a Cherry Clafoutis - fully baked and looking so delicious complete with stems and pit. This is actually how they make a Cherry Clafouti. I read somewhere that baking with the pits inside actually give the Cherries and the dish itself a better and stronger flavor. Apart from that, am just happy, it means less work for me. Now that I learned that's how a traditional Clafouti is done (complete with pits and all) I was suddenly so ready to make my first French Cherry Clafoutis.
So here is my recipe for Cherry Clafoutis, complete with stems and pits! At first, I thought it would be difficult and weird to eat - no, not at all. You can either pull out the cherries (that's what the stems are for...) when you eat it or just pop it in your mouth as usual - each bite releases the yummy juices of the cherry which after baking has plumped up thereby making it so much easier to get the pits out. So, there's hardly any inconvenience at all. Much better than I expected. You can also use the fork to remove the pits but for the whole experience, I suggest just eat it all and throw the pit out as usual. It sure made a very flavorful and juicy Clafoutis!
Clafoutis may be served either warm or in room temp. I suggest serving it while warm so the custard is still quite soft. Either dust it with powdered sugar or to experience full yumminess, do serve it with fresh cream, whipped or not, or even better vanilla ice cream!
Thank you so much Bernadette for allowing me the chance to be a guest blogger on your wonderful blog. It is indeed an honor to do so and I hope that your readers will find this recipe helpful.
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk plus ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (you can just use all milk, too)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 lb Cherries, cleaned (no need to remove stems or pit)
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar and salt) until smooth. Beat the three eggs in a separate bowl and then set aside. Add the vanilla to the milk and orange juice. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients at once and quickly whisk to avoid lumps. Beat the eggs into the batter until smooth. Make sure there are no lumps remaining.
Place the cherries in the bottom of a 10-inch round glass or ceramic pie plate. Pour the egg mixture over the cherries. If you think it may bubble over when baking, you can use a cookie sheet.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the edges are set but the center is still slightly jiggly. Cool to room temperature or serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or even some vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!
Bacon Wrapped Cauliflower with Dark Chocolate
This month I signed up for a new fun project, the Crazy Ingredient Challenge started by Hungry Little Girl. Each month she will pick two ingredients that don't normally go together and us bloggers will come up with a recipe using those ingredients. Hopefully it's good every time!
This month the challenge was Cauliflower and Chocolate. I've seen cauliflower used in cakes before, and I found recipes for roasted cauliflower dusted with cocoa powder, but I wanted to do something different. That's when it occurred to me.....DUH! Cauliflower, chocolate, and bacon!!
I tried it two different ways, wrapping the cauliflower in bacon and baking it, then drizzling them with dark chocolate, and also dipping raw cauliflower in melted dark chocolate and sprinkling with crumbled bacon then put in the fridge to harden (I was thinking dessert cauliflower here). Well, the second one was quite horrible. Did you know that white chocolate doesn't melt the same way dark and milk chocolate do? I didn't, and that's what I intended to use for the dipped cauliflower, but my white chocolate turned into a hard, crumbly ball! I found out white chocolate burns at a lower temperature than the others because it has a higher sugar content. So, I went with the dark chocolate because I thought it would contrast nicely with the white cauliflower. I should have cooked the cauliflower first, because although I like raw cauliflower, it DID NOT go well with hardened dark chocolate!! Luckily, the first way was much better!
Bacon Wrapped Cauliflower with Dark Chocolate
Note: I used half of a head of cauliflower for this recipe, and the other half for the other recipe. If making for a crowd, use a whole head of cauliflower and 1 pound of bacon.
13 florets uncooked cauliflower, wash and patted dry
Half of a ¾ pound package of bacon, sliced in half
melted good quality dark chocolate ( 86% cacao)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375*F. Cut the cauliflower into large florets. Wrap each floret with half a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick or skewer. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp.
A few minutes before the cauliflower is done baking, melt the dark chocolate ( I didn't measure how much, because I was using it for both recipes) either in a double boiler or in the microwave. If melting in the microwave, stop it and stir every 30 seconds until fully melted.
Remove bacon wrapped cauliflower from the oven, and drizzle the melted chocolate carefully over each piece. Serve immediately.
These would make a great appetizer for a party, or even a side dish for a special dinner.
If you have a food blog and would like to sign up for the Crazy Ingredient Challenge, click the button below.
Plus, check out all of the great recipes everyone made on Hungry Little Girl
!
Mediterranean Chicken Thighs - Guest Post from A New York Foodie
Today's guest post comes from someone I have followed for a while, Sandi from A New York Foodie. It sounds great! First, I have something I want to show you.
The following has nothing to do with food. Unless you are a dog. More specifically my dog.
Our beagle turned 1 year old last Saturday. In the 9 months we have had her, she has chewed up my husband's credit card, ripped holes in many of my daughters pants, attacked her legs trying to pull off her socks, attacked my coat while I was wearing it. I could go on forever. Then, a few days ago, she got into my purse and ripped apart some money. My husband thought he could take the pieces of the money to the credit union and they would replace it. I had no idea if that was true or not, but he tried it and they said no. And then my husband turned the dog into the Feds!! This is the actual letter he wrote. I doubt we will get the money back, but my dog is going to be famous in that office 🙂
HA!!! I knew he has a sense of humor, but not like this! With that, I will leave you in Sandi's more than capable hands. I'll be back on Saturday with a new recipe with a unique combo!
UPDATE: The money was replaced a few months later!
Hi I’m Sandi Poznanski and I am the owner of a food blog called A New York Foodie as well as a Facebook page of the same name, A New York Foodie Facebook page
I am a native New Yorker and yes I have the accent, a very strong accent, I might add but I wouldn’t be A New York foodie without it! I love to cook, love to eat, I collect cookbooks (I have over 75), and I love anything to do with food.
I am married for 29 years and have 2 sons ages 24 and 20. I have always had an interest in food but have absolutely NO formal training. I learned to cook by watching my mom and my grandmother who were both fabulous cooks but had a very limited menu. I love watching the Food Network and learned a lot from them. I am not afraid to try anything when it comes to cooking.
Besides cooking I am very much interested in history. My favorite time period is the 15th and 16th centuries set in Scotland and England. I am also an amateur genealogist and have traced one branch of my family back to my great-great-great grandfather.
The recipe for you today is my Mediterranean Chicken Thighs. They are quick and easy can be made as a quick meal during the week. I use skinless, boneless chicken thighs which are lower in fat. My marinade is a very light healthy marinade using fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and flavors of the Mediterranean! If you want to see how I made them, keep reading! Enjoy! ~Sandi~
Mediterranean Chicken Thighs
Serves 5-6
Ingredients
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon, plus more lemon for garnish
6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
½ tsp. dried thyme (you can use fresh thyme as well)
½ tsp. dried oregano (fresh may also be used)
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp. capers, rinsed and chopped
1 (6 oz jar) marinated artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped (canned may be substituted)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
In a large glass measuring cup add all the ingredients except the chicken and mix well.
Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over. Massage the bag and make sure to get the marinade all over the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Take out chicken 15 minutes prior to cooking.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay chicken and all the marinade in an oven/broiler proof baking dish and cook for about 45 minutes basting and turning the chicken half way through. Remove from oven and turn up heat to broil and place chicken in the broiler for 5 minutes until nicely browned but not burnt. You will have to carefully watch it. Spoon marinade over the chicken and serve. Garnish with lemon, if desired.
Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad (Walmart Copycat Recipe)
This copycat version of Walmart's Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad tastes just like the original! This broccoli salad will quickly become a family favorite to make time and time again.
I've mentioned before that I used to work in the deli department of my local Walmart. One of my favorite salads at Walmart is Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad. It didn't occur to me to try to make it at home until recently! I'm not sure why, I started making a version of a Mozzarella, Tomato, and Artichoke Salad they used to carry years ago! I guess time passing made me forget about it.
I left there 4 years ago when I had my daughter. I finally decided to come up with my own version of the Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad to serve at her birthday party last Saturday. What I came up with tastes EXACTLY like the store-bought! With rotini pasta, fresh broccoli and cheese, diced red onion, and a sweet mayonnaise dressing, this is perfect for summertime cookouts, family get together's, or anytime.
I am updating this post exactly three years and five months to the day that I published it. Since that time, and until just recently, it was my most viewed recipe every single day. It has more than twice the amount of views then any other recipe I've ever shared, and yet it never did well on Pinterest because the photo was so small.
I think it's simply the fact that it's a favorite broccoli salad recipe, pasta salad recipe, and copycat recipes out there that makes it so popular.
I've really learned a lot about photography in the last three years! I still don't consider myself a photographer, it will always be more that I love to cook and share recipes. I made it several times since, for cookouts and other events, but I could never remember to take better photos, or improve on the writing, until I made it this past Saturday for my "niece's" 20th birthday party.
Here is the old photo:
Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad
You can whip up this salad in just a few minutes. It does need to stay cold since it contains mayonnaise, so put it on a bowl of ice or refrigerate it after two hours.
More pasta salad recipes for you to try:
Bacon Ranch Green Onion Pasta Salad
WANT EVEN MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM MYSELF AND MY FAVORITE FOOD BLOGGERS? FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, OR FACEBOOK, WHERE I SHARE NEW RECIPES DAILY. YOU CAN ALSO SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL TO GET NEWLY POSTED RECIPES FOR FREE!
Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad (Walmart Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces tri-colored veggie rotini pasta (1 box)
- 1 medium head broccoli chopped into small florets
- 1 medium red onion diced fine
- 2 cups mild cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, with a few drops of olive oil and dashes of salt in the water to keep the pasta from sticking. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool and set aside in a large bowl.
- Wash the broccoli well and chop into small florets. Chop the onion fine, and mix the broccoli and onions with the pasta. Add the cheddar cheese to the pasta mixture, mix well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, and apple cider vinegar well. Pour the mixture over the top of the pasta, broccoli and onions, and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Easy Low Fat Apricot Cake - Guest post from Ginger Lemon and Spice
Oh, my goodness, what a busy week! Between 4th of July and then my daughter's 4th birthday and party on Saturday, swimming almost every day, and cleaning up from the party, I even had to take a break from my Facebook page. Things are starting to get back on track now. Good thing I have another great guest today, Katherin from Ginger, Lemon and Spice. She's sharing a great summer dessert with you all today. I hope you enjoy it, and that your summer is going as well as mine 🙂 Now, let me introduce Katherin.
Hey there readers of Rants From My Crazy Kitchen!
I am Kathrin, a 26 year old german girl that loves cooking, baking and taking pictures of all of it 🙂 On my blog Ginger, Lemon & Spice (http://gingerlemonandspice.com) I write about things I liked that came out of my kitchen from all over the world! I like experimenting and travelling to different countries a lot. As I am very passionate it is not rare that I lose my heart to those places and people and indulge in memories at home and try to recreate the dishes I have eaten. Also it is important to me to get more and more people back 'to the roots' and to encourage them to cook and bake by their own and show that this is not as difficult to manage as they (maybe) thought!
Most of the time it makes almost no difference on how long it takes to prepare a processed meal in comparison to one self cooked. But the feeling of having done it on ones own and the great taste will be fulfilling 🙂 And that's a great feeling!!
The recipe I have for you today is one for an Easy Low Fat Apricot Cake. This cake is very easy and quick to make, it looks beautiful and rustic and the taste is light and fluffy! Give it a go yourselves and you'll see 🙂
Easy Low Fat Apricot cake
Ingredients:
850g (1.8 lb) of fruit (canned or fresh apricots or peaches, I used homemade canned peaches)
3 eggs
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons lukewarm water
100g (½ cup) sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
150g (1 ¼ cups) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Prepare the fruit: Drain with sieve if it's canned, or wash, peel and cut in big chunks if fresh. Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F). Prepare a springform (26cm in diameter) pan with baking paper. Just place the pan on a sheet of baking paper, circle around the bottom and cut it out. Butter the pan and place the circle of baking paper on the bottom.
2. Separate the eggs into two different bowls. The bowl with the egg whites has to be completely clean and fat free otherwise the whites won't get stiff! Beat the egg whites with the salt and an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks.
3. Then beat the yolks with the sugar until creamy. You don't have to clean up your beaters if you do it in that order! Add the water and whisk on very slow speed.
4. Add lemon zest, flour and baking powder and mix well. Then add the egg whites and whisk carefully per hand. Don't overmix!! It should just be incorporated!!
5. Pour the batter into the pan and distribute the fruit on top. Bake for 25 minutes.
6. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes then remove the pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let cool completely and enjoy!!
Note: I used my mom's springform pan and hers is 28cm in diameter. Because that's a little bigger I had 4 eggs and adjusted the rest of the ingredients accordingly!
Slow Cooker French Onion Roast Beef
This Slow Cooker French Onion Roast Beef, or Slow Cooker French Onion Pot Roast, is made with a rump roast and homemade or canned French Onion Soup. With just five minutes prep time, it's ready to eat in less than six hours.
We bought and installed a pool this week! Our daughter is turning 4 on July 6th, so it's part of her birthday present, but you can bet that I will be in there, too 🙂 It's only a 30 inch pool (the highest my city will allow without a permit and fencing) but I'm 5 Ft tall, so half my height works for me! It really is a lot bigger than it sounds.
Now with the addition of the pool, my summer's are going to be more busy than they already are. In the summer, I need quick and easy recipes or those that I can fairly easily throw together in my crock pot.
I had a beef roast sitting in my freezer waiting to be cooked, but I knew it would probably be Fall before I could get around to making roast beef in the oven. I had an idea of making slow cooker roast beef with French onion soup that I had made and frozen a while ago. I was excited about this NEW idea, until my husband told me his grandmother used to make it all the time. Oh, well, it's all been done before! I had made it already by the time he told me his grandmother used to make it, so I'm going to share it with you in case, like me, you never heard of it before.
How do I make French Onion Roast Beef?
Place a three pound beef rump roast (or similar cut of beef) in your slow cooker.
Add two cups of sliced carrots.
Pour in one can of French onion soup and one can water, or 20 ounces of homemade. Sprinkle with pepper and also salt if using homemade French onion soup.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours or on LOW for about 10 hours, depending on how well done you want your roast. If a more rare roast is desired, check the beef at about 3 hours on HIGH or 7 hours on LOW.
About 10 minutes before serving remove the roast to a cutting board, and the carrots and onions to a bowl, leaving the broth in the slow cooker. Wisk the cornstarch or flour with a little bit of water ( enough to make a thin paste) and pour into the broth, stir well for about 1 minute, and leave to thicken while you slice the beef. You can also remove the broth to a small pot and prepare the gravy on the stove, by bringing the broth to a boil, adding the cornstarch mixture and wisking for 1 minute. The stove top method will result in a slightly thicker gravy.
Top sliced beef with the gravy, and serve with whatever sides you like.
Looking for more slow cooker dinner recipes? Try these:
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy
WANT EVEN MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM MYSELF AND MY FAVORITE FOOD BLOGGERS? FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, OR FACEBOOK, WHERE I SHARE NEW RECIPES DAILY. YOU CAN ALSO SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL TO GET NEWLY POSTED RECIPES FOR FREE!
Slow Cooker French Onion Roast Beef
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef rump roast
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- 10 ½ ounces canned French Onion soup (1 can, or 20 ounces homemade, omit water)
- 1 cup water
- black pepper , to taste
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (or flour)
Instructions
- Place the rump roast in the bottom of the slow cooker pot. Add two cups of sliced carrots.
- Pour in one can of French onion soup and one can water, or 20 ounces of homemade. Sprinkle with pepper and also salt if using homemade French onion soup.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours or on LOW for about 10 hours, depending on how well done you want your roast. If a more rare roast is desired, check the beef at about 3 hours on HIGH or 7 hours on LOW.
- About 10 minutes before serving, remove the roast to a cutting board, and the carrots and onions to a bowl, leaving the broth in the slow cooker. Wisk the cornstarch or flour with a little bit of water ( enough to make a thin paste) and pour into the broth, stir well for about 1 minute, and leave to thicken while you slice the beef. You can also remove the broth to a small pot and prepare the gravy on the stove, by bringing the broth to a boil, adding the cornstarch mixture and wisking for 1 minute. The stove top method will result in a slightly thicker gravy.
- Top sliced beef with the gravy, and serve with whatever sides you like.
Nutrition
Move Over Key Lime Pie- Guest Post From Jodi Ambrose
Today's guest post comes from my great friend Jodi Ambrose. You might remember her name if you have been following me for a while. She's not a food blogger, she's a relationship/sex/often hilarious blogger and author, but last year she decided to write a cookbook with her husband, and asked me if I would want to add a recipe or two. She decided my Crab Cakes and Mozzarella, Tomato, and Artichoke Salad would be a perfect fit, so now you can find them not only here on my blog, but in Jodi's cookbook too! You can find out more about the cookbook in her post.
If you do know her already, you can clearly see she toned herself down A LOT for this post. I'm a little disappointed, I love her mouthiness! But, you all might not appreciate a recipe post full of bad words, so you'll just have to follow her if you want to read more about her sassy self <3. Now, I will hand you over to Jodi!
Hi everyone! First and foremost, I wish to thank the lovely Bernadette for inviting me to do a guest post. I always enjoy visiting here and seeing what new and mouthwatering treats she’s sharing with us. Not only is she chock full of fantastic recipes, but she was kind enough to let me publish two of them in my cookbook, Darn Good Eats. Every recipe of hers that I make is better than the last—I’m so glad we stumbled across one another in the great vastness of the blogging world.
Now, on to a fresh-tasting, easy-to-make slice of lime heaven!
For my birthday in early June I was blessed to receive two tasty desserts. One was full of gooey chocolate decadence from the hubby. The other was a refreshing treat from my mom that was delightfully delicious, full of crisp flavor, and turned out to be a perfect palette cleanser after a heavy birthday meal. Both treats were simply amazing, but I want to share with you the recipe for Mom’s Dreamy Lime Cream Pie as out of the two bits of dessert yumminess, it’s the only one I can make without messing it up!
One of the great things about this pie is that not only will your taste buds sing when you bite into it, but it is so quick and easy to throw together for a last-minute barbeque, a night out with friends or a family dinner, that both creative chefs (like my mom, my hubby and Bernadette) and reluctant cooks (like me) can whip it up in a flash—but no one has to know that but us hens!
Here’s Mom’s original recipe:
To make it easier for you to copy and paste, here it is in regular text with just a little more detail to boot.
Ingredients:
-
One 8-ounce container of chilled, but defrosted, Cool Whip
-
One 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (we usually get Eagle brand)
-
4 – 4 ½ ounces of lime (or lemon) juice (go with the 4 ½)*
-
One graham cracker crust, 8-inch
-
Optional: 2-3 ounces of very small pieces of drained pineapple (I don’t like the pineapple in the pie which is why it’s not included in her hand-written recipe, but mom loves it that way)
*We use 4 ½ ounces of juice because when you buy one of those little lime-shaped juice containers in the produce section they usually contain 4 ½ ounces, so that’s what we go with. It’s not overly tart with the extra half ounce, but if you are tart-sensitive go with 4 ounces the first time you make it and then add more the next time if you’re in an adventurous mood.
Directions:
-
Add the Cool Whip to a medium-sized bowl.
-
Pour the condensed milk over the Cool Whip and gently fold it together until it’s completely mixed.
-
Add the lime juice and lightly stir until thoroughly blended (but don’t over blend, just until mixed is fine).
-
OPTIONAL: Add the pineapple and gently mix.
-
Pour into the pie crust.
-
You can keep it in the fridge or the freezer. Mom likes it best out of the fridge. I like it best about 5 minutes out of the freezer. You be the judge!
So there you have it! In a world full of sumptuous desserts that give you a cavity just by looking at them, I thought I’d mix it up a bit by giving you something that takes all of 3 minutes to make and has a bit of an edge to it. No one ever said that simple can’t be elegant. If you want to dress it up like I did in the picture, just throw a lime twist on top of it or put a few lime slices on the plate. You could even put another dollop of Cool Whip on top to make it look pretty. The extra Cool Whip would also work out for the tart-sensitive amongst you—give you a little extra sweet to go along with it.
Whether you make it with lime or lemon, with or without pineapple or extra Cool Whip, you are in for quite the tasty treat. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and just so you know, while mom says it lasts 2-3 days in the fridge, I’ve keep it in there for as many as 5 and it still tasted fine (one can only eat so many desserts at once!). But you won’t even have to think about that because chances are it won’t last in your fridge for more than a day. Who can resist a refreshing lime cream pie?
ENJOY!
Jodi Ambrose
Author of Darn Good Eats: The Cookbook for Creative Chefs and Reluctant Cooks
C’mon over and visit with me at the following places:
Blog (we get a bit wild over here, so beware!)
Mushroom Fettuccine Bake
At the end of last month I decided to sign up for Hungry Little Girl's Surprise Recipe Swap. On the first of every month we are matched up with another blogger, pick a recipe of their's to make, and post the recipe and a review on the 20th of the month. I have done recipe swaps in the past, but they were always with bloggers I already follow. This is a chance to get to know new bloggers and new recipes!
This month I was matched up with Easy Life Meal and Party Planning , and yes, they are a blog I didn't know. I looked around their blog ( it's run by two ladies) and finally decided to make their Mushroom Fettuccine Bake. < Check out their recipe here. I changed the recipe just a little by increasing some of the ingredients. Basically, I was trying to hide the mushrooms from my almost 4 year old who WILL NOT eat them. It didn't work.
This is only half the pan, my husband cut into it before I could take a picture.
Mushroom Fettuccine Bake
1 pound fettuccine
1.5 pounds lean ground beef
2 portobello mushroom caps, diced fine
¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar
½ cup shredded mild cheddar ( you can use all sharp or all mild, I just wanted to use up one of my packages of cheese!)
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
24 ounce jar spaghetti sauce ( if you increase the recipe like I did, you might want to use more sauce)
Cook fettuccine noodles for two minutes less than package directions. Brown ground beef and drain. Preheat oven to 350*F.
In a large bowl, combine noodles, ground beef, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, seasoning and spaghetti sauce. Place in a 9X13 baking dish ( or a large casserole dish), top with the Parmesan cheese and then the Mozzarella cheese. Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered.
I thought it was good, my husband suggested that if I make it again I add Ricotta cheese, which would make it more like a lasange. I think I might like to try it without increasing the ingredients, to see how it is with more of the mushroom taste.
If you would like to sign up for the Surprise Recipe Swap, visit Hungry Little Girl here!
Sponsored: #MyPlatinum Cascade Review and Contest
“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”
I'm excited to do a review of a product that I've been using since it first became available. Keep reading, because there is an awesome Instagram contest to win a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher, plus one lucky contestant will win a Platinum Kitchen Makeover! A few months back there was a recall on my dishwasher, and when the technician came out to replace the part, we started talking and she told me that my dishwasher manufacturer recommends using Pacs. I had used them before, along with liquid, but since have switched exclusively to Platinum Pacs. Why? Simply because they work better than other products I've tried. Do you ever find that you have to rewash the dishes that should have come clean in the dishwasher? Do you see streaks on your glassware? As most of you know, I'm a busy mom, especially in the summer when my daughter doesn't want to be stuck inside while mommy does housework. Well, with Platinum Pacs even my hardest stuck on food dishes come clean with virtually NO pre- rinsing. Glasses shine! As an added benefit, Platinum Pacs also help to prevent hard water build up inside the dishwasher. Plus, they are less messy than liquid or powder detergent!
As a food blogger, I am always taking pictures of things I cook, so my dishes have to look clean and sparkling! People eat with their eyes, as you can see just by taking one looks at sites like Facebook and Instagram. Gail Simmons, Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine Magazine has partnered with to show why presentation is just as important as preparation when it comes to great food. Check her out on YouTube <CLICK HERE, to see her talk about presentation, clean dishes, and a recipe for Spring Panna Cotta!
Now onto the good stuff, you know, the contest! Check out Cascade's Facebook Page and then enter the #MyPlatinum Instagram Contest by entering your photos! All of the details are on the highlighted link. If you're not registered for Instagram, you will have to register to win, and make sure to include the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag @MyCascade to be qualified. Two winners a week will receive a new Whirlpool dishwasher plus a supply of Cascade, and one grand prize winner will receive a KitchenAide Kitchen makeover and a supply of Cascade!!