Comfort Food: Chicken Enchiladas

Posted on April 25, 2013
Hi, Everyone! I’m here to share another delicious comfort food recipe with you today! At the beginning of the week, I told you about one of my favorite comfort foods, a great Bacon, Onion and Mushroom Pasta dish, and today I wanted to share another favorite dish with you – Chicken Enchiladas! I adapted this recipe from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman… need I say more! Filled with all kinds of yummy ingredients, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, slathered in a wonderful sauce and topped with gooey melted cheese and fresh herbs, this is definitely a comforting and satisfying dinner!
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CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
(Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
*Serves 4*
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YOU WILL NEED
2 tbs canola oil
2 tbs all-purpose flour
28oz can Enchilada sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lbs cooked, shredded chicken
10 large tortillas
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup sliced black olives
3 cups shredded cheese (I used a blend of Mexican cheeses)
Cilantro or flat leaf parsley for garnish
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DIRECTIONS
1. First, prepare your sauce by whisking together the canola oil and flour in a large pot. Let the mixture start bubbling a little bit, and whisk for about a minute. Then, add in the enchilada sauce, the chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and let it simmer on the stove, uncovered, until you need it.
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2. Next, prepare your fillings: shred your cooked chicken (great way to use left over chicken!), slice the olives and green onions and shred the cheese. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F, and get out a 9×13 inch baking pan.
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3. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Then, begin making your enchiladas. Dip a tortilla in the sauce, then place it on a board or plate and add some chicken, green onions, black olives and cheese down the center of the tortilla. Roll it up and place it seam side down inside your baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Once you’ve filled the pan with the enchiladas, pour more sauce on top, sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake for 20 – 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the edges are slightly crispy. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then sprinkle with fresh cilantro or parsley, more black olives and green onions, and serve with some sour cream!
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Happy Cooking, Everyone! Have a great rest of your week!

Comfort Food: Bacon, Onion and Mushroom Pasta

Posted on April 23, 2013
Hi, Everybody! I’m bringing a pasta dish to you today, seeing as there are very few people who don’t like pasta. I mean, what’s not to love? It comes in so many forms, sauces, flavours, styles, shapes and sizes, and it can be accompanied by nearly any other food from many meats and cheeses to veggies too. There is even a Gigi Hadid Pasta style as celebs have started getting creative with the dish. Anyway, this Bacon, Onion and Mushroom Pasta is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods, and an incredibly quick and easy weeknight dinner to pull off in just 30 minutes when you are exhausted after a long day and don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen! The combination of the salty bacon, the sweet and soft onions, the meaty mushrooms and the sharp grated Parmesan cheese works just perfectly in this dish, and the whole thing is tied together with the silky sauce that’s created when you add some pasta water to the dish right before the end. I love making this pasta dish because it’s so quick, so delicious and I usually have all the ingredients on hand already! I hope you love it as much as we do!
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BACON, ONION AND MUSHROOM PASTA
(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine)
*Serves 4*
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YOU WILL NEED
3/4 lb Fusilli or Rotini Pasta
1 tbs olive oil
4 slices bacon
1 large onion
10oz mushrooms
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
(*Optional: Fresh parsley for serving)
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DIRECTIONS
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1. First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add your pasta and cook it according to the directions on the box (once it’s cooked, reserve about a cup of the pasta water before straining the pasta). While the pasta is cooking, cook bacon in olive oil until it has browned slightly. Once that’s done, take the bacon out and place it on a paper towel. Set aside.
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2. Thinly slice your onions and cook them in the bacon grease until they have softened slightly. Season them with salt and pepper, then add your chopped mushrooms and cook until they have softened and browned too. Add the bacon back in and cook for additional minute or two.
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3. Add the cooked pasta into your skillet with the bacon, onions and mushrooms and stir everything together on low heat. Slowly stir in the reserved pasta water and about half of the grated Parmesan cheese, stir and cook for a couple of minutes until the pasta water and the cheese make a silky sauce. Serve with more grated cheese and some fresh parsley if you like!
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Happy Cooking, Everyone!

Baked Ham and Egg Breakfast Cups

Posted on April 19, 2013
Hi, Everyone! I’m just stopping by to wish you all a great weekend, and share a quick little breakfast idea with you! These little Baked Ham and Egg Breakfast Cups are quick and easy to make and make for a hearty, satisfying breakfast! This is hardly a recipe, all you need to do is spray your muffin cups with a little bit of cooking oil, line them with some thinly sliced ham and then crack an egg right inside them. Season them well with salt and pepper, and bake at 400 deg F for about 15 – 20 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs done. You could add herbs, scallions, cheese or anything else you like, too! Have a great weekend, Everyone!
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Cocoa Meringue Kisses

Posted on April 17, 2013
Hi, Everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve shared any cookie recipes with you, and these Cocoa Meringue Kisses were so good I just had to tell you all about them! If you like meringue, you will love these! I used to be so intimidated by the whole meringue process, but now that I’ve made it several times, it’s really just a couple of steps that aren’t too difficult! And if you follow them carefully, you end up with delicious goodness like these Cocoa Meringue Kisses that are so wonderfully light and airy and just melt in your mouth!
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COCOA MERINGUE KISSES

(Recipe from Martha Stewart)
*Makes about 30*
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YOU WILL NEED
4 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
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DIRECTIONS
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1. Begin by preparing your meringue. Fill a medium sized pot with water and bring it to a simmer, then set a heatproof bowl over it. In the bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar, and whisk together until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and warm when you touch it.
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2. Next, pour the mixture into your electric mixer bowl, and mix on high speed using the whisk attachment, until stiff, glossy peaks form, for about 10 minutes. Then, add in the vanilla and sift in the cocoa powder, fold them in very carefully so the meringue doesn’t deflate.
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3. Preheat your oven to 175 deg F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill a pastry bag with a large star tip with the meringue and pipe your kisses onto your baking sheets. Bake for up to two hours, take the kisses out whenever they are hard on the outside and don’t stick to the parchment paper anymore.
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Happy Baking, Everyone!

Berry Stuffed Waffle Stacks

Posted on April 12, 2013
Hi, Everyone! Happy Weekend! I’m just stopping by to share a delicious breakfast or brunch idea with you this morning! These tasty little Berry Stuffed Waffle Stacks take just a couple of minutes to prepare, but make for a breakfast that’s delicious and a little more special! All you need to do is cut out small rounds out of your waffles (you can either use a round cookie cutter, or even a glass), stuff each layer with berries of your choice (you can use whatever berries you like, I had raspberries and blueberries so that was what I used), then insert a toothpick from the top of each stack so it doesn’t slide, add a couple of berries to the top and drizzle with maple syrup!
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Happy Weekend, Everyone!

Magazine Page Markers

Posted on March 27, 2013
Hi, Everybody! I hope your week is going well so far! Our week here in Maryland started off with a snowstorm that left a couple of inches of snow on the ground and turned everything into a “winter” wonderland! I don’t think I remember it ever being so cold and snowy at this time of year, and definitely not at Easter time! It seems like spring keeps teasing us with its arrival, but winter continues to linger on. I have a really easy little craft to share with you today – these cute little Magazine Page Markers! I have always loved magazines, especially home decor, fashion and cooking ones, and there’s nothing I’d rather do on a cold snowy afternoon than sit on our couch with a fuzzy blanket, reading magazines and drinking tea! I always look forward to my Martha Stewart Living magazine waiting for me in our mailbox at the beginning of each month, and I have stacks and stacks of magazines that contain hundreds of recipes and ideas that I want to try out! The problem is that I can never seem to remember what magazine a certain recipe was in, and then end up spending hours looking for it. So I made these little button paper clip page markers to save all the good ideas I want to try! To make them, just attach the buttons to the ends of the paperclips using hot glue, and use different colors for each topic (recipes, craft ideas, and so on). So easy and very helpful!
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Have a great rest of the week, Everyone!

Daisy Sugar Cookies

Posted on March 23, 2013
Hi, Everyone! I hope you are all having a great weekend! I wanted to share my Daisy Sugar Cookies with you today, that I made to celebrate the arrival of spring! I love daisies, and every time I see them, I think of the movie, You’ve Got Mail, and the part where Kathleen says, “I love daisies. They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?”And she was so right, they are such friendly flowers. There is something so cheerful and happy about them. Here’s the recipe for these Daisy Sugar Cookies…
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DAISY SUGAR COOKIES
(Recipe from Martha Stewart)
*Makes about 2 dozen cookies*
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YOU WILL NEED:
SUGAR COOKIES
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (4oz) unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 tbs milk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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ROYAL ICING
(Recipe from All Recipes)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp milk
2 tsp light corn syrup
Food coloring
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DIRECTIONS
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1. First, prepare your sugar cookie dough. In your electric mixer bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, milk and vanilla extract. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet in three portions. Once you have a soft dough, shape it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
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2. Take your dough out, and roll it out on a floured surface to about an 1/8 inch thickness. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut out your shapes, and place them on your baking sheets. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown very slightly. Cool completely before decorating.
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3. Once the cookies have cooled completely, prepare your royal icing. Whisk all the ingredients except for the food coloring together (make sure it’s completely smooth and there are no lumps). You may need to add more milk or corn syrup, depending on the consistency you want. Add your food coloring in to get your desired color and decorate your cookies! (*Note: I doubled the royal icing recipe to have enough icing for all the sugar cookies that the recipe made)
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“I love daisies. They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?”
~You’ve Got Mail
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(Image Source)
Happy Baking, Everyone!

Spring Flower Wreath

Posted on March 21, 2013
Hi, Everyone! I don’t ever remember awaiting spring as much as I have been this year. It seems like this winter has been never ending here on the East Coast, and I am so ready for spring and all the fun that it brings with it! This is our first spring living in the DC area, and I am really looking forward to seeing all the beautiful Cherry Blossom trees in the city as the festival begins this week! Flowers are one of my favorite things about springtime, and I love how after months of everything being dark and gray outside, beautiful colors begin to pop up everywhere again. So, to celebrate the official beginning of spring this week, I made a new wreath to hang on our door. Here is how you can make your own…
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SPRING FLOWER WREATH
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YOU WILL NEED
Twig wreath form
Silk flowers of your choice
Hot glue gun
Ribbon (for hanging the wreath)
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DIRECTIONS
First, pick out your flowers. Choose two or three different kinds of flowers, I used bright yellow ones and darker green ones for some depth of color. Take the flowers off the stems and arrange them on your wreath form, and then begin glueing them down using hot glue. Make sure you hold them in place for a couple of seconds once you’ve glued them down so they stay attached. And that’s it! So quick and easy!
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Happy Crafting, Everyone!

Mushroom and Leek Quiche

Posted on March 20, 2013
Hi, Everybody! Happy First Day of Spring! I love sharing my favorite things with you all, and this Mushroom and Leek Quiche is definitely one of my favorite things to make! The crust is wonderfully soft, buttery and flaky, and the filling is deliciously creamy and satisfying, filled with mushrooms and leeks. The original recipe comes from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book, which is one of my favorite cookbooks, but I have lightened the recipe up a little bit by using fat-free milk and just a little bit of half-and half instead of whole milk and heavy cream! Served with a great fresh salad, this makes for the perfect springtime lunch or dinner!
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 MUSHROOM AND LEEK QUICHE
(Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book)
*Makes one 9-inch round quiche*
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YOU WILL NEED
PASTRY
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (4oz) unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg
2 – 3 tbs ice water
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FILLING
2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
10oz mushrooms
2 – 3 leeks
1 shallot, finely diced
3 tbs olive oil
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DIRECTIONS
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1. First, make your quiche dough, by combining the flour and salt. Next, add chilled, diced butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Then, add the egg and mix for a couple of seconds. With the mixer running, add the ice water (add as much as you need for a dough to form) and mix until you get a soft dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

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2. To make your filling, saute your shallot in 2 tbs of olive oil. Once it has softened, add the sliced mushrooms (I used Portabella and Button mushrooms) and cook until the mushrooms have softened and browned a little bit. Take them out and set them aside (place them on some paper towels to get as much grease and moisture out of them), and add the remaining tbs of olive oil to your pan, and cook your sliced leeks until they are tender. Add them to the mushrooms.

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3. Take your dough out and roll it out to fit inside a 9-inch pie dish. Grease the dish, place the dough inside and prick the bottom of pastry with a fork several times, so it doesn’t rise while the quiche bakes. Cover the prepared baking dish with the crust inside with some plastic wrap and refrigerate it again until you are ready to bake the quiche.

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4. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, half-and-half, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, eggs and egg yolks. (The original recipe called for whole milk and heavy cream, but I lightened it up with fat-free milk and half-and-half). Preheat your oven to 375deg F and take your quiche crust out of the refrigerator. Evenly spread the mushrooms and leeks on the bottom, then slowly pour the milk and egg mixture over the top. Bake for about an hour, or until the crust is golden brown and the center of the quiche no longer jiggles. (I covered my quiche with foil after about 30 minutes of baking so the crust wouldn’t burn) Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. (*Note: If the quiche releases some liquid it’s totally fine, it’s just the moisture that the mushrooms release!)

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Happy Baking, Everyone!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Greek Yogurt

Posted on March 19, 2013
Hi, Everybody! I have a quick and easy banana bread recipe with a little twist to share with you today! I wanted to make a slightly lighter version of the classic recipe, so I reduced the amount of sugar (the ripe bananas that the recipe calls for are naturally sweet already anyway! And I couldn’t resist adding some chocolate chips…) and used low-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I love the texture that the Greek yogurt gives the banana bread; it’s much lighter and softer, and stays very moist. Here’s the recipe…
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CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

WITH GREEK YOGURT
(Adapted from Martha Stewart)
*Makes 1 loaf*
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YOU WILL NEED
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used low fat)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 large bananas)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
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DIRECTIONS
1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350 deg F, and lining your loaf pan with parchment paper (or greasing it). In your electric mixer bowl, combine the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until you get a smooth mixture.
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2. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix until they are well combined. Add in the mashed bananas and Greek yogurt and mix. Lastly, add in the chocolate chips and stir using a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, and bake for about an hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before eating.
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Happy Baking, Everyone!
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