Chocolate Bread Pudding For Two

Why has this recipe been sitting around waiting for me to post it? I made this back in AUGUST! I made this for my boyfriend's birthday--he loves bread pudding and I have never been a huge fan (I always want it to taste as magical as stuffing on Thanksgiving, but it's always a little too soggy or a little too crunchy and overall a little too disappointing for me). I decided to try to make it for him and it baked up wonderfully. It was perfectly cooked, tasted even better with ice cream, and this is a 2-person recipe! Okay, halfway through the dessert both of us realized we could probably have just split one it was so dense (could have also been that I cooked him a pretty big dinner).

I might try to make this again but given there are SO MANY bread pudding flavors and ideas and recipes out there, it might be a while.

Chocolate Bread Pudding For Two

Recipe from The Craving Chronicles

2 cups (5-6 slices) 1/2-inch cubed challah bread

2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 tablespoon Bailey’s Irish Cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Ice Cream or whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, or until toasted.

Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, Irish cream, vanilla, cinnamon and egg in a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add toasted bread cubes and toss until coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat the inside of two 7-ounce ramekins with cooking spray. Divide half of the chilled bread mixture evenly between the two ramekins. Top with half of the chopped chocolate. Divide the remaining half of the bread mixture between the ramekins, then top with the remaining chocolate.

Place ramekins in an 8-inch pan and add about an inch of hot water. Bake, uncovered, for about 35 minutes or until set.

Serve warm, topped with ice cream or whipped cream.

Turkey Meatball Spaghetti

Instatips on this recipe: definitely make sure not to mix the turkey etc too much into a mush, make sure to really mince the garlic super tiny, and MAKE THIS.

Adam asked me to make spaghetti and meatballs, and I don't eat beef, so I found this recipe. It was soo good and had just the right amount of spice. I doubled the recipe and it made a TON of meatballs that I ate alone (first time we had spaghetti, then I got lazy and plus it was healthier to just eat the meatballs anyway). So yum. So so yum.

Turkey Meatball Spaghetti
Recipe from Bev Cooks

1 pound spaghetti
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, whizzed through a food processor until smooth
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbs. finely chopped herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
6 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1/2 cup breadcrumbs or panko
4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
freshly grated parmesan, for garnish

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, crushed red pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, herbs, panko, a good pinch of salt and pepper, half the minced garlic, and the egg. Mix it all up good with your hands.

Form little balls with your hands and set them aside on a tray. Size doesn’t matter. (sorry) Totally up to you!

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the remaining garlic and bloom 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

In a medium skillet, heat the other 2 Tbs. oil over medium-high. Add the meatballs and sear until brown all over, about 8 minutes total. Transfer meatballs to sauce and continue simmering another 20 minutes.

Cook the pasta until it reaches al dente.

Serve spaghetti with a good helping of meatballs and sauce. Garnish with parmesan and more basil, if desired!

Turkey Spinach Lasagna

Here's a repeat for you. I made this summer 2010 and made it again this year--still so yummy! This time I used noodles that needed to be pre-cooked but that worked out fine. I also (according to the pictures) used more cheese on top. Yum. Still a good recipe!

Wild Rice with Asparagus Marinara

Everything in this was great except it was my first time poaching eggs and they were a little overcooked, and the rice turned out terrible. I didn't know what type of wild rice to get but apparently whichever brand I got did not work (second time I made that rice I added a little chicken stock to it and it tasted a little better). Overall a light meal that could be dressed up to look fancy!

Wild Rice with Asparagus Marinara
Recipe from Foxes Love Lemons

1 cup wild rice blend
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 cup vegetable broth, tomato juice or water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 bunch fresh asparagus, ends trimmed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 large eggs

Prepare rice according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomato and broth; simmer 6 to 8 minutes or until most liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat; stir in basil.

While sauce simmers, preheat oven to 400º. Toss asparagus with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper. Place on rimmed baking pan. Roast 8 minutes or until just tender.

Fill large, high-sided skillet with water. Heat to a slow boil (about 190º). Add vinegar to water. One at a time, crack eggs into small ramekin and use ramekin to slowly slide eggs into water. Cook 4 minutes or until whites are set and yolks are still soft. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to paper towel-lined plate.

To serve, divide asparagus between 4 salad plates. Divide rice over asparagus. Top rice with tomato sauce, and place eggs on top. Serve immediately.

Lemon Chicken

In trying to find a really good lemon chicken recipe for my boyfriend who loved it growing up, I decided to try out this one. It was a little less crispy than ideal--so far the Chinese-style lemon chicken that my mom gave me the recipe for and that I grew up loving has been my favorite. I served this with broccoli and rice.

Lemon Chicken
Recipe from Passports and Pancakes

3 chicken breasts (a little less than a pound, can easily adjust other ingredients based on amount of chicken)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 /2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
2 lemons (1 can be the previously zested lemon :) , halved
Rice and vegetables for serving

Stir together the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Coat each chicken breast completely with the flour mixture. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt oil and butter together. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the chicken breasts to the skillet.


Cook for 5-7 minutes and turn the chicken. Add the zest, the juice of both lemons, and all 4 of the lemon halves. Cover the skillet with a lid, turn heat down to medium, and cook until chicken is completely done. This will take another 6-10 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken breasts are. Slice the chicken breasts in the pan, stir to coat with the sauce, and serve over rice with a side of your favorite vegetables.

Bruschetta Chicken

A very simple and yummy recipe. This time I lost track of time and overcooked the breasts a little bit but usually I don't do that...haha...they were still good though. Very healthy! I made this with my roommate Happy for our weekly Wednesday Girl's Night. She made a delicious spinach risotto to go along with it.

Bruschetta Chicken
Recipe from Eat Yourself Skinny

3 or 4 chicken breasts
4 or 5 small tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/8. tsp sea salt
Handful basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (if you choose to bake your chicken rather than grill). Sprinkle some salt and pepper over top, cover and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes (depending on the size of your breasts) until juices run clear.

Meanwhile, combine chopped tomatoes, garlic, onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and basil in a bowl. Refrigerate until chicken is ready to be served and spoon over top of the chicken. Enjoy!

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Pancakes

These were super yummy. I love all things breakfast and I love fruit! Pancakes soo yum ahh. I don't have a waffle maker (SAD) but pancakes are super easy. I wanted to make a pancake that was relatively healthy (aka had more protein) so I tried out this recipe and it was pretty good!

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Recipe by Amy Zhang

1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 to 1 cup fresh strawberries
1 tsp sugar (optional)
Butter, for pan

Chop strawberries into small pieces. *Optional: In a small bowl, combine about 1/2 cup of the strawberries with 1 tsp sugar and set aside to macerate.*

In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt, egg, vanilla, and honey. Add in salt, flour, and baking powder, then stir until wet and dry ingredients are mixed. Fold in 1/2 cup of strawberries. In a pan over medium heat, melt a small amount of butter, then add in about 1/4 cup of the batter (it's thick, so you might need to spread it out a little with a spoon). Repeat if you're pan is big enough. When you see bubbles starting to form on the top (after about 3 minutes), flip the pancake(s) and cook another 2-3 minutes.


If you macerated strawberries, use as a delicious, naturally sweet topping!

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Okay, okay. I haven't been very consistent with posting. I just do picture-dumps occasionally when I have some time and upload my photos and realize that hey, I actually took pictures of things I cooked or baked or whatever! I should upload them in bulk (and possibly forget about them)! I made this a while ago when my college roommate Lucy came to visit me in SF. She's not a fan of cake with frosting, and I know she's made angel food cake before, so I decided to give it a try.

I don't think I even know what angel food cake is supposed to taste like, but this didn't really fulfill my expectations. It was decent, but there was something about it (maybe the lack of a huge pile of frosting?) that made it not my ideal cake.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Recipe from u Try.it

Preheat oven to 325 degree F.  Place un-greased angel food cake pan on the baking sheet.  

In a large mixing bowl, sift cake flour, cocoa powder and 3/4 cup of sugar together.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites, water, cream of tartar and salt together until foamy.   Then, add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a steady stream. 

Add coffee mixture and vanilla extract, beat until stiff peak forms.

Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the dry ingredient mixture onto the egg white mixture.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredient into the meringue.  Be careful not to deflate the foam.

Pour batter into a 9 1/2-inch un-greased angel food cake pan. A 10-inch pan would work just as find if that's what you've got.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake and comes out clean.  Then, invert cake pan on a wiring rack too cool for at least one hour, or until completely cooled.  This step is to ensure the cake stays nice and tall in the cooling process.

French Onion Chicken Sandwich

I wanted an easy, laid-back, delicious meal and this looked delicious so I gave it a shot. Also seasoned the chicken before I cooked it up. It was pretty good! Yes, simple, but super easy! Might want to try flavoring the onions a little differently or adding some kind of extra sauce, or not burning the buns...haha. But pretty yummy and the onions smelled spectacular!

French Onion Chicken Sandwich

Recipe from Foxes Love Lemons

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large white onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved crosswise and pounded to 1-inch thickness, if necessary

Nonstick cooking spray

4 slices Swiss cheese

4 hamburger buns

2 cups baby spinach

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and sugar; cook 25 minutes or until onions are deeply caramelized, stirring frequently. This step can be done up to 3 days in advance. Re-warm onions in microwave or in a small pan on grill before proceeding.

Preheat grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Spray chicken with nonstick spray. Transfer chicken to hot grill rack; cover and cook 10 minutes or until chicken loses its pink color throughout and internal temperature reaches 160º, turning once.

Place cheese slices on chicken pieces. Cover and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Build sandwiches using hamburger buns, spinach, chicken and caramelized onions.

Czech Pork Chops with Bread Dumplings and Cabbage

Wowowow can I make this again right now? Can I eat this every night for the rest of my life? PLEASE?

It takes a little longer than I'd usually like to spend on a meal but TOTALLY 100% WORTH IT. When I went to Prague a few years ago, my favorite meal was pork butt with bread dumplings and sauerkraut. This came pretty darn close and was absolutely 100% what I was looking for. Make this, please. Please please please. And invite me over to try. Ohh wow yum.

Czech Pork Chops with Bread Dumplings and Cabbage

Recipe from K&L Food Blog

For pork:

4 pork chops

salt, pepper

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp vegetable oil

For dumplings:

2 cups plain flour

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

pinch salt

pinch sugar

10g fresh yeast

1 bread roll (I used 4 small dinner rolls)

For the cabbage:

About 2 pounds white/green cabbage

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp onion

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp vinegar

1 cup vegetable broth

cumin, sugar

vinegar

salt, pepper

For the dumplings: Mix bit of flour (about a fourth of a cup) with yeast, sugar and some lukewarm milk, leave for few minutes until yeast start to rise. Cut roll into cubes and place in the bowl along with rest of the milk and egg, mix all ingredients. Now add flour, yeast with milk, salt and stir everything together. Knead the resulting dough just as you would when making bread. Let the dough rest in a warm place to rise for an hour. Now divide the dough into 2, 3 parts and form rolls, leave again to raise for 30 minutes. Boil one at a time in a large pot with boiling, salted water for around 7-8 minutes on each side, then take out and cut with very sharp knife or length of thread.

For pork: Clean and wash meat, then season with salt and pepper. Place on a pan and fry on oil on both sides, then pour the broth and cook for few minutes until soft and tender. At the end thicken the sauce with flour and some water, season again.

For the cabbage: Wash cabbage, shred it finely. Place in a saucepan, and cover with broth, simmer. In another saucepan, melt butter, fry chopped onions until golden. Add cabbage, salt, pepper, cumin, sugar and vinegar, sprinkle with flour and cook until soft. 

Tilapia with Strawberry Salsa

Week 2 of Happy and I cooking together (this time girls only!), we decided to make tilapia. WOW. SO EASY. WOW. SO GOOD. I will be making this again asap because it was soooo yummy. I love fish, and I love fruit, so fish + fruit = omnomnom. And it looked beautiful to boot! While I whipped up the fish and salsa, Happy handled the rice and salad--the rice was soo good, she stuck in a whole 2 cups of fresh mushrooms to make it magical.

The recipe calls for grilling the fish and the original calls for baking--I pan fried mine easily.

Tilapia with Strawberry Salsa

Recipe from Pasta Princess and More

2 tilapia fillets

1 tbsp butter

1 tsps lemon juice

5 large strawberries, de-topped and finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped white onion

2 tsps lime juice

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped or 1 tablespoon Thai Red Chili Sauce

Mix the strawberries, onion, jalapeno, ginger, lime juice and red wine vinegar together. Stir well and let sit in the fridge for at least 15 mins so the flavors can mingle.

Generously season each fillet, pour lemon juice over both and place 1/2 tbsp of butter on each. Grill until fish turns opaque and flakes easily.

Serve with a spoonful of salsa.

Gordon Ramsay's Pork Chops with Sweet 'n Sour Peppers

My roommate, Happy, and I have decided to do this awesome weekly girls-night event where we cook together and (ideally, though I've been on a little break) drink wine and watch horrible reality television or gossip or just whatever, have girl time plus cats. Sounds like a great idea! The first night we did this we actually also had my boyfriend, Adam, joining us, which was fine because we made way too much food. This recipe was absolutely FAAABULOUSS probably because of all the butter buuut you can make it healthier. Pretty easy too!

Gordon Ramsay's Pork Chops with Sweet 'n Sour Peppers

Recipe from My Kitchen of Love

For the pork chop:

2 pork chops

Olive oil, for frying

2 garlic cloves, crushed with skin on

Small bunch of thyme

Few knobs of butter

For the sweet & sour peppers:

Olive oil, for frying

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 red peppers, thinly sliced

Sea salt

Ground pepper

1 tbs caster sugar

3 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Small bunch of basil leaves, shredded

Heat some olive oil over a large frying pan on high heat, then add onion and peppers. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and saute for 4-5 minutes until soft and colored.

Add the vinegar and let it bubble for a few minutes until it has reduced. Turn down the heat, add the extra virgin olive oil and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Stir in the shredded basil and continue to cook for 30 seconds, then turn on the heat. Transfer to a bowl and leave to infuse.

To prepare the pork chop, use the sharp knife to make cuts into the fat, making sure that it’s not into the meat. Season with salt & pepper on both sides, rub and push well into the skin.

Heat the frying pan over high heat until hot & add a dash of oil, then tip in the pork chops, garlic and thyme and fry for 2-3 minutes until colored. Turn and fry for another 2-3 minutes, pushing the thyme under the chops and breaking up the garlic a little. Towards the end of cooking time, add in a generous amount of butter (you’ll love it later), lightly tilt the pan and baste the chops with melted butter as they are cooking.

Transfer the chops over a plate, with herb and garlic on top, leave it to rest for 5-10 minutes, continue basting with butter now and then. Serve the chop on top of the peppers and onions.

Caprese Pasta Salad

I'm not sure where my mom got this recipe so if you know (or mom, if you made this by yourself), let me know! I feel like my version of this recipe did not do it justice. Whenever my mom made this I LOVED it. It is SO good. The ingredients are important though: it's best with a LOT of cherry tomatoes and a LOT of mozzarella! Yum! Will definitely be making this again (with more of the aforementioned necessities)!

Caprese Pasta Salad

1 lbs penne or oriechette pasta

1/4 cups olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1pints cherry tomatoes, halved

1tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, optional

1/4 cups kalamata olives, sliced, optional

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan for serving, more as needed

1 container bocconcini (mozzarella balls), or cut up chunks of mozzarella

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring until tomato juices run, about 3 min.

Add the penne, olives if using, basil, and then remove to large serving dish and toss with mozzarella balls and Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

My boyfriend told me he loved meatloaf, and I don't eat beef, so I decided to try a turkey meatloaf recipe my mom sent me a couple years ago and I never tried. It was moist, easy, and super delicious! I served it with dirty rice sans meat, and some broccoli, as per Adam's suggestion. It turned out to be a delicious and simple combination! Yum!

Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Recipe from Giada de Laurentiis

Vegetable cooking spray

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup chopped garlic and herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced, optional

2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons whole milk

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, if using, eggs, milk, feta, salt, and pepper. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat.

Carefully pack the meat mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice. Put on a serving platter and serve.

Chicken Legs

For some reason, everybody always loves this meal. I took the hint from the fact that my younger brother loves this and used to be very picky about everything. It was never always my favorite but it's definitely good. I made it for a few friends over a month ago and I'd never made it before, but it makes a lot and the recipe (from my mom) was pretty straight forward.

I'd never cooked chicken legs before, let alone any chicken with skin, so I had no idea what it would look like through the baking process. I kept thinking it wasn't cooking right since it wasn't darkening fast enough, but after the full length of time (about an hour) they looked perfectly. It also freaked me out a little that before it was cooked, some of the skin around the feet was yellow...eww! But it makes sense that that would be completely normal, and they turned out great! Foolproof, easy recipe!

Baked Chicken Legs

Chicken Legs

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Place chicken legs on a greased baking sheet (do not use foil). Heavily season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on both sides. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until skin is darker and crispy.

Pumpkin Bread

So I was super bummed with Starbucks started carrying La Boulange instead of the regular beauteous pastries. La Boulange, at first glance, looks okay, but then you realize it's all tired and gross and just does not compare (at least in my opinion--and to be honest I didn't really try all that much, since I was mostly just bummed that they don't have the same exact pumpkin bread). So anyway, the pumpkin bread. Yeah I've seen some Starbucks carry a mini-loaf of pumpkin bread by La Boulange but it is just not the same. So I'm currently looking for the best Starbucks Pumpkin Bread Copycat Recipe.

This one is from CopyKat recipes, found only by google searching "starbucks pumpkin bread recipe". It was okay--actually, pretty darn delicious, but I still don't think it's the same. I can hardly remember the old Starbucks pumpkin bread recipe anymore. I can only hope that I remember it when I taste it! It'll probably take a helluva lot more fat and sugar than I want to add.

Still, this one was pretty good!

Pumpkin Bread

Recipe from CopyKat Recipes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon clove

** if you are going to use pumpkin pie spice, use a scant 2 teaspoons of spice in place of the spices mentioned here

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil (do not use olive or peanut oil)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 to 1/2 cup roasted and salted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients; flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, salt, and spices. Sift the dry ingredients together.

In a smaller bowl mix together the 2 beaten eggs, the oil, and the vanilla. 

Once the liquid ingredients are mixed well pour over the dry ingredients. Stir until the lumps are out. Do not over-stir the mixture. 

Pour into a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of bread. 

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of the loaf. 

Cool for approximately 5 minutes in the pan, and then turn the pumpkin bread onto a cooling rack. The bread cuts best when allowed to cool completely.

Parmesan-Crusted Asparagus

These were pretty yummy but I definitely should have tried to cover them ore completely in Parmesan, whether it be by double dipping into the egg-whites again after the first round, or by following some other sort of direction to get the breadcrumbs to stick. But it was easy! Probably would try making it again!

Parmesan Crusted Asparagus

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

1 bunch Asparagus

2 whole Egg Whites

1 cup Seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs

¼ cups Flour

¼ cups Parmesan Cheese

Salt And Pepper

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Lay a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat with nonstick spray.

Snap off the tough ends of each asparagus spear. On two separate plates, add the eggs whites (lightly beaten) in one, and the panko, flour, and cheese in the other. Season the panko mixture with salt and pepper if desired. Coat each asparagus spear in egg whites, then lay in the panko mixture and thoroughly cover. If the panko won’t stick, dip back in the egg whites and roll in panko once again. Lay each spear on the wire rack.

Bake at 425ºF for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Bacon Mango Brussels Sprouts

I'd never cooked brussels sprouts before this dish, which I served just with a simple baked chicken breast. It was easy and delicious! The most complicated part was that I had never cut a mango before...a job I quickly handed over to my boyfriend after absolutely failing.

Bacon Mango Brussels Sprouts

Recipe From Seeded at the Table

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 lb Brussels sprouts, washed and sliced in half

2 large mangos, peeled, pitted and diced

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet, over medium heat, until crispy (about 8 to 10 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Leave about 1 Tablespoon bacon fat in the pan, discard the rest. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and cook over medium high heat until the Brussels sprouts and mango begin to brown, about 6 minutes. (Stir occasionally.)

Remove from the heat and toss in the cooked bacon. Serve immediately.

Cilantro Turkey Burgers With Chipotle Ketchup

Here it is--one of my absolute favorite meals (seriously, over the past year my mom has pretty much made it every single week) and the first meal I cooked for myself after I moved to San Francisco. I miss it so much already. I could eat this burger every day for the rest of my life, slathered in that delicious chipotle ketchup...ughhh so good. You will never, ever, EVER have a better burger.

Please make this, or at least try. Make it with the bun, make it without the bun, make it with a ton of fries or onion rings and cover those in the chipotle ketchup too...make extra ketchup, trust me.

Cilantro Turkey Burgers with Chipotle Ketchup
Recipe From Cooking Light

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
>1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground turkey
Cooking spray
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
4 (2 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns
4 red leaf lettuce leaves


Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/3-inch-thick patty.

Heat a large grill pan or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add turkey patties, and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.

Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each patty with 1 tablespoon chipotle ketchup and 1 lettuce leaf. Cover with top halves of buns.

Remove 1 chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can. Reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Mince the chile. Combine chile, adobo sauce, and ketchup.

Not Forgotten!

I haven't been baking very often but what I HAVE been doing is COOKING.

A.k.a, I am now an actual adult living on my own in the big city of San Francisco (and by alone I mean with 2 roommates and 2 cats), and the money I spend has to be on actual food.

But good thing is that I love cooking, and have been cooking at least twice a week, which means...hey, I should be posting this stuff on my blog, right?

So look forward to some delicious posts coming up!

Dorie Greenspan's Fresh Fruit Tart

I think I made this in September.  It turned out pretty good--my mom went out and got the fruit for me and the fruit was absolutely gorgeouss. A very easy, delicious recipe! The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours, which of course is my go-to recipe book for impressive desserts! Her recipes are always beautiful and delicious and easy to follow, although sometimes time-consuming (and definitely not low-cal...but this one wasn't so bad, I mean, the majority of the sugar was natural fruit-sugar!).

Key Lime Pie

I'm not even sure when I made this. I think it was late August--man, I'm behind on posting! And not really baking anything new, so I thought I'd share some of these delicious recipes I've made and never had the chance to share. Pretty sure this was delicious. I'd never made key lime pie before and was a little scared that it was undercooked at first--baked it a little longer than the directions, but in the end, so long as it's solid when you take it out of the oven, I think the key lime pie is baked.

Key Lime Pie

Recipe from Kitchen Runway

1¼ C graham cracker crumbs

¼ C sugar

5 Tbs melted butter

1 14oz can of condensed milk

1 whole egg

1 C lime juice (key lime juice can be used but keep in mind key limes are tarter and more bitter than regular limes.  You can cut the amount of juice down to ½ C for the recipe)

zest of 1 lime

Whipped Cream:

1 C heavy whipping cream

3-4 Tbs of powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 tsp vanilla

lime zest and lime slices

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter.  Press the mixture into a 9 inch pie or tart pan.  Place pie pan on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let crust cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together condensed milk and egg until smooth.  Add lime juice and zest and whisk until combined and smooth.  Gently pour filling into cooled pie shell (on baking sheet) and bake on the middle rack for 15 to 18 minutes until center of pie has set.  Remove from oven and cool pie on rack and then chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Top with whipped cream and garnish with lime zest and slices.

Whipped Cream:

In a large, deep bowl, add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Using an electric hand mixer whip the ingredients together on medium high speed for 7 to 8 minutes until it begins to hold stiff peaks.

Carmelized Orange and Arugula Flatbread

Did I ever share this recipe before? No, I don't think so. I had all the photos in a folder on my Desktop to make it hard for me to forget...but then I just got lazy. I made these MONTHS ago to surprise my mom, who loves the Carmelized Orange and Arugula Flatbread at one of her favorite restaurants. She said these were pretty darn close to the real thing!

Carmelized Orange and Arugula Flatbread
Recipe from Twin Tables


Pizza Dough (recipe below)
2 Navel oranges
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups wild baby arugula
Large crystal sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll half of the pizza dough into a large oval, reserve remaining for another use.  Combine juice of one orange, olive oil, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.  Whisk until well combined.  Brush dough with vinaigrette until moist.

Place brown sugar on a plate.  Very thinly slice the remaining orange.  Dip one side of each orange slice into sugar and place on prepared pizza dough.  Bake for 12 minutes or until crust is golden and bottom crispy.  Toss the arugula in remaining vinaigrette and pile atop pizza.  Sprinkle all with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and sea salt to taste.

Yield: 2 to 4 Servings

Pizza dough
2-3/4 to 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast or 2 1/4 tsp
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
1/2 Tbsp olive oil

In a large mixing bowl combine 1-1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total) . Divide dough into 2 pieces. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. (After 10 minutes, wrap up one of the doughs and place in the freezer for a future use.)

Another actual update. MORE CUPCAKES!!

Now I remember why I took such a long break from baking.

Baking makes me fat.

I seriously cannot control myself.

But on a side note, look how cute!

These were for my birthday party last week. Dinosaur-themed yumminess.

Red velvet were the ones I made before, here.

The other ones are...dun-dun-dun...(besides magic)...

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

Recipe from Cooking Classy

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 recipe Caramel Frosting, recipe follows

Salted Caramel Frosting:

1 cup salted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup Caramel Sauce, recipe follows (cooled completely)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Caramel Sauce:

1 1 /2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp water

6 Tbsp salted butter

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large heat proof mixing bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and baking soda. Carefully pour in boiling water and whisk until bubbling subsides and mixture is well blended, allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together melted butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until well combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in eggs and eggs yolks, mixing just until combined after each addition. Blend in cocoa mixture then blend in heavy cream. Slowly mix in flour and blend until combined, while scraping down sides and bottom of bowl.

Divide batter among 24 paper lined muffin cups and bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 - 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with caramel frosting, drizzle with room temperature caramel sauce (I poured the caramel sauce in a small Ziploc bag and cut a very small tip off end to drizzle) and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Store in an airtight container.

For the salted caramel frosting:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add powdered sugar and blend on low speed until mixture comes together. Add caramel sauce and vanilla and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy about 2 minutes.

For the caramel sauce:

Gather all of your ingredients and have them nearby ready to add to the mixture as needed. In a heavy-bottomed 3 quart saucepan, heat sugar and water over moderately high heat whisking constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture reaches a boil, stop whisking and allow mixture to boil until it reaches a dark amber color, carefully swirling pan occasionally. Once mixture reaches a dark amber color, immediately add butter and whisk until butter has melted then immediately remove from heat. Wait 3 seconds then carefully pour in cream and immediately whisk to combine (it will bubble vigorously). Whisk until mixture is smooth. Allow caramel to cool several minutes then pour into a glass jar to cool completely and refrigerate.

Finally?!

Here's something I want y'all to take a look at:

MMM
UGH
OH GOD
So good.

Try it yourself!

Chocolate & Coconut Rum Cupcakes
Recipe from Half Baked Harvest


For the Cupcakes:
1 cup coconut flavored rum (ie Malibu)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
2/3 cup greek yogurt

For the Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 – 4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup coconut rum
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line 2 standard cupcake pans with 24 liners.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, simmer coconut rum and butter. Slowly whisk cocoa powder into saucepan until mixture is creamy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk sugar, flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and greek yogurt with an electric mixer. Slowly add coconut rum and cocoa mixture. Combine on low speed.

Slowly add flour and sugar mixture, combining on low speed until completely incorporated.

Fill baking cups three-fourths full. Bake for about 22 minutes. Cool.

To make the frosting cream butter until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with rum and vanilla, until desired consistency is reached. Feel free to add more or less sugar or liquid based on how thick you want your frosting.