Category Archives: Recipes

November 28, 2012 · 2:00 am

Snickerdoodles

These cookies are hands down one of my favorites, and I pretty much crave them every day of my life. They turn out thin, with crispy edges and chewy middles. Is there a better kind of cookie? These are fantastic to have around the holidays since they make your house smell like butter and cinnamon, and also they are not healthy by any means so they’ll help you gain that much desired winter weight.

You… wait… what? You DON’T like winter weight? Then what the heck are you doing here?!

On the menu:
Snickerdoodles
Makes 36 cookies
Recipe from Joy of Cooking

2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

For rolling dough balls in:
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat in eggs one by one. Add flour to butter and sugar mixture and stir until combined.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until brown around the edges. Let cool. Devour. I mean… serve to friends.

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November 15, 2012 · 2:30 am

Thanksgiving Recipes

Pumpkin Ginger Soup topped with Pepitas

My family is ridiculously traditional, and suggesting an innovative take on a Thanksgiving classic usually warrants more eye rolls than anything else. But little by little, year by year, I’ve introduced a few dishes to the traditional Turkey Day menu that have gone over very well. Below is a list of dishes and recipes that you can try this year to give an untraditional spin to a very traditional meal. My family approves, so yours will, too.

STARTERS
Pumpkin Ginger Soup topped with Pepitas

SIDES
Roasted Kabocha Squash (just leave out the chicken to make this a nice compliment to the Thanksgiving turkey)
Butternut Squash, Leek, and Apple Gratin
Easy Biscuits
 Jalapeno Goat Cheese Corn Bread
Green Bean Casserole (from The Pioneer Woman)

DESSERTS
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
 Sugar Crusted Apple Pie

BEVERAGES
Hard Cider

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November 13, 2012 · 2:30 am

Apple Nachos


I posted this picture on Instagram a couple weeks ago and was shocked at the huge response it got. I guess I shouldn’t have been, I was equally intrigued when I saw it on Pinterest. Which means alas, I cannot take credit for this genius idea. It’s so basic but so adorable and I find myself making it all the time as a late night snack. I can convince myself that because it’s mostly fruit, it must be healthy!

On the menu:
Apple nachos
Serves 1 – 2

1 large apple
3 Tbsp peanut butter
3 Tbsp craisins
2 Tbsp chocolate chips

Quarter the apple and cut out the core. Slice each quarter into 1/4 inch thick slices and fan out on a plate. Melt the peanut butter in the microwave for one minute until liquified. Sprinkle craisins and chocolate chips over the apple slices and then drizzle the peanut butter. Eat your face off.

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November 12, 2012 · 2:30 am

Cheesy Pumpkin Polenta


Don’t you hate when a recipe calls for less than the full can of pureed pumpkin? I’ve thrown away more 3 month old half-cups of pumpkin puree than I can even tell you. So after making these gems last weekend, I found myself with the age old conundrum: what to do with the extra pumpkin?

DUH. You add cheese. Why do I even bother contemplating?

I can’t lie to you, I ate this straight from the bowl with a spoon and I didn’t apologize for it one tiny bit. But it would also be stupendous as a bed for pork chops with sauteed apples or pulled pork or grilled chicken with roasted tomatoes. Am I right, or am I right?

On the menu:
Cheesy Pumpkin Polenta
Serves 2

1/4 cup white onion, minced
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 cup whole milk (or half and half)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup polenta
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano

In a small pan, heat 1 Tbsp butter over medium/low heat. Add onion and sautee until very soft, around 8 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and heat for another 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized saucepan, heat water, milk, salt, and pepper until it boils. Stir in polenta in a gradual, thin stream, whisking constantly. Turn heat to low and continue cooking for 4 – 5 minutes.

Stir pumpkin/onion mixture into the milk and water mixture and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes until hot and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in remaining butter and grated cheese. Serve immediately.

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November 9, 2012 · 2:30 am

Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork Tacos


I love any meal I can throw in one pot in the middle of the day and serve with pride 6 hours later after 15 minutes of prep. Some cooks might dispute this claim, but I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s hard to mess up a pork shoulder, so this is also a dish that takes zero skill to master. If you don’t have a slow cooker, just throw this in a roasting pan in your oven at 250 degrees for the same amount of time. You might want to baste it mid-cook so it doesn’t dry out, though.

On the menu:
Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork Tacos
Serves 2

3 lb pork shoulder, bone out
3 roasted chipotles*
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
6 oz. beer (I used Miller High Life because I had a leftover in the fridge, but a dark beer will work best for this)

6 – 8 corn tortillas
6 sprigs cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, roughly chopped
1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Add pork shoulder, chipotles, garlic, spices and beer to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 2 – 3 hours or until the meat is easily pulled apart with two forks. (NOTE: If cooking in the oven, baste at 1 and 2 hours).

Heat up tortillas between 2 damp paper towels in the microwave for a minute or two. Top with pulled pork, cilantro, onion, and a squeeze of lime. Plate alongside another wedge of lime.

*NOTE: I like these to have just a tiny hint of spiciness so I throw the chipotle peppers into the slow cooker whole and just let the flavor seep into the pork, and then fish the whole peppers out before serving. If you like these spicier, you can dice up the peppers and throw them into the slow cooker. That way you can serve them up along with the pork for a real kick in the pants.

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November 5, 2012 · 2:30 am

Sweet Potato, Sausage and Onion Hash with Eggs

It wouldn’t be right to post at all about anything this week without mentioning last week’s East Coast hurricane. The BF and I were incredibly lucky to get through it completely unscathed but I know we’re in the minority. Don’t forget, if you haven’t already, to donate money, supplies, or your time in any way you can. Find out how here.

In happier news, this hash is DELICIOUS. It’s from The Kitchn and the recipe has been sitting in my “To Make” list for over a year now. It seems like there’s always someone I’m cooking for who doesn’t like meat, or sweet potatoes, or onions. But this past weekend I had some dear friends in town and they eat anything (my favorite kind of friends, mind you) so it seemed like the perfect time to finally try it out.

On the menu:
Sweet potato, sausage, and onion hash
Adapted from The Kitchn’s recipe here
Serves 6 – 7

2 large onions
4 medium sized sweet potatoes, skins on and diced to 1/2 inch cubes
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
6 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 long stalks of rosemary, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
6 – 7 large eggs (1 per person)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a large baking sheet with foil.

Cut onions in half and then slice each half into thin half moons. Heat a medium sized frying pan over medium heat and add onions, stirring occasionally until the onions cook down and start to brown, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another frying pan, cook the sausage over medium/high heat for around 15 minutes, breaking the sausage apart so it’s in small, crumbly pieces.

Once the onions and sausage are cooked, in one large bowl add sweet potato chunks, sausage, onions, minced rosemary, minced garlic, and olive oil and toss until everything is coated in olive oil. Spread on the covered baking sheet (don’t worry if it’s not in a single layer, it doesn’t really matter). Roast in the preheated oven for 4o minutes, or until sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

In a large frying pan, fry the eggs just until the outside is cooked and the center is still runny. Top each serving of hash with a fried egg.

NOTE: The Kitchn‘s recipe has a lengthy second step where you cook the eggs over the hash in a skillet for 20 minutes, but to me that just meant a lot of extra time and another dirty dish. It looks lovely, but ultimately felt unnecessary.

And lastly… that photo above is missing the egg. I was last to eat (the cook eats last!), and I was too lazy to crack another egg. But the hash looked nice so, voila.

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October 26, 2012 · 2:30 am

Easy Biscuits


Sometimes I get a craving and I absolutely have to make something. I got it in my head to make biscuits and gosh darn it BAKE BISCUITS I WILL.

I Googled “easy biscuit recipe” and a beauty came up. Not only did these take 30 minutes from start to finish, but they tasted absolutely delicious and were perfectly moist and flaky. Now there’s no excuse for Pillsbury.

On the menu:
Easy biscuits
Makes 12 biscuits

2 cups flour plus more for kneading
4 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup 2% milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add shortening and cut into the flour mixture until the dough resembles small pebbles (use a pastry cutter or a fork). Whisk in egg and milk until mixture is combined.

Dump the dough out onto a heavily floured surface and knead it 20 times. Roll the dough out to 3/4 of an inch thick and use a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter (or the open end of a drinking glass) to cut out the biscuits. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until the biscuits are browned on the bottom. Serve warm.

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