Pizza Monkey Bread

When my family gets together we love to ask each other questions like "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?" or "if you could pick your real dream job, not having to worry about making enough money etc, what would you do?" or "what is your honest opinion about ."

It makes for some riveting discussions and I always end up learning something new about the very people who I grew up with.  One day someone (probably me) asked, "if you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?"  Tough question!  Especially for a person who essentially likes everything, with the exception of goat cheese, I know, I know.

But truth me told, I'd have to say pizza.  Not a very foodie answer, but I've got to be honest.  I LOVE pizza.  And I love how versatile it is, there are endless combinations which would keep it from ever getting boring.  Plus, I mean, c'mon, it's pizza.  It's hot, gooey, comforting, full of flavor, and always ready for a party. 

I got really excited when Barbara from Barbara Bakes posted her Pizza Monkey Bread.  Not only does it have all the great elements of a food I already love, but it's in a different and fun form that kids love.  Who wouldn't want to tear off a piece of this and dunk it into it's warm, homemade marinara.  It really is a party.

Click here for the original recipe and for a great video on how to make them.  Enjoy!

Bacon and Pepperoncini Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Around Superbowl time a friend and I were commiserating about the fact that our disinterest in sports excludes us from all the great sports fare.  So, our Non-Superbowl, Superbowl party was born.  It basically meant all the game food, none of the game.  Score for us!  (Yes, that's right, I'm not a sports fan, but I'm still a real nice gal, honest!)

Don't you love this colorful bouquet of peppers.  I like to consider this my attempt at being responsible, by bringing veggies that haven't been dunked in hot oil.  Instead they've been stuffed with cheese!  I'll admit that I took a small leap of faith making these, I'd never had anything like this, so I had no idea what to expect.  Let me just tell you, these little babies are TASTY!  Sweet crunchy peppers, stuffed with a creamy filling that has a great tangy/smoky combo.  They would make the perfect appetizer for a party, luncheon or baby/bridal shower.  You've got to give these a try.

Bacon and Pepperoncini Stuffed Sweet Peppers
From The Shrinking Kitchen

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 slices turkey bacon, chopped (I used reduced fat center cut bacon)

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 green onions, diced

10 pepperoncini peppers, stems removed and roughly chopped

4 ounces light cream cheese

20 mini sweet bell peppers

 

Directions

 

Wash and cut the stems off the mini bell peppers and set aside.  In a non stick skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add the bacon and saute for a few minutes until it starts to crisp.  Throw the green onions and chopped red bell pepper in with the bacon and continue to saute until the peppers are softened.  Scrape the bacon/onion/bell pepper into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.  Add the cream cheese and pepperoncinis to the food processor and pulse till combined. If the mixture is too thick, add a little juice from the pepperoncini jar.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture into a zip top bag.  Snip off a tiny piece of one corner of the bag.  Fill the cavity of each mini pepper with the cream cheese mixture.  Chill the filled peppers until ready to serve, or at least an hour.  (I thought they were even better the next day.)

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Krispy Kreme Donuts

Happy Thanksgiving! Or Kanksgizzin, as my silly kids like to call it. What are your plans for this wonderful holiday? Going to snuggle in at home, travel to see family, or maybe going out for Thanksgiving? Whatever you do, I hope it's wonderful!

I feel a bit hypocritical posting a recipe for fried donuts, after plastering my Livefit launch all over my blog. However, in my defense, these were made long before we started, and c'mon, its time to indulge a bit right? As I've mentioned a few times, my husband and I have very different tastes. While I'm usually in the mood for something savory and salty (cheeseburgers, pizza, chips, etc), my husband has a MAJOR sweet-tooth. He could eat cookies and cheesecake for every meal, if allowed, and would wake up the next morning feeling great. Needless to say, this program that we've been doing has posed some pretty serious cravings for my "sweets loving" husband, but he's been staying strong, bless him.

These donuts were something he made a few months ago. He loves Krispy Kreme, and since we don't have one readily available to us, he found the recipe and whipped them up himself. Not even being a fan of donuts, I do have to say, these were pretty fantastic. If you're only interested in having one or two, I suggest halving the recipe, because it's really hard to stop!



Krispy Kreme Donuts
Food.com

Ingredients

Donuts
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons yeast
4 eggs ( beaten)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
7 cups sifted flour

Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cold water

Directions

1. Mix together ingredients for glaze.
2. Melt butter in hot milk, add 1 tsp sugar and salt. Allow to cool.
3. Beat in yeast, nutmeg, eggs, remaining sugar, and 3 cups flour.
4. Add rest of flour (dough will be sticky).
5. Knead for 5 minutes then allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.
6. Roll out dough, cut into shapes.
7. Do not re-roll dough, then allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.
8. Heat oil to 365� and fry 1 - 2 minutes on each side or until brown. Toss in the doughnut holes first, let those cook, and then proceed to cooking the donuts.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I happen to be very grateful to all of you for your friendship and support. Have a safe and delicious weekend!

Berries and Chocolate

Growing up with my parents meant learning how to say thank you. You say thank you when someone passes you the broccoli at the table, you send a thank you card when given a gift, and when someone goes out of their way to really do something nice, you say thank you in style, like this platter of berries and chocolate.


My mom really wanted to say thank you to a local dental office after they went above and beyond to beautify her smile. We put our heads together and decided on a platter of fruit and chocolate. Costco had a gorgeous selection of Rainier cherries, strawberries and blackberries, so we went with those. We then set to work making Funfetti cakeballs, raspberry cheesecake bites, and Ghiradhelli brownie bites (from the boxed mix).

It turned out to be a really fun platter to deliver, and it was definitely a crowd pleaser. You could do something like this for a shower, a party, or a fun way to surprise a loved one. And of course, it's a wonderful way to say thank you!

Corn and Black Bean Salad

I feel like after blogging for over three years, you're allowed throw in a repeat every now and again, especially if it's as good as this salad.

This is probably more of a dip then a salad, but really it can go either way. While it's probably served best as an appetizer or party food, I'd be perfectly happy eating a big bowl of this stuff for lunch, just throw in some whole grain tortilla chips and you've got one flavorful and nutrient packed lunch. This would also make a great addition to your taco salad, nachos, burritos or tacos. Gosh, I already want to make this again!

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

2 cans black beans-drained and rinsed

2 can corn-drained
1 red onion chopped

2 avocados chopped (I omitted avocados this time around, but it is good)

1 red pepper chopped
1 yellow or orange pepper chopped
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes halved
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Vinaigrette
2 TB lime juice (fresh if possible)
2-3 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp salt (kosher salt if you have it)
1-2 TB olive oil

Directions

When chopping veggies, try to make them as uniform in size as possible.

Combine all of the veggies, including cilantro, in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine lime juice, chili powder and salt. Then, whisk in olive oil to desired consistency, there won't be a lot of dressing, but it will be STRONG. Add dressing to salad and toss well. Serve with tortilla chips, those Scoops chips are great with this salad.

Semi-Homemade Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake Bites

Why do I love mini food so much? Is it because I'm mini? At 5'0, I rarely get to look others in the eye. Is it because I have mini kids? Or maybe mini food makes me feel better about eating ten? Regardless of what it is, the smaller food is, the happier it makes me.


This idea came after making those mini quiches. The little pie crusts were so easy to make that the possibilities became endless. Then I discovered that you can buy premade cheesecake filling that requires no baking.



That combined with a layer of lemon curd, and a bright raspberry, and you have one (or ten) tasty little bite!

Semi-Homemade Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake Bite
A Blog About Food

Ingredients (Makes 48)

2 refrigerated rolled pie crusts
1 tub cheese cake filling
1 jar lemon curd
1 container of raspberries, washed (just about any berry would work)

Directions

Preheat oven to temperature on pie crust box. Unroll pie crust, flour on either size and roll out to almost twice it's size. Use a round glass or biscuit cutter to cut out circles to fit a greased mini muffin pan. Bake according to directions. (You'll do this twice). Allow to cool.

Fill each pie crust with cheesecake filling, a layer of lemon curd and top with one berry.

Mini Quiches

I always think about quiche this time of year. Maybe it's the eggs, representing Easter. Maybe it's the bright yellow color representing spring. Either way, I'm not complaining because quiche is awesome!

I made these sweeties for a baby shower. I have a thing about turning food mini and these little quiches are much easier to make then you think. A store bought pie crust helps a lot, just line your mini muffin tins with a cut out piece of pastry, fill and bake! They're the best warm, but also taste great at room temp, making them perfect for say an upcoming Easter Egg hunt, or brunch you have coming up!



Mini Quiches
Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients

2 sheets store-bought pie crust
6 slices bacon, diced
1 onions, finely diced
6 eggs
1 cup cream
1 cup grated cheese, I used sharp cheddar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I used fresh)
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Cook the onion and bacon over a low heat until the onion is softened.

2. Allow to cool a little.

3. Mix together with the eggs, cream, cheese, parsley and salt and pepper.

4. Unroll pie pastry, dish with flour and roll with rolling pin until it's increased in size by about a third. Using a cookie cutter or glass, cut 12 circles from each pastry sheet.

5. Use these to line a greased mini muffin pan.

6. Place about 2 teaspoons of the egg and bacon mix in each pastry base.

7. Bake in a moderate oven for about 12 minutes per tray (or until puffed, golden and set).

8. repeat with remaining pastry sheets and mix.

My kids made paper crowns for their little bunnies, they're so dang cute!

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

I LOVE the holidays!! I love the gatherings, the parties, the music, the lights, even the chill in the air and the occasional snow storm. It is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. And of course, having the love for food that I do doesn't hurt either. The holidays basically hand you a license to go hog-wild in the kitchen, and it's okay! It's the holidays! It would practically be wrong not to.


This is a dip I served for Thanksgiving, which in our house isn't so much an event, as it is a kick-off, to all of the gorging that will happen for the next month. And now that I've made this dip, I can guarantee that it's going to be making a gooey, cheesy appearance often in our household. This is an Alton Brown recipe, which not only has five stars from a million reviews, but it also takes literally two minutes to make. There is no baking, sauteing, or cooking of any kind. Just a quick mix, and into the warmer (crockpot) it goes, providing giddy flavorful love for all in attendance. Make this dip, use carrots, cracker, bread, a spoon, legos, whatever your heart fancies to dip it in. It will all be delicious!


Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients

1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups canned or jarred artichoke hearts
6 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. Stir in rest of ingredients and serve hot. Keep in crockpot if you plan to party all night long.