Monthly Archives: March 2013

Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust

Posted in Dessert, Pies/Tarts/Crumbles by
So if you read my post from Wednesday, you know that I served this for a dinner party recently. What you don’t know is that it was so good, that I’ve already served it at a second dinner party. I have been making this same crust for years (my mom taught it to me) and it’s amazing. And the best part is it has two ingredients, store bought gingersnaps and butter. Doesn’t get much easier than that and the flavor is amazing. The other perk to this crust is that if you are GF, it’s really easy to make with GF gingersnaps (which you can find at Trader Joes).
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My Favorite Meal of the Week – Flank Steak and Bloody Mary Salad

Posted in Dinner, Entertaining, Salads by
A few weeks ago, I volunteered to have some of our friends over for dinner on the same day that I planned to participate in a bottomless mimosa brunch with friends who were in town visiting. After making the plans, I realized that this was going to make things interesting. I’m not used to preparing a full dinner and dessert after a day of drinking. So when picking out my menu, it was all about finding something that could be done the day before and/or required very little last minute preparation. To find inspiration, I turned to one of my favorite blogs – Smitten Kitchen. I’d been eyeing a couple of her recipes and decided to use several of them for this dinner.
Here is what I pulled together:

1) Blood Orange Margaritas (recipe here)

2) Veggies and Hummus & Crackers and Cheese (all from Trader Joes)

3) Flank Steak and Bloody Mary Salad (recipe here)

4) Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust (recipe on this blog here)
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Sticky Buns

Posted in Breakfast, Brunch by

As I’ve mentioned many times on my blog, one of the reasons I love to bake is so that on the weekends you can wake up to delicious home baked goods. These sticky buns are a perfect example of this. You do all the work the night before, and then just bake them the next morning.

My Favorite Meal of the week – BBQ Chicken, Arugula Salad, and Baked Zucchini

Posted in Dinner, Healthy, Summer by
On week nights, I love finding meals that you can quickly pull together when you get home that are healthy and also filling. This meal was something random we just threw together, but for some reason it really hit the spot.

Good Old Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Cookies, Dessert by

There’s nothing more satisfying than a simple, no-frills chocolate chip cookie. People often try to gussy up their cookies, and I’m not saying those are bad because they’re in fact quite good, but there’s still something satisfying about a simple gooey chocolate chip cookie. You’ll note that I say gooey. I’m a firm believer that chocolate chip cookies should not be crunchy. It’s all about achieving the perfect consistency between still being cookie dough and then being overcooked. It’s something I’ve tried hard to perfect.

So after trying lots of different cookie recipes, I’ve decided the Nestle one (yep the one that comes on the back of the chocolate chip bag) is the best. When I’ve brought cookies to people after using the Nestle recipe, I always get way better feedback than I do when I use other recipes. I guess it makes sense that Nestle would have perfected the chocolate chip cookie, but it still somehow surprises me that we all look for the perfect recipe, buy books dedicated solely to chocolate chip cookies, and then the one on the chocolate chip bag still ends up tasting the best.

My Favorite Meal of the Week – Farro, Asparagus, and Mint Salad

Posted in Dinner, Healthy, Salads, Vegetarian by
This week I wanted to share one of my new favorite meals with you. It’s from a cookbook my grandmother gave Dave this summer. All of the different flavors in this salad are really what make it great. Plus it’s pretty easy to make!

Apple Cake with Caramel Frosting

Posted in Cake, Dessert by

Most of the time, I pick cakes based on the aesthetics.  It’s one of the reasons I love cakes. You can make them so beautiful, and they make such a great statement when presented at a dinner party. I recently tried this one out and I loved how the flavors of caramel and apple complemented each other perfectly! This is definitely not a fast dessert to make, but if you’re in the mood for cake, I highly recommend it.

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My Favorite Meal of the Week – Black Bean Salad with Corn, Shrimp, and Avocado

Posted in Dinner, Gluten Free, Healthy, Salads by

This salad is one of my favorites for nights when I want something healthy and fast. Although it makes for a great dinner during the summer, it is also good in the winter when you’re still craving something light and flavorful!

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Homemade Pop-Tarts

Posted in Breakfast, Brunch by

Growing up, I thought Pop-Tarts were the coolest thing ever. My mom wouldn’t buy them for us, and so I always loved going to friend’s houses who had them. And now I know, I could have been making them for myself all along. Turns out, they’re super easy!

For Valentine’s Day, I decided to make Pop-Tarts for breakfast. And seriously, they took 15 minutes to prep. So easy!!


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