Pizza Casserole: Ashley from Forgetful Momma

Today's guest post is by Ashley at Forgetful Momma. She is a blogger and web designer from Cananda and has three adorable little ones! If you like this post, you can find more from Ashley at her at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Thanks so much for being here Ashley! 

My family is crazy about pizza, me? I could take it or leave it at this point. Mainly leave the making it, but take the eating it. When we make pizzas we go all out, thick crust, a few inched of tops, lots of cheese. Everyone loves our pizzas. But what about when you want that pizza taste but not the work. You make Pizza Casserole, much less work, cheaper too.

Start by preheating your oven to 350.

Next cooking your ground beef with onion and garlic. So far so good?

Drain the fat off your ground beef, add a can of pizza sauce and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. While doing that cook your pasta, and shred some mozzarella cheese.

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, put your pasta in the bottom of the casserole dish. Mix egg and milk, and pour over the pasta. Top with beef, top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy the deliciousness of pizza without rolling out the hard work of making it or the heavy feeling after eating it. This is a great spin on a classic.

Ashley Mullen can be found blogging at Forgetful Momma (http://forgetfulmomma.com) sharing more recipes like this, as well as fun activities and outings. As the mom of three aged five and under life is never boring and leads to a lot of sharing.

Pizza Casserole

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1 medium onion – chopped

1 can of pizza sauce

1 cup of pasta

1 cup of mozzarella cheese

½ milk

1 egg, beaten

Start by preheating your oven to 350.

Cook the ground beef with onion and garlic. 

Drain the fat off your ground beef, add a can of pizza sauce and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. While doing that cook your pasta, and shred some mozzarella cheese.

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, put your pasta in the bottom of the casserole dish. Mix egg and milk, and pour over the pasta. Top with beef, top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

10 Favorite Desserts for Valentine's Day

Do you have plans for Valentine's Day tomorrow? It will be a quiet night in for us. I'll make a pizza and we'll settle in for a movie with the kids. Dinner out on Valentine's day is always extra crowded, extra expensive and extra overwhelming for me. Maybe we'll open a good bottle of wine from our days in Napa once the kids are in bed and rent a movie we've been wanting to see, but chances are I'll be dozing off on the couch by 9. And in this season of life, I really wouldn't have it any other way.

The boys will be off from school tomorrow and since they are still excited about holidays I'll make a special dessert and maybe we'll spend the day making some homemade decorations. They are so ernest when they create things right now and I love watching it. My oldest will take his time so everything in his picture is just how he wants it, and my youngest will patiently explain every piece of his creation to me when he realizes that my grownup mind is too serious to recognize what exactly the Ninja is doing in his picture. Even five years into motherhood I am blown away by how one word or look from them can make my heart stop in wonder for a second.

In case you're still looking for something to make this Valentine's Day, I've rounded up 10 of my favorite desserts for a little inspiration! Several are no-bake or require very little effort and all of them will make any day a little more special.

Will you be celebrating tomorrow? Do you go prefer to go out or stay in? 

Biscoff No Bake Cookies

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake

Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Strawberry Icebox Cake

Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge

Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Cinnamon Sugar Scones

Spiced Brownies

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake

I promised you chocolate, didn't I? Sorry it had to get bumped a day but Christmas preparations reared their ugly head yesterday and I had to make an emergency trip to civilization to pick something up before it sold out. Combine that with our usual round of after school speech therapy, homework, piano practice, etc. and I was one tired Mama last night. I don't know about you, but sometimes the amount of effort it takes to make the holidays magical for the boys sure takes the magic out of it for us grownups. By the end of the day, I was ready to snuggle in with a warm drink, a good book (Cuckoo's Calling) and a piece of this chocolate cake out of the freezer.

I first made this cake verbatim from Nigella Kitchen a few years ago for my husbands birthday and it was all I wanted it to be. Relatively quick, delicious and event worthy. So I continued to make every now and then without fiddling with the recipe much. When Thanksgiving rolled around this year, I decided we needed a second dessert to balance out the Apple Pie, and my husband suggested chocolate. I knew I couldn't commit to the extra time needed for frosting and making a big layer cake like I did for Christmas last year, and finally I remembered this cake.

Of course we didn't have a lime in the house and there was no way I was going to Walmart the day before Thanksgiving! Not a chance. We did have oranges though, and I remembered a friend raving about a chocolate-orange loaf cake she had made a while back…and really, what good is having family around if you can't force them to be guinea pigs for your culinary experiments?

I love the orange flavor in this much more than the lime. It retained the same rich and decadent flavor and the same slightly gooey center but the orange notes really make it feel special. The original recipe calls for a flavored whipped cream on top, but I prefer it with a big scoop of ice cream. It was the perfect end to an already over the top meal, and it also just happens to be the perfect snack out of the fridge or freezer after a long day. There's a good reason that every episode of Nigella's TV series ends with her sneaking into the kitchen for leftovers after everyone else has gone to bed!

Linking up with The SITS Girls Saturday Sharefest! Lots of great links to check out :)


Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake
adapted from Nigella Kitchen

Ingredients:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
6 eggs
1 1/4 cup superfine sugar (if you can't find this, just put regular sugar into the food processor for a few seconds)
1 cup almond meal or flour
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
zest and juice of one small orange
confectioner's sugar to dust the top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper and coat bottom and sides with non-stick spray or butter.

In a metal or glass bowl set on top of a small saucepan filled with boiling water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring regularly. Set aside to cool a little.

With a mixer (standing or hand-held), beat the eggs and sugar until they triple in size. In another bowl, mix the almond flour and cocoa powder together and then fold into the egg mixture. Once combined, fold in the melted chocolate and butter, and then the orange zest and juice.

Pour into the pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes. It will be firm and crust-like on the top, but underneath it will still be gooey in the center. Cool on a wire rack, and after about 5 minutes drape a clean tea towel over it to prevent the crust from getting too crunchy. You want it to crack a little though, so don't panic.

Dust with confectioner's sugar once it is totally cooled and serve with whipped cream or ice cream if you wish.

Roast Butternut Squash Salad

Yes, yes. I know it's holiday baking season and I'm posting a salad. Don't worry there will be more decadent desserts this week and next. Promise! In the meantime, I need to get you this salad recipe. At some point this holiday season you will be going to an event and you will end up being assigned a side dish. If you are anything like me you do two things. First, you panic because you can think of one thousand desserts and not a single side dish that feeds a lot of people and isn't a pain to make/keep hot/eat while standing up. Second, you will wonder if anyone will notice if you brought a dessert even though your last name was assigned sides. Surely everyone else will bring plenty of sides to compensate if one person switches to the dessert side, right? Right?

Well, since at any given potluck at least half the people assigned a side dish will bring a dessert anyway you can probably get away with it. However you don't have to! Not only is this salad festive and seasonal, it's incredibly easy.

I first made this salad over 2 years ago for a fall baby shower. Since then it's become a standard for events or even just dinners with friends when I need to bring a side dish. It doesn't take long to actually throw together (although roasting the squash does require a little planning ahead) and even if you don't want to make the dressing yourself it pairs well with a nice balsamic vinaigrette which you can buy anywhere. You can even buy pre-chopped fresh butternut squash in most grocery stores now-one more step saved!

There will be chocolate tomorrow, I promise :)


Roast Butternut Squash Salad with Cider Vinaigrette 
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

For the salad:
1 1/2-2 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash (either a medium squash chopped into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces or one bag of pre chopped squash from the refrigerated section of the produce aisle)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
8-10 oz fresh baby spinach or mixed greens

For the dressing:
3/4 cup apple cider (or juice)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp minced shallots
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the peeled and chopped squash on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and toss with olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper until all the squash is coated. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. At about the 15 minute point, add the dried cranberries to the baking sheet. Set aside to cool.

In a saucepan over medium heat combine the cider, vinegar and shallots. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-6 minutes until the mixture has reduced down to about 1/4 of a cup. Remove from the heat and then mix in the mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Put the spinach into a salad bowl, and mix with the roasted squash and cranberries. Add in the pecans and parmesan. If you are putting the dressing on the whole salad, you want just enough to moisten the greens. Otherwise, serve on the side (which is my preference).

Gifts from the Kitchen: Vegan Ginger Cookies

This is the season of cookies, isn't it? Everyone seems to have a holiday favorite, and there is no end in sight to the cookie baking at this point in December. I didn't grow up making specific holiday cookies, nor do I enter December with a cookie bucket list as an adult, but even I have a TON of cookie making to do in the next few weeks.

One of my favorite reasons to make cookies though is something called Operation Cookie Drop. I'm not sure if it's an Air Force wide tradition, but it has happened at every base we've been stationed at. One day in December, people come together to donate and deliver cookies to all the single Airmen living in the dorms on base. These are mostly really young/brand new to the Air Force people, and it can be so tough to be away from home during the holidays those first few years. Nothing will make it easier, but having a ton of cookies delivered to your door makes it just a tad bit nicer.

These cookies are a new discovery. I really can't get enough ginger (seriously-even my new favorite tea is ginger flavored!), and the fact that these cookies are vegan is just a nice bonus. When I passed these around at various events this weekend not a single person uttered the dreaded "these are good-for being vegan". I don't have too many vegan treats in my arsenal and while I'm always on the hunt for more, I need them to stand on their own. It should be a good cookie-not just a good vegan cookie.

These fit the bill. They have double dose of ginger. Ground and fresh ginger in the dough itself, and then more fresh grated into the sugar coating. It's just enough bite without being "spicy". The inside is soft and the outside just a touch crunchy. They will brown only slightly, so don't panic that they aren't cooked enough and leave them in the oven for an extra minute or two. The ones I took out at 15 minutes had a much better texture than the ones I left in for 18. Just keep an eye on them once you hit 14 minutes!

What is your favorite cookie to make at the holidays?


Vegan Ginger Cookies
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a small lemon)
1 tbsp lemon zest

For sugar to roll the cookies in:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Whisk together flours, baking powder and soda, salt and gingers in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk together sugar, applesauce, canola oil, lemon juice and zest. Pour the mixed wet ingredients into the dry and stir together with a wooden spoon or a stiff spatula. Don't panic if all the flour doesn't mix in right away. Keep mixing and in a few minutes it will be all incorporated. Once it is, pat the dough into a disc shape, wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

In the meantime, pour 1 cup of sugar into a small bowl and add 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger to it. Mix together so that the sugar is fragrant.

Prepare 2 baking sheets by covering in parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350.

Take the dough out of the fridge and begin to roll it into balls about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Roll the ball in the ginger sugar and place on prepared baking sheet. Gently press down with your hand to slightly flatten the dough. The cookies don't spread while baking, so they can be fairly close together on the pan.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Sipping Chocolate

This is just the drink for a cold winter's night by the fire. While it's been warm here the last few days we are gearing up for a rather miserable few days with (potentially) rain, sleet and snow. Fabulous, no? I'm trying to see it as a chance to sit by the fire reading a book and maybe getting in a marathon of classic movies. I'm ignoring the fact that the locals still talk about the last major ice storm where the power was out for almost a week…

Back to that lovely vision of quiet fireside reading though. Sipping chocolate is a bit more like the hot chocolate drink served in Jane Austen's day. The chocolate flavor comes from actual chocolate being melted down as opposed to the cocoa powder traditionally used in modern times. 

Sipping chocolate is thus a baking chocolate bar melted into milk or cream with sugar and spice mixed in. Jane would probably have had some chile mixed into hers, but I left this sweet and creamy. I used milk in this version but you could also use heavy cream. Be warned that the milk version is already very rich so you may want to experiment before you go all cream instead. It's much thicker than hot chocolate made from cocoa powder. It almost tastes like drinking chocolate ganache! 

Given that this is a more historical recipe than my usual, I thought it was fitting to use some of my grandmother's tea set. You might have seen a sneak peek of this on my Instagram feed last week, when I opened a package from my aunt of some our family china and crystal. Family story is that the pattern was created in the 1830s. A little late for dear Miss Austen, but fitting for the chocolate all the same.


Sipping Chocolate
adapted from History Hoydens
Makes 2 small servings or one very generous portion

Ingredients:
2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate into the milk while whisking regularly. Once the majority of the chocolate has melted, add in brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk over low heat until it is completely smooth. Serve immediately.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

My children are at the age where birthdays are a big deal. As they are my children, the cake is the biggest deal of all. Past cakes and cakes at other parties are discussed and compared until eventually a decision has been reached.

I will point out that it does not have to be their own birthdays for this to occur. This past weekend was my husband's birthday and they went completely overboard in their plans. Eventually I had to put my foot down. 

No, we are not putting Legos on Daddy's cake or buying him Ninjago balloons. 

The three of them could discuss cake flavors and I would bake whatever they decided on…I knew my husband loved mint chocolate, but the boys insisted it be mint chocolate chip. So I improvised! 

I took old favorite recipes and tweaked them just a little so the mint flavor came through in both the cake and the frosting. Then to up the ante on texture and flavor I added mint chocolate chips in between cake layers. I was afraid it might be a little much but my husband (who does not have a sweet tooth in the slightest) ate TWO slices. All the grownups and kids present ate every bite…so much so that this is all we were left with after dinner. That's a hit in my book! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

For the mint chocolate cake: 

I adapted our favorite chocolate birthday cake 

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp mint extract
3/4 cup hot coffee (I used decaf coffee but use whatever you prefer)

PLUS 3/4 cup mint chocolate chips during cake assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degres and prep two 8 inch round cake pans. Either butter the pans and then flour, or use a non-stick cooking spray (I like Baker's Joy)
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment mix slowly until they are all combined. In a separate bowl, stir together all the liquid ingredients except for the coffee.

Slowly pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. Pour the coffee in and use a spatula to stir together.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes and then finish cooling on a rack. Wait until completely cool before frosting.

Mint Buttercream Frosting: 

adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

4 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tsp mint extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for approximately 2 minutes until it is fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar. Begin beating again but on low to start. As the butter and sugar start to incorporate raise the speed to medium and add in the cream and the extracts. 

Beat on medium-high for 4-5 minutes, adding cream or powdered sugar to adjust the consistency. You want it to almost look like it's whipped cream towards the end. This will give you that nice light and fluffy frosting. 

To assemble cake: 

Place one cake round on your plate or platter. Spread a layer of frosting across the top of cake and then sprinkle the 3/4 cup of mint chocolate chips over it. Place the second layer on top of that and frost the top with the rest of the frosting. If you want, roughly chop a few ounces of dark chocolate and sprinkle on the top of the cake as a garnish. Mint leaves or more chocolate chips would be great too! 

Gifts from the Kitchen: Candied Orange Peel

This might be my favorite food gift so far. First off, the end result is delicious. It's a pure sugar sweetness with the pop of orange underneath it. I've been thinking of all the ways I could use the candies (top of my list? Garnishing cupcakes.). My husband has been stealing one every time he walks by them, and the kids are requesting them as dessert. That's a win in my book!
The other reason, though, is how easy they were to make, and how much fun the boys and I had making them together. It's been tough to find recipes that all three of us can make. My oldest and I used to cook pretty much everything together when he was an only child. There are some things going on with my youngest that make taking turns and sharing really difficult and so for a really long time I haven't been able to do much with them in the kitchen at the same time. We're finally making some breakthroughs, and I'm slowly figuring out tricks that work for us so we get to cook together again.
I did the prep work by myself-the removal of the peels and pith and boiling to remove the bitterness. We all got to pour the simple syrup ingredients in the pan, and once it had simmered and then cooled the boys had a blast rolling the peels in the sugar and putting them on drying rack. They loved checking it every few hours to see if it had hardened yet, and my oldest in particular got a kick out of the science aspect.
This process will work with any sort of citrus-lemon, grapefruit, even a combination. You also get a nice jar of citrus simple syrup as a side product! I'm brainstorming yummy ways to use mine as we speak.

 Since illustrations really help this recipe, I'm going to go through step by step, with the traditional instructions at the bottom. Oh and some cute pictures of my helpers thrown in for good measure!

First you need to remove the peel from the oranges. A nice sharp knife is essential for this.

The next step is incredibly tedious. Remove all the pith from the peels...but don't stress if you can't get it all.

Now you're ready to boil the peels. Twice. Then you add the simple syrup ingredients in, bring to a boil under all the sugar is dissolved and then simmer the peels until they become a little translucent. Once you finish this part you're ready for the fun stuff!

Pour some sugar in a bowl and roll each peel around until it's covered. Lay them on a cooling rack with some parchment paper below to catch the sticky drips. They will  need to dry like this for about a day until they harden.

Candied Orange Peel
adapted from Shutterbean

Ingredients:
5-6 oranges
4 cups sugar (plus 1/2 cup to 1 cup to roll the peel in)
4 cups water

Using a sharp knife, gently slice from the top to bottom of an orange-only cutting through the peel itself. Trim the pith off the peel. Discard the pith and cut the peel into 1/4 inch slices.

Put the peel in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Strain peel out and dump water. Place the peel back into the pan and repeat the process.

Add 4 cups sugar and 4 cups water to the saucepan and bring to a boil until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the peels in and simmer for 45 min to an hour. Peel will be translucent.

Take peel out of the syrup and roll each piece in sugar until completely coated. Let dry on a cooling rack over a baking sheet lined in parchment paper for 1-2 days until hardened. Pour simple syrup into a jar for future use.

Roasted Acorn Squash

One of the things I miss most about California was how late the growing season went in the year. It felt like it was almost Thanksgiving by the time things really shut down, and by that point there was tons of fall produce available. The part of Oklahoma we live in is more cattle than crop farming so there isn't much of a Farmer's Market. With the drought we've had this year I could barely keep my little backyard garden alive, let alone producing a crop. I can't imagine trying to do that on a large scale here.

My poor husband probably dreads this time of year, because there is nothing I like more than squash, sweet potatoes and root vegetables and he really doesn't care for them. But he eats them because he loves me and I really appreciate it. (Though I eat mushrooms because I love him, so there.)

Even he admits that this squash recipe is good. I mean, it's butter and brown sugar sprinkled on squash and then baked until it almost caramelizes...it's tough to complain about that!


Roasted Acorn Squash
adapted from The Kitchn

Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp butter


2 tbsp sugar
1 acorn squash

Preheat oven to 425. Slice squash in half and remove seeds in the center. Cut into slivers and place on a baking sheet. Dab each slice with butter. Sprinkle the sugar over all the slices. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

Ever had one of those days where your to do list is so long that you want to throw it out and just make cookies?

Yeah. That was yesterday for me. Between soccer practice, kids homework, trying to start running again, welcoming new spouses to the squadron, attempting to keep Mt. Laundry in check, and prepping for a visit from family (yay!) I might have over-scheduled myself just a wee bit this week. It's all stuff I want to do...I just need to be better at organizing it on my calendar so it's not all at the same time. Whoops! As I get older, I'm realizing that when I feel overwhelmed, the best thing I can do is take a breather. I'm embracing the fact that I can have coffee with a friend or take some down time in the kitchen or with a book and the rest of that to-do list doesn't look so scary.

If you are in need of last minute cookies these are definitely the way to go. They took all of 10 minutes to put together and another 15 to bake up. The ingredients are all things that I had in the house and there is no fancy footwork once the dough is made-you just spoon it onto the baking sheet and pop it in the oven. I love how the brown sugar created a deeper flavor than a regular sugar cookie, and the oatmeal adds a nice texture. I took some out at about 14 minutes and some out just a few minutes longer to try them soft and crunchy. Fab both ways...but the crunchy ones taste really good dunked in your afternoon tea :)

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies
barely adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use your hand mixer). Once it is pale and creamy add in the vanilla, then the eggs (one at a time), scraping the bowl and mixing until totally combined after each addition.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add into the butter mixture in 3 batches, mixing each until just combined. Add the oats in and mix those until just barely combined as well.
Scoop out a tablespoon of dough for each cookie and drop on a cookie sheet a few inches apart. Keep an eye on the cookies starting at about 13 minutes. If you like them a little crispier, go to 15-16 minutes.

Pie Crust

When I first started baking pies I always used a store bought crust. Still do every once in a while. Sometimes it's just faster and you need the slack somewhere. (My Grandma told me she does too, so as far as I'm concerned, that means it's totally ok.)

When I have the time though, I try to make the crust from scratch. The homemade dough is flakier, more delicate, and just generally tastier...not to mention it's free of a few extra pesky chemicals. You'll notice the last time I made a pie on here I told you to just use your favorite crust though. That's because I was waffling around several different versions and wasn't sure which was "the one". I know over the course of this blog I will probably change my mind, but for now, I think I have one recipe that is consistently delicious. It's an amalgamation of a few posts floating around online from Martha Stewart, Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker and Deb at Smitten Kitchen. I took step by step pictures to show you what it looked like throughout the process. Tomorrow I'll show you what I ended up making with this batch of dough!

The key to a really great crust seems to be keeping the butter cold. You want those chunks of butter to steam while it's cooking, not melt while it's outside the pan. Keeping it cold is especially hard this time of year, so this first step made a big difference. After you cut the butter-put the plate in the freezer for at least ten minutes. Some people even suggest that you put EVERYTHING in the fridge...flour, mixing bowl, etc. I think this might just be overkill for me, but if you find it makes a huge difference, let me know!

You can make it with a food processor or a pastry cutter. I don't have a pastry cutter, so obviously I prefer this method. It also seems a lot less intimidating if you are putting it in a machine. If you don't have a food processor, but you do have a pastry cutter, check out Deb's post on Smitten Kitchen. She prefers to do it by hand. 

The next step is to get all the dry ingredients into the food processor and blitz it for a few seconds to combine them. 

Then you want to add that nice cold butter and blitz for 5-10 one second pulses. The ultimate goal is to have the chunks in the mixture be the size of a pea, but since you still have the ice water to add you want to have slightly bigger chunks at this point. They probably won't be uniform either. Add the 4 tablespoons of ice water in, and pulse again for very short bursts until you see those pea sized chunks. If you need to add more ice water, do it slowly, but it seems to be better to err on the side of a wet dough than dry. You will be adding flour to the dough as it gets rolled out, so keep that in mind if your dough is really dry at this point.

Once you hit the consistency you want, pour the mixture out of the food processor and form into two discs. Wrap in clear plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for at least an hour.

When you are ready to roll the dough out, lightly cover your surface with flour and slowly begin rolling the dough out. Patience is key here, and if you need to stick it back in the fridge multiple times to keep it cold while you roll it out-do it. It's easier to take the breaks than to deal with the constant frustration of tearing and sticking dough. 

After you get the right size, fold it in half or thirds and peel off the rolling surface. Lay in the pie pan and gently unfold and set in place. Follow the pie recipe you are working with for the filling and baking. 

Pie Crust
(makes enough for a pie with a double crust-halve the recipe if you only need a bottom crust)
Adapted from Martha Stewart, Smitten Kitchen and Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:
2 sticks of cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tbs ice water (you might need another 2-4 tbs, but add one at a time)

Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces and then pop them in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a food processor, briefly pulse together the salt, sugar and flour. Add in the butter and pulse 5-10 times for 1-2 seconds each until the mixture there are some large and small chunks. Add in the ice water and pulse again in short bursts until the chunks are approximately the size of a pea.
Form the dough into two discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour (and up to 3 days) before rolling it out.
To roll it out-prepare a clean surface (I like to use parchment paper) and dust with flour. Gently roll into the shape and size you need. If the dough is starting to tear or stick to the rolling pin, put it back in the fridge for a few minutes (as many times as you need to). Once it's the right size, peel off the paper and fold gently over before transferring it to the pie pan where you can unfold and shape it.
Bake as directed by your pie recipe.

Roasted Chicken with tomatoes and onions

Is it Friday yet? I was thoroughly convinced that they had made this a 4 day weekend and tomorrow was a day off too...until this morning when I double checked calendars. Disappointing start to the day, right? It was followed by an epic disaster of a school drop off (note to self-when the children tell you that they are ready to get dropped off in the car line instead of being walked in, Do Not Believe Them.)

I have high hopes for the rest of the day though, with nothing on the agenda but some laundry, a trip to the library (for myself!), and a promotion party for a dear friend. At least I know the day will be ending on a high note :)

This recipe is one of the mainstays of our dinner rotation. I really have been meaning to post this for months now, but I always forget to take pictures of it. Frankly, it's not terribly photogenic but it's so good that I don't care. It comes together in minutes and kids and grownups alike devour it. Roasting brings out the flavors in each of the ingredients, and when they all blend together it is delicious. It reminds me of something the Barefoot Contessa would make-easy enough for a weeknight, elegant enough for company. All that needs changing is the sides!

Roasted Chicken with Tomatoes and Onion

Adapted from The Naptime Chef

Ingredients: 

8 chicken thighs

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 small onion

1 tsp salt

3 tbs olive oil

1tsp dried thyme

2 tbsp chopped basil

Zest of 1 lemon

Place the chicken thighs into a 9 x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the olive oil and salt over the chicken and mix well so that each piece is coated. Pour the onion and tomatoes over the chicken, pushing as many as possible in between the chicken pieces. Sprinkle thyme, chopped basil and lemon zest over the whole thing so that it is evenly covered.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Serve immediately. 

End of Summer Casserole

This is our last week of no major after school events. (I'm officially a soccer mom now-when did this happen?? ) Next week will have at least two days where getting dinner on the table is going to be a struggle, and since I'm trying to eat slightly less indulgently, I'm going to try to do it without hitting the drive thru. That means I'll be digging through my Pinterest boards and favorite blogs and cookbooks to try to find dinners that get on the table fast or can be prepped ahead of time. It's a little easier as the weather cools down, because so many of our favorite soups or stews can be made earlier in the day and warmed back up when it's time to eat. Summer weather will be sticking around Oklahoma for at least another 6 weeks, which makes the transition to real "weeknight" cooking a bit more tricky. I think our slow cooker will be in heavy rotation, and we may rely on grilling to get things cooked and on the table quickly. Besides, I am totally out of practice with our grill and I need a refresher. Good excuse, right?

When I saw this casserole on Pink Parsley last week, I immediately put it on my menu list. It is the perfect use for all that fabulous summer produce coming out now, and the chicken and brown rice keep it on the healthier side. It comes together quickly, although the chicken does need to be cooked ahead of time and the actual baking time is close to an hour. The actual hands on work is so so so easy though, which makes me think I could throw it together on a Sunday or Monday night when we have a little more time and the leftovers would make fantastic lunches for the next few days. Or I could make in the morning and just bake after school. Nice to have options, right?


Summer Vegetable Casserole
barely adapted from Pink Parsley

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 zucchini, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup of corn (or kernels from one ear of corn)
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cups cooked and diced chicken
3 tbs chopped basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together eggs, salt, pepper, mustard and cottage cheese in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cheese and stir together until completely combined.

Pour it all into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle the cheese on top and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes, remove the foil and then bake for 20 more.
Cool for 10 minutes or so and then serve.

Cucumber Avocado Soup

Anyone else feel like they may have overindulged a bit these last few weeks of summer? We took full advantage of the last cook outs, pool days and day trips to the city...and all the desserts, iced coffee covered in whipped cream and barbecue that goes with it.

Now that school has started and I'm getting to make lunch for just myself again I'm going to mix things up from the usual sandwich. Enter this soup. The base is cucumber, and the avocado is blended in at the end to make a creamy, bright soup that can be eaten warm or cold. I've tried other cucumber avocado soups, but they were almost smoothies rather than soups. I like that there is a peppery undertone to this that makes it feel like it's "real" food, not something you'd eat on a cleanse. This would be great to pack in a lunch too, since it doesn't need to stay warm. In fact, I think it tastes better chilled. Perfect for those late summer heat waves!


Cucumber Avocado Soup

Adapted from Eating Well via PopSugar Fitness

1 tbs coconut oil
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large cucumbers, peeled and chopped (just under 4 cups worth)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1//2 cups chicken or vegatable broth
1 avocado
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt


Saute the onion until it's translucent, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add in the cucumber, salt pepper, cayenne and broth and simmer for 7-10 minutes until the cucumber is soft.

Add in the avocado, and parsley and blend with an immersion blender. (Or transfer soup in batches to a regular blender)

Stir in yogurt and serve warm or cold. Garnish with cucumber slices and parsley.

Egg and Prosciutto Pie

Savory pies are really one of the most underrated foods out there. It's not that people don't enjoy them-they just don't get the coverage they deserve. Maybe that's an American thing? We tend to go straight for a burger or a sandwich. Or maybe it was that I was such a picky eater as a child I never discovered savory pies until I was an adult?

Either way, I adore them now. Even better-the boys (big and little) love them as well. I make more of them over the winter, but last week was just so crazy we decided a little comfort food was in order. This particular pie started out life as Nigella's Boxing Day Pie. I switched up the bacon for prosciutto, mainly because I am always looking for an excuse to eat prosciutto and I'm entirely ambivalent about bacon. Pancetta works really well in this too, so use whichever you prefer. There is more meat than egg so it doesn't run quite into quiche consistency, but it's along the same idea-just wrapped up in pie dough. I think it will be really fun to play around with the filling this winter. Since the egg is reminscent of a quiche or frittata those recipes would be my starting point- maybe a mexican version with chorizo and cilantro? Darn it, I really shouldn't write these posts when I'm hungry already!

Egg and Prosciutto Pie
adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

Crust:
You can use your favorite recipe...I still haven't found "the one" but I love The Pioneer Woman's pie crust tutorial or the Brown Eyed Baker's version. In a pinch you could even use store bought (shh, I won't tell!)

Filling:
2 cups prosciutto, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 green onions, diced
4 eggs
3 tbsp chopped parsley


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make your favorite pie crust and put the bottom layer in the pie dish.

Saute the prosciutto and onion with some black pepper to taste until the prosciutto is starting to crisp up and the onion is translucent. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, parsley and green onions together.

Pour the prosciutto mixture on top of the pie crust dough and then pour the egg mixture on top of that. Add the second rolled out piece of pie dough and pinch the edges together. Slice a small hole in the center of the crust to let out steam and put it in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes and serve.

Toasting a Legend

About 2 weeks ago, Barbara Mertz died. AKA Barbara Michaels. AKA Elizabeth Peters. She wrote mysteries, romances, thrillers and non-fiction under all these names. I discovered her in high school and devoured every single one of the Amelia Peabody (by Elizabeth Peters) mysteries. Amelia was a Victorian spinster who fell in love with Egypt (and then married an Egyptologist) and devoted her life to the study of the country. And of course, solved numerous mysteries and murders along the way.

Peters wrote several other historical mystery series that I adore as well, notably those with Vicky Bliss as the heroine. A PhD in Art History with the looks of a supermodel, Vicky struggles to find her way in a male dominated academic field and stumbles into a new, much more exciting, life working in a museum in Germany.

She was probably the biggest literary influence on me. I actually went to college planning to become an Egyptologist and go on to my PhD at the University of Chicago, where Barbara Mertz got hers. Life changes course, and while I didn't take that path, Amelia and Vicky remained my companions. They reminded me that life needs to be funny and a little bit crazy, history can be a passion, and that being a smart female is something to be proud of.

It seems only fitting to toast this legend of the mystery world with her most famous characters signature drink. Settle in with your Whiskey and Soda and a copy of The Crocodile on the Sandbank and raise your glass to this amazing woman.


Whiskey and Soda

Mix one part whiskey to two parts club soda (or to taste) and serve over ice.

Apple Cobbler

You want to know how easy this recipe is? This is one of the first things I learned how to make on my own when I was a kid. For some reason I had gotten hooked on the Frugal Gourmet show and my grandmother gave me this cookbook for Christmas one year. Somewhere along the line we tried this cobbler and it was such a hit that we just kept making it and making it. My Dad was always roped in to peel the apples since he could take the peel off in one continuous piece-which is a talent guaranteed to make you a hit with young children.
Once you get the apples chopped there's a little bit of sautéing and mixing and you're good to go. The butter in the baking dish makes the outside crisp up just a little and then the inside is a delicious mix of fruit and cake. The consistency almost reminds me of a gooey cake-it's set just enough to be considered a cake.
Let's just say that we made this for a dinner with friends last night and there was just enough left for me to photograph this morning...and then I promptly ate the leftovers. My only regret is there isn't any left to have with my tea this afternoon.

Apple Cobbler
adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith

Ingredients:
2 pounds apples, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick butter, divided in half (each half should be 1/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Melt 1/4 cup of the butter and set aside.

Begin to melt the other 1/4 cup butter and then add in the apples. Sauté the apples until they begin to get soft. Add 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and the rest of the sugar together. Stir in the milk until completely combined.

Pour the melted butter that you set aside into the bottom of 9x9 baking pan or similar/medium sized casserole dish (a slightly larger rectangular pan will work too, but start checking it at about 40 minutes instead of 50). Pour the batter on top of the butter and spread in an even layer. Then pour the apple mixture on top of that and make sure that covers the batter.

Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm or room temperature.

Rhubarb Ginger Jam

My love of rhubarb is well documented. Every spring I buy as much as I can while it's in season and freeze what I don't use since once the season is over it vanishes from the grocery store shelves.

Imagine my shock when I found a stash of fresh rhubarb in the commissary the other day! Needless to say I bought them out. My husband, bless him, rolled his eyes at my giddiness but didn't call me on it.

I was debating between muffins or cake when I remembered that just last week I was harassing myself to try making freezer jam. It's not the making of the jam that scares me, it's the canning that does. Small batch freezer jam seems so much less  terrifying. So I dug around until I found a small batch of rhubarb jam to try. The resting time is annoying but the actual cooking is so incredibly easy. I threw the ingredients together before I picked the kids up from school yesterday and started cooking after they went to bed. In less than half and hour I had jam. I may have squealed when I tried this. There isn't too much sugar in the recipe, so the tart flavor of rhubarb shines through. Then you get the heat of the ginger and the undertones of vanilla. It's sophisticated and different from our usual strawberry, but the kids devoured it this morning at breakfast so it isn't too weird.

It only made two jars for me, and frankly one of them was half gone before we popped them in the fridge last night. You better believe I'll be running to the commissary tonight to see if they have more rhubarb!



Rhubarb Ginger Jam (small batch)
adapted from Apt 2B Baking Co.
makes 2 mason jars (about 16 oz)

Ingredients
1 lb rhubarb, chopped
2 vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped out
juice of one lemon
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 inch piece of ginger, grated


Chop the rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces and place in bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and let sit for 4 hours on the counter. (Can also be left overnight in the fridge)

After a few hours the rhubarb mixture will have stewed and become juicy. Pour it into a pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 10-15 minutes until the rhubarb is breaking down and the mixture begins to set. (You're aiming to get the jam to 220 degrees, but the original recipe cites this wrinkle test, which worked really well for me. ) When it's done, remove the vanilla bean and store in jars. It only made 2 jars so I didn't process it to be shelf stable. Pop it in the fridge or freezer and you'll be good to go.

French 75

When we lived in California one of our favorite wineries was a Champagne house-Mumm Napa. Nothing made me happier than knowing we had a surplus of champagne in the house-always some on hand to bring as a gift, toast an occasion or commiserate a bad day. Wasn't it Napoleon who said that champagne was great after a victory, but necessary after a defeat?

Since Mumm can't ship to Oklahoma our stash is sadly diminished. We finally found a wine shop that carries it here last summer (at a rather sizable markup-grr!) so now we can still have it for special occasions. (Don't think I haven't considered getting a mailbox at a shipping store in Texas so I can order a case!)

We celebrated our discovery by making the French 75 which would absolutely be my signature drink if I were cool enough to have one...well it would be if I was young, rich and lived near bars that kept champagne on hand :)

The French 75 is not a silly little cocktail. The gin cuts what could be an overly sweet concoction and makes it into something marvelous. I happen to be a gin fan, but if you don't care for it, I've been told you could switch it out for cognac or bourbon. If you go the gin route use the good stuff please! Nothing tastes worse than cheap gin.

The best part about champagne is how it makes the every day feel luxurious. I'm not very good at celebrating the little victories. I tend to just check something off the list and move on to the next thing without pausing to take stock of how much I have already accomplished. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the climb up the mountain of stress that I forget to admire the view from where I am every once in a while.

So let's celebrate where we are right this very second. All those little things you've accomplished? They really do add up to something. Let's remind each other of that every once in a while-deal? Deal.

Cheers!


French 75
adapted from Domestic Sluttery


Pour 1 1/2 oz of gin, 1 oz lemon juice, and a teaspoon of powdered sugar (regular sugar will work too if you need it to) into a cocktail shaker. Shake to mix together and pour into a champagne flute. Fill up the glass with champagne and enjoy!

*If you don't have a cocktail shaker just whisk the gin, lemon juice and sugar together instead.

Lemon Sorbet

Even though schools are starting up again, I still have a little time to sneak in some last gasp summer recipes. The zest makes the lemon flavor stand out while the sugar balances the natural tartness. It works really well at the end of a cookout when you just don't want anything really heavy, or on one of these crazy hot days where you just can't bear the idea of turning on your oven.

The downside? If you happen to make it on one of those really hot days it's going to melt. Fast.  Even faster if you're attempting to take pictures of it in the sun for good lighting...so fast that you might spill it all over the kitchen floor and your favorite sandals. Ahhh, the joys of being a klutz and a food blogger :) At least it was my shoes and not my camera, right?



Lemon Sorbet
adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 1/2 cups water
pinch salt
1 tbsp limoncello (or vodka-this will just keep it from freezing too hard)

Heat all ingredients gently in a pan on the stovetop until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Pour into a bowl and place in fridge or freezer until completely cold. Place into ice cream maker and process following manufaturer's instructions. The sorbet will look more like soft serve than ice cream at this point. You can eat it immediately, but I prefer to freeze it for another hour or two until it is more solid. Works better in a cone that way :)