Baked Beans

I love this baked bean recipe. It's easy enough to make for weeknight dinners as it only takes a couple of hours.

Hubby always loves them, but every now and again I get "these are good, but I do really like my mother's". I called her the other day to find out how she makes hers...if he wants them, I will make them (eventually).

We compared recipes, and there is only slight differences. Once I try hers, I will post that as well.

Hubby truly feels that the difference really is in the fact that she uses a bean pot. Since I don't have one, I will have to borrow hers when I make them.

Ingredients:
40 oz can of kidney beans, drained
Onion, chopped
½ Cup brown sugar
1 Cup molasses
1 Tbsp dry mustard
6 Cups water


Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer until water is reduced

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Simple ingredients, love when everything is already on hand

Sweet and delicious!

Chocolate Marble Cake

I have a friend at work and we are both magazine junkies.
We both get different ones and save them up for a month, and then trade off for the other to read.
She handed me the Feb issue of All You and inside I found this recipe.

I have been on a sweets kick, so it just made sense to have it made and on hand just in case someone had a sweet tooth.

This cake is dense, moist and delicious.
I immediately made another one to bring to my Nana. It would be rude to not fill her sweet tooth too!

We had some rainbow sprinkles on hand....but I opted to leave it just with the glaze. It is certainly sweet enough without the addition.

Ingredients:
1 ¾ Cup cake flour
2 Tsp baking powder
¼ Tsp salt
⅔ Cup plain, whole milk yogurt
2 Tbsp whole milk
½ Tsp vanilla extract
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ Cup sugar
3 Large eggs, at room temperature
¼ Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tsp instant coffee powder
¼ Cup heavy cream
½ Cup semisweet chocolate chips
Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk yogurt, milk, and vanilla
5. In a large bowl mix butter with sugar (electric mixer, med-high speed) until light and fluffy
6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
7. Reduce speed to low, add half of flour mixture, then yogurt mixture, then remaining flour mixture.
8. Remove ⅓ of batter, about 1 cup, to a medium bowl.
9. Pour ¼ cup boiling water into a small bowl. Whisk in cocoa and coffee powder until smooth. Let cool slightly.
10. Add to batter in medium bowl, stir to combine
11. Alternate spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batters in loaf pan.
12. Draw a knife through batters for a marbled effect.
13. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
14. Cool on rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.
15. Place cream in a microwavable cup or bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds.
16. Add chocolate chips. Allow to sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth.
17. Drizzle icing over cake, letting it drip down sides.
18. Top with sprinkles if desired.
19. Let stand until icing has set.

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Ingredients

Sugar! I totally spaced and it wasn't in the original picture. Whoops!

As I got cutting further in the cake, the marbling looks better. Take my word for it.

Macadamia Nut Tart

Recipe adapted from here

I don't have a food processor. This is not something I am OK with, but it is what it is.
When it came to making this tart (and other items) I just keep working the ingredients with a fork over and over until the dough is formed.

One would think I would have ripped arms. Sadly, no.

I put this tart together, and baked it. When I pulled it out of the oven I got a little panicky. The entire middle of the tart was still so incredibly liquid.

Hubby talked me into letting it cool and just "see what happens". So glad I listened to him (mark the calendar!) and didn't put it back in the oven. Once the tart was cooled, the inside gelled to just the right consistency.

We had this at a party. One person suggested that it looked like a baked bean pie (new idea? Hmmm) Everyone who tried it compared it to a twisted pecan pie.

Ingredients:
1 Cup all purpose flour
½ Cup butter, cubed
3 oz cream cheese, cubed
⅛ Tsp salt
1 ¾ Cup sugar
¾ Cup water
½ Tsp lemon juice
⅓ Cup heavy whipping cream
¾ Cup butter
1 Cup dry roasted macadamia nuts (coarsely chopped)
Whipped Cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Process first 4 ingredients in a food processor until dough forms a ball.
2. Roll into a 12 inch circle.
3. Place dough in 10 inch tart pan, trim edges, leaving a 1 inch overhang.
4. Fold overhang inside pan, and press against sides, forming a thick edge.
5. Line pastry with aluminum foil. Fill with pie weights or dried beans.
6. Bake at 375 for 18 minutes. Remove from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 350
8. Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.
9. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes or until mixture turns a dark amber color.
10.Remove from heat and carefully stir in cream and butter until smooth.
11. Place nuts in bottom of tart shell.
12. Place tart on a baking sheet.
13. Pour caramel mixture over nuts.
14. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
15. Remove tart from oven and place on a wire rack.
16. Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

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I guess it kind of does look like a "baked bean pie"!

Greek Dip Platter

My bunch of friends love to try new things.
Considering this recipe had everything we all liked...it was worth a try.

Recipe adapted from here.

My daughter was drooling watching me make this. I think if she could manage to live off olives and hummus, she would.
Hubby and I, on the other hand, were a little stand off-ish due to the hummus.

Let me tell you, the combination of flavors is amazing! Both of us ate it with no trace of "hummus, yuck".

Friends were spooning this dip into their mouths, very pleased that it was "healthy"! We brought pita chips, but someone else had brought whole wheat crackers and they were a great match up.
I think people even preferred the crackers so they could have a mega scoop of dip.

 Ingredients:
6 oz plain Greek yogurt
8-10 oz Roasted red pepper hummus
Minced red onion
Chopped cucumber
Chopped tomato
Chopped kalamata olives
Feta cheese
Parsley

Directions:
1. Spread Greek yogurt on the bottom of a platter
2. Spread hummus evenly on top
3. Sprinkle with chopped veggies and feta cheese
4. Top with parsley
5. Serve with pita chips, carrots, and celery

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Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are delicious. I love, love, love them.

When I moved out on my own (and before the internet was so easily available) I decided I wanted to make them. The problem was, I had no idea HOW.

I did what I thought seemed good, and it worked for me! I have tried different recipes over the years, but keep coming back to my original. It's like a little reminder that sometimes the simplest foods are the yummiest.

Starting with whole mushrooms, pull out the stems.
Dice them up fine and toss them in a bowl.
Add about 4 tbsp melted butter.
Add about 1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs.
Season with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Mix together and stuff your mushrooms.

Bake at 350 until visibly cooked through.

This time I decided to top them with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese

Here they are ready to be cooked. I brought them to my host's house and cooked them there. Neglected to take my camera though! By the time I thought to use my phone (duh) they were all gone.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Every year come Halloween, part of our tradition is to pull all those sticky, stringy guts out of the pumpkin and gather all the seeds.

We carefully wash them, getting all the pumpkin "yuck" off and dry them for roasting.

Walking thru the grocery store the other day, I happened to notice a package of raw pumpkin seeds on the shelf.
Hm...let's see if it this works as well.

Preheat the oven to 350
Spray a pan with cooking spray
Spread seeds in a single layer
Cook until brown and crispy, stirring occasionally.
When cooked, sprinkle liberally with seasoned salt.
Enjoy, repeat!

I am happy to report that the store bought seeds were almost as good as fresh!

Funny story though, I am one of those annoying people who watch the scanner at the grocery store and hold up the line with any small discrepancy.

These pumpkin seeds were labeled $1.79 on the package. The sign in front of the display read $2.50. I put them at the end of the order in order to watch the price. Sure enough, they rang up at the $2.50 price. I ended up paying only the $1.79, they honored their sticker.

Next time I am at that store, it will be interesting to see if they change the sticker on all the packages.

Our favorite crunchy snack!

Balsamic and Basil Dipping Oil

I am one of those people who is very happy with a loaf of fresh Italian bread, some oil, and cheese as a meal.
Luckily, darling daughter inherited the same love.
I can't even count the amount of meals that have been made up of just that.

I love this dipping oil from Tastefully Simple. It's tangy and tasty.
The perfect accompaniment for the fresh bread...I have also used it as an extra layer of flavor in beef stew!

Just sharing the love!