Creamy BLT Pasta

This is so easy, creamy and delicious, filled with smokey bacon, and tender spinach. It's quick, easy and cheap and can be thrown together in no time at all. 

Creamy BLT Pasta: 

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup fresh diced tomatoes 

2 cups baby spinach

4 strips crumbled crispy bacon

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

2tbs vodka 

2 tbs olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

  Sautée all the spinach except for a 1/2 cup, in the olive oil and seasonings, on medium heat until the spinach is tender but not cooked through. Add everything else and bring to a low boil. Take off the heat and add the remaing spinach. Stir until combined. Pour the sauce over your favorite pasta and serve, maybe will a little extra Parmesan cheese. 

Pumpkin Waffles with Cider Butter Syrup

Pumpkin Waffles with Cider Butter Syrup

  Today I said goodbye to fall, for my last pumpkin hoorah of the season, and putting my new waffle iron to use. These waffles are full of all of falls flavors, including the cider syrup they are topped with. The perfect   way to bid goodbye to November and hello to December and all of its peppermint mocha goodness. Dear December, i love you, but spiced fall flavors are my favorite. These literally only took me 10 minutes to whip and get on the plate, 1 bowl, 1 saucepan, and 1 waffle iron also mean very little dishes. Who likes to start there morning washing dishes anyway?

 Waffles

1 cup plus 2 tbs Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 tsp Baking Powder

 1/2 tsp. Salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbs melted butter

 Mix all ingredients together until well mixed. Do not overmix, a few lumps are ok. Heat Waffle iron and spray with non-stick spray.

Syrup

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tbs Corn Starch

1 tbs Corn Syrup

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 cup Apple Cider

4 tbs Butter

Put a saucepan on med-high heat, add the sugar, corn starch, and cinnamon, whisk until combined. Add the cider and whisk until thick and bubbly, take off the heat and stir in the butter until melted and combined. Top the waffles with the warm syrup and if your feeling spunky, maybe some fresh cinnamon whipped cream, as you can see from the photos, i must have been feeling spunky. May i also add, these are the 1st food photos i have taken with my new Nikon D7000 DSLR camera. Not bad for my first tr,y, I'm sure they will improve more with time, but I'm pretty tickled about these for the time being!

Jalapeño Corn Fritters

 My dad's birthday was last week, so on Saturday, naturally, we celebrated. Tons of snacks and party appetizers, of course homemade by me. I don't mind, I love entertaining, and having people over. Last year I made cornbread stuffed jalapeños, they were good. So good that for these I deconstructed them and made them into something better. 

3 cups sweet whole kernel corn

1/3 cup chopped fresh jalapeños 

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

2 tbs sugar

Splash of milk

Salt 

Pepper

Cayenne pepper 

Garlic powder 

 Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and fold together until combined. Season with a pinch, or a little more if you like the heat, of the dried spices.  Heat an iron skillet on med-high heat with about a 1/4 inch layer of vegtable oil. Drop the fritter dough in small drops and let cook on one side for about a minute, until it can be flipped without falling apart. Cook on opposite side until golden brown. I let mine drain on a paper towel, then slapped them in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes to cook thoroughly and keep warm while making a sauce. I used my favorite Cilantro Crema sauce and added a little kick, here is the link to the recipe for the sauce. 

http://www.lifeneedssprinkles.blogspot.com/2013/08/citrus-chicken-tacos-with-cilantro-crema.html?m=1

 For the kick I added a jalapeño to the food processor to turn up the heat a little bit. These fritters were gone in a matter of minutes, a big hit. I also think they could be made ahead of time, be kept frozen, then pop them in to oven before serving to warm and crisp them up. 

Parmesan Pepper Pasta

 One weekend day, it's noon and we are starving for lunch, not wanting to leave the house to go out for lunch, or shopping to restock our very empty fridge, and pantry. Anthony says "I'll take care of it" He whips up this dreamy pasta with bannana pepper rings, it was good. So good I think I made it for lunch twice the next week. I amped it up a bit and added fresh parmesan, and a blackened chicken breast, and BAM it's a quick, cheap, easy, delicious meal. Although I fully credit this meal to Anthony it was his inspiration that lead me to this pasta dish. 

Fettuccini noodles (or whatever you have on hand will work) 

Chicken Breasts ( I pan seared mine with salt, pepper, garlic and paprika) 

3 tbs butter

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder 

1/4 cup chopped banana pepper rings

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

 Cook the noodles until right past al dente in salted water. Strain and return to  the pot with all the ingredients. I added more banana rings and cheese. Toss until butter is melted and everything is combined. Top a few slices of chicken and...dinner is served, or lunch, or a snack, or breakfast. This stuff is so good, and it's so cheap and easy anyone could do it. Anthony lived off of something similar through his college days. Enjoy! 

Cinnamon Spice Candy Corn Sugar Bites

 This week I am prepping for a Halloween package to send all they way to Cali, for my dearest sista friend who is In the navy. Living in a barrack where she can't bake or cook anything, I know these baked treats will be very appreciated! Love ya Kara! 

  I saw these candy corn frosted cookies on Pinterest one day, and since I haven't messed much with cookie decorating, I thought, I think I can make these easier! I took a regular sugar cookie recipe and added a few of my favorite fall inspired flavors for a kick on a classic sugar cookie. These are so easy I'm sure any of you can give it a try. 

1 cup soft salted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup cookie butter

( south Florida friends, I know this is hard to find around here, use biscoff spread, or maybe even peanut butter instead)

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp ginger 

Yellow food color

Red food color

1/2 cup mixed cinnamon and sugar 

 Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Spoon in the cookie butter and mix until combined. Sift together the dry ingredients into the wet and mix on low until a dough forms. 

  Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, press 1/3 of the uncolored dough into the pan. Now dye the rest of the dough yellow. Press 1/3 of the yellow dough over the uncolored dough. Now add a little red to the leftover yellow, that will make orange. Press the orange over the yellow. 

 Cover with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for atleast 4 hours, or up to overnight. 

  Remove the dough slab by pulling up on the sides of plastic wrap. Slice off the outer edge to begin cutting the triangles. 

 Ready to make some candy corn? Cut the dough into about 1/2 inch strips.

 

Now lay flat on your cutting board and cut into triangles. This is the method I used: 

One cut, two cut, three cut....

  A little tedious, but once you get the hang of the motion, time will pass quickly. Place the little candy corns on an ungreased baking sheet, bake at 350 for 8 to 12 minutes. Keep a close eye, these little jewels can burn quick and easy. No one likes a burnt candy corn. Remove from oven and gently toss in a pile of cinnamon sugar. The sugar sticks better when the cookies are warm. 

WARNING: cookies are delicious, and bite size. Side effects: sugar coma, addiction. ENJOY! 

Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

      Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

1 1/2 sticks room temperature butter

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup blueberry compote (see below) 

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream  

Blueberry compote:

2 cups fresh blueberry a

1/4 cup sugar 

2 tbs cornstarch

 Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the blueberry are popping and turn into a thick smooth compote. 

  For the cupcakes, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs, one at a time, until fully combined. Sift together the dry ingredients, add alternately with the milk, and the sour cream. Mix until combined. Add the compote and mix until just combined evenly throughout the batter. Preheat an oven to 350, line cupcake tins with liners and evenly distribute the batter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Chessecake Filling

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar 

2 cups fresh whipped cream

 Whip the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream. Put the filling, in a piping bag with a filler tip attachment. That was easy! 

To fill the cupcakes, let them cool then poke the filler tip in the middle of the cupcake and squeeze for a few seconds until the cupcake is filled. Don't overfill or the cupcake will crack in half. 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Buttercream: 

4 oz cream cheese

1 stick room tempature butter

1/2 cup cooled blueberry compote

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tbs heavy cream

 Whip the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and whip until light and fluffy. 

 Frost the filled cupcakes with the buttercream. I then topped mine with an extra swirl of blueberry compote. Beware, these are rich and cheesecakey and may put you into some sort of a coma! Enjoy! 

Srirachi Chorizo Wontons

 Chorizo sausage is so good. It's cheap, and can be found in any grocery store, normally by the sour cream, and tortillas. These are a little time consuming, closing up all the wonton wrappers, but cook in just minutes. They could easily be assembled ahead of time, and fryed when your ready for them. 

1 cup ground chorizo 

1/2 cup crumbled cojito cheese

1/2 cup cooked corn

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

4 tbs Srirach sauce

Garlic Powder

1 package premade wonton wrappers

Salt 

Pepper

Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Combine all ingredients until well combined. 

To crumble the cojito cheese, I broke into small blocks and ran it through the food processor until it was the consistency of fine crumbles. Cojito cheese can also be found by the sour cream in your grocery store. ( Its the same kind of cheese, the delicious white queso is made from) which by the way, would make a delicious dip for these wontons! But today we are making these spicy, so a srirachi glaze will top these fried wontons. 

 To assemble, simply lay about a Tbs of filling on the wonton wrapper.

 

 Fold the wrapper over, pinch the edges together, and seal with a light egg white wash.  Bam, it's that simple, a little time consuming, but all in all, pretty easy. 

 Now heat a saucepan of vegtable oil, and fry for about a minute and a half until the shells are golden brown, and crispy. Let cool on a paper towl to drain the excess oil. 

For the glaze, I used a store bought sweet thi chili glaze, and added srirachi to it to heat it up quite a bit. But dipping these in a spicy ranch, queso, or salsa would be equally as delicious. 

 Don't bite into one right away, ya might burn your tounge off! 

Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes

I have had the thought for these rolling around in my mind for a few weeks. 3 fails, to 1 success. Finally after different variations, this is my final play on these strawberry milkshake cupcakes. They offer the same silky malty flavor of a milkshake, but in a cupcake form. A sweet strawberry buttercream filling, and a simple whipped cream frosting makes for a scrumptious cupcake. 

Cupcake Batter 

1/2 cup room temp salted butter

1 3/4 cups sifted flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1/3 plus 2 tbs strawberry Nesquik powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

 Cream the butter and sugar and eggs. Add the flour and baking powder alternately with the milk, starting with flour, and ending with flour. Add the strawberry powder and vanilla, and mix until the batter turns pink and is fully combined. Bake in cupcake liners for 12 to 15 minutes on 350. Let cool. 

Filling

1/2 cup room temp butter

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 tbs heavy cream

1/3 cup strawberry Nesquik Powder  

1 tbs strawberry jello powder

 Whip all ingredients in a stand mixer until fluffy. It will be a brighter pink than the batter, due to the extra strawberry jello flavoring. After round one of not being strawberry enough, I added the jello flavoring as well. 

 When the cupcakes are cooled, they are ready to be filled. Pour the filling into a piping bag. I have a filler tip, it's long and pointed at the end, perfect for filling cupcakes. Stick the tip square into the middle of the cupcake and squeeze gently to fill the cupcake with the buttercream. Fill all the cupcakes with as much filling as they can stand, don't overfill, or the tops will crack. 

 Between the cupcake itself, and the sweet filling, a simple whipped cream works well with the cupcakes. Plus who doesn't like whip cream on there strawberry milkshake? If your not good at making homemade whip cream ( or don't have a best friend in the kitchen, aka kitchenaid stand mixer) a scoop of cool whip will suffice. But here is how I make my whip cream

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

 Chill your mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 20 min. Add all of the whopping 3 ingredients and put on low for 1 minute, then kick it up to high speed, and whip until thick. Yes friends, it is that easy, and so much better than that can stuff people dare to put on pumpkin pie, and ice cream sundaes around the world. 

 Now let's cut into one of these beauty's and possibly have it for lunch! 

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

  Who doesent love the smell of walking by Cinnabon, and smelling those delicious pastries. Cinnamon Rolls are a sweet delicacy for breakfast. Most the time, it's Pillsbury Grands in our house, homemade are very time consuming. Although there's nothing wrong with a Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll, these are over the top, and may make you never turn back. 

For the dough: 

3/4 cup warm water

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tbs sugar

  

  Whisk these ingredients together and let the yeast proof, it will look frothy after 10 minutes. That means it is proofed and ready. 

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 plus 2 tbs vegtable oil

1 large egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

4 to 5 cups flour

  Whisk together the egg, oil, and buttermilk and add to the yeast mixture. Mix until combined. Now with your dough hook attachment add the rest of the ingredients, the flour one cup at a time. Knead on low until well combined. Kick it up to medium and let it go for about 5 minutes, the dough will start to pull clean from the sides of your bowl. It will be sticky, but not so sticky that it making a huge mess. Butter the sides of a large bowl, place the dough in the middle, and let rest covered with plastic wrap, for 4 hours. (The waiting game is the worst.) I made my dough, and let it rest while I'm off to work at my real job and did the next steps when I got home. 

For the filling

1 cup room temp butter

2 tbs cinnamon powder

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together to form sweet spread. 

Time for the the fun part! I let my dough, double in size. 

 Punch the dough down, and drop it onto a clean, floured surface. Begin working and rolling the dough into a rectangle shape.

  Now spread the sweet, loaded with cinnamon buttery spread on the dough, leave about a half inch on all sides clean. 

  Now sprinkle a little more cinnamon, on top of it. (We really like cinnamon in our house) You could also add pecans or maybe even walnuts at this step, if your info that sort of thing. Now it's time to get this slab of deliciousness rolled up. It's easier than you would expect, just start at one end, keep the dough tight, and roll into a log shape. 

 Now cut the dough every 2 inches. I got 10 rolls out of my cinnamon roll log. Now place them in a greased baking pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and you guessed it. More waiting. Let the rolls proof, until they are double in size and touching each other. This step has to happen, I put mine in the microwave, safely hidden from the 3 stooges (aka, my counter surfing pups) and let them sit for 6 hours overnight. Normally I require atleast 8 hours, but 6 sufficed knowing I was waking up to soon be put into a cinnamon roll coma.

Here is a picture before resting. 

 

Look at the little guy, isent he sweet?

 And here is one from after, I mean it when I say this step is nessasary. Look how plump and beautiful they look after rising. 

 Now these buns are ready for the oven! Literally, preheat to 350 and bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Do not overbake, they are ment to be ooey-gooey and delicious! While they are baking, it's time to make the frosting. It's a simple cream cheese butter cream and tops these off so wonderfully. 

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1/2 stick room temp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

2 tbs heavy cream

  Whip everything together until, smooth and silky. 

  When the buns are cooked through and ready to exit the oven, immediately top them with frosting. Let it melt and ooze all over the tops and sides. 

  Once they have cooled enough to remove them from the pan, top each with another small ( or if your adventurous, large) spoonful of more frosting. 

  Now enjoy, and slowly be engulfed into a cinnamon cream cheese coma, and if your lucky, unlike I was, go back to sleep for another 2 hours of sweet dreams. 

  

Meat Lovers Lasagna

This lasagna will make any meat loving man fall face forward into the table. Three  words, sausage, pepperoni, BACON. This dish was made specifically for Anthony, you will notice there is no ricotta cheese. I love ricotta cheese. Anthony hates ricotta cheese. Anthony won on this one. I will say it's the 1st lasagna I've ever made, or had with no ricotta, and it passed my standards. I think the bacon was the final factor! 

1 box lasagna noodles

2 cups of your favorite sauce

( I'd give you mine, but it's different every time I make it, it's one of those throw together what we have kinda things) 

Fresh mozzarella 

Italian Sausage links (sliced) 

Pepperoni

Bacon

More bacon

More fresh mozzarella 

Assembly Line

Sauce

Noodles

Sausage 

Pepperoni

Bacon 

Cheese

Repeat

Top with another layer of noodles, and of course, more cheese. 

Here are some photograph steps... 

  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, after 20 minutes, cover with foil and continue until time is up (you don't want crispy noodles and burnt cheese)

Let cool and you will have a slice of meat lovers paradise, on a plate! 

Greek yogurt Mac n' Cheese with Vegtables

  

   Today is an accomplishment. I've never made anything without butter, until today. This Mac and Cheese has NO butter, but it it's still equally delicious. I think it's because the 2 and a half cups of assorted cheese. It's still kinda healthy, healthier than any other Mac and Cheese I've ever made. Super easy, super delicious, and kinda super healthy. (Hey I tried) 

3 cups elbow macaroni ( I used whole wheat) 

10 oz shredded cheese ( I used an assortment of extra sharp cheddar, and Swiss) 

1 cup plain Chobani Greek yogurt

1 cup fresh Kale

1 cup Roasted Broccoli Florets 

1/4 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder 

Salt and Pepper  

  Cook the noodles in water until al dente. Al dente is not cooked all the way. You don't want the noodles to end up overcooked once you add all the goodies. Drain noodles but keep 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Now sauté the kale with a little olive oil and some water, when slightly soft, add the paprika.

  To roast the broccoli, crank your oven to 450 degrees. On a baking sheet spread out the broccoli and sprinkle with, olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes until soft, and broccoli has a light char on the florets. 

Now for the cheesy part! Aka, the best part! 

That's a lot of cheese. Ok now add the noodles, water, cheese, Greek yogurt, and garlic powder to a large saucepan. Stir and melt until it turns into a smooth, cheesy deliciousness. Add the sautéed kale, and Roasted broccoli and stir until combined. Ta-Dah! Now it's finished and ready to stick a fork in it! 

Peach Cobbler Cupcakes

         Peach Cobbler Cupcakes

   I've been thinking about these cupcakes for a week, finally I figured everything up and made them on Saturday for a 4-H fundraiser. They were a hit, and only lasted on the table for 30 minutes. Luckily I left 3 at home for me and Anthony. Deffinatley will be dessert tonight. They are an awesome combination of moist cupcakes, and peachy cobbler, with a hint of cinnamon. I love to use cinnamon in anything, it just reminds me of cool fall evenings. Ok maybe just in my dreams anyways because south Florida doesent get many of those! These cupcakes are a bit of a process and may seem scary, but once you jump in they are pretty simple and I'm confident any of you can give them a shot. Enjoy! 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup room temp salted butter

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 cup smashed peaches with syrup

1 cup milk

  Preheat oven to 350. Sift the dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar in electric mixer until fluffy, add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition. Add the vanilla. Add 1/2 the flour mixture, beat on low until combined. Add the milk, mix until combined. Add the rest of flour scraping down sides of bowl, so everything is mixed together evenly. Add the peaches and stir by hand ( you don't want to over mix the batter. Bake in cupcake liners for 12 to 14 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Peach Filling 

6 fresh peaches

1 tbs ground cinnamon 

3 tbs brown sugar 

Pit the peaches and boil until soft and cooked through, the skin will start to wrinkle and come off, that's when the peaches are done. Let cool, and peel the skin off the peaches. Purée the peaches, cinnamon and brown sugar until combined, but still slightly chunky. 

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosting

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water 

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

5 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp meringue powder 

Whip the egg whites and meringue powder on high until stiff peaks form 

On med high heat, melt the brown sugar, water, corn syrup and cinnamon until bubbly. Reduce to med heat, simmer and whisk for about 6 minutes. 

Remove from heat and while mixer is on high, drizzle the sugar into the egg whites. Nice and slow, please use your patience here! 

Your finished product will look like this, and taste absolutely heavenly! 

   Smooth and glossy, and so yummy. 

Assembly Line

   When the cupcakes are cool, they are ready to fill. Use a filler tip and fill a piping bag with the peach filling, stick it right in the middle of the cupcake and squeeze gently until the middle is full. Continue with all the cupcakes, my batch made 26. Also but the frosting in a piping bag, with tip of your choice and pipe some of the delicious frosting right on top! Yum! 

 

Roasted Smashed Feta Potatoes

 

    

    There's a million and 1 ways to make potatoes, I never get tired of eating them, mmm carbs. These are so simple, but have lots of flavor, and are an easy extra to any dinner. 

6 red skinned potatoes

1 lemon

1/3 cup feta cheese

Salt

Pepper 

2 tbs butter 

Parboil the potatoes until they are half cooked. Then toss them in the oven on a roasting rack, or baking sheet and roast at 400 for 20 minutes. When the taters are cooked through, simply lightly smash them with, well, whatever strikes your fancy. I used a meat mallet ( I know a little over the top) When they are all smashed, top each with a small dollop of butter, then sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and feta cheese. Top with some fresh lemon juice and, voila! Your finished.

   What a quick delicious, side that pairs well with most any meals! 

I topped mine with some sliced green onions :)