Spinach and Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

It's been a while since I've posted here (I promise to post more often) but I had the day off today and decided to make these stuffed shells for dinner. They were so good! I decided to half the recipe since it's just my husband and myself and this was plenty for the two of us. Next time I think I'll make the whole recipe and freeze half of it.

Spinach and Ricotta-Stuffed Shells
(Via Red Kitchenaid)

2 cups basic marinara sauce (I just used a jar of pre-made sauce)
Cooking spray
2 1/2 cups light ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 large egg yolk
1 garlic clove, minced
24 cooked jumbo pasta shells

Preheat oven to 350°.Spread 1/2 cup Basic Marinara over bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.Combine ricotta and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl, stirring well.

Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons filling into each pasta shell. Arrange stuffed shells in prepared dish; spread with remaining 1 1/2 cups Basic Marinara. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 4 stuffed shells and about 1/3 cup sauce)

Spinach and Ricotta stuffed shells

It's been a while since I've posted here (I promise to post more often) but I had the day off today and decided to make these stuffed shells for dinner. They were so good! I decided to half the recipe since it's just my husband and myself and this was plenty for the two of us. Next time I think I'll make the whole recipe and freeze half of it.

Spinach and Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

(Via Red Kitchenaid)

2 cups basic marinara sauce (I just used a jar of pre-made sauce)

Cooking spray

2 1/2 cups light ricotta cheese

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1 large egg yolk

1 garlic clove, minced

24 cooked jumbo pasta shells

Preheat oven to 350°.Spread 1/2 cup Basic Marinara over bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.Combine ricotta and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl, stirring well.

Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons filling into each pasta shell. Arrange stuffed shells in prepared dish; spread with remaining 1 1/2 cups Basic Marinara.

Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 4 stuffed shells and about 1/3 cup sauce)

Baked Zucchini Sticks

I'm so glad I found this recipe for baked zucchini sticks! Even Marc-Andre who doesn't like zucchini said that he really liked them and wants me to make them again. I'm not sure how Gina found out that they were 1.33 points but I was just happy to find another way to eat zucchini that wasn't deep fried or in the form of zucchini bread:)

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Via Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

3 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks

1 large egg white1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese (we had a huge wedge of parmesan cheese, so I grated that)

cooking spray

1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt

fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 425°
In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Crème Brûlée

Mmmm who doesn't love crème brûlée?! This was so easy to make! Try it, you won't be disappointed, and working with a torch, so much fun!

Ingredients
1 ¼ cups (296ml) heavy cream
½ cup (119ml) whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 / 3 cup (67g) sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
About 6 tablespoons (75g) sugar or sifted light brown sugar, for topping

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200ºF/ 93ºC. Put the six baking dishes (see Note above) on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.
In a 1 or 2-quart (approx. 1-2 liters) glass measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla together until well blended but not airy. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid---this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the cream and milk. Give the bowl a good rap against the counter to de-bubble the custard, then strain it into the baking dishes.
Bake the custards for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the centers are set---tap the sides of the dishes, and the custards should hold firm. Lift the dishes onto a cooling rack and let the custards cool until they reach room temperature.

Cover each custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The custards can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) For the sugar to be successfully caramelized, the custards need to be thoroughly chilled.

Serve the crème brûlée when the crème is really cold and the brûlée is still warm. You can serve the whole dessert chilled, but the sugar topping won’t have its characteristic crackle

The custard for crème brûlée must be made ahead so it has plenty of time to chill, but once you’ve caramelized the sugar on top, your storage time is over if your want the sugar to have crunch.

Makes 6 servings.

Marshmallows!

My friend Eva and I made marshmallows this weekend (we also made crème brûlée recipe to come) and it was much easier than I thought it would be! I'm looking forward to making more this summer to bring camping with us. I bet they're so much better over a campfire.

While very good, I goofed up the recipe a little and added the vanilla in with everything else that was boiling on the stove. I think this made it evaporate a little too much and so, a little of the flavor was lost. I'm sure they taste even better when the vanilla is added at the proper time. Also, get ready to get messy, the marshmallow is so thick and sticky that we had a hard time putting it the pan. Eva thankfully had the bright idea to butter our hands, this made it much easier to transfer from the bowl to the pan.

Homemade Marshmallows

From Martha Stewart

2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let stand 30 minutes.

2. Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat, and stir until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.

3. Clip on a candy thermometer; raise heat to high. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees.(firm-ball stage). Immediately remove pan from heat.

4. With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin. Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to incorporate.
4. Generously dust an 8-by-12-inch glass baking pan with confectioners’ sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan. Dust top with confectioners’ sugar; wet your hands, and pat it to smooth. Dust with confectioners’ sugar; let stand overnight, uncovered, to dry out. Turn out onto a board; cut marshmallows with a dry hot knife into 1 1/2-inch squares, and dust with more confectioners' sugar.

Simplest Apple Tart

This was so good and easy to make! I love LOVE apple pie and thought that I would miss the cinnamon in this recipe, but I didn't. I made this for my parents and they loved it as well.

I served it with just a little but of vanilla ice cream and it was heavenly, the glaze was a nice addition.

I had a little bit of a hard time with the dough as it wasn't the same thickness all around and when I had to lift it off the counter to place in the pie dish it sort of fell apart, but since that part was covered with apple, no one was the wiser. The only thing this meant was that I was unable to take it out the dish to plate, but it still looked pretty good to me.

I will make this again and hopefully have better luck with the dough.

Simplest Apple Tart

From Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

For dough:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, just softened, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

3 1/2 tablespoons chilled water

For filling:

2 pounds apples (Golden Delicious or another tart, firm variety), peeled, cored (save peels and cores), and sliced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

5 tablespoons sugar

For glaze:

1/2 cup sugar

MIX flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Blend in a mixer until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining butter; mix until biggest pieces look like large peas.

DRIBBLE in water, stir, then dribble in more, until dough just holds together. Toss with hands, letting it fall through fingers, until it’s ropy with some dry patches. If dry patches predominate, add another tablespoon water. Keep tossing until you can roll dough into a ball. Flatten into a 4-inch-thick disk; refrigerate. After at least 30 minutes, remove; let soften so it’s malleable but still cold. Smooth cracks at edges. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Dust excess flour from both sides with a dry pastry brush.

PLACE dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan, or simply on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you wish to go free-form, or galette-style with it. Heat oven to 400°F. (If you have a pizza stone, place it in the center of the rack.)

OVERLAP apples on dough in a ring 2 inches from edge if going galette-style, or up to the sides if using the tart pan. Continue inward until you reach the center. Fold any dough hanging over pan back onto itself; crimp edges at 1-inch intervals.

BRUSH melted butter over apples and onto dough edge. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over dough edge and the other 3 tablespoons over apples. (Deb note: I found it nearly impossible to coat it with this much sugar, so I used a little less–more like 3 tablespoons. It made a lightly sweet tart, which we found perfect.)

BAKE in center of oven until apples are soft, with browned edges, and crust has caramelized to a dark golden brown (about 45 minutes), making sure to rotate tart every 15 minutes.

MAKE glaze: Put reserved peels and cores in a large saucepan, along with sugar. Pour in just enough water to cover; simmer for 25 minutes. Strain syrup through cheesecloth.

REMOVE tart from oven, and slide off parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes.
BRUSH glaze over tart, slice, and serve.

Sugar Cookies

Wow, it's been ages since I've last posted. I promise to be back more often as I have lots of new recipes I want to try out while I will be on holidays! I haven't baked nearly as much for the holidays as I have in the past but here's a great sugar cookie recipe, it's my new favorite!

Sugar Cookies (From Allrecipes.com)

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely. I found that 5 minutes was more than enough.

Royal Icing (Wilton.com)

3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons warm water
Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.

* For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.
**When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

Thinned Royal Icing: To thin for pouring, add 1 teaspoon water per cup of royal icing. Use grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Add 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until you reach proper consistency

Halloween Mummy Cookies

I told my friend that I would bring some sweets to her Halloween party and when I came across these on Daisy Lane Cakes, I knew I had to make them. I love how they turned out and I hope they're a hit :)

Mummy Cookies - (Recipe copied from Daisy Lane Cakes with some of my comments added in)

1 C. sugar

1 C. salted butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2-1/2 to 3 C self-rising flour - I used All Purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add 2-1/2 C. flour. If dough is sticky to the touch keep adding flour until no longer sticky. I typically use about 2-3/4 cups flour. (I also ended up using this much flour)

Dough does not need to be chilled, but can be. If the kitchen is warm, chill the pan of cut out cookie shapes before baking to keep them from spreading in the oven.(For cut out cookies, roll to desired thickness, cut shapes with cookie cutters and lay on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Watch the tops while baking, when they longer have a sheen, they're done.

For mummies, roll 1/4 of the dough at a time into logs slightly thicker than your thumb. Cut into approximately 4-inch long pieces. Cut a 1/2-inch slice from one end and, laying it down, smush it onto one end of the piece. Pinch and poke the rest of the piece so that it resembles a mummy.
Using two mini-chocolate chips, insert pointy end of chip into the "head" for eyes.

Bake about 6-8 minutes until set. Watch the tops for the sheen. When it's gone, they're done.
Any severed heads can be reattached with melted chocolate.

Once the cookies are cool, lay them on wax paper with plenty of space between. Melt some white chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag, slightly opened. Melt for 30 seconds at at time but be careful, you don't want to overheat the white chocolate pieces. Mash the chocolate with your fingers between microwaving to mix the melted chocolate. Once it's melted, snip a small hole from one end and seal the bag. Pipe strips of white chocolate over cookies to resemble bandages.

Pita Bread

Today I decided to try my hand a making pita bread. It was not as hard as I would have thought! I would definitely make it again and most likely will not be buying it again :)

Ingredients
3 cups of flour
1 cup lukewarm water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil (I used canola)
1/2 tsp yeast

Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the flour. In the well, put the yeast. Mix in the salt around the well, do not mix the yeast and the salt together. In the well, pour in the water and then the oil. Knead the dough for ten minutes in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about an hour, until it doubles in size.

Here it is, doubled in size.
After the dough has risen, punch it down to release the air and roll it into a log. Cut the log into 8 pieces and roll into balls.

Cover the balls of dough with a damp tea towel and let the dough rise again for 20 minutes. Here they are after their second rise. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees with your cookie sheet or cooking stone inside it. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface into discs about 1/4 inch thick and about 6-5 inches wide. Place the dough on the cooking surface for about 3-5 minutes.
They didn't all puff up like the pita on the right, but they all turned out just the same. Remove from oven and place in foil until they are cool. And there you have it, pita bread!

Mmmm Brownies!

We are planning our vacation to Vegas with our friends tomorrow and I decided to bake some brownies to bring over to their house. These brownies are very good, moist and not overly sweet, this recipe is a keeper. One of the things I love about brownies is that you can add anything you want to them, chocolate chips, nuts, peanut butter, mint....this time I added white chocolate chips as I've been on a white chocolate kick lately and happened to have them in the house.

Brownies

Adapted from Baking to De-Stress

Ingredients:

- 4 oz unsweetned chocolate

- 1 stick butter

- 4 eggs

- salt

- 2 cups sugar

- 1 tsp. vanilla - I used 2 tsps

- 1 C. Flour

- 6 oz Chips (butterscotch, chocolate, and peanut butter) - I added 1 cup of white chocolate chips

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 350

- Melt the chocolate and butter together

- Beat the eggs and salt

- Slowly add sugar and vanilla and mix

- Stir in the melted chocolate and butter

- Mix in the flour

- Add your favorite chips

Pour into a 9 x 13 in. pan and bake for 25 minutes

Nestlé Toll House Cookies

I'm home today but can't bake because I'm stuck in bed with a sore back. I thought I would share my not so secret cookie recipe, Nestlé Toll House Cookies (the pictures were taken last winter). You can't deny they are very good, especially dipped in a glass of cold milk. Next up, my husband's chocolate chip cookies. I don't know the recipe because it's in his head, but I'm hoping that this week we can bake a batch and share them with you! More than once, women have said they would sleep with him for the recipe...they ARE that good :)

Nestlé Toll House Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

How to peel a hard boiled egg without peeling it!

Happy Anniversary - Fall Cupcakes!

I made these cupcakes for my best friend's wedding anniversary. They were delicious and super easy to make. Anything that can be made in one bowl is tops in my book! This was also my first time using a piping bag to make ice the cupcakes...They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself but I won't lie, I'm looking forward to the next birthday to try it out again.One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes (Via Martha Stewart)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; mix batter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about one-third full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely

Buttercream Icing (via Martha Stewart)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.

Banana Bread

It was time to make some banana bread after hearing my husband swearing yet again because the frozen bananas in the freezer has fallen once again on his feet. Oooops!! This is a great recipe, very fast and easy to make :)

Banana Bread (via Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings)

1 stick Butter (softened)
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Ripe Bananas
1 tbsp. Milk
1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 Cups Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time In a separate bowl mash bananas and mix with milk and cinnamon. Add banana mixture to creamed mixture. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Pour batter into loaf pan.
Bake 50-60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack before slicing.
For bundt pan: bake 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees