Category: baking

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

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What You Need:

1 large zucchini or 2 small ones finely shredded 

1 beaten egg

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 handful of dark chocolate chips

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup of sugar 

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Steps: 

1. In one small bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

2. In a separate medium/large size bowl mix the beaten egg, sugar, vegetable oil, and shredded zucchini with an electric mixer.

3. Begin adding the dry ingredients (the flour and spices) to the wet ingredients (the egg and oil) slowly till batter is consistent. Add in the chocolate chips.

4. Generously butter up the loaf pan and pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

5. Allow bread to cool for a moment and enjoy!

Cheesy, Saucy, Baked Pasta

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What You Need:

Between 1 1/2 lbs and 2 1/2 lbs of ground beef or sweet ground up sausage or you could do a lb of each of meat

2 jars of your favorite marinara pasta sauce we like ragu

1 lb of your favorite pasta noodle (ziti, rigatoni, macaroni, or spiral pasta are all good ones)

3 zucchini’s chopped green and yellow

3/4 of a sweet onion finely chopped

4 – 5 tablespoons of Olive oil

1 heaping tablespoon of jarred minced garlic

2 cups of Mozzarella cheese or extra depending on your cheesy level

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

Steps:

1. Heat up a large skillet while you chop your onion, and zucchini. Once skillet is heated through add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion, zucchini, and garlic until soft. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Then set aside.

2. Cook pasta as directed in a large pot. (Tip: once the water begins to boil, add a few dashes of salt. THEN add your pasta. That will flavor your pasta) Once cooked, drain your water, and add the pasta to a 9 x 13 baking dish.

2. In the same skillet you cooked your veggies, add your meat. If using ground beef season as you normally would (I like to use salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, a little turmeric, and maybe a little oregano.) If you’re using the sausage you don’t need to season, should already be seasoned. Once cooked, drain fat if needed.

3. Add the veggies to the meat and mix well. Add both jars of pasta to the meat and veggie sauce, reserving about 1/2 cup of sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the sauce and a tablespoon of Italian seasoning mix. Allow the sauce to cook for just of minutes or until heated through.

4. Add the reserved pasta sauce to the naked pasta in the baking dish and mix well. Along with a tablespoon of olive oil.

5. Next add the meaty and veggie sauce to the pasta and mix well. Then add in 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, give or take and mix well.

6. Once fully mixed, top with the rest of the Parmesan cheese and then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 mins covered with foil. Once the 25 minutes is completed, removed foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

7. Allow to sit for a few minutes, garnish with fresh parsley (optional ) and serve with your favorite crusty bread with unsalted butter.

Enjoy!!!

A Classic Baked Sweet Potato

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You know how sometimes you don’t eat something for awhile and then you eat it and you remember how much you enjoy it? Well I’m going through that with baked sweet potatoes. I’ve been making them often and they are so good. Skin and all! Of course I add butter and brown sugar but what other way do you even eat it?

Enjoy!

What You Need:

4 sweet potatoes (wash, dried and unpeeled)

4-6 tablespoons of Olive oil

Salt

Unsalted butter and brown sugar for after baking

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with foil.

2. Rub about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil onto each of the sweet potatoes. Next, lightly salt each sweet potato.

3. After the sweet potatoes have been rubbed with olive oil and salted you’re going to take a fork and jab it a few times into each sweet potato. 4-5 jabs in each.

4. Bake for 50 minutes or until a fork can be poked through smoothly.

5. Once done, slice each sweet potato and top with unsalted butter and brown sugar. Serve immediately.

So yummy! The skin is even delicious!

Puff Pastry Twists With Nutella

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I made these for my girls for breakfast and we indulged! They were so yummy! Especially with freshly chopped strawberries!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Servings: 6 pastry twists

What You Need:

1 17oz package of Pepperidge Puff Pastry

5 – 6 generous globs of Nutella (measure with your heart)

3 give or take tablespoons of softened unsalted butter

Egg wash (1 egg white and a dash of milk)

Steps :

1. Thaw out your frozen pastry (35-40 mins). Once thawed out preheat oven to 400.

2. Lay your first sheet of puff pastry on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Spread the Nutella evenly.

3. Lay the second puff pastry directly on top of the puff pastry covered in Nutella. Slice in 6 strips and twist. The twisting doesn’t need to be perfect at all.

4. Bake at 400 for 13-15 minutes. Bake until golden. Once the pastries are done remove from oven and brush with softened butter and allow it to melt all over the twists. Cool for 5 mins.

5. Serve with freshly chopped strawberries and powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

This is the puff pastry. Amazing!
Slice in 6 strips.

Easy Oven Roasted Tomato And Garlic Bisque

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What You Need:

20 oz of cherry tomatoes

1/2-3/4 of a large yellow or white onion cut in chunks

3/4 cup of chicken broth

3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream

1-2 handfuls of fresh basil

1 whole head of garlic cut in half

6-7 tablespoons of olive oil roughly (don’t be shy with the olive oil)

Salt and pepper for taste

A few pinches of sugar

Steps:

1. In a 9×13 glass dish place your tomatoes, fresh basil, onion, and garlic heads face down. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil back and forth a few times. Dash a few times with salt and pepper.

2. Bake at 400 for 40 to 45 mins. Or until tomatoes are soft.

3. Squeeze out your garlic in a medium sized bowl and add the rest of the contents. Add your chicken broth and blend with a hand mixer.

4. Once completely blended add to medium sized pot. Bring to a simmer and add 3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper and add a few pinches of sugar. Allow to simmer for 15 mins.

5. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and a drizzle of heavy cream. Serve with a yummy, crispy, gooey, grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Granola

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What You Need:

4 cups of oats

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

1/3 cup of real maple syrup

1/4 cup of unsalted butter melted

Steps:

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add all the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and mix well with hands.

2. Scatter uncooked granola on sheet and bake at 300 for 45 mins, mixing one or two times in between. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

Sprinkle on ice cream, top with yogurt, or eat as is! Enjoy!

Easy Roasted Asparagus

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Servings: 2-4 people

What You Need:

1 bundle of asparagus

3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper (measure with your heart)

Italian breadcrumbs (measure with your heart)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 and line a cooking sheet with foil.

2 Place asparagus on the pan, drizzle with olive oil, dash with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.

3. Get your hand in there and mix it up! Place in the oven and bake for 25 mins.

Enjoy!

Custard Filling For Pastries

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Great custard recipe for filling pastries or donuts or eating as is with some fresh fruit!

What You Need:

4 egg yolks

1 2/3 cups of whole milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup of corn starch

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of sugar

Steps:

1. In medium mixing bowl whisk together the corn starch, salt, and sugar. Next add the egg yolks until well combined into a beautiful yellow color. Set aside.

2. In a small/medium pot add the milk and vanilla extract. Place on stove on a low/medium heat watching intently. When the sides begin to slightly bubble (not boiling) remove from the heat and slowly add to the batter. (Careful not to add quickly to the batter otherwise it could cook the egg yolks).

3. Transfer back to pot and heat on medium/low heat. Continuously whisk the batter in the pot until it begins to thicken into a custard consistency. (a few minutes).

4. Once thickened, remove from the heat and add the 2 tablespoons of butter immediately. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Custard With Puff Pastry

Servings: one puff pastry box will make 8 pastries.

Cut puff pastry into 8 squares folding in half (brushing egg wash on the inside and out) baking at 400 for 20 mins. Cut pastry open and insert custard and fresh strawberries. Top with powdered sugar! So yummy!

Pesto Sliders With Turkey And Salami Brushed With Melted Honey Butter

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Servings: 12 sliders

What You Need:

For the Sliders

1 pack of Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls (12 rolls)

1 jar (8oz) of Classico Basil Pesto

12 slices of Turkey deli meat (I used Hillshire Farm Ultra Thin)

12 slices of salami or 24 pieces of snack sized salami (2 snack size on each slider if you use those)

12 slices of mozzarella cheese or a few handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese

For The Butter Spread

1/4 cup of unsalted butter melted

1/2 – 1 teaspoon of raw honey

A dash of garlic powder

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly butter a 9×13 glass dish.

2. Place the bottoms of the rolls into the glass dish and layer with 1/2 of the jarred pesto, turkey meat, salami, and cheese. Spread the remaining pesto on the bottoms of the tops of the sweet rolls. Press down rolls to secure.

3. Brush the rolls evenly with the melted honey butter leaving just a little to spare for when the rolls are done.

4. Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 375 for 10 mins. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and tops are golden.

5. Brush rolls once more lightly with the butter and enjoy!

Easy Pizza Dough Recipe With 5 Ingredients

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servings: 2 pizzas

baking instructions: bake at 500 degrees in a 9×13 glass dish for 10 to 12 mins or until edges are crisp.

What You Need:

1 pack of active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon of sugar

3 tablespoons of olive oil plus more for coating

3 3/4 cups of flour plus more for dusting

1 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Steps:

1. Whisk together 1 1/3 cup of warm water (you don’t want the water hot, it will kill the yeast) and the sugar. Then mix in the yeast and allow to sit for 10 mins until mixture is a little foamy and bubbly. Once the ten minutes are up add the tablespoons of olive oil.

2. In another large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Creat a well in the middle and add the water and yeast mixture. Knead dough for a minimum of 5 minutes adding more flour if necessary until dough is smooth and stretchy.

3. Divide dough in half creating 2 dough balls. Brush each dough ball with olive oil, placing each piece of dough in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for an hour and a half.

4. Once dough is done rising freeze one and prepare the other. Rub olive oil all over a 9 x 13 glass dish. Arrange your dough in the glass dish leaving some space in the corners to spread. Add your sauce, seasonings, and toppings.

5. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until nice and crispy on the edges. Remove pizza from glass dish and place on a charcuterie cutting board and serve while hot.

Enjoy!