MIA, Pancackes & #27 Sautéed Shishito Peppers

I know, I know!! I am SO BEHIND on my recipe posts!! I've actually cooked the recipes and taken the pictures, but just haven't gotten around to writing the posts!! My new job as host at Original Pancake House has kinda derailed my bloggin' train. Haven't had a "real" paying job in about 16 years, so this has been a bit of an adjustment.  I'll get caught up eventually....


 

Anyway, here's a quick recipe I tried the other day. A package of shishito peppers came in my Farm Fresh to You delivery and I had no idea what to do with with! A quick search on Google and I came across this gem! So easy and SUPER tasty!! Tastes like a chili relleno without all the cheese and egg batter and sauce.....

 

Sautéed Shishito Peppers

(Recipe from Epicurious )

 

Ingredients:

shishito peppers

olive oil

fresh squeezed lemon juice

sea salt

 

Preparation:

Here's what you do. Heat a little olive oil in a wide sauté pan until it is good and hot but not smoking. Add the peppers and cook them over medium, tossing and turning them frequently until they blister. They shouldn't char except in places. Don't rush. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to cook a panful of peppers. When they're done, toss them with sea salt and add a squeeze of fresh lemon. Slide the peppers into a bowl and serve them hot. You pick them up by the stem end and eat the whole thing, minus the stem, that is.

 

  



USE CODE: JULI4353

Summer of Selfies Challenge: FINAL Week & Giveaway

Are we really at 6-weeks already? Time flies when you're shootin' selfies! So, how'd it go? Was it easier than you thought?  Harder?  I will admit that even I was getting a bit weary of posting everyday... but I did it and I'm hoping to finish strong this week!

Here's your FINAL list of prompts! Use them or feel free to make up your own.

I'm also having a fun little giveaway as a way to say "thank you" for joining me in this experiment! These mugs are SUPER ADORBS and I knew that one of you just had to have them (I got a set for me too!!)!!

Here's how to enter to WIN (gotta do 'em all):

1. Follow me on Instagram. CupcakeDD (comment on this post to let me know you did)
2. You'll need to post at least 4 selfies this week (7/26-8/1) and come back and let me know that you have .
3. Leave a comment letting me know what you've learned during Summer of Selfies. Did it change the way you see you? Did you find your "good side"? Did you discover a favorite technique or app?

Easy peasy, right? I'll pick a winner on August 3rd! Now, have a GREAT WEEK and keep clickin' those selfies!!!

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Taffi Graham!!!!

Here's where it all started: Summer of Selfies Challenge

 

Summer of Selfies Challenge: Week Four

Well, it's Week Four of our Summer of Selfies Challenge . I may actually be the only one left standing, but I'm not one to back down from a challenge! This week's prompts are "all about a verb"... should be easy peasy to get these babies done 'cuz hopefully you're doing these things already!

I wanted to mention that if you just aren't loving your selfies, there are lots of apps out there that allow you to "fix" them or just make them even more fabulous. You can touch things up, crop them, add filters, etc.

Here are some of our favorites:

Facetune - This one is great for softening those little flaws that we all have!

 

Snapseed - I haven't used this one but it's Christine's go-to for fixing up pics!

 



 

 

CameraBag - My friend Taffi swears by this one! Lots of FABULOUS filters!

 

 

Pixlr-o-matic - Add style to your photos using effects, overlays, and borders. SO MANY awesome filters!

 

  

 

 

 

Do YOU have a favorite photo editing app that you like to use? Let us know!

 

 

Summer of Selfies Challenge: Week Three

Keep it up... WEEK THREE, the half-way point! You may have gotten a little behind with your selfies, but don't give up!! Why not challenge yourself to post at least THREE selfies this week!

 

Y'all are ROCKIN' the selfies so far!!!

 

 

 

 

#21 - From Scratch Pancake Mix

I absolutely LOVE breakfast! I REALLY LOVE pancakes! When I woke up this morning, ready to make some pancakes and realized I was out of Bisquik, I decided it was time to try making my own pancake mix, from scratch. I searched Pinterest for recipes and after finding quite a few, this is what I came up with. It doesn't take much more work than using a store-bought pancake mix does and if you make up a batch it'll last you a few meals.  The bonus is that all the ingredients were stuff I had in my pantry! Just a side note, I like to add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the batter but if you don't have it, no sweat!

 

 

From Scratch Pancake Mix

 

Ingredients:

For Pancake Mix

• 6 cups all purpose flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

For Pancakes

• 1 cup Pancake Mix
• 1 cup milk (or buttermilk)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)



Instructions:

1. Whisk together all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight container.
2. To make the pancakes, simply mix together pancake mix, milk and egg. Heat a nonstick skillet and butter it. Pour ¼ cup batter onto the hot griddle. When the top of each pancake bubbles and bubbles begin to pop, flip and continue cooking on the second side. Each cup of dry mix will yield 4-6 pancakes.

#18 - ASPARAGUS AND GRUYERE TARTS

I am SOOOO behind on my recipe posts! It's not that I haven't been cooking, it's that I haven't been posting! I'm going to try to pound out the posts this week to get caught up... no promises!

This recipe is SUPER easy but the finished product looks and tastes FANCY SCHMANCY!  I'm pretty sure that even someone who is not a fan of asparagus might like this one... and if they don't, more for the rest of us! My asparagus was super long, even after cutting it down, so the tarts were probably a little big but I didn't hear anyone complain! You can serve them drizzled with a yummy balsamic reduction (I made that the day before... easy peasy!).  These would be great for appetizers, for brunch, lunch, or as side dish.... or anytime, just because!

ASPARAGUS AND GRUYERE TARTS
(I got 6-8 tarts out of this recipe or you could make one big one!)
Recipe adapted from Joy The Baker

INGREDIENTS:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold.

1 egg, beaten

2 cups finely grated gruyere cheese

1-1 1/2 pounds slender asparagus

kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper

olive oil

balsamic reduction (recipe below)

 

DIRECTIONS:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

 

Unfold thawed puff pastry onto a lightly floured work surface.  Unfold the pastry and slice into thirds at the creases.  Cut each strip in half, creating six equally sized rectangles - I used my asparagus as a gage of how long/wide my strips needed to be.

 

Gently press each rectangle with your fingers, flattening slightly.  With a small pairing knife, score a 1/4 inch boarder along the inside of each rectangle.  Arrange 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

 

Brush each square lightly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with salt and coarse ground black pepper.  Top with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.  Press five to six asparagus spears into the cheese. Brush the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with more coarsely ground black pepper.

 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puff pastry is golden brown and asparagus is cooked through. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with balsamic reduction.   Tarts can be stored, well wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

 

BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Recipe from PopSugar

 

All you need is a bottle of balsamic vinegar!

Pour a cup of balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the heat to a boil without reducing the heat on the stove.

 

At this point, turn down the heat so that boil reduces to a simmer. Stir occasionally and allow to simmer until the vinegar has reduced by at least half (for a thinner reduction) or more (for a more syrupy consistency). However impatient you may be, don't try to increase the heat, unless you want to be left with a stiff, hardened mess!

 

Allow to cool and transfer to an airtight container; store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

 

 

(Recipe #18 of 52)

#3 - CROCKPOT BRAISED BEEF RAGU WITH POLENTA

Cream of wheat. Grits. Polenta. I love it all! Warm and creamy, the definition of comfort food!  So of course I would be all over a recipe that involves one of my favorites!

If you’ve never had polenta, it’s like cream of wheat but it’s made with cornmeal. Water, salt, cornmeal and a little bit of butter… easy peasy! Some people prefer a firm polenta “cake” which you’ll get by pouring the cooked polenta into a pan and letting it sit. I’ll eat it just about any way! When we go to Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria (my guys’ favorite pizzeria), I always order a side of creamy polenta (with a little marinara sauce).  They eat pizza and I eat polenta! Mmmm….. Enough about me, you’re here for the recipe!
  

It sounds fancier and like you spent all day slaving over the stove if you leave off the “crockpot” part... braised beef ragu with polenta.  It’s up to you.  I do have to give the crock its props though, because it smells delicious while the beef is slow-cooking to perfection and I barely work up a sweat in the prep.  That’s my kind of recipe, simple!

Have I mentioned how seriously yummy it was yet? Really! While I was eating it I kept thinking, “I actually made this”!  I was also thinking, “Take it easy, you don’t have to eat the whole pot”!  The Hubs and my son that didn’t leave me yet for higher learning ate heartily too.  “Mmmm, good,” and “Thanks Mom,” were the reviews given.  I served it with a salad and warm bread.  The ragu was even tastier the next day.  Ladies and gentlemen, this one is DEFINITELY a keeper!

Manga!  I'm off to find the next recipe….

CROCKPOT BRAISED BEEF RAGU WITH POLENTA

Adapted from: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 10

INGREDIENTS

For the Braised Beef Ragu

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

·         3 lbs. beef rump roast or round roast

·         half a yellow or white onion, minced

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes

·         ½ cup red wine

·         3 tablespoons tomato paste

·         1 teaspoon basil

·         1 teaspoon oregano

·         2 bay leaves

·         2 teaspoons salt

·         black pepper to taste

For the Polenta

·         6 cups water

·         1-2 teaspoons salt

·         1¾ cup finely ground yellow cornmeal

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the roast and fry on each side for about 5 minutes, turning until the whole exterior is golden brown. If you’re short on time you can skip this step, but searing the meat really keeps the yummy flavor in!

2.    Place all remaining ingredients with the beef in a crockpot or slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. You’ll know it’s ready when the beef falls apart easily when pulled at with two forks. I put the beef in a pyrex pan to shred it into pieces.  Then add it back to the crockpot and give it a good stir.  I pulled the bay leaves out at this point – nobody likes to chomp down on a bay leaf, well I don’t!

3.    For the polenta, bring salted water to a boil. Slowly add the cornmeal, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. The polenta will start to thicken quickly. Continue whisking or stirring for 2-3 minutes before removing from heat. Stir in the butter until melted. Stir in the parmesan now if you’re using it, but why wouldn’t you?  For solid and chewy polenta, pour into a rectangular dish, let cool for 15-20 minutes, and cut into pieces. For softer, creamy polenta (so good), serve immediately topped with a big ol’ scoop of beef ragu.  Sprinkle on some parmesan or chopped parsley if you want.

Recipe #3 of 52

#2 - Chocolate Chip Shortbread

I have my 3-month check up with my oncologist tomorrow (Doc Onc) and I almost always take him a treat.  I guess you could call it a bribe… a clean bill of health in exchange for some baked goods.  It’s worked so far!

This time I decided to make shortbread – chocolate chip shortbread.  It’s probably not a great time of year to bring sweets to the office with people being on their New Year’s diets and all, but oh well! It’s not like I’m in there all the time with sweets (thank the Lord!!).

Anyway, after a quick search on Pinterest, I went with a recipe from Delishhh .  I pretty much stayed with the original recipe.  The only thing I did different is that I used 1 cup of mini chocolate chips instead of the 1 ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips called for.  I wanted chocolate in every nibble of cookie. 

They turned out pretty tasty.  Not real sweet.  Crispy.  Chocolaty.  Hope Doc Onc likes ‘em!

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Yield: 30-2" cookies

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

ingredients:

12 tbsp (1 & 1/2 sticks) butter, room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

directions:

Make sure the butter is room temperature and then cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour and salt.

Add the flour and salt to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until it comes together into a dough. Add the chocolate chips and mix in.

Roll the dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter (roll it wider or skinnier depending on how big you want your cookies). Roll the log in some wax paper.

Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Slice the log into 1/4 inch slices. Place the slices on the sheet. They don't spread much, so they can be pretty close together.

Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.

Remove from the pan and cool to room temp.

Recipe #2 of 52 (keeping up so far!)

Egg Strata Cups

Happy New Year!!

This is usually the time that people resolve to start a diet, exercise, eat healthier, give up sweets… Sounds great! I plan on keeping up with my morning walks, drinking more water, and snaking less. That doesn’t mean that I’m giving up eating yummy things! Moderation (maybe I should have picked that for my “word” of 2015!).

Anyway, that being said, I’ve also decided that I would like to try at least one new recipe every week this year.  Not just sweets.  All kinds of recipes.  That’s 52 recipes in a year.  Can’t be that difficult, right?  We’ll see!

I came up with the first recipe while wanting to use up some of the stuff we had left over from New Year’s… a French baguette, fontina cheese, and Canadian bacon.  It’s one of those “put together the night before” recipes so you have to plan ahead a little, but I think I’m off to a strong start with this one!

I give you Recipe #1, EGG STRATA CUPS!!

Egg Strata Cups

(makes 6)

Ingredients

4 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

2 1/2 cups cubed bread (my baguette was a few days old and it was perfect!)

1 small tomato, seeded and diced

1 cup Canadian bacon, diced

1/2 cup fontina cheese, diced (left over from our cheese plate, so I just cut the slices into smaller chunks)

2 T chives, chopped

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk milk and dry mustard together until well blended. Add eggs, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, combine bread, Canadian bacon, tomato, cheese and chives (I used my hands to mix it all up. Get in there and get messy!).  Spray a non-stick large muffin tin with cooking spray and load with the bread mixture. If you’re fancy-schmancy and have a pop-over pan, that would work too! Pour egg mixture over bread mixture until eggs are evenly distributed. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes until eggs are set. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before serving.  They’re great at room temperature and they’ll keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, if you can keep from eating them all at once!  We couldn’t (so much for “moderation”)!

You could add just about anything to your stratas… bacon, sausage, veg, any kind of cheese.  They’re SUPER easy and SUPER yummy!!  This one’s a keeper!  Enjoy!

J.O.Y. - 2015

I’m sure you’ve heard of people choosing a “word” at the start of each New Year. The word usually has something to do with what you hope for or want to be.  I had always wanted to pick a word, but would usually forget or decide the word I had chosen wasn’t good enough, or some other excuse. The same thing happens when I decide I’m going to start a journal, a diet, a cleaning/organizing plan…

A few months into 2013, I got my first word… BRAVE.  I had breast cancer.  I was going to need to be brave and hold onto my faith to get through it.  I soon learned that being brave had very little to do with what I could do, and had everything to do with what God could do.  God gave me unexpected strength.  He made me brave.

As 2014 rolled in, I was finishing my radiation treatments.  No more cancer!  My next word… SHINE.  I wanted to shine with the victory God had given me over breast cancer.  I wanted to shine with all that He had done in my life.  Matthew 5:14 in The Message says,

“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world,”

                                  and that’s just what I was going to do.

It’s hard to shine all the time.  I sometimes wondered if I was really shinning at all.  Did my flaws and mistakes and short-comings dim that light?  I realized again that my “word” had very little to do with me and had everything to do with what God was doing in me.  He shines.  He is working and moving in my life and that light can’t be put out.  It doesn’t matter what stupid things I do, He’ll shine through.  That’s another word… GRACE.

With 2015 waiting in the wings, it’s time to pick another “word”.  Several words have come up in recent months and definitely have meaning to me for this time in my life…. HOPE, FAITH, PEACE, LOVE, BEAUTIFUL.  I went to The Word (aka. The Bible) to help narrow it down and I found this passage (emphasis mine):

“Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into JOY, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.” -Colossians 1:9-12, MSG

JOY.  God had given me strength to endure (be brave). He let me shine his God-colors to the world and much more.  You can be sure that all of that spills over into JOY.

Each day I want to choose JOY.  I want to remember everything God has done for me and look forward with joy to all that he has in store.

“when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” – James 1:2 NLT

And it’s not just about my joy.  I want to share joy and bring joy to the people around me.

“Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness                         

    they will sing with joy about your righteousness.” – Psalm 145:7 NLT

Bottom line, I want my life to point back to Christ.  I want it to be undeniable whose I am and where my JOY comes from. So in 2015, I’m all about the JOY and I’m wishing the same for you!