Sweet Summer Salad

When its 100+ degrees outside, my body craves salads. My usual is a Grilled Chicken & Ranch Salad, because my husband has mad grill skills and its basically a complete meal.... right?  Anyway, I have recently (like yesterday) rediscovered my love of a sweeter salad.... The Poppy Seed & Mandarin Salad.

I first tasted this amazing salad in 2009, when I attended the wedding reception of one of my friend's friends. I didn't know anyone but the friend that I went with, so I spent most of my time hovering over the buffet area like a vulture. This salad was filled with goodness, like a sweet and sour explosion in my mouth. I probably went back for it at least 3x because of the sweet cranberries, juicy mandarins, tangy poppy seed dressing, crunchy cashews, and refreshing lettuce. That was for sure the highlight of my evening and I promised myself that I would try to recreate it at home... I never did.

I was on Facebook the other day and someone shared the exact recipe that I had had at the wedding and I was so excited to have remembered it again! That is why I'm sharing it with you! I actually just finished eating this salad and it was just as good as I had remembered and It was perfect way to end my long, hot day! The picture above is actually a picture of my salad as I was half way through because I forgot to take a pretty pic for the blog when I had first made it, I was just so darn excited to just eat it again. Mmm-Mm-Mmmm!

If you would like the recipe, I found it >>>HERE!<<< I hope you are tempted to try it and enjoy! 

-Ashley-

Gimme Some Lentils, Please!!!

Well after all that hot weather we had, soup was far from my mind, but now that it has cooled down some I decided it was time use up some of the lentil mix sitting in my fridge. So, I first "googled" and searched images of lentil soups, when I found a picture I thought looked appetizing I then looked to see how complicated the recipe was. (I wasn't feeling fancy, so I didn't want anything too complicated lol) I finally landed upon not only a delicious looking picture but an interesting twist that none of the other recipes said to do, BLEND! That was it, I was in. So the mission began...Actually Make Lentil Soup.

For the original recipe "Hearty Vegetarian Lentil Soup" from Simply Scratch's Blog click HERE.

I did make it my own and used this recipe only as a guide, I also made a double batch and omitted the tomatoes.

Check it out:

 Here are pretty much all the ingredients I used. NOTE: for the vegetable broth I use Better than Bouillon vegetable base, IT is simply the best! They make vegetable, chicken, and beef base.

Dice those bad boys up.

Heat up some olive oil and add veggies and let them "sweat"

While veggies are sweating rinse lentils.

I like to mix all my seasonings together in a bowl first and then toss them into my cooking. I changed up some of the seasonings adding ginger, curry, and garlic powder (I didn't have any fresh ginger )

I cooked it as directed and then I made up some extra lentils to blend and add into the full soup. 

We bought some french bread for dipping and a couple sprigs of rosemary from the garden for garnish! It turned out soooo good and both kids eat it too :)

Til Next week

xoxoxo

Danni

Dutch, Dutch Baby!

Is it Thursday already? Sheesh, well.... hello Thursday!

Let me quickly share with you what the lovely Texas "springtime" has been like. On Tuesday it was sunny and 85 degrees. Yesterday it was 45 degrees and rained all day. I break out my shorts and put away the heavy coats and BAM!! hahaha you weren't putting those coats away were you? I think Mother Nature likes to play sick twisted little games. Wherever you are, I hope your springtime is a little more... consistent.

 

Okay, so I previously mentioned my infatuation with French Toast.... 

but German Pancakes ARE the next best thing!

When made with a dutch oven (cast iron skillet) it is called a dutch baby. I don't know why. it just is. Maybe because it grows to 10x It's size.  But the Dutch Baby a.k.a. German Pancake can also be created in any cake pan.

So what makes a German Pancake different than any other pancake?

• It calls for a lot more eggs.
• It has a kiesh-y texture.
• you don't need to flip it.
• its very filling. 
• Instead of single servings, you just make one giant one.
• you cook it in the oven, not on the stove.
• It generally draws a crowd around the oven to watch it cook... (who crowds around regular old pancakes?)
• It grows, it REALLY grows! 
• you don't use regular syrup...  as a matter of fact, you might just forget your maple syrup all together after you taste this other stuff! 

Find the Recipe for German Pancakes >>>HERE!!<<<

For the topping you MUST have this special sauce.

It's much easier than making a buttermilk sauce that most German Pancake recipes call for, plus I think it tastes much much better. This sauce is Divine! 

 Just please don't use maple syrup! Blehhhh!!

1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 C. Brown Sugar.

1/2. TSP. Corn Starch.

Its easy: Mix it all together. Stirring constantly bring to a boil. Remove from heat, sauce will thicken.  (*This sauce must be eaten warm. If you put any leftover in the fridge heat it up before use.)

I have completely given up maple syrup all together. This special sauce works with pancakes, french toast, even mixed into oat meal or malt-o-meal! Once you taste it, you will understand! 

 My MIL recently gave us about 4 dozen eggs straight from the family coop....  can you guess what I am having for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner tomorrow... maybe all week?

I bet you cant.

-Ashley-

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Happy April fool’s day! Can you believe it’s April already!? Where is this year going? I hope you all had wonderful Easter Holidays. Today’s post will be brief, since I am currently on the ultimate road trip!! My dad and I are driving from San Diego to South West Missouri to visit the fam. It’s a 24 hour drive and we’re planning on making some stops along the way. We’ll see how it goes, wish us luck!


Anyways, what I’d like to share with you today is the fastest, easiest chocolate banana cream pie ever!! I made it for Easter yesterday and there are unfortunately no leftovers. Which is actually a good thing I guess, right? :)

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 Oreo Cookie Crust

3 medium bananas (Or 4 small ones)

1 cup chocolate chips

Banana pudding mix

2 cups milk

Cool whip

1. The first step is to melt your chocolate chips. (set aside a few to garnish on top) The fastest and easiest way to do this is in the microwave. Melt for 20 seconds, stir, and repeat. Just enough so you can spread it along the bottom of your Oreo crust. Then set it in the fridge to harden

2. Make your banana pudding mix using 2 cups of milk. Set it in the fridge to thicken

3. Slice your bananas into quarter inch medallions, and layer them along the bottom of the crust.

4. Add a layer of pudding

5. Continue with another layer of bananas and finish off the pudding to fill in all the cracks.

6. Add your cool whip and garnish with your left over chips.

7. Set it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so to set before serving.

And that’s it!! Hope you all have a great week

<3 mandy="">

What’s Knott to like!?

Last weekend David and I took a day to ourselves. It had literally been years since I had been to Knott’s Berry Farm, and it had literally been decades since he had been! The night before, I was nervous with anticipation and excitement. The sad part was though, that I was most excited because I would get to eat the famous fried chicken dinner with biscuits and boysenberry jelly! Yum! Don’t worry; we went on lots of rides too. He forced me to go on all the major roller coasters, and I survived them.

Anyways, it was a great trip and when I got home and was reminiscing about the biscuits to my mom, she shocked me when she told me she had a Knott’s Berry Farm cook book that she had never even used before. And guess what…? The famous biscuit recipe was in there!!!

They were so easy to make, and soooo delicious!! My dad and I ate half of them just as they were getting out of the oven. So on this lovely Monday morning, I would like to share with you my beloved Knott’s berry Biscuit Recipe. You won’t be disappointed!

All you need:

1 ¾ cups flour

1 tablespoon+ 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon solid shortening (chilled0

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup vegetable or cottonseed oil

9x9 baking dish

**Rubio’s salsa to go container or something similar



Directions:

With an electric mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening. On the lowest speed, very carefully mix it until it had the consistency of a coarse meal. Combine baking soda and 1/3 cup buttermilk in a separate bowl and beat it with a spoon until it becomes foamy. Add remaining buttermilk, blend, and then add to flour and beat until well blended. Do not over blend. The mixture will be VERY sticky.

Take the dough, and turn onto a well-floured board, and sprinkle the top of dough with flour. Fold over the dough and pat it out till its approx ½ inch thick. (You can also gently use a rolling pin if you desire to do this part, but I personally didn’t find it necessary.)

Next, using a heavy glass or metal baking dish, (Approx 9x9) pour a little less than ½ cup of oil to coat the bottom of the dish. Cut the biscuits using a 2.5 round cookie cutter, or drinking glass. (I found that a Rubio’s salsa to go container worked perfectly to cut out my biscuits.) Make sure that the biscuit looks pretty because it will bake exactly as it looks. Coat each biscuit in oil and place them in the dish until finished. Biscuits should be touching each other. Bake in preheated 500 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes approximately 16 small biscuits.

Take them out of the oven and slide them out of the pan on a plate to cool. Eat with butter, jelly, honey, or whatever floats your boat! They are best when they are hot.

Enjoy!
xoxo
Mandy

My Last Meal, French Toast?

It is sort of depressing, but have you ever thought of what you would want to eat for your last meal if you knew you were going to die? I've thought about it a few times. It always come down to between Del Taco and french toast. (yeah weird combination, I know.) But if I really had to pick, of course, it would be the FRENCH TOAST. 

I love love LOVE french toast. There is just something about it. Not sure if its the texture, sweet and savory flavors or the combination of everything, I just love it. The strange thing is, I am not a huge maple syrup fan. When it comes to the syrup, I will put barely any on it... my favorite french toast is the kind where you don't need any syrup, maybe it has a special sauce or it's stuffed with something sweeter. Any way enough about syrup!!!  I love french toast so much that if a restaurant serves french toast, I order it every time.. unless a *certain* person ( not saying any names, but whom I happen to be married to) gives me a hard time about always eating french toast, then I step out of my comfort zone and order something else yet wishing I had just ordered the FT. I have discovered waffle houses DON'T serve FT, but if you ask really nicely the cook might be able to whip some up for you. Also, not every restaurant's FT is the same, sometimes it just sucks, Wamp womp! But sometimes they serve something fancy! 

In Hillcrest (San Diego, CA) there is a tiny little diner... when I say tiny, I mean tiny! tiny tables, tiny walkways, tiny space,super crowded and noisy, but that creates an atmosphere which is alive and fun!
 ... the place is the Crest Cafe. 

Now I've only eaten here once for brunch, and that's a crime, because I know these people love french toast just as much as I do! SERIOUSLY! They have 5 different types of  FT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Regular, Three Raisin, Apple Cinnamon, Orange Marmalade, and Crème Brûlée!

I'm such a fan of the fancy french toast and I had the hardest time deciding which one... my heart told me to order them all, but my stomach told me Crème Brûlée.. Mmmm Mmmm that thick French Toast with whipped cream and fresh strawberries topped with crème brûlée sauce, I just couldn't resist! When our waitress brought it to the table my eyes lit up and my stomach prepared itself. Needless to say, I licked the plate clean. This was by far, the best experience I have had with french toast at a restaurant, it was so perfect. If you are fortunate enough to live near the Hillcrest area, or plan to go to San Diego on a trip, the Crest Cafe is worth checking out! I suggest trying one of their Fancy french toasts but everything on the menu looked so yummy!

Now that FT was amazing, but the most AMAZING FT, I have ever eaten.... well, I made it myself!

 LA ISLA'S STUFFED FRENCH TOAST
French Toast made with GUAVA! Crunchy, Oozey, Sweet, Fruity, Bready Goodness! 

How we met: 

I was watching the food network and 'Throwdown with Bobby Flay' came on. I don't usually watch that show but since it was about FT, I decided I would. Let me tell you, I am so glad I did!!!
After watching Bobby Flay loose in his own throwdown, and seeing La Isla's customers rave about how amazing this FT is, I decided I would have to try it! I found the recipe AND a video too (here), then I began collecting the ingredients. Regular grocery stores don't carry some of these ingredients and you might have to search around for the special stuff like Challah Bread and Guava (Don't substitute these!!). I found The Village Mill Bread Co. in Del Mar, CA who serves up fresh Challah bread daily and one of my friends from the scrapbook store went to a Cuban Market place and snatched me up some Guava sauce, that pretty much made my day!

I followed the recipe almost as exact as I could. I did not have guava shells, so I skipped them in the stuffing, still adding guava sauce to it. One of my favorite parts of the recipe, besides the guava sauce, was coating the french toast in Almond and Cornflake crumbs! I also realized something that I had been doing wrong for forever before doing this recipe... I was not BAKING the FT after browning the outside, this step allows for the FT to be evenly cooked. No more soggy parts!!  After I pulled them out of the oven, the smell filled the kitchen. Still piping hot, I put one on a plate, drizzled with Guava Marmalade and took a huge bite. OHHH MY GOOODNESS. This was Heaven!

The crunchy coating and the guava, strawberry, cream cheese filling really made this french toast spectacular!!!! At first I was shocked, was this the best thing I have ever eaten....? Did I really just cook this?! I did. Upon finishing up two slices, I was feeling oh so proud of myself for: 1) following a recipe that actually turned out and 2) I just ate the best thing I EVER ate. This might be one of the top 10 greatest moments of my life.  I was so glad that I had used the entire loaf to make La Isla French Toast, because now I had leftovers!!! The next day, I took a couple slices to the scrapbook store with me, along with the guava marm. Even cold, La Isla's Stuffed French Toast, was a hit!

 Three things I learned which I will always do when making FT now and forever:
 Brown on stove, then bake the rest of the way.
Add an almond and cornflake coating.
 Use Challah Bread. (if available!)

 Since then, I've only made this recipe a few times. It's not the quickest thing to make and the right ingredients are not the easiest thing to find... but when the opportunity presents itself, La Isla's Stuffed French Toast is on the menu!

So this would me my last meal, what is yours?
  -Ashley-

Fresh and Fast

I am back with another recipe. :) If you are a pasta lover I think you will definitely want to try this one. It is super easy and can be made in all sorts of variousnesses (don't think that is a word but we are making it one now lol) Also, if you are a MOM(or really anyone) on the go, like me, it makes for a pretty healthy dinner and an EXCELLENT leftover lunch for work the next day. So just keep in mind to make way more than enough.

It is a Veggie Pasta!

What you will need:
Noodles of your choice - I used shells and elbow
3-4 Carrots Peeled
Zucchini Ribbons
1 can Olives
Asparagus- a bundle
Grape Tomatoes- a container
Sesame Seeds- to taste
Olive Oil & Vinaigrette Dressing - to taste

How to Make:
Cook noodles according to directions. While the noodle are cooking lightly steam carrots and asparagus ( I usually placed chopped carrots on the bottom of my steamer pan and then put asparagus on top of the carrots after have steamed a cpl min.) Be careful to not over steam you don't want mushy veggies, just enough to make them tender and bring out their sweetness.

In a big bowl combine cooked pasta, carrots, asparagus, drained olives, tomatoes, zucchini ribbons, (to make zucchini ribbons, simply take your veggie peeler and pretend you are peeling the zucchini, TA DAA zucchini ribbons and because it is so thin the warm pasta, carrots and asparagus "cook" the zucchini.) sesame seeds-sprinkle on like pepper, and lastly olive oil & vinaigrette dressing (you may have to add a touch more on your leftovers. The pasta will absorb a lot of the leftover liquid overnight)

Toss everything together in the bowl and enjoy.

 Look how beautiful and colorful it is. mmmmmm makes me wanna go and make this again right now!!!

 I just LOVE how it looks in this white bowl. Actually these are the BEST white bowls ever. I found them at the dollar store out of all places. I originally only purchased one, I needed a bowl for my lunch at work and we are conveniently located next to one, but when I brought it home it became the bowl that my husband and I would fight over. He thought it made his food look better and so did I. We now own two. :)

Hope you enjoyed my version of the "Veggie Pasta". Don't like something I put in??? No worries, like I said, this pasta has endless ways to make it, substitute something. You could even add extra items in like artichoke(ssssooooo delicious, but my kids don't like it), how about roasted peppers even. :)

Do you have a favorite veggie pasta recipe??? I would LOVE to try it. :)

Have a great day everyone,
xoxo
Danni

MMMmmmmm Delicious

One thing I love to do is collect recipes, especially dessert ones. Pretty much any dessert recipe I come across I keep. I collect recipes in all forms and from all different sources, recipe books, magazines, the newpaper, from my coupons I get from the grocery, from friends and family, the internet, cans of food, cereal boxes, you name it I have probably clipped it, torn it, and stashed it. But, don't worry I am not just a collector of recipes I do LOVE to cook/bake them too.
Here is just a few of my collected recipes and books... they are great for inspiration too to make up your own recipes :)

So, with all that said I recently came across a recipe in the back of my Ralph's coupons for  Chocolate Beet Cake with Beet Cream Cheese Frosting from Joy The Baker. 

Now mind you, I have not made this yet and at first read you might turn your nose to this because it mixes vegetables in with sweets and that is not a typical pairing, but think of it like carrot cake AND once you see the pictures I think that you will have a hard time resisting this beauty like me.  It is perfectly festive for Valentine's Day too!