recipe: bacon & egg cups

Yum! These make a delicious, easy breakfast! Sometimes I will make a bunch to stick in the fridge and heat up during the week so I can rush out the door after I sleep in too late. 

ingredients:

eggs & bacon

(one each for every cup you're making)

On a hot skillet crisp bacon leaving them slightly underdone or about 10 minutes, flipping occasionally. Then line a muffin pan with each strip of bacon and crack an egg on top. For extra goodness, distribute the excess bacon grease from the skillet on top of each egg. Salt and pepper to taste and bake for about 10 minutes at 350, or until the egg has reached the consistency you prefer. I like to leave my yolks slightly runny. Enjoy!

recipe: ultimate ginger cookies!

I made these cookies the other day (recipe taken from the Barefoot Contessa) and they were to die for! They had just the right amount of spice and holiday cheer. Here's what I did...

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup vegetable oil

 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 egg

1.Mix brown sugar, oil and molasses until sticky.

2. Add the egg and beat for a minute.

3. Add spices, baking soda, salt, and freshly ground ginger and mix.

4. Slowly add the flour in small increments. The batter gets really thick and starts to ball up.

5. Crush the batter together and roll into little balls.

6. Roll each one in sugar.

7. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes.

Pssst... the secret ingredient is the fresh ginger. It gives them just the right snap, so don't skimp on it!

i'm drooling...

Ohmygosh! Don't these cupcakes look divine? Ming Makes Cupcakes is an awesome site for cupcake recipes-- can't wait to try some!

They also have cookies and savouries, too... 

food gawking...

I've been recipe hunting a lot recently and haven't had time to test many of them, but if I had unlimited time, resources, and calories- this would be my dream day...

breakfast: lemony eggs benedict with arugula

lunch: tangelo, avocado, heirloom tomato salad

dinner: chicken in riesling

dessert: banana bites

recipe: irish soda bread

3 cups flour 

¾ cup sugar 

3 tsp baking powder 

1 tbsp caraway seeds
½ cup butter 

1 cup raisins 

1 tsp vanilla 

2 eggs, beaten 

1 cup milk

1. Cut butter into dry ingredients

2. In a separate bowl combine milk, eggs, and vanilla then mix into dry ingredients.

3. Pour into a buttered, floured 9" cake pan

4. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Test with a knife- should come out clean when done.

This is one of my favorite things and a St. Patrick's Day tradition! It's like a scone, a pound cake, and a biscuit had a baby-- and it was delicious!

trendy tuesday

salted caramel goodies. by AEMiller on Polyvore.com

recipe: homemade sweet pickles

In an attempt to copy Edohana's cucumber salad (you people outside of DFW are really missing out), I merged some recipes to make homemade pickles like theirs. This is mostly based off of Momofuko's Vinegar Pickles... 

1 cucumber

6 tablspoons sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup rice-wine vinegar 

(or white wine vinegar if you're like me and that's all you have)

1 cup very hot tap water

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Combine vinegar, water, salt, and sugar, stirring until all is dissolved. Slice the cucumber paper thin. Place into a jar layering with sesame seeds and pour the vinegar mixture up to the rim. Seal and refrigerate at least 4-7 days.


update: I made 3 jars. Not a pickle remains. Good to the last bite-- and crispy too!

recipe: baked spaghetti squash

{source}

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 12 oz. ground beef or italian sausage
• 1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 1-1/2 cups red pasta sauce
• 1-1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
• 
  

1.  Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down in a baking dish with 1/4 cup water and microwave, covered, for 12 minutes or until tender.

2. In a large skillet cook meat, mushrooms, pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain fat. 

3. Clean out baking dish and layer in this order beginning with the bottom: squash, meat, seasoning, sauce, cheese, squash, meat, and sauce on top.

4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with a little more cheese and bake for 5 more minutes to melt the cheese. Let stand for 10 minutes and enjoy!

recipe: fancy mac & cheese

{via the pioneer woman}

4 cups macaroni

8 tbsp butter

2 medium onions thinly sliced

10 slices bacon

1 tbsp bacon grease (reserved from cooking above bacon)

¼ cups flour

2 cups whole milk

½ cups half & half

2 egg yolks, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

½ cups grated gruyere cheese

½ cups grated fontina cheese

½ cups grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

4 oz soft goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Boil macaroni for half the time of package instructions. Drain and set aside.

3. Fry bacon until slightly, but not overly, crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Reserve grease.

4. Melt 4 tbs of butter in skillet and saute onions for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and soft. Set aside.

5. In a pot, melt 4 tbs of butter and reserved bacon grease and whisk in flour. Stir for 1 minute over medium heat. Add milk and half & half and cook for 3-5 minutes until thick.

6.Beat egg yolks and drizzle 1/4 cup hot mixture into the yolks, stirring constantly. Pour egg mixture into sauce and cook for another minute. Add cheeses and stir until melted. Add onions and bacon and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked macaroni and stir to coat.

7. Pour into a baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sizzling and hot.

I am making this the first chance I get! Doesn't it sound dangerously delicious?

recipe: lemon dill tilapia

1 1/2 lbs tilapia fillet

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 sprigs fresh dill

2 lemons, sliced

2 green onions, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover pan with aluminum foil with excess to fold over to form pouch.

2. Place tilapia on foil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, minced garlic, chopped onions, and chopped dill. Arrange one lemon slice on top each tilapia fillet and squeeze the any leftover lemon over the tilapia. 

3. Cover tilapia with foil, pinching sides together to tightly seal.

4. Bake in preheated over for 20-25 minutes, until tilapia flakes easily. 

I made this for my monday night dinner group and they loved it. In my opinion, you can't have too much lemon juice with fish so pile it on!