A Valentine's Day Dessert

Vanilla Crepes with A Chai Cream Cheese Filling 

I think by now it's safe to say that the only food I'll ever blog about is unhealthy, desserts. 

We eat really healthy in our house, but when it comes to desserts everything goes out the window. 

Josh is always asking me to bake something - and I, along with my sweet tooth, always oblige. 

He had been asking for crepes for awhile but I kept putting them off because they take a little bit of time to make.

Since Valentine's Day is coming up (also, my favorite holiday! So much pink and hearts and love!) I thought I would start documenting all of the fun foods and decorations that go along with it!

My house is always completely over-decorated for this silly holiday.

For the crepes I always use this Martha Stewart recipe. 

The only difference is that I add 1/4 cup of Powdered Sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Chai Crepe Filling:

This was the first time I had made a Chai filling for the crepes. 

Usually I just make a vanilla cream cheese filling, but Josh has recently (I know!) discovered that he loves the flavor of anything Chai so I surprised him. 

What You Need:

- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

- 6 ounces softened cream cheese 

- 1/1.5 cups powdered sugar (more or less - you just want the filling to be thick)

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 3 tablespoons of Chai concentrate 

- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

In a large mixing bowl cream together all of the ingredients. 

The filling should be thick.

If it's a little too soft and liquid-y, just add more powdered sugar until it starts to thicken. 

After the crepes are completely cooled down, use a knife to spread the filling onto the crepe and roll it up tight. 

You can also just put a big spoonful in the middle and fold up the sides, but it's so much easier for Viv to eat when it's rolled up tight. 

My filling ended up being a little watery, so I drizzled it over the whole pile of crepes too. 

Ugh, all of the sugar kind of kills me, but it's only a once-in-a-while treat so...I guess I can justify it! 

I boiled down some strawberries so that I had a lot of juice and let it cool in the fridge until I was finished and drizzled the strawberry juices on top.

The Chai flavor is subtle.

It actually reminds me of what a Chai Cheesecake would taste like! 

Oh...hmm...maybe that will be my next dessert! 

Enjoy! 

Recipe: Blueberry and Peach Cobbler

It's Fall! 

Well, not technically yet, but the weather is cooling down and it's feeling more and more like fall everyday!

And do you know what that means?

It means I feel inspired to bake and cook pretty much non-stop!

During the summer I get in such a cooking rut - it's always so hot, we're always so busy, and cooking/baking is the last thing I feel like doing.

So, I usually just make super simple meals during the summer and hardly ever bake any sweet things. 

Well, I'm back into the swing of things and loving it (Josh and Viv don't mind it either, hehe).

Yesterday I, along with a tiny little blue-eyed partner, whipped up a pan of blueberry and peach cobbler that was to die for!

I had never made cobbler before or really ever even eaten it.

Just saying the word "cobbler" makes me feel about 90 years old.

I had a pile of incredible peaches that my grandpa had given me and a quart of blueberries and I knew they were going to go to waste if I didn't do something with them right away.

So I thought and I thought and came up with this recipe on my own (with the help of my sweet tooth - of course).

I had to look up quick recipe for the topping part but other than that I basically let my cravings do the rest.

Seriously you guys, it was heavenly.

Okay, here's what you'll need:

Filling:

- 5 or 6 small/medium peaches (mine were super ripe and juicy) 

- about a cup of blueberries (I might add an extra half a cup next time)

- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

- 1 1/4 cup sugar 

- 2 or 3 teaspoons cinnamon (more or less depending on how much of a spice flavor you want)

- 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:

- 1 cup self-rising flour

- 2 tablespoons sugar (plus a little more to sprinkle on top)

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 3 tablespoons cold butter

- 1/3 cup cold, shaken buttermilk

- 2 teaspoons cinnamon

- pinch of nutmeg

- teaspoon vanilla

pre-heat oven to 350.

Filling:

Skin and cut peaches into small pieces (I cut them into slices and then cut the slices in half - it doesn't really matter though) and throw into a big bowl. Add blueberries (I microwaved mine for a minute first to get them nice and juicy). Add the rest of the filling ingredients and stir it up. It should be nice and juicy and very purple. 

Pour into a baking dish.

Topping:

Stir flour, sugar and salt together. Add the butter and mix together. Add the buttermilk and mix until it becomes a dough. 

Add pieces of the dough to the top of the filling.

I didn't worry too much about filling all the space because the dough rises and really fills out the dish as it bakes. 

Sprinkle a little bit of sugar over the top of the dough for an extra sweet taste. 

Bake at 350 for about 45-60 minutes.

It's done when the top is golden brown and the juices are bubbling!

Serve hot with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream!

I had mine with a warm mug of fresh apple cider and Fleet Foxes spinning - oh the beauties of Autumn. 

Recipe: Dutch Babies

Last summer I found this recipe for Dutch Babies from A Beautiful Mess and I've been making it a few times a month ever since!

We love breakfast food over here and I try to make a big breakfast every morning (especially now that Viv is eating all the same foods as we do) but sometimes it's hard to be so motivated first thing when you wake up.

That's why I love making these!

They're so quick and so simple to make and they taste like a dream.

They taste like a baked pancake!

It's not the most healthy meal but we always have a bunch of fresh fruit to go with.

Ingredients: 

- 4 eggs

- 1 tablespoon sugar

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 2/3 cup flour 

- 2/3 cup milk

- 2 tablespoons butter (for the pans)

--make two large servings--

Preheat oven to 350.

Take two skillets (I just use two round cake pans) and add one tablespoon of butter to each one and place in the oven to melt the butter.

While the butter is melting, make the batter.

Wisk together eggs and milk until frothy.

Add the rest of the ingredients and wisk until there are no lumps.

Take your pans from the oven and pour batter evenly into both.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown.

Remove from pan and top with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and fresh fruit!

(or really whatever you like).

Enjoy!

Our Adventures with Kale.

I've been trying to make healthier meals and snacks now that Viv is eating so much more and I'm pregnant. 

We typically eat pretty healthy at home, don't eat fast food except for on rare occasion, and I try to vie for healthier options when going out to restaurants. 

I've started cooking with eggplant, brussell sprouts, and cauliflower (all three of which I never really used before) too which has been fun. 

One other new thing I've been trying to incorporate into our meals is kale.

I know, we're a little late with the whole kale trend.

I guess we're not cool enough. 

I recently heard about all the great health benefits that it provides and have been working it into our daily meals. 

It's been a slow process. 

Josh and Viv both hate the taste and the smell nearly makes me vomit but we're getting through it and it's not so bad anymore! 

So here are some recipes I've been using to kind of sneak it into our meals without really knowing it's in there.

We're babies...I know. 

It's terrible. 

Judge me, it's okay, really. 

My favorite recipe thus far are the infamous Kale Chips.

Josh and Viv: forget about it! 

But it's a good healthy snack for me being pregnant and all. 

You've probably already made kale chips like a million times because everyone has (or so it seems) but here's a super quick and easy recipe for the ones that I made!

- wash and dry kale

- lay out on a covered baking sheet

- drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt

- pop tray in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour or so (until the leaves are crunchy but not burned).

That's it!

So easy and pretty tasty too! 

You can really put anything on your leaves to add different flavors - get creative!

Now someone just tell me how to get my (almost) one year old to eat them and not crunch them up in her hands. 

Here are some other recipes that I've used lately that we all really loved!

I'll just post links for the recipes because I always forget to take pictures for recipe posts when I'm making meals.

- Kale and fruit smoothie 

I try to make a smoothie everyday for Viv and I. I always make green smoothies but used spinach until I realized that I could use kale. They're so good and you can hardly taste the kale. I added some strawberries and blueberries (frozen) to give it more of a fruity flavor.

- Roasted Tomato and Rosemary Soup with Kale and Potatoes

This is a soup that I make pretty frequently - it's a favorite of all of ours - now I just add kale and no one notices. (Also, I skip the wine since I'm pregnant and don't have any in the house right now). 

- Kale and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

These were Viv's favorite! But she loves anything with pasta sauce, cheese, or tomatoes! 

Can't even taste the kale.

Some other things I've used kale in:

Eggs - just chop it up and throw it in while they're cooking (scrambled)

Egg salad wraps (I also substitute the mayo with greek yogurt)

Regular salads - just mix some in with our regular spinach and romaine salads that we have everyday (though Josh is guilty of picking it out of his salads).

So there's my recipe post of the year month!

Now go eat some greens! 

Last Night's Dinner: Hawaiian Chicken and Veggies

This is probably one of the easiest meals that I make.

Takes a whopping 5 minutes to throw together!

Ingredients:

Skinless boneless chicken breast

any kind of Caribbean marinade (I use Wegman's brand)

1 zucchini 

1 bunch of asparagus 

1 can of pineapple chunks

heat oven to 350 degrees

cut your zuke and trim up your bunch of asparagus.

place your chicken breasts, can of pineapple (I use the juice too), and veggies all in an oven-safe pan and pour in enough sauce to cover.

Stir everything up and throw it in the oven for about 40 minutes.

and that's it!

I made rice to go with it but forgot about it...dang it.

You can also make this meal in a crockpot.

Just throw everything in and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

That's what I usually do!

So so easy and so tasty!

Last Night's Dinner: Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

makes 9 rolls

In our house we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables - like a lot, a lot. 

So, when I make these lasagna rolls I use a ton of spinach...I realize that most people may not like eating fistfuls of spinach...so just use a little if you want. 

What you need:

Lasagna noodles

15oz tub of Ricotta

jar of tomato sauce

1/2c. Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 bag of frozen spinach (I use the whole bag - which is a lot)

garlic salt (or fresh garlic if you have it)

italian seasoning

salt and pepper

(optional) mozzarella cheese

(Preheat oven to 350.)

warm spinach in a pot of boiling water until it's thawed out. 

If you over-cook it it will get soggy and gross...so I just warm it enough to thaw it.

strain and rinse.

---Cook your lasagna noodles while doing this step!---

1.

In a large bowl mix together:

Ricotta 

1 egg

Parmesan cheese

garlic, italian seasoning, salt and pepper

2. 

add spinach to the ricotta mixture.

You only really need to add as much spinach as you want to.

drain your noodles and lay out.

spread your ricotta/spinach along the noodles...not too much otherwise the rolls will fall apart.

just roll the noodles up and lay them in a pan with some tomato sauce.

Once you've rolled up all your rolls, cover them with tomato sauce.

I sliced up my mozzarella and put on top.

Put your pan in the oven at 350 for 25/30minutes until they're bubbling and the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

then make sure you check your teeth before smiling or kissing - spinach in the teeth is no good!