Rasberry Cheesecake Brownies

I had a compulsion to bake tonight, and I couldn't decide between something fruity or chocolaty...so both it was. I am updating this super quick before I head off to dance class.

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
from Please Pass the Pie

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 t. vanilla extract

For the brownies:
2/3 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
8 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. raspberry jam
1 1/4 c. sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch pan. Blend all of the filling ingredients together in a food processor.

2. For the brownies, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Microwave the butter and chocolate together in short intervals, stirring frequently, until melted. Whisk in 1/4 c. of the jam and let cool slightly. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the chocolate mixture. Whisk in the flour mixture until no white streaks are left.

3. Microwave the remaining jam until just warm; stir until smooth. Scrape half of the brownie batter into the pan. Dollop the cheese filling over the batter and spread evenly. Dollop the jam on the cheese mixture and use the tip of a knife to swirl. Spread the remainder of the brownie batter over the top.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few dry crumbs -- about 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool, then cut. Refrigerate.

yup.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

I am not good with pizza...or rather pizza dough. I was going to make my own dough, and I'm somewhat glad I didn't. I bought the pre-made dough from the pizza counter at Shaw's. Maybe I didn't let it sit long enough, but manipulating dough is a tough and highly annoying job.

May is asparagus month, and I love asparagus, so I rummaged through some recipes on my To Make list and came up with this one. In the future, I may pre-bake the pizza crust for a few minutes so the top gets a chance to cook more. I had to put this into the oven a few times to get it thoroughly cooked through, and I had to put it back in once more after cutting it, which bothers me.

Shaving (or peeling) asparagus is an awkward task until you get into a groove of doing it. My first few stalks kept breaking. I finally laid them down on the cutting board and peeled them, that seemed to work for me. This was also the first time I got to use my Pampered Chef pizza stone that my Gram bought me for Christmas. I got this recipe from my most-used source fore recipe's, Annie's Eats. Don't click the link to her blog under my recipe title....she's an amazing cook (and doctor....and mother of 2...) and her pizza came out much prettier than mine.

Oh. and before we jump into the recipe, let me just say that transferring the pizza from the counter to the preheated stone was.....interesting. Now, maybe it's my novice chef skills and experience....but it was not easy. At one point I squished my pizza, and then I had to finagled a floured thin cutting mat under most of it and tried to slide it onto that and then onto the stone. That seemed to work. I need one of those giant pizza spatulas.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza
from Annie's Eats

Pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
olive oil for brushing
4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
8 oz. asparagus
3 oz. spreadable garlic and herb cheese, such as Boursin (I used Alouette)
Kosher salt
Pepper


1. Preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round.  Lightly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil.

2. Cut the tough woody stems off the ends of the asparagus spears.  Use a vegetable peeler to shave the spears into ribbons. It will look like an awful lot of asparagus, but it will cook down in the oven, so you should use more than you think you should.

3. Place the sliced mozzarella over the pizza dough in an even layer.  Pile the asparagus shavings over the top of the mozzarella.  Dot the surface of the pizza with the garlic herb cheese.  Season with kosher salt and pepper. (I skipped the salt and pepper)

4. Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Not quite circular pizza

Lots of asparagus

And the garlic and herb cheese......mmm....

You can see all the melted and toasted cheesy goodness...

Spinach and Egg Noodle Casserole

Today was the day of my Pampered Chef party!!! My wish list was almost an entire page long...I have to nail down a few items that I definitely want by the close of my party on Thursday. New steak knives sound great...

Today was also Vanilla Pudding Day, and I was going to make a trifle, but I decided against it. I made these mini casseroles instead, and I'm glad I did. They were a big hit.

This is a recipe from Rachel Ray's magazine. It says that the recipe can be made into one big casserole or 12 mini casseroles......lies! All lies! I made 12 mini casseroles AND a large casserole with the one recipe.

Spinach and Egg Noodle Casserole
from Everyday with Rachel ray

2 (10 oz) packages of frozen chopped spinach
1 lb. extra-wide egg noodles
1 tbsp. EVOO
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
2 rounded tablespoons of flour
2 cups whole milk
freshly grated nutmeg (i used ground nutmeg)
2 egg yolks
1 cup panko or whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded Gruyere
1/2 cup shredded parmagiano-reggiano cheese

1. In a microwave, defrost the spinach, then wring dry in a clean kitchen towel. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and return pasta to the pan.

2. While the pasta is cooking, add EVOO to a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the spinach, breaking it apart, to heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the broiler. While the onion cooks, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for one minute, then whisk in the milk; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

4. In a bowl, whisk a little of the sauce with the egg yolks; then whisk the yolk mixture into the sauce in the pan and turn the heat to the lowest setting. In a bowl, combine the panko and cheeses.

5. Stir the spinach and sauce into the pasta and combine. Transfer to a casserole dish or into 12 greased muffin tins. Top with the panko-cheese mixture. Broil in the oven until bubbly and brown, 3-5 minutes.

I used about a cup and a half of Gruyere cheese, because I had it on hand (already shredded!) and 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan. 

Mini casserole for the party

Learn how to measure, Rachel Ray!

Garlic Basil Pesto Patsa

I usually don't cook on Thursdays, but tonight is not one of my trivia nights. I also completely forgot about a work/dinner party I had, and I was dead set on making this dish. Ever since I saw the photo of it on Tastespotting.com I've been thinking about it. Pesto is not my favorite, unless it's roasted red pepper pesto, which I've made before, and that is divine. Regular basil pesto is great, but it's not an option I'd go with often.

I also poached my very first egg today. Poaching eggs have always scared me. The directions had exact temperatures to follow, all sorts of fancy methods, like pouring the egg into a cup and then into the water, etc. I totally winged it because I was rushing, but my "method" worked. I almost boiled some water in a medium saucepan and poured my egg from a cup into the water gently. I used a spoon to move the whites toward the yolk and let it cook for 3 minutes. Then I removed it with a slotted spoon. I'm awesome.

Garlic Basil Pesto Pasta
from Wee Foodie Fashionista

6 oz dry pasta, I had angel hair on hand
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella balls
1 large bunch of fresh basil, stem and all
1 bulb of garlic peeled
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
poached eggs (optional)

1.Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, combine basil, parmesan, lemon, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper into a food processor. Pulse until mixed well. If you need to add more olive oil do so. The mixture might be a little thick, do not worry.
3. Toss pesto with cooked pasta in a skillet over medium heat.
4. Serve immediately, topped with mozzarella balls and poached eggs.

**I highly....highly....did I say highly?.....recommend eating this with the poached egg. The creaminess of the egg yolk makes the dish sooooo much better. I also threw in some sun dried tomatoes I had in the fridge.

Super terrible quality photos ahead.....

Pesto in the processor

Pesto and mozzarella balls

Awesome egg skills....terrible photo skills

Cherry Cobbler

Happy Cherry Cobbler Day!

I've never made, nor had, cheery cobbler, so when I looked up a recipe I went with as basic as possible. I'm glad I did, because today provided me with a very tight schedule....as in, for dinner I ate a turkey and cheese sandwich. I also had this fantastic brussel sprout salad planned, but what do you know? Shaws had no brussel sprouts in the store. I love brussel sprouts, but have never bought them. I have literally stood in front of them in the store dozens of times debating whether or not to buy them, and now that I needed them...nowhere to be found. Grrrrrr.....

This recipe was also easy on the wallet, as it's ingredients were mostly baking items I have on hand at all times...flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, milk. I only had to pick up some cherry pie filling.

Cherry Cobbler
from Cooks.com

1/2 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1 can of cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt butter in a 9 x 13 x 2 pan. (I used an 8 x 8 pan).
3. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and milk together. It should be thin. Pour over melted butter.
4. Spoon cherry pie filling over the top (do not mix!).
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. (Cook fora bout 45 minutes if using a smaller pan like I did).

Beware of hidden cherries.

This was delicious. I was very wary about how I used a smaller pan but the same amount of batter. it puffed up a whole bunch (as you can see in the photo) and covered the cherries, but I liked it that way.

Proscuitto Wrapped Shrimp

Happy Shrimp Day!

I had these great shrimp rolls planned, and earlier today I was just feeling sorta "blah" and wasn't looking forward to coming home to make a very time consuming dinner. I decided that a shrimp side would be better, which I
paired with....Shake & Bake Chicken and Rice a Roni.

I know what you're all thinking...

"But Sarah, you cook up all these difficult things and you settled with Shake & Bake?!"

Yes, I did.

I also realized why they call is Rice a Roni...because it has orzo pasta in it. I never realized that...though I've also never made it, but I've eaten it plenty of times. I realized it when the directions said to pour the rice pasta mix into the pan...and I went "pasta?!" Then it hit me..

rice a roni...... mac a roni

Clever marketing.

Before I get to the recipe (which is ridiculously easy), let me share some other shrimp dishes I've made in the past in honor of Shrimp Day.

Chorizo, Shrimp, and Corn Stuffed Peppers

Shrimp and Mango Curry

Sweet & Hot Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp Polenta Pizzas

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

 

 

Szechuan Shrimp

Shrimp with Parmesan Cream Sauce

Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp
from somewhere on the net

20 jumbo shrimp, cooked, tails removed
1 pkg thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into enough strips to cover shrimp
6-8 tbsp. butter, softened
1 tbsp. jarred minced garlic
2 tbsp. garlic powder (I used Tastefully Simples Garlic Garlic Seasoning)

1. Mix the butter, minced garlic and garlic seasoning together until well blended.
2. Lay out a strip of prosciutto. Cover both sides of shrimp with garlic butter.Roll up the shrimp in the prosciutto.
3. Repeat until all shrimp wrapped.
4. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and fry shrimp over med-high heat until prosciutto has slightly crispy and shrimp are heated through.

I know it doesn't look appetizing, but it is!

Cheddary Chicken Pie

Today has been a day where I've felt I was on top of things, but then would forget something and have to go back and do it. Cooking was no different.

I read the recipe quickly and it seemed simple enough. I did great until the end, after I assembled my whole chicken pie (I learned I am terrible at sealing pie edges...must practice...) and I forgot to preheat the oven. Then as my oven beeped to tell me that it was finally preheated, I realized I forgot to brush the crust with egg. I just wanted a quick process due to the fact that I don't normally cook on Mondays. I had a meeting after work, then took the dog out, and then I usually relax before dance class. I am finally semi-relaxing....still awaiting the pie to finish baking.

Today is Butterscotch Brownie Day...but no recipe for that. Sorry folks. The blog I got this recipe from is one I frequent and have cooked many dishes from. I followed the recipe pretty closely. It called for either frozen veggies or fresh chopped veggies and I almost went with fresh, but I'm glad I grabbed frozen veggies at the store yesterday since this task got put off until today (this was originally yesterday's recipe). My only issue is, a mixed bag of veggies has peas, corn, carrots, green beans and lima beans. I've never had green beans or lima beans in chicken pot pie before (or cheese, but what isn't good with some added cheese??), so this should be interesting. I'm a big fan of my pot pie having chicken, peas and carrots....maybe onions, but usually pretty basic.

Cheddary Chicken Pie
from Pennies on a Platter

2 ready made (or homemade!) pie crusts for a 9" pie plate
2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
1 (10 oz) bag of mixed frozen veggies, thawed
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 1/3 cups whole milk
chopped fresh parsley
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten well

1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray pie plate with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and mix for 1 minute, stirring continuously.. Add milk and mix, stir frequently and bring to a simmer.
3. Add veggies and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes until veggies are heated through.
4. Remove pan from heat and add chicken, cheese and parsley. Mix together.
5. Place one pie crust into the greased pie plate. Spoon filling mix into the crust. Cover with the other crust and seal the edges (do it better than I did!). Be sure to cut slits in the crust so steam can escape unless you are doing a fancy lattice design (I wish I had).
6. Brush crust with beaten egg. Cover crust edges with pieces of foil.
7. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until crust is a deep golden brown.

Chicken cooked and ready to go

Simmering veggies

Check out the edges of that bottom crust.....ugh...

If it wasn't bubbling I would punch my hand into and hand feed myself...I would.