“New Orleans is like the bad-kid island in ‘Pinocchio.'” ~ Jonah Hill

March 4, 2014February 4, 20152 Comments

Happy Fat Tuesday!!

I have never experienced Mardi Gras but it is definitely on my bucket list. I will probably start off a little easy by trying out the Mobile Mardi Gras then one day hit up the big shebang in New Orleans.

So, since I’m not there I thought I would have a little Mardi Gras (minus the beads) celebration here at home with Jambalaya and mini King Cakes.

Mini-King Cakes

(adapted from the Chew)

Cakes

1 refrigerated pizza dough
4 tablespoons Butter (melted; plus more for brushing)
1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon Lemon zest
1/3 teaspoon Salt

Frosting

1½ cup powdered sugar
6 tsp milk (may need more to get right consistency)
1/2 tsp vanilla
yellow, green and purple colored sugar

Preheat oven to 350º and grease an 8-10 inch cake pan.

Combine sugars, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt by smashing together with fingers.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar mixture.

Roll dough lengthwise to form a log and cut into 1½ inch pieces and place cut side down on to prepared cake pan. Brush cakes with melted butter.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown but not crispy.

While cooking, mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.

When cakes are cooled slightly, flip onto an inverted plate, frost and sprinkle with colored sugar.

These would be great anytime of the year – just change up the color of the sugar to match the season or occasion.

-abp

“Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.” ~ Alfred A. Montapert

January 2, 2014January 2, 20143 Comments

Some people prefer a savory breakfast and some prefer a sweet breakfast.

I, on the other hand prefer both. 🙂

Go figure – I love everything.

So, on Christmas morning I fixed both. Today I will tell you about the sweet one. It was ridiculously simple and very good.

Blueberry Croissant Puff

(adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything) – I think she and I could be good friends. 😉

3 large croissants (torn or cut into 1 in pieces)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)
1 8oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350º

Place croissant pieces in a 9×9 pan. Sprinkle with blueberries.

In a separate bowl with a hand mixer, cream the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Slowly add in milk until incorporated. Pour evenly over croissant pieces. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Cook for 35-45 minutes until brown and center is set. If it begins to brown too much before set, cover with foil and continue to cook.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

This will be a new morning go to recipe for me. Could easily be doubled for a crowd.

-abp

3 large croissants, cut up (about 5 to 5 1/2 cups)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

3 large croissants, cut up (about 5 to 5 1/2 cups)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

3 large croissants, cut up (about 5 to 5 1/2 cups)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

“When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt

August 9, 2013November 13, 20142 Comments

I’ve been putting some thought into my blog – I’ve been away for such a long time. The whole pregnancy thing has totally flipped my world around – in a good way!

Lots of things changed for me – for a while I wasn’t able to cook (thanks to hyper-sensitive smell), I totally changed my work schedule up and I had/have a whole new list of “to dos”. My totally patterned life was no more. I’m completely out of sync.

Also, I’m not quite as savvy as a lot of bloggers out there and it would take me quite some time to get a post complete because I wanted everything as perfect as I could make it – the prep, the pictures, the finished product and the written part.

With this being said – I felt I couldn’t get it all done, at least not the way I would want it done. I thought about just stopping for a while and coming back to it later in life but that’s not really what I wanted to do……

So – I have decided to omit the instructional pictures and just give a finished photo – that way if I am making something for dinner that I would like to share, I can because I would not have to take all the extra time of taking several pictures of each step (nor edit them) – I could just make dinner like I normally do and take a picture before I dig in.

See that’s the thing you might not know about some blogs that I have discovered while trying to improve mine. One being – a lot of them cook solely for their blog – they prepare dinner at 10 am so that the lighting is the best for pictures, etc. Some even have spread sheets for the week! Please take note!! – I think that is AWESOME and I enjoy them very, very much and I am very thankful that they do these things – it’s just I have realized that I do not and can not have a blog like that, they are professionals and I am an amateur – which I’m totally cool with! 🙂

I cook for me and my family like I always have and that’s what I’ll continue to do. And I want to continue to share it with everyone but to do that, I will have to simplify a bit.

I’m just being honest with myself and you and I hope that you will continue to follow my blog minus a few pictures. (P.S. – when the baby comes I’m sure there will be another hiatus! Talk about my world being flipped upside down! :))

Thanks again! I look forward to posting more yummy food!

On that note – I present you with a very delicious and easy dessert that could finish off any meal perfectly.

Oven Baked Churros

(adapted from myrecipes.com)

1 (17.3-oz.) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 450°. Unfold and cut puff pastry sheets in half lengthwise, and cut each half crosswise into 1-inch-wide strips. Place strips on a lightly greased parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, combine sugar and cinnamon. Remove pastry strips from oven, and dip in butter; roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Let stand on a wire rack 5 minutes or until dry.