easy pasta salad

super easy pasta salad:
1 package of Good Seasoning salad dressing mix (Garlic&Herb is the best)
1/2 lb pasta (wheel, macaroni, pene- etc)
1 container fresh mozzerella balls or 1/2 feta cheese
1 package Perdue Shortcut grilled chicken (pre cooked)









make the salad dressing & pop it in the fridge.
cut up the chicken into smaller pieces and throw in a saucepan with a little minced garlic. cook it on high heat for about 5 minutes (until it gets a little toasty/brown) take it off the heat & pop it in the fridge to cool
boil the pasta & rinse it well
cut up the mozzerella into bite sized pieces (i get the mini balls & halve them) or crumble the feta
throw everything together in a big bowl (or the pot you cooked the pasta in) and either pop it in the fridge for 1/2 to cool or eat it warm. it's good either way





this is what we're eating for dinner tonight because i'm too tired to really cook. we have this, probably, at least once a week or so. it's so simple and it does the job! you can also mix it up, use turkey or ham- or throw in a handful of pine-nuts or almond slivers. sometimes i throw in some cut up veggies- whatever you feel like!

God Bless

Crème Fraîche

so i picked up a nice wedge of Gruyere at Shaws the other day and i'm really itching to use it. so i found this recipe online: Potatoes With Crème Fraîche And Gruyere Recipe

now, finding crème fraîche around is here is near impossible so i'm making my own- you can either use heavy cream & sour cream whisked together, or heavy cream & buttermilk whisked together.

once it's whisked you let it sit at room temperature anywhere from 24-36 hours (until it's thickened up) it gets a nice sour/nutty flavor and it's cream for use in deserts or cheese dishes. yum!

i put mine together last night around 6, and as you can see from the picture, it's thickening up quite nicely! i used the cream/sour cream method- i'm going to try it with buttermilk next time and see which one i like better.

i'm going to leave it out till 6 tonight & then pop it in the fridge. i'll use it tomorrow to make the scalloped potatoes. i'll post the recipe & picture then!

Crème Fraîche

1 cup whipping cream, room temperature

1 tablespoon buttermilk or 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

In a jar with a lid, place whipping cream and buttermilk (or sour cream); cover securely and shake 15 seconds (or whisk together in non-reactive bowl)

Set aside at room temperature for 24 hours or until very thick.

Stir once or twice during that time.

NOTE: Cream will thicken faster if the room is warm.
Stir thickened creme fraiche well.

Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

Cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

homemade chewy granola bars

Chewy Granola Bars Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. Oats - quick rolled oats
1/2 c. Rice Krispies
1/4 c. coconut (i left this out- but it's your choice)
1/2 c. M&M minis(i used regular ones since the minis don't seem to exist anymore)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Add all of the ingredients and mix together until combined. Press into an ungreased square 8×8 pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars. For thinner bars, press mix into a 9×13 pan.ok- can we talk about

HOW GOOD THESE WERE?! OMG! i LOVED THEM! and so did everyone at my & my husband's work. they're just- awesome. sooo easy to make too- i totally suggest you try them! wow. i also made brownies but those are bad for you....but i had one anyway. ok- sorry.
God Bless

Pound Cake

my pound cake came out well- moist & thick. that sounds disgusting but, it's good.

if i wasn't so lazy i'd type out the recipe- maybe later. God Bless

*later* i'm still lazy- it's the Williams & Sonoma pound cake recipe- you can google it :)

lemon curd cake

so i made an AWESOME lemon curd cake- it was SO GOOD: i think it was moist & tasty because of the lemon curd that is actually incorporated into the batter:

Lemon Curd Cake:
(from Emily Luchetti's Four-Star Desserts)

Curd Ingredients:
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/4 cup granulated sugar (divided into 3/4 cup & 1 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp (=half stick=2 oz) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
6 large egg whites

To make the lemon curd:
Fill a medium pot 1/3 full of water and bring to a very low boil. In a medium heatproof bowl whisk together egg yolks, egg, 1/2 cup sugar. Whisk in 1/2 cup lemon juice. Set the bowl over the pot of water making sure water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Strain the curd into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd (to prevent a skin from forming). Chill curd until cold (but it's okay to chill it until it's cooled down to room temperature).

To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 325. °Butter and flour a 9-inch round x 3-inch high cake pan. Sift together cake flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, mix together butter, lemon juice, zest, and cooled lemon curd. Stir in dry ingredients. Using the whisk attachment, in the bowl of a stand mixer beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and gradually add the 1 1/2 cup sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into batter. Spread batter into you prepared cake pan.
Bake at 325° until cake tester comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.
Cool on rack and then remove cake from pan.
Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

it got rave reviews at work (i brought it in for a co-worker's b-day) and it TOTALLY beat out the other lady's homemade ice-cream cake (i felt a little bad because i could tell she was a little off-put because people seemed to appreciate my cake little more. she's a wicked nice lady so i didn't want her feeling to be hurt so i had a piece of her cake too and went on & on about it- she puffed up a little after that so i think she'll be ok) there was a lack of communication so my co-worker got 2 wonderful homemade cakes & they were both devoured. i managed to steal a little sliver of the lemon cake to bring home to brandon because i know he'll love it.

pumpkin bread & cinnamon buttermilk muffins

today i made Pumpkin Bread:
Pumpkin Bread:

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 applesauce
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° degrees F (175° degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 (or 2 9x5) inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans. (you can also add a cup or so of chocolate chips)
Bake for about 50 (or 1hour 20min for 9x5) minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (i also melt about 2 tblsp of butter & throw in a little pumpkin pie spice- then i poke holes in the still hot bread and pour the butter over)

i have an affinity for pumpkin so i thought these loaves tastes wonderful- brandon also brought back glowing reports from his work- so i am happy :)

last week i made Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins:


they were good- nice & fluffy & light. the recipe is from my Williams & Sonoma Muffins cookbook and it's almost perfect. i alway tweak the recipe & add a little of this & that and i'm good to go.

mint cupcakes

i made cupcakes:

White Cupcakes with Mint Pieces & Mint Frosting.
yummo! i'm far to lazy (i'm lazy alot) to type out the recipe.


basically it's a vey basic white cupcake recipe & i threw in some Andes baking pieces. the frosting is a basic Crisco, milk, powdered sugar, vanilla frosting- except instead of vanilla i used peppermint extract! throw in a few drops of green food coloring- throw some Andes baking pieces on top and WALLA!!! i adore mint- so i'm quite pleased!









i've already eaten one- and i have three extra ones sitting on the counter calling to me- i'm saving them for Holly & the kids so i'm going to ignore their calls.