Strawberry Galette

I made this with Thanksgiving dinner. But dinner was so good we didn't even touch this til the next day. It was amazing. However make sure that you brush it with an egg wash before you bake it so it browns nicely. AND I forgot to take pictures of the after...so you only have the pre-baked goodness. Sorry!

Strawberry Galette from Buns in my Oven. She makes amazing things!

1 1/2 pounds strawberries, chopped

2 Tbsp sugar

Chop strawberries and sprinkle with sugar. Keep them waiting for a while...

8 oz cream cheese
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix cream cheese, flour, sugar and vanilla.

1 pie crust ( I cheated and bought one. I still need to master a pie crust!)

Roll out pie crust on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Spread cream cheese mixture over the top of pie crust, leaving a wide border. About one inch. Scoop the strawberries on top of the cream cheese mixture and fold edges of crust in. Brush egg wash on exposed crust.

Bad picture I know...but its so good!

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving in August...why not?!

After camp was over I was needing to cook. Really badly. And one thing that sounded really good was stuffing. And turkey. And mashed potatoes. So I made it! Plus with this new addition to my kitchen collection I was ready to make an EXTRA large batch of stuffing!

I've been wanting a giant metal bowl for a long time. So I got one. Restaurant supply stores are DANGEROUS places. Seriously. 

So I started with the stuffing. It's the recipe my Grandma Mave used to make and its always been my favorite. Best part of the dinner. Thats all I want to eat for leftovers the next day so I always make a double batch. Its pretty simple. Bread crumbs, chopped celery, chopped onions, mushrooms, salt, pepper, sage and garlic powder. Boring I know. But SO good. Mix it all up, dampen with chicken stock and put into the crock pot for the afternoon. I always start out with it kind of dry because I don't want it to get too gooey. And look at how fantastically it mixed in my new bowl. *sigh of happiness*

Because it was just me and Brian, I only cooked a turkey breast. I figured we didn't need 10 pounds of turkey in our fridge. It was perfect for 2 though. Stayed super tender and juicy too!

And I got too hungry to take pictures of everything else. Luckily I snapped one before I started eating.

That plate of food resulted in a serious food coma, but it was SO worth it.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies....yeah, they're awesome!

So I've had this recipe waiting around in my bookmarks for a long time. A LONG TIME. I always thought it would be pretty good, but never really had the guts to try it. Until today. I was telling one of my friends about this recipe and decided what good is it to tell friends about it without being able to tell them how amazing they are?! I mean really...what if these cookies were awful and here I am blabbing about this awesome recipe?! Well today that was all put to rest. These cookies are AMAZING!
1. Chocolate chip cookies are good no matter what. 2. You can never go wrong with bacon. 3. These two together are genius! So without further adieu...I bring you, Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I got this recipe from Tablespoon.

Candied Bacon:
1 pkg bacon
1/2 c. brown sugar -I used dark because its what I had with an additional sprinkle of sugar in the raw on top!
Place bacon on a foil covered cookie sheet. Spread sugar over the top of bacon and place in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. Flip bacon over and cook for another 12 minutes. Once crispy remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

Cookies:
3/4 C. melted butter
1/2 C. white sugar
1 C. brown sugar
Mix above ingredients. Add,
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 T. vanilla

Combine, then add to mixture
2 1/4 C flour
1/2 t baking soda

Once mixed in, add 2 cups chocolate chips.

Chop up the bacon and add to mixture.

Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 13-15 minutes at 325 degrees.

Remove from oven, move to cooling racks and enjoy the sweet deliciocity that are Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Look at all that amazing bacon! YUM!

My favorite no-bakes and slacking on the blog...

ARGH! So I've been a total slacker at blogging lately! I got a job at a summer camp as the medic, and its been a 7 day a week job! That leaves NO time for baking and its KILLING ME!! We had Christmas in July last week and I made a deal with my boss. Let me go home early the day before to bake and I'll make ALL the Christmas cookies for the staff! Best bargain EVER!! I came home and made about 5 batches of goodies before my feet felt like they were going to fall off!! Fudge, sugar cookies, orange white chocolate chip cookies, mini peanut butter buttons and no bakes...they went like hotcakes! It was so nice getting to finally bake and I can't wait to be done with this crazy 7 day a week schedule so I can get back to baking, cooking and setting up our new house!! Enough ramblings...I'm in love with these no bake cookies!

DELICIOUS No Bake Cookies

8 Tbsp. butter
1/2 C. milk
2 C. sugar
1 C. chocolate chips
3-4 Tbsp Peanut Butter-I used probably 4 heaping Tbsp!
3 C. quick oatmeal
1 tsp vanilla

Put chocolate chips, peanut butter, oatmeal and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Mix the butter, milk and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour hot mixture over the chocolate and oats and stir to melt chocolate and combine. Once mixed drop by spoonful onto wax paper. Let cool and enjoy!!

I added sprinkles on the top for a little extra color!

California Trip

So this was my first trip where I tried to include as many food pictures as possible so I could add them to my blog...here goes!

My first trip to In-N-Out Burger... SO GOOD!

Enough said...they were amazing. They were served with a lemon dill sauce that was to die for!

Strawberries picked from the field the day before...best strawberries I've had...and I've had A LOT!

Of course our first stop in San Fran was at the Ghiradelli headquarters to share a hot fudge brownie sundae. Add in strawberries and it was perfect!

Drinks at the Tonga Room hit the spot and the coconut shrimp were absolutely perfect!

The perfect end to a great vacation? Boudin sourdough breadbowl filled with clam chowder down at Fisherman's Wharf.

I love vacation.

Strawberry Cake

I found this recipe on Becoming Betty. She has an amazing food blog with a ton of recipes I can't wait to try! I wanted to make a 'thank you' cake for my coworkers at the latte stand and this cake turned out to be PERFECT for that!

The cake is actually pretty dense but its so good! The frosting is really light and fruity which complements the cake perfectly. I highly recommend this for any of your summer parties!

You need a food processor for this recipe and my new graduation present from Brian was fantastic for the job!

Cake:
1 1/3 cups fresh strawberries
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup whole milk, room temp ( I used skim milk and it worked just fine!)
2 tsp. pure vanilla
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temp
4 egg whites, room temp

*Place strawberries in a food processor and process until pureed.  You need about 2/3 cup pureed.  Save any extra for the frosting.  In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, mix together milk, vanilla and strawberry puree.  In your mixer, cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add eggs and egg whites until blended.  With the mixer still on, add half the flour mixture and mix until blended.  Add the milk mixture and mix until blended.  Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until blended, scraping down sides if you need to. 

 Pour batter into a greased 9x13 and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan before frosting.

Frosting:
3 Tbs. strawberry puree
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly cold
pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla

*Mix butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce mixer to low and slowly add powdered sugar and mix until combined.  Add vanilla and strawberry puree.  Mix until blended.  Do not overmix or frosting will get too much air in it.  Frosting should be creamy like ice cream.  Spread over cooled cake before serving.

Risotto with Shrimp and Peas

I made this a few weeks ago after I got my new Rachael Ray Magazine. Its a great summer dish and it was enough for me for dinner! I always thought risotto took so long to make but this recipe was relatively simple. If you want the original RR recipe you can get it here.

1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
3 T. butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 C. arborio rice
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz peeled, cooked small shrimp
1 C. frozen peas ( I didn't have frozen peas so I used frozen edamame instead!)
1 C. finely grated parmesan cheese
1 lemon, zested
I also had bell peppers in my veggie drawer that I chopped up and added in as well!

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken broth and 1 3/4 C water over high heat until steaming; cover and keep warm. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt 1 T. butter. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the rice and 1/2 t. salt and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Stir in 1 C. of the broth mixture, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed, 2-3 minutes. Maintaining a low simmer, continue to add the broth mixture 1/2 C. at a time, stirring frequently and allowing the rice to absorb the liquid. Cook until the rice is tender and creamy, 20-25 minutes. Add the remaining 2 T. butter, shrimp, peas, pepper, and 1/2 C. cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese has melted. Stir in the lemon zest, season with S & P, top with remaining cheese.

I also added in dill to give it a little more flavor!!