Hello, Our Favorite Recipes

This long weekend we cooked and ate like kings. I had no idea we were eating so bare bones until we had the time and money to make a real menu that consisted of our classic favorites peppered with a few new ones.

Allow me to paint you a picture. Saturday night, an evening of shredded buffalo chicken sandwiches complete with bleu cheese for dipping. Sunday, a new pasta dish with blanched spinach and canellini beans. And finally, on Monday night the husband took the time to make his best dish, chicken marsala.

Where we really like to go all out, when we have the time, is at breakfast. We have our two favorites that take entirely too long to cook and leave our kitchen in shambles. But god, is it worth it. Crepes on Sunday morning, Belgian waffles on Tuesday. All smothered in whipped cream that’s been fluffed courtesy of the Kitchen Aid.

As we sat at our dining room table, eating chicken marsala leftovers with a spinach strawberry salad for lunch (see? I told you we lived it up), I couldn’t help but wonder what in the hell have we been doing?

Week by week we dread Thursday as we develop a menu filled with cheap, quick meals. Bean burritos, spaghetti and grilled cheese are frequent guests. With a hurried time crunch and a lack of funds, it’s no wonder we’ve been avoiding the lackadaisical meals we have planned. Our menu has been adapted to just plain suck since I’ve been back to work.

So, thank you 4-day-long Labor Day weekend, for renewing our sense of food. Because if we couldn’t get away to the lake, eating ourselves silly on gourmet food made by ourselves is a pretty good replacement.

Here are a few of our favorite recipes:

• Emeril's Chicken Marsala - super crazy amount of time and effort but sooo worth it in the end. Best served with mashed potatoes.


• Emeril's Belgian Waffles - the best recipe we've found yet. Again quite a bit of effort, but blows bisquick out of the water.


• Crepes - Family Recipe. Jam is my favorite topping. Jake's is strawberries with whipped cream.


• Better Homes and Garden's Whipped Cream - be sure to heed the advice of chilling your bowl.


• Garlicky Pasta with Swiss Chard and Beans - a newbie that was quick and tasty. We approved and look forward to trying it again.

Microwaving An Egg Makes Great Healthy Home McMuffin

Alright folks, did you have any idea that you could microwave an egg in a coffee cup and have a perfect little scrambled egg omelet thingy in one minute? Well hold on to your hats, because you can and once you try this out you'll be making yourself bomb diggity homemade/healthier egg mcmuffins every single day. I kid you not.

[caption id="attachment_5339" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Image via Hello From the Nato's"][/caption]

Now, once I discovered this I discovered the simplicity that is an egg sandwich. Here's what you do:

Cook your egg in a coffee cup in the microwave (weird, right?)

Toast 2 pieces of toast & butter them

Put a slice of cheese, a couple slices of sandwich meat and your little egg pouf in between those two slices and protect the dickens out of it from your toddler who apparently has developed a taste for the thing. Or just be a good parent and share. Your call.

PS - pack a tortilla, cheese and salsa and have a breakfast burrito too!

[ one minute egg magic-ness  via From the Nato's]

Insta-Friday {16th Edition}

It's that time of week again. Time to dump all those pictures from the ol' iphone and see what our week consisted of. I'm proud to say this week happened to be full of baked goods and snowmen.

1.  Over the weekend I tried out a chocolate chip recipe that boasted it was the best. Let me just tell you that that recipe made hands down the best freaking cookie I've ever laid eyes on. Oh man. I will be sharing the complete recipe on Tuesday. Meanwhile, we shared them with some family but not all the family because we wanted to have them all to ourselves. Don't feel bad for the rest of the family, they got cupcakes. Speaking of which I totally found a white cake mix recipe that finally tasted like white cake mix, not corn bread. I will share in due time.


2. We got a light dusting of snow last week (finally) and our front yard is pretty well shaded from the afternoon sun, which meant fabulous snowman making snow. We suited up and played in the front yard and the baby liked the snow a lot more when it was powdery and hours fresh  compared to the icy month old snow we put her in up at Tahoe a few weeks ago. It took her a little while but she finally figured out just how awesome snow can be and also maybe got trampled by the dogs who were romping in the snow. She cried a little as I dusted the snow out of her pink princess sunglasses and carried on like a trooper.


3. & 4. 7 years ago I studied abroad in France and I was given a firsthand learning experience by my french Host Mom on Crepe Day  (jours des crepes, which is really a thing) how to make crepes. For years since my return from France my husband has asked for me to make crepes, constantly telling me about some other girl who came back from France and made crepes all the time. For my birthday last year I was given Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook. Yet I still haven't made a single crepe. On Monday it finally happened. I made my first batch of crepes a la Julia Child, in the blender. She totally tells you to make them in the blender and with brandy. The brandy made them taste like brandy but all in all they were delicious and fun to make. I think they will become a recurring thing on our menu from here on out.

And that marks the second week that of Gwen-less Insta-Fridays. What is going on in the world?! What'd you do this week? Whip up anything fun in the kitchen? Did you go to Target? Didya?

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Bitsy Bread Recipe

I mentioned last week that I'd have the recipe for the Bitsy Bread I brought to the pajama party with me. I know you were all waiting with bated breath. So here it is.

Bitsy Bread

Serves:10

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake: 8-10 minutes

1 package refrigerator biscuit dough

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400'

Line muffin tins with 10 paper liners

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

Separate biscuits, then tear (cut) each biscuit into 3 pieces.

Roll each piece into a ball and then roll in melted margrine.

Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture and place 3 in each muffin cup

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

Do not let bottoms get too browned.

*These are perfect to bring to a potluck or to prep the night before for entertaining guests the next morning. They could also be a fun recipe to involve the kids in.*

Bitsy Bread Recipe

I mentioned last week that I'd have the recipe for the Bitsy Bread I brought to the pajama party with me. I know you were all waiting with bated breath. So here it is.

Bitsy Bread

Serves:10

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake: 8-10 minutes

1 package refrigerator biscuit dough

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400'

Line muffin tins with 10 paper liners

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

Separate biscuits, then tear (cut) each biscuit into 3 pieces.

Roll each piece into a ball and then roll in melted margrine.

Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture and place 3 in each muffin cup

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

Do not let bottoms get too browned.

*These are perfect to bring to a potluck or to prep the night before for entertaining guests the next morning. They could also be a fun recipe to involve the kids in.*