Fried Artichoke Hearts

This is another recipe courtesy of my soon-to-be-famous (if we ever get famous from this blog) sister-in-law, Denise. It's one of those recipes that I remember her making waaay back when when I first met her (I can't even think about how long ago because it's depressing...let's just say that a person could vote if they were as old as how long ago this was). Back when we weren't as health-conscious...or I guess we were health conscious but we could afford to not care about it TOO much because we were in our 20s. Those glorious 20s when I had a metabolism and no stretch marks and everything was, let's say, perkier. I know I'm not one foot in the grave or anything, but man what a difference 18 years can make! :)

So, anyway, these artichoke appetizers are SOOO good that I used to get so excited when I knew she was making them for a get-together.  It's been a while since she's made them but as I was thinking about recipes I'd like to put on our blog, this was one of the first ones that I knew I wanted to use. And when I made them recently, I thought WHY have we not made these in so long?! They're delicious! Hopefully we're getting these babies back into the rotation!

~Leah

Fried Artichoke Hearts

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Author: Leah

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1-2 cans halved artichoke hearts (if you can't find them halved, you can get the whole and cut them in half or get the quarters and they'll just be a little smaller)


• Vegetable or canola oil


• Ranch dressing


• Batter for hearts:


• 2 1/2 cups flour


• 2 eggs


• 2 1/2 cups milk


• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder


• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse artichoke hearts. Squeeze out excess liquid by placing between multiple sheets of paper towels and pressing down with the palm of your hand.


2. Mix all of the ingredients for the batter in a medium to large bowl. Batter should be slightly thick.


3. Coat a frying pan with vegetable or canola oil and heat over medium-high to high heat.


4. Take an artichoke heart, swirl it around in the batter and place in the pan and let the extra batter drip over the heart. Repeat with as many hearts as can fit comfortably in the pan. Flip when golden brown on bottom. Place on paper towel lined plate to drain. Repeat until all the hearts are used. You will likely have to add and heat more oil as you go.


5. Serve immediately with ranch dressing.

Notes

The yield (8-10 servings, 28 appetizers) I provided is based on using 1 can of hearts. You can use two cans if you are serving more people but you don't have to double the batter amount. It should be plenty as it's written. Also, if the method is too hands on for you, feel free to use a table/soup spoon to scoop the hearts out of the batter, drop into the oil, and then drip some more batter on top of the heart. There's no wrong way to do these. :)

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Coconut Cream Pie

I'm not sure why coconut is so polarizing, but apparently it is. People either seem to love it or hate it. I am firmly in the "love it" category. I'm also a super-fan of pie, pretty much any type is good by me. I almost always have a few of those premade pie crusts in my freezer, just in case the mood strikes. I know, I know...homemade is SO much better. And there are TONS of homemade pie crust recipes out there that promise to be the best ever. I typically don't have patience time for that though. The best pie-maker I know is my Aunt Lisa. She makes a banana cream pie that is legendary, every part is from scratch. Maybe one day I'll sweet talk that recipe out of her for our blog. Until then I'd like to present you with this any-fool-can-make-it Coconut Cream Pie. It only calls for 6 ingredients and requires about 10-15 minutes of active cooking. Its a fantastic dessert for Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Wednesday... Its so easy you can make it on a weeknight when your sweet tooth is screaming at you. I don't know about you, but that's my kind of dessert! There are two little things that make this pie taste homemade.

1. Toast the coconut. DO NOT SKIP THIS PART. It adds so much more flavor.

2. Use real, full-fat heavy whipping cream. Not Cool Whip or ReddiWhip or any other kind of premade "whip" you can find.



Sugar Free Version- I may have mentioned that I gave up sugar for Lent. (I'm sure I've mentioned it, its the only thing I've been able to think about for the past month). So I had to find some desserts I could make sugar-free. This was one that was relatively easy to convert. If you want to omit the sugar in this recipe simply use a sugar-free version of the vanilla pudding mix, use honey to sweeten the whip cream instead of sugar and use unsweetened coconut flakes (you can find them at Trader Joes/Whole Foods). It tastes VERY similar to the normal version!

~Wendy

Coconut Cream Pie

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Wendy

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 pkg instant vanilla pudding


• 1 3/4 c. coconut flakes


• 1 3/4 c. milk


• 2 c. heavy whipping cream


• 2 Tbsp sugar


• 1 premade pie crust

Instructions

1. Bake your premade pie crust according to the package instructions for a cream filled pie. Remove from oven and let cool completely.


2. In a skillet over medium heat cook the coconut, stirring frequently until slightly browned. Remove from heat and cool completely. Be sure to stir frequently as the coconut can burn very quickly.


3. Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream and sugar together until it forms soft peaks. Set aside.


4. In another large bowl combine the instant pudding and milk. Stir with a whisk until the pudding has reached a thick consistency.


5. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the toasted coconut, reserving the remaining 1/4 cup for later.


6. Fold one cup of the whipped cream into the pudding/coconut mixture until combined.


7. Transfer the pudding mixture to the prepared pie crust. Use a spatula to create a smooth, flat top.


8. Top with the remaining whipped cream and toasted coconut.


9. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Notes

If you don't have time to refrigerate the pie for an hour, put it in the freezer for 20 minutes. You can add 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract to the whipping cream before its whipped for additional flavor.

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Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

When I think of the most memorable things my mom has baked over the years, this one lands solidly in the top 5. And the term "coffee cake" be damned, she made it most recently to top off my sister's 33rd birthday dinner. It's pretty and tastes amazing so what else is there?

The addition of a little nutmeg adds a little somthing extra to the common paring of blueberry and lemon. If you hate nutmeg, the cake will still be great without it. If you are nutmeg indifferent, I'd encourage you to give it a try. And I'm including a picture here of what my batter looks like after spreading it up the sides of the pan a bit....for all you visual people out there. The batter is thick, and I find an offset spatula to be the best tool for the job. Just be patient and work it out to the sides a little at a time.

 

Wanting to give credit where credit is due, I just texted my mom to find out where this gem originally came from. My mom has a master's degree in library science, and for that reason I have pretty specific information to include. Thank goodness.

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

Author: Erin (adapted from Chicago Tribune 2/90)

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Cake


• 2/3 c. sugar


• 2 t. lemon zest


• 1 1/2 c. flour


• 1/2 t. baking soda


• 1/2 c. sour cream


• 1/2 c. butter, softened


• 1 egg


• 2 T. poppy seeds


• 1/4 t. salt


• Filling


• 1/4 c. sugar


• 1/4 t. nutmeg


• 1 T. flour


• 2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed and drained


• Glaze


• 1/3 c. powdered sugar


• 1-2 t. milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.


2. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9" spring form pan.


3. Beat 2/3 cup of sugar and softened butter in a mixer until light and fluffy.


4. Add lemon zest and egg, beat 2 minutes at medium speed.


5. Whisk together flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.


6. Add 1/3 of dry ingredients to butter mixture, followed by 1/2 of sour cream, alternating until all are just combined.


7. Spread butter over bottom and 1" up sides of pan, making sure batter on sides is 1/4" thick.


8. For filling, combine all ingredients, then spoon over batter.


9. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool slightly and remove side of pan.


10. For glaze, combine ingredients, then drizzle over top of cake.

Notes

The original recipe says to bake this cake for 45-55 minutes. I have found that to be way too long especially using a dark, non-stick pan. Closer to 40 minutes is right for my pan and oven combination. Definitely start checking at 40 minutes but yours might need a bit more time with a lighter pan.

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Spinach Gratin

In my mind, some dishes are definitely "special occasion" dishes. All sorts of factors can make a dish qualify under such category, but I would say the two main ones in my mind are that it's either A. difficult or time-consuming to prepare or B. is so:

• rich


• decadent


• sweet


• buttery


• fatty


• bad for you


• all of the above

 

that I can only allow myself to make it on a special occasion or I'd weigh  5,000 pounds and need to get an angioplasty bi-weekly.

This definitely falls under "special occasion" cooking...not for the difficulty (it's actually quite easy) but for the pure, decadent, moan-inducing richness it embodies.

Did I just say moan-inducing? About spinach?

I did. And I mean it.

You will seriously get asked for this recipe and/or to bring it to special dinners. And DO NOT shy away from it if you don't like creamed spinach. I am one of those odd people that prefer spinach WITHOUT the cream and such and like it very simply dressed with just a bit of butter and salt (maybe a little garlic). But this dish...I could eat the whole pan (and then have to go for that angioplasty).
~Leah

(Note: this calls for buying frozen spinach, but then using it THAWED so give yourself time)

Spinach Gratin

Recipe Type: Side

Author: Leah (adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

Prep time: 35 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 8

Creamy on the inside, browned cheesy and melty on the outside, decadent spinach dish.

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1/2 stick)


• 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions


• 1/4 cup flour


• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg


• 1 cup heavy cream


• 2 cups milk


• About 3 pounds frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted (5 10-oz packages)


• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt


• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper


• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese (you can usually find it already grated at larger grocery stores)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.


2. Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed saute pan (needs to be large enough to eventually fit all of your ingredients in) over medium heat.


3. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened.


4. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.


5. Spray a baking dish with some nonstick spray. Transfer the mixture to the dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Gruyere on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Notes

You can make this dish a few days ahead of time and then just bake it when you're ready to serve. Adjust the baking time if it's cold, though or get it to room temperature before baking.

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White Cheddar and Spinach Chicken Sliders

I hope this "mini" food thing sticks around for awhile....cause it is a "thing" right? Food tastes better when all it's goodness is limited to a few square inches.

And as I'm a sucker for a good burger, I MUST order the sliders that have popped up on appetizer menus all over the place. The bonus? Portion control is now a cinch slightly easier undertaking.

I came across my inspiration for these on Pinterest. Another blogger had adapted her recipe from a pre-made Sabatino's chicken patty available at Costco. I changed a few things and ultimately decided on a slider format. Slider buns are increasingly easy to find in grocery stores, but these will also work as a larger patty on a standard size bun if need be. I'd also recommend making up a batch of carmelized onions for use in this recipe. Carmelizing onions is easy but not a process that can be hurried. It's best to have made them ahead of time. If this doesn't fit into your schedule feel free to substitute about 1/2 a small, raw onion, finely chopped.

 

White Cheddar and Spinach Chicken Sliders

Author: Erin

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb ground chicken breast


• 3 oz fresh baby spinach


• 1/4 c carmelized onions


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 3 oz aged white cheddar, shredded


• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar


• 1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated


• 2 tsp soy sauce


• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper


• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste


• 1/4 c panko bread crumbs


• 8 slider buns


• desired burger toppings

Instructions

1. Wilt spinach in a skillet with a few teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. Stir them around constantly and remove from pan when softened and reduced in volume.


2. In food processor, pulse wilted spinach, onions, and garlic a few times until finely chopped, but not so much as to puree.


3. In a large bowl whisk together balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, and salt.


4. Add ground chicken, spinach mixture, white cheddar, and panko to same large bowl and gently mix together (with your hands preferably!)


5. Shape mixture into 8 small patties and cook in skillet over medium high heat until cooked through, turning once. Approximately 4-5 minutes per side.


6. Assemble burgers, garnishing as desired. Serve.

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Easter Peep Cookies

Come on Easter... you can't get here soon enough. I'm sooooo tired of this loooooong winter! Last year Chicagoans were blessed with an incredibly mild winter. We had mid 40's for most of the season. Unfortunately nature wasn't feeling a repeat this year. Its been cold and gloomy- we didn't even get much snow until March rolled around, of course! My kids are so stir crazy that they literally have been running in circles around my living room (they are actually doing it right now as I type this- not kidding). So beyond play dates, story hours and bouncy-towns we've been keeping busy with some home craft making and cooking. Valentines Day and St. Patricks Day have given us some fun options, so now we're moving on to Easter.



If you're a Pinterest addict like me, you've probably seen some great Easter ideas already, but I wanted to share a few of my other finds. First up are our Easter Peep Cookies. These are super simple and very kid friendly. You can be creative by dying the candy/chocolate coating different colors, using different candies for decoration, trying different Peeps like the birds or chocolate coated bunnies...options are endless. The best part is that once you mix the "nest", the kids can do the rest. It kept my kiddos busy for at least 20-30 minutes.

Easter Peep Cookies

Author: Wendy

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 18-20

Ingredients

• 12 oz bag of chow mein noodles


• 1 20 oz package vanilla almond bark or white candy coating


• 1 small bag of jelly beans


• 1-2 package of Peeps


• food coloring- as desired

Instructions

1. Empty the package of chow mein noodles into a large bowl.


2. In a separate bowl melt the candy coating or almond bark per the package instructions. Pour on top of the chow mein noodles and mix until fully coated.


3. Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture onto a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Form a nest-shaped mound and push down in the center with the back of the spoon to create an indentation.


4. While the cookies are still wet, decorate each nest with jelly beans, sprinkles, colored sugar, etc...


5. Cut the bottom off of each Peep to insure they are flat. Place a Peep on top of each nest, press down gently to insure it sticks. Put the tray of cookies into a refrigerator to harden, 10-15 minutes.

Notes

You can use food coloring to dye the white candy coating. We used green on some of our cookies. You can also buy colored candy coating at any craft store in the baking section. Feel free to add mix-ins to the Chinese noodles such as coconut, pecans or chocolate chips.

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Not enough to keep your family busy for the last few weeks of yucky weather? Try out some of these!

Easter Egg Cake Pops- I made these last year for Easter dinner. I put them in a basket, stuck them into some of the green styrofoam used for floral arrangements and then covered the styromfoam with Easter "grass". They're another great Easter treat for kids to help with!

Peep Stuffed Brownies- One of the only candies we usually have left over from Easter are those Peeps. This is a great way to use them!

Easter Deviled Eggs- Not sure why I haven't thought of this before?!?

Deep Fried Cadbury Eggs- WHAT?!

Here's to hoping spring comes SOON!

~Wendy

Caramel Marshmallow Bars

I have a love affair with caramel.

I honestly think I could live without my husband chocolate before I could do without caramel (just kidding honey!). Give me a box of 100 assorted chocolates and I can pick out the one that is just a plain ol' chocolate covered caramel 9 times out of 10. My sister makes these UH-MAZING homemade caramels at Christmas time and gives them as gifts and I have taken to not letting anyone else in my family have any...nice spirit of sharing, right?! I find myself wondering about a person (even my 7-year-old son) if they choose the hot fudge sundae at McDonald's over the hot caramel.  They do not even COMPARE in my mind! I have recently become obsessed with the salted caramel pudding that's available at California Pizza Kitchen right now. If you have one within an hour of your house (or maybe even two), get in your car. Now. It is that worth it. If you don't, stay tuned because I am determined to either replicate the recipe or at least come up with something similar that could compare.

When Wendy had her cookie exchange this past December, I made these apple cider caramel cookies but I somehow vastly overestimated how many of the Kraft caramels I would need to buy.  I was looking at my 2 1/2 bags of caramels in my cabinet wondering what the heck I was going to do with them barring making a LOT of caramel apples or just giving them to Erin who LOVES them.  Being the good friend that I am, I decided to spare Erin's waistline and just try to find a recipe that called for them and sounded good (and then feed her THOSE). I must say this is one of those times that I stumbled upon a recipe and hit the darn jackpot! I found it on the Kraft website (of all places -- duh) and only changed the recipe the teeniest bit by adding more caramel (of course) and a little bit of salt.
~Leah

Caramel Marshmallow Bars

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Leah (adapted from Kraft)

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 14 mins

Total time: 39 mins

Serves: 15-20

Pecan shortbread crust topped with caramel, marshmallows, and chocolate.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened


• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar


• 1 1/2 cups flour


• 1/2 cup chopped pecans


• 1/4 tsp. salt


• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs


• 35 Kraft caramels


• 2 1/2 Tbsp. water


• 1 cup mini marshmallows


• 2 squares Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Process the pecans in food processor until very fine...like sand. Set aside.


2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour, pecans, salt and cracker crumbs; mix well. Remove 1/4 cup of the crumb mixture; set aside. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of greased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake 18 min. or until lightly browned.


3. Melt caramels with water in heavy saucepan on low heat, stirring frequently until caramels are completely melted and mixture is well blended. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup crumb mixture, the marshmallows and chopped chocolate.


4. Bake an additional 12 min. and then broil for another 1 to 2 minutes, keeping a close eye, until marshmallows are lightly browned. Cool. Cut into 20-24 bars to serve.

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Slow Cooker Ham

I almost never make a full sized ham or turkey during a "normal" week. I always associate them with holidays and for some reason it never crosses my mind to make them for any other reason. That thought process might have just changed though. When I was shopping at Aldi last week they had a special for $5 off any ham. That meant I could buy this gimonsterous ham for $6! So being the sucker-for-any-sale girl that I am, I bought one. We not only used the ham for dinner that night, but also for dinner two other nights that week (in a frittata and with some mac n cheese). Not to mention the lunches that it was worked into. I swear I got 4-5 meals out of my $6 ham!!



Cooking ham always confuses me. Most of the hams you buy at a grocery store all say "fully cooked". So why do I need to cook it again?? I still don't have an answer to that question, but my second round of cooking for this ham turned out well. I had to be a little creative with the recipe. I recently gave up refined sugars for Lent. No I'm not Catholic and yes I am crazy. I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm still trying to stick to it. Most ham recipes call for at least a little brown sugar so I needed to come up with a sweet alternative. The great news is that maple and ham go together very well, so I used pure maple syrup as the sweetener and combined it with some sweet pineapple chunks. If you don't have pure maple syrup at home, use brown sugar instead. Don't use the corn syrup-filled version of maple syrup, its too sticky and watery. This recipe really could not be easier, perfect for your Easter dinner!

~Wendy

Slow Cooker Ham

Recipe Type: Dinner

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 6 hours

Total time: 6 hours 5 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1 7-8lb ham, bone-in, spiral cut


• 1 16 oz can pineapple tidbits


• 1 c. pure maple syrup

Instructions

1. Empty the can of pineapple tidbits on the bottom of a slow cooker.


2. Add 1/2 cup of the maple syrup to the pineapple and stir to combine.


3. Unwrap the ham and discard any flavor or glazing packets.


4. Place the ham in the slow cooker on top of the pineapple/maple syrup combination and pour the remaining 1/2 cup of maple syrup over the top of the ham.


5. Cook on low for 5-6 hours, occasionally basting with the pineapple juice from the bottom of the crock pot.

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One Skillet Balsamic Chicken and Pears

I love cooking with fruit. Maybe it's the sweet tooth I can't EVER seem to shake. But combining a little sweet with the savory is a personal favorite. My friends (ahem....Wendy and Leah!) joke that they always know exactly what I will order off a menu even before I open my mouth.  Let's just say they wouldn't be the least bit surprised (while chatting over the phone during the daily, dinner prep hour) to hear I'm making this recipe.

Another bonus here? It's a ONE SKILLET meal. Which means 3/4 of my kitchen isn't stacked around the sink when I'm done. It's adapted from a Good Housekeeping cookbook I reach for all the time. And stay tuned because I'm sure you'll see me refer to some of the other numerous winners I've pulled from it's pages.

I've used various combinations of apples, pears, dried cherries, dried cranberries, and raisins to make this. They are all good so feel free to use your favorite taste combo.

 

One Skillet Balsamic Chicken and Pears

Author: Erin (adapted from Good Housekeeping)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 t. vegetable oil


• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts


• 2 Bosc pears, cored and cut into thin wedges


• 1 c. chicken broth


• 3 T balsamic vinegar


• 2 t. cornstarch


• 1 1/2 t. sugar


• 1/4 c. dried cherries

Instructions

1. Heat 1 t. vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook through, turning once, until golden brown in color. Remove to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.


2. Heat remaining 1 t. of oil in same skillet, add pears, and cook till softened and golden brown.


3. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out 1 c. of chicken broth. Add vinegar, cornstarch, and sugar and mix well with a fork.


4. Add broth mixture and dried fruit to pears in skillet. Heat to boiling while stirring constantly, then boil 1 minute till thickened.


5. Return chicken to skillet, coat in sauce, and heat through. Serve.

Notes

I will often use a thin sliced chicken breast for this recipe if I happen to find them. It just makes the cooking that much faster. If your chicken breasts are on the thick side, I would recommend pounding them a little thinner to reduce cooking time.

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