Peas and Pearl Onions

Here's a simple classic side dish

Ingredients:

6 oz (175 g bag) pearl onions
3 cups frozen peas
2 tbsps butter
pinch of sugar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

First time I used these little mini onions I thought...Wow, these will be a major pain to peel! But here's the trick...

Cut little X's on the stem end of the onion. Boil a pot of water, then carefully drop the unpeeled onions in. Boil for 3 minutes then remove and cool.

Pinch the pointed end of each onion and squeeze. They pop right out of the peel! Trim off the stem end and you're good to go!

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onions. Toss on medium heat until very lightly golden.

Add the broth, sugar, peas and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until any liquid is reduced, about 2-3 minutes.

Serves 6-8

Impossible Mini Quiche

If you're not a morning person, just make these the night before.  They'll be ready for you to zap in the morning for a quick and delicious breakfast. The "impossible" is how the baking mix makes a no fuss crust.

Ingredients:
4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp oregano
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
2 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup Bisquick baking mix (or homemade, see recipe at end of this post)
salt and pepper to taste
your favourite veggies...red onion, cherry tomatoes, kale,etc.

Butter your ramekins...I used 1 - 5" and 2 - 3" ramekins.
Divide mushrooms and red onions if using between the dishes.

Beat the eggs then add milk, cream cheese, baking mix, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour into dishes.

Top with whatever you like. Here I used cherry tomato halves...

and a little chopped kale.

Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes or until the centers are just set.

Run a spatula around the edge and slide the little quiches out onto a plate.

These can be made ahead and heated up during the week for a quick breakfast. They can even be frozen although I don't know if I would freeze the ones with tomatoes.

Homemade Bisquick baking mix recipe link:
https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2016/03/homemade-bisquick-baking-mix.html

Lemon Mascarpone Frosting

Pay no attention to my inability as a cake decorator...but you've got to try this frosting! It's spreadability is the best!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
zest of 1 lemon (or more)
1 tsp lemon juice
4 cups icing sugar

Cream together the butter and mascarpone, then mix in the zest and lemon juice.

Add the icing sugar in 1 cup at a time until smooth.

You could add a drop of yellow food colouring if you like but this light yellow was all natural.

I might try it with just 3 cups of icing sugar next time and the zest of 2 lemons because there's definitely going to be a next time!

Original recipe from: butternutbakeryblog.com/lemon-cupcakes-with-mascarpone-buttercream

Pie Shells - Blind Bake

Here's a little trick, a lifehack, I wish I'd known about years ago! How to blind bake a pie shell!

It seems so straight forward, like duh, why didn't I think of this myself?!? 

After you roll out the pastry and put it in your pie plate, grease a second pie plate and sit it inside the shell. In later tests I found that using a piece of parchment along with the grease helps tremendously. Chill 30 minutes.

Now this part seemed funny... bake the pie shell in a 375 F oven for 20 minutes upside down on a baking sheet.

After 20 minutes carefully turn the pie plate over with the help of a spatula. Slowly remove the inner pie plate. Prick the crust and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes. 
This one turned out better than...

this one below !!! Oops, forgot to use the parchment paper!!

And after trial and error I found that metal pans work better than glass. 
No more bubbled up and shrunken pie shells!

Information from KingArthurflour.com

Cinnamon Brown Butter Cookies

Perfect with afternoon tea!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup + 1/8 cup butter
2  1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (or more!)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
1/2 cup icing sugar

Melt butter in saucepan until foamy, like this...

then stir about 2-3 minutes until it turns an amber colour, like this...
Remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together. Pour in the cooled butter and mix. Add eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture gradually until just mixed. Don't overwork.

Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Place icing sugar in a bowl. Take 1 tbsp sized balls of dough and roll in sugar. Coat well and place 2" apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 35o F for 10-12 minutes.

If you would prefer more sugar, dust icing sugar through a sieve over the cookies before cooling.

Makes 50-60 cookies

Also try: Lemon Crinkle Cookies 
https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2019/04/lemon-crinkle-cookies.html

Mason Jar Easter Baskets

Easter weekend is over, but Orthodox Easter is next weekend and Mother's Day is around the corner.  Cute little gift idea...

These paper flowers were simple to make. Take 8 pieces of tissue paper and staple them together in the center. 

Then, using the jar lid as a template, cut each stapled stack into circles. Scrunch up each layer starting in the center and then fluff them out.

Place a piece of double backed tape on the bottom of the flower and stick it to the lid.

Then fill with some tasty treats.

I used washable glass markers to make them into table place markers.

Rustic Italian Beef Ragu

Rich flavours in the sauce, tender beef and perfect pasta. The ultimate rainy day comfort food.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless cross rib beef
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsps + 1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tsps dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup red wine
8 oz pappardelle egg noodles
1 - 1 1/2 cups reserved pasta water

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsps of olive oil and brown meat on all sides then remove to a plate.

On medium heat add 1 tbsps of olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the carrots and cook 5 minutes.

Now add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, water, celery seed, thyme, bay leaf and onion soup mix.

Lay the beef back in the pan and spoon some of the sauce on top. Simmer covered for about 2 hours.

When the meat is cooked it should be very tender. Shred it with two forks like you would a pulled pork. You could leave some larger pieces if you like.

Lastly, add the red wine and simmer an additional 30 minutes until all the flavours have melded together. 
Remove the bay leaf.

About this pasta... I  went to a couple of stores and didn't find it. The thought crossed my mind that I would just use rigatoni or some other pasta instead. So glad I went to that third store and found it! The dish wouldn't have been the same without these tender strips of pasta!

Cook the noodles in well salted water and reserve a good amount of the pasta water. I just dipped a 2 cup measuring cup in at the end. Remove the pappardelle 2 minutes before the end of cooking, so these were supposed to take 7 minutes. I removed them at 5.  Stir them into the sauce and cook in the sauce for the remaining 2 minutes. Here is where you would add the reserved pasta water. I added approximately 1 cup.

Give the sauce a taste, salt and pepper again if needed, and serve with a nice red wine. 

Serves 4

Kale and Tuna Pasta

Another light and lemony dish...
oh, and healthy too!

Ingredients:
4 cups fusilli pasta, reserve 1 cup cooking water
2 - 170 g cans albacore tuna, drained
2 tbsps olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
pinch red pepper flakes
3/4 cup red pepper, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
zest of 1 lemon
3 cups chopped kale
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt to taste
Old Bay seasoning to taste (optional)

Cook and drain the pasta reserving about 1 cup pasta water.

Heat oil in a skillet and add onion and red pepper. Sauté until tender. Add garlic, pepper flakes and zest for another 1-2 minutes. Add the kale, stir 1 minute then remove from heat.

Stir in the juice and add tuna. Cover until heated through.

Toss with the pasta and half the reserved pasta water. 
Season with salt and Old Bay seasoning to taste.
Add more reserved pasta water if needed.

Great light meal served warm or chilled.

Serves 5-6

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Got a good deal on a bag of lemons the other day and have been cooking and baking with them every since! These cookies would make a nice addition to your Easter table!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsps fresh lemon juice
3 tsps lemon zest (zest of 2 lemons)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
powdered sugar to coat (about 1/2 cup)

Mix flour, baking soda and salt together. In a large bowl add melted butter and whisk in sugar. Add egg and egg yolk (see why the butter has to be cooled!) then add the extracts, lemon juice and zest. Stir in the dry ingredients 2 or 3 additions at a time. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours.

After the cookie dough has chilled 2 hours remove from fridge and roll in 1" balls. Roll in icing sugar and place 2" apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Coat well or you may feel you need to dust with more sugar after baking, which is ok but you won't see the "crinkle" effect.

Bake at 325 F for 10-12 minutes.

Store in air tight containter.
Makes approximately 60 - 1" cookies

Recipe from: https://www.howsweeteats.com/2018/12/lemon-crinkle-cookies/

Also try: Cinnamon Brown Butter Cookies
 https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2019/04/cinnamon-brown-butter-cookies.html

Lemon and Raisin Loaf

I won't tell you how good this was, I'll just say we ate nearly the whole loaf in one day! Oops, snackcident!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1  1/4 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsps maple syrup
1 tbsp molasses

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and milk. Combine the maple syrup, molasses and lemon juice and add to the wet ingredients. Stir in the raisins.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and pour into a greased and floured 9 X 5" loaf pan.

Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes in pan before removing and cooling completely on a rack.

This goes down so easily I would seriously consider doubling the recipe!