Triple Chip Bars

So Saturday is my birthday, and since I don't know what I'll be doing that day, I thought I would go ahead and share a sweet treat with you today in celebration.  You know I love to make bars; they are so much easier than cookies.  These are some of the best bars I have ever made.  Very rich, very sweet, very indulgent.  I got the recipe from Greens & Chocolate.  They were called Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars, and used chocolate chips and toffee chips, but I didn't have enough chocolate chips the day I made these, so I substituted white chocolate chips for part of it, and oh yum!  The combination of the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and toffee chips is amazing, so I named my version Triple Chip Bars.

Triple Chip Bars

Ingredients:

2½ cups flour

⅔ cup brown sugar

¾ cup butter

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1½ cups white chocolate chips

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (8 oz.) package toffee baking bits, divided

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Coat 9x13" baking dish with baking spray.  Set aside.

In large bowl, stir together flour and brown sugar.  Cut in butter with pastry blender, two knives, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add egg and mix well.  This part seems like it's not going to work but just keep mixing until egg is evenly distributed.  

Stir in white chocolate chips.  Reserve 1½ cups of mixture and press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  

Once partially baked, pour can of sweetened condensed milk over crust.  Reserve ¼ cup of toffee bits and sprinkle remaining toffee over milk layer in pan.  

Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture and chocolate chips over top.  Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  Sprinkle with remaining toffee bits and cool completely.  

Makes 24 bars.

 I probably don't have to tell you how amazing these bars are.  I think the ingredient list and the photos speak for themselves!

I am totally going to ask for a pan of these in lieu of birthday cake this year!

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Garlic Turkey Meatballs

It's been a long time since I posted a new meatball recipe.  This is one that I created myself.  I guess I had made enough different meatball recipes to come up with one on my own.  I don't remember what inspired this particular creation, but it was definitely inspired!  These meatballs are made with ground turkey, and lots of garlic, as the name implies.  These are for all of you garlic lovers out there.

Garlic Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

¼ cup dry breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, and garlic.  Mix until combined.  Form into 24 tablespoon-sized meatballs.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings, 6 meatballs each.

These meatballs are so tasty!  They do have a strong garlic flavor, but it's not bitey like raw garlic.  More of a mild cooked garlic flavor.  I like the consistency of them too.  They are compact and smooth, but not dense.  Just right.

The beauty of these babies is that they will go with pretty much any side you want to serve them with.  Mashed potatoes? Yep.  Spaghetti?  Yep.  Asian noodles?  Yep.  Your favorite risotto?  Yep.  Extremely versatile.

This is a great meatball recipe to have on hand since it uses basic ingredients that most likely always have in your pantry.  

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Secret Recipe Club: Penne with Asparagus and Prosciutto in Lemon Cream Sauce

It's my favorite Monday of the month: Secret Recipe Club reveal day.  The Secret Recipe Club is a group of food bloggers who secretly make one of someone else's dishes and post them all on the same day at the same time.  It's really fun, choosing a recipe to make, making the recipe, then reading about everyone else's recipes.  It's a great way to "meet" other bloggers and check out some great blogs that you never knew about before.

I was so excited when I got my assignment for this month.  I was assigned to the blog penned by our group's lovely hostess, Jane.  Jane is a super sweet lady who is always there to help out and can be depended on for anything.  Jane is the reason Group A is the best group in the SRC.  (Not that I am biased or anything!) Jane's blog is called The Heritage Cook.  It is an amazing blog with a great variety of recipes.  Jane posts a chocolate recipe every Monday (gotta love that!), and has lots of yummy gluten-free recipes to offer.  It was so hard choosing which recipe to make! Since it was just before Easter that I was deciding, the first recipe to catch my eye was her Bourbon Glazed Ham.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to make a big Easter dinner this year, but I did buy a ham to stick in the freezer, so I am definitely trying that one soon.  Another one that interested me was her Peach Mustard Grilled Pork Chops, but I am currently grill-less (getting one this week though, yay!).  And then, of course, there are desserts.  I know it's the wrong season, but her Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars look so good! 

But you know, I love to cook seasonally, so I absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to make her Penne with Asparagus and Prosciutto in Lemon Cream Sauce.  Nothing says "spring!" more than tender asparagus, delicate prosciutto, and lemon.  If you read my blog last Wednesday, you probably already know that I like a little hint of lemon in my pasta (yeah, probably should have planned better and spaced these two recipes out a little, but oh well!).  But this takes the whole lemon pasta thing up a notch by adding fresh verdant asparagus and salty prosciutto to make it a main dish with a lot to offer.

Penne with Asparagus and Prosciutto in Lemon Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed

1 shallot, peeled and sliced

6-8 oz thinly sliced prosciutto

1 tbsp olive oil

1 lb. penne or other short cut pasta

1 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic, peeled and halved

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

Salt and pepper, to taste

¾ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided

3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut asparagus spears into bite-sized pieces. Combine with the shallot and prosciutto; place on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Transfer to oven and roast until nearly tender, about 15-20 minutes. (Timing will depend on the thickness of spears.) Remove from oven and set aside.

While asparagus is roasting, bring a large stockpot of water to a boil over high heat and add 2 tbsp kosher salt. Cook pasta until just barely al dente. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water and drain the pasta.

While pasta is cooking, combine the cream, garlic, butter, lemon juice, and zest in a large skillet,. Warm over medium heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and remove the garlic pieces and discard. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.

Whisk ½ cup of the cheese into the sauce until smooth. Add the cooked pasta and stir to coat thoroughly. Cook over medium heat for about 3 more minutes or until pasta is cooked through. Stir in the roasted asparagus, shallots, and prosciutto, tossing to combine and cook another minute to warm it through. Add a little of the cooking water at a time, if needed, to get the sauce to your desired consistency.

Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup cheese and chives. Serve immediately.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Isn't that a beautiful dish?  Oh my goodness, it is so good!  The lemon isn't overpowering (you can easily customize the amount of lemon to your preferences), and it pairs so well with the asparagus and the prosciutto.  And the grated cheese and snipped chives just take it over the top.

Asparagus, prosciutto, and shallots before roasting.

 And after.  I love how these roast at a lower temperature, so they don't get too brown and crispy.  I love brown and crispy, usually, but in this dish they are perfect just being tender but still keeping their gorgeous bright color.  

 I also loved the shallots in this dish.  I had never roasted shallots before; now I want to put roasted shallots in everything I make!

 I just love the colors in this dish.  

The lemon cream sauce is light and bright, with just the perfect amount of lemon and garlic.  It coats the pasta nicely without being thick and heavy.

Thanks for a great recipe, Jane! And for being the best hostess in the SRC! :)

Oh, I forgot to mention one thing.  Jane is a San Francisco Giants fan.  And since I am a Cardinals fan, I just have to ask: Jane, did you see the score from yesterday's game? Ouch! :)  I am seeing the Giants play the Brewers in Milwaukee next week, so I will give them a special cheer just for you!

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Ham and Cheese Muffins

Do you still have ham leftover from Easter?  If so, I've got a great way to use it up.  You can make tasty muffins with it!  Savory muffins are a wonderful breakfast treat.  These go really well with eggs, or fruit, or even just to grab as you are walking out the door.  This recipe is adapted from Betty Crocker.

Ham and Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3 cups Bisquick

⅔ cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sour cream

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

¾ cup ham 

Directions:

Heat oven to 400°. Spray bottoms and sides of 12 regular-size muffin cups with baking spray. 

Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with fork. Stir in Bisquick, milk, oil, and sour cream just until moistened. Stir in ¾ cup of the cheese and the ham. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup cheese evenly over tops of muffins.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm. Refrigerate any remaining muffins.

Makes 12 muffins.

 You can make this with deli ham if you don't have any Easter ham leftover.  Good either way.  These muffins would also be great with cooked crumbled bacon in place of the ham.

  These muffins are more filling than their sweet counterparts because they are packed with protein.  They'll keep you going until lunchtime.

These would also make a great side dish when you're serving soup for supper.  Especially tomato soup or some other pureed vegetable soup.

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Baked Lemon Spaghetti

Have you been seeing a lot of lemon recipes lately?  I think we are all ready for warm weather and the bright, citrusy recipes that go with it.  I know personally, I have made two different kinds of lemon bars in the last week!  I hope you're into the lemon recipes too because I've got a great one for you today.  Light and tender vermicelli is cooked in a creamy lemony sauce. This is a great side dish for all kinds of meals: roasted chicken, steak, anything on the grill, really.  It's slightly adapted from RecipeGirl.

Baked Lemon Spaghetti

  

Ingredients:

12 oz. vermicelli

⅓ cup butter

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 cups (16 oz.) light sour cream

1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

⅓ cup lemon juice, about 1½ medium lemons

1 tsp Italian seasoning (I use Tuscan Sunset)

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cook vermicelli according to package directions, minus a couple of minutes. You want it to be al dente. Drain vermicelli and place in a large bowl.

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add garlic and cook until sizzling and lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pour lemon sauce over the vermicelli and stir. Add Italian seasoning and ½ cup Parmesan and stir some more. Pour lemony spaghetti in a greased 1.5 quart casserole dish.

Cover dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Take dish out of the oven and remove foil. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup Parmesan on top. Place dish back into the oven for 7 or 8 minutes, just until cheese is melted and noodles have begun to turn golden in a few places. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

This is the perfect spring and summertime side dish.  The lemon turns what can be a very heavy pasta dish into a light and refreshing side dish.  While you can certainly use regular spaghetti, using vermicelli makes it nice and light too.  And vermicelli cooks up really quickly, which is nice.

You can easily adjust the additional seasoning to your preference.  The original recipe called for chopped parsley, but I'm not a fan so I used Italian seasoning.  You could also use black pepper if you are a lemon pepper fan.

This dish could easily be turned into a main dish by adding some grilled chicken strips and fresh asparagus spears.

I'm hoping that by posting springy and summery recipes, I will be encouraging spring to get here already!  It certainly is taking its sweet time here in Wisconsin!

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Fresh Berry Birthday Cake in Honor of My 6th Blogiversary

Today is my blogiversary!  Six years!  Hard to believe I'm still going strong after all this time.  In honor of this occasion, I want to share with you a great birthday cake recipe.

Last year I asked my soon-to-be four-year-old, Lena, what kind of cake she would like for her birthday.  She said strawberry.  I found lots of strawberry cake recipes that called for Jell-O, but when I stumbled across one that used real strawberries, I knew I found the one.  Then this year when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she said she wanted a blueberry cake.  Now, for those of you who don't know Lena, her favorite color is blue and she is slightly obsessed with anything blue.  So I asked her if she wanted a cake made with blueberries, or if she wanted a blue cake.  Because I thought a cake made with real blueberries might turn out more purple than blue.  She insisted that she wanted a cake made with blueberries.  All the blueberry cake recipes I found were for coffee cake type cakes and not really like birthday cakes.  So I decided to make the same cake I did last year, but with pureed blueberries instead of strawberries.  They both turned out wonderfully.  I got the recipe from I Made That.  I had to adapt it to fit my 9" cake pans instead of 8".

Fresh Berry Birthday Cake with Berry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

3¾ cup cake flour

1½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

½ cup buttermilk

6 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 oz. butter, room temperature

2¼ cups sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature, beaten

1½ cups pureed fresh berries

1½ tsp lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat three 9” cake pans with baking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.  In another medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla  Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until it forms a paste. Add the eggs in a slow stream, beating well after each addition. Beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Gradually add the buttermilk mixture and beat for 1 minute at medium speed.  Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in the pureed berries and the lemon zest.

Spoon into the prepared cake pans and bake until the cakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool before removing from the pan.  Cool completely before frosting.

Berry Cream Cheese Frosting:

16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

6 oz. butter

1 cup powdered sugar

6 tbsp seedless berry jam

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Sift in the powdered sugar, and beat until incorporated. Add the berry jam, vanilla, and salt, and beat well to incorporate.

Makes one three-layer 9” cake.

The berry cream cheese frosting is amazing.  You can make it with any variety of fruit jam, just don't use jelly.

 The cake itself did turn out more blue than I was expecting, but the frosting was kind of purple.  If using blueberries, make sure you puree them right before incorporating them as they oxidize and turn brown like bananas and apples.   I never knew that before making this recipe.

Blueberry cake batter.

Strawberry cake batter.

 Lena, the birthday girl, helping me make this year's blueberry cake.

Little sis, Eva, got to help too, of course.

Makes a very pretty cake.

I made letters out of white chocolate for the top of the cake.  I'll show you how to do that in a separate post.

And candles make it complete.

Got them all!

 This is the strawberry cake I made last year.  I didn't make the berry cream cheese frosting; just a regular cream cheese frosting (big mistake!).  The party was "My Little Pony" themed.

The strawberry cake doesn't come out quite as pink as the blueberry one comes out blue, but it was delicious.

 This year, Lena got her very own camera.  One of the first things she photographed?  Yep, her piece of cake.  I wonder where she learned to take pictures of food? ;)

 This cake is so good!  I didn't eat much of the blueberry one because I don't really like blueberries, but the blueberry fans that tried it loved it.  My preference would be raspberry, but I think the seeds would cause a problem.  

Thank you all so much for reading my little blog these past 6 years!

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Individual Ham and Cheese Strata

Have you had breakfast yet today?  If the answer is no, I've got a great way for you to start the day.  This is a tasty breakfast bake that I sized down for individual portions.  This is perfect for you single folks, or anybody who eats breakfast alone.  Even if you eat breakfast with your family, this is a great way to customize each person's servings while getting breakfast on the table quicker because they cook so much faster than a large dish would.  It's adapted from Martha Stewart.

Individual Ham and Cheese Strata

Ingredients:

1¼ cups bread cubes, divided

¼ cup ham, diced

¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 green onion, sliced

2 eggs

½ cup 2% milk

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Coat a 16 oz. ramekin with baking spray.

Place 1 cup of the bread cubes in the bottom of the ramekin.  Top with the ham, cheese, green onion, and the remaining bread cubes.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk, paprika, mustard, and salt.  Stir to combine.  Pour egg mixture over the bread cubes in the ramekin.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until eggs are set.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 1 serving.

If you are hosting houseguests for Easter this year, this is a great recipe to have handy.  Each guest can customize their portion (no onions, extra cheese, add black pepper, etc.), so that everybody is happy.  And like I said above, these little ramekins cook up way faster than a large dish.  The original recipe takes an hour and 20 minutes to bake.  Ain't nobody got time for that!

This is a great way to use up leftover ham after Easter too.  It would also be great with cooked bacon or sausage.  The possibilities are endless.

Just be sure to let them sit for a while after they come out of the oven.  I totally burned my mouth on mine because it looked and smelled so amazing that I just couldn't wait to dig in to it!

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