white artichoke pizza

Roommate dinner always consists of using whatever we have laying around in our kitchen. These week was one of our last roomie dinners for a while, as I left Saturday to spend December in London. We had a leftover container of asiago artichoke dip left, so we go creative and made a white artichoke pizza. So amazing, and seriously so easy.

 white artichoke pizza:
1 premade pizza dough
1/2 container of artichoke dip (ours was artichoke asiago)
1 jar of artichoke hearts
2 cups cheese
1/2 onion, sliced thinly

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Slightly dust a pizza stone with cornmeal
Spread the pizza dough out to make a 12" circle.
Top with spread, onions, artichokes, and finally cheese.
Bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes or until pizza is golden and edges are browned.
Remove from oven, let it cool for 2 minutes, then slice with a pizza cutter.

parmesan sweet potato crisps

parmesan sweet potato crisps

It is {still} the season of sweet potatoes. 

I think I eat {at least} one a day. I'm literally enthralled by them.

I might even place them in my top five most favorite foods.

Here is an easy and great recipe to throw together as a great side, appetizer, or simple snack.

parmesan sweet potato crisps

1 large sweet potato, sliced thinly

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp melted butter

2 Tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 425. Grease a large baking sheet.

In a shallow bowl, mix parmesan, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, and butter.

In another shallow bowl, pour the milk.

Dip the sweet potato slices in the milk, and then in the crumb mixture, coating lightly. 

Place in a single layer on the cookie sheet. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until golden and crispy.

Serve warm.

the perfect side dish

line in a single layer on a cookie sheet

candybar fudge swirled cupcakes

candy bar fudge swirled cupcakes

With a group of girlfriends on a Tuesday evening, we had the chance to celebrate a dear friend. For her birthday, I was running short on time, so I threw together some candy bar fudge swirled cupcakes with cake mix from a box, red piped frosting, and leftover chopped halloween candybars. They were a hit.

with red piped frosting

the perfect birthday treat

candy bar fudge swirled cupcakes.

1 box of fudge swirled cake mix (I used duncan hines)
Ingredients that the cake mix calls for (eggs, oil, and water)
1 tub of frosting (I used red)
Plastic ziploc bag
4-6 chopped candy bars (I used reeses and butterfingers)

Make the cake mix according to directions. Fill cupcake holders 3/4 full and swirl. Bake according to directions on box.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool completely.
Place the frosting in a ziploc bag and cut off a 1/4 cenimeter off one corner. Pipe the frosting onto the cakes in a swirled fashion. Top with candy bar pieces, pressing lightly to make sure they stick.

Hooray for birthdays.

stuffed squash boats

stuffed squash boats.

I love roommate dinner. Mostly I love my roommates and I love any excuse to spend time together. We have this produce store near us called Stanleys. It is the best because it carries every type of produce you can imagine, and their prices are unbeatable. I always walk out of Stanleys, loaded with colorful assortments of goodness, and excited about trying new recipes. For this dinner we made stuffed squash boats. They are a halved squash loaded with flavorful fillings. Beyond health and color, they are simply fun to make, and eat. 

color!

stuffed squash boats

2 yellow squash

1/4 feta

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 sour cream

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/4 peanuts, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp italian seasonings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the squash in half length-wise and scoop out seeded portion into a separate bowl. Thinly slice a piece of the bottom of the squash off, so that it will lay flat on a cookie sheet.

Place the four-halves on the greased cookie sheet.

In the bowl with the scooped out squash, add remaining ingredients and mix together. Spoon evenly into the 4 "boats" and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until squash is tender and tops are golden.

avocado, egg, and cheddar grilled cheese

avocado, egg, and cheddar grilled cheese

We had our friend Orion over for lunch yesterday. He is a videographer, and we were meeting about making a potential video. With a busy morning, we had about 5 minutes to come up with a quick lunch. This is one of my favorite go-to sandwiches. Its great every time.

on poppyseed bread

avocado, egg, and cheddar grilled cheese.

3 eggs
6 slices of quality bread
3-6 slices of cheddar
1/2 avocado, sliced
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter. Set aside.

Heat a skillet and spray with cooking spray. Break eggs and cook until cooked through.

Spread the brown sugar and butter mixture onto 1 side of each of the slices of bread. Place butter side down on the hot skillet, and top with avocado, egg, and cheddar. Top with remaining slice of bread. Cook the sandwich for about 3 minutes on each side, or until bread is golden and cheese is melted.

Eat.

apple crisp.

apple crisp.

golden. and so good.

The wind in Chicago today is crazy. It literally blew me over today on the way to church. October flew and I find myself in the second week of November. Unbelievable.

I think I have eaten a dozen apples each week of this fall. Not kidding, I inhale them. Some think they are simple, but apples truly are my favorite fruit. They bake beautifully too. Here is a warm and crumbly apple crisp that will be sure to invoke a love of apples in you too.

apple crisp.
6-8 apples, peeled and sliced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss the apples with 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon, and lemon juice. Place in a round pie dish, or an 8 inch baking dish.

In a separate bowl, use your hands or a pastry blender to mix remaining ingredients until crumbly. Pour over the apple mixture. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden and apples are bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

honey apple ricotta stuffed crepes

 I just got back from China. While the food there is so amazing and delicious, they are lacking in the area of my favorite meal; breakfast. Returning home means that I am back to breakfast club, and this week we had crepes stuffed with a delicious ricotta mixture and topped with a honey- apple glaze. Yum.

honey apple ricotta stuffed crepes

the perfect fall breakfast

 honey apple ricotta stuffed crepes:
for the crepes:
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1tsp salt
1tsp vanilla
1 Tablespoon melted butter

for the filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons honey

for the topping:
1 Tablespoon butter

2 apples, sliced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons honey
1 tsp cornstarch

In a blender, mix all the crepe ingredients. Refrigerate for an hour, or up to 12 hours.
Heat a large round saucepan and spray with cooking spray. When hot, pour a half cup of batter into the pan and circle to coat the entire surface of the pan in a thin layer. Cook for about a minute on each side. Repeat, making 10 crepes.

For the filling, mix all of the ingredients. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into each crepe, then roll up burrito style. Line the rolled crepes in a 13x9inch greased pan, and heat in the oven at 250 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until heated through.

For the topping, add the butter and apples to a large saucepan. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until apples are tender. Add more water or more cornstarch to create desired consistency.

Serve two rolled crepes with 1/4 cup of topping and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Delicious.