Oreo Bars

Oreos and milk ... but even better! Because there's a brownie under the Oreos. And a vanilla icing glaze over them. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is.

This recipe calls for making a from-scratch brownie batter, which I did.  You could absolutely take a shortcut and use a mix, but the from-scratch batter is actually really easy.  The only thing that makes it take longer than a mix is melting the chocolate and butter together, and then letting this cool to room temperature.  It adds a few minutes, but it's not hard.  So if you've ever been afraid to make from-scratch brownies, don't be.  It'll be okay.  You can do it!

Start creating this sinful Oreo deliciousness by beating some eggs and salt together until they're good and fluffy, like this:

Fluffy beaten eggs

Then add in your vanilla and sugar (gradually) ...

Adding sugar from my good-ol' favorite measuring cup

Ooooooohhhh, then the best part - pour in your melted chocolate and butter mixture.  Yummy, yummy!  I love chocolate.

Chocolate!

Fold in your flour, and then put the batter in a baking pan.  Now the second-best part ... or maybe the best part, it's hard to decide ... scatter crushed Oreos all over the top.  Then pop the pan in the oven.

Ummmm, yum!

While the brownies are baking, make a really simple vanilla icing glaze with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and hot water.

Glaze

Drizzle the glaze over the brownies just after they come out of the oven.  Cover the top really good!

Drizzle, drizzle

The first batch I made, my husband said "I think I'd like these better without the white stuff on top."  Well ... a comment like that is like double-dog-daring me to do something.  I had to put that to the test.  So, I made another batch - and this time glazed half the pan, and left half "without the white stuff," to quote my husband.  Mark and I then put the two versions through a taste test, and ...

1/2 & 1/2 pan

... the "white stuff" won!  Mark had to eat his words.  And a lot of Oreo bars.

Oreo Bars
Source:  A Friend

Ingredients
Brownies:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c. butter
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
2 c. crumbled Oreo cookies

Icing Glaze:
1/3 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 to 4 T. hot water


Directions
For the Brownies:
1.  Melt chocolate and the 1/2 cup butter in the top of a double boiler, or in a small saucepan over low heat.  Let cool to room temperature. 

2.  Beat eggs and salt until very fluffy.  Gradually beat in sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Fold in chocolate mixture.  Add flour and gently fold until blended.

3.  Pour batter into a greased 9x13" pan.  Scatter crushed Oreos evenly over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (I had to bake mine for another 8 or 9 minutes).

For the Icing Glaze:
4.  While the brownies are baking, heat the 1/3 cup butter until melted.  Stir in powdered sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.  Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until glaze is of desired consistency (I used 3 T. water).

5.  Once brownies are out of the oven, drizzle the glaze on top.  Cool before serving.

Enjoy!

This post is linked with Flash-Back Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Sweet & Savory Saturdays, Show Stopper Saturday, Creativity Linky Party, Market Yourself Monday, Marvelous Mondays, Monday Funday, Make the Scene Monday, Time to Sparkle,  Sunday Showcase Party, Tuesday Talent Show, The Inspiration Exchange, Cast Party Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday.

Oreos and milk ... but even better! Because there's a brownie under the Oreos. And a vanilla icing glaze over them. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is.

This recipe calls for making a from-scratch brownie batter, which I did.  You could absolutely take a shortcut and use a mix, but the from-scratch batter is actually really easy.  The only thing that makes it take longer than a mix is melting the chocolate and butter together, and then letting this cool to room temperature.  It adds a few minutes, but it's not hard.  So if you've ever been afraid to make from-scratch brownies, don't be.  It'll be okay.  You can do it!

Start creating this sinful Oreo deliciousness by beating some eggs and salt together until they're good and fluffy, like this:

Fluffy beaten eggs

Then add in your vanilla and sugar (gradually) ...

Adding sugar from my good-ol' favorite measuring cup

Ooooooohhhh, then the best part - pour in your melted chocolate and butter mixture.  Yummy, yummy!  I love chocolate.

Chocolate!

Fold in your flour, and then put the batter in a baking pan.  Now the second-best part ... or maybe the best part, it's hard to decide ... scatter crushed Oreos all over the top.  Then pop the pan in the oven.

Ummmm, yum!

While the brownies are baking, make a really simple vanilla icing glaze with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and hot water.

Glaze

Drizzle the glaze over the brownies just after they come out of the oven.  Cover the top really good!

Drizzle, drizzle

The first batch I made, my husband said "I think I'd like these better without the white stuff on top."  Well ... a comment like that is like double-dog-daring me to do something.  I had to put that to the test.  So, I made another batch - and this time glazed half the pan, and left half "without the white stuff," to quote my husband.  Mark and I then put the two versions through a taste test, and ...

1/2 & 1/2 pan

... the "white stuff" won!  Mark had to eat his words.  And a lot of Oreo bars.

Oreo Bars
Source:  A Friend

Ingredients
Brownies:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c. butter
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
2 c. crumbled Oreo cookies

Icing Glaze:
1/3 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 to 4 T. hot water


Directions
For the Brownies:
1.  Melt chocolate and the 1/2 cup butter in the top of a double boiler, or in a small saucepan over low heat.  Let cool to room temperature. 

2.  Beat eggs and salt until very fluffy.  Gradually beat in sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Fold in chocolate mixture.  Add flour and gently fold until blended.

3.  Pour batter into a greased 9x13" pan.  Scatter crushed Oreos evenly over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (I had to bake mine for another 8 or 9 minutes).

For the Icing Glaze:
4.  While the brownies are baking, heat the 1/3 cup butter until melted.  Stir in powdered sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.  Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until glaze is of desired consistency (I used 3 T. water).

5.  Once brownies are out of the oven, drizzle the glaze on top.  Cool before serving.

Enjoy!

This post is linked with Flash-Back Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Sweet & Savory Saturdays, Show Stopper Saturday, Creativity Linky Party, Market Yourself Monday, Marvelous Mondays, Monday Funday, Make the Scene Monday, Time to Sparkle,  Sunday Showcase Party, Tuesday Talent Show, The Inspiration Exchange, Cast Party Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Shrimp & Grits Casserole

Shrimp & grits is a southern-tradition dish with which I was absolutely not familiar until I moved to North Carolina.  And, I'll admit, I was afraid to try it at first.  I mean, what was a grit, anyway??  Well, I've gotten past my fear - and I'm so glad I did.  I now love shrimp & grits.  This is a creamy-comfort food version to make easily at home.  A lot of shrimp & grit dishes are spicy - this one certainly is not.  It's a very mild-flavored, cheesy, shrimpy grits casserole-style dish.

I like my shrimp & grits with limas

The original recipe for this is from Cooking Light magazine, one of my favorite reads, but I think I've tweaked it to put back in all the bad things they worked so hard to take out.  Oh well. 

Start by cooking up your grits.  I've learned from my southern friends, who've grown up cooking grits, that the secret to good grits is to add the grits to the liquid mixture very slooooooowly.  Whisk them constantly while you're adding the grits, and cook them until they're very thick.

Get the grits good and thick ... like this

Then put in stuff that makes the grits even yummier ... Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and butter!

Mmmmmmmmmm

Then you'll add in chives and shrimp, and bake it until it's set and getting golden around the edges.

All baked and ready to gobble up

Once it's out of the oven, dig in!  I like it just the way it is, but you can add a dash of hot sauce on the top if you like.  Enjoy the comforting creaminess!

Shrimp & Grits Casserole
Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients
2 c. milk
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 c. quick-cooking grits
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 T. butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 or 2 T. chopped fresh chives (you can also use dried)
3 T. fresh parsley or 1 T. dried parsley
1 T. lemon juice
1 egg
1 lb. peeled shrimp, roughly chopped

Directions
Bring milk and chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Gradually add grits and salt to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.  Remove grits from heat.  Stir in Parmesan, butter, and cream cheese until melted; then stir in remaining ingredients.

Spoon grits mixture into a 11x7" baking dish generously coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until set and the top is just starting to get some golden brown areas. 

Enjoy!

This post linked with This Week's Craving hosted by Delightful Country Cookin', Countdown to 2012 - Best Main Dishes of 2011 hosted by Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

Shrimp & grits is a southern-tradition dish with which I was absolutely not familiar until I moved to North Carolina.  And, I'll admit, I was afraid to try it at first.  I mean, what was a grit, anyway??  Well, I've gotten past my fear - and I'm so glad I did.  I now love shrimp & grits.  This is a creamy-comfort food version to make easily at home.  A lot of shrimp & grit dishes are spicy - this one certainly is not.  It's a very mild-flavored, cheesy, shrimpy grits casserole-style dish.

I like my shrimp & grits with limas

The original recipe for this is from Cooking Light magazine, one of my favorite reads, but I think I've tweaked it to put back in all the bad things they worked so hard to take out.  Oh well. 

Start by cooking up your grits.  I've learned from my southern friends, who've grown up cooking grits, that the secret to good grits is to add the grits to the liquid mixture very slooooooowly.  Whisk them constantly while you're adding the grits, and cook them until they're very thick.

Get the grits good and thick ... like this

Then put in stuff that makes the grits even yummier ... Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and butter!

Mmmmmmmmmm

Then you'll add in chives and shrimp, and bake it until it's set and getting golden around the edges.

All baked and ready to gobble up

Once it's out of the oven, dig in!  I like it just the way it is, but you can add a dash of hot sauce on the top if you like.  Enjoy the comforting creaminess!

Shrimp & Grits Casserole
Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients
2 c. milk
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 c. quick-cooking grits
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 T. butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 or 2 T. chopped fresh chives (you can also use dried)
3 T. fresh parsley or 1 T. dried parsley
1 T. lemon juice
1 egg
1 lb. peeled shrimp, roughly chopped

Directions
Bring milk and chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Gradually add grits and salt to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.  Remove grits from heat.  Stir in Parmesan, butter, and cream cheese until melted; then stir in remaining ingredients.

Spoon grits mixture into a 11x7" baking dish generously coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until set and the top is just starting to get some golden brown areas. 

Enjoy!

This post linked with This Week's Craving hosted by Delightful Country Cookin', Countdown to 2012 - Best Main Dishes of 2011 hosted by Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Strawberry & Greens Salad with Honey Viniagrette

It's almost strawberry season! Nice-looking fresh strawberries are starting to make their appearance in grocery stores here, and I'm really excited about it!

Here's a really simple, very flavorful, and beautifully eye-catching salad starring those little red beauties. And I love, that on top of all that, it's "different" than just your basic tossed salad. Not that I have anything against your basic tossed salad - eat it all the time - but, sometimes you just want something a little bit different.

This salad is so tasty and pretty, I often make it when I have guests for dinner.  Or, when I'm bringing a dinner to someone.  One "warning," though - the vinegar begins to take its toll on the strawberries pretty quickly.  I recommend dressing the salad right before serving.  You can certainly keep the leftovers overnight, but the strawberries will be a bit faded and puny the next day!

Strawberry & Greens Salad

Source:  Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Dressing:

3 T. white wine vinegar

3 T. water

1 T. honey

2 tsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Salad:

About 6 c. salad greens (I use mesculin or spring mix greens)

3 c. quartered strawberries

4 tsp. pine nuts (or slivered almonds)

Directions

Whisk together all dressing ingredients.  Combine strawberries and greens.  Add dressing and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with pine nuts.

This post linked with These Chicks Cooked link party hosted by This Chick Cooks, A Themed Bakers Sunday hosted by Cupcake Apothecary, and This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking..

It's almost strawberry season! Nice-looking fresh strawberries are starting to make their appearance in grocery stores here, and I'm really excited about it!

Here's a really simple, very flavorful, and beautifully eye-catching salad starring those little red beauties. And I love, that on top of all that, it's "different" than just your basic tossed salad. Not that I have anything against your basic tossed salad - eat it all the time - but, sometimes you just want something a little bit different.

This salad is so tasty and pretty, I often make it when I have guests for dinner.  Or, when I'm bringing a dinner to someone.  One "warning," though - the vinegar begins to take its toll on the strawberries pretty quickly.  I recommend dressing the salad right before serving.  You can certainly keep the leftovers overnight, but the strawberries will be a bit faded and puny the next day!

Strawberry & Greens Salad

Source:  Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Dressing:

3 T. white wine vinegar

3 T. water

1 T. honey

2 tsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Salad:

About 6 c. salad greens (I use mesculin or spring mix greens)

3 c. quartered strawberries

4 tsp. pine nuts (or slivered almonds)

Directions

Whisk together all dressing ingredients.  Combine strawberries and greens.  Add dressing and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with pine nuts.

This post linked with These Chicks Cooked link party hosted by This Chick Cooks, A Themed Bakers Sunday hosted by Cupcake Apothecary, and This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking..

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Whole Wheat Waffles & Pure Vermont Maple Syrup

Every now and then, you just gotta have breakfast for dinner.  At least I do.  My favorites - french toast, and these whole wheat waffles (smothered with maple syrup, of course ... we'll talk detail about syrup later). 

But just one little syrup note before we move on -- usually, maple syrup would be flowing all over my plate when I have waffles.  A terrible thing happened while I was preparing the plate below, though - I ran out of maple syrup!!!  Unbelievable in my household.  So, I had to place an emergency order to have some shipped.  Fortunately, it arrived today.  Future waffles will be appropriately syrup-bathed.

Back to waffles.  First, mix up your your batter.  I love how the leavener starts to work right away - and you can actually see the batter getting "puffy" right in the bowl.  I think that's cool.

Toss some batter into your preheated waffle maker.  I use a Belgium waffle maker so I get really big-and-thick waffles.  I like 'em that way.

Cook until the waffle maker sounds it's alarm.  Now, why can't our ovens have alarms that let us know when baked goods are done?  It would be so much easier that way.  But I digress ...

Serve up your waffles with a generous ... very generous, if you're me ... slathering of maple syrup.  Or butter.   Or honey.  Or strawberries.  Whatever you prefer.  I'm a maple syrup girl, myself.  And growing up in Vermont, I'm absolutely a maple syrup snob.  So let's talk syrup for a minute.

Vermont is the largest producer of pure maple syrup in the United States, and it's amazingly fabulous stuff.  That's not just me talking -that's according to the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association (click http://vermontmaple.org/ if you don't believe me!).  Being a syrup snob, I only eat pure maple syrup ... and preferably only pure maple syrup made in Vermont.  None of that fake stuff for me.

Some details ... Maple syrup comes in several grades, ranging from fancy to grade C.  Maple trees naturally produce lighter colored maple syrup early in the season that gradually deepens in color and flavor toward the end of the sugaring season.  Fancy is the lightest in color, followed by Grade A Medium Amber and Grade A Dark Amber.  Then ... late in the season ... you get really dark, bold-flavored Grade B.  That's what I love!  The last grade, Grade C, typically is produced at the very end of the season, and sold in bulk to industrial producers of maple flavored products rather than packaged for retail sale.

What grade you prefer is purely a personal choice.  As for me, I'm a Vermont Grade B girl, all the way!

There it is ... the official "Grade B" sticker!

Whole Wheat Waffles

Ingredients
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. all-purpose flour

¼ c. sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

3 T. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

1 ½ c. milk

3 eggs

½ c. unsweetened applesauce

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Directions
Combine dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients; stir to combine.  Cook in waffle maker according to manufacturer’s directions (I use a Belgium waffle maker for big, thick waffles).

Makes approximately 12 waffles.

My supplier - Goodrich's Maple Farm

This post is linked with This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, Countdown to 2012 - Best Breakfast Recipes hosted by Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

Every now and then, you just gotta have breakfast for dinner.  At least I do.  My favorites - french toast, and these whole wheat waffles (smothered with maple syrup, of course ... we'll talk detail about syrup later). 

But just one little syrup note before we move on -- usually, maple syrup would be flowing all over my plate when I have waffles.  A terrible thing happened while I was preparing the plate below, though - I ran out of maple syrup!!!  Unbelievable in my household.  So, I had to place an emergency order to have some shipped.  Fortunately, it arrived today.  Future waffles will be appropriately syrup-bathed.

Back to waffles.  First, mix up your your batter.  I love how the leavener starts to work right away - and you can actually see the batter getting "puffy" right in the bowl.  I think that's cool.

Toss some batter into your preheated waffle maker.  I use a Belgium waffle maker so I get really big-and-thick waffles.  I like 'em that way.

Cook until the waffle maker sounds it's alarm.  Now, why can't our ovens have alarms that let us know when baked goods are done?  It would be so much easier that way.  But I digress ...

Serve up your waffles with a generous ... very generous, if you're me ... slathering of maple syrup.  Or butter.   Or honey.  Or strawberries.  Whatever you prefer.  I'm a maple syrup girl, myself.  And growing up in Vermont, I'm absolutely a maple syrup snob.  So let's talk syrup for a minute.

Vermont is the largest producer of pure maple syrup in the United States, and it's amazingly fabulous stuff.  That's not just me talking -that's according to the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association (click http://vermontmaple.org/ if you don't believe me!).  Being a syrup snob, I only eat pure maple syrup ... and preferably only pure maple syrup made in Vermont.  None of that fake stuff for me.

Some details ... Maple syrup comes in several grades, ranging from fancy to grade C.  Maple trees naturally produce lighter colored maple syrup early in the season that gradually deepens in color and flavor toward the end of the sugaring season.  Fancy is the lightest in color, followed by Grade A Medium Amber and Grade A Dark Amber.  Then ... late in the season ... you get really dark, bold-flavored Grade B.  That's what I love!  The last grade, Grade C, typically is produced at the very end of the season, and sold in bulk to industrial producers of maple flavored products rather than packaged for retail sale.

What grade you prefer is purely a personal choice.  As for me, I'm a Vermont Grade B girl, all the way!

There it is ... the official "Grade B" sticker!

Whole Wheat Waffles

Ingredients
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. all-purpose flour

¼ c. sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

3 T. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

1 ½ c. milk

3 eggs

½ c. unsweetened applesauce

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Directions
Combine dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients; stir to combine.  Cook in waffle maker according to manufacturer’s directions (I use a Belgium waffle maker for big, thick waffles).

Makes approximately 12 waffles.

My supplier - Goodrich's Maple Farm

This post is linked with This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, Countdown to 2012 - Best Breakfast Recipes hosted by Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Sausage & Balsamic-Caramelized Onion Pizza - and a homemade whole wheat crust recipe

We love, love, love homemade pizza.  Not only can you make it healthier than what you buy at the pizza shops, you can put together some way crazy-delicious flavor combinations that you just can't buy.  Now, don't get me wrong - I love pizza from pizza shops ... swear I could eat it every day and never get tired of it.  Unfortunately, I don't think my pants would be very happy with me if I did that.  So I've played around at home and come up with several homemade pizzas we really enjoy, and with a whole wheat crust to boot.  Here's the first of our favorites - Sausage & Balsamic-Caramelized Onion Pizza.

Sometimes I make my own crust, but most of the time - I'll admit - I buy pre-made dough balls at the grocery store.  My favorites - 1.  Trader Joe's for $0.99 (can you believe that price??), and 2.  Harris Teeter for $1.99.  When I go to Trader Joe's, I bring a cooler and buy like 10 or 15 dough balls at a time.  Then I stick them in the freezer and pull them out as I need them.  Harris Teeter just started carrying the whole wheat dough balls (in their deli section), so that's a great option now, too.  Check your local grocery stores to see what's available.  If you'd like to make your own, I've included my recipe at the end of this post.

Pre-made Dough Balls

The beauty of the toppings for this pizza is you can prepare them in advance and just stick them in the frig until you're ready to assemble the pizza.  A lot of times, I get the toppings ready the day before.  First, fry up your sausage (I didn't take a picture of that), and then caramelize your onions.  To do that, slice them in rings and put them in a fry pan with a little butter (or olive oil):

Starting the onions

After they've softened a bit, add in the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook them until all the liquid has been absorbed.

With the Balsamic vinegar added

When you're ready to assemble, roll out your dough ...

Rollin' out the dough ...

... and put it on a pizza stone or baking sheet.  As you can see, I don't try to get real precise with the shape.

... you can be very rustic with the dough shape

Spread on your sauce.  I use just a very simple sauce of crushed tomatoes.  Straight out of the can ... yup, just a thin layer of canned crushed tomatoes.

Simple sauce - just crushed tomatoes!

Then add your toppings.  I like to sprinkle on just a tiny bit of cheese first, then the sausage, and then the onions.

Putting on the onions ... they taste better than they look

Then top with a good layer of cheese - however much you want.

Mmmmmmm - ready to bake

Bake it up and enjoy.  I think leftovers are just as yummy, if not even yummier, the next day!

I invite you to follow The Kitchen is My Playground with Pinterest, Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Linky Followers, bloglovin', or Feedburner. Buttons are in the right sidebar. I'd love to have you back soon!

Sausage & Balsamic-Caramelized Onion Pizza
Source:  Inspired by Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients
Store-bought pizza dough ball OR homemade pizza dough (see ingredients below)

For Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (enough for 2 pizza crusts):
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. sea salt
3 T. olive oil
3/4 c. + 1-2 T. additional warm water

Toppings:
1 lb. pork sausage
1 large yellow or Vidalia onion
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. butter
1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
Shredded mozzarella


Directions
Prepare the Pizza Dough:
Combine yeast and 1 cup warm water to activate yeast - water should be just barely warm to the touch.  Add remaining ingredients and knead together, adding the 1-2 T. additional warm water in the amount needed to form a dough that holds together.  Let dough rise in a greased and covered bowl for about 45-60 minutes.  Divide dough into two halves and roll out for two pizza crusts.  After topping as desired, bake at 425 degrees for about 15-25 minutes.

Prepare the Pizza:
Slice onion in rings, saute in butter over medium-low heat until tender.  Add balsamic vinegar and continue cooking until liquid is gone, caramelizing the onions.  In a separate pan, brown sausage and drain.  Roll pizza dough out to desired size; place on preheated pizza stone or baking sheet.  Spread crushed tomatoes over crust for sauce (you may not use all of the can).  Top with sausage and onions, then sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 15-25 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and just beginning to brown.

Enjoy!

This post linked with These Chicks Cooked, Flash Back Friday, Tutorial Tips & Tidbits.

We love, love, love homemade pizza.  Not only can you make it healthier than what you buy at the pizza shops, you can put together some way crazy-delicious flavor combinations that you just can't buy.  Now, don't get me wrong - I love pizza from pizza shops ... swear I could eat it every day and never get tired of it.  Unfortunately, I don't think my pants would be very happy with me if I did that.  So I've played around at home and come up with several homemade pizzas we really enjoy, and with a whole wheat crust to boot.  Here's the first of our favorites - Sausage & Balsamic-Caramelized Onion Pizza.

Sometimes I make my own crust, but most of the time - I'll admit - I buy pre-made dough balls at the grocery store.  My favorites - 1.  Trader Joe's for $0.99 (can you believe that price??), and 2.  Harris Teeter for $1.99.  When I go to Trader Joe's, I bring a cooler and buy like 10 or 15 dough balls at a time.  Then I stick them in the freezer and pull them out as I need them.  Harris Teeter just started carrying the whole wheat dough balls (in their deli section), so that's a great option now, too.  Check your local grocery stores to see what's available.  If you'd like to make your own, I've included my recipe at the end of this post.

Pre-made Dough Balls

The beauty of the toppings for this pizza is you can prepare them in advance and just stick them in the frig until you're ready to assemble the pizza.  A lot of times, I get the toppings ready the day before.  First, fry up your sausage (I didn't take a picture of that), and then caramelize your onions.  To do that, slice them in rings and put them in a fry pan with a little butter (or olive oil):

Starting the onions

After they've softened a bit, add in the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook them until all the liquid has been absorbed.

With the Balsamic vinegar added

When you're ready to assemble, roll out your dough ...

Rollin' out the dough ...

... and put it on a pizza stone or baking sheet.  As you can see, I don't try to get real precise with the shape.

... you can be very rustic with the dough shape

Spread on your sauce.  I use just a very simple sauce of crushed tomatoes.  Straight out of the can ... yup, just a thin layer of canned crushed tomatoes.

Simple sauce - just crushed tomatoes!

Then add your toppings.  I like to sprinkle on just a tiny bit of cheese first, then the sausage, and then the onions.

Putting on the onions ... they taste better than they look

Then top with a good layer of cheese - however much you want.

Mmmmmmm - ready to bake

Bake it up and enjoy.  I think leftovers are just as yummy, if not even yummier, the next day!

I invite you to follow The Kitchen is My Playground with Pinterest, Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Linky Followers, bloglovin', or Feedburner. Buttons are in the right sidebar. I'd love to have you back soon!

Sausage & Balsamic-Caramelized Onion Pizza
Source:  Inspired by Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients
Store-bought pizza dough ball OR homemade pizza dough (see ingredients below)

For Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (enough for 2 pizza crusts):
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. sea salt
3 T. olive oil
3/4 c. + 1-2 T. additional warm water

Toppings:
1 lb. pork sausage
1 large yellow or Vidalia onion
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. butter
1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
Shredded mozzarella


Directions
Prepare the Pizza Dough:
Combine yeast and 1 cup warm water to activate yeast - water should be just barely warm to the touch.  Add remaining ingredients and knead together, adding the 1-2 T. additional warm water in the amount needed to form a dough that holds together.  Let dough rise in a greased and covered bowl for about 45-60 minutes.  Divide dough into two halves and roll out for two pizza crusts.  After topping as desired, bake at 425 degrees for about 15-25 minutes.

Prepare the Pizza:
Slice onion in rings, saute in butter over medium-low heat until tender.  Add balsamic vinegar and continue cooking until liquid is gone, caramelizing the onions.  In a separate pan, brown sausage and drain.  Roll pizza dough out to desired size; place on preheated pizza stone or baking sheet.  Spread crushed tomatoes over crust for sauce (you may not use all of the can).  Top with sausage and onions, then sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 15-25 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and just beginning to brown.

Enjoy!

This post linked with These Chicks Cooked, Flash Back Friday, Tutorial Tips & Tidbits.

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Blueberry Crisp ... dee-lish

I may have a new favorite fruit dessert!  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  Apple crisp, all the time ... pear crisp, yes ... but never blueberry crisp?  Didn't think of that until now.  Now that I've tried it, I'm hooked.  I think I even like it better than blueberry pie, which is one of my all-time favorite desserts!  And another plus for this recipe - it's so quick and easy.

I tried two different versions of this crisp - one with red wine, and one without.  I was so sure the one with wine would be better, but this was one time that adding wine was not a plus.  In my side-by-side taste comparison, the without-wine version won hands-down.  Not even a contest.  I then had Mark do a blind testing ... same result - the "not wine" one won.  No question.  And I thought wine with the blueberries would be so good.  Perhaps a different kind of wine ... or perhaps red wine and blueberries in a different type of blueberry dessert.  I may have to keep tinkering.  Until I tinker my way to a new blueberry-wine creation, enjoy this non-wine blueberry crisp!

First mix up your blueberry filling:

Then toss together your topping and sprinkle it over the blueberry mixture:

Bake it all up:

And enjoy it with a dollop of whipped cream ...

Or not....

It's dee-lish both ways!


Blueberry Crisp
Source:  Tracey-Original

Ingredients
Blueberry Filling:

4 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

2 T. cornstarch

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. water

1 tsp. lemon juice

Topping:

1 c. whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 c. old-fashioned oats

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the Blueberry Filling:  
2.  Place the berries in a large bowl, set aside.  Whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the berries and toss together. Add the lemon juice and water; toss together.

3.  Place in a 9x13” baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Prepare the Topping:  
4.  Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl. Add the melted butter and toss until it is all well combined.  Sprinkle the topping evenly over the blueberries.

5.  Bake for 45 minutes or until the berries are bubbling vigorously along the edges and the topping is golden brown.

Enjoy!

This post linked with These Chicks Cooked link party hosted by This Chick Cooks, Flash Back Friday hosted by Cookin' for My Captain, This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, Cast Party Wednesday, Whatcha Whipped Up, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff Thursday, Sunday Showcase Party, On the Menu Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Talent Show.

I may have a new favorite fruit dessert!  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  Apple crisp, all the time ... pear crisp, yes ... but never blueberry crisp?  Didn't think of that until now.  Now that I've tried it, I'm hooked.  I think I even like it better than blueberry pie, which is one of my all-time favorite desserts!  And another plus for this recipe - it's so quick and easy.

I tried two different versions of this crisp - one with red wine, and one without.  I was so sure the one with wine would be better, but this was one time that adding wine was not a plus.  In my side-by-side taste comparison, the without-wine version won hands-down.  Not even a contest.  I then had Mark do a blind testing ... same result - the "not wine" one won.  No question.  And I thought wine with the blueberries would be so good.  Perhaps a different kind of wine ... or perhaps red wine and blueberries in a different type of blueberry dessert.  I may have to keep tinkering.  Until I tinker my way to a new blueberry-wine creation, enjoy this non-wine blueberry crisp!

First mix up your blueberry filling:

Then toss together your topping and sprinkle it over the blueberry mixture:

Bake it all up:

And enjoy it with a dollop of whipped cream ...

Or not....

It's dee-lish both ways!


Blueberry Crisp
Source:  Tracey-Original

Ingredients
Blueberry Filling:

4 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

2 T. cornstarch

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. water

1 tsp. lemon juice

Topping:

1 c. whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 c. old-fashioned oats

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the Blueberry Filling:  
2.  Place the berries in a large bowl, set aside.  Whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the berries and toss together. Add the lemon juice and water; toss together.

3.  Place in a 9x13” baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Prepare the Topping:  
4.  Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl. Add the melted butter and toss until it is all well combined.  Sprinkle the topping evenly over the blueberries.

5.  Bake for 45 minutes or until the berries are bubbling vigorously along the edges and the topping is golden brown.

Enjoy!

This post linked with These Chicks Cooked link party hosted by This Chick Cooks, Flash Back Friday hosted by Cookin' for My Captain, This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, Cast Party Wednesday, Whatcha Whipped Up, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff Thursday, Sunday Showcase Party, On the Menu Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Talent Show.

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How to Bake Classic Pound Cake - I did it!

I finally did it!  I baked my first pound cake!!  Can you believe I had never made a pound cake before this?  In my defense, pound cake is decidedly a southern thing.  Growing up in Vermont, we just didn't bake pound cakes.  The only pound cake I had been exposed to prior to moving south was the Sara Lee loaf kind you buy in the freezer section at the grocery store.  Now that I live in North Carolina, pound cake is everywhere, and in so many wonderful flavors. Oh, homemade is sooooo much better than that frozen stuff!

I'll admit I was very nervous, possibly even a little bit scared, to make my first pound cake.  As I said before, I have absolutely zero background in baking this kind of cake.  Add to that the fact that my mother-in-law is pretty much a pound cake baking goddess.  You can be almost guaranteed that when you walk into her house, there's a pound cake in the cake cupboard.  Yep, she makes it so much there's a cake cupboard where it's kept.  Now if that's not intimidating, I don't know what is.

And there you have it - fear.  Fear of the cake.  But I desperately wanted to overcome this fear.

So, after eight years of knowing my husband and eating his mother's wonderfully amazing pound cake, I decided to give her recipe a whirl myself.  Trying to recall all the tips and tricks she told me, I set out on my journey.  Doubts still ran through my head - What if I don't get the batter mixed just right?  What if it gets a streak in it? (I've learned that this is when it doesn't bake evenly, creating basically an unbaked "streak" through the cake.)  What if ... and apparently this is one of the worst and most frequent pound cake mishaps ... it won't come out of the pan?  What if it bakes up ugly??  But I pressed on ... 

After combining all my ingredients and beating them for the full 15 minutes called for in the recipe, I poured my beautiful pale yellow, smooth, creamy batter into my pan.  I'm a sucker for batter, so of course I tasted it at this point.  Already yummy!

Beautiful batter

But when my cake came out of the oven, one of my fears had come to be - the top of the cake baked up ugly, and one part of it was slumped down a little.  Fortunately, it settled down a tiny bit as it cooled - but it still certainly wasn't the prettiest cake around.  This made me very worried to cut into it.

Not-so-beautiful baked top

When it finally came time to cut, Mark and I did it together.  After all, he grew up with this cake and would for-sure know if it was up-to-snuff!  Because of the slumped side, he was positive there was going to be a streak in it.  When we cut, I was extremely glad to find no streak!

Now came the ultimate test ... the Mark taste-test.  I'm happy to report that my pound cake passed with flying colors, ugly top and all!  The Mark quote:  "I think you've done it."  That's very high praise from my particular husband.

As I do with most of my baked goods, I gave the majority of the cake away.  As I was packaging up my little cake care packages, I asked Mark if he wanted me to save him a few slices.  He said no - so I asked, "Are you sure?"  He said, "Yes, I'm sure."  I admit, I was surprised.  So, I decided to save just one slice for me to have the next day.  Here it is - all by itself on the cake plate:

One lonely little piece of pound cake

Here's what the cake plate looked like the next morning when I came down for breakfast:

Someone stole the pound cake!

Guess what Mark had for breakfast...

Compliments of my mother-in-law, here is the recipe for this classic pound cake.  Eat it plain, or with berries or whipped cream (or both!) on top.  Even if it bakes up ugly, it will still taste delicious.

Classic Vanilla Pound Cake
Source:  My Mother-in-Law

Ingredients
3 c. sugar
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
2 T. Crisco shortening
6 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk (my mother-in-law and I use 2% milk)

Directions
Cream the sugar, butter, and Crisco.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer about 10-15 minutes.  Combine the flour and baking powder.  Add flour mixture and milk, alternately, to the creamed sugar and eggs mixture.  Pour batter into a tube pan that has been generously sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool about a 1/2 an hour in the pan; remove cake from pan.

Enjoy!

This post is linked with Summer Desserts Link Party hosted by Cajun Sugar Pie, Flashback Friday hosted by Cookin' for My Captain, and This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, The Inspiration Exchange, Whimsy Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Tutorials Tips & Tidbits, Your Creative Timeout Party, Thursday's Treasures, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Sweet & Savory Saturdays, Creativity Linky Party, Saturday Show & Tell, Tuesday Talent Show, Lil' Luna Link Party, Inspiration Exchange, Cast Party Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday.

I finally did it!  I baked my first pound cake!!  Can you believe I had never made a pound cake before this?  In my defense, pound cake is decidedly a southern thing.  Growing up in Vermont, we just didn't bake pound cakes.  The only pound cake I had been exposed to prior to moving south was the Sara Lee loaf kind you buy in the freezer section at the grocery store.  Now that I live in North Carolina, pound cake is everywhere, and in so many wonderful flavors. Oh, homemade is sooooo much better than that frozen stuff!

I'll admit I was very nervous, possibly even a little bit scared, to make my first pound cake.  As I said before, I have absolutely zero background in baking this kind of cake.  Add to that the fact that my mother-in-law is pretty much a pound cake baking goddess.  You can be almost guaranteed that when you walk into her house, there's a pound cake in the cake cupboard.  Yep, she makes it so much there's a cake cupboard where it's kept.  Now if that's not intimidating, I don't know what is.

And there you have it - fear.  Fear of the cake.  But I desperately wanted to overcome this fear.

So, after eight years of knowing my husband and eating his mother's wonderfully amazing pound cake, I decided to give her recipe a whirl myself.  Trying to recall all the tips and tricks she told me, I set out on my journey.  Doubts still ran through my head - What if I don't get the batter mixed just right?  What if it gets a streak in it? (I've learned that this is when it doesn't bake evenly, creating basically an unbaked "streak" through the cake.)  What if ... and apparently this is one of the worst and most frequent pound cake mishaps ... it won't come out of the pan?  What if it bakes up ugly??  But I pressed on ... 

After combining all my ingredients and beating them for the full 15 minutes called for in the recipe, I poured my beautiful pale yellow, smooth, creamy batter into my pan.  I'm a sucker for batter, so of course I tasted it at this point.  Already yummy!

Beautiful batter

But when my cake came out of the oven, one of my fears had come to be - the top of the cake baked up ugly, and one part of it was slumped down a little.  Fortunately, it settled down a tiny bit as it cooled - but it still certainly wasn't the prettiest cake around.  This made me very worried to cut into it.

Not-so-beautiful baked top

When it finally came time to cut, Mark and I did it together.  After all, he grew up with this cake and would for-sure know if it was up-to-snuff!  Because of the slumped side, he was positive there was going to be a streak in it.  When we cut, I was extremely glad to find no streak!

Now came the ultimate test ... the Mark taste-test.  I'm happy to report that my pound cake passed with flying colors, ugly top and all!  The Mark quote:  "I think you've done it."  That's very high praise from my particular husband.

As I do with most of my baked goods, I gave the majority of the cake away.  As I was packaging up my little cake care packages, I asked Mark if he wanted me to save him a few slices.  He said no - so I asked, "Are you sure?"  He said, "Yes, I'm sure."  I admit, I was surprised.  So, I decided to save just one slice for me to have the next day.  Here it is - all by itself on the cake plate:

One lonely little piece of pound cake

Here's what the cake plate looked like the next morning when I came down for breakfast:

Someone stole the pound cake!

Guess what Mark had for breakfast...

Compliments of my mother-in-law, here is the recipe for this classic pound cake.  Eat it plain, or with berries or whipped cream (or both!) on top.  Even if it bakes up ugly, it will still taste delicious.

Classic Vanilla Pound Cake
Source:  My Mother-in-Law

Ingredients
3 c. sugar
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
2 T. Crisco shortening
6 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk (my mother-in-law and I use 2% milk)

Directions
Cream the sugar, butter, and Crisco.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer about 10-15 minutes.  Combine the flour and baking powder.  Add flour mixture and milk, alternately, to the creamed sugar and eggs mixture.  Pour batter into a tube pan that has been generously sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool about a 1/2 an hour in the pan; remove cake from pan.

Enjoy!

This post is linked with Summer Desserts Link Party hosted by Cajun Sugar Pie, Flashback Friday hosted by Cookin' for My Captain, and This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, The Inspiration Exchange, Whimsy Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Tutorials Tips & Tidbits, Your Creative Timeout Party, Thursday's Treasures, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Sweet & Savory Saturdays, Creativity Linky Party, Saturday Show & Tell, Tuesday Talent Show, Lil' Luna Link Party, Inspiration Exchange, Cast Party Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday.

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