Herb Roasted Potatoes

Corey loves meat and potatoes, but for some reason I don't make them very much. However, I started making roasted potatoes a few months ago and Corey has been in heaven. It doesn't matter what I serve them with (in fact, a couple of nights ago I just made the potatoes and veggies and he was still happy. If you know Corey, you know it's all sorts of incredible for him to enjoy a meal without meat!) I finally perfected the recipe and Corey made sure that I wrote it down so that these ("best potatoes you've ever made") make it on to our dinner table more frequently.

Herb Roasted Potatoes
Serves 3-4

2 lbs. baby red or yellow potatoes, washed and quartered
2 Tb. olive oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely minced (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. dried parsley (or 2 tsp. fresh)
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 Tb. Parmesan cheese, grated

Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and shake until well coated and combined. Spread potatoes evenly on baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until crispy, stirring halfway through. Enjoy!

Birthday Cake Pancakes

I have a serious weakness for funfetti cake. You know, the kind from a box that you can buy at the grocery store for less than $2. They are my absolute favorite. I kid you not when I say that I could eat an entire box by myself in less than 48 hours. I know it's not high-class to crave boxed cake mix, but who am I kidding? I'm not exactly high class. I love food, and in my own personal opinion this is some of the best.

When I saw a recipe online for cake batter pancakes, using cake mix from a box...I couldn't resist. In fact, I didn't even make it three days without making these. And I didn't last a week after that without making them again. They are clearly not the healthiest breakfast...but for an occasional indulgence they are awesome (I'm thinking birthdays, because I want to eat birthday cake for breakfast on my birthday anyway, so why not birthday cake pancakes instead?) As a bonus, the leftovers are awesome as a mid-day snack. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Birthday Cake Pancakes
adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow or white cake mix
2 Tb. granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 Tb. oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 -2 cups milk (you may need more or less depending on the brand of cake mix that you use, I used 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 - 1/3 cups multi-colored sprinkles (the big fat ones, they're called "jimmies." If you use little ones they will dissolve too quickly and you won't be able to see the pretty streaks of color)

1. Whisk together dry ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Add eggs, oil, vanilla, almond extract and milk (start with about 1 cup and add more as needed to get desired consistency). Stir in sprinkles.
2. Preheat skillet to medium and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Drop batter by 1/4 cup-fuls onto hot skillet. Cook until bubbles form and stick on top and bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook for about 1 more minute or until golden brown on other side. Serve warm with butter and vanilla glaze (below) or maple syrup.

Vanilla Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
3-4 Tb. multi-colored sprinkles
1-2 Tb. milk

Stir all ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over pancakes.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Remember these classic cookies? Five ingredients, 20 minutes, and you're on your way to warm peanut-buttery and chocolatey goodness. These totally hit the spot when I found myself having an unexpected peanut butter craving a couple weeks ago (I'm normally not a big peanut butter lover, but I had to have peanut butter cookies immediately). I'm thinking about trying these again but with Nutella instead of peanut butter...I'll keep you posted with how they turn out!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
adapted from allrecipes

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
18 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. With electric mixer, combine all ingredients except kisses. Beat on medium until completely combined. Roll into 1" balls and place on prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press 1 chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie. A big glass of milk is a MUST with these!

Mini White Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecakes

My brother is getting married to a fabulous girl, Cami, next month. My sisters, my mom and I threw a bridal shower for her last weekend. Cami isn't much of a dessert fan, but she does love cheesecake. I knew I needed to make some kind of cheesecake for the shower. I wanted it to be cute and bite-sized, and I wanted to incorporate raspberries (my favorite). I adapted my favorite cheesecake recipe from Kraft Foods and came up with this delicious and beautiful dessert. It was the hit of the party, and everyone loved it. I hope you will too.

Mini White Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecakes
Makes 24 mini cheesecakes

3/4 cup vanilla wafers, finely crushed
2 Tb. butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
2 Tb. white chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
1 Tb. sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners. Mix vanilla wafers and melted butter, and divide evenly between liners (about 1/2 Tb. or 1-1/2 tsp. each). Press crust down lightly with fingertips.
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Add vanilla and sour cream and beat until blended. Add egg and mix on low speed until just blended, scraping sides of bowl to mix completely. Divide cream cheese filling evenly between muffin cups (about 1 - 1 1/2 Tb. per cup).
3. Blend raspberries with mini chopper or immersion blender until completely blended. Press through fine mesh strainer to remove seeds, and mix with sugar. Dot each cheesecake with a couple of drops of the raspberry puree, then swirl carefully with a toothpick.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until just barely set. Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 30 minutes, then move to refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours. Serve with fresh raspberries.

Chocolate Fondue

Fondue is one of my absolute favorite desserts. It's easy, delicious and fun, and what doesn't taste better dipped in chocolate? I got this recipe from a friend and have literally made it dozens of times since.

Chocolate Fondue

1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tb. sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream

Combine chocolate chips, vanilla, and sugar in a medium bowl. In small bowl, heat whipping cream in microwave for 30-45 seconds, or until just barely boiling. Pour over chocolate chip mixture. Let stand for 1 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted. Serve warm with dippers of your choice, such as:  strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, marshmallows, graham crackers, brownies, angel food cake cubes, etc.

Clam Chowder

My mom makes fantastic clam chowder, all of us (well, except for my little sister that is allergic to shellfish) love it every time she makes it. I finally learned how to make it on my own. I made a couple of adjustments based on a recipe I found on allrecipes (in italics, feel free to make them without if you want, they just add a little more depth of flavor) but otherwise it it really close to my mom's famous recipe. Enjoy!

Clam Chowder

6 slices bacon
3 cans minced clams (6.5 ounces each)
1 1/4 cups onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, diced
3-4 cups potatoes, diced
6 Tb. butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tb. red wine vinegar

1. Cook bacon in large stockpot until crispy. Remove bacon, but do not drain. In same pan, add onion, celery, carrots and potatoes. Drain juice from clams over veggies and add water until veggies are just barely covered. Cook over medium heat until veggies are all tender. Do not drain water.
2. Meanwhile in large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly add half-and-half and stir continually until thick and smooth (mixture will be very thick). Add to veggie/clam juice/water mixture. Heat through, but do not boil. Crumble cooled bacon and add to soup along with clams (if the clams cook too much, they will get tough, so add them right before serving). Add seasoned salt, salt, black pepper and vinegar if desired. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Fried Rice

This is a great side dish to go along with Asian-style entrees (like this sticky chicken or these sweet and sour meatballs or these bacon-wrapped chicken and pineapple skewers or this orange chicken). It is also the perfect accompaniment for stir-fried vegetables and sweet-and-sour sauce (I know it might be weird, but I just love the sweet-and-sour sauce poured all over the rice). I make this all the time, sometimes with other entrees, sometimes just on it's own as a stand-alone meal. It's very easy to adapt to whatever meat (feel free to use ham instead of bacon or omit the meat entirely) or veggies you might have on hand. Here is my favorite version, but feel free to fiddle with it to make it how you like.

Fried Rice
serves 3-4

4 pieces bacon
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
1/3 cup frozen peas
3 cups cooked rice
1 egg
1-2 Tb. soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook in large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon, set aside to cool and crumble.
2. Heat same skillet (without draining grease) to medium. Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add peas and cook for 3-4 more minutes, until veggies are translucent and peas are thawed.
3. Add rice and stir to break up and heat through.
4. In separate small bowl, beat egg. Pour over top of rice in skillet and continue stirring until egg is completely cooked through. Add soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!