Spinach-Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto

The other night for dinner, I wanted something fresh.  And just my luck, our spinach is coming in nice, so I decided to whip up some Pesto.  I love making pestos...it's nice to have something different on our pastas over than Red Sauce.

~Spinach from my garden~

I threw in some Garlic Bread & Peas, and the family was happy.

Spinach & Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of Spinach
• 1/2 Cup of Parmesan
• 1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper
• EVOO
• 1 Cup of Reserved Cooking Liquid

Directions:

1. Cook up enough pasta for you family, and reserve a cup of the liquid once the pasta is done cooking.
2. In a food processor, combine the following ingredients: Spinach, Parmesan, Pine Nuts, Garlic and Pepper.  Give it a whirl.
3. Stream in enough EVOO to combine everything together...usually between 1/4-1/2 cup.
4. Stream in the reserved Cooking Liquid till you get a decent sauce.
5. Pour enough sauce over your pasta, coating every piece.
6. Enjoy!

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Strawberry Coffee Cake

Sunday mornings, I try to make breakfast...go a little bit fancy, giving cereal a break.  This past week, I suprised the kids & told them that we were having cake for breakfast.  They were excited!  They got even more excited when I told them that I had made Strawberry Cake for breakfast.

I don't know much about Coffee cakes, but I liked this one & the substitutions that I made.

Strawberry Cake

~adapted from "The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook"~

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients

Filling:

·         1 lb of Strawberries-diced

·         ¼ Cup Sugar

·         Zest from a Lemon

Cake:

·         1 Cup All-Purpose Flour

·         ¼ Cup Whole Wheat Flour

·         ½ Cup Sugar

·         1 tsp Baking Powder

·         ¼ tsp Baking Soda

·         ¼ tsp Salt

·         8 Tbl Melted Butter

·         ½ Cup Milk

·         1 Egg

·         1 Tbl Lemon Emulsion

Crumb Topping:

·         ½ Cup All-Purpose Flour

·         ¼ Cup Sugar

·         2 Tbl Melted Butter

Directions:

1.       Preheat the oven to 350˚.  Grease a 9x9 baking pan.

2.       In a bowl, combine all the filling ingredients, letting the strawberries mascerate.

3.       In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients.

4.       Mix in the wet ingredients.  Pour into the baking dish.

5.       Mix together the crumb topping.  Sprinkle half the mixture on to the cake mixture.

6.       Spread the strawberry filling over the crumb mixture.  Top with the remaining crumb topping.

7.       Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown.

8.       Enjoy!

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Apple Pie Eggrolls

I wanted to share a yummy treat I made for myself over the weekend.  If you've hung around here for awhile, you know that I love baked apples.  So when I found this genius recipe, over at A Crafty Cook, when I was on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it out!

hmmmm....Yummo!  Nothin' better than some baked apples & caramel sauce!

Here's how I made mine!

Apple Pie Eggrolls



Ingredients:

• 3 Apples-peeled & diced
• 1/3 Cup of Sugar
• 1/2 tsp of Cinnamon
• 8 Eggroll Wrappers
• Water
• 1 Egg
• Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine your apples, 1/3 cup of sugar, & cinnamon together.
3. Lay out your wrapper in a diamond shape.  Spoon some apple filling towards the middle.  Wipe the edges of the wrapper with some water.  Fold up and place on a baking sheet.
4. Make an eggwash & use it to brush the tops of the eggrolls.  Sprinkle sugar on top.
5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Let cool, and serve with caramel sauce & even vanilla ice cream!
7. Enjoy!

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Pierogies Au Gratin

~Hi! to anyone visiting from Talented Terrace Girls...Welcome!~

So I've recently, in the last couple of months, fallen in love with the potatoe-filled-pasta goodness know as pierogies.  I've had them a couple of different ways, and they are just yummy.  So when I came across this recipe on Pinterest, I pinned it for future reference.  Well, the time came the other day for me to try this recipe.

mmmm...boy.....was it good.

and boy was it cheesey....and oh so delcious and comforting.

Pierogies Au Gratin

~from Semi-Homemade Mom~

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:

·         2 boxes of Potato & Cheese Pierogies {this made enough for my family of 5}

·         2 T Butter

·         2 T Flour

·         2 Cups of Milk

·         ½ tsp of Paprika

·         ½ tsp of Salt

·         ¼ tsp of Pepper

·         2 Cups of Shredded Cheese {I used a blend of mozzarella, provolone & cheddar cheese}

·         5 T of Bread Crumbs

·         5 T of Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 400⁰; take a baking sheet & place the frozen Pierogies on top.  Spray both side with a cooking spray.  Let them bake for 20 minutes, turning over half-way through.

2.       Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, melt the butter.  Mix in the flour and let it cook out for a little bit.  Using a whisk, slowly, little by little, pour in the Milk.

3.       When the Milk sauce is somewhat thick, add in the seasonings: Paprika, Salt & Pepper.

4.       Take off the heat.  With a spoon, slowly, at a half a cup at a time, stir in the cheese.

5.       Spray 5 ramekins {or one big pan}; place 5 to 6 pierogies into each ramekin.  Split the sauce between the five ramekins.

6.       Sprinkle a tablespoon of breadcrumbs & a tablespoon of parmesan cheese over the tops of each ramekin.

7.       Bake for 15 minutes at 375⁰.  Let cool for at least 5 minutes.

8.       Enjoy!

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