White Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Pie

White chocolate. Semi-sweet chocolate. Hazelnut chocolate. You would think so much chocolate would make an ultra treacly, heavy dessert. Not so. This is a great light, airy dessert for summer. I started with Giada De Laurentiis's white chocolate hazelnut tartlet recipe and transformed it into a pie recipe.

Ingredients:
1 9-inch prepared pie crust*
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
2/3 cup homemade chocolate-hazelnut spread (or Nutella)
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, garnish

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat the white chocolate and 1/4 cup cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir continually until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat, pour into a large bowl, and allow to cool to barely lukewarm. Do not put it in the fridge to hurry along the process. I made this mistake; it makes the next step difficult. 

In another large bowl, beat the remaining 1 1/4 cup cream into medium-firm peaks with a hand mixer. Fold the whipped cream into the cooled white chocolate. Cover and place in the refrigerator until cold, approximately an hour.

Spread the chocolate-hazelnut on the bottom of your cooled pie crust. Pour the white chocolate cream on top. Garnish by sprinkling the mini chocolate chips on top.

*For the pie crust I used Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust and prepared it according to package directions. I usually make my pastry from scratch. You could also use a graham cracker crust.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Slower Cooker: Alfredo Green Bean Casserole

This is another recipe I tested out on my parents over Memorial weekend. My mom was a little skeptical of this dish. She had never tasted Alfredo sauce and when she tried a bit, she wasn't impressed. But I told her to trust me. Alfredo sauce is great for picking up other flavors like garlic or roasted red pepper, which she loves. Well, after sampling this casserole, she said she's never going back to your typical green bean casserole.

This recipes comes from Pillsbury with a few small changes.

Ingredients:
2 pound green beans (fresh, frozen, or canned. I used canned, drained)
1/2 cup roasted red peppers (jarred or homemade), cut in strips*
1 1/4 cups Alfredo sauce (I prefer Bertolli, never Ragu)
1 cup water chestnut, drained and sliced (optional)**
1 cup French fried onions
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Whenever I use the slow cooker, I always spray the inside with cooking spray. It makes cleaning it so much easier. So spray the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray.

Add the beans, water chestnuts, Alfredo sauce, pepper, and roasted red peppers to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours, stirring after an hour and a half. Before serving, stir in the French Fried onions.

*Jarred roasted red peppers are so expensive so I make my own roasted red peppers in the oven. My mom thought I was nuts, making my own roasted red peppers. She even came into the kitchen to watch me make them because she didn't believe it was as easy as I said. I recommend making your own using the link above.

**I am the only person I know who likes water chestnuts. So I left them out of this recipe. However, I would have loved to have them in the casserole.

I can't wait to make this casserole for Eric's family, especially his mom. She loves red pepper just like my mom and this dish has such a prominent, delicious red pepper flavor. Eric does not find red peppers as exciting and tasty as the rest of us so I might had crumbled bacon topping to the top of the casserole just to entice him to try it.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

How to Make Roasted Red Peppers

I love red peppers, especially when they're roasted. But purchasing roasted red peppers is pricy and unnecessary when they are so easy to make yourself.

Ingredients:
Red peppers (or any colored pepper), washed and dried
Vegetable oil (DO NOT use extra-virgin olive oil, it will burn)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to broil. Completely coat your peppers in the oil and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Place the pan on the highest rack in your oven. Bake until the skin turns blacks, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn using tongs (peppers will be very hot, do not handle with your hands). Repeat three more times until all four sides of the pepper are charred. Don't wander far from your oven while cooking these. You can easily burn them if you're not paying attention.

Once the peppers are blackened, remove from the oven and immediately place in a heat-proof bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Seal well. The steam trapped in the bowl will loosen the skins of the pepper, making them easy to remove.

After approximately 20 minutes or when the peppers have cooled enough to handle, remove the plastic wrap. Carefully peel the skin of the pepper; it will come off easily. Pull the stem out and with it will come most of the seeds. Slit your pepper open with a knife and scrape off any remaining seeds and ribs.

Slice, dice, or puree into a sauce. Good in salads, on sandwiches, or in soups.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

My great aunt and uncle came over for dinner on Memorial Day. As we brought the food out to the picnic table, my uncle's eyes went straight to the baked parmesan tomatoes or as he called them "those fancy tomatoes." There is nothing really fancy about these tomatoes other than their taste. Sometimes it amazes me how the simplest foods and recipes taste the best.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes, washed and dried
Grated Parmesan cheese
Herbs such as oregano, basil, rosemary, or thyme (fresh or dried)
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut the tomatoes into thick slices and arrange them on the baking sheet. Generously top with Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with your herb of choice--I used oregano. Bake for 15 minutes.

Most of us ate these tomatoes as is. They reminded me of little cheese pizzas but without the crust. My dad put one on top of his turkey burger (I can't believe my truck driver father not only tried my turkey burgers but ate about three, he liked them so much!) along with avocado and lettuce and loved it. Needless to say, there weren't any left overs. With summer on its way and tomatoes coming into season, I can't wait to make these again and again.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Creamsicle Chocolate Chip Cookies (Cream Cheese Cake Mix Cookie)

Pinterest is bursting with all kind of cream cheese cake mix cookie recipes. While up north for the holiday weekend with my parents, I finally made a batch. My mom had an orange cake mix in the cupboard so I decided to use it for something different than your typical chocolate chip cookies. The cream cheese and butter make these cookies very rich. My mom said they reminded her of bakery cookies. They reminded me of orange creamsicles. Duncan Hines, my favorite cake mix brand, makes an orange cake mix.

 

Ingredients:

1 orange cake mix

1 stick butter, (½ cup) softened

8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add the egg and vanilla and combine. Gradually stir in the cake mix. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips. Spoon approximately 2 tablespoon of the batter on a cookie sheet (be warned, the dough is very sticky) and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges brown.

I can't wait to make these for Eric!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Other Cake Mix Cookie Recipes:

Grasshopper Cookies

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Butterscotch Cookies

Also Check Out These Cake Mix Recipes:

Doctored Cake Mix Ideas

St. Patick Day's Cupcakes

Apple Cider Birthday Cake

Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole

I spent Memorial Weekend in northern Michigan with my parents at their river-side cabin. Sadly, Eric had to work and couldn't come. My mom doesn't really like to cook, so I told her I'd do all the cooking for the weekend because as you all know, I love it. I introduced my parents to some of my favorite recipes such as my tomato and artichoke chicken (my mom's favorite), turkey burgers with avocado sauce, zucchini chips, and roasted chickpeas. I tested out some new recipes on them too: baked parmesan tomatoes, Alfredo green bean casserole, orange chocolate chip cookies, and this black bean and sausage.

I would like to thank Martha Stewart for this recipe. I only changed a few minor things. It was simple yet full of flavor and incredibly filling.

Parents didn't have a large skillet at the cabin so I used a stock pot.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 ½ cup carrots, diced small (I used baby carrots)

2/3 cups yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 pound sausage (I used bratwursts but next time I think I'll use something spicier) 

2 cups chicken broth

2 can black beans (15.5 ounce each), rinsed and drained

Pepper

Directions:

Cut the sausage into 1 inch pieces. Heat oil over a medium-high in a large skillet and add the sausage. Cook until all sides are brown. Remove from pan and transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Add the carrots and onions to the oil and cook until the vegetables soften. Season with pepper. Add garlic and cook until golden brown.

Pour in black beans and broth; bring to a boil. Add the sausage back into the pan, reduce heat to a rapid simmer, and cook until the carrots become tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and serve.

I think this was my dad's favorite recipe. After dinner he kept picking at the pot, first eating all the sausage, then the carrots, and finally the beans.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Cream Cheese Rangoons

Today is Day 2 of my wonton appetizer recipes. Yesterday I shared my homemade pizza rolls. And now I'll show you my cream cheese rangoon recipe. A year or two ago Eric's mom gave me a crab rangoon recipe. Neither Eric or I cared much for the crab, so I turned them into a very simple, very scrumptious cream cheese rangoons.

Ingredients:
1 package of wonton wrappers
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayo
water
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and mayo until well combined. Place about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrapper with water. Bring the four corners together in the center of the wonton and press the seams together to seal. Place on the cookie sheet and repeat with the rest of the wonton wrappers.

Spray the tops of the rangoons with cooking spray and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until they turn a golden brown.

Allow to cool and enjoy!

These rangoons were also a hit with Eric's mom (as were the pizza rolls and chocolate-hazelnut ravioli) and we talked about different variations of these we could make. Add some green onions, garlic powder, or some spinach so they resemble my pull-apart cheeses and spinach bread. Edye even mentioned turning them into dessert appetizers by adding chocolate chips. So you can really tailor these rangoons anyway you'd like.  

Tomorrow I'll share with you my chocolate-hazelnut ravioli recipe.

Chocolate-hazelnut ravioli, cream cheese rangoons, and homemade pizza rolls

~Krissy