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Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Kaitlin

Happy Pi Day! As a Mathlete alum, Pi Day has always been a part of my nerdy math world. And what better way to celebrate than to make a pie? I have some other pie recipes on here, but I have had a hankering for peanut butter lately, so I am celebrating this year with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. This is a FoodNetwork.com recipe but I decided to make my own crust (you are more than welcome to just buy one – use a 9-inch pie crust). Ingredients: Pie Crust: 1 package oreos 4 tablespoons butter, melted Hot Fudge Sauce: 1/3 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1/4 cup light corn syrup 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/8 teaspoon table salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3.5 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped Peanut Butter Pie: 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Chopped peanuts, optional Whipped cream, optional Crushed cookies, optional

Slow Cooker Apple French Toast Casserole

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Kaitlin

I love recipes that make it easy to serve a bunch of people with minimal effort. A slow cooker is usually a go-to for those types of recipes but I’ve never considered using it to make breakfast before. The Ninja Cooking System is the perfect tool for it though. They sent over this recipe for an Apple French Toast Casserole and I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come so I could make it. This recipe makes 8 servings so it would be great for breakfast for a larger group but I also packed up the rest of my servings to reheat during the week. Ingredients: ½ cup butter 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chopped walnuts ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup pure maple syrup 1 loaf challah bread (about 1 pound), cut into cubes 6 large eggs 2 cups vanilla almond milk (or normal milk) 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Pinch salt Confectioners’ sugar

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Kaitlin

This year, I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.The Cookie Swap is in its second year and helps raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer, which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. I was assigned three food bloggers and made one dozen cookies for each of them. In return, I received three different boxes of cookies from other bloggers. I wanted to make a cookie that was a spin on a traditional cookie. This Cooking Light recipe was perfect: Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, AND Pecans! Ingredients 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces) 1 cup Steel Cut oats 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 large egg 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Kaitlin

It isn’t Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce. We’ve always had the canned cranberry sauce at my Thankgivings growing up; I honestly believed the ridges from the can were there so I knew where to cut. I am all for the canned version, but I thought I’d attempt to make a homemade version in my slow cooker. I based it slightly off of Cooking Light’s Classic Cranberry Sauce but changed up a few ingredients and the method of cooking. Ingredients: 1 12 ounce package of cranberries 1 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup port wine 1/2 cup orange juice (or 3 oranges, squeezed) 1 tablespoon zest (also about 3 oranges) 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger a dash (1/8 tsp or smaller) allspice

Slow Cooker Mulled Wine

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Kaitlin

My goodness it dropped in temperature quickly! It feels like we went straight from September weather to December weather. Luckily, I have the perfect warm drink to keep you toasty. This is a (probably) oversimplified version of a drink my aunt and uncle always have at their house for the holidays: Wassail. It’s basically a mulled wine that warms you up from the inside out. I’ve been thinking about Wassail since the change in temperature so I decided to make a quick batch with things I already had in my house. Ingredients: 1 bottle red wine (I used a red zin) 2 cinnamon sticks 3 whole cloves 5 allspice berries 1 orange 2 oz whiskey 1 oz triple sec 1/4 cup brown sugar I like using the slow cooker so that I don’t accidentally boil the wine. This recipe can be multiplied as needed, it cooks down a bit so one bottle of wine renders about 3 glasses. Add the bottle of wine, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and allspice berries to the slow cooker. Cut the orange in half. Squeeze 1/2 of the orange into the slow cooker. Slice the other half into thin slices and throw in the slow … Continue reading →

Applejack-Spiked Hot Cider

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Kaitlin

Well, we are apparently forecasted to get hit with yet another nor’easter on Halloween. I remember as a kid, some houses would serve us hot cider to keep us warm while trick-or-treating. Those (along with the houses with candied apples and tons of Reeces) were my favorite. Now that I no longer go house to house on Halloween, nor do I even get trick-or-treaters, I wanted to make a more adult hot cider to enjoy during the crummy weather. Cooking Light must’ve read my mind, because The New Way To Cook Light showed up on my doorstep this week, with a wonderful sounding recipe for Applejack-Spiked Hot Cider! Ingredients: (makes 6 servings) 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons brown sugar 10 black peppercorns 8 whole allspice berries 5 whole cloves 2 cinnamon sticks 6 cups apple cider 1 tablespoon honey 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 (2-inch orange rind strips) 2 (2-inch lemon rind strips) 3/4 cup applejack brandy for garnish (optional): 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in sugar and the spices (peppercorns, allspice berries, whole cloves and cinnamon sticks) and cook for 1 minute. Add cider, … Continue reading →

Slow Cooker Bourbon BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Kaitlin

I’m not even going to pretend to care about football. I have no clue what is going on on the field, nor do I honestly want to. Not even going to school with Flacco could peak my interest in the sport. But I do care about the food aspect of watching football, to no one’s surprise. So with the season in full swing, I figured it was about time for me to figure out how to make ribs. I surprisingly do not have a smoker in my tiny apartment, so I went in search of a slow cooker recipe. This Bourbon BBQ Baby Back Ribs recipe fit the bill. Ingredients: 5 lbs baby back ribs, cut to fit in your slow cooker 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 cup ketchup 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup bourbon 1/4 cup horseradish 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha) Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Add the ribs to a large roasting pan (I didn’t have one so I used a few saute pans). Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Bake the ribs for 30 minutes at 475 degrees. Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, bourbon, horseradish, … Continue reading →

Salmon Teriyaki Stir Fry

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Kaitlin

There is a good chance I have a rice problem, I love all things rice. My go-to meal in a pinch is always risotto. So when DailyBuzz Food had an opportunity to work with RiceSelect through their Tastemaker program, I jumped at the chance. RiceSelect is one of my favorite rice brands. You may notice their nifty containers popping out of a bunch of my posts so I was really excited to work with their rice. The catch was that they sent me one of RiceSelect’s rice randomly, I didn’t get to choose it. When I opened up the package, I discovered brown rice. Hum. I’ve never worked with brown rice before, but I was up for the challenge! I decided to make a stir fry teriyaki dish using my favorite protein, salmon. Normally stir fry is a quick dinner choice but brown rice takes quite a bit of time to cook. But it gives you plenty of time to prep your veggies and hang out with your dinner guests! Ingredients: (I cut this down to two servings to make it easier. Multiply as needed) 1/2 cup RiceSelect Texmati Brown Rice 1 cup water 1 tablespoon peanut oil 1 medium … Continue reading →

Slow-Roasted Salmon with Baby Bok Choy and Coconut Rice

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Kaitlin

Tuesday I received one of my most anticipated ingredients (aside from tomatoes, can’t wait!!) from my CSA share: Fuyo Shumi, or Baby Bok Choy. I am absolutely in love with this vegetable. It’s just a mini version of bok choy which has a cabbage flavor and is very popular in Asian cooking. I personally am not a fan of cabbage (sorry to my Irish roots), but love the subtle taste and crunchy texture of these little guys. I’m always looking for new methods to cook salmon so this recipe from Cooking Light was the perfect opportunity. This recipe slow cooks the salmon to keep it really moist. Keep in mind you’ll need a good 30-40 minutes to make this dish. Ingredients: Salmon: 8 (6-ounce) salmon fillets 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Cooking spray Rice: 2 cups uncooked basmati rice 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk 1 1/2 cups water 1/4 teaspoon salt Bok choy: 2 teaspoons canola oil 16 cups bok choy, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 pounds) 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger 1/2 cup sake (rice wine) 1/4 teaspoon salt Sauce: 1/3 cup fresh lime juice 1/4 cup seasoned rice … Continue reading →

Homemade Chipwiches

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Kaitlin

I have many childhood memories of me chasing down the ice cream truck to get my absolute favorite ice cream treat: a Chipwich. I mean, honestly, what more could you ask for in a dessert? Two chocolate chip cookies with ice cream sandwiched in between. Mmm. So I was, well, horrified, to find out that the Chipwich brand name is no longer in existence as of 2007. At that time, Nestle bought the rights to the name and stopped all production because it competed with their “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich.” I mean, come on. The name Chipwich is exponentially more catchy. But hey, whatever floats their boat. Since finding out this information, I can’t get the idea of making my own “Chipwiches” or “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches” out of my head. I was sent an Airbake cooking sheet recently and wanted to test it out. The Airbake Nonstick Insulated sheets are pretty snazzy. They are made of 100% aluminum and are comprised of two sheets surrounding a layer of air. This is said to reduce the temperature of the metal that actually comes in contact with the food which should result in more even baking. Airbake also claims that cookie … Continue reading →