Cinnamon Sugared Almonds

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Georgina

Cinnamon Sugared Almonds

Hi all! I was on the look for a quick little something to have sitting out for some friends to come over and came across these- they are deeeelicious! Let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

3 cups whole almonds
1 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Instructions:

In a large skillet or pot combine the sugar, cinnamon and water over medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the almonds and stir constantly with a spoon or spatula, coating the almonds with the syrupy mixture. It should look something like this:

Keep stirring until the sugar crystallizes (this takes about 8-10 minutes) and it looks sandy. Don’t stop stirring! It might feel like forever but keep going! Then it will look something like this:

Remove the pan from heat and scoop the almonds onto wax or parchment paper.

Let the cinnamon almonds cool for a few minutes before serving.

Don’t they look good?!?! They are really, really delicious too! Fun little snack treat. Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully you enjoy too!

xoxo

Beef Yakisoba

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Georgina

Beef Yakisoba

Ingredients
½ head green cabbage
1 medium yellow onion
2 medium carrots
1 small crown broccoli
2 inches fresh ginger
1 # beef flank steak
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 (3 oz.) packages ramen noodles- season packets discarded
seasoning packets discarded
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp ketchup
1-2 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce (depending how hot you like it!)
1 Tbsp sugar

Instructions
Before you begin, prepare the meat and vegetables for stir frying. Peel the ginger with either a vegetable peeler or the side of a spoon and then grate it with a grater or zester. Peel and grate the carrots or just cut them up like matchsticks. Remove the core from the cabbage and cut into thin strips. Slice the onion into thin strips. Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Slice the flank steak into thin strips.
Begin boiling a medium pot full of water for the noodles. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the grated ginger, saute for about 30 seconds to one minute (its okay if it sticks to the pan but don’t let it burn). Add the beef strips and cook until they are no longer pink (about five minutes).
Once the beef is cooked through, add all of the vegetables. Stir and cook until wilted (about 5-10 minutes). Meanwhile, once the water boils, add the noodles and cook just until tender (2-3 minutes). Drain, return to the pot (with the heat turned off) and toss with the sesame oil to keep from sticking.
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sriracha, and sugar.Stir until the ketchup and sugar are dissolved. Pour the sauce into the skillet with the chicken and vegetables with the heat still on medium high. Add the noodles, stir to coat everything in the sauce, and heat through (just a few minutes).

Soooo delicious and mildly healthy, LOTS of veggies. Hope you enjoy!

xoxo

Candy Cane Popcorn

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Georgina

Candy Cane Popcorn

Ingredients:
12 oz. of white chocolate, melted (I prefer the chocolate blocks but chocolate chips or white candy melts will work too)
1/2 – 1cup of un-popped popcorn (measure it un-popped and then pop it)
1/2 cup of crushed candy canes(about 10 candy canes)
7-8 drops peppermint oil
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
dash of salt (optional)
Red and Green m&m’s (or any mini candy of your choice)

Directions:
1. Pop your popcorn and make sure to remove all the un-popped popcorn kernels. Place in a large mixing bowl with ample room to mix. (You may have to pop the popcorn in batches depending on how much you make and your method of popping. I did it in two batches.)
2. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. If you are using the microwae, make sure to use it at 50% power. Seriously, it makes a WORLD of difference and you wont turn your chocolate into an unuseable burn blob within a minute….not speaking from experience or anything…….. 🙂
3. Add the peppermint oil to melted white chocolate and stir quickly. Pour over popcorn and mix it so that it is even distributed and all the popcorn is covered. Then pour the crushed candy cane peices and your candy of choice (if you’re using) into the popcorn and mix until it’s evenly all over the popcorn.
4. Spread out on a wax lined cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Add a dash of salt over the popcorn(optional)
5. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave(*remember the 50% rule!) and drizzle over the popcorn. Set aside and let the chocolate harden.
6. Break up into bite size pieces and serve /eat it all immediatly (preferred method)/ or store for later.

I am a popcorn FREAK. Seriosuly- could it eat every day. I don’t eat microwave popcorn, I honestly hateeee the taste. I grew up not eating it as my step-dad was WAYYYYY ahead of the game with the absolutely disgusting hazardous toxins that line the bag and seep into the food you ingest….serisouly if you eat microwave popcorn, STOP. Anyway, I love popcorn. This is my first time making a sweet batch of popcorn myself and it turned out amazeeeeeeeeeeeing. I could have eaten this whole thing- almost did but my sister split it with me. lol. Hope you guys enjoy, let me know what you think!

As always, thanks for reading!!

xoxo

Ok- I’m not so great at delicately drizzling the chocolate over the popcorn- my bad. But still deeeelicious!

Garlic Artichoke Bread

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Georgina

Garlic Artichoke Bread

Think of this as Cheesy Garlic Bread meets Baked Artichoke Dip, only it’s 50 times better than that 🙂

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar and mozarella cheese blend
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
1 large shallot, finely minced
1 small loaf ciabatta bread ( Really any type of bread would be fine)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
*I added about 1-2 tbs of fresh chopped basil and it was sooooo delicious!

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350-375

In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and stir in artichoke hearts, mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, sour cream and shallot until combined.
Slice/open your bread) Place the bread open face side up on the baking sheet, and spread the cheese and artichoke mixture overtop. Bake until cheese is melty and it starts to brown and bread is hot. I finished it off with a few minutes under the broiler to get even better color! Then cut bread into servable size pieces and serve right away, while the cheese is still nice and melty and delicious.

I made this for a group of friends and they all seemed to enjoy it. I defineitly did! This would be great as an appitizer or side dish. Also you can totally make this ahead. I actually make the artichoke cheese mixture the day before and then just spread it on the bread and baked it and it turned out fan.tast.ic!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Georgina

Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

This picture could definitely use some better lighting but you get the idea 😉

Ingredients

1 package smoked sausage of your liking
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/chiles
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 lb pasta (any shape you want)
1 package fresh spinach
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded monterrey jack
1 bunch green onions

Instructions

Thinly slice the smoked sausage and add it to a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the sausage over medium heat until it is nicely browned (about 5-7 minutes). Drain off the excess fat.
Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). Add the can of diced tomatoes with chiles and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.
Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.
Stir in the fresh spinach, one cup at a time, until wilted. If you add it all at once, the skillet will be too full to stir. Keep the heat on while adding the spinach, so the liquid will continue to simmer and thicken.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Slice the green onions and sprinkle them over top. Serve hot!

Jake seriously loved this! He snuck a bit before I sat down and was like ” this is so good! What is in here? Seriously this is really delicious”. That always makes me super happy when he loves what I cook. Now you can share this with your loved ones 🙂 Enjoy!