• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 16 ounces extra firm tofu
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 10 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted
• 1 box jumbo shells
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ever since my Nana taught me how to make her delicious apple pies, I have been loving making apple pies of any sorts. So I decided to make some individual apple crisps in honor of my sweet baby nephew’s dedication! I followed this recipe and tweaked it a bit to make little baby ones. They were perfect for an after dinner treat.

The Goods:

{Filling}

• 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped small
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Easy peasy. And now I just need some vanilla ice cream. Delicious!

I couldn’t stop thinking about French Toast this weekend. I finally gave in and got the goods. Boy was it delicious. At first I had wanted to go crazy with it and do nutella stuffed with whipped cream and berries, but I went with the ole’ tried and true simple way. I was not disappointed.

Nothing special – just some country bread, cinnamon, cream, an egg, powdered sugar and maple syrup. Perfection.

Yea, it made a pretty good dinner since my dinner maker {the hubs} is sick with the stomach flu.

The Goods:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• White of 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup lite coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• About 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Coconut Fluff Filling:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup marshmallow crème
• 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 2 tablespoons lite coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

Do It:

1. Position oven rack in center of oven.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy at medium speed of an electric mixer.  Add egg and egg white, and beat until incorporated.  Add half of flour mixture and half of coconut milk to creamed mixture; beat at medium speed just until blended.  Add remaining half of flour and coconut milk and vanilla; beat until blended.

4. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, drop batter into 12 mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.  Or drop batter into 24 mounds by well-rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle half of the mounds with coconut. Bake, one baking sheet at a time, until cakes begin to crack and are firm to the touch, 12 minutes for large cakes and 10 minutes for small cakes.  Remove from oven and slide the parchment paper, with the cakes, onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Use a thin metal spatula to lift the cookies off the parchment paper.

5. Spread flat side of the plain cakes generously with Coconut Fluff Filling.  Top with remaining coconut-topped cakes, pressing down lightly to seal them together.

Coconut Fluff Filling:

6. Beat butter and marshmallow crème in a large mixing bowl at medium-high speed of an electric mixer until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.  Beat in confectioners’ sugar, coconut, coconut milk, and extracts until smooth.  Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

But don’t take my word for it. Give them a try!

Recipe from Paula Deen.

{coconut whoopie pie goodness – recipe to come}

{weekend home depot trips}

{dead pup – too tired}

{DIY beach bag fun – post to come}

{finished product}

{sushi date with friends}

{dreaming of future projects}

{celebrating the long weekend}

{finally wearing one of my Venice finds}

{feeling blessed}

This morning was not so fun as I spent all day cleaning, doing laundry and even scrubbing the inside of my over. Worst thing to clean, ever. So when it was all done I couldn’t resist doing some baking. I had a couple bananas needing to be used and decided on banana bread. Easy, yummy, not too sweet, and I can convince myself that because it has real fruit it isn’t so bad if I eat too much.

I came to the realization while preparing the batter that I am a super messy baker. I turned on the mixer without the cover on, dropped into my dry mix 10 tablespoons of cold butter and poof…flour and sugar EVERYWHERE. All over the stove top, the fridge, the knife set, the floor, and cabinets. Who knew such a tiny amount of flour could go so far?

Well here it is. Can’t wait to have some with my coffee.

I followed this recipe.

The Goods:

• 10 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup toasted, chopped walnuts

Do It:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Lightly grease a 9 1/4 by 5 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter.

3. Puree the bananas, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a food processor.

4. Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fixed with a whisk attachment. Add the remaining 10 tablespoons butter and mix on medium-low speed until blended, about 30 seconds. Add the banana mixture in 3 batches, scraping the sides of the bowl and mixing on medium speed between each addition. Fold in the nuts.

5. Pour into the loaf pan. Bake until lightly browned and bread bounces back to the touch, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

I recommend enjoying with a warm cup of coffee!

You may remember back at Christmas when I took my first stab at royal icing and it didn’t go so well {aka big gooey mess all over the kitchen}. I decided to give it another go and try it out on some Valentine’s cookies and was pleasantly surprised.

Rather than using my tiny sifter I ran {literally ran cause it is FREEZING tonight} over to my sister’s and borrowed her normal sized sifter. Somehow this time it turned out much thicker, easier to work with, and I think I finally made some headway. The only problem is the cookies themselves just aren’t sweet enough. So Martha, your royal icing recipe  was great and worked for me, but not your cookies. I’ll have to find another, anyone have any recommendations?

The Goods:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Goods:

• 1 1/4 cups of smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, room temp
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 3/4 cups milk chocolate chips

Do It:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease the muffin tins
3. Layer the bottom of the tins with chocolate chips
4. Bake for about 4-5 minutes & remove from oven
5. Smooth melted-ish chips with the back of a spoon
6. In a large bowl cream peanut butter & butter, then add vanilla & powdered sugar, then add crispies
7. Fill the muffin tins with the mixture and flatten with a spoon
8. Place in fridge for at least 15 minutes and serve!

Bring on the shoulder pads, tight pants, and insane fans!

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

The Goods:

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

Do It:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

4. Toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

5. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

6. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray.

7. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar.

8. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

]]> http://smittenwithpretty.com/2012/01/21/blueberry-heaven/feed/ 2 smittenwithpretty photo-90 IMG_5876 IMG_5887 IMG_5891 IMG_5892 IMG_5893 http://smittenwithpretty.com/2011/12/25/game-hens-four-christmases/ http://smittenwithpretty.com/2011/12/25/game-hens-four-christmases/#comments Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:43:15 +0000 smittenwithpretty http://smittenwithpretty.wordpress.com/?p=1718 ]]> Have you seen the movie Four Christmases? The first time I saw it I wasn’t such a huge fan, it was okay. It happened to come on tv the other night and the hubs and I watched it again. With this being our third Christmas since being married I watched the story unfold in a whole new light.  I got it, I understood the desire to spend the holidays on the beaches of Bali rather than running from place to place. But I knew when I married the hubs and he when he married me that this was what our future held. So here it is Day 1 of literally, our 4 Christmases.

Although in the movie they also have 4 Christmases, we do not have the craziness that they encounter. The night started with wine, cheese, and catching up with my brother who has been filming his new movie in LA all month, my sister who is always busy with her boys, my Nana who I don’t see enough, and my step sister who just went on a date with one of our favorite friends! When dinner was ready we were all surprised and excited to see each our plates with our own Cornish game hen! We had so much fun trying to figure out how to eat these tiny birds without making a huge mess. It was a success.

Highlights of the night:

• Candle tradition {complete with singing Silent Night}
• Stockings
• My nephew being thrown around by everyone
• 5 desserts to choose from
• My sister accidently lighting a napkin on fire
• Our new record player
• Cornish game hens
• Just hanging out with the family

{my favorite cuties who I take too many photos of}