#1 Snickerdoodles

Fat & Fluffy Snickerdoodles

I made the most delicious Fat Fluffy Snickerdoodle cookies this week from How Sweet It Is Blog and they were a super easy happy valentine's gift for some of our friends and family. I love a good, soft cookie dipped in milk. These turned out EXACTLY like the recipe describes: FAT & FLUFFY! Straight from heaven.

Fat Fluffy Snickerdoodles

makes 16-20 cookies

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon for dipping

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combine, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Remove dough from fridge and roll into big 1 1/2 inch balls. Dip in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on baking sheet. Lightly press down on dough to flatten it. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

HAPPY HEART DAY

love, natalie and spencer

Honey almond pork chops

honey & almond crusted pork chops

I'm not a huge fan of pork and I've NEVER had a desire to eat bone-in pork chops. Meat still attached to a bone gives me the willies so I thought I would branch out and experiment a little with the boneless version.. and they were on sale at Winco:) 

Usually boneless pork chops turn out kind of dry and boring so I was determined to find a way to boost the flavor and moisture! The hubby and I both give this combination two thumbs up.

Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 (4-ounce) boneless pork loin chops
4 teaspoons honey
1/3 cup almond meal/flour 
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray baking sheet or glass dish with non-stick spray.
2. Dump almond flour onto plate
3. Spread and rub honey all over pork chops, press both sides into almond flour, place into baking dish.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes (depending on thickness of chops), switch oven to broil on HIGH, let chops brown under broiler for 5 minutes.

grilled avocado-cheese

grilled cheese

{for grown-ups}

for one sandwich:

2 slices whole wheat bread

stone-ground or dijon mustard

1/2 small avocado, sliced

handful fresh spinach leaves

1 slice swiss or havarti cheese

1 slice pepper-jack cheese

best way to stack your sandwich:

1 slice bread

-

mustard

-

1 slice cheese

-

avocado slices

-

spinach leaves

-

1 slice cheese

-

1 slice bread 

I used a grilled-cheese maker for this sandwich (it was kind of too big for this small appliance, but I love how it presses into two triangles). If you don't have a grilled-cheese maker: use a panini press, George Foreman grill, or stove-top grill pan.

cream party cake & butter-cream-cheese frosting

CREAM PARTY CAKE

&

butter-cream-cheese frosting

Whenever I make a cake that I plan on frosting and decorating, I ALWAYS make the cake {the day before} and put it in the freezer or refrigerator overnight or until I'm ready to frost it. This make it SO easy to frost because it doesn't get all crumbly and messy. 

**The letters and heart pictured on the cake are made from sticks of bubblegum. So easy!**

cream party cake

Cake Ingredients:
2 boxes cake mix, any flavor (I used strawberry)
2 cups water
2/3 cups canola or vegetable oil
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 package instant pudding, any flavor (I used cheesecake)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray three 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray
2. Mix all ingredients until completely combined (a couple minutes in my kitchen-aid was enough. hand mixer will work just as good)
3. Pour mixture evenly divided into all three round cake pans
4. Bake for 29-33 minutes
5. Remove pans from oven and immediately drop onto counter top (about 4-6 inches away) a few times. This will help make the cake more dense (a little trick I learned from my sister-in-law)
6. Place hot cakes into fridge or freezer until next day.

perfect butter-cream-cheese frosting

Frosting Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 cup canned milk **

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 bag (32-ounce) powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients, except powdered sugar, in mixer

2. Slowly add in powdered sugar (can add a little more milk if needed) until frosting gets to desired consistency.

STACK ALL THREE LAYERS OF CAKE

SPREAD FROSTING IN BETWEEN EACH LAYER

FROST CAKE COMPLETELY IN A SWIRLY DESIGN

STORE CAKE IN REFRIGERATOR UNTIL PARTY TIME!

how-to: roast eggplant & pick a good one

roasted eggplant 

&

goat cheese - basil - balsamic

Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
olive oil spray (I use Misto) or for drizzling
salt and pepper
2 ounces crumbled goat cheese
4-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
balsamic vinegar

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray baking sheet with non-stick spray
2. Slice eggplant into rounds 1/4 inch thick
3. Arrange slices on baking sheet, spray or drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place in oven (middle rack) for 18-20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, arrange onto place, serve with basil, goat cheese, and drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

How to pick a good eggplant:

The skin should be glossy, not dull, and the eggplant should be fairly firm. If you press it lightly with your thumb, if it gives a little and then springs right back, it's ripe. If the indentation stays, it is overripe. If there's no give at all, the eggplant was picked too early, but even that is better than overripe. Soft spots & brown spots are bad.

brick-oven PIZZA {roasted veggie & grilled chicken}

My loving husband is so good about eating whatever I come home and decide to throw in the oven that day, but I LOVE when he gives me a suggestion on what I should cook. It takes care of my incredible indecisiveness. Monday night he requested calzones... I was excited to attempt them, than the dough was giving me major attitude and I finally threw it all on the pizza stone and took the rolling pin to it. I must say the final product did not suffer from that hiccup.

brick-oven PIZZA

{roasted veggie & grilled chicken}

You will need:
Pizza stone
Rolling pin

Ingredients:
1 lb pizza dough (I haven't found our favorite recipe yet, so for now we use store-bought: Winco's wheat refrigerated dough)
1 cup pizza sauce (my fave: TJ's tomato basil marinara)
1 cup grilled chicken, shredded
2 cups roasted vegetables (instructions below; I do this a day or two before to make prep easier)
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Fresh basil
Balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese, grated
Fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Roll out dough onto stone, bake for 10 minutes, then carefully remove hot stone from oven
3. Spread sauce onto crust, pile on chicken and veggies, arrange slices of mozzarella evenly on top, and sprinkle with garlic powder.
4. Bake for 12 more minutes
5. Change oven to broil on High, broil for 2-3 minutes {WATCHING CLOSELY} to make sure the cheese gets brown and bubbly, but {DOES NOT} burn.
6. Sprinkle with sliced basil, fresh cracked pepper, grated parm, and my personal favorite: drizzle of balsamic vinegar!

Oven roasted veggies: (zucchini, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, mushrooms, eggplant etc.) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Simply cut veggies into chunks, arrange onto baking sheet, drizzle about 1 teaspoon olive oil or spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and roast for 40 minutes. 

thai red curry {trader joe's style}

At one point in my life I had the luckiest opportunity to live less than one mile away from the most glorious, unique grocery to come into my life. TRADER JOE'S is home to some of my very favorite products. The most delicious items to enter my home. And I'm about to introduce you to my #1...

I have a Thai food obsession and this curry sauce is the easiest, yummiest, healthiest way to cure that crazy craving EVERYTIME. I don't know what I would do if they hadn't opened a TJ's in Salt Lake City... Now get in your car and go to Trader Joe's.

Thai Red Curry {chicken & veggies}

2 large servings // 4 small servings

Ingredients:

1 bottle TJ's Thai Red Curry Sauce
3 large or 4 small chicken breasts // cut into 2 inch cubes
1 large carrot
4-6 cups fresh spinach
1 cup peas
Plain Greek yogurt // for serving (calms down the heat and adds the perfect amount of creaminess)
Pita bread, naan bread, quinoa, brown rice, soba or rice noodles // for serving

Crock-pot method:
Combine chicken, carrots and curry said in small crock-pot. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours. Then stir in spinach and peas, cover and let cook for 10 more minutes. Serve with {carbohydrate} of your choice a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Stove-top method:
Heat large sauce pan over medium high, coat with non-stick spray or 1 tsp olive oil, add chicken and carrots, cook until chicken is fully cooked and carrots soften. Add curry sauce and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir in spinach and peas, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve with {carbohydrate} of your choice and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

GET CREATIVE

Change up the ingredients with some of your favorites! 

Meat: sirloin or flank steak, boneless pork tenderloin, shrimp, tofu, etc.

Veggies: cauliflower, mushrooms, red peppers, sweet potatoes, kale, etc. 

I've done it all and it's delicious every time!