Slow cooker spinach artichoke dip

With my tot's camp and busy schedule, this week has gone by so fast. It's been almost a week since we celebrated Steve's 4th father's day. How was everybody's father's day? It was supposed to be a wash-out where we live. So the whole exciting BBQ idea was out the door. We had to go a different way and made Italian father's day. Steve's family's Italian, so it suits anyway. Since there was a huge chance everything would be inside, we changed the appetizer menu entirely too. We ended up getting lucky and had a few hours of beautiful sun, which means kids stayed in the pool, no craziness in the house! Yay!

So, we served homemade Italian plus costco lasagna. I know it's cheating but their lasagna is just so darn good! But their spinach artichoke dip, I didn't find very good. So I decided to make yummy and super easy spinach artichoke dip. You just need to dump everything in the slow cooker and "fugetaboutit"! How easy is that. Even though it's very cheesy, it's got vegetables, and I made it with Greek yogurt and low fat cream cheese to lower the calories. Our au pair Lari doesn't like vegetables but even she said it's delicious! Since she's not familiar with this dip, I didn't tell her what it was in detail. =P 

Thinking we were totally lucked out with the weather, after a huge meal, we put out all sorts of desserts outdoor. Half way through dessert, it started to pour like the end of the world. Lucky everything was served in the covered patio but it was so crazy that everything was still getting wet. CHAOS. We managed to save all of our delicious desserts though. Phew! In that chaos, our mini slept through. Actually she pretty much slept through all afternoon. Everyone wanted a chance to hold her, moving from one person to another, it didn't even wake her. She totally gets spoiled when the family's over. =) 

Hope your father's day was a dry and fun one. 

Slow cooker spinach artichoke dip

Printable recipe

Ingredients :

1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 (10oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed

1/2 cup crumbled feta

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 fresh ground black pepper

1 (8oz) block reduced fat cream cheese

Directions :

1. Squeeze the thawed spinach and drain most of the liquid. In a slow cooker insert, add all the ingredients except cream cheese.

2. Cube the cream cheese and place on top of everything else. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.

3. Stir to mix everything. Serve warm. 

*Adapted from some the wiser.

Ground beef stroganoff

While my mom's staying here, she helped me with everything. Her being here alone gave a lot of support but on top of that, she wouldn't just sit down and rest. She cleaned out my totally stuffed fridge/freezer to sort things perfectly - the way my mom organize things is just awesome. I guess moms will always be moms. No matter how old I am, she would always want to take care of me and help me. 

So she found this organic grass-fed ground beef we had in the freezer. We recently had Korean taco and meatballs. I wanted to use this meat but do something different. Then I remembered I had mushrooms in the fridge. That's it, beef stroganoff! All three of us love beef stroganoff but my tot doesn't like big chunk of beef. So whenever we make it, he would just eat mushrooms and noodles or I have to cut the beef into tiny pieces. With ground beef, I knew he would definitely devour it.  

And yes, I was right. He said, "Mommy, you make really yummy meals". Adding noodles to the sauce and tossing it, rather than pouring sauce over it worked like pasta with meat sauce. Using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream makes you feel less guilty. I thought Steve would complain because it's not strips of beef but he loved it too. I love it when I have all the ingredients for a meal when I didn't plan it, especially if it means I'm cleaning out the fridge too!

if you like creamy sauce or traditional beef stroganoff, try this shortcut/ground beef for a change. 

Ground beef stroganoff

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1 lbs ground beef

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 1/2 cup beef broth

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 cup Greek yogurt

2 cups egg noodles 

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions :

1. In a skillet heat the olive oil and saute onion and garlic.

2. Add ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook until meat is brown. 

3. Add broth, flour and mushrooms. Stir and bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or reduced a little. Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles according to package directions.

4. Stir in Greek yogurt and cook until just heated. Add cooked egg noodles and parsley. Toss well and serve.

* Adapted from my mommy style

French toast cups

Long time no post! It has been a busy and exciting month for us. Our tot is promoted to a big bro as we welcomed our new baby daughter. It has been pretty hectic but good hectic. =) Foodwise, I have been consuming a whole lot of seaweed soup thanks to my Korean custom. In Korean culture, we eat/drink seaweed soup after giving birth as they believe seaweed soup cleanses your body and helps you recover. Good thing I actually love seaweed soup.

Anyway, now I guess we are two foodies and a tot plus one! She is so precious. My tot has always been big for his age but I still thought he's like a baby. Now that we have a wee one, he looks so big. He totally adores his baby sister and my heart just melts when I see the way he looks at his sister and cares for her. He's such a great big brother to her. Our mini's lucky and has nothing to worry about since her bro's got her back! =)

With a newborn at home, I haven't really cooked anything. Luckily, my mom stayed with us for a while so that was a big help. Cooking, caring for the baby and all the support. Now that everything's back to normal, I started to cook. My favorite breakfast of all time, French toast. But I wanted something different. A, I didn't feel like standing by the stove flipping french toast. B, I felt like making something cute. So there you go, french toast cups. 

 

 Mmm...Soft center and crusty top. Cinnamony sweet bites with fresh fruits. It is a very cute variation for french toast. I am a sucker for any kind of french toast so I am kind of bias but this is great if you like a little bit of bite. When I'm not using challah, I like using stale baguette for french toast because of its crust. And this muffin pan cup version definitely showcases the crust. 

Kids will love these and it'd be great to serve a crowd for a snack or part of a brunch menu since you don't have to stand by the stove. Another happy morning with yummy breakfast! =) 

French toast cups

* Makes about 10 individual cups.

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

4 cups cubed bread(a day old bread is the best)

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

powder sugar- optional

Directions :

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a muffin pan. You can line it with cupcake liners too.

2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Soak the cubed bread in the mixture for a few minutes.

3. Scoop the bread and fill each cup of muffin pan. Drizzle leftover custard over the bread. Bake for 25 minutes.

4. Plate them and dust with powdered sugar.

Spiced candied nuts

I usually crave spiced nuts during cold weather. But recently I visited my friend and she had some spiced nuts on the table and I completely emptied it. Then that craving didn't go away. I had to make some and have some in my house! We like candied nuts for salad and because I bake a lot, we usually have some kind of nuts at home and I could start right away. 

I've always done cinnamon version but never added cayenne before until I found this recipe. This is so yummy! A little hint of spiciness. I actually made two versions. One batch with cayenne and another version with paprika so my tot can enjoy it too. I was sending a big care package for my sister who just had my new niece and this was a great add on too. She loves whatever I make and on top of that, she loves spiced nuts. Anything with cinnamon. 

This is so addictive that I have to really control myself. No more than a small bowl at a time. Otherwise I would just empty a jar without knowing. Since it's warm and nice out now, we will be entertaining a lot. And even though it's not the weather you crave warm spices, I think it's a great snack to put out with the "welcome drinks" when the guests arrive. Okay, I have been staring at these pictures long enough. Time to sneak into the pantry and get some before my tot finds me. =)

Spiced candied nuts

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

3 cups nuts of your choice(I used equal parts of pecans,almonds and cashews)

1 egg white

1 Tbsp water

1/3 cup brown sugar(light or dark)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika for mild version

Directions :

1. Preheat the oven to 300F. 

2. Whisk egg white and water together until frothy. Pour over nuts and toss. 

3. Mix both sugars, cinnamon, salt and cayenne or paprika and pour it over the egg white and nuts mixture and toss well. 

4. On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, spread out evenly. Bake for 28-30 minutes and let it cool. When cooled, break the clusters if desired. Keep in airtight container. 

*Recipe from Avery cooks

Balsamic skirt steak & polenta bites

Wasn't last weekend just perfect? Oh we needed it so badly. It was so nice I was in such a great mood even though I was so busy and exhausted. And what comes naturally with this great weather? BBQ! YES! BBQ season is back! We scrubbed the bbq inside and out and was ready to go! Well..Okay, I have to be honest, Steve scrubbed the bbq. I supervised. =P

Nutty yet crispy grilled polenta with slightly spicy baby arugula and tender steak with sticky balsamic glaze. OMG, so yummy. I just LOVE polenta. It's so simple to make polenta at home but yet, it's even easier to buy a cooked polenta log so I always go the lazy way. I always have to grill extra polenta as my tot devours these.

With skirt steak, I am sure you all know it but you have to be really careful not to overcook it, otherwise it's not edible. Once time I was talking to Steve while cooking it, got distracted and I completely overcooked it and ruined his dinner. =( 

If you prepare it in advance, like marinating ahead, this is a great, quick appetizer(takes just less than 10 minutes to cook) to please guests or a fabulous small portion lunch. 

 

Balsamic skirt steak & polenta bites

printable recipe 

*Makes about 2 appetizer portions

Ingredients :

steak marinade

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tsp dark or light brown sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper to taste

 

1 lb skirt steak(or flank steak)

1/2 log ready to grill polenta, sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups baby arugula, washed

1 cup balsamic vinegar

 

Directions :

1. Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl and marinate skirt steak for at least 30 minutes.

2. In a sauce pan,add balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil. As soon as it start boiling, turn the heat to simmer and simmer for 10 minutes or until it reaches syrupy consistency to make balsamic glaze.

 

3. Heat oil in a grill pan and grill polenta until golden brown on both sides. I grill about 3 minutes each side.

4. Grill the steak about 3 minutes each side and remove from the grill pan or grill. Tent it with a foil and let it rest for 8-10 minutes. Slice thinly.

5. Arrange grilled polenta on a plate and top with baby arugula and skirt steak and drizzle balsamic glaze.

 

* Marinade recipe by Pointless meals.

Peanut butter espresso cookies

This is probably the first time I mention on this blog that my tot will be a big brother. It is just weeks away! I can't believe how fast time goes. Unlike the first time, I have my tot to keep me busy every second. First time around, by now, my tot already had a wardrobe full of clothes and accessories. Not to mention the nursery was done long time ago. This time, just a few weeks away, we have bought just enough clothes, bedding's still on the way, nursery's ALMOST done. Well..to be fair, we lived in an apartment in Manhattan when I was getting the nursery done for my tot and this time, it's a proper sized nursery which gives me more visions than I could handle!! Haha. 

Even though I am usually very decisive, I could see the room going to a couple of different directions which I liked all, it took a long time for me to actually come to the final decision. Not to mention the process of finding a painter who can give me the perfect look I was going for. I was lucky enough to find the perfect person and now we're filling up the room. 

Espresso...I love espresso but not espresso furniture for a nursery. The color of my tot's furniture set was that and it was never my cup of tea from day one- surprisingly I let Steve win at that time. So recently we donated my tot's old set to a family who could appreciate and need it more than us and got a beautiful new furniture set we both like. Now he probably learned that if we don't want to spend double, we are better off going with what I like. =P

So now that we spilled the beans, I can talk about my cravings. Pregnant or not, I often have strong cravings for savory stuff but this third trimester, I started to crave more sweets. Can't eat a lot of sweets but variety of sweets at different times. A little taste of chocolate at one point, a little taste of coffee at another. And strangely for a coffee lover like me, I do not crave actual coffee. Instead I drink lots and lots of tea. Of course I have to control the caffeine level so I start my day with a cup of earl grey and rest of the day is herbal tea. One thing I learned this pregnancy is that you have to be careful even with herbal tea. With my tot, I still craved coffee, not tea so I just drank decaf most of the times but this time, I wanted chamomile which I never ever craved(in fact I couldn't stand it before pregnancy)and all kinds of stuff. Then I learned that chamomile tea is not good for pregnant women! Anyway, I drink hot water with a slice of lemon or peppermint tea a lot. Definitely different cravings. 

I am sure occasional treat of these little guys isn't going to do anything and these are so enjoyable. I halved the cream filling recipe when I made it. For some reason, even half the recipe made more than enough for mine. Makes about two dozen sandwiched cookies.

Peanut butter espresso cookies

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

2 tsp instant espresso powder(or instant coffee)

1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 cup + 3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut butter filling

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup + 2Tbsp confectioner's sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp fine sea salt 

Chocolate to drizzle and cocoa nibs or chopped chocolate to garnish(optional)

Directions :

1. In a bowl cream the butter and confectioner's sugar until smooth.

2. In another bowl, combine rest of the dry ingredients and whisk. Mix it into creamed butter. When combined, add vanilla extract. 

3. Wrap it in plastic and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. While chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.

4. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out circles. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Cool on the sheet for a few minutes and transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

5. While cooling, make the filling. I halved the recipe and it was enough. Cream butter and peanut butter until smooth and add confectioner's sugar and sea salt. Mix until smooth. 

6. Place about 1 Tbsp filling on a cookie and top with another. Assemble rest of the cookies the same way. If desired, melt some chocolate and drizzle on top and sprinkle chopped chocolate or cocoa nibs.

*Recipe by the little epicurean.

Homemade "saltine"

It was a crazy week last week. Weather's finally becoming more appropriate for the season and I had so many late nights. Thankfully not late nights due to the tot waking up, those nights were voluntarily planned by me. I can't remember the last time I was out till close to midnight! Great fun week but by the time Sunday Easter brunch was over, I just passed out. Haha. Not going to happen again for a while I guess.

As I mentioned a few times before, my tot loves all things crispy. And he loves saltines. I love experimenting homemade commercial snacks. After trying homemade goldfish/cheese crackers, oreos and so on, saltine was my next project in mind. When I found this recipe, I tried right away as it's so simple. The only thing that needs effort is rolling out the dough thin. We have a pasta maker so I could just feed the dough through and it wasn't that big of a deal but if I didn't, it would be a lot of work. I like how the bubbled up parts are so crispy. 

The reason why I call this "saltine" or saltine-like crackers is, it is not EXACTLY like saltine but it definitely taste like saltine. Texture is slightly different. Maybe because they're too thin? Would not making holes makes make a difference? I don't know but these were pretty darn good and addictive. It might sound funny but I like my saltine with some berry jam. Dip these in a little jam for a little sweetness or snack on them as is. Simple ingredients and my tot couldn't stop munching on these. At least I know what exactly is in it. Whether you want something simple homemade snack to munch on or to serve it with cheese for the guests, I think this will work very well. I didn't mean to scare you by saying it needs effort, if you roll it out as a couple of large sheets, it won't be that much of work. And your patience will be well worth it!

Homemade "saltine"

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp kosher salt

water for brushing

salt for sprinkling

Directions :

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt. Add melted butter and pulse until it resembles coarse meal.

2. Add water and pulse until dough is formed. Dough will still be on the crumbly side. Put them on a clean surface and knead to make a moist dough disk.

3. Rest the dough for 30-60 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 400F and roll out the dough very thin. Cut into squares and place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pans and brush the top with water. Sprinkle salt evenly.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. They crisp up more as they cool. Keep in airtight container. 

*Recipe by stress cake.