Baking with Blondie

  Mother's Day was just lovely. I didn't have to lift a finger in the kitchen. My Ryan makes the yummiest BBQ Chicken and Rice (big time kudos to his Dad for passing on such a gem of a recipe). I crave this chicken. I crave the rice. It's beyond therapy.  I made sure to have Ryan make the recipe with extra chicken just so I could use it for pizza today. Plus, we still had extra Pepper Jack Cheese to use up from our Chili Lime Turkey Burgers with Guacamole from last week. So the stars were aligned for this flavorful pizza to enter our kitchen. It was well-welcomed.  I've never really made my own pizza dough. I know. Crazy. But I get so busy sometimes and it's so much easier to just use the stupid mixes. Today, I learned my lesson, and will forever more make my own pizza dough no matter how busy the day. This dough was so easy, that I (the queen of killing yeast and dough and sucking at anything "making bread from scratch" related) made it p...

 These are absolutely divine. I found these little beauties on Pinterest and wasn't really fond of the crust they used. So I made up my own along the way. I'm so happy that it turned out so delicious. I know that it's a wonderful skill to create recipes on our own, but most of the time I'm too chicken. I'm getting much better, though.       At least that's what I keep telling myself. Recipe #3 of my unofficial mini muffin pan week has come to an end with these little tarts. I can't even begin to describe how perfectly lovely this flavor combo is. The sweet honey almond crust enveloped so tastefully in the creamy custard. I loved how after popping one of these in my mouth, I can taste the crunch, the cream, and then the POP of the blueberry exploding. Much fun for all involved. I think these would be perfect for a bridal/baby shower. Or heck, for a regular Thursday afternoon - am I right? The original recipe calls for letting the custard's warmt...

  Holy guacamole. I had to stuff this (yes the one pictured) turkey burger in my mouth the second I put my camera down. Very lady like, I know. But when the guacamole calls my name (my real name... not my um... blog land name), I can't ignore it. I seriously couldn't help myself.  I wanted to use ground chicken as the original recipe called for, but my local grocery store was fresh out of it when I went last week. I settled for turkey, and man it tasted juicy! I'm sure you could use ground beef as well. I'm sure Ryan will roll his eyes a bit at the ground turkey move I'm throwing at him, but it's not like we can have a slab of steak every night (I'm sure he'd love that if we had the budget for it... that man loves his meat).  I'm crazy for what Iowa Girl Eats mixed into the ground meat. Just take a quick look. Cilantro! Green onions! Red pepper! Garlic! What more could a girl need, right? The flavors were absolutely incredible. And ...

Apparently it's mini-treat week here in the Blondie household. I don't know how I didn't realize I'd planned three new recipes to try that include the mini-muffin tin. I told you I was obsessed. I've now proven that to myself without even knowing it. I've had these pinned for a while, and I would have made them much sooner if I knew how gosh darned easy they were! I found them on one of my favorite blogs: Iowa Girl Eats. She has fantastic recipes - I'm actually making two of them this week. Her recipes lean towards the healthier side of life, but she certainly knows how to make a killer dessert. I also really enjoy looking through her workout lists. If you're a treadmill runner (I'm not. I'm kind of a purist, and only run outside/indoor track. Yes, even in the dead of winter), she has some great running plans for that kind of thing. I'm such a fan of her website. Kudos, Kristin, for your inspiration. I couldn't believe how fast th...

  Looking for the perfect little muffin? These are your new best friend.    I originally was going to make this recipe a little later this week, but I found my strawberries becoming a wee-bit impatient. Eh, no worries. In no time, they were thrown in the oven with their new cream-cheese suitor. I love my mini-muffin pan. I originally bought it for my son's birthday party and have used it several times since. After seeing these muffins on Pinterest, I couldn't help but continue my strawberry-fetish (and good timing, they're in season!) by making them. This recipe makes about 12 large muffins, so that's about 36 mini muffins worth. I actually did half and half - some small, some large. I loved popping the warm small muffins in my mouth! The warm, sweet, gooey strawberry was met perfectly with the creamy, tangy, cream cheese - all wrapped up in the moist muffin goodness. It's a winner, I must say. I just can't wait for Ryan to come home and try ...

As you've probably noticed, we're very fond of making little fruity drinks around here, especially as summer creeps closer and closer through our front door. This drink is fantastic. I wait ALL YEAR for watermelon season to come around - and now that it's arriving, I anticipate buying a watermelon a week until I'm sick of 'em. I remember my parents telling me a story about my Grandma in California - and how if you gave her a fork, she could sit and eat an entire watermelon by herself! Must be genetic. We've gone through one in only 12 hours... Ryan certainly is not to blame. We sipped these on our back porch with paper twirly straws. Even though we were sitting in our sweats, and the manchild was covered in dirt and grass from the backyard, we felt like kings. I love any and every excuse for a cold glass of lemonade. This was definitely one for the books. ----- Melonberry Lemonade 6 cups chopped fresh watermelon, seedless 2 cups chopped fresh stra...

This was such a quick dinner, but had loads and loads of beautiful Italian flavor. Ryan became utterly obsessed after the first bite, and asked me to make this again. I fell in love with the flavors even quicker. It tasted like bruschetta in sandwich form, but with the creamy, decadent, mozzarella embracing it every step along the way. Making this with sourdough was a good call (by accident, actually. I thought I grabbed wheat). I've never made pesto before. What a shame that was. It was super easy! I mean, how many recipes can claim to add every single ingredient all at the same time? I love when it happens. I made the pesto, threw the sandwiches on the griddle, and by the time I was done loading the dishwasher, I had perfect Italian sandwich love ready for eating. Now that's my kind of dinner, folks. ------- Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Homemade Basil Pesto  based loosely on Closet Cooking  For Sandwich: 4 slices sourdough bread (or whatever bread yo...

  The combination of these flavors will blow your mind. It was the perfect reason to bust out the grill. I've made these more than a few times in the Blondie household - it's just one of those recipes I can't stay away from for too long. It's always been one of Ryan's favorites, and we've served it a couple times to dinner guests. The combination of these ingredients is beyond fresh and (surprisingly) not too heavy.  I marinated the skirt steaks overnight (only about $6 for three steaks... seriously). When Ryan found the steaks marinating in the fridge last night I swear he did the happy dance. Also, the beans are fantastic! We aren't wine-drinkers, but I do keep a couple bottles of wine in the kitchen for cooking. There will be leftover mango salsa, but after cooking up a few oil-brushed/salt-coated tortillas in the oven, we slicked up the rest with some homemade tortilla chips.  I first saw this recipe on one of my favorite Food Network sh...

I am in love with this cake. I saw it on Pinterest a month ago, and have been waiting ever since for strawberries to go on sale. This week the stars aligned, I bought those juicy reds, and popped this wonderful cake in the oven. I couldn't believe how moist it was. It quite honestly was the most moist slice of cake I think I've ever eaten (I know, pretty bold statement, but 100% true!) The zesty lemon was such a beautiful contrast to the warm fresh strawberry pieces - and don't even get me started on the Greek Yogurt. It made this cake top notch. I was so psyched to buy a bundt pan. We received a Target gift card recently, and I knew I wanted to use a fraction of it for a kitchen toy. The whole time I was looking through the pans, I couldn't help but quote My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when they were fighting over what the name of the "cake" was: "Thank you! But what is it?" "It's a bundt." "bonk? bon? bont?" "No, ...

I've always called this recipe "Shepherd's Pie", but I learned recently that my label is a little off. I hadn't noticed until our buddy Alton used lamb while preparing this dish on The Food Network. I've never cooked lamb. I've never tried lamb. I'm sure it's excellent, and that day will come, but I wasn't about to throw myself into that experience this weekend. I chose ground beef instead to safe both time and money. This meat switch apparently transforms the dish from Shepherd's Pie (get it? lamb?) to Cottage Pie. Fine by me, as long as it tastes just as well. Alton Brown is one of my favorite guys on The Food Network . I've always enjoyed his show Good Eats . He has such a clever and entertaining way of teaching any type of audience about food. He makes it memorable. Even if he's just talking about squash or something, he makes it really interesting. He's a commentator on Iron Chef America , as well. Really good guy...