Welcome Home

Chad, Marley, and I enjoyed a nice Easter weekend at home with our families. When we came home, Marley helped welcome us back by running upstairs to the carpet and spraying vomit EVERYWHERE. Wasn't that nice of him. Instead of vomiting downstairs on the hardwood, he decided the carpet was a much nicer place to empty his stomach. I realize this makes the delicious garlic shrimp recipe suddenly look not so good but hey its life. Any suggestions for stain removal?

Garlic Shrimp with Tomatoes and Spinach

I've recently been experimenting with the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme and so far so good. The first recipe I tried was a Creamy Italian Chicken Orzo Skillet which you can find here. Chad and I both really enjoyed the flavor and how easy it was to prepare. While day dreaming at work, I came up with another recipe to try and like I said in a previous post it was "da bomb." :)

Garlic Shrimp with Tomatoes and Spinach

- 1 lb of raw peeled and deveined shrimp

- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half

- 2 cups of fresh spinach

- 1/2 box if pasta

- 1/2 container of Philadelphia Savory Garlic Cooking Creme

 

Start by cooking the pasta of your choice as directed on the package (I used farfalle). Season your shrimp with salt, pepper, and a few squirts of lemon juice. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tbls of oil and 1 tbls of butter. Place shrimp in skillet and cook for 2-4 minutes on each side. Add in the tomatoes, spinach, cooking creme, and 1/4 cup of pasta water. Stir together and allow the mixture to cook for about 2 minutes. Serve over pasta and enjoy.

Poor Marley

Our evening ritual goes a little something like this: We cook dinner, sit down to eat dinner while Marley stares at us, get up to clean up dinner, this is promptly when Marley jumps up on the bar stools and sniffs around for scraps. Last night we didn't have any leftover cause the meal I fixed was "da bomb." (more on that later). Marley was so sad...

 Then he got excited cause he thought Chad was going to give him a taste of something...

 Then he glared at us cause we didn't leave a single bite for him...

Don't ya feel bad for the little guy?

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

I really think these brownies should be called OMG Brownies because that's what I immediately said after tasting them. I found this decedent recipe at Sweet Peas Kitchen. It was fun to make and very fun to eat!

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

For the Brownies

 - 1 cup butter

 - 2 cups sugar

 - 3 eggs

 - 3 teaspoons vanilla

 - 2/3 cup cups cocoa powder

 - 1 cup all purpose floor

 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the Peanut Butter Filling

 - 1/2 cup butter, softened

 - 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

 - 2 cups powdered sugar

 - 2-3 teaspoons milk

For the Ganache Topping

 - 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

 - 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

 - 1/4 cup butter

 - 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat and add the sugar, stir to combine. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Mix in cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add flour and stir until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack.

3. While the brownies are cooling, make the peanut butter filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients and beat until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make it spreadable. Spread in an even layer over the brownies. Place in the refrigerator until filling is set, about 30 minutes.

4. While the filling is setting, make the ganache, combine the ingredients in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Melt together and combine. Pour the ganache over the top and spread gently. Return to the fridge until set.

*Parchment paper is necessary. Trust me. I know from experience.

*If you wanted to, you can just make a box brownie mix to save yourself some time. If I make these again, that is what I'm going to do.

ENJOY!

Black Bean and Corn Dip

Last year at Christmas, my wonderful friend and fellow blogger brought this dip to our annual christmas party. I instantly fell in love and had 1 2 3 servings that night. I searched her blog high and low for this delicious treat. I finally found it and made it on SuperBowl Sunday. I was going to blog about it then but Chad and I ate it all before I remembered to snap a picture. I made it again this past weekend and remembered to grab my camera before it was too late.

Black Bean and Corn Dip
- 2 cans of black beans (drained)
- 1 can of Rotel (drained)
- 1 cup of frozen corn thawed or 1 can of corn
- 1 8oz block of cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Mix all the above ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle with cilantro if your heart desires. Serve cold with tortilla chips. Super easy and super delicious! Thanks Caroline!

Thumbin' My Way Into North Caroline

I recently took a trip to Raleigh, NC to visit some of my besties from high school. It was a great weekend get-a-way minus the pilot attempting barrel rolls on the way there. I love to explore new cities and especially new restaurants. Of course my friends know this and they had quite the line up of local eateries for me to choose from.

 We had breakfast at the State Farmer's Market. It was a delicious local breakfast with some of the best sausage gravy I've even eaten (don't tell my grandma please). The biscuits were great and they had containers of molasses on the table. That gets two thumbs up in my book.

 Our next stop was a super cute place call Hayes Barton Cafe and Dessertery. We went there soley for dessert but I hear their food is good as well. The cakes were enourmous and delicious. We ordered four different types to try....Neopolitan, Coconut, Lemon Blueberry, and Flourless Chocolate with a Nutella Filling. The Lemon Blueberry was hands down my favorite. I'm craving it right now. Somebody bring me a piece please...

 Of course we had to get some mexican food at Dos Taquitos. They had some banging steak tacos and one too many pitchers of margaritas...girls just wanna have fun and fun we did have!

Last but not least was a wonderful lunch at Foster's Market in Durham. It was one of the cutest places ever. They have tons of picnic tables and chairs outside and everybody just crowds in. The food is all fresh and local and AMAZING. I had a plate with chicken salad, a cold sweet potato salad, and a white bean salad with feta and dries cherries.
 If you guys are ever in Raleigh you gotta check on these places. I promise you won't be sorry.

Thanks Terra and Kristin for a great weekend!

Strawberry Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast

I recieved some delicious Nature's Pride Bread in the mail the other day courtesy of Nature's Pride and Foodbuzz. I couldn't wait to try it out and come up with a yummy recipe. I decided since the bread was so hearty that it needed something to sweeten it up a bit :) The strawberries have been looking so good in the grocery store so I knew a strawberry stuffed french toast was the way to go! I asked my wonderful husband to give it a taste even though he just ate dinner and usually isn't a big sweet fan. I practically had to pull him away before he ate it all!

Strawberry Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast

- 1cup of diced strawberries

- 1 container of Mascarpone cheese (if you can't find this, softened cream cheese would work as well)

- Nature's Pride Hearty Wheat Bread with Flax

- 2 tablespoons of sugar

- 3 eggs

- 2 tablespoons of milk

- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Start by dicing up your strawberries in a bowl. Add in the sugar and let them sit for about 5-10 minutes.

In a shallow dish, whisk the eggs, milk, and cinnamon together.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. (I used a cast iron skillet)

Once the berries have marinated with the sugar, stir in the mascarpone cheese. ( Go ahead and give this a taste, its DELICIOUS!)

Take a slice of your bread, spoon on as much or as little of the berries/cheese mixture as you like. Place another slice of bread on top. Carefully, dip the bread into the egg mixture. Make sure you coat all sides and allow the excess to drip off before placing in the hot skillet. Cook about 3-5 minutes on each side. Checking to make sure the bread doesn't burn. I served mine with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. *Note: the ingredient picture shows honey but I decided not to use any. Just didn't want you to think you were going crazy.