Tag Archives: cheese

cute caprese bites

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When the first thing out of Boyfriend’s mouth when he enters the kitchen is “OH MY GOD, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME WITH CUTENESS!?” I consider that a win.

This army of cuteness couldn’t be easier to assemble, nor more delicious. Cherry tomatoes and basil are two things I pretty much always have on hand, I just happened to have a container of boccacini hanging out in the fridge that I just had to use up, so out came these little guys.

Sweet, salty, creamy…. perfect.

I wish I had more to say about them, but I just don’t. I think the pictures sum it up pretty good.

So the “recipe” if you’d like to call it that is as such

Cute Caprese Bites

  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • 12 boccacini balls
  • 12 leafs of basil
  • Fleur de sel (optional)
  • Good quality balsamic vinegar (optional)

Cut cherry tomatoes in half, sprinkle boccacini with sea salt.

Place boccacini on bottom half of cherry tomato, top with basil leaf, and replace top of tomato. Skewer with a toothpick (or something fancier if you wish).

Sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. I suspect a drizzle of pesto might not be a bad idea either… ooh, or maybe pesto and balsamic on the side so you can dip into whichever you prefer… mmm

Enjoy

If you can’t find boccacini, just cube some fresh mozzarella and call it a day. 🙂

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cheesy artichoke bread

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artichoke bread

As appetizers go, they don’t get much simpler than this. I have been meaning to make artichoke dip for, I don’t know, my whole life now. I just never seem to get around to it. Maybe i should rename this blog to “things I never get around to making” as there seem to be so many of them….

ANYWAY…. this easy-peasy appetizer gives you that delicious artichoke-dip flavor in a fast and easy topping instead. I used canned artichokes, seasoning-free and oil-free, you could steam your own if you prefer fresh. As always, Trader Joes is a pretty solid bet. I read once somewhere that Trader Joe’s is the only supermarket that has no BPA in their can linings, so that’s an added bonus if you’re worried about those types of things. Oh, “how was the bread,” you ask?

Deeelicious. I cut the bread into bite-size squares and served them alongside a fresh cara cara cocktail and BF and I had ourselves our very own “happy hour” in the comfort of our own home. Between the great flavor, and how quickly you can whip it up, this one’s definitely a keeper.

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Cheesy Artichoke Bread

[ Printable Recipe ]

serving size depends on the size of your baguettes  – this recipe can easily be scaled up and down to suit the number of people you’re serving.

  • 2 french baguettes
  • 2 – 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 14-ounce can of artichokes in water, drained and chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup seasoned panko bread crumbs (optional)
  • fresh parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the baguettes in half lengthwise and brush or drizzle with the olive oil. Equally distribute the minced garlic and chopped artichoke hearts.

Top each with a good handful of cheese, about 1/3 cup each. Sprinkle on a few breadcrumbs for extra crispness (not required).

Bake for 8 minutes, then heat the broiler and broil for 2 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Adapted from Pinterest

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Creamy Cheesy Pasta

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creamy chicken pasta

I never realized how often I make pasta until I saw the number of pasta recipes in queue for this site. I don’t feel like we eat pasta that much, I don’t even particularly like pasta. It must just be that it’s so easy to just boil some water and throw a sauce together after 8 hours of work, 2 hours of commuting, and an hour of gym time. When all I want to do is just go home and crash, apparently pasta is my go-to dish.

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While I usually will make pasta with a red sauce or just some fresh sauteed veggies, it’s always good to change it up now and then with something new. This particular recipe comes to us from a recent issue of Cooking Light. I used skim milk and added some shredded chicken for extra protein.

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

Print Me!

·  8 ounces uncooked pasta
·  1 cup milk
·  2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, divided
·  1/2 tsp salt
·  1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
·  1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
·  1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
·  1/2 C (2 oz) shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
·  1 1/2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese
·  ½ – 1 C cooked, shredded chicken* (optional)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

2. While pasta cooks, whisk together milk, 2 teaspoons basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

3. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add flour to pan, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Add milk mixture; cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and add 1 1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano and mascarpone cheese to milk mixture. Add pasta and chicken to pan and toss with tongs to combine.

5. Sprinkle with remaining 4 teaspoons basil and remaining 1/2 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve

[Adapted from Cooking Light]

Home-made “Cheez-Its”

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Costco is a dangerous place. It lures you in with promises of cheap goods, then forces you to buy crazy things you would never consider buying otherwise… like an entire 2 lb block of cheese. There are only two people living in this house, what are we going to do with a 2 lb block of cheese? There’s no way we can eat the entire thing and live to tell about it. I can hear my arteries crying just looking at the the thing…

Well, the Boy talked me into this particular block of cheese, and while it’s delicious, it has been plaguing me for what seems like a lifetime. I’m sure it’s only been a month or so, but it’s always in there… taunting me. How many cheeseburgers do I have to make before I work through it? What about sandwiches for lunch? Shred some for tacos or enchiladas, I suppose. Maybe some nachos? Grilled cheese? But it’s white cheddar… white cheddar grilled cheese? Hmmm. Or on pasta? No thanks. A girl can only eat so much cheese…

Then – epiphany! Cheez-its are delicious, right? And gold fish crackers? Yum! White cheddar? Um, hello, way better than orange-dyed cheddar. So finally, I had something to do with my salty, extra-sharp behemoth.

Plus, I got these neat rubber-band things that I put on my rolling pin to ensure I roll to the correct thickness 100% of the time and I’ve been looking for an excuse to use them. So now I got to try them- and it was way better than guessing how thick my dough was or making futile attempts to measure the thickness, and worrying that it wasn’t rolled evenly… I swear I’m not neurotic. You worry about these things too, right?

These crackers are amazing! They’re like little pillows of cheesy, salty, buttery goodness. Plus, they’re super cute. I mean seriously. Look at how cute they are! I think I’ll make some for our next get-together so everyone can bask in the cuteness.

Cheez-its – Adapted from Country Living

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  • 1 c AP flour
  • 4 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter; cubed
  • 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (I used extra-sharp white cheddar)
  • ¾ tsp salt, separated into ¼ tsp and ½ tsp
  • ¼ tsp pepper (a couple turns of your pepper grinder)
  • Up to 4 Tbsp cold water
  • 1/8 tsp ground cayenne (optional)

Make dough: Pulse all ingredients (except water) in the food processor until the mixed. Slowly pour cold water (1 Tbsp at a time) through the opening while pulsing just until the mixture sticks together, forming into a ball. It’ll look something like…

Remove and gather into one solid chunk. Flatten it into a general rectangle-ish shape (it will make it chill faster and also make it easier to roll out) and place into the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

When ready to bake: Preheat oven to 350F. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a knife or pizza cutter, slice into squares (if you want to be fancy you can use any shape of cookie cutter your heart desires). Sprinkle with salt and place on two parchment-lined sheet pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crispy and lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to a bowl or container to avoid any steam moistening the crackers.

*Tips

*I separated most of my crackers, which was tedious. There were a few towards the end that I didn’t bother separating but baked up just fine regardless (figures). I also poked little holes in the centers to look more cheez-it-y… It didn’t really make a difference.

*I added a little cayenne and it didn’t make them spicy at all, but probably added a little depth to the flavor. I think next time I will use chipotle (because chipotle owns my soul).

*Set a timer! I nearly forgot about my second batch… well, I did forget until I smelled them. Luckily I caught them before they burned!

*If you want perfect crackers you can keep re-rolling and re-cutting, I just figured all the ugly side-scrap pieces were just bonus treats for me, ya know, as quality control

*They puffed up so much that next time I will probably roll them even thinner, which will yield more crackers that are (hopefully) even crispier!