Monthly Archives: June 2012

BL(S)T Pasta Salad

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Oh my goodness, does it ever seem like life is like zooming by like a train and your just trying to chase it down and jump on?

That’s kind of how I feel right now. I feel old. I’m in high school and feel old. Can you imagine how I’ll feel when I’m like actually old?! I can’t believe I’m going to be a senior in the Fall. I feel like I was just playing with my barbies and American Girl Dolls with my sister last week.

I was teaching a class of swim lessons last week and I actually really liked the kids I had. (Shoutout to Julie!) I actually sorta had a tiny taste of how she feels when she switches what grade level she teaches. I’m totally used to teaching the 3 and 4 year old how to walk in the water and blow bubbles and be cute and all….and then all of a sudden I was shoved in front of a bunch of big bad 8 and 9 year olds!!

I was seriously intimidated.

And then for some reason they thought I was some form of a rock star/celebrity because I was a high school girl. They were immediately obsessed with me. To be honest, it was slightly awesome. They all wanted the same swimsuit as me (a plain blue one piece…?), same earrings, same hairstyle, it was crazy. On the last day they all had their moms take pictures with me and I felt like I was on the red carpet or something! They were adorable and hugged me nonstop. It actually made me even consider going into a teaching career when I get older….but I don’t want to totally base my choice off of a two week swim class. So we’ll just see ;)

Anyways, I made some pasta salad. Pretty darn tasty and great for the summer! This would be a perfect thing to make and bring to any 4th of July BBQs you all may be attending next week!!!

BL(S)T Pasta Salad

(adapted from Skinny Taste)

about 2 1/2 cups pasta (I used Penne)

5 slices of bacon

1 cup chopped tomatoes (I used canned, diced tomatoes because it was easy and in the house. I believe this would be equal to about 2 or 3 large fresh tomatoes)

3 Tablespoons mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

2 1/4 cups fresh, washed baby spinach

  1. Prepare bacon as desired. I baked mine in the oven at 400 degrees F in a baking pan for about 8-10 minutes or until crispy. When bacon is done cooking, drain and pat with paper towel. Crumble into small pieces.
  2. While bacon is cooking, cook pasta according to directions on box. Meanwhile, prepare tomatoes and place them in a bowl with the mayo and combine them with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. When pasta is done cooking, drain well and rinse with cool water to cool it down. Combine pasta with tomatoes and spinach and mix well. Toss in bacon right before serving. I made mine the day ahead, covered with plastic wrap, then mixed in the bacon right before we ate. Enjoy! Store leftovers in air tight container in the fridge.

Random Fact of the Day: Wrestler Andre the Giant set the world record for the most alcohol consumed, he drank 156 beers in a single sitting.

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Deviled Eggs

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Deviled Eggs. I’ve always thought that was kind of a weird name. I started thinking, “where did that name come from?”.

Ready for a little educational fun? Yes?! Of course you are (if not…the recipe is just down there a ways, so feel free to scroll through)

The term “deviled” dates back to the 19th century, referring to the use of particularly piquant spices in cooking. In the 19th century, it came to be used most often with spicy or zesty food, including eggs prepared with mustard, pepper or other ingredients stuffed in the yolk cavity.I’m guessing they consider the paprika or other spices are the “piquant” part in the eggs. I don’t think that I have ever had deviled eggs with mustard, but I guess that is somewhat common. Mustard isn’t really how I flow. Then again, neither is mayo, but it just somehow works in deviled eggs.

I found this little bit actually kind of interesting, that in some parts of the Southern and Midwestern United States, the terms “salad eggs” or “dressed eggs” are used, usually when the dish is served in connection with a church function, to avoid dignifying the word “deviled”, in reference to “The Devil”. I feel like this would totally happen in the town where I live, we have no less than 45 churches.

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Deviled Eggs

10 hard boiled eggs

about 3-5 Tablespoons mayonaise

paprika

  1. Peel hard boiled eggs and slice each egg in half the long way (hot dog style?). Place all the yolks in a separate bowl and set the whites on a plate or platter on the side.
  2. In the bowl with the yolks, add the mayo. Using a fork, mash the yolks and the mayo until the mixture becomes creamy but still thick and slightly chunky (you don’t want to add too much mayo where it’s mayo-overload, so start LIGHT and add more as needed).
  3. Spoon or pipe the egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika. Enjoy!! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Random Fact of the Day: Soldiers from every country salute with their right hand.
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Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches-SRC Post!

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It’s that time again!

Time for a little bit of the Secret Recipe Club (SRC), if you aren’t familiar with the whole SRC family and concept, you can read and find out more about it over here. Long story short, it’s a super fun group of bloggers with a cool idea that helps us get to know more bloggers and expand each other’s blogs.

This month I was assigned to get to know Erin over at The Spiffy Cookie. I just can NOT get enough of the adorable name and the cute little cookies all over her blog!!! She is currently working towards her PhD in Biomedical Science (woooeeeeeee! That sounds super impressive!!!) and her favorite food group is dessert which is awesome because mine totally is too!! If your favorite food group is not dessert…then I don’t know how you like qualify for being human. Anyways, she also dislikes mushrooms. I am the SAME way. They are just freaky and are a fungus and just not meant to go in my mouth.

With a blog name like The Spiffy Cookie I felt slightly obligated to make a cookie recipe. And I was THISCLOSE to making her Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies, but then I just could not tear myself away from her intriguing Root Beer Pulled Pork. It was a close race but I ended up going with the pork.

You should stop by her post and see her outrageous root beer bottle collection, it is MONSTROUS!!!

You should also make this pulled pork. It is super duper yummy, flavorful, easy, and tender. I put all the meat and root beer in the crock pot in the morning, had it on for 6 hours while I was at work, got home drained it and added the BBQ sauce and put it on the warm setting, worked out, then came home and ate myself a scrumptious pulled pork sandwich. This recipe is perfect for any busy person who wants a delicious, home cooked meal!! :)

Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches

(from The Spiffy Cookie)

2lb. pork tenderloin (pork shoulder or butt can also be used)

12 oz. can of root beer

18 oz. bottle of barbecue sauce

8 hamburger buns or french bread

  1. Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker and pour the can of root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until pork shreds easily with a fork.
  2. After pork has cooked, drain and discard the root beer. Shred the pork (I used 2 forks to do this) and place it back in the slow cooker. Pour the barbecue sauce over the pork and stir to combine. Serve immediately or keep warm in slow cooker until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger buns or with french bread.



Random Fact of the Day: The State of Florida is bigger than England.
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The Parent Trap Cupcakes

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There are a few things I really, really like.

Oreos would be one of them. Side note: Seriously, how do they make those chocolate cookies so crispy, yummy, and chocolatey?! I think it’s one of life’s mysteries.

Another would be peanut butter. I can eat it from the jar with a spoon and be totally content. However, if you gave me a jar of peanuts I would kind of just be like “what the heck?!”.

It’s only destiny for these two rockstars to come together in cupcake form. It’s been a while since I’ve made cupcakes and I thought these would be a great way to hop back into them. The frosting is freakishly good and makes way more than you need, so be ready to grab a spoon and stuff your face.

Oreo Cupcakes

(adapted from How Sweet It Is)

(makes 12)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

10 Oreos, crushed

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tin with liners.
  2. Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs. Add vanilla. Gradually add in flour and baking powder. Gradually mix in milk. Stir in crushed Oreos by hand.
  3. Fill cupcake liners with batter and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack, I placed mine in the fridge to speed up the process because I’m impatient ;)

Peanut Butter Oreo Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup peanut butter

3-5 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tablespoons milk

10 Oreos, crushed

  1. Beat butter and vanilla extract with hand mixer or stand mixer. Mix in peanut butter. Add in powdered sugar. Mix in milk as needed to achieve desired consistency. Beat in crushed Oreos. Frost cupcakes as desired. You will most likely need to frost your cupcakes the old fashioned way, trying to pipe them will be hard because of the crushed Oreo pieces.

Random Fact of the Day: For every human in the world there are one million ants.

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M&M Cookie Bars

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I have a slightly embarrassing story to tell.

There is an Aldi grocery store quite conveniently placed by my house. I often go there for my daily needs like their delicious ice cream sandwiches, granola bars, carrots, butter, bananas, you know how it goes. Well I also happen to love their Double Mocha Cappuccino.

There has been a crisis over the past two weeks….

Double Mocha Cappuccino has been nowhere to be found the past few weeks. Needless to say, I’ve been going through withdrawal. My life has been turned upside down. I’m not totally sure which way is up. I haven’t been eating raw cookie dough lately. I’m not really sure what is going on.

 

So I sent an e-mail to Aldi.

I won’t show you the exact e-mail because that is just TOO embarrassing, but it was something along the lines of “WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THE DOUBLE MOCHA CAPPUCCINO!? I LOVE THAT STUFF”. I got a quite nice e-mail back from Aldi saying, don’t fear, the double mocha cappuccino was a seasonal item but has now turned into a regular, all-year product and should be on the shelves soon.

*PHEW*

The day I see that stuff back on the shelves will be a quite glorious day. Until then, we can eat some M&M Cookie Bars. Their great by themselves and awesome crumbled over some ice cream. Make them if you know what’s good for ya.

M&M Cookie Bars

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose is fine, too)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (yes, a WHOLE tablespoon)

1 egg

1/2 cup M&M’s

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch square glass baking pan.
  2. Sift flours, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix in egg. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Stir in M&M’s. Spread dough in prepared pan. It will seem like a thin layer but it will bake up a bit.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. When done, let cool on cooling rack for about 30 minutes then cut into squares and enjoy!

Random Fact of the Day: The average duration of a high school relationship is one month. Doesn’t shock me..

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