Feta, Olives, and Tomato Pasta

Feta has got to be the best cheese in the history of cheeses. I love it in just about anything and it was fantastic in this dish. This pasta was quick, easy, and full of flavor. A perfect dinner for a busy weeknight since it only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish!

Also, I had to share something that I am super giddy about! I have been blogging for over 2 years now and I wanted a hard copy of my blog in case of a web crash and so I would have it forever! I went through http://www.blurb.com/ and my first year came in yesterday! (I had to break it up and put only 1 year in each book... the first book is 364 pages!) I love the quality of the book and I am so excited to get year 2 edited and ready to order!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Feta, Olives, and Tomato Pasta

Adapted from The Confused Homemaker

2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP butter
1/2 red onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black olives
1 pint cherry or grape toma­toes
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups feta

Juice from half of a lemon
1 box pasta (any shape you want - I used campanelle)

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, saute onion and garlic in oil and butter until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes, olives, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and chicken broth and cook until tomatoes soften.

Toss together pasta, tomato mixture, feta, and lemon juice.

Chocolate Waffles

I realize the picture doesn't really show the waffles so much but I had to share the recipe because they were so good!

Yesterday was my birthday and my 5 year old daughter asked if she could pretty please make me a chocolate waffle cake for my birthday. Of course I agreed and, with the help of my husband and my 2 year old son, she created a beautiful waffle cake for me.

I did sneak a taste of the plain waffle and it was fantastic! Definately a recipe that will be made again!

Enjoy!


Chocolate Waffles

Recipe from Annie Eats

1½ cups (7 oz.) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1¾ oz.) sugar
½ cup (1½ oz.) cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
3 large eggs, beaten
4 tbsp. butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Preheat the oven to 200˚ F.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk to blend. In another bowl combine the eggs, butter, vanilla and buttermilk. Whisk to blend well. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.

Fill the waffle iron with batter and cook until the waffle is crisp and completely cooked. Transfer finished waffles to the preheated oven and repeat until all the batter has been used. Serve immediately with fresh berries and whipped cream.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Everyone knows that I am not a huge seafood fan. I don't know if it is all mental or if I just don't like the taste, but needless to say, I don't eat it often. My family, on the other hand, would eat seafood every day if they could. Anya told me last night at dinner that her favorite meat was salmon. That girl would eat fish breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I let her!

In order to get a seafood fix, Nathan and Anya love to go to Red Lobster. (I don't know if Eric cares about the food so much or if he just likes looking at the live lobsters!) They go crazy and eat a ton of crab legs and I usually order a salad and go crazy on the biscuits. They are so delicious and I won't say how many I end up eating but know that it is more than my share! :)

The other day I decide to do a search for a copycat recipe and these taste IDENTICAL to the ones at Red Lobster. It probably isn't a good thing that I can make these at home now because I may just eat them all the time!

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix
¾ cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Brush on Top:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
pinch salt

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

PB & Nutella Bars

Megan from My Baking Adventures is one of my favorite bloggers. Her blog posts are always entertaining and the food she makes is amazing. She posted about these PB & Nutella bars over a year ago and I bookmarked the recipe. Of course, shortly after she posted these, we had our international move and they were lost in my files. Lucky for me, she posted them again last week (she posted the original recipe, PB&J bars). She mentioned in that post that Nutella is a great substitute for the jelly and I knew that these weren't going to get lost in the files again!

Holy moly are they delicious! Rich, but so delicious! I thought I could steal another little bite after finishing my piece and ended up with a bit of a stomachache. The stomachache was definately worth the extra bite, but just be warned that they are rich. :)

Enjoy, although if you like PB & Nutella, I know you will!


Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
adapted from Ina Garten

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam (or NUTELLA)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.


Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don’t worry if all the jam isn’t covered; it will spread in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Deviled Egg Pasta Salad

My five year old daughter, Anya, is our fearless eater. She loves trying new things and lives by the "one bite" rule. She will take at least one bite of anything to see if she likes it. When she was 2 1/2 she would eat calamari and call it noodles. Her favorite all time food is crab legs and this is her requested "special dinner". She even likes to try combinations of things that we would all think was gross. Her most infamous combination was a frosted donut with peas for sprinkles. :) She says she wants to be a chef and open her own restaurant when she is older (in addition to being a ballerina and an astronaut), so I guess she is just working on her palate!

With extra paprika... YUM!

Now that she has started kindergarten, I try to give her different things for lunch because she is definately that child that doesn't want the same thing every day. (I make her bento boxes, which she LOVES!) When I saw this pasta salad at Cassie Craves, I knew I would be making it for Anya's lunch. She adores deviled eggs (we have to seriously limit her when they are around) so I knew this pasta salad would be right up her alley.

It didn't disappoint and is incredibly delicious. It tastes exactly like a deviled egg but with the yummy addition of elbow noodles.

Enjoy!

Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
Recipe from Cassie Craves

1 pound elbow macaroni
3 cups Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup dill pickle relish (depending on how pickle-y you like it)
Paprika

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box; drain. Rinse in cold water and drain again.

2. While pasta is cooking, whisk together Miracle Whip, mustard, vinegar, and salt and pepper.

3. Gently fold pasta, eggs, and relish into the sauce. Taste for seasoning; re-season as necessary. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate until serving (it’s best the next day).