Author Archives: Anne

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About Anne

Family: my wonderful husband, Adam, and our amazing little girl, Isla Dwelling: a small Cape Cod in the suburbs Real job: Human Resources Coordinator and Office Manager for DeskArmor, LLC. Homemaker tip: Even the simplest food can look elegant if you serve it properly. Presenting food on adorable platters is an easy way to impress guests. I am ashamed to admit that: I have never used a lawn mower. (I am blessed with a husband who takes pride in his yard) Three foods I can’t live without: cheese, olive oil, and chicken fingers Most important lesson learned: being a mom is the hardest job you’ll ever love One thing I am afraid of running out of: Clorox anywhere spray…and diapers
by | July 15, 2011 · 8:42 am

Dirt Cake

When we decided to throw Katie a “Garden Party” baby shower, I instantly knew that I wanted to make mini dirt cakes – one of my favorite childhood desserts!  There are a few dirt cake recipes floating around online.  Some use just pudding, others use cream cheese and cool whip, and some are simply made with whipped cream.  I decided to go with my mom’s recipe which is the richest variety that I could find.  It combines butter, cream cheese, vanilla pudding and cool whip to create a dessert that is incredibly decadent.

Dirt Cake

2 small packages vanilla pudding
3 cups of milk
1  8oz brick of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
12 oz tub Cool Whip
1 package Oreo cookies, crushed (or nilla wafers if you are not a chocolate lover and prefer “sand” cake)

Mix the vanilla pudding packets with 3 cups of milk and whisk until thick.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with the softened butter.  Then, add the powdered sugar and mix with an electric mixer until well blended.  Add the butter mixture into the pudding and blend until combined.  Finally, stir in the cool whip, being careful not to over mix.

Layer the pudding mixture with your crushed Oreos in serving bowl you are using.  Just be sure you have enough Oreos at the end to make the top of your cake look like dirt!

For Katie’s shower, I used mini ball glass jars for presentation.  But you can be as creative as you would like!  As a child, I used to eat it out of mini buckets with fake flowers or small terracotta planters.  And don’t forget to add gummy worms if you are serving this to kids!

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by | July 6, 2011 · 8:29 am

Potato and Bacon Pizza with Garlic Cream Sauce

It is no secret that I love to experiment with pizza.  I can’t get enough of trying different flavor combinations and changing them up until I find just the right one.  I made this pizza last week and my husband declared it the best pizza I have ever made.  And I must admit, it was pretty good.  It seems strange at first to put potato on a pizza, but the flavor was out of this world.


Potato and Bacon Pizza with Garlic Cream Sauce

Enough pizza dough for one large pizza or 1 pre-baked crust, such as Boboli.
3/4 cup homemade garlic cream sauce or jarred Alfredo sauce
1 large potato peeled and very thinly sliced
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skilled, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and cook sliced potatoes for about 10-15 minutes or until they are cooked through.  Removed from heat and set aside.

Roll out your pizza dough and spread on a thin layer of garlic cream sauce.  Add a layer of cheese, followed by the cooked potatoes.  Layer on another thin layer of cheese and bake your pizza according to the directions on your pizza dough.

Remove the pizza and sprinkle with the cooked and crumbled bacon.

Slice, eat and enjoy!

Check out my other favorite, goat cheese, apple and pine nut pizza.

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by | June 29, 2011 · 8:53 am

Cream Cheese Frosting

This cream cheese frosting recipe is probably my number one requested recipe.  It blends a traditional butter cream frosting with a cream cheese frosting to create an icing that is rich and creamy but not overly surgery.  It tastes good on just about anything, but I especially love it on simple vanilla cake.


Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz brick of cream cheese, softened

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

4-6 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 Tbsp milk

Start by blending the softened butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Add a few cups of powdered sugar one at a time and blend after each addition.  Add the vanilla and the milk and blend again.  Finally, add the rest of the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until you reach the consistency that you desire.

Don’t forget to taste as you go in order to get the right amount of sweetness for your liking!

 

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by | June 22, 2011 · 8:57 am

{Haute Pie} Classic Blueberry Pie

This blueberry pie recipe was passed down from my grandmother.  It is such a simple, basic recipe that creates the most delicious pie.  I make it every year when blueberries are in season and it is always gone within days at my house.  Many people believe that making a pie is so complicated, but this recipe proves that it really is simple as…well…pie!

Blueberry pie

4 cups fresh blueberries
1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar
5-6 Tbsp flour
top and bottom pie crust – either store bought or homemade

Wash your blueberries and lay them out to dry.  You want them to be dry before you start your pie so you don’t add too much unnecessary moisture.

Place your blueberries in a large bowl and coat with lemon juice.  In a small bowl, mix the sugar and flour.  Pour the flour mixture over the blueberries and gently mix, being careful not to mash up any blueberries.  (For the best results, let the blueberries sit like this for about an hour to give the sugar some time to work its magic)

Preheat oven to 425.  Place bottom crust in a pie plate, add blueberry mixture and cover with top crust.  Crimp the edges and cut slits to vent.

Cook the pie for 25-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the blueberries are bubbling.

Let cool slightly before cutting.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

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by | June 15, 2011 · 8:22 am

Cheesecake filled Strawberries

With strawberry season right around the corner, I have been searching for some new strawberry recipes.  I came across this one from the Our Best Bites cookbook and decided to make them for a summer cookout this past weekend.  The recipe was simple and just a little bit fussy, but everyone at the party raved about these strawberries.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Cheesecake filled strawberries

2 pints of medium to large strawberries
1 8oz brick of cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
Wash and dry your strawberries.

Mixed the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar and almond extract.  Set aside.

Using a knife, slice the strawberry about 3/4 of the way down from tip to stem, being careful not to cut the strawberry in half.  Then, slice the strawberry the other direction, so you have made at “X’.

Fill a pastry bag with the filling and, using the star tip, fill each strawberry with the cream cheese mixture.

These can also be drizzled with chocolate or even half filled and then chocolate dipped, like Stef’s mother-in-law suggested!   Next time I will most definitely add some chocolate.

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by | June 8, 2011 · 8:18 am

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I love this time of year when the first fruits and vegetables start popping up at local farmers markets.  I am always on the lookout for good zucchini because I absolutely love zucchini bread.  I have tried so many recipes and none of them created the perfect bread that I was looking for, that is until I came across this Paula Dean recipe.  It creates the perfect bread that is moist and flavorful without being overpowering.  I added mini chocolate chips to the bread because, well, I add chocolate chips to everything!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice

optional: 1/2 cup walnuts or 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips mixed with 1 tablespoon flour (prevents the chips from sinking to the bottom of the bread)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients and set aside.  In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients until just combined.  Finally, mix the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until moist.  Add the chocolate chips or nuts if you are using them.

Spray 2 average sized loaf pans with cooking spray.  I recommend using cooking spray instead of butter for greasing with this recipe.  The loaves seem to come out of the pan much better with the spray.  Divide the batter evenly among the 2 pans.  Bake for about one hour or until firm in the middle.

I often freeze the second loaf when I made this recipe, it tastes great even thawed out of the freezer.

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by | June 1, 2011 · 8:43 am

Simple Solutions {Spray Paint}

One of the reasons we fell in love with our new house was the beautiful (although non-functional) Lannon Stone fireplace.  It adds so much depth and design to our living room.  When we purchased the house, it came with a gold grate and screen that just didn’t go with our decor.

I looked into purchasing a new set, however the cost was well over $100 for both.  So, I marched over to my local hardware store and picked up a can of RustOleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

It took me just 20 minutes to give everything a few coats.

While the results are not too dramatic, they have changed the feel of our living room and definitely made it more cohesive.

All for just $7 and 20 minutes of time.  That is my kind of project!

**Remember, our fire place is not a working fire place.  If you are planning on spray painting grates and screens that you will actually use with fire, I suggest looking into another spray painting product that is fire safe once it dries.

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by | May 25, 2011 · 8:25 am

Oatmeal Caramelitas

Last weekend, the girls and I were so excited to participated in the Milwaukee Cookies for Kids’ Cancer bake sale.  We were honored to donate and so excited to learn that the entire event raised $2100 for pediatric cancer!

I decided to make my most favorite baked good – Oatmeal Caramelitas.  They are a buttery oatmeal bar filled with ooey gooey caramel and sometimes, depending on my mood, chocolate chips.  This is my sister’s mother-in-law’s recipe which I requested after having just one bite of these delicious treats.

Oatmeal Caramelitas

1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup oats
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, slightly melted

Caramel
3/4 cup caramel or butterscotch caramel topping (the kind that comes in a jar by all of the ice cream sundae goodies)
3 Tbsp flour

Mix the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.    In a separate bowl, soften the butter in the microwave until it is slightly melted.  Mix the butter into the dry mixture and set aside.

Butter and flour a 9 x 13 pan.  Take half the dough and evenly crumble it into the bottom of the pan.  Press the dough into the bottom of the pan to create a bottom crust.  As you are doing this, it might seem like you don’t have enough dough, however the crust will be very thin.  Just keep pressing until the entire bottom of the pan is covered.  If you need to use a little more than half of the dough, that is ok too!

Bake the bottom crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  While that is cooking, mix the caramel topping with the flour in a small bowl.  When the crust is done cooking, remove it from the oven and carefully drizzle the caramel over the crust.  Keep in mind that the crust is only partially cooked, so it will be slightly fragile.  (If you would like, sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips or nuts over the caramel for some extra flavor or crunch!)

Crumble the remaining crust over the top and bake for an additional 15-17 minutes.  Remove the bars from the oven, they will look undercooked when you take them out.  Be sure not to over bake or they will become hard as a rock.  Allow them to cool before cutting.

These are much easier to cut and remove from the pan when they are completely cool, but they taste so good warm…so I usually sneak a few corners so I can get a few warm bites.  These are delicious on their own or heated up and served with ice cream.


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by | May 18, 2011 · 8:26 am

Nutella Brownies

I love nutella.  I mean, I LOVE it.  And awhile back I had heard a rumor of a 3 ingredient nutella brownie recipe.  It sounded too good to be true, but a quick search on google showed me that this recipe did in fact exist and looked amazing!  I had to give it a try.

Nutella Brownie Bites

1/2 cup Nutella
1 egg
5 tbsp flour

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 12 cup mini muffin tin.

Mix all the ingredients together until smooth.  Evenly distribute batter among the muffin tin, filling each one about 3/4 full.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.

Pop out of the tin and enjoy.

They truly taste like little bites of nutella heaven.

I cannot be sure where this recipe originated, however it looks like it was created by Abby Dodge and featured in her cookbook titled Desserts 4 Today, all desserts with just 4 ingredients (she sprinkled hazelnuts on her brownies!).  Pretty sure I will be picking up a copy of this book.

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by | May 11, 2011 · 8:35 am

Melon and Mozzarella Salad

A few weeks ago, the girls and I attended a cooking class at Oilerie, a local olive oil and vinegar store.  We made a couple wonderful summer salads and I just had to share the recipe for the Melon and Mozzarella Salad.  I usually am not a big fan of melon, but this salad has had me craving it since the first bite.  The prosciutto is a surprising, salty addition that adds an extra special kick.

Melon and Mozzarella Salad

2 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced
6 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cantaloupe, cubed
1/2 honeydew melon, cubed
6 oz fresh mozzarella, cubed
2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil
2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
4 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp minced shallot
2 Tbsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the prosciutto in 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet until crisp.  Place on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.

Next, combine the melon, mozzarella, basil and mint in a large bowl.

Whisk together lime juice, 4 Tbsp oil, shallot, honey, salt and pepper.  Drizzle over fruit and toss to coat.  Garnish with prosciutto.

This is the perfect salad for a hot summer day.

(Now, all I need is a hot summer day…I would even settle for a kind of warm spring day…come back sun, I miss you!!)

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