Fancy Pasta Salad

Last Sunday we went grocery shopping, as luck would have it both Riley and I fell ill the very next day and have been fighting the sickness ever since...which included fevers, sore throats, coughing, head aches, runny noses, lots of sleep, lots of soup, lots of water lots of 'I really dont feel like eating', and a whole lot of NOT having the energy to cook all the food I so happily bought 7 days ago! So as the week went on I feared all the goodies would go to waste. On Father's Day I had just enough energy to throw together a quick and easy Pasta Salad using the organic zucchini I had purchased, along with the FIRST and ONLY red cabbage harvested from our garden! I harvested it on Monday and was worried it would go bad with all the other neglected food in my fridge. Alas! it did not...and to my surprise the pasta salad was quite lovely, and Riley just loved the raw zucchini! BIG SURPRISE! I didn't expect it would be such a big hit so I wasn't really paying much attention to measurments, so bear with me as I try to remember :)

garden fresh red cabbage! 

Fancy Pasta Salad

ingredients:
12oz. cooked pasta, drained and cooled (I used fusilli, but feel free to use whatever you like)
Half of a small red cabbage, chopped, about 1 cup
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 can black olives, drained, rinsed and cut in half
1 large zucchini, thinly sliced (or two small ones)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
about 1/4 cup olive oil
about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
hand full of fresh basil, chopped
sprinkle about 1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese on top (I only added it to mine because no one else likes it :P )

combine cabbage, onion, olives, zucchini and pasta in large bowl. add zest and basil, mix well. in measuring cup, juice one lemon and add olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whisk well and drizzle all over pasta salad, add salt and pepper to taste, mix until combined. top with cheese of your choice. I like Gorgonzola, but feel free to add fresh Parmesan, feta or bleu cheese..or leave the cheese out and call it vegan! :)  
enjoy! -Jess

Fancy Spring Time Potato Salad

As some of you may know, Riley LOVES  potatoes. But for some reason she has always hated potato salad! I know, crazy right?! Anyway, I tossed together this wonderful potato salad over the holiday weekend and she loved it! So I thought I would share it with you fancy people. Enjoy! -Jess

fancy spring time potato salad
Ingredients:
8 small red potatoes; boiled until fork tender DO NOT over cook! 
zest and juice of one lemon
2-3 large hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes 
1 small beet, peeled and thinly sliced
hand full of chopped fresh basil 
1/3 cup good mayonnaise 
salt and pepper to taste 

Miss Riley and Fuzzy Tickle 

 Chop potatoes into small chunks, place in large bowl and toss with zest and lemon juice. Chop eggs into small chunks and add to potatoes. Combine the rest of ingredients and toss together. Chill until ready to eat!  

So So Yummy zesty lemon cookies

So a few days ago I had a craving for some so so yummy Lemon cookies. Riley and I both thought it was a great idea to make some before daddy got home, so to the kitchen we went...only to find out half way through whipping our butter, that we were just about out of sugar! How could this happen!? I didnt panic, (okay maybe I did for a minute and maybe I even thought about throwing the bowl at the wall) I went ahead and added the 3/4 cup of sugar I had left and then measured out 1/3 a cup of honey. The end result were just as yummy as these but they did come out a little flatter then normal.
So friends the moral of this story is: dont let the lack of ingredients hold you back, I know there is a "science" to baking, but sometimes you can just make something up! have fun! See what happens..Who cares if it fails! do it! Happy baking -Jess
p.s. I originally posted this recipe on tastykitchen.com and included directions for making these cookies vegan friendly! check it out!

 So So yummy Zesty Lemon Cookies
ingredients: 
1/2 cup butter, softened 
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 large eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp flax seed meal


Mix butter in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add sugar and honey, beat until combined and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add lemon juice, vanilla and zest. In separate bowl whisk together salt, baking powder flour and flax seed meal. Add to mixing bowl and mix until combined. chill dough until firm, then scoop out onto cookies sheets using cookie scooper or small ice cream scoop. bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. cookies will have very little color but do not over bake! sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy! 

M.I.A. Riley's Fancy Birthday

So I guess I have neglected my blog just a little, but with good reason! We spent the last month in Southern California, sure I had time and things to blog about, but the truth is I was missing my kitchen and just didnt feel in my "zone". So the blog got put on hold. Now I have been back home about a week and feel the need to share the fancy cake I made for Riley's 4th birthday while we were visiting SoCal! I cant believe she is 4...I cried...its true, but not in front of people, because that is just crazy. okay, so after much debate with my four year old and a "test" batch of "pink lemonade cupcakes", we finally decided on this cake. I changed it up some to make it a two layer cake instead of three. Oh and in case you are wondering about the pink lemonade cupcakes, they were very tasty but a little, (and by little I mean A LOT), too sweet for my liking.

Happy Baking!-Jess

Riley's Fancy Pink Vanilla birthday cake

Ingredients:

• 2  cups unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 4 LARGE egg whites, at room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350F, grease and flour two-9inch round cake pans. Combine butter and sugar in large bowl and beat until light and fluffy. add egg whites and mix until combined. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, whisk together. combine vanilla and buttermilk in measuring cup. add dry ingredients into large bowl and mix, followed by buttermilk. mix until well combined. 
*note, I made this using a hand mixer, but it is much easier to do using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. 
Divide batter evenly into prepared cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes. or until toothpick in center comes out clean. let cool completely before frosting. 


For the frosting I used the same recipe found on here but i added a few drops of natural red food coloring to give it a pink tint. Enjoy! 

Martha's Marshmallow Peeps

Today is Easter! And with Easter comes candy..lots of candy! I try my best to keep candy away from Riley..no artificial flavors, no High fructose corn syrup..and whatever else they put in most candy. So as a special treat I promised her we would make marshmallow peeps this year. And who better to go to for fun Easter candy then Martha Stewart! I found many recipes online for marshmallow peeps and ended up picking this one because it did not call for corn syrup. It does however call for gelatin, which I am on the fence about, but for the sake of the peep, I went for it. These are really easy and fun to make! Hope everyone is having a great day! Happy baking-

Jess

Riley trying to tell me something with a mouth full of marshmallow

showing daddy 

Happy Easter from my little helper! :)

Home Served Gorilla Munch

Guest Writer:  R.G. Sitter

today, i woke up feeling very motivated.  Riley was saying 'Im Hungry, Im Hungry, Im Hungry...', and i wanted to do something special for her.  So i got my apron, my supplies, and got to work.  First i took the bowl from the cupboard and set it down on the counter, careful not to set it down too hard, because i don't like loud noises.  i then took her cereal, gorilla munch (don't worry, it sounds like a complicated cereal, but if you follow these directions you'll be a hero), and carefully poured a moderate amount into the bowl.  Careful though, you don't want to spill these little suckers because they're round and they'll roll everywhere.  anyway, i then took the milk and poured about 8 ounces into the bowl containing aforementioned gorilla munch.  i removed a spoon from what we call the 'silverware drawer' and placed it submerged within the milk/cereal mixture.  i placed it carefully onto the table, again avoiding a 'slamming' sound.  Riley then ate it and screamed 'holy moly daddy you're my hero!'.

Oatmeal Cream Pies

When I first moved out at the tender age of 18 I would often stuff my pantry (and my face) with junk food. Nine times out of ten you could count on finding a smashed Little Debbies Oatmeal cream pie buried at the bottom of my purse. Oh how I loved those things! Now, fast forward a few years and my food obsession/craziness begins...NO more processed foods! No more HFCS. I became a mom and realized what I was ACTUALLY eating and feeding my family. Most of which I didnt want anywhere near my Riley. I told myself if we wanted something we would make it from scratch and I have been pretty good with doing so. I hadn't  realize I missed oatmeal cream pies until I saw this pinned on pinterest. I logged it in my memory for a rainy day project and soon mother nature came calling for rain and I was ready to go! I will say this, they did take sometime and by the time I was done, I really didnt feel like eating them, but when i did...so worth it! I have now had my fix for the year. Happy Baking! -Jess  p.s. you can find the original recipe here

Riley enjoying her homemade oatmeal cream pie