Roasted Cauliflower Orzo Spinach Salad

Thank you to my friend Angela Mones for getting me a copy of Chrissy Teigen's recipe book called Cravings for my past birthday. If a  model who has 2 fast food Twitter accounts and celebrated Thanksgiving in Taco Bell can make a cookbook what's stopping me?! Funny to think that this salad recipe is my favorite out of the entire cookbook filled with heart stopping treats like Fried Chicken and Crab Cream Cheese Won Tons. Of course as I usually do I've made some adjustments from the original recipe because I don't want to copy and I think it's better anyway! So give it a try sometime... it's tasty and not to mention the "H" word which you don't find too often on my blog!

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients 

For Roasted Cauliflower

1 small head cauliflower chopped into small florets
5 Tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Salad

1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cherries or craisins
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
5 cups baby spinach
1 cup orzo pasta

For the dressing

5 Tablespoons olive oil
juice from 1 medium sized lemon
2 teaspoons honey
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Prepare the cauliflower - Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a bowl toss the all the roasted cauliflower ingredients together (cauliflower, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper)
3. Spread out cauliflower on a baking pan lined with foil and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges start to brown. Let cool and set aside
4. Meanwhile, boil a small pot of salted water and cook orzo 1 less minute than the directions say on the box. Drain orzo in a colander and give it a dash of olive oil so it doesn't stick together.
5. Next, mix together all the dressing ingredients. (Feel free to adjust according to your liking) 
6. In a big bowl toss together the onions, feta, orzo, cauliflower, dried fruit, and dressing.
7. Last, throw in the spinach and give it another toss.
8. Dig in and don't feel guilty for grabbing thirds!

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 Cups old fashioned oats
1 Tablespoon cinnamon (trust me it gives it the most amazing sweet flavor without being like Whoa!)
2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 Tbs. more flour (bread flour can also be used and makes for a nice thick cookie)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins
Optional but recommended: 1 cup chopped nuts: pecans or walnuts give the best light crunch!

Directions

1. In a big bowl place the butter and brown sugar and cream with an electric mixer for 5 minutes until fluffy.
2. Add in the egg, vanilla, cinnamon, oats, optional salt, and baking soda and blend in with the mixer.
3. Now switch to using a spatula instead of the electric mixer and add in the flour making sure to only mix until incorporated or you could toughen up your cookie which is no bueno!
4. Cookies can be baked right away or chilled in the fridge for 2 hours-the next day for a more thicker cookie. Usually I can't wait that long so I accept my thinner yet still chewy cookies as they are!
5. Roll ping pong sized balls of dough onto your pan lined with foil with about 2 inches between them.
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 11-12 minutes. Cookies will look undercooked but they definitely set and make for a perfectly chewy bite.
7. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes then loosen them off the pan with a spatula or they may get stuck due to the brown sugar caramelizing.
8. Enjoy!

Honey Bacon Goat Pizza

Buzzzzz, Bahhhhhhhh, OINK! It is with the team effort of bees, goats, and pigs (sorry piggies), that this incredible pizza can be created. You get a little nutty creamy, salty, and sweet all on top a crisp yet pillowy naan. This pizza is LIFE! Okay......that's a little dramatic but its seriously pretty darn tasty.

makes 4 medium sized pizzas (feeds 4)

Ingredients

Sauce

2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbs. flour
1 cup milk (or more depending on how thick you want your sauce)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried basil, 1 tsp. dried oregano (or 2 tsp. Italian seasoning)
1/8 tsp. pepper

Crust

4 Naan breads or 4 medium sized pizza crusts (precooked)

Toppings

Mixed bag of shredded white cheeses
1/2 package bacon chopped and fried
Honey
Goat cheese, sliced into small chunks (I like the firm kind from the fancy cheese section of the grocery store)
1/2 Green bell pepper, chopped
Other optional toppings: mushrooms, tomatoes, red onions.... hey anything goes on a pizza!

Directions

1. Make the sauce by heating up the butter and olive oil in a small saucepan on medium high heat. Ad in the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until onions are clear.
2. Whisk in the flour.
3. Add in the milk, cheese, and spices then remove from heat. Add more milk if you want to thin out the sauce. I usually end up adding another 1/4 cup of milk.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place your 4 naan or crusts on 2 baking sheets. Spread on your white sauce. 
5. Top the pizzas with white cheese, bacon, goat cheese, bell peppers, and bacon to your liking.
6. Last, drizzle on about a Tablespoon or more of honey on each pizza. Trust me, you want to put a little more than you think you need because the sweet will help balance the bacon's salty.
7. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 11-14 minutes or until your desired crispiness level.

Molten Lava Cake

Why do fancy restaurants charge so much for these cakes when most people already have these ingredients in their kitchens and is SO easy to make. Honestly, the hardest part of this recipe is operating the microwave correctly in step 2! Please! Try this and I promise you will no longer be tempted to buy the ones at the restaurants. These are fudgy, intensely chocolate, moist, hot/cold like Katy Perry if you top it with ice cream, and sweet but not toooooo sweet just like you!

These ready to erupt volcano cakes will be bursting with chocolate lava once you plop a big ole' scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on it!

makes 2 small cakes (Don't even think about splitting a cake with someone... it's just not good for your relationship. Do yourselves a favor and have one on your own to inhale)

Ingredients

Some butter, cocoa powder/flour for preparing ramekins
2 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate bar (I've been used 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips and it came out great!)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (half of a stick)
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk (don't need the egg white)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional but it does amplify the chocolate flavor!)

Vanilla ice cream for serving, optional but HIGHLY recommended

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease 2 ramekins (little glass bowls) with butter than dust with flour or cocoa powder. This is so that you will be able to flip these babies out of with ease!
2. In a microwave safe bowl heat the butter and chocolate on high for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Add more time in the micro for 10 second intervals if it is not completely melted.
3. Add the sugar, egg, egg yolk, and whisk again until smooth.
4. Add the flour and optional coffee but make sure only to mix until just incorporated or your cake could come out tough.
5. Pour the batter into the ramekins and bake to your liking... 11-12 minutes=very gooey chocolate center, 13-14 minutes = medium cooked cake crust with an oozey center, 15 minutes= moist chocolate cake with little to no liquid in the center. My favorite cook time is 13 minutes so the outside is set but you still have a lot of chocolatey fudge liquid to spread over your ice cream.
6. Loosen the cake by scraping a knife around the outside of the cake while it's still hot. Put a bowl or plate upside down on the ramekin then in a swift motion flip both dishes the other way around so the ramekin is now upside down on your dish. Carefully life the ramekin and your cake should plop out smoothly.
7. Top with a big scoop of vanilla ice-cream and dig in while it's HOT! I'm drooling just writing this. *sigh*

Flaky Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls

 

Ingredients

For the Sweet Dough

1 packet yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup whole milk (to activate yeast)

4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup honey
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 Tbs. unsalted butter cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temp or microwaved for 15 seconds

Roll Filling

2/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbs. butter melted (this will be brushed on)

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 8 ounce block cream cheese, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Use butter to grease a large bowl. This will be used later to rise the dough.
2. In a medium sized bowl heat up 1/4 cup milk to 110°F-115°F. I microwaved the milk for about 15 seconds then cooled it down until it felt like jacuzzi water. 
3. Next add in 1 tsp. sugar into the bowl along with the yeast and stir. If all went well the yeast mixture should be foamy and alive in 3 minutes. If it does not begin to foam your yeast may be old or you may need to adjust your water temperature.
4. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, yeast mixture, remaining 1/2 cup of milk, and honey. You can use a stand up mixer or hand mixer or even a spatula with a strong pair of hands if that's all you have.
5. Add in the flour and salt. Blend in the butter a piece at a time.
6. The dough will be very sticky. Transfer the dough to the greased bowl from step 1.
7. Cover the bowl with a piece of saran wrap or cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes.
8. Knead the dough (Fold the dough over itself about 10 times)
9. While the dough is rising make your roll filling. Mix together the vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter for brushing.
10. Do this pattern of rising for 30 minutes then kneading the dough a total of 4 times. This will make for a 2 hour process. Make sure you have something to do in between risings or this part can get boring. You can also save your dough overnight to 72 hours if you want to bake another day.
11. Flour a large surface and start with your dough in a large ball. Add a little flour to the dough so its easier to work with and not sticking to your hands. Roll out your dough into a rectangular shape and into about 1/4 inch thickness. No need to be exact here though.
12. Use a pastry brush or a spoon to spread the melted butter all over the dough then sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top.
13. Start at the long end of the rectangle and roll into a tight cylinder and position the dough seam down.
14. Cut your rolls into 2 inch pieces by using a sharp knife or unflavored piece of floss.
15. Place the rolls in a pan giving them lots of space to rise once more for 30 minutes-1 hour.
16. Preheat your oven to 350°F. 
17. Bake your rolls for 23-25 minutes until they are golden brown.
18. While your rolls are cooking prepare the icing by mixing the butter and cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer/strong hand and spatula. Add the vanilla and salt and whip until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
19. When rolls are done baking spread on the icing while they are still hot so the icing can ooze down into every nook and cranny of your fresh, hot, buns.
20. Serve warm and never crave a pre-made cinnamon roll from a tube again!