Tasty Tuesday–Tostadas
This is my favorite tostada recipe. There are so many options out there, from different meats, like chicken and shrimp, to a wide variety of toppings, and it seems like we’ve tried them all! I like to keep things simple, so my dream tostada is topped with pork carnitas, jack cheese, and sliced avocado. Sometimes, if I’m feeling fancy, I’ll drizzle Mexican creama on top, too. Lettuce, tomatoes, and olives also make good toppings if you’re feeling adventurous!
Tasty Tuesday–Strawberries and Cream Pie
This was the pie I made for our Pentecost celebration this year, and it was so delicious, Turkey decided that it’s now tied with the S’mores pie as his favorite!
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tsp shortening
- 1 Oreo or chocolate pie crust
- 1 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
Melt chocolate chips with shortening over low heat. Pour into bottom of pie crust and chill until firm.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour over chocolate in pie crust. Refrigerate overnight.
Before serving, arrange strawberries over the top of the pie. Drizzle with additional chocolate, if desired.
Tasty Tuesday–Sopapilla Cheesecake
I tried this recipe out for Mother’s Day, and it was delicious! I’m not claiming it’s authentic or anything, but it’s easy to make, and so good! It was also be good topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries (neither of which I had on Mother’s Day…maybe next time).
- 3 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 8 oz. cans crescent roll dough
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350.
Beat cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into a 9×13 inch rectangle. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over dough, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.
Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake.
Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting.
Tasty Tuesday–French Silk Pie
This pie isn’t quite as good as the French Silk pie I used to love at Baker’s Square, but it’s pretty darn close. How much whipped cream you use is up to you. I consider it to be an ingredient, so I put a thick layer over the whole pie. If you want it as just a garnish, feel free to use less!
- 1 8-inch pie crust, baked and cooled
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 squares, 1 oz. each, unsweetened baking chocolate
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- Fresh whipped cream
Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar with an electric mixer until light-colored and well blended. Stir in the thoroughly cooled chocolate, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating 5 minutes on medium speed after each addition. The filling should be a light, fluffy brown at this point. Spoon the chocolate filling into a cooled, baked pie shell. Top with desired amount of whipped cream.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Tasty Tuesday–Irish Tea Cake
I tried this recipe for the first time a few week’s ago for our St. Patrick’s Day tea party, and it was a huge hit! It’s a nice, simple butter cake, delicious with a dusting of powdered sugar. You could easily double the recipe, though, and use it as a layer cake with frosting instead!
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9 inch round pan.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. If the batter is too stiff, a tablespoon or two of milk may be added. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack, then turn out onto a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar right before serving.
Tasty Tuesday–Roast Potatoes
This is a super easy recipe, and not too hard to figure out, but just in case you were wondering how to make some awesome roast potatoes…
- Small red potatoes (or a mix of small potatoes–a variety of colors makes for a pretty side dish!)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat oven to 375. Cut up potatoes (I usually quarter them, unless they’re unusually big or small), and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil and salt well. Sprinkle with pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn potatoes, and add more olive oil, salt, and pepper as needed (you don’t want them to be dry!). Roast for another 20 minutes, or until browned and crispy on the outside. You can also add other seasonings like garlic or rosemary with the salt and pepper to change the flavor up a bit!
Tasty Tuesday–Irish Soda Bread
I’ve been making this particular soda bread recipe for years, now, and it’s very popular in our house. I especially like it because it doesn’t have raisins, and as far as I understand, the raisins are not necessary for an authentic soda bread. The buttermilk, however, is a key ingredient. It’s also important to make it a day ahead, and wrap it in foil…that really helps the flavor develop!
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Blend egg and buttermilk together; add all at once to flour mixture. Mix until moistened. Stir in butter and pour into pan.
Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in a wire rack. Wrap in foil and store overnight.
Some Inspiration for St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day, one of my five favorite holidays, is almost here! If you’re looking for a little inspiration, here are some fun things we’ve done in the past, plus a few Irish-themed dessert recipes!
Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake
And, a list of fun books to read around St. Patrick’s Day:
Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs
The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day
Tasty Tuesday–Corned Beef and Cabbage
I know that most people probably know how to make this already. But since it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d share my recipe, which is delicious because it involves Guinness. That makes it extra Irish, right?
- 3-4 lb. flat-cut corned beef brisket
- 2-3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1-2 onions, peeled and quartered
- 1 head cabbage, cored and chopped
- 1 12 oz. bottle Guinness draught
Place carrots and onions in bottom of slow cooker. Place corned beef (and accompanying spice packet), on top. Place chopped cabbage over corned beef, and pour Guinness over all. Cook on low heat 10-12 hours.
Tasty Tuesday–Bacon-Mushroom Risotto
I wanted to make risotto this weekend, so I took a few recipes, plus a few of my own ideas, and came up with this concoction. It’s a lot of work to stir something for this long, and your arm may fall off before you’re done, but it’s well worth it! Be warned: I used red wine (Shiraz), instead of the traditional white, because I thought the bacon could use the spicy undertones. I’m sure that white wine would work, too, but I’m just a red wine kind of girl!
- 8 Tbsp. butter, divided
- 1/4 lb. baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and diced
- 3/4 lb. thick-cut bacon, diced
- 3 shallots, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 5-6 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- sea salt
- pepper
Sauté mushrooms in large skillet in 2 Tbsp. butter for about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and liquid from pan; set aside.
Sauté bacon in same pan for about 10 minutes, or until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels, removing grease, and set aside.
Melt 2 Tbsp. in same pan, and sauté shallots and garlic for about two minutes. Add rice and toast, stirring, for 2-3 minutes more.
Once the rice is golden and toasted, pour in the wine and stir until completely absorbed. Add chicken stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is al dente, about 20-30 minutes.
Remove from heat, and add remaining 4 Tbsp. butter, cheese, reserved bacon and mushrooms. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
