Pecan Caramel Tart

Still no pumpkin recipe. Sorry, and, you're welcome, depending on how you feel about pumpkin and pumpkin food things.

The season of lots of eating and holiday mayhem is upon us! It's time to bring out the stretchy pants (aka leggings), sweatpants, and large sweaters, cozy up on the couch with a mug of something hot and a plate of pie. I seriously love pie.

The crust is my favorite part of pie, and I count tarts in the realm of pies because there is a crust, therefore, I seriously also love tarts.

This year, I will be taking part in four Thanksgiving feasts all before the official turkey day. Thankfully the bathing suits I picked up for my trip to Cancun next week all have strategically placed ruching on them to hide my food baby. One piece bathing suits for the win!

For Thanksgiving feast number two, which was at work, I signed up to bring a pecan caramel tart. Although I love me some pie, pecan is towards the end of my list, mostly because I am not a fan of the gloopy corn syrup filling.  I usually just eat the crust and the pecans. This tart gets rid of that gloopiness with only combining pecans and caramel.

I tweaked my cardamom shortbread crust recipe from my Sunshine Lemon Tart by adding a dash of cinnamon, toasted up some pecans, and made a batch of caramel.  All combined to make a beautiful, buttery, crunchy, caramel-y dessert.

Homemade caramel is super easy and can be done without a candy thermometer. I mean really, who has those? And is it different from a regular cooking thermometer? I figure my caramel turns out just dandy without a thermometer, so it's one tool I currently do not need. Homemade caramel takes some patience because the sugar goes through stages, but then some magic happens and the sugar turns into a gorgeous brown color and you're like, whoa, I think I just made caramel.  This caramel is my go to. I have used it to drizzle on grilled bananas, ice cream, baked into chocolate chip cookies, and now, this tart. So keep this in your cooking apron because it is one handy treat.

Pecan Caramel Tart

1 cardamom shortbread crust (I added a dash of cinnamon to the dry ingredients)
3 cups pecans
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons water
4 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Demerara/Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare tart pan by buttering or using cooking spray to coat.  Press in the shortbread crust into the bottom and flutes of the pan.  Use powdered sugar to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. You can also use the back of a spoon to press down.

Poke holes into the crust with a fork and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

As the crust rests, lay out the pecans into a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes.  Or, if you smell the pecans, take them out to cool.  They are letting you know they are ready!

Once the pecans are out of the oven, pop in the shortbread crust and bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool. If you are good at timing everything, you can toast the pecans and bake the crust at the same time!

As the pecans toast and/or the shortbread crust cools, prepare the caramel.  In a medium sauce pan, add the sugar and water.  Now you will stir and stir until the sugar goes from granulated, to liquid, back to granulated, and into melting. Once the sugar goes from liquid back to granulated, you must constantly stir and break up clumps. I prefer to use a whisk at this step. Don't worry if you have clumps, but try to break them up as best as you can.  Once there are minimal clumps, and your sugar has turned a dark amber color, add butter, and stir/whisk in vigorously.

Take the pan off of the heat and slowly add in your whipping cream while stirring.  Make sure to fully combine the cream in.  Add in your vanilla extract.  At this point you can let the caramel cool into a nice, thick caramel sauce and place into a jar for use. Now give yourself a high five.

For the purpose of this tart, place the caramel on low heat to keep the caramel runny.

Lower the temperature of the oven down to 350 degrees once the pecans are toasted and crust is baked.

In a mixing bowl, combine toasted pecans, brown sugar, and all of the caramel. Combine fully.  Pour into the cooled shortbread crust. Sprinkle with a little Demerara/Turbinado sugar to give it some sparkle. Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until nice and bubbly.

Let the tart completely cool down before popping out of the tart pan.  And then take a moment to marvel in the fact that you made the best dessert this holiday season has tasted.

Enjoy!

*Cooking tip*
If the caramel is still clumpy after adding the heavy cream and vanilla, cook over low heat and stir. Low heat will help the remaining sugar clumps to melt.

Comforting Broccoli + Cauliflower + Cheddar Soup

I suck at recipe titles.  For now, this is the title you get.  At least it's descriptive?

I'm jumping on the soup bandwagon with other bloggers as they post soup recipe after soup recipe since the cooler weather already exists in most of the nation.  Houston is having this, it's not summer, but it's not fall either, kind of weather.  Basically cool in the morning, and hot the rest of the day. You eventually learn to dress in layers.

One of the most popular soups that have been popping up in my blog reading lists is of course, broccoli and cheddar soup. But then....I came across a cauliflower soup from the Pioneer Woman! I seriously love cauliflower in all its forms, sauteed, roasted, curried with potatoes and peas, it's delicious.  Once I saw her recipe, I wanted soup, and I wanted it for dinner that night. So I combined broccoli, cauliflower, and cheddar to make a hearty, creamy, and comforting soup topped off with crisp bacon. Because bacon.

For this soup you must be a liker (a word?), or lover of broccoli and/or cauliflower.  I am already assuming that you love cheese and bacon.  Just please don't tell me that you don't.

I know chopping up broccoli and cauliflower can be intimidating when you see a vegetable that looks like a mini tree.  Don't fret, let me go through an easy, not pretty way to get the job done. Pull off as many leaves as you can off of the cauliflower.  Take a sharp knife, and cut off the hard stalk as close to the cauliflower as possible. Then cut your head (the cauliflower head) in half and just go at it with the chopping, cutting the larger florets into smaller pieces. Do the same with the broccoli, it's a little easier and if you want, you can chop up part of the broccoli stalk since it does get tender with cooking. It won't be all pretty florets and sunsets, but who cares. It's going into a soup and then into your mouth.

I cannot have soup just by itself, so if you would like a bigger meal, then add a side salad or a small sandwich.  I made grilled turkey, swiss, and cranberry sauce sandwiches to go along with the soup. That is literally what was in the sandwich, so no recipe needed.

Broccoli + Cauliflower + Cheddar Soup

5 strips of thick cut bacon (I used Applegate Turkey bacon), chopped

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups stock (I used vegetable)

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

sea salt

black pepper

1 head broccoli, chopped into small pieces

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into small pieces

1 cup shredded cheddar + extra for topping (sharp, mild, Colby, Wisconsin, whatever you like)

Parsley, chopped

Hot sauce

Heat a medium to large soup or dutch oven pot over medium heat with the oil. Throw in your bacon and let it cook until crispy. Take the bacon out with a slotted spoon onto a paper napkin and leave the fat in the pot.  Add the garlic and onion and cook until softened and fragrant.  

Add butter, and melt. Add flour, and whisk/mix until it turns a light blonde and smells nutty. This is your roux! Cook for about 2 minutes.

Slowly add in your stock, milk, and heavy cream and whisk to break up the roux clumps, if any. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.

Season with salt and pepper, tasting to make sure it is to your liking. Add cauliflower and broccoli, simmering until the veggies are tender.  Turn the heat off, taste for seasoning. Add in cheese and stir until melted and combined.

Pour soup into bowls, top with bacon, parsley, and a few dashes of hot sauce.  

Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Granola

Don't worry, this recipe has absolutely no pumpkin in it! I'm sure you're faced with a million pumpkin recipes now that it's fall and Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks.  Which by the way, contain NO pumpkin. What the heck?

Nope, no pumpkin here. At least not yet.

For now, you get a yummy, crunchy, and sweet granola recipe.  Homemade granola is great, mostly because you can add whatever you want to it. It can be plain with just rolled oats, or as fancy as adding a bunch of dried fruits and nuts, or you can even make a pumpkin version!  The nice thing about this granola recipe, is that you can use whatever mix-ins you have in your pantry. I didn't have any dried fruit on me, but I had some walnuts and cashews that needed to be used and I added sweetened coconut. I hate raisins, but if you love them and have them, then add them in.

Use this granola in your Cheerios like my husband did, or make a layered parfait with fresh berries and greek yogurt, which is what I did. It's delicious any way you have it.

Easy Homemade Granola

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup nuts (I used a combination of almonds, walnuts, and cashews), roughly chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs coconut oil, melted
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbs water
1/4 cup sweetened coconut
1/4 cup of any other dried fruit (cranberries, golden raisins, dried apricots, etc)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats and nuts.  In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar,  honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sea salt.  Whisk together and then add water. Water will allow for proper soaking of the oats with this mixture.

Pour the wet mixture into the rolled oats and mix to combine thoroughly.

Spread out evenly on a large baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes.  Mix the granola around halfway through this time. You want the it to be nice and spread out so the oats crisp up and dehydrate.

Turn heat up to 300 and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Carefully take the granola out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Transfer granola to a mixing bowl and add in coconut and any other dried fruit as you wish and mix around.  Cool granola completely before transferring to a Ziploc or other air-tight container.

Enjoy!

Ginger Sesame Beef & Broccoli

Between my sister coming into town, family time, volunteering, and book club, I have not cooked a meal at home in 8 days.  I am pretty sure that is the longest I have not been in the kitchen cooking something up! But it's okay because all those things were much needed in my life.

My sister paid a visit from Connecticut and my little brother came up from Austin, and we had some major family time this weekend. It was possibly the most fun I have had with my family in a long while. I love them too much. There was a lot of eating, long discussions, and some Jenga. The time went by too quickly.  Monday came along with its usual annoying self, but ended with a good session of volunteering and some takeout Chinese. Tuesday was book club, which I look forward to every month because I get to hang out with a bomb group of women who get together for food, drinks, and chatter about life and sometimes, about the book. It is always a great time connecting with people who have similar interests and are so gracious when hosting.

And now here we are days later, and I put together a yummy beef and broccoli dish. It is pretty quick to put together once the beef has marinated.  Slice up some veggies, start your brown rice, and by then you can stir fry your beef and veggies, and BOOM, dinner is ready.  

Ginger Sesame Beef and Broccoli

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced beef
1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbs honey
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs vegetable/canola oil
1 tbs corn starch + 2 tbs water, whisked (slurry)
2 tbs toasted sesame seeds (toast sesame seeds in dry pan over medium heat)
1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 red serrano pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 crown broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces
Green onions, whole bunch sliced on the diagonal

Marinate the sliced beef with minced ginger, sugar, black pepper, garlic, salt, cumin, red pepper flakes, honey, and soy sauce in a large bowl. You can leave it in the marinade 30 minutes to overnight.

When ready to cook, pour sesame and vegetable/canola oil into the wok and heat over medium high until it begins to smoke. Drain any leftover marinade, pat the beef with a napkin to get rid of excess liquid, and working in small batches, cook the beef in the oil.  Be careful with spattering.  Cook the beef 1-2 minutes on each side and place in a bowl.

Once all the beef has gone through the oil cooking process, toss in the sliced serranos and ginger into the empty wok along with a dash of vegetable/canola oil if there is not enough oil leftover. Saute for 2 minutes, then add the red bell pepper and broccoli.  Cook until just slightly softened.  Add beef , cornstarch slurry, toasted sesame seeds, and 3/4ths of the sliced green onion. Stir fry all ingredients for a couple of minutes.

Garnish with leftover green onion and sesame seeds and eat over brown rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes + Cookie Butter Frosting for Two

It's Friday, the weather is getting cooler, and it is Live. Love. Eat. Repeat.'s 3rd birthday!! The terrible two's are over I guess. She's getting older, and time is FLYING!

I want to give a big shout out to everyone who takes a minute to read my blog and and an even bigger shout out to those who try out a recipe.  Knowing that my blog gets someone in the kitchen to cook a meal with care and love, means the world to me. Nothing makes my day more then someone telling me they tried out one of my recipes and appreciates my posts, so THANK YOU.

Also, to my number one fan and guinea pig husband, thanks for being so patient while I plate the food before taking my IG/FB picture.  As soon as he hears my camera clicking, he knows dinner is about to be served.  He usually gets the pretty plate, and I just throw my food on another plate and go to town. I know the meal is especially good on the days he goes back for seconds or thirds.

I am very aware that I am not consistent in my posts, and I have so many recipes to share still, therefore, without excuse, I hope this year I can do a better job of getting recipes on the site as soon as possible.

In celebration of another birthday, I bring to you good 'ole fashioned one bowl chocolate cupcakes that I topped with cookie butter frosting at the last moment.  They were supposed to be topped with Nutella, but then I saw the cookie butter in my pantry, and well, you now how much I love my cookie butter. And yes, I made these cupcakes specifically for my blog's birthday because I just wanted a reason to celebrate.  Plus, this recipe only makes two cupcakes, which is perfect for an understated celebration, a sweet treat, or when you don't want to make a whole batch of cupcakes in fear of eating all twelve. Because that really happens...

Chocolate Cupcakes + Cookie Butter Frosting

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon + small pinch of baking soda

pinch of salt

pinch of ground instant coffee

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon oil (I used olive oil)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter, softened

2 tablespoons cookie butter

1/4 cup powder sugar

pinch of salt

1-2 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with 2 liners.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, and ground coffee. Add in milk, oil, and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Pour batter into liners and bake 15-18 min, until toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs. I have learned through baking that if the toothpick is clean, the cake has already over-baked. So let there be a few crumbs.  The cupcake will continue baking a little once out of the oven.

As cupcakes are cooling, cream together butter and cookie butter until smooth and creamy.  Add powdered sugar and salt and beat until it comes together.  Add milk a teaspoon at a time until you get it to consistency you like. 

I piped my frosting on using a sandwich bag with a cut in the corner. Sprinkle with whatever your heart desires,  if you wish!

Enjoy :)

Spicy Asian Noodle Salad

Mondays are the one day in my week I make an actual conscious decision to eat healthy. Usually it's because my weekend was an eating spree and we've just gotten groceries.  A fully stocked fridge with delicious goodies always makes my day and gets me motivated to make good home cooked meals!  This sometimes tapers off around fajita Wednesdays at Pappasitos...

Hubby and I both love our vegetables, so we end up buying quite a bit every time we hit up the grocery store. We aren't ones to normally eat a salad as our dinner, and I guess I'm only calling this a salad because it's a bunch of cold vegetables and noodles thrown together with a dressing. We both loved this salad so much.  I used a variety of veggies, coated wheat noodles with a spicy dressing, and then tossed everything together.  We topped it off with a bit of baked tilapia and roasted broccoli. Such a simple weeknight dinner you can feel good about.  I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers Budget Bytes.  She has some pretty awesome recipes, along with costs, so you can make great dinners on the cheap!

It's up to you what veggies you want to use and how little or a lot of them you want in your salad, so take away the method of this recipe and cater to your own likes and dislikes when it comes to the salad ingredients.

And yes, we eat with chopsticks.

Spicy Asian Noodle Salad

8 oz. thin wheat spaghetti
1/4 cup shelled edamame, cold
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cucumber, peeled, diced
3-4 large leaves napa cabbage, sliced thinly
2 carrots, shredded
handful cilantro, chopped roughly
pickled red onions (I already had these, optional)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Sesame oil, drizzle

Boil noodles until al dente.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  The noodles must be completely dry in order for the sauce to stick, so give them a shake every so often as you get your vegetables ready.  I ended up sticking the noodles in the fridge to help along the process, and it worked very well.  You want the noodles to be a little sticky, not wet.

As the noodles are drying, chop, dice, karate chop your veggies and combine them in a bowl.  In a separate small bowl, combine hoisin sauce, Sriracha, and rice wine vinegar.

Once your noodles are ready, throw them in a large bowl, pour in dressing and keep tossing until all the noodles are coated.

Add your veggies and toss to combine. Drizzle with a tiny bit of sesame oil.  Eat with chopsticks for optimal experience.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Butter Ice Cream

I think I may have found something that I love more than Nutella...I can't believe I just said that. But I did.

I discovered COOKIE BUTTER! I've seen it come across food blogs and the occasional food article, and it perked up my ears when someone mentioned it.  Cookie butter is a spread made up of crushed cinnamon and caramel sweet gingerbread cookies with a consistency similar to peanut butter.

I finally made it to Trader Joe's and bought myself a jar. I also bought the cookies. Stop shaking your head! You would have done the same.  All I could think was, I bet these would be great with an evening cup of chai...and they were.

Once I brought the cookie butter home safely, I tasted a small bit from the jar, realized I was in love, and decided I made the right decision that day. First thing to pop into my food-filled mind, was ice cream. So I ran with it. Well actually, I ran towards it. With a spoon.

This is an ice cream without an egg custard base, so as long as you have cookie butter, a few dairy ingredients, and a frozen ice cream bowl (granted, you have an ice cream maker), you can whip this up in no time.  I happen to keep my ice cream bowl in the freezer at all times so it's ready to go when I need it.  I made the base late afternoon and had a bowl of ice cream in time for bed.

To up the awesome-ness, I threw in crushed dark chocolate chips.  I mean, wow. You get the taste of cinnamon and ginger from the cookies, creaminess from the heavy cream, and a slight crunch from the crushed cookies and chocolate chips. I would scream for this ice cream.

 Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Butter Ice Cream

1 cup creamy cookie butter (I used Speculoos from Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup half n' half
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate chips

With a mixer, cream together cookie butter and sugar until combined.  Turn off mixer, scrape down bowl, add vanilla, half n' half, and heavy cream.  Mix on low until combined.

Transfer this into your frozen ice cream bowl for your ice cream mixer and churn according to your mixer's directions.  Once you see it come up to almost a soft serve stage, add in your dark chocolate and churn until you get a soft serve consistency.  At this point, you are welcome to dig in, but I like the consistency of ice cream. So read on if you haven't already gotten brain freeze.

Transfer this into a freezer safe bowl, add a layer of plastic wrap on top of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals before closing with a cap.  Freeze the ice cream 3-4 hours before serving.  You should add a Speculoos cookie to round it off  when serving :)   Enjoy!!