Brussels Sprouts Grilled Cheese

Hear me out. 

This holiday season has been a little crazy, but I’m not crazy. Yet.

I’ve been MIA for the last week because Justin and I were in Maryland visiting his family for the holidays. Last Saturday, his amazing family threw me a VERY fun bridal shower. We received a lot of awesome gifts, but the first thing we used when we got home…was the Panini maker.

There’s something about melted cheese on hot crispy bread that I just LOVE. I stumbled over this recipe several weeks ago, and it’s been in the back of my mind. You don't need a panini maker for this - you can make it like regular grilled cheese in a pan.

This. Sandwich. Is. Amazing.

Plus, it’s loaded with brussels sprouts, so it’s totally healthy, right? Right.

Here's what you need (from How Sweet Eats)...

4-5 brussels sprouts, stems removed and chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tbsp of olive oil

Salt and peper to taste

4-5 thin slices of havarti cheese

Balsamic glaze*

2 slices whole wheat bread

*You can buy a balsamic glaze at just about any grocery store. Find it in the aisle with the oils/vinegars.

Here's what you do...

1. In a small pan, saute garlic, brussels, salt and pepper for about 5-6 minutes or until the brussels are wilted. 

2. If you're not using a panini press, butter one side of each piece of bread. Layer a couple pieces of cheese, then the brussels sprouts. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, then add a couple more piece of cheese, then top with bread.

3. Place under your panini press, or in a pan, and cook until brown (if cooking in a pan, flip so the other side can get brown as well).

4. Remove and enjoy!

These are my new favorite vegetable. Just in time for the New Year...

Read More

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!! (I feel like I've said this before...)

This has been the most intense semester of law school, but I made it. Monday, I took a 4 hour exam. 4 HOURS! I came home in a complete daze...and started baking cookies. Apparently, when I finish exams my instinct is to bake. Last semester it was bread, this semester, cookies.

These are so delicious. I LOVE a soft cookie, so I'm all about these cookies. And the whole house smelled like Christmas. Win win.

Here's what you need (from My Life as a Mrs)...

1 stick of softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup (and a little extra) of unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

For the rolling sugar:

1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp all spice

Combine in a bowl and set aside.

Here's what you do...

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, combine butter and sugar. Then, add pumpkin, vanilla and the egg mixing to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (this makes the dough easier to handle when you're rolling it).

4. Once thoroughly chilled, roll the dough into small balls and roll them through the sugar/spice mixture. Place on your baking sheet. I ended up with 15 cookies.

5. Finally, dip the bottom of a cup into water and put it in the sugar/spice mixture. Press down on each cookie to flatter it a bit.

6. Bake for 15 minutes and quickly remove - you don't want a crispy cookie. Enjoy!!

These were just what I needed to forget about my last exam. Well, these and a large glass of wine. But wine at 1:30 p.m. is not usually the best plan.

Happy Holidays! I had plans to post a spaghetti squash recipe...but my spaghetti squash rotted. I promise I'll be posting more now that we have a break! Have a wonderful weekend.

Read More

Pasta Carbonara

Some girls like chocolate. Me? I like (LOVE) cheese.

When I'm stressed, cheese is my go-to. We are smack in the middle of finals, and all I want is cheese. Because this my blog and I never lie to you, I'll tell you that I sat down at the dining room table this afternoon after final 2 of 4 and just dunked crackers into goat cheese I found in the fridge.

Anyway, I need to find a more functional way to enjoy cheese, so I made this dish last Saturday for some friends who came by for dinner. I had a dish similar to this at a local italian restaurant a few months ago, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I knew there was a way to make it lighter and cheaper, so I did.

I adapted the recipe from the skinny alfredo sauce I made back in February, threw in some grilled chicken, bacon, and peas, and we were set!

Here's what you need...

Sauce:
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced (I used my food processor)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/4-1/2 cup of 2% milk
2-3 tbsp of lowfat cream cheese
2 cups of fresh shred parmesan cheese (reserve 1/2-1/4 cup for topping)
fresh chopped parsley
black pepper to taste

Additional ingredients:

About 1/2 box of whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained
1 cup of frozen peas
5-6 strips of bacon (baked at 350 for 20 minutes - perfect), crumbled
1-2 grilled chicken breasts (we just seasoned with a light dusting of adobo and fresh cracked pepper), cut into chunks
Breadcrumbs

Here's what you do...

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. I used my oven safe pan, but you could use a non-oven safe pan and pour it into a dish to bake later. Saute your garlic with your butter for about a minute. Add flour and stir until combined. Then, add milk. Start with 1 cup and add gradually as needed.

3. Let the milk warm up and thicken the sauce - about 5-7 minutes. Add cream cheese, parmesan cheese (don't forget to reserve some for topping), parsley and black pepper. Stir until everything is melted and combined.

4. Add pasta, chicken, peas, and bacon to your pan and stir well to combine. Top with leftover parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.

5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until it's bubbling around the edges and brown on top. Enjoy!!

This turned out SUPER well. Plus, there's peas in it, so it's totally healthy. 

See you on the other side of finals when I'm no longer living on soup and...well, soup. 

Read More