Peppers

I just love peppers!  In any form....  Roasted, raw, cooked, yellow, red, orange - bring it on!  And they're so good for you.

This side dish is a great accompaniment to fish or chicken. 

Ingredients:
- bell peppers - any colour of red, yellow, orange
- sweet onion (such as Vidalia)
- bread crumbs
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- olive oil

Chop up any combination of peppers (red, yellow, or orange) into 1 inch chunks.
Chop the onion into 1/2 pieces.

Saute the onion over medium heat in 1 to 2 tsps olive oil until soft.  Remove from pan.
Add 1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil to the pan.  Add minced garlic to the pan and saute approx 1-2 minutes.  Do not let the garlic burn!  Add the peppers and saute over medium heat for approx. 5 minutes or so.  Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until soft, approximately 20 minutes or so.

Reduce the heat to low and add the onions back in.  You could add a little balsamic here if you like.

Add approx. 1/3 to 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs to the mixture.  Lightly mix and transfer to a serving dish.

Sorry for my "approximations" in this recipe.  I tend not to measure, I just add what I think is needed!

Lemony Cheesecake

Somehow my two favourite flavours these days are peanut butter and lemon.  Not together though!  I just love the clean, bright flavour of lemon.  This cheesecake is creamy, lemony, and light - a perfect combination!  Not too heavy after a big meal.

This recipe comes from the Company's Coming series. 

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar
 
CHEESECAKE FILLING
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar 
3 eggs 
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
 1 tsp.Grated lemon zest 
 
SOUR CREAM TOPPING
2 cups sour cream
3 Tbsp granulated sugar 

 
Graham Cracker Crust: Melt butter in small saucepan on low. Remove from heat. Add crumbs and sugar. Stir until well mixed. Press firmly into un ungreased 10" springform pan or a 9X9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees oven for 10 minutes.  Cool.

Cheesecake Filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.  Add next 3 ingredients. Stir.  Spread in crumb-lined pan. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for about 30 minutes until firm.

Sour Cream Topping: Combine sour cream and sugar in small bowl. Spread over filling. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until set. Let stand on wire rack until cool. Chill until set. Cuts into 12 pieces.

Enjoy!

Antipasto Platter

So you been invited to your friends for dinner and you kindly offered to bring an appetizer.  And now you're panicking!  No worries....  simply pick up a few deli items from your local grocery store and you have an easy appetizer.

This is a little taste of Italy on a platter!

This platter contains the following:

• marinated artichokes
• asiago cheese
• assorted olives
• marinated mushrooms
• proscuitto wrapped melon
• mozzarella & proscuitto slices
• boccaccini & tomatoe skewers
• roasted red peppers
• sundried tomatoe slices

Mange!

Easter Table Decorations

I appreciate someone decorating for any holiday and always find it a pleasure when someone makes that extra effort.  That being said, I like most of my holiday decorating (except for Christmas!) to be easy.

Here are a couple of simple ideas for Easter table decorations:

I purchased an Easter wreath and set a clear vase filled with Easter eggs, which my kids had painted.  I then put in some Easter Egg picks into the vase.  I have to confess, this was my friend Erin's idea and I stole it from her.  It so worked!

I purchased some flowers, these happen to be chrysanthemums, but they could be tulips or any other spring flower.  I filled the clear bowl with plastic Easter basket straw.

Easy, peasy!

Arugula Pizza

It's Pizza night!  One of our favourite pizzas is Argula.  It may sound crazy, but it's crazy delicious!

Stretch the pizza dough onto a pizza pan.  Generously brush with olive oil.  Bake at a high temperature (450 degrees) until almost baked.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with Fontina Cheese and shaved proscuitto.   Return to the oven until pizza is golden brown on the bottom. 

When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle fresh argula over the entire pizza.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Yummo!!!  These brownies are light as air, almost cake-like.  The peanut butter flavour is not over-powering, just right.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, melted & slightly cooled
• 2 Tbsp 2% milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 large peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped*

* I used the small peanut butter cups cut in half.

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

3.  Combine peanut butter, butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs, stirring well.   Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.  Scrape the batter into a 9" square baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray.  Arrange the peanut cups over the batter.

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack.  Drink with a big glass of cold milk!

Monkey Bread

Who doesn't love Monkey Bread?  Not sure what Monkey Bread is?  It's only delectable little bread balls of ooey, gooey, caramelly goodness.....

Note to self - use nicer looking plates!

I admit right up front that I cheat and use frozen bread dough (which by the way, seems to be getting harder to find).

Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of frozen bread dough, thawed
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- melted butter

Directions:
Melt approx. 1/2 cup of butter (no this isn't diet food!) in the microwave.

Mix approx. 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon (or to taste) together in a separate bowl.

Divide the thawed bread dough into 1 inch balls.  Dip each ball in the butter, then roll in the sugar mixture.

Place in a bundt pan which has been sprayed with Pam.  Continue until all of the bread dough is in the pan.

Cover with foil or plastic wrap and put in a warm place (I use an oven which has been slightly warmed, but turned off) until double in size - approx. 1 hour.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until brown and bubbling.  A good hint to see if it is cooked is to tap the bread - it should sound hallow.

Remove from oven and put a plate on top of the bundt pan.  Turn the plate and bundt pan over so that the bread and all of the caramelly goodness turns out onto the plate.

This bread is best eaten warm, while the caramel is still soft and melty.


Hint:
If baking the following morning, wrap the bundt pan with plastic wrap or foil and place in the refrigerator.  Take out one hour before and place in a turned off oven to warm up the dough; it should rise slightly more.