Cauliflower Crust Sun-Dried and Spinach Pizza

I love pizza.  You love pizza.  Everyone loves pizza.  Does everyone love what pizza does to our waste line?  Not so much.  So here is something that will help our bikini bods out a bit.  I found it an EXCELLENT alternative to the real deal.  It's a little time consuming, but totally worth it.

Ingredients 

Cauliflower Crust
1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of
cauliflower rice)

1 egg

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (Just a little tip- I ALWAYS grate my own cheese.  Cheese that is shredded and packaged has a cornstarch coating and will not melt as well.  The good thing about this recipe is that you already have your food processer out, so you can just use that to grate the cheese,,,voila!)

½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

Topping
¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup cooked spinach

¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Handful sun-dried tomatoes

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a rack in the middle.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and liberally grease with olive oil. Set
aside.

In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets

Transfer cauliflower rice to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 8 minutes,
until cooked.

Place the cauliflower rice in a tea towel and twist it to squeeze as much moisture as
you can.  I didn't have a tea towel so I put it through a strainer.

Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, add egg, mozzarella, oregano, salt and
pepper and mix well.

Using your hands, press the mixture onto the baking sheet and shape into a thin pizza
“disc”.  I made mine as thin as possible so that it would be crispy.  When I made "breadsticks" in the past, they were a little soggier than I wanted.  Making your dough thin will help crisp it up.

Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Scatter mozzarella cheese evenly over the pizza base and spread the spinach over this.
Sprinkle the Pecorino Romano and add a pinch salt.

Return to the oven and bake for further for 10 minutes.

DIY Fabric Banner

A few months ago, I threw a baby shower for a good friend and made my first fabric banner. I sort of fell in love with the cuteness of it all, not to mention it is VERY cheap and easy to make.  Of course when a friend asked me to make another one for her daughter's birthday, I jumped at the chance!  After all, crafting is my therapy.  Find the tutorial (here).

 

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Yes, I know, these are Easter cookies.  Yes, I know, It's almost June.  Just so you know, these cookies are delish all year round, not just at Easter. 

Believe me, I have tried many-a-sugar cookie recipe and this is by far my favorite.  I also think Royal Icing is the best choice for sugar cookies when you are trying to make detailed designs.  You'll also be able to stack these cookies because Royal Icing hardens unlike Buttercream which will just get mushy.

 You don't always need decorating tips.  Just go ahead and cut the tip off a frosting bag.   

 

 

 

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:
2  1/2 cups unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or 3 tsp vanilla)
5 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder (*take this out if you don’t want your cookies to spread)
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low to medium speed.    Mix until thoroughly incorporated – for about one minute.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more.

2. Add eggs slowly and mix.  Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again.

3. Cut open your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out.  Add to mixing bowl.  Alternatively, add liquid vanilla extract.  Stir briefly.

4. Sift your dry ingredients together.  (Flour, baking powder and salt).

5. Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl.  Mix on low speed for 3o seconds. 

6. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper.  Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

7. Roll out the dough further if you need to, and cut out cookie shapes.  Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Re-roll scraps and repeat.

8. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again.  They will then hold their shape better when baked.

9. Preheat your oven to 350°.

10. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown.  The baking
 time will depend on the size of your cookie.

11. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!

Royal Frosting

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
4 cups of powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Beat egg whites in with a stand or hand mixer with a whisk attachment until the eggs are almost frothy.

2.  Add the powdered sugar and whisk on slow until smooth.

3.  You may want to add more powdered sugar or water to achieve the thickness you want.  It's good to have icing that is thin enough to fall back on itself but make sure it isn't so thin that it runs off the cookie.

Need help with frosting colors?  The Food Network gives you a great guide (here).

 



Teacher Appreciation Ideas

It's a scientific fact that teachers like puns.  I can say this for sure because I am in fact a teacher.  So now that it is Teacher Appreciation Week it's time to break out the Pinterest, Puns and Presents!  See how I did that?  Parents, get to the store immediately and get your kid's teacher something fantastic.  Trust me, when it's spring and the kids are cray cray and their deserve something extra special.  Extra, extra special. 

Our son's school has themed days and a list of ideas.  This one is for drink day.  I figured if each teacher sees over 20 kids a day, they'll probably be set on drinks so I can give them something they can tip back.

I got the cups from Target and the printable here.  I just printed them out, glued them onto some card stock and viola!

 This one is for Teacher Tools Day.  It's a little known fact that teachers are very specific about their writing tools.  I have a friend who only grades in Vis-à-vis.  You know, those pens that used to write on overhead projectors?  Remember those?  Anyway, I found the Sharpies and cups at, you guessed it, Target.  The printable can be found here.  Put those babies in a treat bag, tie it with a bow and you now have the gift of my absolute favorite writing tool. 

Happy Teacher Appreciation and thank you teachers for ALL you do!

A Very Special Shower

It's very hard to believe that over half my life ago I met Ashley, a crazy, loud, outgoing, super friendly girl who was a pitcher on a softball team I began to play on.  Years went by and (through a little high school drama) we remained friends, became coaches together and eventually co-workers. 
When Ashley shared with me a few years ago that she and her fantastic husband were trying to start a family, I promised her a big ole baby shower.  Unfortunately that shower didn't come as soon as we all would have wanted it to which is what made this day so special.  Ashley and Adam went through more heartache than most people could ever dream of handling, and both did it with their heads high and a positive attitude. 
So now, it was my absolute pleasure to give their brand new family the party they deserve!  Love you AO's and can't wait to snuggle on that little baby boy!  You two will be the greatest parents ever and I'm so happy for your party of 3!  This new little addition is the answer to many, many, many prayers!

When I started planning what my husband called "the shower of the year", I went with the color scheme of grey, blue (the nursery colors), teal and a dark lime green.  I also thought I would go with the ever-popular rustic look including burlap, mason jars and comfort food.

 mason jars filled with homemade strawberry lemonade and fruit infused water

 wooden cutlery with scrap paper "napkin rings" and burlap string

 pie fries in paper cones with fruit dipping sauce

 

  buckeye cookies and lemon tea cookies

ombre cake

mini chicken and waffles

mini macaroni and cheese cups

brown sugar and bacon wrapped smokies

The "guest book" was a framed picture for guests to put their finger print to make a balloon bouquet carrying a little baby bundle.  Super cute.

 The mommy-to-be and I opted out of shower games, so instead I decided to have guests fill out cards for all the wishes for Ashley's new little guy.

 

Pretty Much

Hippity Hoppity Easter is on it's Way!

Isn't Pinterest a delight?  Who knew a website could make such a positive influence in your life?  The fashion, the activities, the recipes, the vacation ideas, the décor!  I have never been an Easter decorator, but thanks to my beloved Pinterest, I now have some fab ideas.

 Bunny Bunting (here). This pin is actually for a table runner.  I changed mine into bunting by:
1.  Printing and my stencil, gluing it onto a piece of cardstock, cutting out the bunny and using that to cut my flags.
2.  Cut the flags out of burlap.  To keep them from fraying, I put Elmer's glue around the edges.
3.  Place the flags on top of newspaper and use craft paint to stencil on the bunnies.  I used that 99 cent stuff from Hobby Lobby.
4.  Let it dry and string it up.  Done and done.

 Peter Cottontail Printable (here)
Hip Hop Printable (here) The pin on Pinterest doesn't work so I just Googled it.  Problem solving.

This would be an Anne original.  Try to stay standing.  I know it's insanely beautiful and ornate. 

Chocolate Chunk Blondies

There are not many things I love more than a brownie or blondie.  Except for maybe a cupcake.  These little beauties have quickly made it to the top of my favorite dessert list.  They're insane and guaranteed to fill your tummy with happiness.  Best part?  They are really very simple.  You can basically throw all the ingredients in a mixer and bake.  Nom nom.

Ingredients:

1 1/2  sticks softened unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 1/4 pounds semisweet chunks (Nestlé's)

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.  I used Reynolds Non-Stick Pan Lining Paper.  It's amazing.  I hate it when parchment rolls up and won't stay in the pan.  This pan lining paper has foil on one side and parchment on the other so it stays in place.  Worth the purchase!
3.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4.  With the mixer on low, add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well, scraping down the bowl.
5.  In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and with the mixer still on low, slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Fold the walnuts and chocolate chunks in with a rubber spatula.
6.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until they are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely in the pan and cut into bars.

Here you can see my new love that is pan lining paper.

Mini Pancake Muffins

Meet my son's new favorite meal.  I would venture to guess he has downed 48 of these in the last 5 days.  No exaggeration.  I first had the idea for pancake muffins from Baked Bree years ago.  For the recipe click here.  I loved the idea of being able to actually sit with my family and eat pancakes rather than serve them and eat whatever batter was left when they were finished.  I made these so many times that I pretty much got sick of them and haven't made them for about two years.  However, I tried these new and improved mini version that don't include the ever-so-wonderful sugary glaze and my son flipped out.  He has asked for them every meal for the last week.  Hope your family loves them as much as mine.

 Ingredients:

 3 cups All-purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

3/4 teaspoons Salt

2 1/2 cups Milk (Don't use buttermilk.  Your muffins will be too bitter.)

1 Tablespoon White Vinegar

2 whole Eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste

4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

Blueberries

 Syrup, For Serving

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt. Set aside.
3. Stir together the milk and vinegar and let it sit for 1 minute. Whisk in eggs and vanilla bean paste.
4. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients, then stir in melted butter.
5. Spray a mini-muffin pan generously with baking spray. Fill cups 2/3 full.  Drop 2 to 3 blueberries into each cup.
6. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let sit in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, then turn them out of the pan.
7. Serve warm with warm syrup.

Tiny Taste Tester

The Perfect Pesto

Ingredients:

 

1 1/4 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (see directions)

2 tablespoons minced garlic (see directions)

1/2 cup pine nuts

3 cups basil leaves (packed)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups olive oil

 

 

Directions:

 Here's a little trick for Parmesan cheese.  First of all, I ALWAYS (okay, like 95% of the time) grate my own cheese.  When cheese comes in a package pre-grated, it has a corn starch coating on it.  It keeps the cheese from sticking together in the bag.  The cornstarch makes the cheese a little drier and harder to melt.  Grate yourself.  Thank me later.

1. To grate your cheese the easy way, chop it into chunks and throw it in the food processor.  This takes the leg work out and grates it finer than you can.  Yep, you're welcome.

2.  Throw in your pine nuts and garlic.  Again, let the food processor do the work.  You only need to take the skin off the garlic.  The processor will mince it for you.  Pulse until pureed.

3.  Throw in your basil leaves.  Pulse until combined.

4.  Turn the processor on and begin to slowly add the olive oil until you have a nice liquid.

5.  Season with salt and pepper.

6.  Save for later or add to your favorite Italian dish.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Growing up we made a lot of boxed blueberry muffins.  You may know them.  They look a little like this:

I was a pretty big fan of eating the streusel right out of the little pre-packaged bag it came in.  So gross and so good at the same time.

 

It wasn't until after college that I realized how easy it was to make fresh, non processed blueberry muffins.  Great little weekend breakfast.  Enjoy!

 

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

 

Blueberry Muffins

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup fresh blueberries (take the time and spend the extra money for fresh and not canned.  It makes a difference)

 

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups with shortening.  You can use paper cups as well, but if you're going to go for it, go for it and use shortening.

2. Make Streusel Topping and set aside.

3. Beat milk, oil and egg in a large bowl with a  whisk.  Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Mix until the batter is just moistened.  Fold in blueberries.  Use a 1/4 dry measuring cup to distribute batter evenly among muffin cups. 

4. Sprinkle each muffin with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of streusel and press streusel down into the muffin so it doesn't fall off while baking.

5. Bake 20-25 mintes or until golden brown.   Let stand in pan for 5-10 minutes and then place on a cooling rack.

 

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3up packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons firm butter