Caprese Salad

This is a family favorite! My mom has been making it for years and we all love it! It is light, fresh, and the flavor just bursts in your mouth! Crazy Good!

INGREDIENTS:

1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly

5 to 6 small vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced thinly

1/2 small cucumber, slices and halved

1 avocado, sliced thinly

1 bunch fresh basil

3 Tbsp virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle Feta cheese over the top, optional

HOW TO:

Slice the first 5 ingredients above and spread over the serving dish. Then mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, and salt and pepper. Shake well and right before you are ready to serve, pour it over the top of the salad. Sprinkle a little feta on top if desired and ENJOY!

Spinach & Chive Linguine in an Alfredo Sauce

I know the picture doesn't look great...but this is a fast, easy, rich and delicious meal! You will love it, as will everyone in your whole family! I made this meal especially for my 4 year old for a special dinner. He chose it! We called it "Green Goblin Noodles". The Alfredo Sauce is better than any Alfredo I have ever tried in any restaurant and it takes about 3 minutes to make! And the Pasta from Trader Joe's is insanely delicious! I could eat it plain! It has the BEST flavor! So yummy! My new favorite! (And I don't love chives, but it doesn't taste like chives, it just tastes amazing!)

INGREDIENTS:

~Spinach & Chive Linguine from Trader Joe's

~Salt (salt water to flavor the pasta)

~Homemade Alfredo Sauce

~Fresh Parmesan to grate over the top

INGREDIENTS FOR ALFREDO SAUCE:

2 cups cream

1/4 cup butter

1/2- 1 cup parmesan cheese (I don't use fresh, just the kraft brand, it works better with the sauce)

3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, or more

Salt to taste

dash of nutmeg or garlic powder

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:

Melt butter in a pan, add the cream; let simmer. Then add the parmesan cheese, pepper and garlic or nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Note: I love this recipe, it is SO easy and really delicious! I use it all the time over anything- tortellini, fettucini, as a pizza sauce! You will never even think about buying Alfredo sauce in a jar ever again! However, when you use it as a sauce for pasta- DO NOT make it ahead of time, pretty much make it when everything else for dinner is done- it takes only like 3 minutes to make and it sets up really fast- too fast! So serve immediately!!!!

Grilled Vegetable, Herb and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

That's more like it!!! My good friend Leisha made this sandwich and LOVED it so she put it on her blog and she is an amazing photographer...(and cook for that matter!) Look how much better that looks than mine...it is embarrassing! I need someone to teach me how to use my camera! Leisha, you should just make all my recipes and take pictures and then I will use them on my blog...ha ha!

This is a recipe that I saw Giada De Larentiis do and I thought that it looked delicious and so I tried it...and it is! I changed a few things and added some caramelized onions, but it is really close to what her recipe is. I brought it to the beach for a bonfire with friends and let some of them and their husbands try it and they all agreed that it was definitely "blog-worthy" and that they would make it again and again! And so would I. I really loved it and have thought about it often and made it again since...and I want one right now, so there you go. Don't be afraid of the goat cheese, it is amazing, but if you are not a fan, just choose a different cheese! And if you are not loving the type of vegetables, you can switch those out with your favorites too! Me, I wouldn't change a thing! I loved every bite! It will be your new favorite...it is mine!

P.S. I know the pictures never make it look that great, but it is that great!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1-2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 zucchini, ends trimmed and discarded, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
• 2 Japanese eggplants, ends trimmed and discarded, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
• 1 onion, diced and caramelized
• 1 (12 1/2-ounce) baguette, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise (IMPORTANT: I love the brea one's from costco the day of!!! They have to be fresh, just baked that day...it makes all the difference!!!)
• 1 cup (6 1/2 ounces) goat cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cups baby spinach and 3/4 cups arugula
• 1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar (for the caramelized onions)

Directions

Place a grill pan over medium heat, or heat up the grill.

In a pan, begin to caramelize the onions in a little butter. The more caramelized the better!! I like to caramelize my onions beyond recognition, to really make them sweet, but that is just me. When they are a few minutes away from being done, add about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. It is AMAZING! Then let them sit and cool until you need to used them.

In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Place 2 tablespoons of the mixture in a medium bowl. Add the zucchini and eggplant and toss until coated. Place the vegetables on the grill pan or grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until tender.

While the vegetables are cooking, spread the goat cheese on the top and bottom of the baguette halves. Then spread the olive oil mixture over the goat cheese. (I didn't use all the olive oil, I just spooned all the basil and sun-dried tomatoes out of the bowl and onto the baguette.) Place the cooked vegetables on the bottom half of the baguette. (I soaked up some of the oil from off the vegetables with a paper towel). Add the caramelized onions over the top of the vegetables. Arrange the spinach and arugula on top of that. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Close the sandwich and put tooth picks in it to hold it all together.

Serve immediately or wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. You have my permission to devour! I want one right now! Enjoy! Thanks Giada!

Cheesecake Cupcakes

These cheesecake cupcakes are such a fun and easy treat. You may already have this recipe, my family has been using it for years, but I love it so much. It is really simple, but I love the flavor and texture of these little cupcakes! So yummy! And for some reason, I love these even more the next morning for breakfast...is that bad?

Ingredients:

Vanilla Wafers

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

5 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine all cheesecake ingredients (except the vanilla wafers) in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.

Place paper baking cups into muffin tins and place a vanilla wafer on the bottom of each and fill cups 2/3 full with cheesecake batter.

Bake for 35 or 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Right before you serve, fill with the fruit or mixture of your choice. ENJOY!

Açaí Bowls= HEAVEN

This is easily one of the best breakfasts of all time. It is so refreshing and energizing. And it really is unbelievably delicious! It is a fruit smoothie poured over granola, topped with fresh fruit and coconut. The truth is, you don't need to have açaí. If I don't have açaí, I just use other fruits to make the smoothie, anything will do. I could eat this everyday- breakfast, lunch and dinner!

P.S. Yes, that bazaar looking mess in the center of the bowl is my most favorite fruit on the planet, passion fruit! Love!!!!

Also, I just had to add a few new pictures of my newest little munchkin LOVING these açaí bowls!! Obsessed with him!

FRUIT SMOOTHIE:

Anything goes really. Any combination of frozen fruits, juice and ice. My personal favorites are berries, peaches and always a frozen banana. And I love it with orange juice, but apple juice is good too.

I have my favorite granola recipe below, or you can just use store-bought. Either way it is a perfectly beautiful treat! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GRANOLA:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups Rice Krispie cereal

2 cups oats

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup Craisins

1/2 cup chopped nuts

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter in a large pot over low heat. When the butter is melted whisk in sugar, honey, flour, vanilla, almond extract & cinnamon. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients, (except the coconut, nuts and craisins). Mix well.

Transfer the mixture onto a baking pan with wax paper on it. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Allow the granola to cool for 1 hour in the pan.

*I add the coconut, nuts and dried fruit the last 5 minutes of baking so they don’t get too brown.

Crepes

Crepes are the quintessential celebration food in the Devine household. We love to do them on any occasion that we can think of, even just a family breakfast on saturday morning! And now Micah loves to make them with my mom just about every weekend! And they never get old! They really are to die for!

Ingredients:

5 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

4 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

Put the wet ingredients into the blender and blend for 10 seconds. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend until smooth. Fry in a pan using about a 1/3 cup of batter for each crepe, depending on the desired size. Pour the batter into a buttered pan that has been heated over medium high heat and swirl the pan until the batter spreads to fill the bottom of the pan. These cook very quickly and you don’t want them to brown. Watch closely and in a few seconds flip the crepe and let cook another 5 seconds. Transfer to a plate and repeat this process until all your crepes are made. Place the desired filling down the crepe and roll it.

I like to serve these with fresh fruit and homemade maple syrup (recipe below). But you can also do nutella and bananas or strawberries! Basically, you just can't go wrong with crepes!

MAPLE SYRUP:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cup water

2 tsp Mapeleine (you can usually find this in any store- it is in a little bottle near the vanilla)

1 Tbsp butter, optional

Boil sugars and water for 5 minutes, make sure the sugar is dissolved and not grainy, and then add the Mapeleine and butter.

Vegetables, Cooked Three Ways

These are vegetables cooked three ways! Three different vegetables, three different cooking methods. But all equally delicious! Every so often when I have vegetables that I need to use before they go bad, I will just make a dinner full of different types of vegetables, cooked in different ways, so there is still a lot of variety, textures and flavors in the meal. Here is an example of one of those evenings!

So, here are the different methods that I think show off these vegetables at their best!

Parmesan Asparagus

Ingredients:

~Asparagus

~Butter

~Parmesan Cheese

~Salt & Pepper

Fill a saute pan with an inch or so of water, add the Asparagus and steam for a few minutes. Then, drain the water out, and add a little butter. Then saute with the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper for a minute or two. The parmesan cheese melts onto the asparagus, it is so amazing! It is by far my favorite way to eat asparagus and it is so fast and easy! You will never prepare it another way again! It is that good, and the kiddos love it with the parmesan- especially if you let them add it in the pan!

Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients:

~Broccoli

~Olive Oil

~Herbs de Provence

~Salt & Pepper

Place the broccoli on a cookie sheet, drizzle olive oil over the top and add salt and pepper and sprinkle on the Herbs de Provence. Then, roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for around 15 or 20 minutes. This is my most favorite way to eat broccoli, it transforms a pretty average vegetable into a delicious treat!

Brown Sugared Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

~Butternut squash, cubed

~Butter

~Brown Sugar

~Salt & Pepper

~chopped pecans, optional

Place the butternut squash on a cookie sheet and rub them with a little butter and brown sugar. Add a little salt and pepper. Then, bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until they are tender and caramelized. And if you want a little extra treat, sprinkle on some chopped pecans when there is about 5 minutes left. This recipe is more of a dessert than anything, I think that this is how they were meant to be prepared! The are gooey, caramelized perfection!

Fat Emma Cookies

These delicious Fat Emma cookies have been in our family for years! They are similar to sugar cookies, except they are a little fluffier or "fatter" and they have an extra delicious flavor because they are made with buttermilk. Plus, they are way easier because you don't have to roll them out and cut them and then roll them out again! You just roll them into little balls like other cookies. They are a perfectly delicious cookie! Even ask Micah...

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

5 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the softened butter with the sugar in a mixing bowl and beat for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time beating well between each one.

Mix the dry ingredients together and add half of them to the sugar- butter mixture beating until the flour is no longer visible. Then alternate adding half of the buttermilk and beat just until smooth. The next step is to add the rest of the flour mixture and beat just until mixed in. Then add the rest of the buttermilk and beat until smooth. (If you beat them too much they will get tough.)

The dough will be sticky. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour, until it is stiff. Roll the dough into balls that are one inch in diameter. Drop them onto a greased cookie sheet and flatten them slightly.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, but don't brown, if you bake them too long they will dry out.

Let the cookies cool completely and then frost them with buttercream frosting.

Buttercream Frosting:

1 – 1 lb. box Powdered Sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cube softened butter

Place all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and beat them for 2 minutes. For a thinner consistency add a little more milk.

Enjoy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts...Trust me on this one!

I absolutely LOVE brussels sprouts, but there is one catch...they must be prepared this way and this way alone! I don't like them if they are prepared any other way. If they are prepared this way though, than I feel like they are such a treat. Like chocolate...I know, I know, but it is true. And Mitch LOVES them also! Sometimes for dinner, I make only brussels sprouts and we just go to town! Just try them, they are so good prepared this way!

INGREDIENTS:

~Brussels Sprouts

~Olive Oil to drizzle

~Salt and Pepper to taste

~Herbs de Provence

~Balsamic Vinegar to lightly drizzle

So, I peel the outside layer off and then cut them in half and lay them on a cookie sheet. Then I drizzle olive oil all over them and add salt and pepper and sprinkle on the Herbs de Provence. (My favorite dried herb mixture!)

Then roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for around 20 minutes. Just check them by poking them with a fork to see if the middle is soft.

Finally, when you take them out and lightly drizzle them with Balsamic Vinegar...Heaven!!!

Easiest Homemade Tomato Sauce Ever! MUST TRY!

I am not quite sure where my mom got this recipe, but it is crazy delicious! We all fell in love the first time we tried it because the flavors are so simple but intense. It really only has three ingredients and no real seasonings or herbs, so the flavors of the main ingredients are heightened and they really shine! It is so easy to make and tastes so fresh. It tastes exactly like a sauce you would find in Italy too, it is authentic and straight-forward, which is how I found the food to be when I visited. You will love it and will no longer open a jar of store-bought pasta sauce again! Promise!

INGREDIENTS:

~3 cans of diced tomatoes (the 14 oz. cans- so 42 ounces total)

~1 onion, cut in half

~6 or 7 Tablespoons of Butter

~Salt and Pepper to taste

~10-12 ounces of tortellini or other pasta of choice

HOW TO:

Dump the cans into the pot(do not drain the liquid out, just dump the whole thing). Then add the butter and the two onion halves. Bring these ingredients to a boil. Once the reach a boil, reduce the heat down to medium low and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

After 40 minutes are up and your house smells amazing, it should look like the picture below. Remove the onions and throw them away. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Then toss your hot, cooked pasta of choice in and experience this sweet and simple sauce. Enjoy!

Baked Eggs

This is a very simple recipe that my mom learned from her mom, my Grandma Gail. They are surprisingly rich and flavorful. They couldn't be easier to make and they are the perfect little breakfast or side dish at breakfast. I promise that you will be very pleasantly surprised if you try these out.

Ingredients:

1 Egg for each muffin cup

1 Tbsp milk for each muffin cup

Salt and Pepper

Herbs de Provence

Top with a square slice of cheese for each cup.

Instructions: Lightly butter muffin tins. Crack an egg into each cup. Add 1 Tbsp milk, salt, pepper, herbs and cheese to each cup.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

I am not the biggest fan of yolks- so you can do just the whites on some or you can bake them the full 20 minutes and the yolk should be fully cooked (just like a hard boiled egg yolk) and you can remove it or eat it like that. If you like a runnier yolk then bake them a little less.

And my kiddos love them! Actually we all do!

I know that pictures of eggs are never attractive, but this is what they look like before you cook them.

And after they are done cooking. They are usually done when they turn a little golden on top. And I just take a butter knife and loosen the sides and they just lift right out. They are surprisingly delicious. Enjoy!

Puffy Pancakes, also known as German Pancakes

Puffy Pancakes as my family calls them are also known by most as German Pancakes...but whatever they are called, they are DELICIOUS! This is one of the easiest breakfasts to make and it is one of my absolute favorites! I am kind of obsessed with them! We make them for birthdays and Valentine's Day and just whenever. And they are always a hit! We can't get enough!

6 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 of a cube of butter

Melt the butter in a 375 degree oven in a 9x13 glass pan. Put all of the ingredients except the butter in a blender and blend until smooth. When the butter is melted pour the batter into the hot pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until it is puffy and golden in color. Serve with homemade maple syrup and strawberries.

MAPLE SYRUP:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cup water

2 tsp Mapeleine (you can usually find this in any store- it is in a little bottle near the vanilla)

1 Tbsp butter, optional

Boil sugars and water for 5 minutes, make sure the sugar is dissolved and not grainy, and then add the Mapeleine and butter.

Authentic Thai Food is on the Horizon!

Sorry I haven't been posting...life, you know! But I am off to Thailand and I will be taking an authentic Thai cooking class while I am there...so be prepared for some exotic recipes in a few weeks when I return!