Food 101: 4 Cheese Black Bean Pie

So I thought how can I come up with a filling meatless meal, and I found a recipe similar to this (shout out to Great Food Fast- one of my cookbooks), but of course I added my own flair. It is delicious, filling and has a kick! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 large whole wheat flour tortillas
2 cans black beans drained
8-10 oz frozen corn
1 bottle of beer or 12 oz or 1.5 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion diced
1 tablespoon sliced jalapeño chilies
Fresh or from a jar
3 garlic cloves sliced thin
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 scallions thinly sliced
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese blend: I mixed Monterey Jack, cheddar, Parmesan, and mozzarella

Directions:

One. Preheat the oven to 400°F using a pairing knife, trim the tortillas to fit in 9 inch spring form pan and set aside.

Two. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño, garlic and cumin season with salt and pepper cook stirring occasionally until the onion is soft about 5 to 7 minutes.

Three. Add the beans, and the beer and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium; simmer until the liquid is almost evaporated- about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the corn and scallions and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Four. Fit tortilla in the bottom of the springform pan; Layer a quarter of the beans and half a cup of cheese. Repeat three times. Use one cup of cheese on the top layer. Bake until hot and the cheese is melted about 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold the pie, sprinkle with scallions. Slice into wedges and serve immediately.

Yum yum!

Love,
Rose

Food 101: Combining Two of My Favorite Desserts

I love cake. But not the frosted confections you see in bake shop windows...I love the ooey gooey kind--like pineapple upside down cake and rum cake. So I thought, why not combine the two!

These days who wants a whole cake? Hand me a cupcake! So here is what recipe I came up with (and it tuned out amazing!):

My Famous Pineapple Upside Down Rum Cupcakes

This recipe will make a batch of 12 cupcakes.

Sauce:
1 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 of a stick)
1/4 cup rum and water mix--you pick the ratio. I do half and half.

Cake Ingredients:

2 Eggs
Splash of vanilla extract
2/3 Cup white sugar
4 Tablespoons pineapple juice
2/3 Cup all purpose flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1/4 Tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, add eggs, white sugar, and pineapple juice. Beat for 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and turn mixer back on for 2 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar, water and rum. Stir on low heat for three minutes. May boil over so watch it!

Place a pineapple ring in the bottom of each muffin tin (you may have to cut down the ring so it will fit or use pineapple tidbits). Add a cherry in the middle of each pineapple. Spoon over a spoonful of the warm brown sugar mixture. Pour cake mixture over to fill muffin tin 3/4 of the way full.

Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes.

Run a knife around the edge of each cake to help loosen in case it sticks a little. Place a wire cooling rack on top, and quickly flip over.


Place wire rack of cakes on baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes

Serve and spoon remaining sauce over cupcakes after you plate them - about a teaspoon.

Yum-my!

Love,

Rose

Fashion Fridays: Things I Love

A trend I am loving right now is sheer sleeves (and I always love French Connection!).  All of these are on www.asos.com and whadyaknow?  They are on sale!  See what I have been crushing on lately:

French Connection Lace Mini Dress

$155.77 

sale $93.11

French Connection Lace Dress With 3/4 Sleeve

RRP $196.96

sale $103.85

French Connection Pleated Ruffle Neck Dress

RRP $277.53

sale $134.29

French Connection Feather Look Dress With Embellished Neck    

RRP $232.77  

sale $85.94

 

French Connection Silk Beaded Neck Shift Dress

RRP $241.72

sale $146.82

Happy styling!

Love,

Rose

Food 101: My Famous Teriyaki Chicken Bowls

So I had a craving for a spicy teriyaki chicken bowl, but not with all that MSG (and overcooked veggies)! So here's what I came up with (it turned out pretty tasty!):

Serves 2-3
Ingredients:

1 head broccoli/broccoli crown
1 bag frozen mixed peppers
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1-2 chicken breasts grilled and sliced
1 cup rice

For sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup brown sugar or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon minced garlic or 2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tablespoon spicy steak seasoning

Instructions:

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions

2. Steam broccoli until almost cooked but still crunchy, and in the last minute or so add the peppers and onions and sprinkle with the spicy steak seasoning. Cover with a lid for 5 minutes with heat turned off.

3. Pour soy sauce, flour, brown sugar and garlic into sauce pan and cook over low heat for a few minutes. When sauce thickens add water to thin and ginger, stir to Combine and remove from heat.

4. Pour sauce over veggies and add chicken. Stir to combine.

5. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Happy cooking!

Love,

Rose

Food 101: Healthy Tomato Basil Chicken Pizza

So I made this the other night and I wanted to share the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup grilled chicken cubed
1 large beefsteak tomato chopped
1/2 of an onion chopped
1 cup or one handful of basil Roughly chopped
3 tablespoons herb de Provence or Italian seasoning
2 cups of mozzarella cheese shredded
1/2 of a cup tomato paste or tomato sauce
1 can of Pillsbury pizza dough Thin crust

Directions:

1. roll out pizza dough to thin layer across the cookie sheet

2. Spread pizza sauce or tomato paste
3. Top with ingredients
4. Salt and pepper to taste
5. Sprinkle cheese across ingredients 6. Sprinkle herb de Provence on top
7. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until bubbly and brown!

Food 101: Three Ways to Wake Up Side Dishes

So I love to cook, but sometimes I don't have time to make everything from scratch. I thought I'd share a few of my go to sides and "wake up" tips to add flavor and a "made from scratch" taste:

1. Frozen Corn - try heating it up in basil butter (use food processor to chop 2 cups of fresh basil, add some softened butter and mix together, then toss it in the pan and add the corn, and salt and pepper to taste--delicioso!

2. Frozen Mixed Vegetables (green beans, corn, carrots, peas)- add a few tablespoons of pesto (I love Classico brand) and a few sprinkles of parmesian cheese. BOOM!

3. Couscous/Rice Pilaf/Brown Rice - add some herb de provence/dried Italian seasoning, fresh diced tomato, and/or fresh chopped Italian parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

4. Frozen Pizza (I use Kashi because they are whole grain) - I'll add fresh sliced tomato, basil, fresh cracked pepper and my own selection of other veggies (mushrooms, red pepper, baby spinach) to make it more healthy.

5. Eggs- Add fresh chopped rosemary, salt and pepper to taste--its a very posh way to have gourmet flavor in a quick breakfast staple.

These are just the ones I can think of that I use most often. If you can think of any other quick tips...add them in the comments! I'd love to hear some more good ideas!

Love,

Rose

I've Been On A Hiatus!

Dearest followers,

I know I have been dead silent on my blog, and for that I appologize! I am currently 9.5 months pregnant and the last 9 months have been into nothing but baby prep/baby stuff--which I'm sure not everyone wants to hear about! I have mentally blogged so many times, but never gotten the chance to write them for you all. BUT, I promise I will be back soon! Continue to write me with feedback on what you like to hear the most about, and I will do my best to get this back up and running! Muah!

Love,

Rose