Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken

I generally try to just give you recipes that you can make without needing to buy a specific product--this, however, is an exception. Because I had no choice. Sorry!

You see, I've had a jar of Peanut Butter & Co.'s "The Heat is On" (AKA their spicy peanut butter) sitting in my cabinet for awhile. And I could not figure out what to do with it. So I finally decided to get creative and try to make something for the Michael. He was pretty unsure about the idea of spicy peanut butter in a savory dish but I asked him to just give it a try,

Annnnd-THANKFULLY-it worked! I made this super simple chicken dish and he loved it. He was surprised that he loved it, but he did!

And it's crazy easy. You just whip up a marinade, using the peanut butter as well as soy sauce, seasonings, etc. You coat the chicken in it. Then you fry the chicken until cooked through.

Now-you can marinate the chicken for awhile, if you want (I just coated it and then immediately fried it)--if you marinate it for a period of time, however, it will be extra spicy. So just be prepared. You can also prepare the marinade ahead of time and-before adding the chicken-just cover and store it in the refrigerator. I did this. Be forewarned that it will thicken up a bit. I'm not sure that it adversely affected the results but just wanted to give you a heads up.

The chicken ends up juicy and spicy with a bit of an Asian cuisine flavor profile. And you just might like it--I know my Michael did!

Smoked Sausage Fried Rice #HillshireSausage

Michael is a guy who NEEDS variety in his food life! Unfortunately for him...I errr...don't. And I have a difficult time thinking outside of my chicken/potato box oftentimes. Which is why I was THRILLED when I was forced into some creativity by Hillshire Farms when they asked me to make a recipe using their Smoked Sausage.

And...wow...it could not have been simpler!

Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage requires like...no effort. You just take it out of the package and it is ready to be used! Whether you decide to throw it in a pasta sauce, make a chili or stew, put it on a pizza, etc! The options are endless and kind of crazy easy! For more recipe ideas check out the Sausage So Simple tumblr!

Now, I decided to make some fried rice with the smoked sausage because Michael loves Asian food and I never make it, so this was a double opportunity for changing stuff up! And it took me no time to make, which means it is the perfect weeknight dinner option!

The first person who tried this fried rice was my brother and he immediately texted me how good it was! He really loved the flavor the sausage added (which makes sense since Hillshire Farms experts have perfected the pre-seasoning of their sausage over the last 75 years!!) and the fact that it was the perfect post-workout meal (*shrug* he's pretty health conscious these days). And he hoped Michael wouldn't like it so he could have more, hehe. Michael DID like it (a lot), but we were nice and let Josh have some more also. Because when you have the option of making such a quick and perfect dinner...there's no reason not to share!

3 Ingredient Almond Butter Cookies

So, as you may know, I had my first bridal shower this past Saturday. One really cute aspect was that every place setting had a little recipe card holder (which was a favor) that held a recipe from THIS blog (and a photo). It was super adorable and made my heart smile to see people fight over who got which recipe and to hear my future mother-in-law tell everyone about my blog in a proud voice.

The poor thing, though. When she was putting together all the recipes she was trying to find recipes that weren't too long-so that they would fit. It was a bit challenging for her. It's a shame that I hadn't made these cookies yet, because I bet they would have been PERFECT.

These are probably one of the shortest recipes I've ever written on the blog, The ingredient list? 3. The preparation? Essentially just mix it together and bake. It's a little craaazy. But also awesome.

And oh hey-they're pretty healthy. Due to the fact that the only ingredients are almond butter, an egg, and sugar. The sugar is the sole not very healthy factor BUT...there's not much of it.

The cookies are chewy and have a perfect texture (kind of shocking, due to the ingredient list). They taste pretty fab also. One major thing to keep in mind, though--make sure you use an almond butter whose flavor you LOVE (you can also sub in any kind of nut butter). Due to the fact that these cookies are mostly almond butter...that's pretty much all they taste like. So, if you like the nut butter, you'll love the cookies!

Chicken Noodle Casserole {from scratch}

My mom, rather famously (in my family), made a few vows about things she would never do when she had children:

1. Never be absent (her parents owned a business and were very busy. She knew she always wanted to be really involved with us and she was! She was a girl scout troop leader AND a cub scout leader, she volunteered at our schools, and she was just always very present.)
2. Never make her daughter cut her hair. Apparently there was a somewhat traumatic incident where my grandparents forced my mom (kicking and screaming) to chop off her very long hair-into something of a boy-length cut. She promised she would never force that fate upon her future daughter--me! Thank goodness. She somewhat regretted that vow occasionally but she never made me cut my hair off.
3. She would never ever make meatloaf or tuna noodle casserole.

I know. The last one seems a bit random. Apparently those were food items that were fairly common in her household and she hated them. So...she was like "never again." And she never did. I'm ok with this because I don't like meatloaf or tuna noodle casserole. It all worked out. 

What this has to do with this recipe is: Chicken Noodle Casserole was my mom's adaptation of the dreaded Tuna Noodle Casserole. Essentially, she subbed in things she liked for things she hated (chicken instead of tuna, cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom). And what resulted was probably my favorite meal growing up.

Since I was (and am) such a picky eater (and since my mom is not in love with cooking, and is pretty picky herself)-if I found something I liked...we ate it. Alot. Like...there was a point where this casserole was made weekly. My poor brother was so tired of it. But I could not get enough! I requested it constantly. I was sick? Chicken noodle casserole. It's my birthday? Chicken noodle casserole. It's Tuesday and I'm hungry? Chicken noodle casserole. And then....I moved away. And I started to learn how to cook. And I realized I had overdone it with the casserole...and sorta didn't want it anymore. And somehow here I am and I haven't eaten chicken noodle casserole in over 5 years.

Correction-I hadn't eaten chicken noodle casserole in over 5 years.
That dry spell has ended!

The other day I was hungry and itching for a recipe I hadn't made before...or at least recently. And I was thinking about all the ingredients I had and what could be done with them and...my brain just thought of this casserole. And I knew it was time to bring it back. So I talked to my mom and got the original recipe (for the tuna noodle casserole) as well as what her substitutions were. And I knew I was going to have to make my version a bit more from scratch (although I suppose since I bought the noodles and the breadcrumbs it's not technically from scratch...whatever). So I created what you see here. It tasted just like I remember. And it was still so darn simple to make (yes...even with me making homemade cream of chicken soup and roasting the chicken). It just tastes like comfort and home and like a creamy chicken noodle soup in casserole form. 

Perfect to make you feel cozy on a chilly day.

And to make you feel home.

And to make you want to give your mom a big hug. <3

(Speaking of giving my mom a big hug: Tomorrow is my birthday! And I was super sad because it was looking like I wouldn't have anything to do until the evening, when people got off from work. BUT my mom decided to take the day off so she and I can spend the earlier part of the day together. We're going to go shopping and out to eat and I'm sooo excited. Best mom ever!)

Mashed Potato Pizza

Sometimes inspiration hits you like a sledgehammer.

One day I was just on facebook, like I do, and I saw a girl I knew from high school posted a promo from a restaurant about how their "Mashed Potato Pizza is Back!" and I was just like "WHAAAAA??!"

And I knew I must make it.

What does a pizza consist of? Crust, sauce, cheese, toppings.
What does this pizza consist of? Crust, mashed potato, cheese, topping.

Pretty similar.

Pizza is always the perfect dish because you can completely, 100%, make it according to your preference. I used whole wheat thin crust pizza crust, because I like it. You can use whatever suits your fancy-whether that be store-bought or your favorite recipe. You can also use regular, plain old mashed potatoes or jazzed up ones (like garlic mashed potatoes! Or ones with sour cream!)--and you can use fresh mashed potatoes or save on time by using leftover. Top it with your cheese of choice. And then whatever toppings make you happy-which for me are chives/scallions. For you it might be bacon. Who knows!?

Also, if you're extra special and get your hands on some STAR Grilling Cuisine Cooking Oil (with garlic!) it makes a tasty addition when brushed onto the pizza dough before baking. Just saying.

It's fall. Comfort food season. What's more comforting than pizza AND mashed potatoes?!

Mini Nutella Brownies {4 Ingredients}-Baby Shower for Lauren from Keep It Sweet Desserts!

Some of the best things in this world are small. Me, engagement rings, puppies, teacup pigs, mini brownies, and BABIES!!! Today is so exciting because a bunch of bloggers are coming together to throw Lauren, from Keep It Sweet Desserts, a BABY SHOWER!

I was lucky enough to meet up with Lauren a couple times when I lived in NY and she is seriously SO sweet and such a talented baker (to this day the best blondies I've ever tasted were hers!) So I was thrilled to hear she was expecting a little bambino! And it's a boy! I'm so thrilled and I know Lauren (and her hubby, Matt) are going to be such wonderful parents to their sweet baby boy. Lauren even made the really difficult decision to close her (amazingly successful) baking business to focus on their family-which I know was so hard for her but shows how incredible of a person she is and what a phenomenal mom she is going to be! AND she is also available for consulting (while still keeping up with her fantastic blog)-to help other people follow their dreams of opening a baking business and to learn from her expertise! Seriously, this girl is THE BEST. And now her little one could be here in the near future, so exciting! EEEEEEE!

In fact, it's the impending baby-dom that led me to make these mini Nutella brownies for the shower. That, and the fact that it's a "mini" themed shower (which is like the cutest idea everrrr). But, anyway, these brownies are like CUHRAAAZY easy to make. Like...it took me less than 5 minutes to mix everything up and pop them into the oven. And then they bake for, like, 10 minutes. And then you have brownies! Hooray! I know Lauren is going to be completely swamped once her little fella arrives, but I know that girl loves to bake and loves sweets, so I think these could be a great little something for her to whip up really quickly while her little guy naps or some such. And then she has brownies. It's sorta brilliant.

P.S. I attempted to incorporate some blue into the photos via the napkin to make them a smidge festive, I know it probs. could've been a million times cuter but...I fail at decorating/styling my food. Apologies.

So. You know I love Lauren. You know I'm so excited about her impending mommy-dom. You know these brownies are mini. You know they are quick and easy to make. But can we talk about how they taste?

Answer: AMAZINGGG.

These pack such a wollop of Nutella/chocolate-hazelnutty flavor! They are rich and perfectly gooey and chewy, with an awesome crunch from the hazelnuts on top! They are wonderfully bite sized so you can eat them in 1-2 bites, tops. See? Minimal effort required, even in the eating part. All around delicious and totally worthy of the dessert prowess and overall awesomeness that is Lauren.

CONGRATULATIONS LAUREN AND MATT!! 

I'm so excited for you and I can't wait to see photos of your sweet little boy!

Caramelized Pecan Banana "Ice Cream" with Chocolate Hazelnut Swirl

 

It's June. Which means it is wonderfully warm out. This means it is my favorite season. My favorite month. My favorite time of year (why do ya think I chose this time period to get married?)! It also means that soon we're gonna have some hot days. And, at the very least, we have some pretty warm ones! While some people may look at this as a downside, I'm all about it. There's a whole category for food that I don't really crave until the temperature goes up: including frozen bananas, popsicles, lots of fruit, and-of course-ICE CREAM!

But ya know, I can't go around eating oodles and oodles of ice cream (cue Michael probably yelling at the screen "But you'll eat oodles of cookies!" SHUSH!)-so, you wanna know a really cool trick?

BANANAS.

No, not as in this S*** is bananas (although it is), but as in-bananas. As ice cream.

WHAAAAA?

Technically, I sort of blogged about using bananas (and strawberries) as ice cream before. But I did not give it nearly enough attention.

So allow me to sum up and then expand upon:

Summary: you process some frozen bananas in a food processor or blender and it obtains an ice cream-like consistency.

Expansion: You can also add other stuff to take it to the NEXT LEVEL. Such as peanut butter. Or chocolate. Or bacon (WHAT? TELL ME YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT!). Or maybe caramelized pecans and a chocolate hazelnut swirl.

...no? Just me?

Not anymore! Now it's all of us!

Caramelized pecans....ohhh where have you BEEN all my life? And we already know about my love for choc-hazelnutty goodness. So adding them to this banana ice cream is just genius. It's creamy and crunchy and sweet and perfect. And a little less fatty than grabbing a pint of Haagen Dazs :P

Microwave Caramel Popcorn

Caramel corn is super duper delish. It's portable, it's addictive, it's crunchy, it's sweet and salty and just....YUM!

But...ugh. It is a hassle to make! That is why this recipe is AWESOME! So much quicker and so much easier, it's a gift from the caramel corn gods!

Now, I will say, when it comes down to it: I still prefer my old favorite caramel corn recipe. BUT, like I said-a hassle. This recipe is my new go-to when I have a hankering and I just want to be able to whip up some caramel corn quickly and easily and without such a big mess and with A LOT less dishes! (woot! wooooot!)

Hey-when you say "caramel corn" do people ever think you mean candy corn? This has been a mixup that's happened a couple times in my life recently. It's like...nono I know candy corn is awful. I'm talking about CARAMEL corn...you know...popcorn....coated in caramel. Like from the circus or a fair or just that super cute gourmet popcorn kiosk in the mall?

Anyway. So. Here's what we've got: pop some popcorn in a brown bag (which we've talked about before), mix up some caramel in the microwave (surprisingly simple!), then-now, prepare yourself, this COULD get messy, make sure your brown paper bag is sturdy!-you pour that caramel in the bag with the popcorn and shake it until it's all coated, THEN microwave, THEEEN shake it, THENTHENTHEN microwave it some more. Then shake it again. Then lay it out and let it cool and harden. TA-DAAAA (or, as the little girl I babysit says "DAAAAAA!") you have caramel corn!!! It's going to be crunchy, but still a little sticky (so be prepared to find delicious leftover morsels in your teeth for the next couple hours :P). 

And there you have it: simple! Gotta love a microwave.

Tagalong S'mores

Sometimes you see something so magical, that you CANNOT waste time in trying it yourself!!! This is the case of when I saw Crazy for Crust's brilliant idea to make Thin Mint S'mores. And well...I just so happened to have some Tagalongs hanging out in my freezer...soo...yeah. It had to happen. Tagalong S'mores.

Can we discuss Girl Scout cookies for a second?

I was a Girl Scout (all the way from Daisy, to Brownie, to Junior, to Cadet, to...well...Girl Scout)-it was such a fun time in my life. I was in a troop with my best friends, and all of our moms were joint troop leaders. Many good times were had. Including freezing and sitting outside the local Walmart, trying to sell some cookies. And oh...ohhh the competition of cookie sales. One year I sold the most (largely thanks to us purchasing like...30 some boxes. And many hungry neighbors. I was a great little sales lady) and boy, I felt SO proud. Like...probably way too proud. Anyway, due to this competitive nature, my family always bought a ton of cookies, which we would then store in the freezer and would last us all year long until cookie season came again! We always stocked up on quite a few flavors (lemon and shortbread for mom, and thin mints, tagalongs--or as we used to call them, peanut butter patties, and samoas for everyone else). My FAVORITE has always been Tagalongs. 

Another amazing memory I have with the Girl Scouts (in addition to many other times in my life): cooking food over a fire (namely little pizza things)--ESPECIALLY, my old friend, S'mores!!! So...of course...it makes so much sense to mush together two of my childhood loves. SUCH a simple, and great idea. Chocolate, peanut butter, shortbread, toasty marshmallow.....mmmmmmmmm. You need to try this. With any cookies in your life. Just...go....go do it. And remember pigtails. And making Christmas presents. And camping in your friend's backyard. And earning badges. Remember childhood. :)

....dude....childhood tastes pretty sweet.... :P

Mashed Potato Soup

It's been cooooolddddddd. My Ohio peeps had a -10 degree day yesterday. In NYC we don't usually get quite that cold, but back during the first polar vortex whatever, we did have a 10 degree day. Which is still pretty darned cold. That is the day I made this soup. And...finished this soup. I ate 3/4 of it by myself before Michael came home. I recommend doubling this recipe or you'll end up with a fiance heckling you for being a "hungry hungry hippo".

 This is my first time posting a soup recipe on the blog, and there are a couple reasons for this:

1. I don't eat a lot of soup. I like it, but not like A TON (with the exception of my grandma's chicken-endive AKA wedding soup. But I don't have the skills to make that yet. And also, this soup is a major exception. I think I'll be making it a lot.)
2. Before this recipe, my homemade soup attempts did NOT work out. I made a couple atrociously bland soups that poor Michael had to choke down and they sort of scarred me and made me scared of making soup.

Like...let's just wrap our minds around this concept: Mashed Potato SOUP. I loooove mashed potatoes, AND I like pierogies, and with the addition of onions and cheese to this soup, it's also kind of pierogi-like.

It is a luscious, creamy, hearty soup (Michael said he could imagine Ivan Denisovich eating this. He really liked that book from Senior English...anyway...). It tastes like you're eating soup-y mashed potatoes BUT kicked up a notch by the nearly caramelized onions, and cheese--cheese makes all things better.

2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house...

ALL the creatures were stirring like crazy except not a mousebecausemicearegrossandI'mneverlivinginaplacewithmiceagain!

YOUGUYSYOUGUYSYOUGUUUUYYYS!!
Tomorrow I'm going to DIIIIIISNEY WORLD! And in 1 week it's CHRISTMAS!
eeeeee so much excitement is happening!

Tomorrow I'll fly down to Disney, where I'll meet up with my mom, brother, godmother, and her 2 daughters (they'll have just gotten off a Disney cruise) and then we'll spend 2 1/2 days in Disney!  THEN we'll all drive back to Ohio for Christmastimes. It's gonna be insane and crazy and busy and fun and AMAZING!

Now, obviously we're not all going to Disney World tomorrow. But, no matter where you are, I'm sure all of us Christmas celebrators are pretty. darn. BUSY right about now! And a lot of that business is in the holiday tradition of baking. Baking cookies, especially. Whether they're for you, your family, co-workers, Santa, all of the above and more, there's a lot going on. So, I'm here to give you pretty much the easiest, simplest, and tastiest little cookie recipe. PERFECT for your holiday baking!

Ya ready for this?

Reese's peanut butter cups. And an egg. 

THAT'S IT. You process some Reese's, mix em with the egg, then bake yourself up some cookies!

SO EASY!

And then...ya know...if you're like me...you sprinkle some beautiful sea salt on top.

And then imagine you're a little kid again and all you want to do is ask Santa for more cookies, please.

These cookies are big, crisp, sturdy (important when you're traveling with cookies and/or giving/sending them as gifts), full of delicious peanut butter/chocolate flavor, chewy, and just mmmmm. 

I estimate about a bjillion of you will now drop everything and go bake these cookies. And then give them to peoples. And then those peoples will worship the ground you walk on. Yes. This shall come to pass.

Coffee Cake in a Mug

I'm a morning person. I'll admit it. I'm that girl. In high school, I used to do the morning announcements and drive everyone crazy with my overly awake and perky voice. Sorry guys but...once I'm awake, I'm AWAKE. Even so....I tend to find myself dragging my feet when it comes to actually doing stuff in the morning. Particularly making food. Because I'm tired and hungry and I just wish food would magically appear in front of me, no effort required.

Now, while I don't have the magical ability to summon up an instantaneous, effort free, breakfast....this recipe comes pretty close.

You pretty much just combine some ingredients in your favorite mug (yes...I made mine in a Disney princess mug and yes...I made Michael one in a Batman mug. I enjoy this about us. I think it's charming. sooo...yeah...) then you microwave for a few minutes and...that's it. You have coffee cake.

CUHRAAAZY.

Now, on the real real...not my favorite. It was fine just...I dunno...I felt like the cake was a bit bland tasting. Not enough cinnamoooon! It was good though, especially considering it took like 5 minutes to make. I just prefer real coffee cake. 

That said-Michael really enjoyed it and didn't see anything wrong with this simple little breakfast. And just imagine how much fun something like this would be if you have a bunch of girls waking up after a slumber party at your house! Or if you partied hard last night and need a quick easy breakfast. You know...just depends on your current life situation.

Or you could just be like me, a perky little Disney princess, waking up, singing with the birds, and then being like "ughhh but...doin' stuff?" and then remembering, "Oh hey! I can have a little coffee cake in my belly like..practically right now!" and then you run to the kitchen.

...and to be honest..if this is me we're talking about...and I'm running to the kitchen...

...I probably trip.

Over EASY Eggs

Over EASY eggs...get it? Because...they're over easy eggs but they're EASY over easy eggs...get it...yeah?

Ok. Good. I thought it was funny. Maybe just me. Whatevs.

Fun story: before I could cook, I could make eggs. That I was able to do. And I learned to make over easy eggs by watching my mom and dad. You see, every Saturday morning was pancakes, and every Sunday morning was over easy eggs or "dippy eggs" as they were called in my household (because we dipped toast in the yolks...get it?) I've heard of people flipping eggs to make them over easy or whatever, but that's risky. I was taught this method because it is easy, virtually foolproof, and awesome.

Now, I can't eat eggs anymore (used to love em, now they make me sick. I have no clue what is wrong with me) but Michael isn't crazy like me, so I can still flex my egg-making skills for him. And now you'll be able to say you can make eggs as well as a 10 year old Kayle. Oh yeah.

Brown Butter Nutella Swirled Peanut Butter Chip Blondies (with Sea Salt)

Oh, hi, I'm Kayle....I like to over-complicate things.

• I have folders and files and tiny little details figured out for my wedding....and I'm not actually engaged yet.
• In that same vein...I will literally stress about and plan out things for a theoretical future that's not quite here yet.
• I have to explain my very specific orders to those poor waiters and waitresses at restaurants.
• Also...can I have water with no lemon?
• I see a recipe for something that's super easy, and I go "...but what if I made everything from scratch?"
• I see a recipe that already seems like it could have everything you could possible want and then I go..."maybe I'll brown the butter and put sea salt on top."

You know what? I sort of love my brain.

Sooo yeah....let's face it: if I see a recipe with melted butter....I'm gonna brown it. That's practically a given. And I might be an eensy weensy obsessed with putting gorgeous big flakes of salt on top of sweet things. GUYS-it's just sooo gooood!! Do not knock it 'til you try it-it seriously just balances the sweetness in just the right way.

Oh and I maybe used homemade nutella to "swirl" on top. Note the quotation marks because um...homemade nutella doesn't swirl too well....it's too thick. So these maybe aren't as pretty as they could be. But ya know what? I don't care because they taste FANTASTIC!

To sum up: a delicious, chewy, blondie base (with no white sugar, only beautiful beautiful brown sugar), made with browned butter. Then some chocolate and peanut butter chips are mixed in. Then ya put some nutella on top. Bake em up, sprinkle on some salt, and there you have it: a super complicated recipe.

But here's the secret: not complicated. This whole thing is mixed up in one bowl (ok...not counting the pan you brown the butter in), whisked together (no mixer!), and made and baked in like 30 minutes. So uh...yeah...turns out this is SUPER quick and simple. 

And obviously out of this world yummy, packed with all your favorite things.

You like my brain now, too, huh?

{Baked} Fish Sticks

Of course I made these for Michael.

(Sometimes) I'm a nice lady.

Now...technically these are supposed to be fish sticks buut...I may have not cut the fish small enough? So it's more like just...baked fish?

When I look at these pictures, it actually reminds me of "fish 'n' chips"...minus the chips.

Michael loves fish and chips. And fish and chips make me think of British things, which makes me think about some of the hilarious people in my life. Let me elaborate:

Michael's best friend, David, is obsessed with all things British. He teaches Brit Lit at the high school Michael and I attended. He's basically in love with Queen Elizabeth (Tudor). His twin girls know all about the royal family-his daughter Kate especially loves hearing about Princess Kate. He has British flags um...everywhere.

One of my good friends in high school went through a strange phase senior year where...out of nowhere she would say something in a British accent and just speak like that for awhile and if someone pointed it out she'd be all "Oh? What? I am? I didn't even notice that! Strange." Um...you'd never been to England. You were just doing a strange thing and acting like it was unconscious lol.

Another friend in high school was also very obsessed with England (in addition to early, 18th century, America. She loves her some Thomas Jefferson). In college she did a semester abroad there and guess what? She bagged herself a Brit! Her first real boyfriend turned out to be an English boy and even after she had to come back to the states they visited each other often and then, a few months ago, they were married in a super charming wedding in the English countryside.

Anyway, all those British stories don't have much to do with anything. I just think it's funny the obsession some people have with British culture. Even those of us who aren't obsessed are fairly interested in, say, Kate & William and little Prince George. 

Back to fish: I adapted this recipe a fair amount to work with the ingredients I had on hand, and I think the result was even better that way! Michael really really enjoyed these and if you like fish (and/or British culture? :P) then you will too! They're also pretty darn quick and easy to throw together, and on the healthy side. Huzzah!