Spinach & Brie Puff Pastries

So...I was planning to write up a post about the Walkers Shortbread Recipe Challenge today.

Buuut, I still need to get all the photos and stuff together, so stay tuned for that! 

In the mean time, for today I'm gonna share with you a vegetarian, savory, treat--since I'm doing the whole no meat on Fridays in Lent thing (*fingers crossed* last year was the first year I ever successfully did this).

So...yeah, like...can we talk about these pastries for a minute?

Puff pastry is just flaky, buttery, goodness. The spinach makes me feel healthy. And brie. 

Oh I love brie. I know it's like fancy French cheese, but...you guys...brie tastes like butter.

Like buttah.

What's not to like?!

The flavor is fairly similar to those mini spinach and goat cheese pies I made, but still unique. It's so incredibly buttery and warm and comforting. I couldn't stop eating them. And the recipe only makes 4. So a day after I made the first batch...I made a 2nd batch. Don't judge me.

Stoemp (Mashed Potatoes with Leeks):Spotlight on The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen

Yay! Another Sponsor Spotlight!

Today I want to introduce you guys to the incomparable Susan, The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. Susan lives in Brooklyn with her husband and adorable pug and she cooks up delicious (and often-times award winning) food in her little, red, kitchen! She and I also have a special bond. For one thing, red is our favorite color. BUT ALSO she is the first fellow food blogger I ever met in real life! You guys remember when I blogged about our fun foodie date at Chelsea Market? Yeah? Great! Then you know how funny, fun, and fabulous (the 3 "F's") Susan is!

She has blogged sooo many delicious recipes! On the sweets side, I can't wait to try her (award winning) Belgian Supreme Ice Cream, the (also award winning) S'more Nutella Rice Pudding, Homemade Nutella, and her Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie! This girl also knows how to do savory right-like um her post on how to cook steak at home!? And she is queen of risotto (I want this recipe to become the first risotto I ever try). AND yes Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese with Kale and Onions-mmmm!

And, so we can all get to know her better, she filled out a fun questionnaire for us!
(I filled out one for her too, AND she made one of my recipes so go check it out on her site!)

Guacamole

Hi there! *waves*

Hows your 2013 going so far?

You feeling good about your resolutions and what not?

You want a nice, easy, healthy recipe?

You do?

Great!

Guacamole.

Avocado is full of all kinds of healthy good fats and what not (don't shy away from the word fat, you need it!). In general, I don't particularly care for avocado in things, but I DO like guacamole. And this is the most fresh tasting guacamole you'll probably ever have! And it's fairly easy to customize according to your own tastes. Think it needs a little more garlic? Throw some in there! Do you prefer the pure, clean taste of avocado? Leave some of these ingredients out! No big! It's your life, eat your guacamole how you like!

And then be all proud of yourself, like, "Yes...I make my own guacamole. And I HAVE lost weight, thank you for asking!"

(Yes, this is the guacamole I made for Michael's birthday-so you finally have all those recipes! Yay!)

Mini Spinach and Goat Cheese Pies

Ok you guys, prepare for a much less active Kayle-presence.

On Wednesday morning I will be getting on a bus to Ohio, where I will stay for about a week. I'm going to be crazy busy visiting with people and doing stuff and enjoying the holidays! I'll still try to get on here every now and again, and I have a post or two scheduled for while I'm gone, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. I'll miss you and I hope you all enjoy your holidays too!

Now, on to the recipe!

Have you ever had Spanakopita? It's pretty amazing. The only thing Michael complains about with it(and I agree with) is that we wish there was more pie and less filling. That problem is totally solved with these mini pies!

No, this is not technically Spanakopita. It's goat cheese and spinach and such, not feta and what not.

And yes, if you prefer more filling and less pie-you can totally make these that way too.

This recipe is quite inexact as far as the crust options go, but stick through it. You can figure this out. And once you do you'll have these super amazing little pies that you can hold in your hand and that taste absolutely rich and flavorful and delicious. These would be a perfect thing to serve at a holiday party, methinks. 

Pan Roasted Potatoes

Ahhh ohemgee you guys!

Don't let the ugly photos fool you-this is one of my favorite potato recipes.

So simple. So quick. So easy. SO DELICIOUS!

These potatoes are super soft and buttery tasting on the inside, and delightfully crisp on the outside.

I make these all the time.

It doesn't get much better than this.

Get your side dish on!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

And I have mashed potatoes!

You know...in case you wanna try a new recipe.

This is definitely one of my new favorites.

They're flavorful.

They're thick and lusciously potato-y.

I love em.

This recipe is courtesy of one of my many wonderful food blogger friends, Mallory (Total Noms). Mallory is NYC based, also, so I've had the pleasure of getting to hang out with her. Which brings me to my next point:

What I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for my mom and my brother and all my family.

I'm thankful for my Michael.

I'm thankful I'm able to live my life, doing what I love to do.

I'm thankful any of you read this blog.

I'm thankful to be happy and healthy.

I'm thankful for my friends.

I'm thankful for all my new, blogg-y friends. There are so many of you now, and I hope you know who you are. The people whose comments always make me giggle, and blog posts I can't wait to read. Some of you have named my hand mixer. Some of you I've gotten to meet. Some of you I hope to meet soon. Some of you have bonded with me over shared loves and interests (Batman. Dessert. etc.) Some of you sent me gifts for my birthday (seriously...still speechless over the sweetness that was). Some of you may notice that it's you I just namelessly called out, and some of you may not-but I sincerely hope all of you know how much you mean to me and how much I truly think of you as friends, whether we've met in person or not. I love you all and am so thankful that you've come into my life.

What are you thankful for?

Oh and in case you were wondering, here is my Thanksgiving menu:

Texas Roadhouse Dinner Rolls

Michael's Applesauce

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Cranberry sauce (the icky stuff from the can...for Michael lol)

Corn

Butterball turkey breasts

Pumpkin Pie-My favorite pie crust + the canned pumpkin recipe

Mini Apple Pies

Scalloped Potato Leek Gratin

I need a mandoline.

Forreals.

Because...slicing potatoes all thin without one=not easy. No sirreee.

Also, writing a post the morning you're supposed to publish it because you forgot up until now and you just woke up=not so easy either. Good morning everyone. 

Anyway! This recipe is the first thing I made from the Savory Sweet Life cookbook! It totally holds up. Potatoes au gratin are delicious in general because, um, yeah, potatoes and cheese. But add some leeks in there and it totally elevates the whole thing. This is the perfect marriage of comfort food and a sophisticated dish to impress. With the holidays coming up I definitely think this would be a winner. 

I wish I could think of more to say, but just trust me on this one: make it. Eat it. Rejoice.

Whole Wheat Double Corn Cornbread

So...it's like...cold here now. It actually feels like fall (blech).
We're using the comforter. I have a blanket on at all times. I even wore a *shudder* hoodie!

Do you know what I like to do when it's cold?
Eat comfort food.
"but Kayle you eat comfort food all the time-" Shush!

Cornbread. It's hearty and thick and is served with warm food that helps you chase away the chill.

I don't know about you but, I'd like to have my comfort food and eat it too-without gaining, like, hibernation weight. Because...I didn't really lose anything over the summer so...we just can't have me getting bigger.

 So, when I tackled making this cornbread, I decided to tweak it a smidge. Add more corn to up the veggie level. Sub out some of the AP flour for whole wheat. (I totally messed around with the flour to make it whole wheat-and so can you! You can try to make it all with whole wheat flour, use some white whole wheat flour for part/all of it, go crazy! Go nuts! Experiment!) You can even use coconut oil, if you want, or canola oil, or whatever your favorite healthier oil is. Honestly, there's not much that's bad for you here. It's a pretty satisfying and low guilt dish. And Michael liked it, and so did my cousin Amy (who was visiting after I'd made this and had a little leftover), and of course I did-so really, anyone should :)

Waffle Iron Hash Browns

I like hash browns.

Do you?

Sure ya do!

One thing I don't like, though: greasy, fried hash browns (especially the ones at like...McDonalds...blech).

Wanna know a super easy way to make your own, non fried, hash browns at home?

Do you have a waffle iron?

Yes? Yes?

Good! Let's make us some hash browns!

Crispy Parmesan Potato Puffs

This is another recipe that I've been dying to share with you guys!

Because it's effing deliiiicious!

These little puffs would make super fancy, lovely appetizers that you could serve at any high class function.

Or, if you're me, they make a great thing to stuff your face with as you watch reruns of The Big Bang Theory with your boyfriend.

But you know...either or.

I love Potatoes. I love Parmesan. I love scallions. I love little crispy bites of heaven that I can just pop into my mouth and go, "Mmmm."
Yepp.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Yes.

More mashed potatoes.

Healthy ones. Pretty much. AND these ones have ROASTED GARLIC in them!!

I loooove garlic.

I'm even gonna show you how to make roasted garlic, in case you didn't know (I totally didn't before I made these).

Wanna hear a funny mashed potato story? Up until...I don't know...like...college(?) I would only eat 1 kind of mashed potatoes: Hungry Jack instant mashed potatoes, made very thick and "lumpy". For a long time I had a very specific butter regimen as well ("squeeze" butter in concentric circles on the pile of mashed potatoes and a big hunk of "spread" Country Crock in the middle). I was a little OCD about food. Also, boy that was a lot of butter. It's a miracle I wasn't obese. Why did I only like instant? I imagine because that was what I had been raised on. Anyway, I eventually figured out that real mashed potatoes can be totally delicious, and I've never looked back since. I still like my potatoes thicker, though. So I suppose some things stick.

I promise I don't do that thing with the butter anymore....actually I usually don't put any butter on mashed potatoes...they usually have enough that was made into them. I've overcompensated it seems. 

Do any of you have weird food neuroses from your youth? 

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

So, I'm on a bit of a personal mission.

I am searching for the perfect mashed potato recipe.

Along the way, I have found many recipes that I really love, but none are that quintessential, perfect mashed potato. Now...I'm sure part of the reason for this is I have yet to actually use cream + a lot of butter (because let's face it...that's probably it). I'm not complaining, though, because I thoroughly enjoy all of the different kinds of mashed potatoes I've made so far--although most of them have some aspect of garlic/cheese to them. These potatoes are, so far, my favorite basic mashed potato recipe I've made. I mean...c'mon...they use browned butter, and we all know how awesome that is. And, because of the strong, buttery flavor that lends, you can use less butter than normal-which is good for our bellies/thighs/whateverproblemareayouhave. These are absolutely best if you use a combination of gold and russet potatoes-they just are.

I know I should probably be sharing this recipe around like Thanksgiving time. But...I don't eat according to season. I eat what I like, regardless of the date on the calendar. I understand this is a strange idiosyncrasy of mine, and I completely understand if you wait until fall breaks to try these but...I wouldn't be able to wait if I were you :).

 Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Adapted slightly from How Sweet It Is

Serves 4-6 (generous helpings)

Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Rigatoni-Guest Post with Jen of Juanita's Cocina

Hey everyone! So, I'm back in the old Ohio-super super busy, I'm sure (I'm totally writing this post before I leave), and I have my first guest post for you today! I chose two of my absolute favorite foodie friends, and first I have the wonderful and hilarious Jen of Juanita's Cocina! Jen is a super amazing, super talented wife/mother/"at-home-cook, wanna-be chef, and aspiring foodie".  She is so nice you guys, it's like, impossible to not immediately become her friend. PLUS-she can legitimately say y'all (she lives in Texas). She always has some of the most entertaining stories you will read (forreals, never fails to amuse me), and delicious food! Go become her friend! Tweet her, FB her, Pin her, you guys know the dealio. And obviously you should start obsessively stalking her blog. That's just manners, people.

Even the post she wrote for me, right here, when you scroll down-cracks me up. I love that girl! Jen is so silly--apparently she's never been to Ohio, so she thinks it's a vacation ;). Little does she know I'll be spending all my time running around just trying to squeeze as much time with as many friends/family members as possible (also, Ohio is so boring, never vacation there. It's a nice place to live...not vacation, unless you have people to visit like me! :D) 

Also...I want to eat some of that rigatoni...I'm legit. planning on making it! Michael agrees :).



 

Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo

Remember how I'm like a dumb little kid and I need to be tricked into eating vegetables?

This is one such recipe.

You take zucchini and use them to take the place of some of the fettuccine noodles, and then smother them in the super flavorful (but not super fatty!) sauce. And it's amazing. I love this entire concept so much I've even used zucchini noodles in other kinds of pasta (but not oil pasta, because olive oil alone isn't enough of a mask for the icky green stuff for the 6 year old that is myself). It's so great because this recipe takes a dish that is so fatty and calorie-laden that many of us feel like we just can't eat it-but it gives us a delicious alternative that I, personally, think is just as good. What makes me so sad, though, is the fact that this is one of the first recipes I ever bookmarked. And it took me like 2 years to make it. I could've been eating this for 2 years and I wasn't! It's a travesty! An outrage! An abomination! YOU MUST LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES AND MAKE SOME OF THIS ASAP! I mean it! Also-you definitely might want to double (or triple) the amount, depending on how many people you're serving and if you want leftovers. Because when it says serves 2-it means serves 2. A little friendly advice. But anyway, what are you doing hanging around here reading the silliness that comes out of my fingers on this keyboard onto this blog? YOU SHOULD BE MAKING SOME OF THIS FETTUCCINE ALFREDO!

GO ON!

:)

Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo

From Eating Well "Fettuccine Alfredo"

Serves 2

(can easily double this recipe if you want leftovers)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Kale

Until recently, I didn't fully understand what kale is. I thought it was some fancy food, like caviar, that all the upper-crust of society ate. I'm not sure where that idea came from, but go with me on this. Anyway, it wasn't until I really dove into the internet food world that I saw people start talking about kale a lot. Then I was like, "Hm, well it's a green vegetable, but maybe I won't mind it so much."

Creamy Cheesy Potatoes

YUM!

That's all you're gonna want to say about this recipe! YUMMMM. I can't even adequately describe this. It's just awesome, pretty much. And, like, it is a side dish that can be turned into an entree? You could just have cheesy potatoes, or you could have chicken cheesy potatoes!? It's awesome. And, frankly, I'm lazy, so I totally vote for making this an all-in-one meal and just putting the chicken in there. However, if you have like a family thing or function or whatever you adult type peoples do, and are assigned to bring a side--this sans chicken is a total winner. Plus, if you're a vegetarian, maybe no chicken. Perhaps you could put something else up in there though? Eh? Maybe? I don't know-you guys are creative, I'm sure you'll figure something out. 

Note: BE CAREFUL! I totally made a mess, yesterday, making this. I used fat free evaporated milk in it for the first time and it bubbled over-completely blackening my casserole dish and getting gunk on the bottom of my oven. Have I mentioned I apparently am incapable of cleaning my oven? It's haaaard. I tried using baking soda and vinegar and that didn't work...ugh. I mean, it's clean....ish. lol. So yeah-learn from my mistake. Be careful. That said, the food itself was delicious.

Perfectly Imperfect Mashed Potatoes

I like potatoes. They're tasty. 

And I think they totally count as a vegetable.

I also may sort of be obsessed with trying a bunch of different mashed potato recipes...

They're all different, though-no matter what Michael says.

These potatoes are kind of unique, not super fattening, and easily customizable to your preferences.

Go on, give 'em a try. 

Perfectly Imperfect Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from, Schnoodle Soup's "Perfectly Imperfect Garlic Mashed Potatoes"

Parmesan Panko Potatoes

I love alliteration, don't you? It's fabulous and fun to find fanciful foundries and....eh, I give up. Anyway.

Lent update: I haven't cheated yet! I have been keeping up not eating meat on Fridays-yayy!  Last week I was working and my supervisor took me to lunch-and I was tempted to eat steak. But Michael reminded me, it was Friday, so we actually changed restaurants and I ordered a pasta dish.
Success :)
In the meatless spirit, I have a potato dish to share today. It's a side, and a healthier alternative to french fries. They're pretty tasty-I hope you enjoy!

Parmesan Panko Potatoes

Adapted from a blog that has since been deleted, sad :(

Roasted Broccoli and Garlic

Today I am talking about Vegetables.

Say Wha?!

That's right. Vegetables. And not just any vegetables-green ones.

I know, what's this world coming to.

I just, struggle with vegetables-ESPECIALLY green ones. I WANT to like them, I dooo! But, I don't. Thusly, I'm consistently on the hunt for new ways to trick myself into eating them. Because, ya know, I'd like to be healthy. When I found this recipe I knew it was a possibility. I hate broccoli. But, I love garlic. So...yeah, I thought this might be a thing to try. Worse came to worse-Michael would eat it! 

Now I have good news and bad news.

Good news: I ate 4 whole pieces of broccoli!

Bad news: That was all I could do before the broccoli flavor caught up to me. Michael polished off the rest.

A partial victory. I will take it. 

And I'm sure those of you who aren't as crazy as me will definitely love it. 

Roasted Broccoli and Garlic

From a Couple Cooks "Roasted Broccoli with Garlic"

Smashed Potatoes

And it's over! My first time hosting my own Thanksgiving and it is done. And I can't wait to do it again next year :D. I'll be sharing, every now and then, the recipes I used, and I decided to start it off with these smashed potatoes. The difference (to my understanding) between "smashed" and "mashed" potatoes is you leave skins on and just use a masher and leave it kind of lumpy for smashed potatoes, whereas for mashed they are skinless and you use a mixer to get them creamy. Anyway, these were great. They were simple to make, especially with my boy helping with the mashing: