Dark Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

March 30, 2014 by Christine Skari

Can we just take a look at these for a second, please?

Actually maybe we should take a few minutes. Or hours. I could stare at these babies 4eva.

Gooey. Stuffed with big chunks of dark chocolate. Topped with the most delicious peanut butter frosting you’ve ever had! Seriously, I could swim in that frosting and probably ate a good quarter of it straight out of the bowl before topping the brownies.

It’s a frosting-casualty that I’m willing to sacrifice.

You know, me and brownie go waaaaaay back. They probably come in second as my favorite dessert (apple pie will always hold the gold medal in my heart), and I ain’t no brownie snob either. Give me a pre-made box of brownie mix and I’m as happy as a clam. A clam with brownie batter smothered all over its shell. What am I talking about again?

Oh yeah, these.

They’re made entirely from scratch, but come together ridiculously quickly. I can probably have the batter done in less than 10 minutes, and that’s with me stealing bites every 4 seconds. Yes, that’s right. 4 seconds to be exact. The base layer of these gorgeous little love bites comes from Something Swanky. I found her recipe off Pinterest (also you should follow me so you can see all 9 million recipes I’ve pinned) a few months ago, and don’t think I’ll ever use another brownie recipe again. Thick, fudgy, and with big ol’ chunks of chocolate. What more could you possibly want?

And now I really need to get back to talking about this frosting. I want to spend all of my waking hours combining butter and powdered sugar and peanut butter and happiness and then eat it out of the mixer with a spoon the size of my face while watching Game of Thrones on the couch. Very specific, I know, but that’s my dream in life.

It’s just so light and fluffy and perfectly sweet that I can’t even handle it. I just want to nosh all over it SO HARD. And you will too, once you try it.

Please, please make these. You will thank me.

Brownie Base from Something Swanky

Roasted Garlic Asparagus Chicken Spaghetti

March 26, 2014 by Christine Skari

I would truly appreciate it if you could help keep Apple of My Eye running and share this recipe on Pinterest!Getting photos for this dish was a hassle. For some reason, the sun has been refusing to come out, which left me frustrated when it came to getting good quality lighting. I swear, the clouds were being purposefully spiteful to mock me. Rude.

When I first cooked this beauty up, I had to wait three whole hours to get a bit of sunshine to peak through my window. When I saw it, it was GO GO GO time. Cue the mission impossible theme song, because this girl was on a mission.

And you know what? It was worth it. I completely believe that you eat with your eyes first, and running a food blog sortakindamaybe requires that my photography be up to par. And look! Sparkly parmesan! Juicy chicken! Woohoo! I win!

The beauty of this recipe comes with its simplicity. You take a bunch of fresh and healthy ingredients, throw them together, and you’re bound to end up with something good! Adding a small but tastebud-worthy twist comes with roasting the asparagus with garlic beforehand, giving the dish an extra flavor boost.

And I mean, seriously, could healthy comfort food get any better? Cheesy goodness blended with savory chicken and an extra crunch of texture from the garlic-y asparagus.

So go ahead! Toss that gorgeous emerald asparagus with some chicken, extra garlic (can you tell I <3 it?), cherry tomatoes, onions, and parmesan cheese and you’re in for a healthy meal done in no time at all!

All in all, one big ol’ serving of steamy hot pasta has less that 500 calories and 37 grams of protein! Be kind to your body and satisfy your pasta cravings with this healthy substitute instead of reaching for a calorie and saturated fat-laden alfredo from your nearby pasta joint.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get eatin’!

Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Pastry

March 23, 2014 by Christine Skari

Hover over the recipe to pin it to Pinterest! :)

So puff pastry.

It’s foreign and intimidating and scary to use for the first time. And then you try it out and you’re like… oh.. that was as easy as pie (erm.. puff pastry).

Okay, so here’s how this is going to play out. Listen carefully. You bite into it and you get a mouthful of flaky layers punctuated with a silky-smoothy lemon cheesecake and raspberry kiss to top it off. Oh baby, I could swim in that yummy cheesecake cream. It’s honestly lick-the-bowl good!

OH OH OH. And don’t forget the drizzle of raspberry jam and snowy powdered sugar. Are you swooning yet? Well, I’m on the floor in a sugar-induced faint. Help.

Actually, don’t help. I’m perfectly happy here. Sugahh bliss.

Mhm.

But seriously, ya’ll. This is a fabulous dessert. I brought it to my Obachan’s (Grandma in Japanese) house for a big family dinner last night and the tart was a big hit despite having two huge pies competing for nommage! Kyle tried a slice and, after that small pause of tasting silence that makes all cooks quiver, announced that it was better than those fancy bakery goods.

After, he shoved the entire piece in his mouth. I told him to slow down with the sweets, then got another piece of apple pie because, well, I’m a dirty hypocrite.

Did I mention that it’s done in like 30 minutes? Fo’ reals home dogs. Go and make this right now.

Recipe adapted from: Susi’s Kochen Und Backen Adventures

10 Minute Garlic Parmesan Ravioli

March 10, 2014 by Christine Skari

So here at my apartment, we call ourselves the “baguette babes”. No joke. My three housemates and I just really like baguettes.

Here’s an actual quote from two days ago that I had to write down because I knew it would be a perfect example for this post. Courtesy of my housemate Lakshmi:

“Is that a baguette!? I’m going to shit myself.”

As you can see, we also are very eloquent college students.

It’s come to the point where no baguette is safe from our reach. If you go to the store and buy one, you better hide it at your boyfriends apartment or else is will be gone in literally an hour. Also, shhhhh. Don’t tell them I do this.

It doesn’t matter if you didn’t get a single delicious and carb-loaded bite dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil (just drooled on my laptop), that baguette is open territory. Kinda like the hunger games, only with less violent killing, ya know? Who knows how far we’d go when it comes to baguettes, though, so I’d play it safe and not come between us and our French bread.

So anyways, I bring up baguettes because nothing goes better with them than fresh pasta. Even better? Delicious pasta that’s done in 10 minutes flat. You think I’m joking? BEHOLD:

See! I told you! Look at all that gorgeous, sparkly parmesan.

The concept behind this dish is that sometimes, simple is better, and nothing beats the classic combination of olive oil, garlic, and cheese.

To make it even more fabulous, I used non-dried ravioli noodles stuffed with two types of fillings: tomato mozzarella and basil pesto. Not only does it taste incredible, but the fresh noodles cook in only two minutes. Hallelujah!

Also, aren’t they just the cutest? Bobbin’ around all poofed-up in that water like nobody’s business. D’aw.

I think the pictures can describe how tasty this 10 Minute Garlic Parmesan Ravioli is better than any blog post. Like they say, a picture paints a thousands words, yo.

So what are you waiting for?

Yum.

Salted Caramel Apple French Toast

March 5, 2014 by Christine Skari

So one thing you should know about me is that I really like pie. To the extent where I sometimes just sprawl myself on the bed/floor/kitchen table (you get the idea, I’m not picky) and bemoan to Kyle that I just want a slice of apple pie rightnow. There may or may not be some dramatic arm flailing going on as well.

Another example:

I’ll be in the library. Kyle is sitting next to me deep in thought about his engineering endeavors. I tap him. He looks over at me with adoration overflowing in his eyes: his heart burning with love for me. I whisper seductively in his ear… I just want… Pie.

And again:

Relaxing in bed watching some Netflix or videos of babies laughing (Kyle just can’t get enough…right). We’re eating S’mores ice cream because I have the attention span of a 3 year old and can’t focus my attention solely on one thing… Like eva. Also, I like ice cream. Pie? Anyways. I simultaneously complain to him about how much I want pie while shoveling mini marshmallow-laden deliciousness into my mouth.

If you haven’t gotten the point yet, I’m a pie ~~monster~~. Ahem. Connoisseur.

So this: Salted Caramel Apple French Toast

No, really. Seriously.

Because sometimes you just don’t have time to make pie. It’s the sad, horrible truth about life. The sooner you learn to accept it, the better.

But this. Now this can help satisfy any pie craving I have. You’ve got a dreamy supah-fast salted caramel sauce. Even dreamier? You cook the apples right into the caramel and they taste exactly like a caramel apple (I wonder why), but with a higher caramel-to-apple ratio. As in a super thin slice of apple completely drenched in caramel goodness. OHHHHHHHH MY.

And then, guess what! You turn up the flavor volume even more by using cinnamon bread as your base. If you can’t find the sweet bread at your grocery store… Well I guess you should just go home and cry. Just kiddin’. Regular thick country-style bread will suit ya just fine. Just sprinkle it with some cinnamon and you’ve hopped on the tastebud train. Choo chooooo.

You’re welcome.

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