Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Muffins

December 10, 2014 by Christine Skari

You know something is gonna be insanely delicious when it combines the words “garlic” and “parmesan” together. Put that in bread and you’re in the running for a winning recipe. Make that bread into cute little mini pull-apart muffins and you have yourself a home run! I don’t think there’s a single thing in this recipe that’s not too love. Steamy, homemade bread bites that have been drenched in the most delicious mixture of butter and Savory Garlic Parmesan Mezzetta Everything Spread come out of the oven like woaaaahhh and the wafting smells as the bread is baking is unreal. UNREAL, my friends. If you haven’t heard of the secret ingredient of this recipe, you’re seriously missing out! Mezzetta makes it easy to elevate your recipes to a whole new level with their freshly blended flavors. While my personal favorite is garlic and parmesan (garlic 4 eva <3), they have a range of flavors including sun-dried tomato & basic, hot chili pepper, and olive, parmesan & garlic. My mind is swimming with all the possible ways I can incorporate them into my meals! Just think! Tasty dips for game day, mixed with crispy roasted potatoes, thrown into pasta for a trip to flavor town, and think of all the sandwich options! I am in foodie heaven right now. While I know working with yeast can be super scary, fear not (I actually wrote one of my college essays about baking with yeast- fun fact). This recipe makes baking up your own 100%-from-scratch bread easy as pie! All you need to do to get the yeast started is to dump it in the warm water and sugar, stir, and let it sit and do its own thaaangg for 5 minutes or so. Then just add in your oil, flour, and salt and mix away! These garlic parmesan bread bites are the perfect appetizer or side dish for any meal! After the first test batch came out of the oven, I gave a few sample pieces to my housemates to try out. Needless to say, I had a flock of people surrounding me as I photographed the finished product waiting to get the all clear to start digging in. A few minutes later and the entire batch was gone! This recipe will have people fighting over the last bite 😉 . And the fun isn’t over yet! Mezzetta is hosting an awesome giveaway where each day one lucky winner will receive a gift basket full of tasty Mezzetta products. Head over to their website and check it out!
Disclosure: A big thanks to Mezzetta for sponsoring today’s original recipe! While I received compensation for this post, all opinions are my own.

Cheesy Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Bell Peppers

November 17, 2014 by Christine Skari

Delicious, healthy, and so easy! This vegetarian recipe for cheesy quinoa & veggie stuffed bell peppers is the perfect way to lighten up your meal without sacrificing flavor!

Howwwwdy ho party peeeeeps. How is this fine Monday treating ya? I’m feeling a bit blue since it’s back to a busy schedule and I have a full week ahead of me in terms of class and studying. The one positive note is that I only have one more midterm to get through before Thanksgiving break, which means just one more midterm until I’m free to cook/bake/craft/photograph to my heart’s content!

And by that I mean I’ll probably be just sit on the couch and veg out with my good pal Netflix. #realtalk #Netflix=bae.

In the meantime, I’ve been spending most of my time in the garage, which we’ve converted into a study room of sorts. I’d take a picture to show ya’ll, but it’s a disaster and I’m a little embarrassed to show it off 😯 . We’ve managed to comfortably fit 6 full-sized desks among the piles of boxes, extra bikes, and suitcases in a make-shift office, and while it’s not all that pretty, it’s incredibly functional. We have grand plans to make it more home-y and happier by putting in a rug and twinkle lights, but amidst the 43584119 midterms that come with the quarter system, no one has had any time to decorate. One day!

Anyways, when I’m not studying in the garage, I’m at the kitchen table getting constant whifs of the scrumpditiliumptious creations my housemates have been cooking up, one of which is a tasty and fun baked bell pepper that Lana (our foreign exchange student from New Zealand) makes. While her version is made with ground meat, I chose to go down the veggie-filled route and made my own version that’s filled with herbed quinoa, black beans, onions, sweet corn, cheese, and plenty of other goodies to add extra fresh flavor and texture! I have to admit, I’m usually a pretty big meat girl (my Norwegian steak and potato side demands it), but this recipe totally satisfied me and didn’t leave me with any cravings! It’s satisfying without needing any meat, ridiculously filling due to all the fiber and protein from the quinoa, and is oh so easy to make!

You even get to package the filling in an edible container. Hot diggity dog!

While I chose to use these fillings, the world is your oyster. Feel free to add in ground turkey/chicken/beef/pork (just make sure to cook it first) and any veggies that tug at your heartstrings. #noveggiesleft behind #whyamIhashtaggingsomuch . For this particular combination, the nutrition comes out to just around 300 calories per pepper with a whopping 11g of fiber and 14g of protein.

Eat up!

Fluffy Greek Yogurt Biscuits

November 6, 2014 by Christine Skari

Is there anything better than a steamy-hot biscuit that’s straight out of the oven? Dab on a pat of butter and a drizzle (or river, #realtalk) of honey and you’re in comfort food H-E-A-V-E-N.

WAIT. I’ll tell you what’s better than that. A biscuit that’s been healthified with greek yogurt and less butter, but still has all the fluffy goodness of those fattening refrigerated biscuits. And yes, I’m looking at you, Pillsbury.

To be honest, I never was much of a biscuit girl until I started dating Kyle. Since I’m half Norwegian and half Japanese, the dinner table usually revolved more around potatoes and sushi. Kyle is, well, the most all-Americain boy you’ll ever meet and his great grandmother would make the family the most unreal biscuits and gravy. I’m talkin’ about a deeeelicious homemade gravy that’s seasoned to perfection with chunks of flavorful sausage in every bite. Then you top a warm and flakey biscuit with a huge ladelful and ERRHHHMAGAAA.

Kyle and I have the recipe (a closely gaurded family secret, so it won’t be making an appearance on the blog), but it never turns out exactly as good. It’s close, but not quiiiite there. I’m pretty sure the secret ingredient is a great-grandma’s love. I guess I’ll just have to wait till I’m 90 and then give it another go 😉 .

So anyways, I’ve been having biscuits on my mind lately and decided to whip up a batch since I had all the ingredients on hand. Supah simple, friends. A mixture of whole wheat and white flour, an egg, a leeeetle buttah, and some nonfat plain greek yogurt. You mix err’thing together, pop em’ in the oven, and shaaazammmm! Biscuits! Who would have thought?

Not only are these easy, but they are lightened-up with only 110 calories each and with loads less fat than normal biscuits, making them more of an everyday treat for me! Let’s pretend I don’t smother my biscuits with honey for the “healthy” sake of this recipe 😉 .

Fluffy yumminess at it’s best!

Easy Crispy Pork Wontons

August 28, 2014 by Christine Skari

I think I’ve made it pretty obvious by now that I love food (big surprise there, me having a food blog and whatnot). All the flavors, textures, seasonings- GAH. I’m drooling just thinking about it and attribute my love of food completely from growing up in a family that also just happens to be food-obsessed.

In fact, we plan family get-togethers based on the food we’ll be eating that day and holidays are just one big excuse to stuff ourselves silly. Christmas means big meat roasts, homemade bread, and my Auntie Stephanie’s delicious and fluffy mashed potatoes. The 4th of July means asian-style BBQ ribs, sashimi, and octopus salad (I know, eclectic). Growing up, Friday nights were always reserved for dinner at my Obachan’s house, and dooooonn’t even get me started on Thanksgiving. In fact, our biggest nightmare is not having enough food at one of our parties. Terrifying 😯 .

These pork wontons are a family-favorite that never fail to disappear by the time everyone packs up to leave to head back home. They’re the kind of appetizer that gets people gathering around the table, munching away, as soon as they’re brought out. They have the potential to ruin a party since everybody is to busy eating to talk and socialize. And I mean, who could blame us?! They deliver maximum golden-brown crispness with a delicious pork and garlic filling and ooooohhhh my gosh you guys! The sweet and salty explosion in your mouth when you dip them in sweet chili sauce is unreal. It’s fried deliciousness at it’s best!

I got this recipe from my mom, who is by no means a stranger to wontons. She’s a 2nd grade teacher and likes to go above-and-beyond for her students and always makes a huge 200+ batch with them for Chinese New Year. She prepares the meat filling at home, then brings in the prepared wonton dough and has them fill and crimp them, then sends them with some of the teaching assistants over to the kitchen to fry them up for everyone to enjoy. Since she’s done it for the last 10 years, that calculates out to be… at least 2000 wontons for her students alone!? I guess you could call her a wonton expert and this recipe tried and true!

If you’ve never worked with wontons before, you can usually find pre-made dough in your local grocery store in the refrigerated section by the tofu under packages titled “wonton/gyoza skins or wrappers”. They make your job much easier and help these wontons come together in a flash!

Easy Herbed Garlic Crackers

August 9, 2014 by Christine Skari

Ayyy yoooo party people! Just poppin’ in with a super quick and super easy recipe for homemade crackers that I’ve been snacking on all day during my mini-vacay at my parent’s house. I was flipping through an old Food Network magazine that I picked up from my library’s used book sale (50 cents well spent) and was inspired by one of their photos to get my cracker on. Turns out they’re unbelievably simple and totally customizable! The original recipe use a bit more salt and paprika, but I decided to go with garlic and herb blend because… well, garlic=life.

Anywhooo, today has been spent plopped down in front of the tv, re-watching Grey’s Anatomy from the season numero uno with a big plate of these crackers+a sour cream dip in the stimulating company of my cat. Scratch that (lol, cat pun. I laughed), my dad just got home from a business trip. This is what I’m sitting next to right now:

I swear, she’s like a dog. So if you want to be cool like me and spend your Friday night with a needy and semi-psychotic cat and a big plate of deliciously garlic-y crackers, don’t worry, I can hook you up. Enjoy!