recipes

Creamy, Cheesy, SKINNY Shrimp Pasta Bake

August 11, 2019August 11, 2019by KaylaLeave a Comment

This dish is one I keep right under my sleeve for those nights I really just want something that tastes GOOD. If you love shrimp, pasta and cheese as much as I do, it’s likely that this will become a favorite of yours, too.

Things you’ll need:

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

For the Alfredo sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (6-ounce) can 2% evaporated milk
1 ounce light cream cheese
1/4 cup chicken broth, or more, to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

If you have frozen shrimp, go ahead and start thawing those first. Empty into a strainer and let lukewarm water run over them for about 6-8 minutes. Next, we’ll start making the Alfredo sauce.

To get started, place a medium/large saucepan over medium heat on the stovetop. Add in the butter and garlic and let it mix and melt, about 1-3 minutes.
Add in the flour and milk a little at a time, whisking together to make a smooth consistency. Stir in cream cheese and chicken broth, continuously whisking until smooth. (Pro tip: You can add more milk/broth or more flour, depending on what consistency you would like.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start a pot of boiling water for the noodles. Lightly oil a cooking pan and set aside.
Add shrimp to the cooking tray, and gently toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake shrimp for about 6-8 minutes, until pink and cooked all the way through. remove and set aside. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees after you take the shrimp out.
Once the water is boiling, cook the noodles to the directions on the box; drain well.
In a large bowl, combine noodles, red pepper flakes, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and Alfredo sauce. Pour mixed contents into an oiled, 8×8 baking dish. Top with parmesan. (Pro tip: If you really like cheese, add extra. Eyeball it.)
Bake the dish for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown and all the cheese has melted.
Serve warm! Garnish with parsley if you wish.

recipes

Classic Pimento Cheese

December 10, 2018by Kayla1 Comment

I’m always searching for new ways to snack in the afternoon. Sometimes the work day gets away from me and the only reason I look up at the clock is because my stomach is growling. I came across this easy pimento cheese recipe and HAD to make it. It’s a Southern staple and one of my absolute favorites – I can snack on this all week long, on celery, crackers, or on a sandwich with lettuce and tomato. The best part – it takes less than 10 minutes to make. **Personal choice: the recipe I followed called for 1 teaspoon of finely grated onion and pecans but I excluded both of those. I also added a small sliver of cream cheese.

Things you’ll need:

1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise
1 bag of shredded sharp cheddar
1 bag of shredded extra-sharp cheddar
1 can of pimentos
1/4 teaspoon of ground red pepper
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
Small sliver of cream cheese

First, stir the mayonnaise, pimentos and red pepper into a medium serving bowl.
Add both bags of cheese, stirring in gradually.
Add a small sliver of cream cheese, a little less than 1/4. Stir everything together until blended thoroughly.
Serve on crackers, celery sticks or spread over bread.

recipes

Creamy One Pan Chicken + Spinach Parmesan

December 10, 2018by KaylaLeave a Comment

This recipe is DANG good and pretty easy. It is the perfect meal to make for two with a glass of wine. ***A couple tips to make it even easier/better: Sometimes I feel like being lazy as I did the night we made this, so I bought pre-chopped onions and used a couple spoonfuls of canned minced garlic that I already had in my fridge. (This saved me roughly fifteen minutes and spared my eyes from crying about the onion) We also added mushrooms and we added 1/4 of a block of cream cheese because we are obsessed with both.

Things you’ll need:

2 chicken breasts
3 tablespoons of butter
Salt, Pepper and Oregano (1 tsp)
1 medium onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small jar of sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
As much spinach as your heart desires
Mushrooms (optional)
1/4 block of cream cheese (optional, for creamier taste)

First, season the chicken breasts. Using about a teaspoon of oregano, salt and pepper, season both sides of both chickens.
Place 3 tablespoons of butter into a large skillet with a dash of olive oil. Add some sun dried tomatoes. When the butter is melted, place chickens in pan.
Let them cook fully, until the center is white. Once cooked, remove chicken and keep on a plate nearby.
Next, make the sauce. Add 3 more tablespoons of butter, another teaspoon of oregano, onion, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and mushrooms.
Slowly add in chicken broth, heavy cream and cream cheese, letting them gradually melt in. Once the sauce has thickened, add chicken back in.
Add as much spinach as you’d like. When the spinach is wilted and cooked in, the dish is ready to serve.

recipes

I Put Gouda On My Pizza But I Swear I’m Not Boujee (The perfect recipe for your next night in)

August 5, 2018December 1, 2018by KaylaLeave a Comment

Everyone has a list of things they want to do – near the top of mine was baking a pizza homemade, from scratch. Lately I’ve been riding a wave of this JustDoIt attitude (or maybe I’ve been riding a Nike swoosh?) and it’s been awesome. I tend to overthink situations or put things off until a “better time” comes up but lately I’ve been trying to find ways to just go for it – because I think that’s what you should do, and that’s the way I want to live my life. Last week, I did this on a small scale by saying whattheheckwhynot and stopped by the store to get some flour, and my favorite pizza toppings. I turned it into a party for two and we made some pizza dough and whipped up two medium sized pizzas. ANYWAY, these leftovers + an ice cold Stella are rocking my Sunday afternoon so I thought I’d share the recipe!

Things you’ll need:

Unbleached All Purpose Flour

Active Dry Yeast

Olive Oil

Salt

Sugar

Butter (optional)

Seasonings (optional)

Any toppings and cheese you’d like!

A mixing bowl

A cooking tray

To start, you’ll need to mix 2 ¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast, 3 ½ to 4 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 teaspoons of sugar into a bowl. Mix 1.5 cups of lukewarm water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a cup and set aside. Once the mixture in the bowl is evenly mixed, make a small hole in the center of the mixture and pour the water and olive oil into it. We also added a garlic seasoning into the dough to add flavor (highly recommend). Once all the ingredients are in the bowl, stir until the mixture is fully combined. Next, use your hands to knead the dough together, tearing it and molding it together into a ball. You want it to be smooth and not too sticky. The next part is up to you – depending on how you want the crust to bake. If you want a thin crust pizza or if you’re pressed for time (or if you just don’t want to wait for the dough to rise) you can go ahead and start adding your toppings as soon as the dough is mixed! If you want a thicker, fluffier crust, you’ll need to let the dough rise. We chose the fluffier crust, so once the dough was mixed well, we rolled it into a ball and placed it in a bowl with a hot, wet rag over the top and set it outside on the porch (the humidity in AL apparently does wonders for rising dough).

We let it rise for about an hour, and then we brought it back inside to roll it out and start adding toppings. I bought a pesto marinara sauce to spread onto the dough, and we cut up southern style smoked sausage, fresh bell peppers, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. We used a mixture of Mozzarella and Colby Jack cheese, as well as some slices of baked gouda from the cheese & crackers appetizer we had been snacking on (highly recommend). Once the sauce and all the toppings and cheese were on the dough, we added extra cheese around the edges and folded them up to make cheesy crust, and then we buttered the edges as well (also highly recommend both). We baked the pizza for about 10 – 15 minutes on 400 degrees and it turned out perfect.

This is the perfect recipe for a date-night in or for a girls night in. For best results, share a bottle of wine and curl up to watch a movie while the dough rises. All you bakers and foodies out there – let me know your favorite pizza recipes or topping combinations! I want to know!

recipes

How To Cook The Perfect Over-Medium Egg For This Trendy Breakfast Toast

July 2, 2018December 1, 2018by KaylaLeave a Comment

I realize this exact breakfast is on every foodie Instagram’s page and you’ve probably seen it everywhere because it’s so ~trendy~ but I’m focusing largely on the fact that I literally just learned how to cook the perfect over medium egg – so, cooking newbies: YOU ARE WELCOME HERE. This breakfast is really simple and really tasty, and after reading this you’ll know how to cook an over-medium egg which can be added to a lot of dishes – cheeseburgers, steak, BLT, etc.

Things you need for this meal:

1 Egg

1 Avocado

1 Slice of Bread

Butter (optional)

Fruit of your choice (optional)

1 Glass bowl

Frying pan

Now, on to the foods and the things. One of the most important things I’ve learned in cooking anything is timing – you have to prepare everything at the right time and pace to keep the cooking process on track. The first thing I did for this meal is start the toast. For some reason my parents don’t own a toaster (one of the many confusions I have with them) so I popped two pieces of 2-grain bread onto a cooking tray with some butter and heated the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven was pre-heating, I went ahead and cut the avocado in half, and cracked an egg into a glass bowl. I don’t know why you have to crack the egg into a glass bowl but it seemed important to the recipe I read, and it worked so we’ll trust it.

While the oven was still preheating, I took that time to pour myself another cup of coffee and turn on some Jesus tunes, because, Monday. I also began preparing the frying pan for the egg. I sprayed it with some non-stick spray and turned the stovetop on at a medium heat level. The oven was ready almost immediately after I prepped the frying pan, so I put the tray on the top shelf and moved onto the egg.

Now, this is the important part. The first step is transferring the egg from the glass bowl into the frying pan, without breaking the yolk. Once it is in the pan, let it sit for about two minutes or so, until the underneath turns white. I let it sit for about 3 minutes. Then, once the underneath is mostly white, pour roughly 1/4 cup of water around all the edges of the egg. Then, cover the pan immediately. All you have to do next is wait for the center to cook to your liking. I like for my center to be soft but solid, (like the photo below) so I let it sit for about 3 or 4 minutes. You can gently touch the center to test softness, but keep it covered.

Back to the toast, I let it cook for about 5 – 6 minutes before taking it out, not long at all. Once the egg is cooked the way you like it, turn the stovetop off. This is when I spooned out the avocado, only one half, and mashed it in a bowl with salt and pepper. Once I had a spreadable avocado mixture, I spread it over the toast. Then I sprinkled some salt and pepper over the egg, and placed it on top of the toast. I cut slices of banana and added them to my plate at the end. Do y’all have a favorite breakfast dish? I want to know what it is!