Got left overs?

I had some left over green beans and hatch chiles so I ate them for lunch! Really satisfying and healthy, I made "salmon tacos."  Corn tortilla, rice (optional.. I just love rice), salad beans, green beans and chiles, and salmon.. done! I also grind some salt and pepper and add green tabasco sauce.  Its really light and yummy :)! Just a thought for you guys. Enjoy!
xox,
Emily

Sauteed Green Beans! Perfect snack or side dish...

Hello! Tonight for dinner it was just my mom and I so we decided to go ahead and eat rotisserie chicken from Central Market (its soooo good!) and I thought that I would make one of my favorite snacks/side to accompany it.  For the majority of my life I have literally hated green beans.  I hate the texture and the weird spine that it has that literally always makes me want to choke... appetizing, right ;o) ?  Anyhow, my opinion was changed while I was at work one night and one of the girls ordered sauteed green beans.  She shared them with me and I fell IN LOVE with them! It was such a great texture and taste, very simple.  Ever since then I have been making them for a healthy snack or dinner side.  It takes absolutely no time at all!

Since August is "Hatch Chile" month, I went ahead and added them into my sauteed green bean recipe tonight, they were a great addition.  Hatch Chile's are crisp, sweet, delicious peppers that I love to put in sauceless pasta normally.  A really easy, quick, and healthy pasta recipe that I incorporate these peppers in includes:

Hatch Chile Pasta!

• Whole wheat pasta (boil water with olive oil and a pinch of salt) -- After noodles are done, drain. Then put back into the pot with the following ingredients...
• Chopped garlic
• Basil or arugula leaves
• Quartered cherry or grape tomatos
• Chicken
• Hatch pepers
• Parmesan cheese

Combine all of those and let the flavors heat up for just a little and mix around, adding the cheese at the very last moment for extra flavor! Easy as that! And soo good. 

Well, back to the Green Bean Recipe!

• 1/2 lb. Fresh green beans
• 4 Hatch peppers (if you want!)
• 2 Cloves garlic
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp Red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste (I love ground pepper so I put a lot!)
• About 5-6 slivered almonds

1.  Wash the beans and the hatch peppers.  Slice hatch peppers and chop garlic cloves (very small!).

2.  Put olive oil in a frying pan and set stove to medium heat.  Add green beans and 3-5 minutes after add hatch pepper.  Mix the two veggies together for a couple minutes until the green beans begin to start changing color and then add garlic, salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar! Stir around!

3.  Be sure to keep a close eye on the stove now.  The green beans will reach a vivid green and as soon as they do so, theyre done! If you keep them on for too long, they'll turn a darker/brownish green and you'll lose all the texture (which in my opinion is the best part!).  The beans will change from a pale green to a bright one, like the picture below! You also don't want the garlic to cook too long and turn brown. 

4.  Once they are finished, sprinkle the slivered almonds on top and you're done!

Enjoy!!

xox,
Emily

I love flowers!

I love these flowers.  Love them so much I am going to put them on here.  This is the arrangement I put together today to give to my mom for her return home!! Thanks Central Market :o)

xox,
Emily

Tiramisu, my style.

Hello all! Today my parents returned from a rigorous business trip.  I was so happy that they were going to come home, that I thought I would make them something to welcome them back.  My dad said all he wanted was a 6-pack (typical man!) so that was easy enough but my mom has always had a soft spot for tiramisu.  I have watched many ways to make tiramisu on the FoodNetwork as well as read many different recipes.  What I love and am so proud of about this recipe, is that I made it up as I went along and added things that I thought would taste good.  I am sure tons of other people have had the same thoughts as I have about my additions and substitutes for tiramisu but I still love the concept creating new things with food and taking chances.  In this recipe I used Kahlua instead of a dark rum, added a chocolate layer between every lady finger+marscapone layer, used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder and also scraped vanilla bean into the marscapone mixture.  I hope you enjoy this recipe if you try it!

xox,
Emily

Verbena Ella's Tiramisu

13"x9" pan (although I used a circular dish..)

• 6 egg  yolks (Make sure to use properly refrigerated and clean AA eggs. No one wants salmonella!)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pound marscapone cheese (or cream cheese if you cannot find marscapone)
• 1 1/2 cups strong espresso or other strong coffee, cooled (for a quick and less bitter substitute, I used "Starbucks Espresso and Cream" in a small can.. its like an energy drink type thing)
• 2 teaspoons Kahlua
• 2 vanilla beans
• 24 packaged ladyfingers (be sure to get Italian imported...American ladyfingers fall apart)
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate shavings--for garnish
• Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder

1.  In a large bowl, mix egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes until mixture is thick and a pale yellow. (It will definitely take you 5 minutes at the LEAST!)

2.  Once the egg and sugar mixture is at the right consistency and color, add in the marscapone cheese and continue to mix until fully blended.

3.  Add 1 Tablespoon of the Espresso, mix.  Then take the vanilla beans and slice carefully down the middle top of the bean so that you can open it up.  Once sliced and opened, scrape out all of the vanilla beans inside :) It will smell great!  Then go ahead and put all the vanilla beans into your batter.

4. Put mixture aside.  In a smaller bowl, combine the rest of the Espresso with the Kahlua.  Dip each ladyfinger in the mixture for 5 seconds.  Do not soak for too long or your ladyfinger will fall apart.  Place soaked ladyfingers into a dish to create first layer.

5.  Cover the first layer of ladyfingers with your marscapone mix.  Then sift cocoa powder on top of the first layer of marscapone and then add shavings ontop of the cocoa.  First layer complete!

6.  Continue to add your layers until you have a complete tiramisu :) !  For the top layer of the tiramisu, I made bigger shavings of chocolate for look.  Et voila!

My favorite chef on Food Network - Giada de Laurentiis

I am absolutely in love with Giada de Laurentiis! I love all of her recipes and watching her on "Everyday Italian." She is such an inspiration to me and I would love to be in her shoes one day!

Martha Stewart's Roasted Marshmallow Cupcakes

One night while babysitting and running short on ideas to keep the kids energy levels at bay, I decided that we should make cupcakes! Granted, that basically meant I would be the one making cupcakes, I still managed to get some kid participation regardless haha! Anyhow, I love that Martha Stewart shares ALL of her cupcake recipes online.  I came across this one (which was one of the many kid-friendly and easy recipes) and it was so much fun to make!  There was a bag of Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips in the pantry, so the kids and I went ahead and added that into our batter! The jumbo-sized marshmallows that the recipe called for, were WAY too big for my cupcakes but I learned cutting them in half horizontally really helped.  I have never had a marshmallow cupcake quite like this and I have to say that these are easily one of my new favorites.  Enjoy!

xox,
Emily

Martha's Recipe!

Yield Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

• For the Cupcakes

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 18 cupcake liners

• For the Topping

  • 1 bag of jumbo marshmallows

Directions

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
2. Whisk cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, warm water, milk, sour cream, butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
3. Fill each muffin cup half way (about 2 ounces each). Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes.
4. Let cake cool slightly and change the oven to broil.
5. Make the topping: Place one marshmallow vertically in the center of each cupcake. Put the cupcakes back into the oven (careful not to knock any marshmallows off) and watch them closely, as the marshmallows will roast in a matter of seconds.
6. When the marshmallows appear golden brown on top and puffed slightly, take the cupcakes out of the oven and carefully press the marshmallows down, using your hand or a spoon, to cover the whole top of the cupcake.

Gluten-Free Egg Sandwhich

A simple, quick, and  delicious breakfast.

One of my favorite breads is this Brown Rice Bread-fruit juice sweetened, gluten-free. I get mine at my local central market in the frozen breads section.  I am obsessed with everything about this bread from its flavor to its cute, tiny shape! It literally fits the palm of your hand, a perfect snack size. 

All I do, is defrost and then toast in the toaster.  Add a medium over egg, salt, pepper, your favorite cheese and some fresh fruit on the side. Easy as that :o)

I am sucker for American Cheese when it comes to my egg sandwhich!

Simple. Healthy. Quick!

xox,

Emily

Bon Apetit!

Hello!
My greatest passion is FOOD.  So, I decided to create a food blog to share my passion with the world.. or well at least whoever falls upon my page ;o) . Enjoy!

xox,
Emily