Whipped Feta & Roasted Tomato Toasts

Feta cheese and roasted tomatoes, I am not sure it gets any better.

The creamy salty feta cheese pairs amazingly with the sweet tart roasted tomatoes.

To be honest I could just eat that whole pan of roasted tomatoes with a fork! I love them.

This whipped feta, wow! It would be so great on a sandwich or even stirred into a pasta, so so good!

What you need,

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8 oz. feta cheese

3 oz. cream cheese

2 tsp. olive oil

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

3 cups cherry tomatoes or any tomato cut into bite sized pieces

1 tbsp. olive oil

Salt & Pepper

2 tbsp. fresh chopped basil for topping

1 small loaf crusty French style bread

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine the feta cheese, cream cheese, olive oil and lemon juice. Blend until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Season the cheese mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Put the cheese mixture in a bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. In a baking dish toss the tomatoes with olive oil and about 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the tomatoes start to burst open.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let stand while you make the toasts.

Heat the broiler and move a rack to the upper position.

Cut the bread into 1½ inch slices, drizzle both sides with the extra virgin olive oil. Broil the toasts for a minute or two on each side until brown and crisp. Watch it close so it doesn’t burn.

To serve spread each toast with a good amount of the whipped feta, top with some lovely roasted tomatoes and a sprinkle of fresh basil.

Stuff in your face!

These wonderful toasts would be a great for any meal. They would be a perfect breakfast with a side of scrambled eggs. How about for brunch with a nice green salad and a mimosa! Even for dinner with a perfectly grilled steak!

I hope you like these toasts as much as I did. Man I could have eaten all of it!

Enjoy!

Jen

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

I just realized that this is the 35^th muffin recipe I have posted on this blog… 35‼ Who even knew there were 35 kinds of muffins??

I swear every time I make a new muffin recipe I think to myself these are my favorite muffins EVER‼!

I have thought this 35 times. But I swear these really are my favourite, well my newest favorite anyway.

They are so tender and amazing. The oats give them a bit of heartiness but don’t make them heavy. The fresh blueberries are little purple jewels of sweet flavor. These muffins are Amazing, seriously!

What you need,

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1½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup oats (I used quick cook because it is what I had)

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 large egg

¾ cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup mashed banana (about 2 ripe bananas)

8 oz. fresh blueberries

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla and mashed banana.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry and gently fold together until just combined. Don’t over mix here, or your muffins will be tough! No one wants a tough muffin.

Add all but about ¼ cup of the blueberries to the batter and fold in gently.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full.

Put 2 or 3 of the reserved blueberries on the top of each muffin.

Sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar if you want, I have no idea why you wouldn’t want to; I mean come on it is awesome.

Bake for 20-23 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can store the muffins in an airtight container for 2 or 3 days or you can wrap each muffin in saran wrap and put them in a large zip top bag and keep them in the freezer.

I am obsessed with topping muffins with coarse sanding sugar. I do it ALL THE TIME! I can’t help it, it gives the muffins such a great crunch on top and I love that in a muffin!

I hope you like my new favourite muffins as much as I do!

Enjoy!

Jen

Cavatelli with Chicken Sausage, Sundried Tomatoes, Olives and Broccolini for One

I whipped up this delicious little dinner the other night while my in house taste tester was out. He doesn’t prefer olives or sundried tomatoes so I knew recipe would make a great single girl dinner.

This pasta came together in no time and was chocked full flavor and texture. I served myself a big helping and curled up on the couch to watch an episode of Call the Midwife.  It was the perfect single girl evening!

What you need,

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1 tbsp. olive oil

1 chicken sausage, whatever brand you like

10 Kalamata Olives, pits removed, coarsely chopped

5-6 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced thinly

1 small clove of garlic, minced

1 small bunch broccolini, chopped into 1 inch pieces (about 2 cups)

Black Pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for topping

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Remove the casing from the sausage, breaking it into small chunks and cook until brown and cooked through.

Meanwhile heat a large pot of water over high heat until boiling.

Add the broccolini to the water and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the olives and sundried tomatoes to the sausage.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Scoop the broccolini out of the water using a slotted spoon; add it directly to the pan with the sausage. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute before turning the heat down to medium low.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as directed. When the pasta is cooked, drain and reserve about ½ cup of the cooking liquid.

Add the cooked pasta to the hot pan and toss to coat. Season the pasta with pepper and salt if needed. Remember the olives and the sundried tomatoes are both salty!

If you add a little of the pasta water it will make a lovely thin sauce.

I added about ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese right to the pan and stirred to coat.

Serve the pasta right away and top with a little more cheese, just because!

This was a lovely dinner, so full of flavor and so simple! I loved it a lot, the sweet sausage with the salty olives and the crisp green broccolini went so well together. 

I will be making this again soon, for sure!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe adapted from A Beautiful Plate

Super Simple 3 Ingredient Mini Black Forest Cakes

So Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, next Sunday!
We so aren’t Valentine’s Day people over here, like at all! We are most excited for February 14th because The Walking Dead starts back up that day!

Just because we don’t really participate in all that lovey dovey overpriced flowers and candy stuff doesn’t mean I don’t want a little chocolate to eat while I am watching the Zombie Apocalypse!

These little Mini Black Forest Cakes are amazing! So super easy and they taste GREAT!

What you need,

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1 pkg. chocolate wafer cookies, like these

1 can cherry pie filling

2 cups whipped cream, I used a can because I am lazy but you can make homemade if you want!

Choose 4 small dishes, I like clear ones so you can see how pretty this dessert it, but really any dish will do.

Put a thin layer of whipped cream on the bottom of each dish, layer on a couple cookies, then spoon about a tablespoon of cherry pie filling on top of the cookies. Top with more whipped cream then repeat, cookies cherries, whipped cream until you get to the top of the dish. Push each layer down a little as you go! Make sure your top layer is whipped cream!

Cover in saran wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to server dollop on a little more fresh whip cream and top with a pretty little cherry and half a chocolate wafer cookie, if you have any left!

And that is that, super simple, super cute and totally delicious!

So whether you are romancing with your sweetie or settling in to watch Rick Grimes and crew survive the Zombie insanity these little cakes are the perfect way to celebrate!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe from The Recipe Rebel