Pesto Potato Salad

My sister has been making this Pesto Potato Salad for years and I love it! For some reason I had never made it myself? Weird…

So I whipped up a batch today and it was delish!

It is such a hard left turn from my usual potato salad. This is a good thing, it makes a great change.

It is simple to put together and tastes amazing, I suggest you make it the next time you barbeque some chicken or burgers. It will spice up your life!

What you need,

Click Here To Print

1lb. baby potatoes, red or white, halved, cooked and cooled

¼ cup sour cream

2 tbsp. mayo

2½ tbsp. pesto (I used jarred but you could use homemade)

3-4 slices of cooked bacon, chopped

2 tbsp. finely diced red onion

¼ cup shaved Parmesan cheese

In a small bowl stir together the sour cream, mayo and pesto until well combined.

In a large bowl combine the cooked potatoes, bacon and onion. Pour on the pesto sauce and gently fold together until everything is coated well.  Top with the shaved Parmesan cheese.

Serve right away or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

This salad is really great, especially if you love pesto as much I do.

It is a great change up to the usual potato salad.

I am very glad I finally made this salad for myself! I will be making it again for sure!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe from my Sister Kate! I think she adapted it from Company’s Coming years ago.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

The last couple weeks I have been eating raspberries like they are going out of style. They have been so good! So big and juicy and lots of flavor, which you don’t always get from store bought raspberries.

I decided I better bake something with them instead of just popping them all directly into my mouth.

It is a long weekend so I thought what better to celebrate than with a lovely coffee cake that I can eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner!

This cake is really good; I warn you… you might just eat it all!

What you need,

Click Here To Print

For the topping,

½ flour

1/3 cup sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

4 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled slightly

For the cake,

1¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups fresh raspberries

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray and 8x11 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together all the ingredients for the topping. It will get smooth and you will think, this is kind of weird but just set it aside and trust the process!

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

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sour cream until smooth. Stir in the vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together until just combined. Don’t over mix, you want a nice tender cake and if you over mix the batter it will be tough and not so nice.

Carefully fold in the raspberries.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly into the pan.

Using a fork mix up the topping, it will be a little hard because the butter will have set up a bit, but it should crumble up, just like you want it to.

Using your fingers crumble the topping over the top of the cake.

Bake for 35-45 minutes. Use a toothpick to test the center of the cake after 35 minutes, when it comes out with just a few crumbs on it, the cake is done.

Remove the cake and place on a rack to cool.

Serve as is, with some ice cream or whipped cream. A nice latte to wash it down would be lovely!

This cake is so moist and tender. The little bit of lemon zest in the topping adds just the right amount of zing to each bite.

I loved this cake, it was really great. It would be good with strawberries or blueberries, even rhubarb would be a treat!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe from Annie’s Eats

Mushroom Florentine Linguini

I am always on the hunt for a quick and delicious weeknight dinner. When I pinned this one the other day I knew it would be a winner.

I was so right, the sauce is creamy and smooth which is always awesome. The earthy mushrooms and the spinach go so well with the tangy gruyere cheese.  

I added a big green salad on the side and it was the perfect weeknight dinner!

What you need,

Click Here To Print

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup half & half

½ tsp. seasoning salt

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tbsp. olive oil

8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ grated Gruyere Cheese

2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

½ lb. linguini noodles

Cook the linguini noodles according to the package directions.

While the noodles are cooking heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and mushrooms. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and cooked down.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, chicken broth and milk. Season with salt and pepper, I used about ½ teaspoon of each.

Add the minced garlic to the mushrooms and cook 1 minute. 

Stir in the flour mixture and let it come to a simmer. Cook 3-4 minutes until the sauce is thickened.  Stir in the cheese until melted.

Toss in the spinach and cook for a minute or so until wilted. Taste the sauce and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

If the sauce looks a little too thick you can add a little of the pasta cooking water. 

Add the cooked noodles and toss gently to coat.

Serve right away.

I can’t say enough good things about this recipe. It was super easy, it only took 20 minutes start to finish and it tasted seriously good!

I will be making this one again soon for sure.

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe very slightly adapted from She Wears Many Hats

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

OK this is kind of a cheat recipe. Now you could go ahead and make your own brownies, but I used a box. It was delicious. I don’t feel bad.

The cream cheese swirl is smooth and tart. The thick chewy brownie is a dream.

The whole thing took all of like 30 minutes start to finish and would impress anyone who you felt worthy of sharing them with!

What you need,

Click Here To Print

1 box brownie mix, I used a Duncan Hines, Thick and Chewy

1 8oz pkg. cream cheese

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and spray well with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl mix the brownies according to the package directions.

In a separate bowl, heat the cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds or so until it is smooth when you stir it.

Add the sour cream, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir to fully combine.

Pour ¾ of the brownie batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.  Scoop the cream cheese mixture on top and spread into an even layer on top of the brownie. Dollop the remaining brownie batter on the top, then use a knife to swirl the brownie mixture into the cream cheese.

Don’t overdo it, just a little bit.

Bake the brownies as suggested on the box.

Once they are done let them cool in the pan then using the parchment paper remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cut into squares and stuff in your face. You can keep them in an airtight container for a couple days in the fridge or you can freeze them. You won’t need to do either of these things, they are amazing and you are gonna eat them all!

These brownies were delightful. I wish I had one or 3 of them right now!

Enjoy!

Jen