A year or two ago I went to grab my guilty pleasure drink from Starbucks. My all time favorite drink, the caramel raspberry frappuccino. If you haven’t heard of this drink, it’s because it isn’t on the menu. My husband got me into this drink when we started dating and it still stands as one of my favorites when we make a Starbucks trip. Anyway… I’m not here to talk about frappuccinos, so that was a bonus. Oh,yes…I remember what I was saying now…so on that one day about a year or two ago when I was grabbing my frappuccino I saw they had some free Starbucks recipe cards for some of the items they feature in their refrigerated case. The recipe I picked up was for the banana walnut bread, which I happen to really enjoy on occasion. I was curious to see how close the recipe actually came to tasting like their banana bread. I figured if they were giving recipes out for free there was no way it was going to be THAT close to the real deal. Although I like walnuts, for some reason I really wanted chocolate in my banana bread when I decided to try out this recipe… and sister let me tell ya… there is NO turning back… the chocolate made the first cut. I LOVE this recipe! I add a bit more buttermilk and vanilla to the recipe than it calls for and it turns out just the way I like it. Turned out the free starbucks recipe ended up being a keeper! Now, I would like to share my favorite banana bread recipe with you all. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Chocolate Chip Starbucks Banana Bread
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/8 c. sugar
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 ripe medium-large bananas (mashed)
3/4 – 1 c. of mini chocolate chips ( I like the nestle brand!) Continue reading

Smeeks… smeeeeeks! I love to say that word. Smeeks is an adorable little candy/gift shop off of Camelback Rd. in Phoenix, AZ between the 17 and 51, near 7th st. I saw the little candy shop featured in an issue of PHOENIX magazine several months ago and bookmarked it as one of the places I would like to visit someday if I ever had time. Well, I made time for it last week and was definitely NOT disappointed. It was a really friendly and colorful shop painted blue, red, and white. The shop housed tons of different kinds of candy from taffy to candy bars to gum, a lot of which were old fashioned brands you don’t find in the grocery store. They also sell refrigerated old fashioned soda pop and party favors. It is worth the trip, but definitely be prepared to spend at least $30 – $40 on candy! Here is some of the loot I picked up…

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So, the weather has been so nice recently that I was just dying for something fresh and fun to make. I finally got the guts to try my hand at fruit tarts! I was sooo excited to try them! The recipes to put the tarts together were very easy, but the problem is, they are definitely time consuming… so if I do this again I will need to dedicate an entire day to it. Once you take a bite of one of the tarts… you forget everything and all the tediousness of it all; and it slips you away into heaven for a moment. I substituted my own homemade vanilla and coconut cream pudding for the filling in the tarts and just used a recipe I found online for the crust. You can try so many different things, so feel free to use your own recipe or even try out some instant or pre-made fillings. The pudding in this recipe is a VERY special recipe… I’m sure it is similar to a lot of homemade vanilla pudding recipes, but it is the recipe my mom used for every coconut and banana cream pie she ever made and now I use it too. It’s been in my family for as long as I can remember and it is my very favorite pudding in the entire world. It always seems to have the right texture and the perfect hint of vanilla.

Tart Crust Recipe:
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Pudding Filling:
You can use any instant vanilla pudding or your own recipe, but here is mine:

1 can evaporated milk
2-3 c. milk
4 egg yolks
6 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. sugar

Shake can of evaporated milk, then pour into a large glass liquid measuring cup. Starting at the measurement where the evaporated milk ended, pour in the milk until it reaches the amount of 4 cups, altogether. Pour milk mixture into a medium saucepan and head over a medium-low heat, slowly. Add in the sugar and cornstarch. Whip mixture with a wire whisk, then whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Add in the vanilla. Cook, stirring so as not to burn the mixture, over medium heat until it becomes thick. Add in some flaked sweetened coconut if you like and remove pan from burner.

Toppings:(you can use any combination of berries and fruit you like)
strawberries
Raspberries
blackberries
kiwi
blueberries
nectarines/peaches/pears
etc.

Step 1: You will want to start out making the crust. First, measure out the flour and salt in a bowl. Then whisk together and set aside.

Step 2: Place softened stick of butter into an electric mixer and beat until softened.

Step 3: Add in the sugar and beat until well combined and fluffy.

Step 4: Crack a large egg into a separate bowl and lightly beat. Gradually add in the egg to the sugar/butter mixture, mixing until just incorporated. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape the sides with a spatula and then mix lightly an additional time. Try not to over mix here, as the butter can separate.

Step 5: Add in flour/salt mixture all at one time and mix slowly until it forms a dough ball. Do not overwork the dough or the crust will be too tough.

Step 6: Set dough on a floured work surface. Press dough into a thick disc shape. Cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.

Step 7: Have your tart pan/s ready and remove the dough from the fridge once firm. Break off a large chunk of dough from the disc. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry dough into a circle (about 1/4 in. thick). To check for size, turn the tart pan upside down and place on the rolled out pastry dough. The dough should be about 1 in. thicker than the tart pan.

Step 8: Once dough is desired size, cut out a circle a few centimeters extra around the perimeter of the tart pan with a knife. Flip tart pan over and remove excess dough (like a cutout cookie) from the circle you just cut. Carefully peel circle of dough off the floured work surface and place inside the tart pan, pressing down so the dough fills all the space.

Step 9: Once dough is pressed into the tart pan roll the rolling pin or your fingers over the edges of the pan to remove the excess dough around the lip of the tart pan. Use a fork to prick the dough in the bottom of the tart pan to prevent dough from puffing up during baking. Repeat process for other tart pans if using small individual ones. Once tarts are all filled with dough, place on a baking tray and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for another 20 minutes.

Step 10: Once dough is done resting, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place oven rack in the center. Fill tart pans with pie weights, then bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown (if using small tart pans as shown above). If using one large tart pan, bake for 20 -25 min. Cool on a wire rack before filling. **Meanwhile, make pudding according to recipe above or use your own (sorry no pics for this part!).

Step 11: Once pudding is made, fill each tart with pudding until it reaches the top, but not overflowing. Place back onto the baking sheet and refrigerate until pudding is firm (a few hours should be fine). Then remove from fridge and arrange each tart with cut up fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, etc.). ENJOY!

Back in the carefree younger days when my husband and I were dating, he used to take me to this really great little breakfast place that served stuffed french toast. It was divine… delicious… out of this world. Unfortunately though, he lived in Phoenix, AZ and I lived all the way out in a wee little town in Southwestern Pennsylvania, so I didn’t know of any nearby breakfast nook that served up a dazzling dish of stuffed french toast. To impress my “crush” that I could whip up a hopefully impressive breakfast, one morning as he was visiting me and my family, I decided to make him breakfast. I decided to make stuffed french toast, my own version. What came out was a mouthwatering sweet and satisfying dish that is to this day one of our favorites for those special occasion brunches or when we have company over for breakfast. My now husband was so impressed that I could ACTUALLY COOK! He admitted he wasn’t sure if I was good at that or not because he knew of course my mother could cook because she always cooked for him when he came to visit, but he wasn’t sure of my ability… he was VERY excited that some of the talent rubbed off. Come to think of it… maybe that was the very moment he decided he could probably spend the rest of his life with me…kidding. Enjoy this wonderful recipe and feed it to your husband… he will LOVE it… and LOVE you for it.

You will need:

1 package of sourdough bread, pre-sliced
Eggs
cinnamon
Vanilla Extract
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 – 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 c. pecans
butter
Maple syrup

Step 1: Cut the sourdough bread slices in half.

Step 2:Whip 3-4 eggs, about 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract with a wire whisk in medium size mixing bowl.

Step 3: Place package of softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and whip until creamy and smooth with a hand mixer.

Step 4: Add in 1/2 c. powdered sugar and whip until creamy and well blended (may need to scrape sides of bowl with a spatula).

Step 5: Add in 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract and mix until well blended.

Step 6: Chop about 1/4 – 1/2 c. of pecans. Add them to the cream cheese mixture and fold into the cream cheese.

Step 7: Take one half slice of sourdough bread and spread some cream cheese filling on half of the slice. Place other half of slice over the top and pinch sides to seal. Repeat process until all the slices of bread have been used.

Step 8: Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

Step 9: Dip one sandwich piece into the egg/cinnamon/vanilla mixture you set aside earlier. Coat both sides with the egg mixture, then place into the heated skillet, repeat process until you have filled the skillet with as many pieces as will fit (usually about 4).

Step 10: Cook french toast pieces about 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip and cook another 3 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy. Repeat steps 9 and 10 until all the french toast pieces have been cooked, place on a platter to serve.

Step 11: Place 2 pieces of french toast on a plate, garnish with warm maple syrup and dusted powdered sugar. Enjoy!

I fell in love with this combination of strawberries, fresh whipped cream, and honey on top of crepes when I first had them at LGO. Since then, I crave them every once in awhile (which really means almost every time I walk past strawberries in the produce aisle of the grocery store), so I modified my own crepe recipe and braved the idea of making crepes without a real crepe griddle. I am still coveting one of those by the way…someday, maybe I’ll break down and get one, but for now when the cravings set in… I just get out my handy dandy small skillet and a slab of butter or cooking spray and it works almost just as good. It doesn’t alter the taste in my opinion. Keep in mind, the first crepe is usually thick and somewhat rubbery, but once the pan seems to settle in and the heat is just right… the crepes turn out perfect. So, try this recipe on for size… well, hopefully not too much size… I don’t want anyone gaining a pound or two over this… but it’s definitely worth trying out for your next brunch…you won’t be sorry!

What you will Need:
3 eggs
1 1/2 – 2 c. milk (I usually use 1 %)
1 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Powdered sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Honey

For toppings:
1 package of strawberries
1 tsp. sugar

1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 of the measurement of milk to the eggs and beat slightly until just blended. Sift the flour into the milk and egg mixture, then add in the salt and sugar. Mix until just blended. Add the remaining measurement of milk and 1 tsp. vanilla and mix until a light runny batter forms. The batter should be very thin and runny, but thicker than water. If it is too thick, just add more milk (only about a Tbsp. at a time).

Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut in quarters or chunks. Place in a bowl and sprinkle 1 tsp. of sugar over top. Stir around until all the strawberries are coated with the sugar. Cover the bowl of strawberries with plastic wrap and refrigerate until crepes are done so as to create a nice sugary syrup.

Place a small, preferably metal, small mixing bowl in the freezer in order to get cold for whipping the whip cream later (this is a FANTASTIC trick I learned from my mother… but I’m sure a lot of people already knew this one).

Heat a small skillet or non-stick skillet over medium-low heat on the stove top (I usually keep my burner set around 4). Grease the pan using a light non-stick cooking spray or a small slice of butter… less than 1/2 Tbsp., you do not need a lot of grease, otherwise the batter won’t spread out thin enough if the pan is over greased.

Once the skillet is heated and greased, take a 1/4 c. measuring cup and scoop out some crepe batter. Pour a thin layer of the batter until it just covers the bottom of the pan. Wait 30 seconds to one minute, just until the batter settles and flip to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds just until the batter becomes firm… it should have somewhat of a rubbery, flexible texture. Place cooked crepe on a plate. Repeat the process until all the batter is gone and you have a plate full of stacked crepes.

To make the whipping cream, remove the metal mixing bowl from the freezer. Pour the entire pint of heavy whipping cream into the bowl. Add the 1/4 c. of powdered sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla and beat on high speed with a hand held mixer until very stiff and fluffy… i start on a medium speed until the liquid starts to thicken slightly… otherwise it splashes EVERYWHERE! I even sometimes drape a light kitchen towel over the handheld mixer and the bowl while I whip the death out of the cream.. this helps keep down the splatter. Side note: if you are feeling particularly frustrated or upset this is definitely the recipe to make today… this is a great way to add in some THERAPY… just whip that cream with a mad face until you’ve whipped that cream into shape… and suddenly once you see what has transpired… I don’t see how anyone could stay mad… it is too delicious!

To serve: roll up two crepes by folding each end over top of each other like a log, and place seam side down on a plate. Top with a heaping spoonful of those syrupy strawberries, a dallop of whip cream, and then drizzle honey all over the top of the crepes. Enjoy!!