Month: August 2015

Summer Evening Pasta

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Summer Evening Pasta

This is a perfect meal for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen during the summer. Fresh basil and tomatoes and your favorite tomato sauce make this recipe quick and easy.

And who doesn’t love a meal that could be cooked in 15 minutes or less. Aren’t there tons of shows on the food network that have that as a selling point? Either way, this recipe is delicious, healthy and a low hassle meal.

Summer Evening Pasta

Summer Nights Pasta

Ingredients 

  • 3 to 4 Roma Tomatoes (diced)
  • 2 Tablespoons Garlic (minced)
  • 12 Large Basil Leaves (chiffonade)
  • 2/3 to 3/4 Cup of your favorite Marinara
  • Red Pepper Flakes
  • Kosher Salt
  • Fresh Cracked Pepper
  • 1 Box Pasta
  • Garlic Olive Oil

Step 1: 

In a large pot, fill with water and bring to a boil. Add salt and begin to cook your pasta.

**You should be able to do the next few steps during the pasta’s cook time, if you’re pasta’s cook time is less than 4 minutes, start with step two and then cook your pasta.

Step 2: 

In a large sauté pan, heat one tablespoon of garlic olive oil.

Step 3: 

When the oil is hot and ‘dancing’ add the garlic and cook for 30 to 50 seconds or until the garlic is nice and fragrant.

Summer Evening Pasta

Step 4: 

Add the tomatoes and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes stirring constantly, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn.

Summer Evening Pasta

Step 5: 

Next, add the marinara sauce and stir until combined. Mix in half the basil and reduce the heat to low.

Summer Evening Pasta

Step 6: 

Just before the pasta is ready to be drained, reserve at least one cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and immediately place the pasta into the sauté pan.

Summer Evening Pasta

Step 7: 

Add a little bit of the pasta water and mix everything together until evenly coated. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, fresh cracked pepper, and the rest of the basil and serve immediately.

Summer Evening Pasta

Cherry Chipotle Baked Beans

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Cherry Chipotle Baked Beans

Today’s recipe was inspired by one of our favorite Food Network Chefs, Damaris Phillips. She made these amazing looking baked beans with a strawberry bbq sauce and it looked simple how could we not make our version? We thought making beans would take hours! And we’re sure there are recipes we will try where it will take hours, but this recipe is so simple, everyone can make it!

This past weekend we’ve been hosting our good friends Pegi and Beetle for a pork fest! Almost everything we’ve made has had pork or bacon in the dishes. We actually made these cherry chipotle baked beans but instead of brisket, we used bacon. Which, totally works, if you don’t have brisket! This recipe is perfect for using left over brisket!

Cherry Chipotle Baked Beans

Cherry Chipotle Baked Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 Red Pepper (Diced)
  • 1 Medium Onion (Diced)
  • 2-15oz Cans Pinto Beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 to 1.5 Cups Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
  • 1 to 2 Cups Brisket (Roughly Chopped)*
  • Splash of water

*Brisket is optional.

Step 1:

In a dutch oven, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the red pepper and onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 2: 

Next, add your your beans and stir.

Cherry Chipotle Baked Beans

Step 3: 

Add the BBQ sauce and brisket and mix well. Lower the heat and cover and cook for 25 to 35 minutes. Stirring occasionally. If needed, add a splash of water to make them extra saucy. Serve and enjoy!

Cherry Chipotle Baked Beans

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 2 Comments

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

We love BBQ sauce. You might say we’re addicted to it, every time we see a new BBQ sauce we end up buying it. We don’t mean to, but we love it! One BBQ sauce we love is from a chain restaurant, called Wood Ranch. And they have this amazing Cherry Chipotle BBQ sauce and it is to die for.

It’s sweet, it’s smokey, and has the most wonderful kick that hits you right at the end. If you’re not a fan of chipotles, you can definitely cut them down and bump up the cherries. But we promise, this is a great BBQ sauce that almost everyone will love.

You can use it on ribs, chicken, as a dipping sauce, in baked beans, basically on anything.

Happy Cooking!

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Ingredients 

  • 1 Cup Onion (Roughly chopped)
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 3 Teaspoons Garlic (Chopped)
  • 1 1/2 Cup Fresh Cherries (Pitted and Chopped)
  • 3 to 4 Chipotle Peppers (In Adobo Sauce)
  • 15 oz Can Tomato Sauce
  • 2/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Orange Juice
  • 1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons Agave or Honey
  • 3 Tablespoons Corn Syrup (Dark)
  • 1 Teaspoon Dry Mustard
  • 2 Teaspoons Adobo Sauce (from the can)
  • Kosher Salt

Beautiful fresh cherries, that took FOREVER to cut and pit.

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Step 1: 

In a medium or large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.

Step 2: 

When the butter is hot, add the onions and sauté until translucent. About two to three minutes.

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Step 3: 

Add the chopped garlic and sauté until fragrant. No more than one minute.

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Step 4: 

Finally, add the cherries, chipotles, tomato sauce, brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, agave, corn syrup, dry mustard, adobo sauce, and salt and stir until combined then bring to a boil.

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Step 5: 

Once the sauce has come to a boil, lower the heat to low and let simmer for 45-50 minutes uncovered and stir occasionally.

Step 6: 

When the sauce has simmered and thicken remove from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. In batches, transfer to a blender and purée until smooth.

Remember to be very careful when blending the sauce! Always use the top of your blender and dish towel to prevent a huge mess!

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Our recipe has been adapted from Get Me Cooking!

Simple Key Lime Pie

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 4 Comments

Simple Key Lime Pie

Happy August! Can you believe it’s already August? Where has the year gone? It feels like yesterday we just started our blog, and it’s been four months! Four wonderful months!

Are you tired of cloyingly sweet desserts? Then this recipe is perfect for you. Key Lime Pie is not overly sweet and and perfect for those who like desserts but not sickeningly sweet ones. Key Lime Pie is light and refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day.

Traditionally, in key lime pie you use the egg yolks in the pie and save the egg whites to make a meringue topping, but we decided against a meringue topping and stuck with powdered sugar, but you can make a meringue or a fresh whipped cream. The day we made this, we didn’t have cream so we went with the classic and simple powdered sugar.

Can you guess where Key Lime Pie originated? If you guessed The Florida Keyes,  you’re correct! And you get a pie! Well, only if you make this super easy recipe! We promise this recipe is a crowd pleaser.

One more tip for the road, if you come across key lime pie that is green that pie is not correct. Key lime pie should be a pale yellow because real key lime juice is a light to pale yellow color.

Simple Key Lime Pie

Simple Key Lime Pie

Simple Key Like Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream 

Ingredients 

For The Crust:

  • 1 1/3 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (finely ground)
  • 2 Tablespoons Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Key Lime Zest
  • 1 Stick Butter (Melted)

Filling:

  • 1 (14 oz) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 4 Large Egg Yolks
  • 2/3 Cup Key Lime Juice (Fresh, but bottled is okay)
  • 1 to 2 Heaping Tablespoon Key Lime Zest

Topping 

  • Fresh Whipped Cream
  • Fresh Powdered Sugar

Step 1: 

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Step 2: 

In a food a processor, grind graham crackers until they are finely ground. Next, add the sugar and zest and pulse to combine. Then, with the food processor running, slowly add the melted butter until the graham mixture looks slightly moist.

Simple Key Lime Pie

Simple Key Lime Pie

Simple Key Lime Pie

Step 3: 

Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and press the mixture evenly into the bottom and on the sides. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool.

Simple Key Lime Pie

Simple Key Lime Pie

Simple Key Lime Pie

Step 4: 

While the crust is cooling, mix together your egg yolks and condensed milk until smooth.

Step 5: 

Next, add the key lime juice and zest and whisk by hand for about 1 minute. The mixture will be smooth and will have thickened slightly.

Simple Key Lime Pie

Step 6: 

Pour the filling into the pie pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before covering and putting in the fridge. Chill for at least 3 hours or until set.

Simple Key Lime Pie

Simple Key Lime Pie