Asparagus + Red Onion + Pesto Creamy Quesadilla

6 Replies

This is my new favorite meal.

ingredients

My new favorite lunch. It requires very little cooking (I love cooking, but for now, the less heat, the better). It really requires very little work at all.

And this quesadilla tastes special. It’s like I’m eating something from an exciting, new restaurant. I can’t explain it, it just feels special.

all

Even though I was a bit afraid to, I made this for Greg two nights ago. You see, he is not the biggest fan of cream cheese, sour cream and “other white stuff like that.”

I love cream cheese on a bagel, him not so much. A dollop of sour cream on a fajita? I love it, but not him. When I thought of this quesadilla using cream cheese, I knew I would love it. But I was worried about him.

pans

I decided to give it a try anyway. I didn’t tell him what was in it. I told him to try one bite — if he didn’t like it, I would make him another one, differently.

I watched nervously, as he took that first bite.

chives

He loved it! I could barely believe it.

que

And then. “Is that sour cream?”

Great..I was hoping he wasn’t going to ask. I should have known better.

que5

“No,” I said.

que1

“What is it?” he asked.

que2

My first response? “I don’t want to tell you!”

But, after a few tries with that answer, and his plea of “C’mon tell me, I said that I like it!” I gave in and told the truth.

I put cream cheese in his quesadilla.

que3

Luckily, it turned out well for both of us. I get to make quesadillas with cream cheese, and we both like eating them.

que6

It does sound like cream cheese in a quesadilla could be overwhelming. But, it is the only cheese I put in this one. It actually feels light compared to other cheese-packed quesadillas you can get at restaurants.

que7

The flavor of this is unbelievable. Crispy asparagus and red onion + the creamy cheese + the flavor punch from the pesto = a tasty combination that will leave you wanting more.

que4

And, I used my cast iron skillet to make these — it was perfect!

Ingredients
*This is what I used to make one quesadilla. It can be very easily doubled, tripled, etc.
1 soft tortilla
5 asparagus stalks
1/4 of a medium red onion
8 chive sprigs
1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons of pesto
Olive oil

Chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. Thinly slice the onion. In a pan over medium-high heat, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the asparagus, give it a good toss, and cook the veggies for another 5 minutes. While cooking, the pan should be very hot. This way, the veggies get crisp and cook quickly. Once the veggies are done, set them aside.

Place a skillet over medium heat (I used my cast iron and it worked perfectly). Place a tortilla into the hot skillet. Carefully spread the cream cheese on one side of the tortilla. Tear the chives into small pieces and place on top of the cream cheese. Next, spoon the veggies onto the tortilla followed by the pesto.

At this point, your tortilla should be crisp but not burnt. If it is still soft, turn the heat up a bit and let it cook longer. Once done, it should be slightly crispy and crunchy, but able to fold over nicely.

Fold the tortilla in half, making a quesadilla.

Cut in half, and enjoy!

Notes:
– For dinner, I made three of these for Greg and I. I did make them one at a time. Unless you feel confident having several skillets going at once, it is definitely okay to do one at a time.

Week in Photos

1 Reply

I didn’t post a week in photos last week. Although, it would have been my longest one to date.

So many little, unexpected things and moments made my week last week. It’s nice now to think of all those things again. It was a week full of a lot of big things, but it is really the little things that I am remembering.

I’d like to go into great detail, but that would be too long of a story. To keep it short, think a graduation card from a complete stranger. A delicious, fun breakfast with my mom at my favorite Indiana eatery (with two refills of coffee and a free capitol roll from the awesome workers). A fun night filled with Mexican food, wine and great conversation with a wonderful friend who I now miss. A relaxing night after a hard day of moving. A trip to the airport to pick up my dad. A happy reunion with Greg at this place, another Western, Pa. favorite. A fun night with family and friends, all together, enjoying being outside. Good beer, wine and food all throughout the week, to celebrate.

I said I would keep it short. But really, that’s just the short list of small, unexpected moments that are still making me happy.

And now, let me show you, five things that made this week happy.

{This lunch. This burger + lettuce + an egg. Yum.}

salad

{This sundae. Best snack/dessert ever.}

icecream

{This kitty. Being just a little mischievous, but mostly cute :).}

ivy

{This fruit. I find cutting fruit so relaxing lately.}

fruit

{This door. My new tiny apartment.}

311

Enjoy your weekend! I hope that you find many little things that make it special.

Corn + Black Bean + Tomato Salad

Leave a reply

I’ve always been the type of person who has no trouble eating winter-y food all throughout the summer.

corn

How about you?

beans

You know, like soup in the middle of July. A warm pot pie in August. I’ve always enjoyed warm winter comfort food the entire year.

toms

Until now.

lime

Until now, now that I live in an un-air-conditioned apartment.

both

I never understood why soup in the summer didn’t appeal to people. But I do now. I now understand why people don’t want to do that.

salad1

Enter, this salad. I thought — what can I make that involves absolutely no heat, but still tastes delicious?

salad3

Salad. Expect more. I’ll be with no air conditioning all summer long.

salad5

By the way, I thought making this salad was a great idea to keep cool. And then, I got hungry for stuffed shells. So I made them. So much for keeping cool.

salad2

If it is as hot where you are as it is in Philly, give this salad a try. It will refresh you. It combines the southwest flavors of corn, black beans, tomatoes and salsa with cool homemade (or store-bought) ranch, over a bed of crisp greens. Yes, a perfect summer meal.

salad6

Ingredients
A bowl full of mixed greens (I didn’t measure, but I used maybe 6 cups?)
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of corn, rinsed
2 cups diced tomatoes
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
1/2 cup salsa
Homemade ranch dressing, as much as you please

Start by putting the black beans, corn and diced tomatoes into a bowl. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lime over the veggies and stir.

In a different large bowl, add a few large handfuls of mixed greens (or your favorite type of lettuce). Top with a couple of large spoonfuls of the veggie mixture. Add another layer of lettuce and then more veggies. Spoon the salsa on top and then drizzle ranch dressing over the salad.

Using salad tongs or two spoons, toss the salad very well. This will coat all of the lettuce with the salsa and ranch, making a very nice dressing.

Serve with additional veggies, salsa and ranch, if desired.

Enjoy!

Carrot + Ginger Bread

4 Replies

Don’t be afraid.

ingredients

I know. Carrots in bread. We know that carrots are good in cake. But in bread? Yes, they are good in bread too. They add texture and moisture. And there is just something about putting grated carrots into my baked goods. I love it!

bothbatter

And ginger. Real, fresh ginger. You know, that knobby looking root vegetable that lurks in the produce section. That gets pickled and served next to sushi. Yes, that is what we are using here.

bread2

And trust me, you won’t find anyone who dislikes that pickled ginger more than me. I just can’t do it with sushi. I always feel like I should though. Like I’m not getting the true sushi experience without that ginger. But I’ve tried. Just give me soy sauce and wasabi and my sushi is good to go.

bread

But, back to the ginger. This ginger does have the same taste as the pickled sushi ginger I’m talking about above. But in this bread, it just somehow works. Mixed with carrots and cinnamon and golden raisins, and baked into a bread, I’m liking this ginger flavor. The best way I can describe it is zingy and bright. Yes, it tastes bright.

bread4

Now, if after my attempt to convince you, the ginger still scares you, still try this bread. Just add less ginger! I used a small knob of fresh ginger which grated into one heaping tablespoon. And I do want to stress that that one tablespoon does produce a prominent ginger flavor. If you don’t want the ginger to be that prominent, try scaling back to 1/2 of a tablespoon. That should still give you some wonderful flavor without being too overpowering.

bread1

And the raisins. I know that they are another food on many people’s ‘will not eat’ list. They were on mine for many years. But once I discovered golden raisins, I can’t get enough of them! I put them in everything. Golden raisins add sweetness and moisture to this bread. When you come to one in the bread, it is like a little sweet, soft pillow of moisture. Tell me that doesn’t sound good!

bread3

Enjoy, this bright, zingy, moist, delicious, spring-y, refreshing bread!

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup oats, plus an additional handful for topping
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 cups carrots, grated
A handful of unsweetened coconut flakes, for topping (optional)

Start by preheating your oven to 425*. Grease one or two loaf pans. I used one, but wish I had used two. I had one very large loaf and wish I had two smaller ones.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and oats. Set aside.

In a another mixing bowl, cream the melted coconut oil and sugar. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Then add the milk, yogurt and vanilla extract, beating well to combine.

Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry and mix until just combined. Add the raisins, ginger and carrots and again mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Top the batter with a handful of oats and unsweetened coconut flakes.

For one loaf pan, bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. If you use two loaf pans, the baking time will be less, so I would start checking the loaves at 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake + Raspberry Cream Frosting

6 Replies

I made you a cake.

flour

I know. It’s the least I could do after disappearing off of this little blog for an entire week.

batter

I feel bad, I feel terrible for leaving for a week without a word. But, I am now a college graduate and resident of Philadelphia!

paddle

My mom and I had a long week of moving out of a tiny apartment that seemed to accumulate a lot of stuff in just three years.

mixer

But, that work is now over and I am back to making things to show all of you. 🙂

cake9

This cake is special. It’s a celebration cake.

cake8

It was made in my new stand mixer that I showed you a couple of weeks ago.

cake5

It was such a wonderful surprise to get a mixer. I was with Greg, his mom and his stepdad. We walked into a store, and to my great surprise I went home with a brand new beautiful KitchenAid!

cake3

It was and is so wonderful, sweet, thoughtful, kind and exciting. I got to make this delicious cake in my tiny apartment. I have made cake there before, but this time was better, it was easier.

cake1

I love my mixer, and I know that I will put it to good use in my new tiny apartment. 🙂

cake10

I used this recipe for chocolate cake, from my trusted baking source Sally’s Baking Addiction. The frosting recipe is below. This cake is amazing. It’s the the perfect cake to satisfy a chocolate craving. And an excellent summer dessert. Chocolate + raspberry in every single bite is just too good.

cake11

Ingredients
1 stick of butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 of a block), softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup raspberry schnapps

Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat together softened butter and cream cheese. Mix well, until they are completely combined and soft and whipped in texture. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue to mix until completely incorporated. Add in the raspberry schnapps and mix until just combined.

I used this recipe for chocolate cake. It made two 8-inch round cakes. I baked the cakes and let them cool completely. Once cool, I placed one cake on a dish, topped it with half of the frosting and then a layer of fresh raspberries. I placed the second cake on top of the first and then finished by spreading the rest of the frosting on top and adding more fresh raspberries.