the daily X

Weekend Kitchen | Zucchini Frittata Squares

This recipe is based on the Frittata Squares recipe from theKitchn blog. It's more of a cross between an egg casserole and a frittata. Super simple! I cut the recipe in half and used zucchini instead of asparagus, but you could do this anyway want. Mr. X doesn't eat eggs so I wanted just enough for a few breakfasts this week. In the end I had 4 large pieces which was perfect.

Zucchini Frittata Squares

1/2 zucchini, cut into small pieces
1/2 shallot, diced
6 eggs
3 tablespoons milk

Cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Sauté vegetables in olive oil in a skillet just until soft but not fully cooked. Beat eggs, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the cooked vegetables in the bottom of a greased 9x9 baking pan. Pour eggs over the veggies. Add cheese if desired. I added about 4 slices of Chihuahua cheese to the top because that's what we had on hand. Bake for about 45 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

SO good. The cheese was the perfect touch. I think next time I will just use more shallots and zucchini. 

Weekend Kitchen | Banana Muffins

This recipe is based on Simply Recipes Banana Nut Muffins. I liked it because it didn't require oil or a mixer. So it looked semi-healthy and quick. I omitted a couple things and substituted whole wheat flour and added flax seed.

Banana Muffins

3 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon flax seed
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and flax seed, mix until it is just incorporated. 

Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack. Makes 12 muffins.

I thought the whole wheat flour would make them taste a little too healthy and dry and I wouldn't like them so much. But surprisingly, they are delicious! Especially with some butter. Will definitely make them again.

Weekend Kitchen | Cheese Danish Bars

These are heaven. These are also evil and addicting and impossible to have in the house and only eat one at a time.

Easy Cheese Danish Bars found on Ashley's awesome blog The Creative Place.

Here is what they look like after cooling and being smothered with a POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE!

Here is what they look like on day 2 when the glaze has soaked in. Still delicous.

This recipe is super, super easy and perfect for taking to a party because it makes so many. You must try it.

Easy Cheese Danish Bars - Copied from The Creative Place blog and adapted slightly from The Adventures of Kitchen Girl

2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls

2- 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg white

Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9"x13" glass baking dish. Unroll one can of crescent rolls and line the bottom of the dish, pinching seams together.

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and one egg, until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over the crescent roll layer in the dish.

Unroll the other can of crescent rolls, pinch the seams together and then place over top of the cream cheese mixture in the baking dish. Beat egg white slightly and brush over top of the crescent roll layer.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool for about 10-15 minutes. While cooling, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Drizzle over slightly cooled danish.

Weekend Kitchen | Carrot Cake Cookies

Last weekend I decided to make these breakfast carrot cake cookies I found through Pinterest. My brother was coming to stay with us and I figured I should have something semi-healthy for breakfast to balance out all the pizza we were going to eat. These were perfect. You can find the complete recipe here.

I did use the flax seed which was listed as optional, whole wheat flour instead of white flour, and butter instead of coconut oil only because I couldn't find it at the store. I would definitely use the flax seed and whole wheat flour again and maybe add raisins or my brother suggested currants.

Verdict: DELICIOUS. Even my mom loved them. It is definitely a healthy tasting cookie and great for breakfast with a cup of coffee. 

Weekend Kitchen | Chocolate Mug Cake

Have you seen this?? Cake in a mug.

Thanks to Pinterest I found this idea and made a chocolate cake in under 5 minutes yesterday. And it really was less than 5 minutes and it really was good. Unbelievable.

Weekend Kitchen | Salted Caramel Brownies

I've been wanting to make salted caramel brownies for awhile since I am ridiculously addicted to salted caramels. After browsing recipes on the internet this weekend I realized it was a little more work than I thought. I mean, I really didn't want to make caramel from scratch.

And then it came to me - ROLO'S have caramel.

So I used a box of brownie mix and placed Rolo's into the mix after I poured it into the pan. I pushed them into the batter so you couldn't see them. Once they came out of the oven I sprinkled the top with sea salt.

You can see from the top photo the caramel went to the bottom and the chocolate melted and stayed gooey. I do think I went overboard on the Rolo's because I was pretty excited so next time I will probably space them out more. In the end...so simple, SO GOOD, and so wrong.

Tastes Like Christmas

If you are looking for a last minute gift or a super simple cookie recipe...here you go:

Great Aunt Mary's Peppernut Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp dark karo syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp anise oil
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda

Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs, syrup and all seasonings. Mix well again. Add flour and baking soda (you can use your hands or the mixer). Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325. Roll dough into long, thin logs about as thick as your little finger. Cut into 1/4 or 1/2 inch pieces. Bake for 8 minutes and cool for 2 minutes. You can freeze dough or rolls for later use.

Like I said, these are super easy to make and the dough freezes very well. I made a few batches yesterday that I have put in jars for gifts and I have some dough in the freezer that I will make for New Years. And they really do taste and smell like Christmas. Enjoy!

Weekend Kitchen | Pretzel Tots & Cheese Dip

That's right...homemade pretzel tots and cheese dip. Probably what I will be making every weekend for, oh, I don't know, THE REST OF MY LIFE.

I've been wanting to make soft pretzels for some time now so when I saw this post on Elise's fabulous blog last week I decided Saturday was the day. The recipe comes from Alton Brown and like Elise I substituted 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. It actually made so many that we had plenty left over the Bears game last night.

Saturday we dipped them in mustard and thought they would be even better with nacho cheese. So on Sunday we used this recipe and substituted the processed cheese slices with this delicious Prairie Breeze cheese we picked up in the fancy cheese section at Mariano's. We used about 1/4 pound plus 1/4 cup of parmesan. I'm thinking of using this for mac & cheese sometime soon.

Overall, both recipes are delicious and worth the time.

Tomato McMuffins

I think we found a new favorite. Thanks to a sale on english muffins and an abundance of tomatoes from our garden, I figured why not change an egg sandwich (since Mr. X hates eggs) to a tomato sandwich!

I read a few recipes on line for broiled parmesan tomatoes but in the end I just eyeballed everything.

First, lightly toast Italian bread crumbs in a pan. Then remove from heat and add melted butter and parmesan cheese. Mix together and set aside. Slice tomatoes and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Add a spoonful of the bread crumb mixture to the top of each tomato and broil for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Toast english muffin and add swiss cheese to one side. Continue to toast until cheese is melted. Add two slices of tomato and there you have it!

Basil + Lemon + Butter

And there you have the best topping for corn. I can't take credit for this. I had it at my dad's house this weekend and it was fantastic. We have a basil plant growing inside and I've been wanting to put it to use. I used 2 big spoonfuls of butter and 4 thinly sliced basil leaves. Add zest and juice of half a lemon. Mix and enjoy.

Weekend Recipe

I've been wanting to make stuffed tomatoes or peppers for awhile because A) they look so good and I've NEVER had one and B) it seemed like something Mr. X would enjoy too. I used this recipe as a base and modified from there since I didn't have some of the ingredients.

2/3 cup uncooked orzo pasta

3 large tomatoes

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon pesto

Salt & pepper

Swiss & provolone cheese

I first scooped the tomatoes, sprinkled with salt and turned over to drain. I then cooked the orzo, rinsed and drained and returned to the pan with butter, pesto, salt and pepper. I only had swiss cheese slices so I cut up three slices into thin strips and added them to the pan. Heat until the cheese is melted. Then place tomatoes in baking dish and fill with orzo. Again I only had provolone cheese slices so I cut one piece into three pieces and placed on top. 

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

We will absolutely make these again. So tasty!

Weekend Recipe

While in Key West I had one of my favorite meals EVER. Crab cake eggs benedict. I told my dad about it and he made them a few weeks ago so I thought I should give it a try myself. I went looking for frozen crab cakes Friday after work but I only found imitation crab in a package so I decided to make them from scratch. I saw some recipes on line but I didn't have half of the ingredients. So this is what I came up with:

8 oz crab

2-3 teaspoons mayo

1 teaspoon garlic aioli mustard from Trader Joe's

1 egg

10 Clubhouse crackers crumbled

2-3 tablespoons bread crumbs

Salt and pepper

I pretty much eyeballed everything and added more breadcrumbs until I had the right consistency. Then I made them into little patties the size of the english muffins, dusted them with flour and fried them in vegetable oil for about 5 minutes on each side. It was much easier than I thought and the flavor was excellent. 

The hollandaise sauce was from a packet and the egg poaching was a little tricky. In the end, it was just as delicious as Key West. 

Weekend Recipe

I've been craving pancakes so we tried this recipe yesterday from allrecipes.com. Super easy to make and absolutely delicious. Even Mr. X loved them. The recipe made 6 decent sized pancakes which was perfect for just two people. Try it. You won't be disappointed.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate

Making cupcakes is a great way to start off the weekend. I've been wanting to make these ever since my friend Natalie brought them to work last month.

Cupcakes are triple fudge cake mix from a box.

Cookies on top are Walmart brand peanut butter and chocolate.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 stick of butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons of milk

1 tablespoon of vanilla

1.5 cups of powdered sugar

Happy weekend!