Tasty Tip Tuesday!

From now on, every Tuesday, I will share with all of you  lovely people a cooking tip. Plus, I love alliteration.

During the holiday season, try inserting fresh sage leaves under the skin and in the cavity of the bird. The sage will add a lot of flavor and will make the house smell divine.
Sage: Nature's perfume. (Sorry, Glade.)

Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey Muffins (Individual Cheesy Scrambled Eggs Nestled in Bacon)

Hello, my loves. I have a neat breakfast dish to share with you all. The title is inspired by my best friend, Alise. She's shouted this expression a couple of times, and the most fond memory I have of this is when we were on vacation and she was desperately trying to wake me up. I sleep like a rock and am not much of  morning person. However, the smell of bacon being cooked in the kitchen and/ or the sheer joy brought to me from the taste of bacon never fail(s) to make me want to jump out of bed. I made these babies this morning before work. Super easy, fun- to- eat, and portable, you will enjoy these delightful things. I can guarantee it.
Okay...here are the instructions so you can have a happy morning and satisfied taste buds.
My recipe makes 4 servings, but if you need to increase the amount of servings, keep in mind that 1 egg and 1 slice of bacon yields one "muffin."

Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a medium bowl, scramble your eggs and season with salt and pepper (to taste). Mix in a handful of sharp cheddar cheese. Set aside.
Spray the bottoms of each muffin cup in the pan with nonstick cooking spray and line each cup with bacon. Make sure to crinkle each slice so that there is a layer of bacon at the bottom of the cups, and pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup, filling it up to the top.  Place in the oven and cook until the egg mixture puffs up. Next, turn your broiler on low and cook them for a few more minutes until the tops are lightly browned and the egg is cooked all the way. The bacon should also be crispy.

To check if they're cooked all the way, make a small cut in the middle.
Finally, eat them, enjoy all the cheesy, smokey goodness, and have a spectacular day.

Much love,
Cait
xoxo

Tasty tip

Here's a tasty tip I learned myself when experimenting in the kitchen last night:

If you want to add extra flavor and texture to your meatballs, saute chopped portabello mushrooms in olive oil. When cooked, the mushrooms will decrease in volume by half, so make sure you use a good amount of mushrooms in the beginning. Add them to the bowl, along with your favorite seasonings. When I make mine, I add 4-5 cloves minced garlic, chopped, sauteed onions, 2 eggs, salt and pepper, and 1 c of breadcrumbs to lean ground beef.

The meatballs came out extra scrumptious and juicy. My dad ate a second plate of them, he liked them so much.

Try this variation on  this classic comfort food.

*If using ground chicken or turkey, try making a a bechamel sauce to go over it ( add a little  ground nutmeg to the bechamel).

You're welcome.

Much Love,
Cait
xoxo

Three Sisters Pie (Triple Berry Pie)

Hello, my lovelies! I'm back at the blogging game since I have a new phone :) Have I got a real treat for all of you wonderful people.
     One fun fact about myself is that I absolutely adore berries. I love any fruit, really, but berries are truly exceptional in my book. I could snack on them all day. This pie is a classic in my family since it is berry-licious and oh so easy to make. The filling becomes sweet (but not too sweet) and bubbly, and the crust gets wonderfully browned and beautiful in the oven. The icing on top of this proverbial cake is the lattice on the top crust. I think it adds something special and turns it up a notch . I cannot stress how much I adore this pie.

... I have a confession to make, though--I did not make my own crust. Shocking, I know! Honestly, I feel like making crust can be a bit of a hassle. First of all, it is time consuming. I'm a busy woman and don't have all the time in the world to worry about something like pastry crust. In addition to the time issue, there's the fact that if you mess up in the slightest while making crust, it ruins the whole pie. For us people out there who don't make crust every day and are therefore not practicing the delicate art of pastry, Pillsbury (or any decent knock-off brand) is our Superman. Besides, who could possibly resist the charms of the precious Pillsbury doughboy? Not I. Certainly not I. For this recipe, I just bought a box of 2 ready-to-bake pie crusts. All you have to do is unroll the crust, put it in the pie tin, and toss it in the oven.

Without further adieu, I will reveal this truly wonderful pie recipe.

 For the filling, you will need:
12 oz. each of thawed, unsweetened blueberries, sliced strawberries, and raspberries (Pretty much any berry combination would work here. Blackberries are wonderful. Have fun with it.)
3 T cornstarch
1/4 c. apple juice
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T unsalted butter, cut into bits

Preheat the oven to 450. In a large bowl, gently toss the berries with the cornstarch and apple juice, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Next, mix in the sugar and the cinnamon. Fit the bottom crust into a 9-inch pie pan, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Spoon the filling into the pie crust and dot with the butter.

Cut the remaining crust into half-inch strips (lengthwise). Twist each strip and arrange them in a lattice pattern on top of the filling. Trim the ends and flute the edges. Place on a cookie sheet. The cookie sheet is essential because the filling will definitely bubble up and out of the pan a little bit. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 55 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!

This is what it looks like when it first comes out of the oven.

Sorry, guys...

I know I haven't posted any new recipes in a while. My computer's been broken, and my Android broke as well. I lost all my pictures. I had 2 New recipes I wanted to post, but the pictures were on my old phone. I recently bought a tablet, so that's how I am able to type this post.
However, if any of you have any suggestions or recipes you've made that you deem worthy to share, feel free to message me so I can share them with the world. Let's make this interesting.


Much Love,
Cait

Not A Pie Lime Meringue Cupcake

Do you have that one flavor of pie you absolutely adore, but you are so busy that you would appreciate it even more if you could eat it with one hand? If that's the case, look no further than this recipe for lime meringue cupcakes. It isn't overly sweet like pie can be sometimes, and the meringue is perfectly fluffy and flavorful. Move over, pie. There's a new, chic confection in town. 

The recipe:
For the batter:
1/2 c. softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
zest of 3 limes and juice of 2 1/2 
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 c. cold milk

For the meringue:
3 egg whites
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Makes 12 cupcakes. 
Preheat your oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar at medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. When eggs are thoroughly mixed with the butter and sugar, beat in the vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture, a little at a time. Mix on medium speed. When the mixture is well-incorporated, add the milk, lime zest, and juice to the mixing bowl and mix until it is fully incorporated. 

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and evenly distribute the batter amongst  the 12 muffin cups. Bake 18-24 minutes. Poke small hole into the center of one of the cupcakes. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. Take them out of the pan and set on a wire rack to cool. 

While those are cooling, make the meringue. If you haven't separated eggs before, have no fear; it is pretty easy, even for a rookie baker. Here is a video tutorial if you are a visual learner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0FXHwIRTC8&noredirect=1

Okay. You now have your egg whites. Add the sugar and cream of tartar to the whites, and beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. To check for stiff peaks, simply turn the beaters upside down. If the whites stay in place at the end of the beaters, congratulations. Gently scoop the meringue with a large spoon and top each cupcake with some meringue. Place the tray in the middle rack of the oven, and set your broiler on the low setting in order to lightly brown the meringue. This will take 1 or two minutes. Carefully monitor these babies because there is nothing worse than burnt meringue. Ick!

Bon appétit!

New Cupake Ideas?

Hey, y'all. I wanted to spice things up a bit on here, so I would like to know...
Are there any flavor suggestions you may have in the world of cupcakes? If so, feel free to add them in the comment section of this post!
One more thing...be sure to include what flavor of frosting you think would pair well with the suggested cake flavor. I will decide which flavor pairings are my favorite and bake them off. The best tasting one will be posted right here on my blog, as well as on Tumblr, Pinterest, and Twitter, so be sure to check back here within a few weeks to see which one I deemed the best!

Thank you, and Bon appetit!
-Caitlin