The Basil Bee brings home Hailey!

Welcome home Hailey! Something furry will be joining me in the kitchen-our new addition to our family, Hailey, our lab/pit mix we rescued this past Saturday, April 30^th, 2011 from The Last Resort Animal Rescue in West Milford, NJ!!! My hubby and I have been contemplating getting a pup and we decided if we did, that we would rescue one-and believe me there are so many great loving dogs out there. Ant loves Little Daddy (the brown pit therapy dog) on Cesar Milan’s show, “The Dog Whisperer.” He really wanted a pit and I wanted to also rescue. My sister Erin and brosef-in-law Kevin, recently brought home their own pup, Porter, ( he’s an Airedale Terrier-pictured below right) and they helped give us the courage to start our search even more.

Hailey (her adopted name prior was Bailey) is a pit-bull terrier/lab mix who needed a loving home. She was brought to the TUSVM in Alabama, a small animal clinic at about a week old with severe frostbite to all of her feet and a tooth gash down her left ear, most likely from a dog bite. Due to the frostbite, she lost 2 toes on her back left leg but doesn’t seem to notice. She favors the other leg a little bit, but we see her strengthening every day! She’s about 13 weeks old, super friendly, and loves to snuggle. 

She soon then arrived to North Jersey and was in a great foster with foster parents, Karen and Norm, along with 4 other dogs (3 pits and a lab). She started to socialize in puppy school with Drayton Michaels/The Pit Bull Guru, and had a blast. Her foster mom brought  her to work and to run errands so she became familiar and comfortable with all new things. She was so lucky to have such great foster parents that also crate trained her, housebroke her, and taught her a few commands! We love our Hailey!

We spoke to a few rescue places and had our home inspected by Barbara, who lives locally and helps with placing pits in need of  their fur-ever homes in the South Jersey area (and now a great friend of mine!). You would be surprised how many rescues there are in your area, and their mission is to reshape misperceptions regarding pit bulls, educate the public about what wonderful pets and companions pit bulls can be, and also serve as a source of information/referrals for pit bull owners, and ultimately reduce the number of pit bulls that are killed in shelters by promoting foster care, adoption, and responsible ownership.

They are an absolutely wonderful family dog! They do need training, but let’s be honest, all puppies need obedience training no matter what! The key to raising puppies is also socialization.  We have learned so much through the process that when we found Hailey’s picture online and made an appointment to go meet her, when we met, it was love at first site! So if you’re looking for a pit bull pup or any dog (no matter the age, size, type) for that matter, seek an adoption or rescue agency (just Google it in your area) and give your new addition their fur-ever home!

Hailey to soon meet her Uncle Jackson, my parents dog (pictured to the left with lil Porter)


Great websites to start your search are...

www.petfinder.com

http://www.thelastresortrescue.com/

(left) Hailey playing with Barbara's dog Savannah! They look like mom and baby with their white socks on!

And don't forget, if you're in South Jersey, the 5k at Cooper River Park, Saturday, May 14th..show your support for all the animals and meet beautiful Savannah (pictured above left) , this years mascot!!!

http://awanj.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=438905

Gnocchi Al Forno (and the Broiler virgin)

Kellie from Pansies Posies Sweet Tea shared with me her Gnocchi Al Forno with Spinach & Italian Turkey - Kellie Style recipe and since my hubby is a gnocchi fan, I decided to try it out myself, especially since it contains ground turkey and Neufchatel cheese! Yum-o! I changed some of the ingredients around but not much. I didn't have Italian seasoning per say, so I used some oregano, basil, and onion and garlic seasonings. And I also topped it off with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese as well. Hey, I love cheese, what can I say!


I have to say I was a bit nervous about using the broiler. I've never used it before and have heard horrifying rumors that it can blow up, don't walk away from it, can burn your face, leave it open an inch- hence my anxiety with even pressing the broiler button! I asked Kellie for some help and if you could have seen our text messages going back and forth yesterday about her calming me down about the silly broiler. Alas, I used it, and succeeded without a burn mark, house blowing up, or burnt food! 


The starting line up is:

• 1 Pkg Gnocchi ( I used Bellino, only $1.99)
  
• 1 Pkg ground turkey (approx. 1 - 1.5 lbs.)
• 1 Jar of choice Marinara (I actually made my first marinara using Giada De Laurentis recipe)
• 4 oz. Fresh Spinach, roughly torn
• 8 oz. Neufchatel Cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese), Room Temp.
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese (I used BelGioioso )
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Garlic Salt to taste
• Oregano to taste
• Basil to taste
• onion and garlic seasoning to taste
• Drizzle of  Olive Oil
• Salt/Pepper to taste

Add a drizzle of olive oil to frying pan on Med. High Heat. Add Turkey Meat and seasonings/spices to taste (ie. Garlic Salt/Oregano, Basil, OnionGarlic seasoning/Salt & Pepper), cook all the way through, drain the fat, then turn down to low heat and add jar of marinara, cover and let simmer. 

In a seperate pot, boil well salted water and add Gnocchi. Boil Gnocchi for approx. 2 minutes until Gnocchi floats to the top, drain and set aside. 

Add torn spinach to your turkey & marinara then cover for approx 2-3 min until spinach is slightly wilted.

Preheat your oven on the High Broil setting. (Make sure oven rack is 6-8 in from heating element)

Combine Gnocchi with your Turkey, Spinach and Marinara mixture, mix well. Empty contents of this mixture into a 10 - 12 in. pie plate or baking dish. (I used a a baking dish)

Take a spoon and add "blobs" of Neufchatel cheese all over the top of your baking dish mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top of everything and then sprinkle the mozzarella on top for another layer of deliciousness. Place into the broiler for approx 3-5 min or until top is golden brown and bubbly! Serve with some garlic bread and a glass of wine, and you have dish that is absolute Italian divine!

*I did leave my oven open an inch with my eyes on it for those 4 minutes it was in there, it browns quickly!

Birthday with a hint of Basil

I always love creating and sending personalized gifts-it adds another special touch! If you haven’t perused www.etsy.com, what are you waiting for? Kellie at www.pansiesposies.blogspot.com got me hooked on this site while planning for my wedding. It’s like an Ebay for sellers that customize and design their own things from invitations, pillows, stationary, jewelry, labels, etc…you can even make requests (called alchemy on etsy) and sellers will actually send you samples of what they can do and bid on your project! My friends know that I’m obsessed with it and check in daily. I have purchased my wedding sticker labels, personalized monogrammed stationery, bridal party jewelry, clutches, and much more on there so I can attest to how great they are!

Today I wanted to share with you a new seller I have come across that is absolutely BUZZ worthy…meet etsy seller Noelle at “pinkbathtub designs”. I was looking for a birthday gift for Kellie (her birthday is April 11^th) and found a really cute kitchen towel with a black cat on it. Kellie has an all black cutey cat named Basil and she loves to hang out with Kellie when she’s in the kitchen. I contacted Noelle at pinkbathtubdesigns and saw that she also had a variety of recipe cards. I asked if she could make some matching cat recipe cards to accompany the towel to make a cute part of her gift. She contacted me right away and thought it was a great idea too and sent me a sample within ten minutes! We worked together on what we would put on the recipe cards for some personalized-afication and I came up with “In the Kitchen with Basil” for the top right corner and then “A recipe from Kellie”. We created, communicated and I sent payment for gift on Monday, Noelle shipped on Tuesday, and Kellie received it in the mail on Thursday and absolutely loved it!

Kellie’s email to me was “ I just melted when i saw the recipe card with the little black kitty that said in the kitchen with basil. that was so witty. and it says my name on the bottom. basil was curious when i opened em so, she was sitting on the counter next to the mail. it was cute!”

So check out pinkbathtubdesigns and sign up on www.etsy.com and share with me your great gift finds or what great things you find for yourself!

Cheers!!!

Basil Egg-n-Cheese Bagel Strata

A few of my girlfriends went to Parc Restaurant Bistro & Café in Philadelphia (Rittenhouse Square) for brunch on Saturday. Parc is a Steven Starr restaurant serving traditional bistro fare in a charming Parisian ambience. We were having a post-wedding celebration that day since they were unable to make it to our wedding. What better way to start our day then with mimosas and eggs! I decided to go with the scrambled eggs, bacon, and Lyonnais potatoes. You’re probably thinking, “why would you get scrambled eggs, I’m sure there was a gajillion others items you could have chosen.” Fact is, I like plain and simple, and guess what? My eggs were perfect and full of fresh herbs! I especially loved the chives in my eggs and thought, hmm what a great idea! So since I’ve been on a hunt for a strata/quiche/frittata recipe, I decided to incorporate some of those flavors on my Sunday cooking spree. I made this egg concoction Sunday morning in  anticipation of throwing it in the oven that night when Anthony came home from work for a nice Sunday Breakfast for dinner so we could watch my new favorite show “America’s Next Great Restaurant” at 8pm.

Basil Egg-n-Cheese Bagel Strata

Ingredients

6eggs

1 ¼  cups milk

2 plain bagels (med-large sized), split, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 bag of mixed cheddar shredded cheese (or your choice)

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 tablespoon chives

1/2teaspoon salt

1/4teaspoon pepper

¼ cup turkey bacon, uncooked, diced finely

Directions

•      Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
•        In large bowl, beat eggs and milk. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle some more cheese over the top.  Cover; refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
•       Heat oven to 350°F. Uncover dish; bake 50 to 55 minutes or until golden brown and center is set.

*if using smaller bagels, you may need to use three. It’s best to use bagels when a day or two old so they get nice and crispy in the oven.

Lozza Mozza Italian Casserole

I'm full steam ahead still with my cooking a "week in a day" on Sundays...As you know, I get somewhat nervous when cooking anything italian since Anthony grew up in an Italianmakeyourowngravy household and I grew up in a Ragu casa...Hence my anxiety! At any rate, I found a few different manicotti casserole recipes online at allrecipes.com and decided to embark on my own creation using turkey meat instead of ground beef. Since I made this for the next day, I put everything together and put in the fridge-you can make this the night of though...Let the starting line up reveal itself...

• 1 pound rigatoni pasta
• 1 pound ground turkey meat
• 1 jar (16 oz) of spaghetti sauce your choice 
• (I was out of my red sauce, so I used Renaldi Tomato and Basil)
• 1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
• half cup of parmesan reggiano grated cheese
• thinly sliced pepperonis
• salt & pepper
• oregano
• half of an onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 13x9 lightly greased casserole dish

What to do next...

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and pour the rigatoni and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside
• Meanwhile, brown the onions and garlic for 3 minutes, then add the turkey meat, salt and pepper, and oregano.With a slotted spoon, remove turkey and onions to your baking dish. Stir in jar of sauce, parmesan reggiano cheese, cup of mozzarella cheese, and cooked pasta into baking dish and stir together well.
• If your making this to eat a day or so later, let casserole cool, and cover with saran wrap and put in refrigerator.
• When you're ready to make, preheat oven to 350, take out of fridge and remove saran wrap. Top with some pepperoni slices on top and sprinkle the rest of the bag of cheese on top of the casserole.
• Bake in a preheated oven until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes
• Serve with some yummy crusty garlic bread and bon appetito!

*If your making this to eat after preparation, preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20 minutes waiting for cheese to bubble. You can also add italian sausage or mushrooms if you would like. If you do add mushrooms,sausage, etc...be sure to add another jar of tomato sauce then (and a deeper casserole dish!)

Creamy Potato Bake

I don't know about you, but this Spring weather just makes me want to be outside ALL THE TIME! I'm also training for my 11K in Atlantic City in a few weeks so when I run after work in the nice weather, it kind of cuts into my dinner prep by the time I get home. Hence, I've really become inspired watching Rachael Ray's new show "Week in a Day" and have even tried myself the last two weeks to plan/grocery shop/cook ahead and I gotta say, it really helps!

I've also really been into casseroles lately-it helps make my workweek dinners quicker and easier. I used to think casseroles were always filled with comfort fat filled foods but you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you want, hehe! You can also just have a casserole dish with a side, so you just have to whip up chicken or steak, etc and cuts down your cooking time.I had some leftover yukon potatoes and a pork loin in the fridge that I wanted to use this week and then I came across this recipe came from Simple Daily Recipes (Loaded Potato Potluck favorite). Who doesnt't love mashed potatoes? Then add some crumbled bacon and ooey gooey cheese baked in the oven! Yum! So, decision was made. Peppered pork loin, salad, and loaded baked potato potluck for dinner on Thursday night. I did change up some of Simple Daily Recipe's recipe and I added some Basil Bee influence in this and used turkey bacon (to stay a little bit on the healthier side) and also added some Kraft Savory Garlic cooking creme to this recipe. I love garlic to much and we all know I am in love with the new cooking creme's from the last few of my posts!

Here's the starting line up...

• 8 medium potatoes (about 2 1/2 to 3 lb. total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 cup CARNATION Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 6 slices cooked turkey bacon, crumbled, divided
• Sliced green onions (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Kraft Savory Garlic cooking creme

Place potatoes in large saucepan.  Cover with water; bring to a boil.  Cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain.
Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Grease 3-quart casserole dish.

Return potatoes to saucepan; add evaporated milk, sour cream, cooking creme, salt and pepper.  Beat with hand held mixer or mash by hand until smooth.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese and half of bacon.  Spoon mixture into prepared casserole dish

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.  Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, remaining bacon and green onions.  Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Makes 16 servings.

A BEE'S TIP
This casserole can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated.  Cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for 40 to 45 minutes or until heated.  Uncover; top with cheese, bacon and green onions; bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.