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.

Bee in Training

Happy St. Patrick’s day my fellow bloggers! Hope your day is full of Kelly Green and Shamrocks!

I'm now going to jump ahead to April's Fool's Day...I wanted to update you on my upcoming 11k running race in Atlantic City-The April Fool’s run on Sunday, April 3^rd, 2011 at 10am. You actually have the choice of running a 7K or 11K…I know what you’re thinking, a new twist on other races distances, right? I guess that’s why they are doing it on April Fools! A couple of my girlfriends decided to sign up to 

A. get our butts in gear for upcoming summer weather and 

2. Would be something fun to train together. 

I’ve been putting hours into the gym switching up my cardio and uppin’ my mileage on the treadmill, but since the weather has been breaking and feeling more like spring, I’ve ventured outside to run finally! I ran last Saturday the 3.7 mile loop around Cooper River Park in South Jersey and kept it under 50 minutes, which is great for me and I felt fantastic. There’s something about running outside in cool weather, while jamming out to Pandora and feeling strong and that you can keep running! This Saturday I’m attempting to run the loop again and add another mile. The 11K is just about 7 miles so I feel like my training is really starting to pay off and I feel great! I’ve been getting some great night sleeps, probably because I’m so exhausted from training but I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. I’m thinking about getting the new Nike Free’s after the race to start running in, has anyone tried them? Any comments/feedback? Or should I just stick my Saucony’s?

Anyhoo, if you’re in the area and like to run, you should sign up! It’s only $27 and you get a free tech running shirt. You also get the chance to dress up and they will  be awarding prices for the craziest outfits! The link is below and let me know if you do sign up!

April Fool's Run-Atlantic City-April 3, 2011

Preppin' for Patty

Happy Wednesday! I’m in the process of assembling my St. Patrick’s day dinner menu for tomorrow night and feel as if I haven't posted in a few days- Turns out I have been using my husband’s camera for my cooking from this past weekend so I will update what I cooked the last few days and upload ASAP.

In the meantime, I thought I would post a few new blogs I have come across that are super cute and full of fun recipes/useful info to know try! What I ask of you is to comment and leave me one of your favorite blogs so I can stop on over for a few! Thanks all!

www.pansiesposies.blogspot.com

http://www.mangotomato.com/

http://garlicandseasalt.blogspot.com/

http://dinnersforayear.blogspot.com/