Sadie’s Cinnamon Toast

jacqui_monet
August 30, 2018

In the book SADIE by Courtney Summers, the title character spends the  majority of her time making a good life for herself and her sister. She takes on the responsibility of being “the parent” after her mother skips town. even though she doesn’t have much to give, she gives her sister her all. I think that cinnamon toast is one of those foods that is so incredibly simple to make as well as being super inexpensive because most people already have all of the ingredients in their pantry. Cinnamon Toast can make a great after school snack, a sweet treat after dinner or even a yummy breakfast when paired with some fruit!

You will need:

2 Tablespoons of butter (melted)

3 slices of bread

1/2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon

2 Tablespoon Sugar

Small bowl, Toaster (or toaster oven), Basting/BBQ/or Pastry Brush

Directions:

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Lightly brush butter onto one side of the slices of bread. Sprinkle with sugar mixture.

Repeat on the other side of the bread slices.

Toast coated bread slices to your desired firmness. I like for the crust to be crispy but not burned.

Alternative:

You can sub the butter for a butter based cooking spray or a cooking oil that doesn’t have a strong flavor.

Mama Molony’s Pasties

jacqui_monet
October 20, 2017

Growing up in a small town in Kentucky in the 50s boys like Stone Molony were lucky to have nearly every meal cooked at home. I love pasties and they seem like jut the kind of thing Stone’s mother would whip up for a quick lunch. Check out the completely customizable modern day recipe down below:

You will need:

Shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar but you can use any type that melts well)

Croissant dough (2 packages)

Sauce (I used BBQ for this particular set)

Cooked Meat (I use lil’ smokies that I cut into quarters but you could LITERALLY use any thing shredded or cubed)

Cookie sheet, owl, spoon, oven

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven per the instructions of your croissant dough.

Separate the croissant dough triangles.

Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and spoon onto half of the triangles.

Place the other half of the triangles on top and pinch closed.

Bake in the oven per the instructions of the croissant dough.

Literally. That’s it and it’s so, so good. You make substitutions to make it your own. You could even use biscuit dough instead of croissant dough. Go for it! Have fun! But be ware that this does  NOT reheat well.

Around-the-Table Lasagna

jacqui_monet
November 17, 2016

In The Porcupine of Truth Carson Smith’s family has never been close. His grandfather ran out on his grandmother, his dad drank himself right out of a relationship with his mother and his mother has always been, well, an ice queen. Family dinners were never really a thing that Carson got to experience growing up, but it’s something that he and his friend Aisha  find themselves desperately needing. Living most of his life in New York I thought, what would more fitting than one of the most amazing dishes you can snag in the Big Apple? With all of the Italian restaurants (and all of the Italian Nonnas in every neighborhood), lasagna is a staple! Below is a recipe so easy, even Carson could make it.

You will need:

Box of lasagna noodles (I mean, you could make it fresh but that requires a lot of work appliances that most folks don’t have.)

Water for boiling

Ricotta Cheese 1 tub

Shredded Cheese

Ground Turkey 1 lb

Spinach (washed)

Salt

Garlic Powder

Optional: olive oil

Cooking spray

Bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I like Ragu’s Chunky Sun-dried Tomato and Sweet Basil. Or, you could be fancy and make your own.)

13×9 baking pan or casserole dish, large pot, large frying pan, strainer

Oven, stove

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

In the large pot boil water and cook the lasagna noodles per the box’s instructions.

Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey in the frying pan season with garlic powder and the optional olive oil. Strain and return to the pan and mix in the spaghetti sauce. Let it simmer.

 

Let’s talk layering: this part can be a little tricky if you have over cooked you noodles. The order that I think is the best/easiest is as follows:

Noodles. Spread ricotta cheese evenly. Meat sauce. spinach. Repeat and then, if you have anything left over, add meet sauce and a couple of spoonfuls of ricotta.

 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 mins. Remove foil and sprinkle on a layer of the shredded cheese. Bake for another 10 mins.

Alternative: If you want to assemble one day and then bake on the next you will have to refrigerate it and then bake for 40 mins covered, sprinkle the shredded cheese and then bake for 10 mins uncovered.

This lasagna recipe is so easy! Pair this with a simple salad and some garlic bread and your family won’t know what hit ’em!

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Cleo’s Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake

jacqui_monet
October 16, 2016

The girls of Monster High are definitely of the “pumpkin spice latte” persuasion. Concerned with friends, fashion, boys and trying to pass their classes the ghouls are basically your average teen aged girls. That being said, grab your apron ‘cuz it’s time to get baking!

You will need:

Flour 1 ½ cup

Ground Cinnamon ½ tsp

Salt ½ Tbsp

Egg White 3

Baking Soda ½ Tbsp

Baking Powder ½ Tbsp

Ground Cloves ¼ tsp

Ground Nutmeg ¼ tsp

Sugar 1 ½ cup

Fat free Vanilla Yogurt ½ cup

Canned Pumpkin 1 cup

2 bowls, 1 oven, sifter, whisk, greased loaf pan

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Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and nutmeg into a bowl.

In a larger bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt and egg whites.

Stir in the pumpkin.

Stir the dry ingredients from earlier.

Transfer the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes.

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Once completely cooled I like to top it with a powdered sugar glaze. It’s just about equal parts of water and powdered sugar. It should be smooth and slightly runny.

Alternative:

Instead of a loaf pan, you could use mini Bundt cake pans.

You can also sub the powdered sugar glaze for store bought cream cheese frosting. YUM!

Judy’s Trifle Cake

jacqui_monet
June 19, 2016

In Daddy-Long-Legs, Judy goes to to a girl’s college and meets many new types of people, makes life-long friends, travels to places she’d never thought she’d go and experiences incredible new things. Segue! I think that a poor orphaned girl (whose name was literally chosen from a gravestone and the phone book) would love any chocolate dessert that was presented to her while away at her fancy new college. This recipe is recreation of something that my mother used to make for my siblings and I as kids. This version though is very quick and inexpensive. It’s light and airy and oddly refreshing. Judy’s Trifle Cake will leave a great impression on your dinner guests and not just the poor college students.

You will need:

Chocolate Cake ( I used a boxed cake baked in a 13 x 9in pan)

Chocolate Pudding (seriously, I’m not against the boxed stuff you guys)

 

Whipped topping (you can make it from scratch OR Cool Whip)

Vanilla extract.

Fresh Fruit (think berries)

chocolate shavings or mint

Directions:

Prepare the Pudding as the box says and chill in the fridge.

Prepare the chocolate cake but make a few substitutions. Butter for Oil and Milk for Water. Add a cap full of the vanilla extract. Place the baked cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Transfer it to a cutting board or tray (upside down) and return to the freezer for another ten. Once completely cool, slice off the top to make it level and all four sides. Next, cut into cubes.

There are a few different ways that you can plate this.

  1. If you have a trifle dish  you can layer everything together. Cake, pudding, fruit, whipped topping until the dish is filled. At the top, garnish with fruit and a sprig of mint.
  2. In a mason jar you can do the same thing treating it like a tiny trifle dish.
  3. On a dessert plate you can  make a square with four cubes, cover with pudding and you can either spoon or pipe the whipped topping. Lastly, garnish!

Well, that’s all for now. I hope you enjoy this super simple dessert!

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Isabel’s Bellini

jacqui_monet
June 1, 2016

IMG_4379Now, I do not condone underage drinking in anyway but I didn’t make the Rules, Joanna Philbin did. Lol, see what I did there? Isabel Rule? The characters’ last na-. Oh never mind.

Anyway, Isabel loves her champagne. This drink is totally yummy and perfect for summer.

 

You will need:

1 medium peach, peeled and pureed

4-6oz Champagne (cold)

Raspberry or Strawberry sauce/syrup

Pint glass

 

Alternative:

If you want to easy on the wallet sub the Champagne for Sparkling white wine. Or, for a non-alcoholic version, use sparkling apple cider.

 

Directions:

Swirl your chosen sauce/syrup around the inside of the glass.

Pour the peach puree into the glass and slowly add Champagne. Gently stir it with a tall spoon and be careful to not touch the sides.

Mike’s Doritos Casserole

jacqui_monet
May 31, 2016

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Mike lives in tiny shack-like house with a couple of his surfer bros. Joanna Philbin’s description of his place makes you feel gross. Like, if you ever actually went there, you would need to strip off your clothes in the garage and take a shower as soon as you got home. A hot boy does not equal a clean home in this book and just because he lives in the Hamptons(ish) doesn’t mean he has a ton of money.

Enter Mike’s Doritos Casserole. You probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already.

You will need:

Rice 3 cups (I use microwavable Minute Rice)

Water 3 cups

Doritos large bag (not the family sized one)

Velveeta Cheese (1/2 large block or 2 small ones)

Milk ¼ cup

Ground Beef 1 lb

Jimmy Dean hot sausage 1 tube

Bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I like Ragu’s Chunky Sun-dried Tomato and Sweet Basil)

13×9 baking pan or casserole dish, small pot, large frying pan, large mixing bowl, strainer

Oven, stove, microwave

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

In large bowl combine rice and water and microwave per the box’s instructions. Minute rice will take 10 mins.

Meanwhile, brown the ground beef and the hot sausage together in the frying pan.

While that cooks, cube the cheese and toss it in the small pot with the milk on medium high. Frequently stir this so it won’t burn. It should be very smooth.

All three things should be done at about the same time. Strain the meat and remove the cheese from the heat.

Add the meat, cheese and entire bottle of spaghetti sauce to the rice bowl. (I said it should be big haha.) Mix thoroughly.

Crunch up the entire bag of Doritos, then add it to the bowl!

Mix, mix, mix. Transfer to the casserole dish.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 mins. Remove foil and bake for another 10 mins.

Alternative:   If you want to assemble one day and then bake on the next you will have to refrigerate it and then bake for 25 mins covered and 10 mins uncovered.

 

This unexpected casserole is absolutely amazing and I double-dog dare you to take this to Thanksgiving dinner this year!