Posts tagged ‘basil’

March 11th, 2013

Pepperoni Pizza Dip {with fresh basil}

by Chrissy

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As you may know, I have a big family consisting of 6 siblings and one awesome mom.

After church on Sunday, it was our weekly ritual to hit up Costco to stock up for the week (yes, the week; groceries never lasted long in our house). Naturally, we would fill up on samples, while my mom did all the shopping.

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Once we had exhausted our welcome at the various sampling tables, as we were given the stink-eye from the old lady samplers, we decided to move on to bigger and better things. Pizza.

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Often times we would grab a take-and-bake pepperoni pizza for dinner later on. The only problem is that you basically need a Costco-sized oven to bake the massive thing. My mom would have to chop it up in sections and bake it on a pizza stone and an additional baking sheet or two.

Absolutely ridiculous how big those pizzas are.

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Served hot, this dip tastes just like freshly baked pepperoni pizza. It has to be my new guilty pleasure and favorite dip.

Easy to make, and confirmed deliciousness by a multitude of friends, this dip is the real deal.

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You don’t need the excuse of Super Bowl or hosting a party, to make a dip like this. Just throw it together and bring it over to a friend’s house to share with the masses, as it can feed a small army. It’ll bring the world so much joy.

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It also keeps well for the next day. Just pop it back in the oven and get back at it.
…although no judgments if you end up licking the dish clean on the first round. It happens to the best of us.

 

Pepperoni Pizza Dip {with Fresh Basil}

Print Recipe!

Serves 10-12+, as an appetizer

Ingredients:

12 oz. cream cheese (1 ½ packages), softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup basil, chopped, plus more to garnish

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste

¼ cup green onion, chopped

2 cups mozzarella

¾ cup pizza/marinara sauce

1/3 cup parmesan

20 pepperoni slices, halved

Directions:

In a mixer, combine cream cheese, sour cream, basil, red pepper flakes, green onion, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Transfer the cheese mixture to a 9-inch pie dish or other similar casserole dish and layer the mixture, evenly. Add pizza sauce in an even layer. Sprinkle remaining cup of mozzarella and parmesan cheese to cover the top. Arrange halved pepperoni slices on top, in an even layer.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until the cheese has melted, the top is bubbly and the pepperoni is crispy. Serve hot with sliced bread, breadsticks, pita or tortilla chips.

From the Little Yellow Kitchen,

Chrissy

September 27th, 2012

Lemon Basil Drop Biscuits

by Lauren

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I’ve mentioned this before but here it goes again, I don’t fancy myself a baker.

I really, really, don’t fancy myself a baker when I’m attempting to make Lemon Basil Drop Biscuits in Chris’s itty bitty kitchen with an even itty bittier oven.

The guy practically requires customized cookie sheets or at least a mini pizza pan in order to bake.

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This is my excuse for simplifying biscuits by using Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Pancake and All-Purpose Baking Mix.

I don’t regret it. These turned out perfectly.

Even after Chris knocked the tray out of my hand landing it upside down, frantically scraping them off of the floor, then plopping them back onto the tray.

It was our lucky day, he had just swept the floor…or so he says.

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We of course ate them anyway and I then forgot to mention the “these hit the floor” detail to Chrissy before she dove in (sorry Chrissy…it was Chris!).

God made dirt and dirt don’t hurt. Right?

Some would say we made biscuits to go with the ribs but I say we made ribs to go with the biscuits. They were the star of the show.

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Our basil plant is going through an uncanny growth spurt again and I just couldn’t help chopping off branches (yes, it has what qualify as branches), plucking the leaves, and throwing them into the mix.

Lemon seemed like an obvious pairing at that point.

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P.S. This recipe was also my attempt at Fall baking despite the 85 degree weather we are still enduring in seasonless SoCal!

Lemon Basil Drop Biscuits

Makes 12

Directions

3 3/4 cups Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Pancake and All-Purpose Baking Mix

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon, melted (for brushing the tops)

1 cup milk

1/3 cup basil, chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together the baking mix, 4 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, and milk until thoroughly combined. Fold in basil and lemon zest. Drop 12 mounds of dough (about a 1/3 cup each) of the batter onto a greased baking sheet and evenly distribute.

Bake 12-14 minutes.

Little Yellow Note: You can also use a basic biscuit recipe and fold in basil, lemon zest and juice if you don’t have the Trader Joe’s mix.

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From the Little Yellow Kitchen,

Lauren

September 13th, 2012

Mini Caprese Frittatas

by Chrissy

As we’ve discussed, everything is better in mini form.

Except portions of gourmet mac n cheese. Always take the big dish of that stuff. It’s not everyday that you will come across a heaping portion of creamy, cheesy, black truffle-y, mac n cheese. We discovered the best black truffle mac n cheese tonight while tasting a preview SD Restaurant Week menu at Mister A’s and it was literally a piece of heaven.

So back to the little things. We’ve already shared this simple and delicious Caprese Frittata with you, but here’s a slightly different version with a few things added and, as you can see, transformed into individual servings.

They are the perfect thing to serve at a brunch or a shower, especially since this recipe is easily doubled, as long as you have another 12-cup muffin pan…which should be a kitchen staple, as one is never enough. Ever.

These are simple to make and fun to eat. Here’s the how to:

Preheat oven to 350 and generously coat muffin pan with cooking spray.

Add oil to skillet and cook garlic for 30 seconds before adding the pint of grape tomatoes (holding 6 back for later).

Let them cook down for 6-8 minutes, until all of them have burst and started to deflate. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the basil in the last 30 seconds mix into the tomatoes. Turn the heat off and set aside.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together until completely combined.

To fill: equally divide the tomato-basil mixture in the bottom of each muffin pan well.

Add a pinch of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the tomatoes.

Then carefully pour the egg mixture over each well, filling almost to the top (leaving about an 1/8 inch from the top). Give the pan a slight shake/tap to allow the egg mixture to settle to the bottom, topping them off, if necesary.

Place in the oven and let cook for about 12 minutes, then remove from oven and top each frittata with a half of tomato and a half of a fresh mozzarella ball. Place back in the oven for 5-6 minutes, until done. The center will be slightly puffed up, and there won’t be any uncooked egg liquid in the middle.

With a small knife, trace around the perimeter of each well to help loosen the sides so that the frittata is easily remove-able. Serve warm or at room temperature, by itself or with salsa and/or hot sauce of your choice!

 

Mini Caprese Frittatas

Print Recipe

Makes 1 dozen mini frittatas (You can easily double the recipe for a big crowd!)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

I pint grape tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste

1/2 tsp pepper

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (not packed in olive oil)

½ cup basil, chiffonade

10 eggs

2 ½ Tbsp milk, (salt and pepper)

½ cup shredded mozzarella

 

For garnish:

6 fresh mozzarella balls, halved

6 grape tomatoes, halved

basil, chiffonade

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and generously coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray; set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding the whole pint of grape tomatoes (reserving 6 for later). Cook tomatoes on medium-high heat until each of them have “popped”, stirring occasionally. After about 6-8 minutes they will look deflated, at this time add the sun-dried tomatoes, ¼ tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper and let cook for another 1-2 minutes. In the last 30 seconds of cooking, add the basil and stir. Turn the heat off and set aside.

For the eggs, crack 10 eggs into a bowl and whisk together with milk, ¼ tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.

To prepare the mini frittatas in the muffin-pan, start by equally dividing the tomato-basil mixture to the bottom of each cup. Add a pinch of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the tomatoes. Then carefully pour the egg mixture over each well, filling almost to the top (leaving about an 1/8 inch from the top). Give the pan a slight shake/tap to allow the egg mixture to settle to the bottom, topping them off, if necessary.

Place in the oven and let cook for about 12 minutes, then remove from oven and top each frittata with a half of tomato and a half of a fresh mozzarella ball. Place back in the oven for 5-6 minutes, until done. The center will be slightly puffed up, and there won’t be any uncooked egg liquid in the middle.

With a small knife, trace around the perimeter of each well to help loosen the sides so that the frittata is easily removeable. Serve warm or at room temperature, by itself or with salsa and/or hot sauce of your choice!

 

From the Little Yellow Kitchen,

Chrissy

 

 

 

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