Pass the dessert please!

I have been on quite the hiatus since I gave birth to my daughter two months ago. It has been a whirlwind and I'm finally starting to feel more settled. Halen is my gorgeous daughter and I love her more with every breath she takes.

My dad and his girlfriend were coming over for dinner so I wanted to make a special dessert. As always, I looked around my pantry to see what I had. I had Nutella and almonds. I decided to make mini cheesecakes. I grabbed cream cheese and almond crisp cookies from the grocery store and got to work.

Nutella Cheesecake

3/4 package of cream cheese

2/3 c Nutella
1 tsp vanilla
12 crisp cookies
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 chopped almonds

The best thing about this cheesecake is it does not require baking, which makes it super easy to put together and set aside until your guests arrive. In a hand mixer or standing mixer, blend the cream cheese and Nutella together. Add in the vanilla when well blended, set aside.

You can use any kind of cookies you want, I decided to use thin, crisp almond cookies. I took about 12 and crunched them up until they were in tiny pieces. Then I mixed them with melted butter. To give this dessert some extra special flair I decided to use my grandmother's old tea cups. I pressed the cookie mixture into the bottom and then spooned the Nutella mixture on top. Then I put them into the fridge; you want them to chill for at least two hours before serving.

Once our dinner was finished I retrieved the cheesecakes, topped them with whipped cream (usually I make mine homemade...but alas being a mom you learn to cut corners sometimes) then topped each individual cheesecake with some chopped almonds.

They were creamy, just the right amount of chocolate with a delicious buttery crunch from the cookie crust and nuttiness from the almonds. A perfect summer dessert!

Mango-Roasted Almond-Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup of almonds
1 cup of oatmeal
1/2 cup of softened butter
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped, dried mango

Instead of the typical oatmeal-raisin cookie, I wanted to step it up a notch. I ended up having dried mango and almonds, so I decided to use those.

Pre-heat oven to 350 and lay the almonds on a baking sheet. Roast for about 5-10 minutes.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside. Mix butter, olive oil and brown sugar in a mixer. Add in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add in dry ingredients. Once fully mixed, add in oats. Lastly, add in almonds and dried mango.

Use cookie scoop to lay on baking sheet. Bake for about 9 minutes and let cool. This cookie is a great vehicle to add in any types of nuts you may have in your pantry or dried fruit. Makes for a more exciting, delicious cookie!

Hope you enjoy! xo Lo

Ladies Night

Now that I have moved to another state, any time I am home, I love having a ladies night. Ladies nights are not to be stressful or overthought. They should be simple, thoughtful, delicious and fun.

This particular night I decided to do a few savory and a few sweet items. I didn't want to spend all day cooking so I made sure to include at least one dish that only needed to be assembled.


Carmelized Onion-Tomato Tarts
2 sheets of puff pastry
1 package of cherry tomatoes
1 red onion
block of feta cheese
2 green onions
olive oil
butter
salt
pepper

First thing you need to do is caramelize your onions, slice them thin and add them into a heated skillet with a mixture of olive oil and butter. While your onions are cooking, cut out little biscuit or flower-like rounds with a cookie cutter and place them on a baking sheet. Then slice your cherry tomatoes in half, crumble your feta and slice your green onions in really small bits.

Once the onions are carmelized you are ready to start compiling your tarts. Add onions first then top with tomatoes, bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the tarts come out add your feta, green onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. These are ready to serve!

Salami, Cheese & Cucumber
package of sliced salami
different types of cheese
1 cucumber
crackers

This was my dish to assemble, thinly slice the different types of cheese (whichever your favorites are) I chose cheddar, colby jack, jalapeno jack and swiss. Peel your cucumber half way where you have an even amount of dark lines from the skin and light green lines from the inner cucumber meat. Slice the cucumber and then place a cucumber, slice of cheese, slice of salami in long lines on your platter. Place assorted crackers on one end for guests to serve themselves.

Almond-Orange Mini Cakes
1 cup of ground almonds
1/4 cup flour
1 large orange
3 eggs
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup marmalade

Put your orange in a huge bowl covered in water in the microwave for 25 minutes (or heat over the stove in a saucepan for an hour). While the orange is "heating up" grind your almonds, set aside. Beat your eggs with the sugar until pale and thick. Fold in the flour, baking powder, almonds and finally the orange- when the orange is done, let cool and cut into quarters, remove seeds then add to food processor. Puree and pour into mini cupcake pan (make sure the cupcake pan is greased). Bake for 30 minutes and check by dipping a toothpick inside, let bake for a few more minutes if the toothpick comes out unclean.

While the cakes are baking, melt the marmalade, once cakes are baked let cool and brush marmalade on top to serve.

Peanut Butter Cookies with a Glazed Walnut 
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
walnuts (one for each cookie)
agave nectar/brown sugar

Cream sugars and butter together, beat in egg. Mix peanut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in salt, baking soda and flour until well combined. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on baking sheet. Next pour a dollop of agave nectar into a skillet with about a few tablespoons of brown sugar, heat up until melted and add in walnuts. Once walnuts are glazed place one on each cookie, then bake for 8 minutes at 350. Let cool then serve.





 Girls night should be full of laughter, memories and delicious food. If you create a spread like this your girls will definitely want to come back for more! For drinks serve a red and white wine to compliment the food.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Lazy Day Leftovers

Ever look in your fridge and have tons of leftovers but don't know what to do with them? I have a perfect solution! All you need to do is think outside the box just a bit and you can materialize a grandiose meal. On this particularly lazy day, I had a lot of leftover brisket and ribs from a family get together where we smoked the meat all day long. Instead of serving the brisket and ribs up as is I decided to transform them.

Smoked Brisket Ragout
1 lb brisket/ribs (any meat)
3/4 yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
2 cans of diced tomatos (with juice)
1/3 cup red wine
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
3 leaves of fresh sage
olive oil
salt
pepper

Start by chopping up your onion and garlic. Add onion to medium-hot pan with olive oil, after about five minutes add garlic. Cook until golden and translucent, stirring sporadically.

Meanwhile roughly chop up your brisket meat and rib meat (off the bone) place that into a bowl. Start on polenta. Once polenta is in the oven, add red wine to the onion mixture, let cook off for about a minute. Then add the meat, tomatoes, mushrooms, sage, salt and pepper. Let simmer while the flavors merry for about 30 minutes.

Savory Polenta
1/2 quart of chicken stock
1/4 yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup of cornmeal
1/2 cup grated parmesan
olive oil
salt
pepper

Heat olive oil in medium saucepan, add chopped onion, after a few minutes add garlic. Let saute and turn golden. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, add cornmeal. Add lid and place in 325 degree oven, stirring occasionally for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and add 1/4 cup of grated parmesan.

Plate the polenta on the bottom of two bowls and top with the smoked brisket ragout, add a bit of parmesan on the very top and indulge! This recipe is easy, nutritious and delicious!

Enjoy! xo Lo