It’s the final day of my Week of Basil! I hope you were intrigued by all the weird green things I made this week, especially yesterday’s Tomato Basil Deviled Eggs. This is by far my favorite recipe this week though. These little muffins are full of sun-dried tomato pieces and fresh basil. Then I went ahead and added a bunch of cheddar to the dough. Everything is better with cheese! They’re a perfect substitute for dinner rolls or you can just do what I do and eat them by themselves as a snack.

Recipe: Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Muffins

What You Need:

•  2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
• 1 & 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup EVOO

• 1 cup sun-dried tomato pieces
• 2 eggs

What to Do:

1. Pre-heat  the oven to 350 F.

2. Chop your basil into small pieces and set aside.

3. Mix together flour, pepper, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add in eggs, olive oil, and milk until smooth. Then mix in the tomatoes, basil and 1 cup of the cheese.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 holes in a muffin tray.

6. Bake for 20 minutes.

7. When the muffins are done, switch your oven over to its broil setting. Quickly sprinkle the remaining cheese to the tops of each muffin. Broil for 30 seconds.

8. Let muffins cool before attempting to remove them from the pan.

9. Serve warm with butter.

Recipe: Basil Pesto Mashed Potatoes

What You Need:

• 1 & 1/2 lb. russet potatoes
• 3 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup milk

   

  What To Do

  1. Make the pesto. Combine the basil, nuts, cheese, and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.

• 2. Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

  3. While the water is heating, peel your potatoes. Cut them into quarters and add to the boiling water when it is ready.

  4. Cook the potatoes until they are soft, about 15 minutes.

  5. Drain the water from the pot. Put both the potatoes and the pesto in a large stand mixer. Combine until the potatoes are smooth and the pesto is well incorporated.

Confession: This not only was my first time to make relish, but it also was my first time to eat relish. I don’t like pickles and I have spent my whole life thinking relish was just finely chopped pickles. However, with this version it is just like having all the grilled veggie side dishes right on top of the main course. How can you say no?

Recipe: Corn & Pepper Relish

What You Need:

• 4 cups fresh corn kernels
• 4 cups cabbage, shredded
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

  What To Do:

  1. Heat spices, sugar, and vinegar in a large pot until the mixture begins to boil.

  2. Add in veggies and heat the veggies are soft.

  3. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the relish into mason jars. Let mixture cool completely before placing the glass jars in the fridge.

  4. Serve relish over burgers, hot dogs, and chicken!

It’s my favorite day of the month – Leftovers Club Day!

My partner this month was Carrie from Frugal Foodie Mama. I found out quickly that Carrie and I have a lot in common. For example, We both look for off-brand items that live up to their brand name counterparts at Aldi and we both strongly dislike black licorice. Carrie spent all of last month working hard to get the first ever Baking For Kate bake sale up and running, so I got to try her Homemade Cherry Almond Granola weeks ago. I can not stress how much I loved it. It might be the best thing I have ever eaten. She sent me an entire mason jar of it and I ate it all in two sittings. Too good to share? Absolutely. That’s why I hid it from my family so that I wouldn’t have to.

Over the last few weeks I have felt as if I have lost my kitchen mojo. Every time I come up with an idea and go to bring it to life, it doesn’t turn out the way I hoped. I have been going through my lengthy list of ideas and killing them one by one. That is why I haven’t posted anything in a few weeks. I love sharing things with you, but I don’t want to showcase my crappy ideas. I was determined to make this corn bread work though. The recipe means even more to me because the jalapenos came directly from my garden in the backyard. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen how ridiculously proud I am of my green thumb this year — and that I came face to face with an agreesive anole on my mammoth sunflowers last week.

Speaking of coming face to face with danger, I wanted to share this picture with you just for fun. This is my dog Chase. He lays at my feet while I use the KitchenAid mixer every day, but whenever anything is ready I have to put him outside. He’s not a big dog, but somehow he has discovered how to stretch himself out enough to consume everything up on the high countertops. It was hot today though, so I left him in while I was taking pictures. I was up on a chair with my camera, and when I went to zoom out this is what I saw.

Recipe: Bacon Jalapeno Cornbread

What You Need:

• 1 & 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 large jalapenos, chopped
• 1/2 cup bacon (about 6 slices), chopped
• 1/2 cup smoked gruyere cheese, grated

What To Do:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 F

2. Generously spray a 8×8 baking dish with canola oil and set aside.

3. Mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add in the milk, butter, and sour cream until creamy.

5. Mix in your cheese, bacon, and the jalapenos until everything is well combined. Pour the mixture evenly into the baking dish.

6. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before cutting.

Want more bacon? Check out last month’s Pancake and Bacon Cookies!

Interested in what all of my friends made this month? You can check out all of their delicious concoctions by clicking the link below!

Recipe: Easy Blender Salsa

Makes 2 cups

What You Need:

• 2 10-oz. cans Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 medium white onion, quartered
• 1/3 cup cilantro
• 3 tablespoons lime juice

  What To Do:

  1. Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth.

  2. Serve.

  How easy is that?!

Recipe: Broccoli & Ham Pasta Salad

What You Need For the Pasta:

• 1 16-oz. box farfalle pasta
• 3/4 head broccoli
• 1 cup ham, diced
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

What You Need For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup EVOO
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugarWhat To Do:

  1. Mix the salad dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until completely incorporated. Set aside.

  2. Cook pasta as directed, drain. Set aside.

  3. Steam broccoli in a small pot.

  4. Cut the stems of the cooked broccoli. Finely dice the heads of the florets. Throw away excess.

  5. In a large bowl (or tupperware if you are taking this to go), mix together pasta, ham, and broccoli pieces. Toss with lemon dressing.

  6. Top with parmesan cheese.

If you know me, you know that my last name is ridiculously Italian. My mother’s side is Irish though, so I get the best of both food worlds. One of my favorite holiday traditions is Irish as well – eating corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. When I was younger, my grandfather would invite everyone over and he would cook all day. He made the beef, cabbage, yukon gold potatoes, and this bread. When he passed away in 2005, a lot of our family traditions disappeared from our lives as well. I fought pretty hard to keep this one alive and have spent one day every March pressuring people to let me cook this for them. I hope that I can keep this going long enough so that if I am ever lucky enough to have kids, I can then pass the tradition on to them.

Recipe: Irish Soda Bread

What You Need:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup buttermilk, plus 2 tablepoons
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisinsWhat You Do:1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

  2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/2 cup butter to a mixer with the hook (dough) attachment. Mix.

  3. Gently mix in 1 cup of the buttermilk and the egg.

  4. Add in raisins. Let dough knead for 5 minutes, or until fully formed into a ball.

  5. Place dough ball on cookie sheet.

  6. Mix the remaining butter and buttermilk together in a small bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir again.

  7. Brush mixture on top of dough.

  8. Bake for 45 minutes

  9. Serve warm with butter.

I’m getting pretty serious about eating my vegetables every day. If the challenge I have been doing has taught me anything, it’s that I love mushrooms. Seriously.

The other day I made these mushrooms as a side dish with dinner. I then realized I could top my chicken burgers with them. I could also put them on top of pasta as a sauce. However, I mainly just scooped some into one of the little glass bowls I have and ate them as a snack while I watched tv. Nothing else, just these mushrooms.

A lot of people freak out over using creams, but if you go with the light sour cream when you make these, a generous helping is only 115 calories.

Worth it.

Recipe: Mushrooms with Sour Cream Sauce

Adapted from Natasha’s Kitchen

Makes 4 generous servings

What You Need:

2 packages whole baby bella mushrooms

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoons EVOO

3 tablespoons light sour cream

What To Do:

1. Slice your mushrooms. Mine were on the thicker side, but that just made them meatier!

2. Heat onions and oil in a skillet until onions start to brown.

3. Add in mushrooms and cook until they also brown.

4. With heat still on, mix in the sour cream until fully incorporated.

I am also trying to cook my way through the Food Network Cookbook “Great Easy Meals: 250 Fun & Fast Recipes”,  which is where the recipe I modified to make these Brussels sprouts came from. Below is my version of the tasty side dish.

Recipe: Honey Brussels Sprouts Hash

What You Need:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup Brussels sprouts
• 1 cup yellow onion, choppedWhat You Do:

  1. Melt butter in skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the honey. Add onions to the butter and cook until golden.

  2. While onions cook, thinly chop brussels sprouts. Add to skillet and cook until sprouts are crisp, about 10 minutes.

  3. Turn heat off and toss with pepper and remaining honey.

  

I love Fridays because that is when my favorite blogger Emily from One Lovely Life does her weekly post. Her blog is my far my favorite because it is not solely recipes. She also does cool projects like the 101 Things in 1001 Days list and she posts pictures of her beautiful family.

I finally tried one of her recipes and it was delicious. I’m very excited to share it with you. Make sure you test out how delicious it is too, and then go congratulate her and her husband on their gorgeous new son, Milo.

Recipe: Parmesan Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

(Serves 5)

What You Need:

• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 5 medium golden potatoes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 4 tablespoons butterWhat To Do:1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil.

  2. Peel and cut potatoes into pieces. Add them and the broccoli to the boiling water and cook about 20 minutes.

  3. Drain veggies and pour into electric mixer.

  4. Add butter, cheese, and milk. Blend until smooth, about three minutes.