homemadetoast - Homemade Toast

Crock Pot Turkey Bacon Avocado Sliders

June 10, 2014 by homemadetoast 5 Comments

About once a week, I put either some chicken or a turkey breast in the crock pot to use for various meals throughout the week. I usually use this method that I posted a few years ago – it’s SO easy, SO good and SO convenient to have on hand. After the meat has cooked, I will usually shred it up and just keep it in a ziploc in the fridge.

This week, I used my shredded turkey breast to make these crock pot turkey bacon avocado sliders for dinner – shredded turkey breast, turkey bacon, mashed avocado, lettuce & cranberry sauce on a dinner roll. Simple & easy – and totally hit the spot!

I love cooking meat in the crock pot because not only is it so easy to cook (and doesn’t heat up your entire house while doing so either!), but it really does make the most tender meat ever! The only problem is that it just doesn’t look super appetizing right out of the crock pot. If you are finely shredding it, or adding it to a sauce – this isn’t really a big deal, but for things like sandwiches (or sliders!) that nice dark crust on the meat just tastes and looks soooo much better.

See the turkey breast on the left? That’s straight out of the crock-pot after cooking on low for about 5 hours. Not so appealing.

So, ready for the secret to a perfectly browned, perfectly moist turkey breast? Cook it in the crock pot, then broil in the oven for about 15 minutes (I broiled mine at 500-degrees). That’s it! The meat will be so tender from the crock pot that you don’t need to worry about it over-drying in the oven. You’ll have it in there for just a few minutes to crisp up the skin. I just broil mine on one side, but if you want, you could flip it over and broil on the bottom as well!

Crock Pot Turkey Bacon Avocado Sliders

Ingredients:
1 turkey breast
1 packet of dry Italian salad dressing MIX (this is what I use, they should have it at any grocery store)
– or sub for 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder & 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning + s&p to taste
2 tablespoons butter

dinner rolls – I love these with sweet Hawaiian rolls
butter – for toasting rolls, optional
turkey bacon, cooked (I slice mine into 1/4 inch strips and cook on the stove-top – I don’t like having big pieces of bacon on my sandwich that I have to bite through)
cranberry sauce
lettuce (I use a baby spring mix)
avocado – lightly mashed and seasoned with salt

Directions:
1. Cook turkey breast in crock pot by sprinkling with dry Italian salad dressing mix (or suggested substitute) and topping with a few pats of butter. Cook on low for about 6 hours, or high for 4.
2. When the turkey breast has cooked through (and your house smells amazing), remove from crock pot and place in shallow pan. Broil at 500-degrees (or your oven’s highest setting) for 10-15 minutes, or until the turkey breast is golden brown.
3. Cover the browned turkey breast with foil, and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before shredding.
4. Cut dinner rolls in half and gently toast in a saute pan over medium heat with a small amount of butter.
5. Fill each toasted roll with cranberry sauce, lettuce, shredded turkey, turkey bacon and mashed avocado.

Lemon Basil and Raspberry Napoleon (with basil-infused lemon curd)

June 7, 2014 by homemadetoast 2 Comments

Welp, it’s time to wrap up this week’s lemon-basil shenanigans with a little cheater’s napoleon. That’s right, we’re using store-bought puff pastry and Cool Whip, people. Normally against my rules, but this little combo sounded so good – so I’m pulling the ~~lazy~~ pregger card once again.

Fun Fact: Did you know that neither the store-bought puff pastry or Cool Whip (at least the lite kind) have any real dairy in them? But we’ll be loving it in this recipe because we’ll have less dishes to do and more chemicals-laced calories to eat sooner. We’re using an herb-infused lemon curd after all, so it all balances out. I’m over it!

So, first – we will be a little bit fancy and make our own lemon curd. You can buy this at the store, but it’s super easy to make. Plus, we’re adding in a little basil that turns a traditional lemon curd into something so outstanding.

Basil-Infused Lemon Curd

Ingredients:
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 lemon, finely zested
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 Tablespoons butter

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, mix together basil, sugar, eggs and lemon juice.

2. Slowly bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the curd becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Immediately remove from heat.

3. Run the curd though a mesh sieve into a large bowl to remove the basil and any egg that may have curdled.

4. Add in butter and lemon zest to strained mixture

5. Stir until smooth, cover, and let chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.

Lemon Basil and Raspberry Napoleon

makes 6

Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry
1+ cup lemon curd (start with one cup and add more for a stronger flavor)
12 ounces Cool Whip
Raspberries (about 1 pint)

Directions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry according to the package directions then cut into 9 pieces. (Cut along folded crease, then cut each section into thirds again). Place on lightly greased cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper. Use a fork to pierce the middle of each section, to prevent it from over-pillowing in the middle.

2. Bake according to package directions until golden brown (I baked mine at 400-degrees for about 15 minutes).

3. Gently fold Cool Whip into lemon curd.

4. Once the Cool Whip has been completely incorporated, transfer into a gallon-size plastic bag.

5. Gently flake each puff pastry pillow apart in the middle – so each becomes two squares (a top and a bottom).

6. Assemble each napoleon by first layering a half-sheet of the puff pastry, then layering raspberries and the lemon-curd “mousse”. Cut the tip off of the baggie to pipe onto the pastry.

I alternated the mousse and raspberries on the outside edge, then filled in the middle with more mousse. Layer so that there are three sheets of pastry, and two filling layers.

7. Top each napoleon off with a little dusting of powdered sugar and garnish with a few basil leaves and candied lemon curls.

Lemon Basil Fruit Pizza

June 6, 2014 by homemadetoast 3 Comments

If you haven’t stopped by this week on Toast, we’re all things lemon and basil, sweetened up. Check out how to make both candied lemon curls and candied basil leaves, as well as a twist on one of my all-time favorites, lemon-basil panna cotta.

A few weeks ago, Aimee from Like Mother Like Daughter posted a recipe for fruit pizza. The pregger in me immediately craved it and so I set out to make my own version of this traditional treat.

This fruit pizza has a soft lemon sugar cookie crust, out-of-this-world lemon-basil cream cheese frosting, and is topped with fresh fruit and a candied basil leaf. The combo of flavors and textures is perfect – if you are a fruit pizza lover, this recipe is for you!

Lemon Sugar Cookie Crust

(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
– 2 1/2 cups flour
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
– pinch of salt
– 1 cup butter, softened
– 1 1/2 cups sugar
– 1 egg
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 1 lemon, finely zested
– 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325-degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add in egg and beat well, until the mixture turns a light color. Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice, then gradually add in the dry ingredients, being sure not to over-stir.
3. Line a cookie sheet (18×12″) with parchment paper, or lightly grease. Pat the dough into the entire sheet to a uniform thickness. (I use my Grandma’s old trick of using the butter wrapper to press down the dough.)

4. Bake 15-20 minutes or until the edges of the cookie are golden brown.

Lemon Basil Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lemon, finely zested
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup loosely-packed fresh basil leaves

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter.
2. Rinse and dry basil, then place in mortar.

3. Use the mortar and pestle to squish down the basil into a paste. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, mince the basil as finely as possible)

4. Transfer a small amount of the cream cheese and butter mixture into the mortar to help pick up all of the pieces of basil inside. Stir to combine, then transfer the entire mixture back into the large bowl with the rest of the cream cheese and butter.

5. Stir to combine, then add in vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Gradually mix in powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.

Lemon Basil Fruit Pizza

1. Spread out lemon basil cream cheese frosting on the completely cooled lemon sugar cookie crust. Let chill in fridge for about an hour to set frosting.

2. Top the entire cookie with fresh fruit, or cut into squares and top individually. Don’t forget to garnish with a candied lemon curl or candied basil leaf!

Candied Basil Leaves

June 5, 2014 by homemadetoast 1 Comment

This week on Homemade Toast, it’s all about lemon & basil – the perfect summer duo. Since I posted on how to make candied lemon curls, it seems only right that we give our lemon’s counterpart the same respect: a little sugar.

These candied basil leaves are so easy to make, and SO addicting – they make the perfect garnish in lets say, lemon-basil fruit pizza (coming tomorrow!).

Candied Basil Leaves

Ingredients:

Simple syrup (leftover from your candied lemon curls, or 1/4 cup sugar + 1/4 cup water)
20-25 basil leaves
1/2 cup sugar (granulated, or super fine)

Directions:

1. Make your simple syrup by bringing 1/4 cup of water + 1/4 cup of sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. After it has come to a boil, set aside to cool completely to room temperature. (Or, use your leftover syrup from your candied lemon curls.)

2. Carefully dip each basil leaf in the cooled syrup and lay out on a cooling rack so that excess syrup can drip off.

3. Place each basil leaf in a shallow bowl of sugar. (I used granulated and pulsed it in my blender for a few minutes to make it “fine” – totally optional)

4. Carefully coat each leaf with the sugar, gently rubbing it in.

5. Lay out on parchment or wax paper to dry, about 6-8 hours. The syrup + sugar combo will harden and the leaf will become “crunchy” when it’s ready.

Use as a garnish right away – as a whole leaf, or chopped! These don’t keep super well, you will probably want to use them the same day – depending on how fresh your leaves are they may keep up to 24 hours uncovered in the fridge.

Lemon Basil Panna Cotta

June 4, 2014 by homemadetoast 1 Comment

Panna cotta is one of my all-time favorite desserts, ever. Add in a little fresh lemon and basil, and I’m in heaven. Or, at least forgetting that I’m 8-months pregnant for a few minutes, which is practically equivalent.

Top it off with a little fresh basil and candied lemon curl, and you’ll have a fancy little dessert that is almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

Lemon Basil Panna Cotta

Ingredients (makes 4-6 servings):

1 pint whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons (about one packet) of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
12-15 large basil leaves
1 lemon, finely zested
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Pour 1/4 cup milk into a small saucepan and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin. Allow gelatin to sit to absorb, at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, use a mortar and pestle to mash basil leaves into a paste. If you do not have a mortar and pestle, mince the basil and finely as possible.
Add 1 cup of cream and 1/4 cup of sugar to the milk and gelatin, and stir to combine. Heat over medium-low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved, about 7-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Try to not let the mixture come to a boil, if it does – remove from heat immediately.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and the basil paste (or mined basil). Use a fork to remove any large chunks of basil from the mixture, if any. (You could strain it if you wanted it smooth – but I like the texture the leaves add). Then, zest 1/2 lemon into the mixture, and stir to combine.
Pour the basil layer equally among 4-6 ramekins or glasses, and let chill for at least 3 hours in the fridge. (Do not cover with plastic wrap until after at least an hour, to prevent condensation from building up inside the glass.)

I stuck a ball of playdough into my large muffin tins to hold my glasses at an angle in order to create the first slanted layer.

After the first layer has chilled and is slightly firm, make the second layer exactly as before, omitting the basil. Pour over the first layer and return to fridge for at least 8 hours. (I poured my second layer with the glasses upright, then stuck directly in the fridge.) Serve cold.

Candied Lemon Curls

June 3, 2014 by homemadetoast 3 Comments

This week on Toast, its all about one of my favorite summer flavor combos… lemon & basil. Typically, basil is used as an herb in savory dishes (like my Lemon Basil Pasta) – but I’m here to testify that it is just as good (if not better!) when sweetened up (Basil Lemonade is one of my summer FAVES)! I’m so excited to share a couple of my favorite lemon & basil desserts with you this week!

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We need to talk garnish first.

When I made my lemon-basil panna cotta last week I knew I needed some cute little candied lemon curls to seal the deal. I searched for tutorials on how to make them, and while there are plenty on how to candy the actual lemon peels, I couldn’t find any on how to make these perfect little curls! So, internet, Homemade Toast is here to make up for your lack of lemon curl tutorials. You’re welcome, internet.

Candied Lemon Curls

For about 10 of these cute little curls, you’ll need:

1 lemon
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3-4 plastic drinking straws, cut into 2-3 inch pieces

First, cut the ends off of your lemon.

Then, carefully cut down ONE side of the lemon. Use a fillet knife, if you have one.

Continue the same cut through the FRUIT of the lemon, stopping at the peel. Do NOT cut through the peel.

Carefully open up your lemon, and make more cuts through the fruit so that it will lay flat(ish).

…

Tex-Mex Garlic-Lime Chicken & Rice Bowls

May 31, 2014 by homemadetoast 2 Comments

Your whole fam will love these Tex-Mex garlic-lime chicken & rice bowls – and you will love them because you can make them almost entirely out of your rice maker! These rice bowls are stuffed with Mexican rice, black beans, corn & garlic-lime chicken and topped with cheddar cheese and your favorite fresh veggies.

So first, you’ll need your chicken. I love to use my garlic-lime chicken in these rice bowls – it is one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken, ever. It has the perfect balance of sweet & savory with a slightly spicy dry rub and a garlic-lime reduction that gives it just a hint of sweet and sour. Yum! If you aren’t up for making the chicken, you could also just throw in yesterday’s grilled chicken leftovers, some shredded rotisserie, or even just omit the chicken and go veggie!

Also, before you start making these – know that this will make a TON of food, easily feeding 8+ adults. Half the recipe if you have a smaller fam, or freeze the leftovers for later!

Garlic-Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4 chicken breasts, lightly pounded to uniform thickness
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
4 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Mix together all seasonings, and lightly and uniformly sprinkle on both sides of four chicken breasts.
Grill chicken breasts until just barely cooked through, remove from heat.
Meanwhile, preheat a large saute pan over medium heat.
Pour the lime juice and minced garlic into the hot pan and bring to a simmer.
Place the cooked chicken breasts into the simmering garlic & lime. Reduce the lime juice around the chicken by continuing to simmer, flipping the chicken after about 2-3 minutes, and continuing to cook on the other side for an additional 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow chicken to cool slightly before cubing. (Or, make in advance and refrigerate.)

Next, you’ll make your rice. I just throw everything in my rice maker and press the button – but you could also prepare this on the stovetop, just as you would normal rice.

Easy Mexican Rice

Ingredients:

4 “rice cups” (about 3 cups) white rice
water (enough to fill to line 4, or about 6 cups on stovetop)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup chunky salsa
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sour cream

…

Custard Tartufo

May 23, 2014 by homemadetoast 1 Comment

There is this little Italian restaurant in Provo called Gloria’s Little Italy with the best desserts. One of our favorites is their chocolate “tartufo” – basically a giant ball of cake filled with their Italian creme, and served hot. I am pretty sure they make it from their cake trimmings and fill it with the extra Italian creme that they also use in their cakes (which are delicious!).

I am really not very familiar with authentic Italian food – so after a little Google research at an attempt to recreate it – I found out that the dessert that they serve at Little Italy is a little different than the traditional tartufo. Typically, a tartufo is a fancy way to serve gelato – usually a scoop of the Italian ice cream with some type of coating on the outside. Many of the recipes I found online suggested rolling the gelato in cookie crumbs after placing a cherry in the middle of the scoop.

So although this version has a different taste than Little Italy’s (using custard in the middle instead of Italian creme), it is inspired by the same dessert. I decided to use one of my favorite custard recipes for the center, and my go-to dark chocolate cake recipe for the coating. And, of course, I topped with an almond ganache. It’s the perfect combo for a rich, decadent dessert! Bon appétit!

This dessert is made up of three parts – the custard center, chocolate cake coating, and ganache glaze. First, you will need to make your custard.

Custard

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
3/4 cups sugar
2 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
zest from 1/2 lemon (about 1 packed teaspoon)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
pinch of nutmeg
6 Tablespoons butter

Directions:

Pour 3 cups of milk into a large heavy pot and gently bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally.
While the milk is warming – cream together egg yolks, sugar and salt. Blend until the mixture turns a lighter color. Add in flour, and mix well. Then, add in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and mix until all of the lumps are gone.
When the milk begins to boil, immediately reduce the heat to low. Very slowly, wisk in the egg mixture. Turn the heat back up to medium-high, and bring back to a boil. Simmer the cream for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, and stir in lemon zest, vanilla and nutmeg.
Let the cream cool for about 10 minutes, then add in butter. Let it melt from the heat of the cream, then stir to combine.
Let cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Stir it well, then move to freezer for at least 8 hours, or until firm.

Once your custard is completely frozen, use an ice cream scoop to form 2-inch scoops. Return the scoops of frozen custard to freezer while you prepare your cake.

Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups boiling water
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

…

DIY Wall-of-Water

May 22, 2014 by homemadetoast 3 Comments

When my water blob post went viral last month, I received dozens of requests for a tutorial on how to make the walls-of-water that I mentioned in the post. If you haven’t used walls-of-water before, they are basically just a little greenhouse that provides insulation for your plants (I use mine on my tomatoes) when temperatures are colder than the plants would otherwise be able to survive or thrive in. The sun during the day heats the water around the plant, keeping it from freezing overnight. Once temperatures increase a little and your plant begins to outgrow the wall-of-water, it is usually removed.

Last year I used both homemade and store-bought walls-of-water in my garden. They worked equally well – they really are basically identical in size and quality. The only difference is in the color of the plastic.

So, here’s my little disclaimer – you can buy walls-of-water for less than $6 each when you get them in a 3-pack. Or, you can make your own for about $3. Once you get the process down, they take 15-20 minutes to make. Is it worth the $3 savings? I’m not really sure. If you are the DIY type, you may just enjoy the fact that you made your own – but as far as saving time and money, it might be worth it to just go with the store-bought version.

If I haven’t scared you away from making your own yet… here’s how you do it!

You will need:

1-yard of 54″ 12-gauge vinyl (do NOT use thicker!)
about 3.5 feet of parchment paper
iron/ironing board
ruler & pen

First, fold your parchment paper in half, hamburger style.

Draw a line down the length of the center, then two more lines on either side 3″ apart. Then, mark another line about 16″ from the fold. These lines will be your template on where you will fuse your plastic together.

Next, take your vinyl and lay it out flat.

Then, carefully fold in half along the length (so that it is 18″ wide, 54″ long). I secured mine with a bit of tape, but that is totally optional, it will cling to itself pretty well.

Then, you are going to lay out your plastic (shown in grey) and align your parchment with the end. The plastic should be sandwiched in between the parchment – so that it will not melt onto your iron or ironing board when you heat it. The folds of both the vinyl and parchment will align at the bottom, and the end of the plastic should overlap your last line by about an inch.

Next, you are going to seal the end of the vinyl by ironing along the one-inch overlap. It’s a little bit hard to see in this pic, but the dotted line indicates how far the vinyl is overlapping the line. With your iron on its hottest setting, carefully and slowly run your iron along the side of the line, applying firm pressure to seal.

The vinyl will turn from shiny to matte when it has melted and sealed completely. Be careful not to heat TOO much, or your plastic may thin or rip. You can always remelt if you need to later!

Once the end is sealed, you will run the EDGE of your iron along the other lines, beginning at the fold and ending at the 16″ mark (so that the top 2″ are not sealed). Make sure to apply a little bit of pressure as you go. At first, this may take a little bit of trial-and-error to get right – just remember that you can always go back and reseal, but that if it melts too much… a duct-tape band aid is really your only fix.

After you have sealed all of the lines on the parchment, move the parchment down the vinyl sealing lines every 3″ until you come to the end – where you will seal the last entire inch again.

Then, fold the vinyl in half and close your wall of water with a piece of duct tape at the 1″ sealed ends. You COULD melt the ends together – but I actually prefer the duct tape because I can leave it on the plant a little bit longer. Instead of trying to get the wall-of-water off of your plant when it begins to outgrow it – you can just take the tape off, or even cut the tape at the seam so that you don’t risk damaging your plant by pulling it off over the top.

And that’s it! Fill each compartment of your wall of water about 1/2 way before filling the entire thing. For smaller plants, you can fill it about 3/4 of the way and “tee-pee” it inward, providing more insulation. As it gets bigger and the temperatures increase, you can fill it all the way and it will stand up straight.

If for some reason when you fill your wall-of-water a seam pops open, it just means that it was not melted or sealed completely. Empty the water and seal it again (it’s ok if its still wet inside).

When you are ready to take your wall-of-water off of your plant, give it a little rinse and make sure it is completely dry before storing it for next season – it will last you years and years!

2014 Bachelorette Andi Line-Up/Bracket

May 21, 2014 by homemadetoast 2 Comments

If you are a fraction as obsessed with The Bachelorette as I am, then this post is for you! I have created a drag-and-drop bracket for you to fill out – compete with your friends or send it over to me here on Toast for a friendly little competition!

Click HERE to fill out your Bachelorette Line-Up!

(must view on flash-enabled browser)

This bracket is a little different than those you have probably seen before. Instead of filling out your prediction for the remaining boys for every single week, you’ll just fill out your line-up, ranking in order of elimination. Since we never really know how many guys will be sent home every week – this way will give us an easier way to score!

Here’s how it works:

First, you’ll drag-and-drop the photos of the boys over the placeholders. You can move them around, swap them out, or move them back until you have it just right!

Then, drag-and-drop the the badges! You’ll see their descriptions as soon as all of the guys’ photos have been placed.

The bad news, I cannot figure out how to get you to save the individual file without it resetting. So, for now we’ll just have to take an old-fashion screen shot. (shift+command+4 on Mac, alt+print screen on PC).

*If anyone knows how to do this PLEASE let me know!!*

Basically, the scoring will work like this… After night two, let’s say Andi cuts 3 guys – leaving 16 remaining. You’ll get 2 points (because its episode 2) for every correct guy you have in your top 16. If she cuts 2 more the next episode, you’ll get 3 points (episode 3) for every guy you have correct in your top 14… The scoring will continue the same until the end of the season!

You will also get 5 extra points for every correct “badge” – first one-on-one date, first kiss, season “villain” and the next bachelor. I’ll post a score card sometime this week!

Click HERE to fill out your Bachelorette Line-Up!

Submit your line-up to Toast using the form below! I’ll post all entries in an album on Toast’s facebook page. Make sure to get them to me by Monday, May 26th by 8:00pm MST!!!

Submit your Bachelorette Line-Up Here!