Tap Influence

Greek Baked Eggs and Potatoes

0 · Mar 20, 2014 ·

I said it before and I’ll say it again… I LOVE eggs! I especially love the combination of eggs & potatoes. There is just something lovely about the rustic pairing. Both ingredients are wonderful on their own and yet they can both be blank canvases as well. They are just waiting to be dressed up with simple, yet fancy new flavors. Together they make the perfect pair and you can dress them up however you like. As a matter of fact, you can create a recipe of your very own out of your black slate, head over to Food.com and enter to win $3000 from Simply Potatoes®. All you need to do is come up with a 5 ingredient fix and submit it to the contest and you could have and extra $3000 to play around with this summer!

The folks at Simply Potatoes® challenged me to come up with a 5 ingredient fix and this is what I came up with…

Greek Baked Eggs & Potatoes! I am always looking for a quick weeknight meal for the family and this one couldn’t be easier. Now technically, this recipe does have 5 ingredients but that only if you count the salt & pepper as separate ingredients. But don’t be fooled… This recipe is packed full with flavor and some hidden ingredients as well.

I started with Simply Potatoes® O’Brien Hash Browns’ as my base for my baked eggs. Here’s where the magic happens… First of all, these potatoes are fresh potatoes that you will find in your refrigerated section, generally by the eggs at your market. You won’t find them in the freezer section or dehydrated because Simply Potatoes are always fresh with simple ingredients.

Next, these O’Brien Hash Browns also have onions and peppers in the mix. Two hidden ingredients that I didn’t have to purchase or prepare. They are already in the hash browns. SCORE!

I used a jumbo muffin tin, sprayed it with cooking spray and then placed two heaping tablespoons of the hash brown mixture in the muffin tins and then created a hash brown nest…

I topped the potatoes off with some salt & pepper and some more cooking spray. I placed it into a 400˚ oven for 18-20 minutes to cook the potato mixture. After the potatoes are baked and slightly brown, I remove the pan from the oven and add the…

You guessed it… My eggs. All you need to do is crack them right into the hash brown nests and top with a little more salt & pepper.

Return them to the oven for an additional 15 minutes to bake the eggs. Keep a close eye on them and remove them from the oven as soon as the eggs have set. You don’t want to over cook your eggs. You still want that yolky gold running through your egg & potato nest.

Let your eggs cool for a few minutes and then top with one of my favorite new ingredients, a prepared olive tempenade. It’s basically Greek olives that are chopped up fine with a little bit of olive oil to tie the olive caviar together. It’s tasty on bread or with veggies and hummus. It tastes GREAT on top of these baked eggs. Just top the eggs & potatoes with a small teaspoon of tempenade and then serve immediately.

Serve with a lovely Greek salad and you have the perfect SIMPLE week night meal.

What’s your favorite way to cook with potatoes? Remember, you can enter to win the Simply Potato 5 Ingredient Fix Contest and win $3000 with your simple, but inventive recipe!

For rules on how to enter the Sweepstakes click here.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Simply Potatoes. The opinions and text are all mine.

Simple Taco Hand Pies Recipe

753 · Dec 23, 2013 ·

Holiday entertaining can be a little overwhelming. Especially when you are hosting family or friends for several days. You can’t have a Turkey with all the fixin’s at every meal. That would be way to much work, not to mention hard on the wallet. You need to have a few simple meal options that are quick and still fun for the whole family. This recipe is one that everyone can chip in and help make PLUS my family LOVES them!

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Who doesn’t love tacos? With this fun spin on a simple classic recipe, your gathering is sure to be a hit. You can serve taco hand pies as the main dish or make them a little smaller and use as an appetizer for a cocktail party. They are so versatile. Here is how you make them.

Ohhhh doesn’t that look tasty? Now you can serve with sour cream, salsa and any other taco fixin’s you can think of.

Now, this is the perfect, easy, crowd-pleasing meal to have on hand when you have company in town. The lovely folks at Kraft® are making it even easier on your wallet this holiday season at Target…

From shopping for gifts to planning family dinners, it’s hard to keep up with all your holiday to-dos. This year, Kraft is helping out with great weeknight meals and entertaining ideas to make the season a little bit easier. Plus, Kraft is offering up to $20 in coupons, redeemable exclusively at Target, to make food shopping easier and to help you have a happy holiday season.

Taco Hand Pies

Who doesn’t love tacos? With this fun spin on a simple classic recipe your gathering is sure to be a hit. You can serve taco hand pies as the main dish or make them a little smaller and use as an appetizer for a cocktail party. They are so versatile. Here is how you make them.

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 15

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 5 Servings

Ingredients

1 tbsn Olive Oil
1 Sweet Onion
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can black beans
1 can drained corn
1 pack Kraft Finely Shreeded Cheese
2 cans Pillsbury Corn Buscuits
1 egg beaten

Instructions

First, you will need to cut your onion into strips. I cut my onion in half and then cut into strips. In a large skillet add the olive oil and place over a medium high heat. Once the oil is hot add your onions and sauteé for 3-4 minutes until translucent.
Add your ground beef, season lightly with salt and pepper. Break-up the ground beef into small pieces and brown. Once the meat has browned, remove excess grease with a spoon and discard. Stir in the taco seasoning over medium heat.
Add the refried beans, black beans and corn. Let this mixture come to temperature and the remove from heat.
Lightly flour a clean dry surface and roll out your first corn biscuit. Place about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup of the taco meat mixture in on the rolled out biscuit and top with a generous helping of Kraft® Shredded Cheese.
Then with a pastry brush, brush on a bit of egg wash along the edge of the biscuit dough. Fold over and seal with a fork.
Place on a baking sheet and brush the top of the hand pies with the egg wash. Repeat with remaining biscuits.
Bake in a 350˚ oven for 14-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.

Keyword Taco Hand Pies

Bringing Home the Magic of the Holidays with Glade

0 · Dec 20, 2013 ·

Ahhhh, there is nothing like the magic of the holidays. It's that wonderful time of year when we have the chance to create festive gatherings for our family and friends. To some that is a daunting chore, to other's it's a relished challenge. I have been hosting holiday gatherings big and small for several years now and I loved creating a magical event for my guests.

When I set about to plan a gathering, I try and find something simple to use as my inspiration. So much of the holidays envelope each of the senses and even the simple sight of white Christmas lights, the smell of gingerbread or the cold brush of fresh snow can inspire a special event.

Think back, back when you were a child… What are some of the sights, sounds and smells that you remember from around the holidays? I even have a sweet touch memory that will instantly take me back to those innocent days. I remember every year when we would unpack my Christmas stocking. It was a handmade knit stocking with Santa's face on the side and my name knit in the cuff of the stocking. It always made me feel so special. The woman who made the stocking used a special yarn for Santa's beard and it really looked like his beard. It was so soft, I loved to sit and run my little fingers through his soft beard and dream of what goodies he would bring to me soon. I think if you take a minute to think back, you can find these little memory gems that can help inspire your gathering.

I love trying to tantalize each of the senses when I plan a gathering and I am endless inspired by those who share their talents. Visiting some of these sites are sure to inspire any holiday gathering…

img source // snowflake cookies from baker lady

It would be so fun to plan a whole party just around these cookies!

I would dress my table and room just like Shelley from House of Smiths…

img source // woodsy winter wonderland from the house of smiths

I would plan a rustic yet simple meal and have fun whimsical desserts that take everyone back to their childhood like these Hot Cocoa Cakes along with jars and jars filled with those beautiful snowflake cookies to cap off the night…

img source // hot cocoa cakes from coordinating yours

Now what makes a gathering extra special is the attention to detail. I would have a Glade® Pure Vanilla Joy candles from their new Winter Collection, exclusively at Target, lit all though out our party space.

That way my guest will be transported back to their grandmother's or Mom's kitchen the minute they walk into my home. I can't imagine a better way to celebrate the holiday season with close family and friends.

The Glade® Winter Collection would be a wonderful way to bring those special holiday aromas into your home. You'll have to visit your local Target to select your favorite. They have several fragrances that will for sure take you back to happy holiday memories like; Apple Cinnamon Cheer™, Frosted Berry Kiss, Sweet Holiday Treat™, Merry Maple Morning, Ginger Bread Jingle and several more.

What scent inspires you? How do you like to plan your holiday entertaining?

Get festive this holiday season with the Glade® Limited Edition Winter Collection available exclusively at Target. Inspired by the best feelings of the season, the Glade® Sweet Holiday Treat™ scent lets you indulge in the irresistible scent of rich cocoa, toasted nuts, and creamy caramel. The 2013 Glade® Limited Edition Winter Collection was inspired by the nostalgic, spontaneous, snowy, moments that build up to the holidays. Creating memories with loved ones defines the season and the holiday lineup from Glade® is just as memorable.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Glade®. The opinions and text are all mine.

Autumn Inspired Red Bird Buttercream Cake

0 · Nov 5, 2013 · 6 Comments

This buttercream cake post brought to you by Craftsy // Have you ever had that experience of learning a new skill, and then the excitement of wanting to practice, practice, practice? That is totally how I felt after taking the FREE Modern Buttercream Class on Craftsy. I have always wanted to create beautiful cakes and I have learned some skills over the years, but this class really helped to take me to the next level. I learned how to shape the cake so that it looks more professional, not all rounded and wonky. That amazing trick of adding simple syrup to the cake to keep it moist. So many fun fabulous tricks. Not to mention the step-by-step instructions on how to make Swiss buttercream. That helped me with my first practice my simple buttercream cake. You can check it out here. You can tell in that picture I still had some stuff to work on. With all of that, I had to try my hand at another cake. This time I was going to conquer a challenge of mine… FONDANT. In the class Joshua John Russell teaches how to make gum paste embellishments, but I decided I wanted my decor to be made out of fondant. I didn't want my fun graphic elements to be hard I wanted them to be soft but, the steps are pretty close.

For this cake, I was inspired by the beautiful time of year we are in. When we first moved here to Lincoln last year, we arrived at this time of year. It was so fun to actually have a real fall for the first time in 8 years. I had a very special morning one day early on here. I was feeling a little blue with the move and looking out the window at the new scenery. The trees and the leaves were beautiful, but I was feeling weighted down. Then all of a sudden a beautiful Cardinal flew right up next to my window and just sat there for a moment. My spirits soared! I hadn't ever seen such a beautiful red bird. From that time forward, Cardinals have been a special fall friend for me. I decided to make a modern little red bird cake to celebrate the season…

Now remember, I have a little bit of a fear of fondant. For some reason, it has always been one of those elements that only really cool cake decorators could use. I just didn't feel like I was at that level yet. I lacked confidence. After taking Modern Buttercream I felt like it was time to tackle this skill!

I found these fondant cutters from Wilton that are normally leaves, but I thought they could easily turn into cute modern looking birds. I used a fondant roller with rolling pin guides to make sure I had a uniform thickness just like Joshua did while working with the gum paste. He made little butterflies and affixed them to his amazing cake…

I cut out my little birds in just the same way…

Then I pinched the front of the shape to make it look a little more bird like…

I used a little gold Gragée for the eye and then affixed it to the side of the cake.

Because the cake is buttercream, it's super easy to affix the fondant birds right to the side of the cake. I kept things simple with the cake to keep the modern feel. I didn't want a completely smooth cake so I kept a little bit of movement in the buttercream, but not a ton.

It turned out so cute… It also helped that I had the cutest little red bird cake plate that I found while I was at the Smucker's Company Store in Ohio. I just adore it!

Now, as Joshua teaches in the Modern Buttercream class on Craftsy… You can have the most beautiful cake, but if I doesn't taste good, you've missed the mark. Here's one of my little secrets… If you don't have time to bake a cake, but you want to decorate your own cake, go to your favorite bakery! You may want to call a day or two ahead, but you can purchase pre-made cake rounds that are generally frozen and ready to decorate. For sure a time saver, but if you have a good bakery, you know you will always have a scrumptious cake to serve.

I CAN'T WAIT to practice some more. I also can't believe how just a little bit of education can help boost my confidence. I now love cake decorating and can't wait to learn even more though Craftsy. Have you guys checked it out yet? What classes would you like to take?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Craftsy. The opinions and text are all mine.

Tap Influence

Taco Hand Pies

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