Cooking with Pinterest

I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to food. And it's a little ridiculous. I'm talking over 300 pins. But I've actually taken the initiative to make some of these delicacies. Like the one I made tonight, Baked Monte Cristo sandwiches. They were SO easy and SO delicious! Seriously hit the spot.

 

I modified some ingredients to give it a more specialized taste.

Baked Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Recipe by Pepperidge Farm

• 1 egg
  
• 1 tbsp. water
  
• All-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
  
• 8 thin slices deli Black Forest ham (I used an organic brand that had no nitrates)
  
• 4 slices deli Swiss cheese (about 4 ounces) (I used Gruyere Swiss - AMAZING)
  
• Confectioners' sugar
  
• Pure maple syrup (I used Blackberry Preserves instead)
  
  
  
  
  
  1. Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
     
  2. Sprinkle the flour on the work suface.  Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square.  Cut into 4 (6-inch) squares.  Brush the edges of the pastries with the egg mixture.
     
  3. With a corner of 1 pastry facing you, place 2 slices ham and 1 slice cheese on the bottom half of the pastry.  Fold the pastry over the filling to form a triangle and press the edges to seal.  Crimp the edges with a fork.  Repeat with the remaining pastries.  Brush the pastries with the egg mixture.  Place the pastries onto a baking sheet.
     
  4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Sprinkle the pastries with the confectioners' sugar.  Serve with the maple syrup.
     
  5. Easy Substitution: For a savory twist, serve with Dijon-style mustard instead of the maple syrup.
     

They may not beat the ones at Disneyland's Blue Bayou recipe, but they are pretty amazing! I had attempted to do the latter, sadly they did not come out as good!

French Apple Tart

My brother came home for Family Dinner on Sunday since he's been living in his new apartment on campus at college. Mom whipped up some Coq Au Vin and using the Gala apples Riley and I had just picked at Avila Barn, I made a French Apple Tart via the recipe by Barefoot Contessa "Back to Basics" by Ina Garten. It came out delicious, especially with a small scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

Happy Monday

 Skirts: Missoni for Target, Sweater: Rubbish @ Nordstrom, Top: Lush @ Nordstrom, Riley's Top: Oshkosh, Accessories: Watch by Michael Kors, Friendship Bracelet from a baby shower, and Studded Bracelet from Forever 21

So I'm going to start off by how much of a GREAT mood I've been in all day! Seriously, it's Monday - and usually Monday's are all sorts of crazy. But for some reason I woke up on the very right side of the bed this morning because I've been chipper and smiley, and I think it even surprised my boyfriend when he called me earlier today.

So last week I went to Target at 8 AM when they first opened for the day on Tuesday September 13th. If you hadn't read my lasts few posts then you obviously don't know what was so important about that day. Well Missoni for Target finally released their new collection, which happened to sell out in a matter of hours online which caused their website to crash for two days, and in stores. My friend Madison and I met up at Target and were the first lucky ladies to grab some of the goods of the shelves before they were gone. I mostly got things for Riley - ballet flats, rainboots, a skirt and a skirt for myself. I would've gotten a few other things but the Target here only got certain items in their shipment.

Let me tell you, the hype on these items are incredible. I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo yesterday with Riley and I had several people stop me and ask "where did you get your skirt?" or "is that Missoni for Target?!" or "You totally lucked out with the Missoni!" because of course, Riley and I were both wearing our Missoni skirts. We were so cool. So chic and with it. Sigh. We're awesome.

Oh and of course, Riley had a BLAST at the zoo - I mean, how could you not have a good time seeing such incredible animals at such a close observation?

We ended our day with lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe (the half turkey sandwich and tomato basil soup is my fav!) then headed home. Busy busy day but so worth it.

Homemade Meals is Where it's At!

So I've been dying to try this recipe I found, on baked creamy chicken taquitos! It was a pretty simple recipe, and I loved that you had the choice between flour and corn tortillas, I used the flour tortillas and they were amazing! I also made homemade guacamole. I've been trying to be a little cook around here, using the millions of pots/pants/mixing utensils and you name it that sit in our cupboard not used often enough. Or maybe I'm just incredibly messy when it comes to cooking. But I'm ok with that. Because I feel awesome after I made some yummy food. Even if the sink is piled high. Good thing I like cleaning dishes.


What are your favorite things to make for dinner??