Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus

I made this recipe twice last weekend – once for a Beauty and the Beast girls’ night (photos here) and then for my Grandma’s birthday dinner. This is now one of my go-to easy appetizers. It looks super fancy but it’s actually very quick and easy to make.

Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus (adapted from Dash of Savory)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cleaned
• 1 sheet puff pastry
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• Toasted Sesame Seeds, for garnish

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, set aside.

2.    Season the trimmed asparagus with salt and pepper. Slice the puff pastry into 16 even strands, about ½ inch wide.

3.    Begin wrapping the asparagus with the puff pastry with one side to the other. Line the sheet pan evenly with the wrapped asparagus.

4.    Brush the egg wash onto the puff pastry and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Remove and serve immediately. 

Best Ever Chip Dip

This chip dip is my mom's recipe and it is BY FAR one of the easiest things to make.  You literally dump everything into a bowl and that's it.  For an easy last-minute appetizer, tailgate, or potluck dish, I love making this because despite being made from mostly canned foods, it tastes so fresh and vibrant.   

Best Ever Chip Dip  

Ingredients:

• 1 can whole kernel corn 
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can Rotel (the Mexican variety is best, but that's not always easy to find) 
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (I actually used a variety called culantro that lasts longer/stays fresher than normal cilantro) 
• drizzle of olive oil
• drizzle of red wine vinegar 

Directions:

1. Combine everything - that's it!  Enjoy

Homemade Crockpot Applesauce

Lance just got his wisdom teeth out, finally.  This means that our fridge is stocked full of mush right now – jello, pudding, ice cream, etc. 

I had just bought a giant bag of apples before his surgery, not thinking about the fact that I’d have to eat them all on my own.  I decided to try making homemade applesauce so he could enjoy them too. 

After this, I won’t ever get store-bought applesauce again.  It’s made in the crockpot so it’s super simple and cooking the apples for such a long time gives them a much richer flavor – the Motts stuff seems so bland compared to this. 

It’s amazing just on its own, but I’ve been enjoying it added to oatmeal or on top of vanilla ice cream (like I said, our fridge is all soft foods right now…)  This recipe made 2 large mason jars worth, but next time I plan to double it since we went through them so quick. 

Crockpot Applesauce (adapted from Pip and Ebby)

  

Ingredients:

• 10 medium apples (I used Gala)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 T cinnamon
• Juice from ½ a lemon

Directions:

1.    Peel and core the apples (you can leave the skin on if you’d like the texture, but I wanted it to be as easy to eat as possible so Lance could enjoy it…)

2.    Dump everything into a crock pot and cook for 8 hours.

3.    Use a potato masher or large fork to break up the apples.  Enjoy!  

Pesto Ranch Chicken & Pear Gorgonzola Salad

Tonight we had Grandma Anne and my cousin, Jenn, over for dinner.  Since Lance & I both worked today, I wanted to make something quick and easy. 

I found this recipe for Pesto Ranch Chicken – it literally took 3 minutes to prepare this morning.  And then the salad was pretty simple to throw together once I got home.  The chicken was so incredibly moist – and would be impossible to mess up even for someone with no cooking skills whatsoever.

Pesto Ranch Chicken: (adapted from Picky Palate)

Ingredients:

• 10 skinless chicken thighs
• 1-8 ounce jar pesto
• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix (1-ounce)
• ½ cup chicken stock

Directions:

1. Cut excess fat off chicken thighs.

2. Place chicken in crock pot, pour in pesto, ranch seasoning, and chicken stock.

3. Stir to combine seasonings, close lid, and cook on low for 6-8 hours (mine was closer to 10 hours since I was at work all day today…but I actually preferred it cooked more).

Pear Gorgonzola Salad:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups spinach
• 1 cup matchstick carrots
• 2 pears, sliced (there are 3 in the photo but I ended up just using 2)
• ¼ red onion, sliced
• Seeds of 1 pomegranate (If you need to learn how to seed a pomegranate, see this post)
• 2 ounces gorgonzola crumbles
• 1 cup praline pecans
• 1 T Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette
• 1 T balsamic vinegar 

Directions:

1. Toss together & enjoy!