Tiramisu Obsession !

Okay, SERIOUSLY, drool. This recipe is amazing! I'm not going to lie, I did have some troubles in the beginning since the original recipe did not convince me. I made a couple of tweaks and if I do say so myself, made it into a FAN-TAS-TIC dessert! This no bake Tiramisu is a very popular Italian dessert that is made with ladyfinger cookies dipped in coffee and usually layered with a whipped mixture of mascarpone cheese and eggs.  In my recipe I replaced the mascarpone cheese with a less expensive ingredient, cream cheese! Give it a try and let me know what you think. Regardless, it's pretty outrageous!

Ingredients:

16 ounces Cream Cheese

1 1/2 cups Heavy cream

6-7 ounces Lady Fingers (One Package)

2/3 cups Sugar

2 cups of Coffee or Espresso

3 tbls. Baileys Cream (Rum or any other coffee flavored liquor works)

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1-2 tsps. of cocoa powder

Chocolate, for garnish

Directions:

1. Before anything else, I start by brewing my Espresso. 1 1/2-2 cups should be sufficient for your recipe. (Coffee works as well)

2. In a bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla extract and liquor together. (It helps to have the cream cheese softened ahead of time.)

3. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream and sugar together with a mixer. Beating the heavy cream separately helps the cream to have a stiff consistency. 

3. Once the cream has formed into a whipped cream, add the mixture into the cream cheese. fold or beat together to combine. 

4. Once the creamy mixture is ready you can start assembling your dessert. Start by covering the bottom of your dish with cream. Dip the ladyfinger cookie into the espresso so that it can absorb the liquid. Place the soaked lady finger cookie on top of the cream and repeat the steps.

5. As you see in the pictures above, I started by making individual tiramisu desserts in mason jars. This is a bit more work to do. Since I was in a rush to get them into some hungry stomachs, I changed it and finished it off in a larger platter.

(Don't forget to sprinkle it with some cocoa powder and chocolate shavings for a chocolaty touch!)

Enjoy!

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Hello Everyone! 

Yes, PASTA NIGHT is tonight and I have the perfect recipe for you! The beauty about this dish is you can change it up as you please with your own preferences and make it as simple or as extravagant as you want. Vegetarian? Stuff it with some gooey cheese, spinach and favorite blend of veggies. Although all of that sounds DELISH, today I have decided to go the classical way and will be stuffin' my pasta with beef and cheese! Follow my recipe for an awesome weekend dinner!

PS: Don't panic, this dish is great on the weekdays too ;) 

Ingredients: 

Salt 

Pepper

1/4 Finely chopped carrots (or grated, whatever is easier)

1/4 Finely chopped celery

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4-1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms

1- 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat 

1 28oz. canned tomato sauce

1 teaspoon of dried Basil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 12oz. box of jumbo shells

1/2-1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (Depending on how much you love cheese! )

Instructions:
1. Get your veggies into a pan and sautee them for about ten minutes at a medium to high heat .

2. Once your veggies have cooked off add your ground meat. 

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring some salted water to a boil and cook your pasta shells. DO NOT OVERCOOK!  I would suggest to cook them up a little bit over the halfway mark that the boxed instruction tells you to. Remember, you will finish off the dish in the oven to bake off. 

3. After the meat has browned, mix in the tomato sauce. Once the sauce has come to a boil add the dried basil, salt and pepper to taste and reduce to a simmer. 

4. Once your meat sauce has simmered off for about 15 minutes you can start stuffing the pasta. I placed some sauce on the bottom of the pan as well so that the shells don't get stuck. 

5. Once the shells have been stuffed, cover the dish with foil and bake them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. 

(I add some Parmesan cheese and basil on top before it goes in the oven)

6. After the 20 minutes are up, take the shells out of the oven and place slices of mozzarella cheese on top (or shredded, whatever you have handy)

For a gooey finish, broil the the shells in the oven for a few minutes on high heat so that the cheese melts! KEEP your eye on them or they WILL burn. 

Buon Appetito!