The Chocolate Cream Pie From “Julie & Julia”

Have you ever seen the movie Julie & Julia?

Directed by Nora Ephron and starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell, it’s about two women who use cooking as a means to express themselves and to find more meaning in their lives. It’s such a cute movie and by the end of it, you’re going to be starving for any one of the amazing dishes they make in the film.

One of those dishes, though small and almost overlooked, is the chocolate cream pie Julie makes in the beginning of the film. I’ve always thought it looked so delicious, so I searched until I found a recipe I thought looked pretty similar. I decided to make it for Thanksgiving and let me just tell you, it was SO GOOD. It’s rich and creamy and sweet and chocolaty and super easy to make.

Here’s what you’re going to need…

Ingredients:

To make the crust:

6 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

(Full disclosure: we bought a pre-made graham cracker crust from the grocery store and it worked just fine.)

For the filling:

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups milk

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, in pieces

4 slightly beaten egg yolks

2 tablespoons soft butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

For the whipped topping:

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

To make the filling:

1. Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together and set aside.

2. Bring the milk to a boil. Lower the heat and stir in the chocolate and let melt.

3. Whisk the milk mixture into the sugar mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until it starts to thicken.

4. Add the yolks and stir furiously for a very short time. You want the yolks to thicken the mixture even more but you don't want them to start to curdle (like little scrambled eggs). 30 seconds or so of this should be fine.

"By the way," Ephron says, "if the eggs do curdle, pour the pudding mixture through a sieve and throw away all the curdled bits. No one will know."

5. Remove from the heat and stir more. Add vanilla and softened butter. Cover with waxed paper and cool.

6. Fill crust with pudding and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. For fun, we added some powdered cocoa on top for a light dusting.

To make the whipped topping:

1. Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks. Spread on pie.

Nora, you and your talent are so greatly missed! Hope you enjoy her delicious chocolate cream pie!

(Julie & Julie picture via here)

The Easiest Pesto Pasta Ever

Do you have one of those go-to pastas that’s so easy and so delicious that you make it a least once a week? We do, and it’s this pesto pasta with spiral noodles. It’s so rich and creamy and garlicky and all of the cozy, good feelings you want when it’s cold outside and you just want to stay in and make something fast and yummy.

We posted about it on our Instagram a few days ago and we got SO many requests for the recipe that we decided to come up with one real quick. The truth is, we just kind of throw it together whenever we make it, but we do make it the same way every time. It’s very quick, very easy, and very good. Here’s what you’ll need…

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of cellentani noodles

• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped and minced

• Half a stick of butter

• Salt & pepper to taste

• 2 cups of spinach leaves

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream

• 3/4 cups of pesto (you could make your own, but we use store bought)

• 1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, sliced

• 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

• Grilled chicken for protein (optional)

Directions:

• Heat a pot of water on high and bring to a boil. Sprinkle a little salt in the water to enhance the flavor. Rinse pasta and set aside.

• In a skillet on medium heat, sauté the butter and garlic for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Careful not to burn the garlic.

• Once sautéed, pour in the heavy whipping cream and stir.

• Add salt & pepper to taste.

• Add in the pesto and stir for about 30 seconds, or until everything is mixed well.

• Add in the spinach and stir until it’s fully covered.

• Let it sit on low to simmering heat for about 5 mins while occasionally stirring.

• While the sauce is simmering, rinse the mushrooms and sauté in butter, garlic, and salt to taste, on medium to high heat. Cover, and let them cook for about 5-8 minutes.

• Once cooked, pour the mushrooms and their sauce into the pesto sauce.

• Add in the parmesan cheese and stir some more. Let it sit for 2 mins.

• Mix the pasta in with the sauce and stir until it’s fully coated.

• Garnish with more parmesan cheese.

• Enjoy!

Like we mentioned, we don’t have an actual recipe for this pasta, and just sort of guess every time, adding more garlic or salt or pesto when needed. Play around with it and make it your own. Those are always the best recipes anyway, don’t you think?

(Photo via here)

The Perfect Fall Day + Beef Stew Recipe

You know those fall days you look forward to all summer long, when it starts getting chilly outside and the sunlight changes and you have nowhere to be but home? We had one of those days this weekend and it reminded us why we love this season so much.

We spent a lot of the weekend binge-watching Netflix’s new show The Haunting of Hill House. Have you seen it? It’s based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 book of the same name, though the TV adaptation differs a little from the original book. It’s also been made into two different movies, most recently the film The Haunting in 1999, though, again, the film is pretty different from the original source material.

The show is SPOOKY, and we scream/jumped so loud (twice!) that we’re pretty sure a couple of our neighbors heard us. We wouldn’t recommend watching it alone, but just know it’s sort of a family drama at heart, with chilling situations here and there, but it’s set in this gorgeous old house, so you know we were game from the start.

PJ had a taste for beef stew, so we went to the grocery store after coming back from visiting our land and stocked up on all the ingredients. He didn’t really follow a recipe, just kind of dumped it all in there. From what we can remember, it included:

Easy Beef Stew

• 1/2 bag of carrots

• 1 yellow onion, chopped

• 1 can of corn

• 1 can of green beans

• 1 can of peas

• 1 large chuck roast

• 7 gold potatoes, quartered

• salt & pepper to taste

• chopped garlic to taste

• 1 packet of beef stew seasoning from McCormick (though next time we plan on making this seasoning ourselves)

• 2 cups of beef stock

He dumped everything in the crock pot and put it on high and left it over night to really soak in all the juices and flavor and by lunch the next day, it was ready to eat.

PJ also has a love affair with corn bread so he whipped some up following the recipe on the back of the Krusteaz box. We didn’t have any milk, so he used sour cream instead and it tasted fine all the same. Does it get better than warm stew and corn bread on a chilly fall day? When there are windows to be opened and scary Netflix shows to be watched? WE THINK NOT.

Hope you had a good weekend, too, friends.

xx

Mushroom Burgers with Caramelized Onions & Kale Chips

We've doing our best to eat healthier lately, and that means we've had to get creative with the types of foods we're cooking in the kitchen.

Case in point: the mushroom burger, which is a nice substitute for an actual burger and, though it doesn't necessarily taste like a hamburger, it's packed with its own flavors that make it equally satisfying. We tweaked a recipe from Christal and made it our own, leaving out the dairy, but you could totally add cheese to make it even better.

Here's what we did:

Ingredients:

• Portabello mushrooms
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup sliced sweet white onion
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 2 cups mixed greens lettuce
• 4 tsp Dijon mustard
• Kaiser rolls
• Kale
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat the grill.
2. Take a large ziploc, and place mushrooms in the bag, add the balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and seal bag. Shake the bag until the mushrooms are coated in the vinegar and oil. Let sit for a few minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), rinse the kale and chop it into chip-like pieces. Place on a non stick baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, pepper, and sea salt. Cook for 10-15 mins or until chips are crispy and the edges are brown. Remove and let cool.
4. Heat a non stick pan over med-high heat, add in the sliced onions and olive oil, toss to coat the onions with salt and pepper.
5. Lower heat to medium, and cook the onions, stirring often until they are soft and browned, about 10 minutes.
6. Remove mushrooms from ziploc and place on the heated grill, rounded side up. Let cook for 3-4 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, slice tomato and wash lettuce, and prepare any other preferred garnishes.
8. Turn mushrooms over so they are flat side up and top the inside of the mushrooms with the caramelized onions.
9. Continue to cook for 3 more minutes then remove from grill.
10. Using your favorite buns, assemble burgers starting with the dijon mustard, then top with the mushroom and onions and cheese, then top with tomato, lettuce, and the other half of the bun.
11. Enjoy!

Day 10: Tomato & Basil Pasta

We've been craving pasta lately, probably because we've been watching too many cooking shows on Netflix (hello Chef's Table), so we decided to just go for it and make some for ourselves tonight.

We wanted something light and fresh tasting, something that would go well with red wine and French Cafe Radio on Pandora because you know our feelings about getting the mood just right to enjoy a good meal. We weren't sure what we wanted to make, but we knew we had a tomato we needed to use up, so we started there.

Thomas' mom grows basil so we picked up some from her house and thus, dinner tonight was born. To be honest, we didn't measure anything and just kind of through it together, but here is a similar recipe to what we made tonight.  Here's the breakdown:

Ingredients:

• Pasta of your choice (we used whole wheat)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (we used 2 whole tomatoes, diced)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• About 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved (we didn't use this but it sounds delish)

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; place pasta in a large bowl.
• While pasta cooks, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Add tomatoes and salt; cover and cook 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in basil and pepper.
• Add tomato mixture to pasta; toss well to combine.
• Top with cheese (optional)

It took 15 minutes to make and filled us up for the whole night. Something about fresh ingredients, French music, a glass of wine, and summer nights after it just rained makes us nostalgic for a place we've never been before. Maybe Italy. Do you know what we mean? At the same time, it makes us appreciate being home and gives us that comforting feeling of being completely content in the moment. 

We hope you've had a good weekend. Here's to starting the new week off right!

xx

Creamy Garlic Avocado Pasta

Tonight we were in the mood for something rich and savory, but that wouldn't be absolutely terrible for us. We had noodles, we had avocados, and we had garlic. Suddenly, a dinner was born. This pasta is quick and easy and tastes delish. A nice summer dish that you won't feel guilty about eating (tbh you should never feel guilty about what you put in YOUR body. You do you xx).

Let's get right to it, shall we?

Ingredients

• Cavatappi noodles (however much you want)
• 1 avocado
• Olive oil, to taste
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup of parsley (preferably fresh) 
• 1/4 cup of basil (preferably fresh) 
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Fill pot on the stove with water and salt and heat to a boil. Put noodles in and monitor while stirring often.
2. Peel avocado and place whole in blender or food processor. 
3. Squeeze the lemon and pour the juice into the processor. 
4. Heat tablespoon of olive oil in a pan on medium to high heat. Once hot, put minced garlic in and sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Pour garlic into the food processor.
5. Pour basil, parsley, salt, and pepper into the food processor and puree for 1-2 mins.
6. Mix sauce with noodles and sprinkle a little parmesean cheese if you're feeling crazy.
7. Enjoy :)

Zucchini Noodles with Tomatoes & Mushrooms

We've been doing our best lately (and by lately we mean this week) to eat healthier and make smarter choices in the kitchen. With our vegan pizza we made the other night, we thought it would be fun to try another healthy option for dinner.

You know our feelings about pasta, so it's no surprise we can't go a week without eating it. Last night, however, we opted for a healtheir alternative that was very easy and quick to prepare. Here's how to make it!

Ingredients

• Zucchini noodles (we just bought a pre-made pack at Publix)
• Mushrooms (we used portobellos, bought in a small pack at Publix)
• 1 whole tomato, chopped
• Half onion chopped (we used a red onion)
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• Olive oil (we didn't measure, but a few drizzles will do)
• Fresh basil, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Garlic powder to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a sauté pan over high. Add olive oil, garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Sauté until lightly browned; season with salt and pepper.
2. Add tomatoes, season with salt, pepper, and garic powder and sauté for 1 minute. Mash tomatoes with a fork until almost a thick sauce consistency.
3. Toss in the zucchini noodles and cook until tender.
4. Finally, add in the chopped basil and stir for 30 seconds.

We can honestly say we found it delicious and now realize more than ever that you don't have to sacrifice good tasting food to eat healthy. Feeling positive and energized and looking forward to the future!!! 

Homemade Vegan Pizza

Last night we made vegan pizza for the first time and we have to admit, we were skeptical at first. We decided to go the healthier route for pizza because we're trying to eat better since we have a very, um....select pallet. By select pallet we mean we love pasta and cookies waaaaay too much. Okay moving on.

We Googled some vegan pizza recipes and settled on one that we have to say, was absolutely delicious. It was from Minimilist Baker, a favorite food website of ours. Why don't we get right to it?

Ingredients

PIZZA

• 1/2 of one Trader Joe’s garlic-herb pizza crust (or half of this homemade recipe or this gluten-free recipe)
• 1/2 cup each red, green, and orange bell pepper, loosely chopped
• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 cup button mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 tsp each dried or fresh basil, oregano, and garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

SAUCE

• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce OR 6-ounce can tomato paste (organic when possible)
• 1/2 tsp each dried or fresh basil, oregano, garlic powder, granulated sugar
• Sea salt to taste (~1/4 tsp)

TOPPINGS

• 1/2 cup vegan parmesan cheese
• Red pepper flake + dried oregano

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 C) and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Bring large skillet to medium heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, onion and peppers. Season with salt, herbs and stir. Cook until soft and slightly charred – 10-15 minutes, adding the mushrooms in the last few minutes. Set aside.
3. Prepare sauce by adding tomato sauce to a mixing bowl and adding seasonings and salt to taste. Adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside. Note: If using tomato paste, add water to thin until desired consistency is reached.
4. Prepare vegan parmesan if you haven’t already by blitzing raw cashes, sea salt, nutritional yeast and garlic powder in a food processor until a fine meal is reached. Transfer to jar and refrigerate to keep fresh.
5. Roll out dough onto a floured surface and transfer to a parchment-lined round baking sheet. You’re going to add the pizza WITH the parchment directly to the oven to properly crisp the crust, so any round object will do as it’s not actually going into the oven (I use a wood board).
6. Top with desired amount of tomato sauce (you’ll have leftovers, which you can store in a jar for later use), a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and the sautéed veggies.
7. Use the baking sheet to gently slide the pizza directly onto the oven rack WITH the parchment underneath. Otherwise it will fall through.
8. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.
9. Serve with remaining parmesan cheese, dried oregano and red pepper flake. Leftovers keep well – no need to reheat! Cold pizza is yum.

We used vegan mozzarella cheese from Publix (instead of parmesan cheese), the Daiya Foods brand, and it was so good. We couldn't tell that it wasn't really cheese and PJ commented that the pizza reminded him of cornbread (??). Not sure how he made that connection but he liked it, so it's a win in our book!

Also, it's best served with an entire bottle of wine (for two to share, of course) and Bossa Nova radio playing while you make it/eat it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. xoxo

Maybe We Were On To Something...

 

We were browsing A Cup of Jo today and saw where she proclaimed that 2018 was the year of the French bread pizza! She actually linked it from an article written by The Kitchn that you can read here, but still, how crazy is that?! We were just talking about how we made it the other night and gave the (extremely easy and fast) recipe that’s sooooo good. Did we mention it’s easy? 

Maybe a lot of people are writing blogs about how they made French bread pizzas too? How do they know it’s the year of French bread pizzas? Actually, how does one go about declaring that 2018 is the year of anything, really? Regardless, maybe we really were on to something the other night! 

French Bread Pizza

We made homemade pizza the other night at our Oscars party and had all of the ingredients left over, except the pizza dough. When we got home last night, we didn't feel like going out to get more dough, so we improvised. What we did have was French bread! So we made French bread pizzas and they were delicious, quick, and easy to make! Here's what we did:

Ingredients 

• Half a loaf of bread (we used French but Italian will do, too)
• Melted butter (however much you want!)
• Minced garlic (1 clove)
• Tomato sauce (we made our own, and here's a similar recipe for that)
• Grated mozzarella (we used a full 8 oz bag) 
• Pepperoni (as many as you'd like!)
• Basil (2 tablespoons)
• Red pepper flakes (optional)

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
• Cut the loaf right down the middle, and then split that in half (as seen in pic above)
• Place bread on cooking sheet and bake in the oven for 5 mins
• Mince the garlic and melt the butter, then combine the two for a little spread
• Take the bread out of the oven and spread the butter/garlic mixture on top of it
• Spread your pizza sauce over the top of it, add as much cheese as you want, add as many pepperonis as you want, and then add a little more cheese
• Bake for 10 mins or until cheese is golden brown & melted
• Top with basil and red pepper flakes
• Enjoy!

How to Make No-Bake Holiday Treats

We got into the Christmas spirit last night and decided to make some easy, no-bake holiday treats to pass out to loved ones during this festive season. We made peanut clusters, white chocolate covered pretzels, haystack chocolate, peanut butter and Ritz crackers dipped in chocolate with sprinkles on top, and pretzels with Rolos and pecans on top. Are you noticing a chocolate theme?

These goodies are so easy to make and something the whole family can do together. Did we mention they're all so addicting? Because they are, and you need to be careful not to eat them all in one sitting. We had a blast making this video and hope you guys enjoy it. Check out the video below and be sure to stay tuned until the end to watch the ridiculous bloopers!

P.S. are you subscribed to us on YouTube? If not, click here to do so!

Cooking with Krystal: Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients-

For the filling:

    •      1/3 cup dates, chopped

    •      5 tablespoons maple syrup ( in place of sugar)

    •      1/4 cup coconut oil ( in place of butter or oil, and healthy MCT oils)

    •      1 tablespoon almond milk (in place of dairy)

    •      1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

For the cookie base:

    •      2 1/4 cup blanched almond flour, gently packed ( in place of white flour)

    •      1/4 teaspoon sea salt

    •      1/4 teaspoon baking soda

    •      5 tablespoons coconut oil, at room temperature ( healthy MCT oil)

    •      3 tablespoons maple syrup ( in place of sugar)

    •      1-2 tablespoons almond milk ( in place of dairy)

    •      1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions-

To make the filling:

    1      Cover the chopped dates in 1 cup of hot water and set aside for at least 10 minutes.

    2      In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, and almond milk. Stir until the coconut oil is just melted and then remove from heat.

    3      Drain and discard the hot water from the dates, and place the dates in a blender with the saucepan contents. Blend until smooth, pour back into the saucepan (so you don’t dirty another bowl) and then stir in the sea salt and chopped pecans. Set aside.

To make the cookie base and form the cookies:

    1      Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

    2      In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond meal, sea salt, and baking soda. Whisk in the coconut oil until the dough resembles coarse crumbs.

    3      Stir in the maple syrup, vanilla, and almond milk. Start with 1 tablespoon of almond milk and add another tablespoon only if the dough needs more moisture to pull it together.

    4      Roll the dough into balls (using about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough each) and place on the cookie sheet. Flatten the balls of dough and use your fingers to make a well (or indentation) in the middle of the cookies.

    5      Generously fill the cookies with the pecan pie filling (and I do mean generously fill, otherwise you will be left with a lot of filling left over).

    6      Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown.

    7      Allow the cookies to completely cool on the cookie sheet (otherwise they will fall apart).

About Krystal

Krystal has a passion for healthy living and wellness and obtained her Bachelors of Science in nutrition from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Her national certification through NCSF as a CPT, along with another in the world-renowned TRX training system and AAHFF for nutrition, make Krystal a versatile fitness professional. Visit her website, K's Kwik Klean Kitchen to learn more about her!