Ina's Herb Baked Eggs

So I have a confession. I love Ina Garten. I love her simple and no-fuss style of cooking. She makes food that is delicious, gorgeous, and best of all, easy! I TiVo her every day, and I have 65 episodes currently saved. Out of all of my cookbooks that I have, I can honestly say that I reach for hers the most.

I've been meaning to try a recipe that I saw in her "Barefoot in Paris" book a few months ago. It's a recipe for herbed baked eggs, made with fresh herbs and parmesean cheese. It looked simple enough for a Sunday brunch for myself, so I decided to give it a whirl today.



Some things you'll need:
Shredded parmesean cheese
Herbs (I used parsley, chives, rosemary and chopped garlic)
Heavy Cream
Butter
Eggs (duh!)

Go ahead and turn your broiler on and set the top rack about 6 inches away from it.

First you'll need to crack your eggs into a bowl, taking care not to puncture the yolk. You won't be cooking them in this.



Next, you'll need to take 1 tsp of butter and 1TBS of cream and put them in the ramekin you'll be cooking your eggs in. Pop that in the broiler for 3 minutes so it can get melted and bubbly.





Next you'll be mixing about 1.5 TBS of Parmesean cheese, a sprinkle of each of the herbs, as well as a sprinkle of salt and pepper into a bowl. This will be your topping for your eggs.




After the 3 minutes in the broiler, take out the butter/cream mixture. Carefully pour the eggs into the ramekin and sprinkle your cheese/herb mixture over your eggs. Put back under the broiler for 5-6 minutes. After that, remove from the oven and let set for 1 minute. This is best served with some toast, because who wouldn't want to dip their toast into this delicious mixture? It's a wonderful breakfast, full of flavor. And it only took about 15 mintues, MAX.

As Ina would say, doesn't THAT look good?

Even though I'm a non-believer.... Happy Valentine's

Well technically I abhor Valentine's Day, but I love all the sweets that come with it. I normally spoil my co-workers with some great treats and since some of them won't be here on Saturday, I decided to bring them in on Thursday.

What kind of goodies are here you may ask? Let's see.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing:
I cheat and use the red velvet mix from a box, God Bless Duncan Hines! But the cream cheese icing is so easy enough to make, and it tastes SO much better when it's homemade!

All you need is:
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 16oz box of powdered sugar

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Add all ingredients and mix until smooth and creamy!

And the next treat for your enjoyment would be.....

Red Velvet Cake Balls, Bakerella style.

And last but certainly not least we have:

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

I hope you all enjoyed these Valentine goodies, and if you love or hate the holiday, please make them!!!

Accomplished!

UPDATE! I've been blogged about!!! OMG! I feel so proud! I was featured on Unclutterer as the Workspace of the Week!

Check it out here!!!!

For the past two weekends, I've tackled a project each Sunday. Last Sunday was getting my closet organized. This Sunday it was all about getting my desk organized. I get angry when I can't find something I'm looking for. My desk was a combination of magazine/mail/general clutter. And with me trying to get into this whole photography and Etsy shop deal, I needed a clean, organized workspace.

So then I started browsing through Pottery Barn's website to get inspired. I already have a great desk to begin with, and I just needed a little guidance on what to do. I thought about what I had already, organizing wise, so I wouldn't have to go out and spend any more than I honestly needed to. Something I knew that I needed was a new printer stand. I had this older busted file cabinet with absolutely no storage space for my things. It needed to have storage drawers as well as room for files. My desk currently has space for drop files. I've never used them for that. They've had crap like binders and junk mail in them for the past few years. Taking all of this into consideration, I got to work.


I had to sort through the entire pile of junk first. I had receipts from electronics from 2004, ones I didn't even have anymore! I found old car papers, random photos, high school essays. Seriously? Why do I even have this anymore?! I ended up throwing out 2 huge paper bags full, not to mention the documents I shredded.



The after...... is so worth it. It's pleasing to the eye, I feel like I can actually get some work done here. My things are so neatly organized and laid out. So now I present you with some before and after shots !

I've got that itch....

The time has come to plan my next Europe Trip. This time the theme is simplicity. Not trying to cram 7 cities into 15 days. I want to go to places I've not been to. Here's where I'm thinking of going.

Italy- Tuscany and Venice
France- Nice, Marsailles, Aix-en-Provence
Spain - Barcelona
Czech Republic- Prague
Germany- Berlin, Frankfurt
Austria- Vienna
Scotland- Edinburg

I'm wanting to go sometime in late summer or early fall. Time shall see.

Say hello to my new friend.

So I did it. I took the plunge. Right now I have a Canon XSi D-SLR camera on its way to me. I keep thinking of the possibilities of things I'm going to do with it and I get all kinds of tingly. I have been reading some wonderful blogs about Food Photography lately and they have some tricks and tips on using different settings to getting the best shot out of it.

So if you're one of my friends that wants a few photos done... I'm willing to do them for no cost so I can have a portfolio :) Just let me get used to it and we're on!

I'm in love.

I have a new love in my life.

I made the plunge yesterday and got an iPhone. Some of the best money I've ever spent. This phone is so easy to use and by gosh, it does anything and everything. Everyone has seen the commercials for the "App Store" and with just a tap of the screen, you can get a new game, program, news site, or anything you'd like on your phone.

I added some great applications... and the best part is that they were free!

• Facebook - this is awesome! I like it better than on my computer!
• Pandora Radio - it streams just like it does on the web... I can put on my earbuds and listen to the Michael Buble channel all day :D
• NYT - I get the latest news articles right on my phone!
• Youtube- just a click away and I have anything on Youtube at my fingertips!

Other than having a gorgeous 3.5 inch touch screen display, this phone is honestly the most user friendly phone. Even my technologically ignorant mother would be able to work this phone.

Yum.

Sesame peanut noodles anyone?? The recipe I did made a TON of it... so I stashed it in the fridge, they are even better cold!

Fresh red pepper slices, snow pea pods, scallions, and bean sprouts tossed with a peanut/sweet chili sauce with whole wheat noodles.