MYHABIT Gift card Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to enter the MYHABIT giveaway.  I used random.org to select the winner...

The lucky winner is Three Hundred Sixty Five!  

Congrats on winning.  Have fun spending your $100 gift card!

Tasty Tuesdays: Mushroom & Bacon Spaghetti with Basil & White Wine Cream Sauce

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

{I have a giveaway going on right now for a $100 gift card to MYHABIT.  CLICK HERE to enter}

I have a wonderful pasta recipe to share with you today.  I loved this pasta - it was delicious and creamy without being too rich.

Original recipe from What Katie Ate - See it here.  I found the recipe through a post on The Lush Chef.

Ingredients:

- 6-8 slices of bacon, chopped

- Olive oil

- Butter

- 4-5 green onion/scallions

- 2 cups of mushrooms, sliced (your choice of variety)

- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

- large handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped

- 1-1/4 cup heavy cream

- 1/4 cup dry white wine

- salt & pepper

- 12 oz spaghetti

- Freshly grated Parmesan

1.  Cook spaghetti according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, add a little olive oil to large skillet and add bacon, cooking until crispy.  Add the onions and cook until soft, about three minutes.  Add mushrooms and saute five minutes more.

2.  Add one tablespoon of butter and stir until mixture is coated.  Continue to cook five minutes more until mushrooms are soft but not mushy.

3.  Add the lemon zest, basil, and salt & pepper to taste, stir well.  Pour in wine and cream and stir until combined.  Continue to cook on a low simmer until thickened, five to ten minutes.  Add two tablespoons of Parmesan and stir.

4.  Add pasta to the mixture and stir until coated with sauce.  Top with additional basil and Parmesan when serving.  Enjoy!

What did you cook this week?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Party Rules:

1.  Add a link in the post you are linking up back to this post.

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2.  Add the Tasty Tuesday button to the post you are linking up.  You will find the button & code on my sidebar.  Thanks!

MYHABIT - $100 Giftcard Giveaway!

{ Image from the MYHABIT website }

Happy Wednesday, friends!

I have a great giveaway for you today from MYHABIT!  Have you heard of MYHABIT?  MYHABIT is a private sale site from Amazon.com, offering up to 60% off designer brands for men, women, kids and home.  MYHABIT offers free shipping in the U.S.  Sounds great, right?

Serena Bass is the latest tastemaker curator for MYHABIT.  She has curated a kitchen & tabletop event and has shared her recipe for a quick and easy pasta arrabbiata in the video below.

Isn't Serena adorable?  And her pasta sounds delicious! You might even see it make an appearance on a future Tasty Tuesdays!

Ready to enter?  MYHABIT is giving away a $100 giftcard to one 33 Shades of Green reader!

How to Enter:
1.  First, got to MYHABIT and become a member.  Signing up is easy - Click Here.
2.  Then, come back and watch Serena's video, posted above.
3.  Leave a comment on this post telling me two things:  What did you like about Serena's video? AND, which item in her sale is your favorite?

{ Giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.  Shipping is free in the USA only }

{ I have opened up the comments so that anyone can enter; you do not need a Google account - just select the Anonymous option to post }

That's it!  Good luck!  I'll select a winner on Wednesday, January 30, 2013.

Tasty Tuesdays: Shells with Olives & Ricotta Salata

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I have a really delicious recipe to share with you today.  I made this a few weeks ago for my sister and I and we both loved it.  The combination of flavors is so unusaul - but makes for an amazing, very flavorful combination.  Definitely will be making this one again!  Also, if you aren't an anchovy fan, don't be scared about using them.  They dissolve into the sauce and just leave a nice, salty flavor behind.

A few notes about the recipe:

- I could not find ricotta salata (even at my Italian impots grocery store!) so I substituted feta.  Ricotta salata is similar to feta.

-  I used crushed red pepper flakes instead of a fresh pepper.  1 teaspoon was plenty and gave it a lot of heat.  I would probably cut it back a little the next time I make it.

- I used flat leaf Italian parsley instead of celery leaves.

{ recipe from the November issue of Rachel Ray Magazine.  See it here. }

Ingredients:

 - salt and pepper

- 1 pound medium pasta shells

- 1/3 cup EVOO

- 7 - 8 flat anchovy fillets

- 1 small chile pepper (such as italian cherry or fresno), seeded and finely chopped, or 1 tsp crushedred pepper

- 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

- 3/4 cup mixed pitted green and black olives, chopped

- 1 lemon, zested and juiced

- 2 tablespoons white wine or dry vermouth

- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves or mixed flat-leaf parsley and celery leaves, chopped

- 1 cup crumbled ricotta salata

1.   Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

2.  While the pasta is working, in a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 5 to 6 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the anchovies and cook, stirring, until melted into the oil. Add the chile and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Stir in the olives and lemon zest; season with pepper. Pour in the white wine (or vermouth) and stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits.

3.  Stir the reserved pasta cooking water, the lemon juice and parsley (or parsley and celery leaves) into the sauce in the skillet. Add the pasta and toss. Top with the cheese.

We had this left over the next day, and it was just as good.

Enjoy!

Party Rules:

1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post.

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2.  Add the Tasty Tuesday button to the post you are linking up.  You will find the button and code on my sidebar.  Thanks!



Tasty Tuesdays: Yogurt Coffee Cake

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I made this delicious coffee cake over the holidays to serve when a friend came to visit.  I thought it was delicious!  The cake is very simple and straightforward to make.

{ I found this recipe on Pinterest.  The recipe is based on one by Ina Garten, but was modified by Maria, or Two Peas and Their Pod.  Find her recipe here. }

Ingredients:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

- 3 large eggs

- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

- 1 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt (I use 0% plain Chobani)

- 2 1/2 cups cake flour ( I used regular, all-purpose)

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the streusel:

- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For the cream cheese glaze:

- 3 ounces softened cream cheese

- 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

- 2/3 cup powdered sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

- 3 tablespoons milk, or enough to make it a glazing consistency

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and yogurt. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

3. For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.

4. Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

5. Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. To make the cream cheese glaze, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and milk. Beat until smooth and until you have a glaze consistency. Drizzle cream cheese glaze over cooled cake and serve.

I will definitely make this again.  It would be perfect for a breakfast party or brunch.  I enjoyed having the leftovers around too - the cake was good for a few days after I made it.

What did you cook this week?

Party Rules:

1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post

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2.  Add the Tasty Tuesday button to the post you are linking up.  You will find the button and code on my sidebar.  Thanks!

Tasty Tuesdays: Feta, Chive, & Sour Cream Biscuits

 

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I've been cooking again and it feels so good - I missed it!  I made these biscuits over the holidays to bring to a family Christmas get-together.   The original recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs - Joy the Baker.  See the recipe right here.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 tablespoon sugar

- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

- 1 egg, beaten

- 3 tablespoons cold water

- 3/4 cup sour cream, cold

- 1/3 cup chopped chives

- 3/4 cup big crumbles of feta cheese

- 1 egg beaten for egg wash

- coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper, and smoky paprika for topping

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or Silpat mats) and set aside.

2.  In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black pepper. Cut in butter, using a pastry cutter, until mixture resembles a coarse meal. In another bowl, combine egg, sour cream, and water. Beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft and dough. Add the chives and feta. Place dough on a pastry mat and knead the dough together. The mixture will come together in about 10 to 15 kneads.

3.  Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or glass.  Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps. Place biscuits on baking sheets.  

4.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and paprika. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm. These biscuits are best eaten the day they’re made, but will last up to 2 days.

{ Yield:  20 biscuits }

I loved these biscuits.  They tasted bast right out of the oven.  I recommend eating them right away!  They didn't taste quite as good later in the day when I brought them to my party.

What did you cook this week?

Party Rules:
1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post
OR
2.  Add the Tasty Tuesdays button to the post you are linking up.  You will find the button and code on my sidebar.  Thanks!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2013!

Here's hoping it's the best year yet.

{ Tasty Tuesdays will return next week Tuesday at it's regular time. }