Dining With De Lara

Archives for April 2018

Epic Fruit Pizza

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Here comes one of our family’s favorite spring-time deserts! This epic fruit pizza is a great addition to any picnics, bar-b-ques, or brunches you may be having now that the weather is turning warmer. It consists of a soft, buttery shortbread crust, a whipped cream cheese topping, and your favorite fruit!

We prefer strawberries; however, bananas, berries, kiwis, pomegranates, or grapes would all be fantastic on this dessert. My favorite thing to do is eat a slice with a strong cup of coffee- so good!

 

 

5.0 from 2 reviews
Epic Fruit Pizza
 
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A fresh, vibrant desert that is perfect for picnics, bar-b-ques, and brunches! Spring fruit pizza is a simple shortbread crust with cream cheese topping and your favorite fruit.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • For The Shortbread Crust:
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ¾ cup sugar, softened
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2½ cups unbleached, all purpose flour
  • For The Topping:
  • 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. To make the shortbread crust:
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Then add in the sea salt, vanilla, and flour and mix until fully incorporated and no flour streaks remain. Form the dough into a firm ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  4. To make the topping:
  5. While the dough chills, you can make the topping. Using the mixer again, beat the cream cheese and butter together for about 2 minutes or until it looks smooth and there are no chunks. Next, add in the almond milk, vanilla, and sugar. Mix until smooth.
  6. When the dough is done chilling, take it out of the refrigerator and roll it out on a piece of parchment paper or a floured round baking sheet. The dough should be about ½ inch thick. Bake for 20- 25 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown. You don't want to over-bake the crust or it will become quite hard.
  7. Let the crust cool for a few minutes before spreading the topping on it. Next you can add your favorite sliced fruit! Ours is strawberries, but kiwis, grapes, oranges, bananas, berries, and pomegranates are all great ideas as well. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

 

15-Minute Strawberry Jam

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This 15-minute strawberry jam is one of the most delicious things to come out of my kitchen. Needing only 5 ingredients and ten minutes of cooking time, it is simplicity at its finest! When I make it, you can find me *literally* eating it out of the jar with a spoon. It also is amazing on waffles, pancakes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bagels, and ice cream!

I love making my own jam because it tastes like actual strawberries and not artificial strawberry flavor, and is way healthier because you can control the sweetener. It comes together so quickly its barely any work, and the flavor is SO worth it.

The chia seeds are what give it a jelly-like texture and thickness and they provide extra fiber, and healthy fats, win-win! However, if you prefer to have a smooth jam, then simply blend the jam mixture after it has cooled a bit.

 

 

15-Minute Strawberry Jam
 
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A strawberry jam packed full of flavor that requires only 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of cooking time! Delicious on waffles, pancakes, bagels, and ice-cream!
Author:
Recipe type: spreads
Serves: 3 cups
Ingredients
  • 3 cups chopped strawberries
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • ⅓ cupmaple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¼ cup water
Instructions
  1. Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and turn the stove to medium high heat.
  2. Mash the berries with a potato masher or large cup while they cook. Bring the berry mixture to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until it thickens.
  3. Remove from heat immediately and let cool before storing it in an airtight container.
  4. Should keep well for one week!

 

Loaded Veggie Lasagna

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This comforting veggie lasagna is the perfect week-night dinner! It is insanely satisfying and so easy to personalize depending on what your friends and family like or what your have in your pantry. It’s also a great way to get in some extra veggies, while still pleasing everyone at the dinner table.

 

 

Instead of the traditional ground beef filling, I used a mixture of zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, and spinach. But other vegetables like bell peppers, olives, artichokes, cauliflowers, and tomatoes would be delicious add ins as well! If you try my lasagna, leave a comment and let me know what your family likes in their lasagna!

 

Comforting Veggie Lasagna
 
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A comforting and satisfying veggie lasagna that won't disappoint. Packed full of flavor, it is a home-run come dinner time!
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Recipe type: Mains
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 8 large servings
Ingredients
  • 1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium zucchini squash
  • 2 large carrots
  • ½ a white onion
  • 3 cups of sliced mushrooms
  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 2 packed cups of spinach
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2½ cups of marinara sauce
  • 2 cups cottage cheese
  • 1½ cups good-quality mozzarella
Instructions
  1. *If you have normal lasagna noodles, you will need to boil them before preparing the lasagna.*
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Dice the zucchini, carrots, onion, mushrooms, eggplant, spinach and garlic. Add the all of the vegetables except the garlic to the hot skillet and sauté, stirring frequently. After about ten minutes they should be soft and starting to brown. Add the garlic, sea salt, and red pepper flakes and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
  4. In a 9in by 13in pan, spread a couple spoonfuls of marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan so the noodles don't stick to the bottom. Lay a single layer of noodles over the sauce and spread the vegetable mixture on top. Spread the cottage cheese over the vegetables and add another layer of noodles on top of the cheese. Spread the remaining marinara sauce on top of the noodles and then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the sauce.
  5. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top layer of cheese is golden brown and bubbling.
  6. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving!

 

Vanilla Coconut Granola

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This vanilla coconut granola is super simple, toasty, slightly sweet, and crunchy! It is so easy, all you have to do is mix it together and throw it in the oven! We have been eating it on the daily and since it makes 7 cups and keeps for up to two weeks, it is an great time saver. It makes a quick, easy breakfast or snack by itself or added to oatmeal, yoghurt, or fresh fruit.

 

I thought I didn’t like granola, since all I had ever tried was store bought granola. I never could get into the taste and it was always too sweet. However, I decided to make my own and I am in love! It is really easy to make and even easier to customize! Want to add fruit? Throw in some dried cranberries, apricots, or blueberries. Don’t like coconut chips? Take them out and substitute them for something else, like chopped almonds. You are the boss of your kitchen, so make something that will make your taste buds happy.

 

Vanilla Coconut Granola
 
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A simple, effortless granola recipe that is crispy, crunchy, slightly sweet, and so satisfying!
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 7 cups
Ingredients
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1½ cups coconut chips (I use Dang coconut chips because they are amazing! You can find them at most grocery stores)
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup olive or coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly until everything is coated evenly and starting to stick together.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread the granola over it.
  4. Place the granola in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until it is golden brown and smells toasted. While it bakes stir the granola several times to make sure it cooks evenly and no pieces get burned.
  5. Once it is done baking, let it cool and then store in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

*Notes*

Though this recipe has coconut in it, it does not have a overpowering coconut flavor. It is pretty subtle and the coconut chips I prefer to use are nothing like shredded coconut. They are caramel-y sweet and crunchy, just like chips! I would definitely recommend using them.

Easy Vegetarian Calzones

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Calzones are one of our favorite things to eat in our house! Just like pizza except *way* more fun, you can hold them like a warm pocket of love filled with all of your favorite toppings. They make a great week-night meal and are awesome left-overs for lunches the following day. Plus they can be a great way to sneak in some extra vegetables!

For these calzones I use my fool-proof recipe for pizza dough, which takes barely any work. Just how I like it! The dough gets slightly crispy and crunchy on the bottom, and soft and chewy everywhere else. If you decide you want to make a regular pizza, simply make this pizza dough recipe, roll it out into a round pizza shape, add toppings, and bake for 25 minutes. Easy-peasy!

I added some of my favorite veggies like spinach, mushroom, olives, and jalapeños. But the great thing about calzones is that they are so customizable. Don’t like this filling? Put your own favorite pizza toppings inside! I prefer veggies, but my husband’s favorites are sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms. Leave a comment below and let me know what your favorite toppings are!

Easy Vegetarian Calzones
 
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Author:
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 8 calzones
Ingredients
  • For The Pizza Dough:
  • 1½ cups of warm water
  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3½ cups of flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
  • For The Calzone Filling:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cups sliced mushrooms
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 cups chopped spinach
  • 1 24 oz jar of marinara sauce
  • 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 jar of olives
  • 1 jar pickled jalapeños
Instructions
  1. Place the yeast and warm water in a large mixing bowl and let sit for 5 minutes or until you can see small bubbles form on the surface.
  2. Add in the olive oil, sea salt, and flour and mix until a sticky dough forms. Cover your hands in a little flour and knead the dough a few times until no streaks of flour remain and the dough is holding itself together.
  3. Leave the dough in the bowl (you can oil the bowl if you don't want it to get sticky when you take the dough out) and let it rise for one hour.
  4. While the dough rises, place the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, garlic powder, and sea salt. Sauté until golden brown and add the spinach. The spinach cooks very quickly, it may only need to be in the pan a few minutes before it is fully cooked and wilted.
  5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  6. When the hour is up, the pizza dough should look like it has doubled in size. Take the dough out of the bowl and divide it evenly into 8 balls of dough. Roll out the dough balls on a floured surface until they are about a ¼ inch thick.
  7. Place a rolled out dough on a baking sheet and on half of the round, spread a couple spoonfuls of marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, the mushroom mixture, olives, and jalapeños. Pull the other side of the dough up and over the filling and press the edges together with a fork to seal the calzone. Repeat with the remaining dough. Depending on how large you roll the dough out to be and how full you stuff the calzones, you may need more than one baking sheet. I could only fit four at a time on my baking sheet.
  8. Once the calzones have been filled and sealed, place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and firm.
  9. Let cool a few minutes before serving, and enjoy!

 

 

 

Restaurant- Style Mexican Rice

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I am very fortunate to have married my husband. Not only is he an amazing husband and father, he also came with a wonderful family. My husband’s family comes from Aguascalientes, Mexico and they are some of the kindest, most generous, hard-working, and loving people I have ever met. Not only are they kind- they know how to COOK! My wonderful mother-in-law, Angelina, taught me how to make this recipe, and it will be the first of many of her recipes that I share here.

Like many of Angelina’s traditional Mexican recipes, this rice is easy, has simple ingredients, and is extremely flavorful! It comes together in about 40 minutes and is a perfect side to any meal. Or you can eat it as a meal itself and toppings like, lime, avocado, cilantro, sour cream, or salsa.

The first step to cooking the Mexican rice is toasting it. This will ensure the rice cooks quickly and evenly, but it is very easy to burn if you don’t keep a close eye on it. Here is a picture of what the toasted rice should look like, right before I added the other ingredients. Angelina uses Caldo de Pollo to give the rice its flavor, it is easily found in any grocery store in the isle where they keep Mexican ingredients. It is simply powdered chicken bouillon, and the rice would not be the same with out it. Let’s make some rice!

Restaurant- Style Mexican Rice
 
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This Mexican Rice is easy to make, has simple ingredients, and big flavor! Serve it as a side, or eat it as a meal with your favorite toppings.
Author:
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups jasmine rice
  • 4½ cups water
  • 4 tablespoons tomato sauce
  • 3 tablespoons Caldo de Pollo
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh peas
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh corn
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add rice and toast it for about ten minutes until the rice looks light brown. (See the photo above) Stir frequently so that the rice will toast evenly and not burn.
  2. Add the water, followed by the tomato sauce, Caldo de Pollo, peas, and corn.
  3. Stir everything together and cover the skillet with a lid. reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes or until most of the water has been soaked up.
  4. Turn off the heat and let the rice rest while still covered for an additional 5 minutes.
  5. Fluff with a fork and serve!
Notes
We like to serve ours with fresh cilantro, lime, and beans. But you could also serve it with sour cream, cheese, fresh tortillas, or salsa!

 

 

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

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The classic chocolate chip cookie, with a twist! I used my ultimate chewy chocolate chip recipe which will give you a cookie that’s soft, chewy, and slightly crunchy around the edges. The perfect combination!

This recipes comes together quickly, but do make sure you don’t skip the refrigeration step. Cooling down the cookie dough will ensure they don’t thin out and spread once you place them in the oven to bake. After that its easy peasy!

 

If you aren’t feeling the cherries, you can leave them out and you will have just a yummy, classic chocolate chip cookie. If you make them leave me a comment and tell me how you like them!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
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Classic chocolate chip cookies get a makeover with the addition of cherries. Soft, chewy, and crunchy around the edges, these cookies will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.
Author:
Recipe type: Baking
Serves: 20 cookies
Ingredients
  • 1¾ cups un-bleached, all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1½ sticks of melted butter
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ½ cup dried cherries
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  2. In another large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer add the melted butter and both sugars together and beat on high for 1 minute until smooth and shiny.
  3. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the sugar mixture and beat together.
  4. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat until just incorporated and no dry streaks of flour remain in the dough.
  5. Stir in the chocolate chips and cherries and place the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  6. Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place tablespoon size balls of dough on it.
  8. Place the cookies in the oven and and bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are slightly brown around the edges.
  9. Let the cookies cool and then repeat with the remaining cookie dough