FOOD: On-The-Go Breakfast Bowl

Hi everyone! Sami from XO, Sami Davis here. I'm the newest contributor here at Made By Girl & am so excited to be posting today for the first time! So, here we go! Let's chat about breakfast.

Breakfast used to be the hardest meal of the day for me to put together. From rushing out the door or just not feeling particularly hungry, skipping breakfast was seriously make a dent in my daily routine. With the need for a great recipe I could make in a snap, I cultivated a yummy breakfast bowl perfect for the girl on the go. Today, I’m sharing with you a honey greek yogurt bowl topped with strawberries, bananas, and your favorite granola.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup greek yogurt

- 1 tbsp clover honey

- 1/2 cup sliced strawberries

- 1/2 banana

- 1/4 cup your favorite granola 

1. Start by placing your greek yogurt in a bowl and pouring the honey over the yogurt.

2. Slice up your strawberries and bananas then 

assemble them on top of your yogurt honey mixture.

3. Top with your favorite granola, enjoy!

TIP: These make great make-ahead meals and would hold perfectly in small mason jars assembled like a parfait. That way, all you have to do is grab a jar on your way out the door!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

-post and photos by Sami Davis

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Brunch & Unstopables Scents

My husband & I started a new thing called "hotel-style brunch" where we literally have a fancy, hotel-style brunch at our home once a week.  With this brunch set-up, we wanted the space to smell great before the food was served.  So, what did we do?

We chose one of the new Unstopables scents to freshen up the space. We got two different scents, "Shimmer" & "Fresh"  but we chose "fresh" for our brunch setting - it smells great!  It definitely made a difference while we waited for the food to be done. We loved the airy, fresh scent we got from the spray..

If you're not familiar with Unstopables - it's a long lasting spray that elevates the everyday. The Unstopables collection features 3 luxurious scents, fresh, shimmer and lush. There are scents for air, home & even fabric.  So now even you're laundry can smell beautiful too.....right out of the dryer.  The laundry crystals feature breakthrough perfume micro capsules. They're literally like crystals for your laundry..... too cute! You'll def love the scents.


-post & photo by jen ramos




-  This post has been sponsored by unstopables , but the opinions expressed are my own.

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FOOD: RUSTIC APPLE TART

Hi there! Jen from Lemon Drop Love here and I wanted to share an easy, but incredibly impressive dessert. This rustic apple tart is perfect for fall and you can eat it warm, at room temperature or cold for breakfast, an afternoon snack or, of course, dessert ( I ate it every which way and it was always delicious). In the past I’ve been a little intimidated by tarts and pies because I never want to mess up the crust recipe, but this little dish is fool proof and I’m looking forward to making this tart again and again with all different types of fruits and berries.

Rustic Apple Tart

INGREDIENTS: (recipe adapted via Ina Garten)
For the dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water
For the apples:
4 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
2 tablespoons water


DIRECTIONS:

• For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
• Peel the apples and remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine!
• When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the water and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature. 

 -post and images bu jen costea

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FOOD: Smores CUPCAKES

Hi Made By Girl readers, Amanda here from A Life Well Lived.  Now that Summer is official upon us, I am so excited for all things summer - long days, BBQs and my personal favorite, camping. And of course, no camping is complete without making s'mores. Ooey gooey chocolately s'mores are the stuff that summer is made of in my opinion.

I love the flavor combination of s'mores soo much, that I decided to try them out in cupcake form; graham cracker bottom, chocolate cupcake batter topped with a toasted meringue. Heaven.  This cupcake is the next best thing to sitting by the fire making your very own s'more with the bonus that these can be enjoyed all year long from the comfort of your own home. Campfire is always encouraged but entirely optional.

 S'mores Cupcakes: (Cupcake recipe adapted from Ina Garten's Chocolate Cupcakes)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until finely ground up. Add melted butter and pulse to combine. Place about 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture in the bottom of the cupcake liners and press to evenly coat the bottom. Bake in oven for about 4 - 5 minutes until golden brown. Let cool while you make the cupcake batter. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and esspresso.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended. Divide the batter among the cupcake pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans then allow to cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting by combing egg whites, sugar, vanilla and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Using an oven mitt, place bowl over a stove burner. Turn onto medium heat and whisk egg mixture over medium heat until egg whites are hot, about 4 minutes. Remove from stove  top and place on stand mixture. With a whisk attachment whip egg mixture until it becomes white and fluffy and stiff peaks are formed, about 5 -6 minutes. Place frosting into piping bag fitted with tip of choice  (I actually just cut off the tip of the bag and did not use a tip - but up to you!) Pipe frosting onto cupcakes in desired shape. Toast the frosting using a kitchen torch then sprinkle with crushed graham crackers.

-post by amanda frederickson

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FOOD: White Chocolate and Strawberry Bread Pudding

Hi there, Amanda here from A Life Well Lived. Today I am going to share with you my secret white chocolate strawberry bread pudding recipe.  I first tasted this recipe a long time ago - I was eating at a restaurant and had a version of this dessert. I asked the waiter to see if the chef would share his recipe because I loved it. He went back to the kitchen and the chef said no. No!? Since wouldn't share,  I had to recreate it. It took me a couple tries to get it right but  I think it is even better than the original. Take that chef! 

Bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts, right behind soufflés. It doesn't get much better than custardy-sweet-decadent bread pudding. It is the all time best comfort food.  It is a great dessert to make when you are having company over for dinner (or even brunch)  because this bread pudding is best if you let it sit overnight (or at least 12 hours) and let the bread and the egg do their thing. The longer the bread sits in the egg mixture the tastier it becomes.

The magic ingredient in this dessert is the white chocolate. It is unexpected and totally delicious In my opinion, white chocolate doesn't get any recognition but it is pretty darn tasty. Especially when combined with strawberries.  Heavenly.

So unlike that chef many years before and in the spirit of sharing please make, eat and enjoy this delicious bread pudding. White Chocolate and Strawberry Bread Pudding:

• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons of orange zest
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 loaf of day old bread cut into 1 inch cubes (preferably a hearty bread like ciabatta or batard)
• 2 cups of strawberries, diced
• 8 oz. of white chocolate chunks

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, milk, orange zest and 1 cup of the sugar. Add the vanilla and the salt. Add the day old bread and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Pre-heat the oven to 275°F and butter a 9 x 11 inch rectangle baking dish Remove the bread mixture from the refrigerator and fold in white chocolate and berries. Transfer to prepared baking dish and cover with aluminum foil (Spray the foil with non-stick spray before placing on top of bread pudding mixture so it doesn’t stick when baking) Bake for 1 ¾ hours. Remove the foil and sprinkle with remaining ¼ cups of sugar. Raise the oven temperature to 500°F and return the pudding to the over and bake for 15 minutes or until the top is golden and crispy. Serve warm and top with whipped cream.

-post by amanda fredrickson

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FOOD: crème brûlée

Hi there Made By Girl readers, Amanda here again from the blog A Life Well Lived. Today I am sharing a super easy, super delicious, and naturally gluten-free dessert - my cardamom vanilla crème brûlée. 

More and more I find friends and family not eating gluten or at least trying to limit it (myself included).  But that doesn’t meant they can’t have dessert! So I am always on the lookout for desserts, or any food for that matter, that is naturally gluten free. This crème brûlée is perfect. Using only egg yolks, cream, sugar, and natural flavorings - an ounce of gluten never touches this dessert. 

Plus I love the way it smells and tastes. Cardamom and vanilla are such a great combination. The warm vanilla compliments the spicy cardamom making a unique and delicious dessert. But best part about this creme brûlée is that it can be any flavor that you want. If you want cinnamon, just replace the cardamom and vanilla bean with a couple cinnamon sticks and let that steep in in the milk and sugar. Or what about coffee - just use to some crushed coffee beans. Or how about orange zest or mint or even basil. The list could go on. I am going to stick with vanilla and cardamom but feel free to play around with new flavors.  

And of course a highlight to this dessert is the crunchy burnt sugar on top. If you don’t have a blow torch, you can use the broiler in your oven. 

Cardamom Vanilla Crème Brûlée

5 egg yolks

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cups sugar, plus 6 tablespoons, separated  
1/2 vanilla bean split in half and seeded 
3 crushed cardamom pods 
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F and arrange the ramekins on a rimmed pan. 

In a medium saucepan over moderately high heat, combine the heavy cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the vanilla bean and its seeds,cardamom pods, and the salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once sugar is dissolved, bring mixture to a low simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

While the cream is heating, combine the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and whisk to combine. When cream mixture is ready, gradually add about 1/3 of the hot cream mixture to the yolks, whisking constantly. Once fully combined and the eggs are tempered, add the remaining hot cream mixture and stir to fully combine. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container. Carefully ladle or pour the custard into the ramekins, filling them to the rim.

Place the pan in the oven and carefully pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the edges have set but the center still jiggles when the ramekin is gently shaken, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool on a rack for 30 minutes then wrap individually and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

When ready to serve sprinkle the top of each custard with a thin even layer of remaining sugar, using about 1 tablespoon per ramekin. Use a kitchen blowtorch or the broiler to evenly melt and caramelize the sugar. Serve immediately.

-post by amanda frederickson

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SWEET PAUL Book Review

You guys are going to love this new book (launching April 1st) called: Sweet Paul Eat & Make.

I love this book for so many reasons. First, because fellow blogger Paul Lowe of Sweet Paul (fellow blogger from back in the days) sent it to me as gift & second, it has a ton of interesting & great recipes with eggs, which I love! Ok there's a third reason, the book is made up of beautiful matte pages with an artistic-flair. It's like they mixed two of my favorite things - art + food.   

Paul has been a food & craft stylist for more than 20 years - in fact, his blog was one of the first I started reading - mainly because of my husband's love for food.  It was definitely a source of inspiration for our own home cooking. So, to finally see Paul write this book was so exciting!  Paul has been around the block - with his his work appearing in publications like Real Simple, Food Network Magazine, Better homes & Gardens & more! The book is a personal book to him, filled with stories of his childhood memories, family recipes & unique craft ideas.  Speaking of craft....one of my favorite craft ideas in the book are the bottles with printout flowers on page 253. Clever. As for the food in this book, my favorite recipes include the Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate & the Smoked-Trout Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs. YUM!

BY THE WAY - Sweet Paul will be joining my husband Mat (Pot Pan Knife) for a 'Making Breakfast' workshop on March 29th. The story + photos should appear in an upcoming issue of Sweet Paul Magazine. Exciting!!!!!!

-images by jen ramos

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Valentine's Day Treat Ideas

Happy Monday!! Hope everyone is enjoying the start of the new year! As every year, we get to start it with love as we celebrate Valentine's Day! Yup... it's right around the corner!! Love is in the air and inspiring some delicious treats for the special day. I've been checking out Pinterest lately to feed that inspiration (pun intended!) and I wanted to share a few treats that caught my eye!!

Are you planning any special sweets and treats for the holiday?? Let me know, and enjoy!!

           Ombre Cake via Favorite Food Recipes

"I Heart Cookies"- Forgiving Martha

Heart Shaped S'mores - Pinterest

White Chocolate Heart Cups with Strawberry Ice Cream via Go Make Me

Heart-Shaped Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes - SkinnyTaste.com

Cookies with Rose Water - Pinterest

- post by jen ramos

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