spinach & ricotta pizza

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Signe

it is a cold & rainy day here in texas.
so today, i’m sharing a yummy recipe i made for dinner this week.
we cheated a little, and made something with bread and cheese.
but when its cold..bread and cheese make me warm and fuzzy.
can i get an amen?

this pizza actually tasted a lot like the ones i ate in italy when i lived there a few years ago. the sauce was homemade, and there was quite a bit of basil involved. so it tastes very authentic. my favorite!

so wrap yourself up in a snuggie, giant blanket, robe or whatever your little heart desires…pop this easy pizza in the oven. and enjoy the warm cheesiness and a good movie. you just can’t go wrong with that.

ingredients:

the dough:

y’all. we are such cheaters. whole foods makes the best pizza crusts. we used thin crust, but you can use whatever you want. or make your own! if you do, just know i am way lazier than you!

the sauce:

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 plum tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil leaves (make sure you use fresh basil! it tastes so much better! trust me on this one!)

the toppings:

2 teaspoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
One 6-ounce bag baby spinach, steamed, squeezed dry and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Torn fresh basil, for garnish
Crushed red pepper flakes, for sprinkling.

how-to:

for the sauce:
combine the oregano, tomatoes and garlic in a small skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. continue to cook, stirring and lightly mashing the tomatoes with a spatula, until the tomatoes have released their liquid and the sauce has become thick and jammy, about 15 minutes. remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and stir in the basil.

for the topping:
preheat the oven to 500 degrees. evenly spread the pizza crust with the sauce, spreading about 1/2 inch from the edge, and then top with the mozzarella, parmesan and spinach. place pizza in the oven and bake until the crust is crisp and the cheese has melted and is browned in spots, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan if necessary.

remove from the oven and place small spoonfuls of the ricotta on the pizzas and sprinkle with fresh basil. sprinkle the pizzas with salt and crushed red pepper flakes.

thats it! now grab that cozy blanket.
get yourself a big, cheesy slice.
and cozy up to your hubs and watch a movie like i did.

enjoy!

ombre valentines cake

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Signe

well, to start the morning off, i have some exciting news!! over the weekend, shopruche featured me as their “february ruchette of the month!” what an honor, really. it’s been so fun to have been featured on their blog a few times, and now, as the ruchette of the month. how exciting!

with that said, be sure to hop over to their store and shop the new spring pastels. if you live here in texas, i know that you could be wearing them right now! it’s been so unseasonably warm here…and i’m not complaining at this point! for some reason, when christmas ends, i’m so ready for the warm spring air to blow in. for flowers to start opening up, and most importantly for spring clothing! i love adding a little color back into my wardrobe. and ruche has some lovely new spring dresses and tops to help you do just that! {swoon}

onto what i am really excited about this morning. chad and i had lots of fun coming up with this little project and watching it come to fruition on saturday. since it’s chads job to create videos for our company, he thought that adding videos to the blog would be a great idea. and i am in complete agreance. there is something about moving pictures that is much more exciting than the everyday outfit post.

so i hope you enjoy this little “baking” video we put together. this ombre cake was pretty easy to make, and would be a fun idea to cook up for a loved one this valentines day!! {hint, hint} i have the biggest sweet tooth around, and so i might have done a little too much finger licking, while chad was working hard behind the camera. {you don’t have to bake all 4 layers, by the way. trust me, we have cake for days around here} anyway, i have to give all of the credit to my hubs. he is amazing at setting up creative shots and editing the hours of footage together to make such a fun, aesthetically pleasing video. basically, he just rocks at what he does.

so, i hope you enjoy! and be sure to scroll down for the recipe!

ingredients:
**this makes 1 9×9 round pan**

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk

how-to:

preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). grease and flour a 9×9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
in a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. at this point, you will add the desired amount of red food coloring for your first pink color. pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan. repeat this step for desired amount of cake layers! you can go crazy and make 4 like we did, or just keep it simple at 2 or 3!
bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

now the fun part! time to frost this baby! i used a simple buttercream frosting, but you can use any frosting you want!

ingredients:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

how-to:

in a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

the beauty of making your own cake is that you can add any type of topping you want. i found these fun little decorations at target. they have such a great selection!

hope you have as much fun as we did making this!

enjoy!

{ps, you can pin the picture below and it links to the recipe if you want to save it for later!}

yellow shoes.

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Signe

im wearing yellow shoes. {actually, if we are going to be accurate here, we should probably call them mustard} regardless, i am wearing yellow shoes. and loving every minute of it. we don’t need to talk about how uncomfortable they are. because that ruins the beauty behind the steal of a deal i made on these ladies. i spied them a few months ago, and hesitantly passed them by. one, because i tend to go for the neutrals while shoe shopping. and two, i didn’t want to pay $30 for yellow shoes. so, instead, i waited until they went on sale and then bought them for $5 last weekend. oh yeah. you read that right. and i might have also purchased their identical twins in fuchsia.

what? they needed a home, too.

we are jetsetting to colorado tonight for a little family ski trip with chads family. so of course, this sweater was a must. while we were packing last night, chad eyeballed my bulging suitcase, and kindly said “um, hey, don’t overpack.” i found myself giving him a string of excuses, but i know that i am guilty. i am an overpacker. never to recover. it’s just in my blood. i’m not one of those “i have an outfit for every day” kind of girls. it’s more like “i have two options for every day”. in the end, ladies, you will thank yourself for the options. anyway, i sweetly explained to him that now that there are women on his once “all boys” family ski trips (except for his mom, of course) there will be cuter coats, more time spent in the mornings getting ready, and obviously a rather large suitcase to lug behind us.

so i’m off to the mountains tomorrow, but i will be posting while i’m away!

enjoy your week!

{sidenote: apparently i was really into the hands in the hair pose today}

skinnies: gap

sweater: the oxford trunk

heels: forever 21

tote: target {similar}

arrow necklace: anthropologie

spinach, caramelized onion & apple pizza.

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Signe

today has been a slow, rainy day.

chad and i stayed up until almost 1 am working on a few projects. i don’t think i have done that since…i don’t know…college? seriously. my bedtime is definitely around 10:30 or 11 these days. just starting the natural aging process. bed later. up earlier. always wondered how my grandparents did it.

(now i understand)

so getting up was awfully hard this morning. getting dressed was even harder. and getting into work mode has still yet to kick in.

so, instead of working, i’m going to share a delicious recipe i made for dinner last week. what is better than pizza, you ask? not much. but pizza topped with delicious and healthy spinach, caramelized onions, and apples isn’t too shabby.

inspired by culinarykitchenadventures!

ingredients:

- pizza dough (you can make this, but we cheated and bought a whole foods whole wheat pizza crust. just as delicious. not as homemade)
- 4 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly
- 1 small bunch spinach, chopped
- 2 granny smith apples, sliced thinly
- 1 cup finely shredded aged cheddar cheese
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- a few pinches of cayenne pepper
- a pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to taste

how to:

1. if you are making pizza dough, now is the time to do it! actually, usually the bread needs to rise. so i would make it the night before if i were you. but since we cheated, this means that i took it out of the wrapping, and that was it. ta da! easy as pie.

i like to start by chopping all of the vegetables, shredding the cheese, and getting all of my ingredients together. that way, i’m not struggling to throw things in pans and risking a sliced finger or two.

(we only use “topless” spinach around our home)

2. in a cast iron skillet, over medium-low heat, heat 1 Tbsp oil with 1 Tbsp butter. add the sliced onions, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, a pinch of cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. saute (stirring often) for 20-30 minutes, until caramelized. as the onions become increasingly caramelized, turn down the heat to ensure that the onions don’t burn. remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

3. in the same skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil and add the sliced kale, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, a pinch of cayenne pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and a pinch of both salt and pepper. saute until the kale is wilted. remove from the heat and transfer to a different bowl.

4. using the same skillet once more, heat the last Tbsp oil and add the sliced apples. add 1 Tbsp maple syrup, a pinch of cayenne, salt and pepper. saute 6-7 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat.

(apples, onions, and spinach in their own bowls before topping the pizza.)

now. here comes the fun part. channel your inner artist and top your pilings on.

5. spread half of the caramelized onions evenly atop the par-baked crust. follow with half the apple slices, half the kale, and half of the shredded cheese. repeat.