Rum Bundt Cake

This rum bundt cake recipe has been a family staple and go-to birthday cake for years.  It has been passed down from my grandmother with the original recipe (written in pencil!) still in tact.  Over the years it has been a crowd favorite and the best part of this recipe (aside from being super moist and delicious) is how easy it is to make!  

Rum Bundt Cake

 Cake Ingredients

•  1 Box Yellow Butter Cake Mix
• 1 Box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
• 4 Eggs
• 1/4c Rum (Bacardi Light Rum Recommended)
• 1c Milk
• 1/2c Crisco Oil
• 1/2tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2tsp Almond Extract

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients and pour into a well-greased and floured Bundt pan. 
2. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

**Note- For best results (and maximum fluffiness), I recommend using the Nordicware Anniversary Bundt Pan found at Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel or Amazon. 

Nordicware Anniversary Bundt Pan

Rum Glaze Ingredients

• 1/2c Rum
• ½ Stick Butter
• 1c Sugar

Instructions Continued…

1.  Begin to heat glaze ingredients approximately 5 minutes before the cake is done cooking.
2. Bring glaze to a boil over medium/high heat until the ingredients combine to become a consistent glaze. 
3. Once the glaze is boiling, pour over the hot rum cake while it is still in the Bundt pan and let it soak for 30min. **I like to place a place a cookie sheet that have lined with aluminum foil under the bundt pan prior to pouring the glaze in the event that the glaze bubbles over the edges of the bundt pan. Less mess and much easier clean-up. 

After 30-45minutes, flip rum cake onto cake plate and dust with powdered sugar. 

*Note- This cake gets better after it has aged for a day and develops a crunchy sugary crust. 

Lemon Dijon Herb Pork Tenderloin (That you can make ahead!)

I don't know if you have ever felt this way before, but during the work week the only thing I want to do when I come home from the office is flop on the couch with a glass of vino and watch a TV show saved on my DVR.  My brain feels like pudding and my body like Jello (maybe too vivid of a description), but the point being--I don't want to do anything but relax!  The idea of preparing a homemade dinner seems herculean.  I don't want to have to think about shopping for the ingredients, chopping ingredients, cooking and then of course…the clean-up (woof, no thanks).   

Changing my tune...

Over the past few years, while dating and then engaged to my now husband, there were definitely nights during the week where I wanted to surprise him with a home-cooked dinner after work.  I've had a bunch of trial, error (ex. would not recommend making an apple pie from scratch on a week night), and success (ex. Barefoot Contessa's Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin)!

This pork tenderloin recipe evolved from the success I have had with making Ina Garten's Recipe.  I have tweaked the ingredients a bit and will show you how to take the marinade and turn it into a sauce to serve with your pork.  The best part about this recipe is that you can start prepping this meal over the weekend but then cook it on a weeknight!  Cooking on a weeknight becomes infinitely easier when all you have to do is cook something because all of the prep has been done the day before.  Here is my recipe for Lemon Dijon Herb Pork Tenderloin:

Ingredients

• 3lbs Pork Tenderloin
• 3/4c Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus 3Tbs set aside for cooking)
• 2 1/2 Tbs Fresh Minced Garlic 
• Zest of 1 Large Lemon
• Juice of 2 Large Lemons
• 1oz Champagne Vinegar
• 1/4c Dijon Mustard
• 1tsp Julienned Sage
• 2Tbs Fresh Chopped Rosemary
• 2Tbs Fresh Chopped Thyme
• 1/2tsp Fresh cracked pepper
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Gallon Ziplock Bag (I like to double-up and use 2 bags to make sure nothing leaks in my refrigerator, but 1 Ziplock is certainly sufficient)

**Tip- When shopping for the ingredients above, instead of buying each herb individually, just buy the herb pack that says "Poultry Herb Blend" in the produce section.  The "Poultry Herb Blend" contains Rosemary, Thyme and Sage (and enough of each for this recipe!), so you can save money by only purchasing one herb box instead of three!

**Tip 2- Easy way to chop the Fresh Rosemary and Thyme--place herb leaves in a bowl, take a pair of kitchen scissors and snip contents until evenly chopped.  

4 Kitchen tools that help to make this recipe even easier

1. Mini Vegetable Chopper- Great for Slicing, Dicing and Mincing Garlic 
2. Citrus Reamer- Great for Juicing Lemons 
3. Microplane- Can be great for zesting citrus or grating hard cheeses.
4. Digital Meat Thermometer- Investing in a good quality digital meat thermometer will give you an accurate read for determining the internal temperature/doneness of your meat. 

Prep Instructions

1. Add Pork Tenderloin, Olive Oil, Garlic, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, Champagne Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Pepper and Salt to a 1 gallon Ziplock bag.  
2. Squeeze air out of bag, seal bag shut and mush around (apologies for this non-technical term but it is what you have to do) contents of bag.
3. Place in refrigerator overnight to marinate.

Cooking Instructions

1. Remove pork tenderloin bag from the refrigerator an hour before you are planning to cook it.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 
3. In an oven safe 12 inch skillet, heat 3 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil on medium high heat
4. When the pan is hot, pull the pork tenderloin out of the marinade bag shaking off as much excess liquid as you can and place the tenderloin in the heated pan
5. Brown the tenderloin on all sides (**If there is an excess of liquid in your pan you may need to drain some of it out…otherwise it will take significantly longer to brown the meat because you will have to wait for all of the liquid to evaporate first).
6. Once the meat has been browned on all sides, remove from stove and place entire pan straight into the oven to finish cooking
7. Cook the tenderloin in the oven until it reaches an internal temperature between 160 (medium-well) and 170 (well-done) degrees.  
8. Once the meat reaches the suggested internal temperature, remove from oven and cover meat lightly with aluminum foil.  Allow meat to rest for approximately 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  (Cutting into the meat right out of the oven will cause all of the juices to run out and your meat will be dry.)

For the Sauce

1. Once the pork tenderloin has been removed from the marinade bag to cook, dump the remaining contents of the ziplock back (the marinade) into a small sauce pot (2qt) and set aside
2. As soon as the pork goes into the oven, bring the sauce pot to a boil stirring frequently
3. Continue to cook/boil the marinade for approximately 20min (stirring frequently)
4. Once the sauce is done cooking, pour through a sieve into a heat safe container (I use a pyrex measuring cup)

To Serve

1. Cut the pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch thick pieces on the diagonal
2. Assemble on plate and drizzle with sauce
3. I like to serve this dish with my Roasted Sweet Potato Discs and Microwave Steamed Green Beans   (*Reference first photo  in this post*)

Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

The idea of making my own soup always seemed very intimidating to me.  I had always figured that there were a million steps and techniques used just to make the broth, so I had always made it a point to steer clear of making soups.  Avoiding soups had been totally fine until I had to sell my husband on why we needed to buy the Le Creuset Oval Dutch Oven.  Trying to recall all tips and tricks from the Food Network and cookbooks I had read, I came up with a recipe for rotisserie chicken noodle soup.  

That recipe I spouted off on the fly did the trick (thank goodness!).  I ended up getting the dutch oven and putting the recipe to the test.  With a little tweaking, I was able to create a flavor-packed soup that was super easy and according to my husband "tastes better than the chicken noodle soup at XXX grocery store."  I considered that to be a huge win and so I wanted to share this latest creation.  Honestly, the hardest part of this recipe is the chopping involved during prep. Remember- recipes do not need to be ultra difficult to taste delicious.  

Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients

• 5c Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 2c Water
• 1 Cooked Rotisserie Chicken (Skin Removed and diced into 1/2in cubes) *dark and white meat can be used
• 2 Whole Dried Bay Leaves + 1 Fresh Bay Leaf (Sliced in Half)
• Poultry Blend Fresh Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme and Sage) tied together with a piece of kitchen string (my version of a "Bouquet Garni"- in case you were wondering, here is a link to a traditional bouquet garni)
• 1c Coarsely Chopped Carrot
• 1c Coarsely Chopped Celery + 3Tbs chopped celery leaves
• 1 Diced Yellow Onion
• 3 Cloves minced Garlic
• 1tsp Ground Cumin
• 1/2 Bag Orichette Pasta Cooked a little "al dente"
• 1 Rind of Parmesan Block
• 3Tbs Olive Oil
• Fresh Baby Spinach (optional)
• Kosher Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large dutch oven (or soup pot) heat 3 TBS of olive oil on medium to medium-high heat.
2. Add the 3 Cloves of freshly minced garlic and let cook for about a minute
3. Add 1 diced yellow onion and cook until almost translucent (3-5minutes)
4. Add Celery, Celery Leaves and Carrots and cook for another 3-5 minutes
5. Add Stock and Water to the pot and bring back up to a boil then reduce to a simmer
6. Once at a simmer add in bay leaves, rind of parmesan cheese block, fresh herb bouquet garni, cumin and about 1/4tsp freshly cracked pepper
7. Cover and let simmer for approximately 15min
8. Add Orichette Pasta and Chicken, stir, cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes. 
9. Once the soup is done simmering, add salt and pepper to taste
10. Remove Bouquet Garni, Parmesan Cheese Rind and Bay Leaves
11. Serve in bowl over fresh baby spinach (the heat from the soup will cause the spinach to wilt and keep its bright green color) **Optional**
12. Grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top of each bowl and serve with a piece of toasted rustic bread drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches

Growing up, there was never a question that my favorite candy was the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup.  I loved that combination of chocolate and peanut butter in any and all variations.  As terrible as this may sound, there was even a chocolate and peanut butter candy breakfast cereal that I can remember loving.  Not the healthiest, but OH WOW so delish!  

This love of the chocolate and peanut butter combination is still alive and well (although now I try to refrain from the cereal as an adult).  I recently came up with this new confection creation that incorporates my lifelong love of peanut butter and chocolate with my new love of pretzels.  This recipe is "no-bake" and requires only 3 ingredients.  Great to serve as a dessert at your next party or even to just enjoy when you are craving that something sweet!  They also taste great refrigerated.  

Ingredients

• Peanut Butter
• 100 Waffle Pretzels
• 1 Bag Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 4 Pretzels Crushed 

Instructions:

1. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil on top of a large cutting board or cookie sheet (this will make clean-up a piece of cake)
2. Apply a thin even layer of peanut butter to one side of roughly 50 pretzels
3. Once the peanut butter has been applied to the base, add another pretzel to the top of each peanut butter covered pretzel to create a sandwich
4. In a microwave safe bowl heat the chocolate chips for 30 seconds, remove the bowl, stir the chocolate chips, heat for another 30 seconds and repeat process until chocolate chips have been melted to a smooth and creamy consistency (Approximately 1-minute total)
5. Dip each sandwich in the melted chocolate batter and then place on the sheet of parchment paper to dry.  **I like to wear disposable gloves for this part because chocolate dipping can get a little messy**
6. Sprinkle the chocolate coated peanut butter pretzel sandwiches with the 4 leftover pretzels that have been crushed
7. Allow almost 24 hours for these tasty confections to dry completely (but you can also dig in as soon as they are garnished)

Makes approx 50 sandwiches

Simple Arugula Salad with Homemade Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

One thing I love regardless of the season, is a good salad.  Filled with so many healthy veggies, fruits and other toppings, the versatility in prepping the salad gives it the ability to work as an appetizer, lunch or dinner entree.  

Since it's the dead of winter and the citrus is in abundance at the grocery store, I have created an arugula salad with a homemade Citrus Dijon dressing that is easy to make, packed with flavor and healthy!  

Ingredients for the Salad

• 4-5 cups Arugula
• 1 cup Cherry or Grape Tomatoes Sliced Lengthwise (Red or Yellow)
• 1/3 of a thinly sliced red onion that has soaked in apple cider vinegar for at least 4hrs (**Soaking your onion in vinegar will take the bite out)
• 1/2 of a Fresh Avocado Diced
• 4-5 Fresh Basil Leaves Julienned
• Parmesan Cheese Shavings for Garnish (either store bought shavings or you can take a clean vegetable peeler to a block of parmesan)

Ingredients for the Dressing

• 2oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1oz Champagne Vinegar 
• 1/2oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (I use Meyer Lemons because I find them to be juicier, but any lemon will do). 
• 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 Sweetener Packet (I use Splenda, but any sweetener packet variation will work)
• 1 Shake of Tabasco (or hot sauce equivalent)
• 1 tsp Basil Paste (Found in the herb section of Safeway, Publix, Harris Teeter, etc.)

(*If you aren't a fan of a lot of acid in your salad, cut the vinegar out of this recipe and increase the lemon juice to 1oz)

Instructions:

1. In a large salad bowl, combine Arugula, Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Soaked Onions (drained) and Avocado.  Set bowl aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together Olive Oil, Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Sweetener, Hot Sauce, Dijon Mustard and Basil Paste
3. Once the vinaigrette has been whisked together, add it to your salad and toss.
4. Plate each salad portion and then add parmesan shavings
5. OPTIONAL- This salad would also be delicious with the addition of Grilled Chicken, Shrimp or even Grilled Tofu!