Gorgonzola and Hazelnut Stuffed Pears with Pancetta and Arugula Salad

Pears are in season, so it's a great time to try out new recipes that incorporate these tasty fruits.  This stuffed pear recipe was delicious.  The rich buttery gorgonzola pairs nicely with the sweet pear.  The honey really made this dish for me, the mildly sweet flavor accompanied by the salty panchetta and peppery arugula salad -yum, yum, yum.  It was a delicious meal to compliment the season.

Stacy's Fall Bridal Shower

I love planning events and parties.  I don't know why, but I always get so excited -and possibly go a little overboard- when I plan a party, but I just can't help myself, I love it!  Well, yesterday I got the chance to help out with a friend's bridal shower.  I volunteered to bring some flowers and make some food. 

I wanted to make some beautiful flower arrangements on a limited budget.  So, instead of buying flowers, I thought hey it's fall, I'll just go pick some flowers.  Actually I wasn't looking for flowers I was looking for wheat, but I found something else just as beautiful, grass.  Yes, grass...and after picking a variety of grasses I had the bulk of my flower arrangements.  I picked some sunflowers from my yard, arranged the flowers and grass, and tied some ribbon around the stems.  Then I stuck the arrangements in some mason jars and ended up with some cheap and beautiful flower arrangements. 

 I wanted to keep the food simple but beautiful, so I had a few ideas that I wanted to try out.  First, I thought of making brownie bites with a little surprise inside.  So, I baked the brownies in a mini muffin tin with a maraschino cherry inside.  Then I covered the brownie bites with chocolate ganache and a ganache covered cherry.  They turned out delicious and they were so simple, you could even use a brownie mix to make them extra easy.

I also thought of making mini puff pastry fruit tarts.  I bought the puff pastry and cut it into little squares and cooked the squares in a mini cupcake tin.  Then I piped in a lemon cream cheese filling and topped the tarts with blackberries and red and white raspberries.  I used apple jelly for the glaze and garnished them with mint.  I thought they turned out beautiful and they were so tasty!

Lemon cream cheese filling:

A: 8 oz cream cheese

B: 12 oz sweetened condensed milk

C: 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

D: 1 tsp lemon zest

E: 1 & 1/4 Cups whipping cream, whipped and not sweetened

Cream together A & B then mix in C &D then fold in E and refrigerate until use.  This also makes a great pie when you pair it with a graham cracker crust.  You can also substitute the lemons for limes to make a delicious key lime pie.

Then I made some mini pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  I used my go-to cupcake recipe and  used 1/2 cup of pumpkin and 3 Tbs of heavy cream instead of the strawberry puree and milk.  I also added 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp of cloves to the flour mixture.  I used my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe and piped out some chocolate hearts and put them on top of the cupcakes.  They looked cute and tasted delicious.

 So many people helped out and made so much amazing food.  The bridal shower was definitely a success.

The Most Delicious Baked Beans

I love baked beans, actually I love these baked beans.  They are so easy and so, so, so good.  I'm not really sure where this recipe came from I think my dad might have made it up.  I remember eating these beans as a little girl, I loved them then and I love them now.  

3 15 oz. Cans of Pork and Beans

2 Cans Refried Beans or 3 Cups Homemade Refried Beans

2/3Cup Dark Brown Sugar (add more or less depending on how sweet you like your beans)

1/2 Cup Chopped Chives

1-2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

Squirt of Ketchup

6-8 Strips of Bacon, chopped 

Cook the bacon.  Add the crispy bacon plus the drippings to the rest of the ingredients.  Stir and cook (with occasional stirring) in a crock-pot on low for several hours or in a casserole dish in the oven at 300 degrees for about 3&1/2 hours. You're looking for the beans to get a dark rich color and to have somewhat of a thick consistency.  Try them out and don't be afraid to adjust the flavor as you cook.  It's that simple and they really are sooo delicious!