Thai food. By Ashley.

You're in for a treat today as I'm going to be posting FOUR Thai recipes that I make all the time. Figured I would just get it all out there, and if you're like me and have a newfound love affair with Thai food, you're going to need to change your pants. I don't know how authentic any of these recipes actually are but, whatevs. You're going to love these recipes. They are so wonderfully warm and comforting, after you try them, it won't matter if they're actually authentic Thai or not. And you'll need to stock up on coconut milk and curry powder. You've been warned. So let's giver...

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients: original recipe can be found here

Skewers:
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
4 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoon white sugar
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 pounds boneless pork loin/chops
16 skewers (or enough for all the meat)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used crunchy peanut butter because I think that smooth is for chumps)
2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons fish sauce

First, combine every ingredient for the skewers (besides the pork) in a small bowl. Cut the pork into thin slices then add to the bowl and toss to coat.

Allow to marinate for at least two hours. After you have waited patiently, thread the meat onto the skewers. Cautionary note: if you are going to be cooking these on a barbeque and are using wooden skewers, make sure you soak the skewers in water for at least half an hour so the wood doesn't burn to a crisp on the barbeque. I used a griddle on the counter as it was the middle of winter when I made these for the first time and because the skewers I used were pretty long. So preheat the oil in whatever cooking mechanism you are using and cook each skewer until browned and no longer pink, approx 3-4 mins on each side.

My dad was helping me with this while I cooked other things. I have the best dad.

You need to make your sauce at some point as well. Add the coconut milk to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the curry powder and simmer for approximately 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth, peanut butter, sugar, lime juice and fish sauce, then simmer for one minute to allow all the ingredients to come together. Serve your sauce with your skewers. Boom, done.

Okay, up next, Pad Thai courtesy of Martha Stewart. This recipe doesn't take very long so it's great for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
8 ounces dried, wide, and flat rice noodles (my husband recently said to me the last time we made this that he thought thinner noodles would be good too. So we'll try that one day and I'll keep you posted)
2 Tablespoons dark-brown sugar (I just used the brown sugar I have, so if that's not dark then, whatever)
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving (if you want, I would say that's optional)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (I use four eggs when making this as an entree on it's own)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (the original recipe says to use cilantro, and I hate cilantro. So I never use it, but if you like it, by all means, go right ahead and eat that horrible weed)
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

First, soak the noodles in a large bowl of warm water for AT LEAST half an hour (or according to package directions), then drain. Whisk together the brown sugar, lime juice and soy sauce in a small bowl.

Next, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, then add the scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and cook, scraping the skillet with a rubber spatula, until the eggs are almost set, about 30 seconds. Transfer the egg mixture to a plate.

Add the noodles (they should be nice and floppy) and the soy sauce mixture to the same skillet.

Cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are soft and coated with the sauce, about 1 minute.

Add egg mixture, and toss, breaking up the eggs gently. Serve noodles with lime wedges (if you felt like it), topped with scallion greens, parsley and peanuts.

See that? Horrible presentation BUT easiest thing ever. Next up, one of my absolute favorites Curried Coconut Chicken. From All Recipes

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
Salt and pepper, about a teaspoon of each, or to taste
1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons curry powder (Lately I've been using 1T curry powder and 1T garam masala, which I guess makes this dish more Indian than Thai, I suppose, but still delicious)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 14.5 oz can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3 Tablespoons sugar

Oh gosh, even listing those ingredients makes me happy. This dish is so good it should be illegal.
Okay so first, heat the oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in the onions and garlic, and cook for one more minute. Add the chicken, tossing to coat in the curry oil. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Pour the coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring once in a while, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. I usually do just 30 minutes and it turns out beautifully.

Serve it with rice and have the happiest meal of your life.

Now, if you've looked at the above picture, you may be wondering what that food item is on the right side of the picture. Or maybe not, I don't know your life. Anyway, it's Crunchy Thai Salad with Cashews.

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber, chopped up
1 carrot, grated
1 cup whole roasted, unsalted cashews (the original recipe makes a note to use bulk cashews instead of the ones you get in a little bag in the baking aisle because bulk are usually fresher which is such a wonderful little piece of advice)
1/2 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced (or cut into strips lengthwise, if you're in that kind of mood)

Add all of those ingredients into a bowl together. Then make the dressing:

1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh red chili, de-seeded and minced, OR 1-2 tsp chili sauce, OR!!! 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed chili
1-2 teaspoons white sugar (to taste, I think I usually use two)
pinch of white pepper (or black pepper if that's what you have)

Mix all that shit up, then pour over your vegetables. Toss it up, and serve!!!

Okay, that's enough for today. Hope you're all enjoying your green beer, if that's your thing. And just in case I made you all too happy, I just wanted to let you know that two years ago today I was drinking green beer on a patio. What does grass look like, again?

Love love love

Ashwee

Cheesecake with Meyer Lemon-Ginger Curd

Hey errbody, this winter feel long enough for all of you? Why do we live here again? Someone remind me, because I've legit forgotten.

Anyway, time for a recipe that will brighten up your day. I made this a while back and for all of my fellow lemon lovers, you're going to shit, I guarantee it. This is a Food Network mag recipe, from the very first issue that ever arrived in my mailbox. Little did I know, it would be the beginning of the most beautiful relationship (with a magazine subscription) that I will probably ever have.

Just in case you weren't aware, Meyer lemons are from heaven. They are slightly sweeter than a regular lemon and they are a gift from God. I'm pretty sure He picked them in His own garden and sent them to us here on Earth because how else could we have something so beautiful and wonderful in our grocery stores? Yep, that's the only reasonable explanation.

So, to the cheesecake...

For the Crust:
8 whole graham crackers and 1 1/2 cups lightly crushed butter cookies
5 Tablespoons butter, melted

*Okay, right away I have a disclaimer. I didn't use the butter cookies (because I couldn't find any) and the way we get our graham crackers in grocery stores in Canada vs. how they get them in the US is obviously different. I discovered this when I was making another recipe recently and the recipe asked for 9 graham crackers for an entire pie crust. Never in a million years would that be enough so my best guess for this recipe is to use about 2-2 1/2 cups crushed graham crumbs (or a mixture of graham crumbs and butter cookie crumbs). When you add the butter and mix it up it should look like wet sand so you can always start with less and add either more crumbs or butter depending on the texture. When you squish it between your fingers it should hold it's shape fairly well, so that's how you can tell that you have the right consistency.

For the Filling:
3 8 oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature (I had a friend ask me how much 8 oz of cream cheese was. It's one brick of cream cheese. So you need 3 bricks)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 Tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice (from about 1 lemon. DON'T YOU DARE USE BOTTLED LEMON JUICE FOR THIS!!)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
 
For the Curd:
1 4 inch piece ginger, peeled (you have to grate this thing and it takes a while and will make your arm sore, just so you know...)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from about 4 lemons. Again, no juice from a bottle. Don't even use regular lemons, we can't be friends anymore if you skip out on using Meyer lemons. Your life will be better after experiencing them, I promise)
2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Sliced strawberries, for serving

Directions:
Make the crust first. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you are using whole cookies/crackers, pulse those in a food processor first until you have fine crumbs. Drizzle the melted butter all over the crumbs in the food processor then pulse again until you achieve wet sand crumbs. Press into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake until golden, about 10 mins, then remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Next, make the filling. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and a touch fluffy (you'll get there in about 3 minutes).

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the lemon juice (from heaven) and the vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared crust

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 mins - until the edges are set and the middle is still slightly jiggly. Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake in there with the door slightly ajar for 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack, let cool completely, then refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.

Once your cheesecake is completely cooled off, make the curd. Finely grate the ginger then press through a fine mesh sieve to extract the juice. Whisk the eggs, sugar and cream in a small nonreactive saucepan until combined. Add the lemon juice and ginger juice and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly (CONSTANTLY!! Leave this alone for even one second too long and it will burn. I learned the hard way and had to throw away my first batch of curd), until thick and bubbly, about 6 minutes. Make sure you have this much free time, nothing in your life is more important during these 6 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter until melted. Strain through a fine mesh sieve (press it through with a rubber spatula) and refrigerate until ready to use.

Once everything is ready, spread the curd over the cheesecake and allow AT LEAST 30 mins to set in the fridge.

Remove from springform ring and slice. Serve with sliced strawberries (if you so desire).

Confession time. This last picture was taken the next day as I didn't give the curd the proper amount of time to set when I first cut it. So by the next day it had had lots of time to chill out (har har) and looked much prettier when sliced.

And now my dear readers, I want to hear from you. Anything you don't know how to do and would like to? Any cooking questions you have and would like an answer to? Any ingredients you're curious about and would like me to feature? I had a friend ask me about avocados the other day. She had no clue what to do with them so once I compile a few different things, I will do some small features. Please don't be afraid to ask questions, even if you think they're stupid or you're stupid for not knowing something that you think is obvious. Other people might have the same question and it doesn't hurt to ask. You can either leave a comment on this post or email me at ashley.olynick@hotmail.ca if you're too shy to have others see your question.

Okay, that's it. For today.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Ash

Honey-Balsamic Lamb Chops

Whooooaaaaaaa okay it's been a while. Let's not even go there and just get straight to what we all love - FOOD!!

This is a special occasion recipe. It'll impress, I promise you and the best part? It's fast, easy and delicious. It's also a Giada recipe, and if you've been following this blog, you will know that I WORSHIP Giada. She is just, ugh, the most.

ANYway, let's get to it.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
8 small lamb chops (I bought a rack from Marcello's meats)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

I would start this recipe by making your sauce first. It can hang out while you're cooking the lamb chops and since those don't take long to cook you might want to pay attention to one thing at a time when it comes to these. Start by combining the balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey and parsley in a food processor. Pulse until well blended. Turn the machine on to low, then slowly pour in the vegetable oil into the top of the machine, thusly...

Ugh, sorry about the horrible lighting. But I'm sure you get the idea. Anyway, pour in the oil with the machine running until the mixture is smooth and forms a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Okay, now for the lamb chops. Place them on a plate and season each side with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh chopped rosemary.

Preheat a grill pan on medium-high heat and make sure it's nice and hot before you add the lamb chops. Also, lamb chops should be cooked to about medium-rare. They're small and dry out fast. Plus anything over medium is blasphemy anyway, sooooooo....
Cook the lamb chops on each side for 2-3 minutes.

Once lamb chops are done, arrange on a plate and spoon some of the sauce over top.

LOOK AT THOSE!! Shit. So good. Feel free to go crazy with the sauce. I won't even judge you for it.

I served my lamb chops with Parmesan Basil Orzo (which I think I have blogged?) and Brussel Sprouts with Bacon. Fantastic.

Love you all! Thanks for your patience during my hiatus.

-Ash

Bacon Wrapped Scallops and Cranberry Spinach Salad

Oh my word, has it been a long time...
What a hectic summer! I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. Yard work, family weddings/get togethers, and um, auditioning for MasterChef Canada (no big deal or anything...) time just flew by and then I realized, holy crap, it's been months since I blogged. My bestie said to me the other day, "You know, it's been a while since you blogged." And she was right. It has been too long in fact. So here we go again!

These recipes are actually recipes that I thought I had shared a while ago but when I went to check on my blog a few weeks ago, this post was nowhere to be found. Much to my dismay actually because it was a particularly long one that I had taken lots of time with. So honestly, that's another reason I haven't blogged in a while, because I was ticked off at whatever glitch had deleted my entire post. I feel at this point that I've gotten over my frustration, so let's try this again..

Bacon Wrapped Scallops:

I made this recipe quite a while ago but actually this summer my friends and I had a debate about how to make bacon wrapped scallops. My one friend asked how you would cook the bacon and scallops together so that the scallops wouldn't be ridiculously overcooked and the bacon wouldn't be raw. I'll tell you the secret, cook the bacon a for a little while ahead of time. Then you wrap partially cooked bacon around the raw scallops and no one is over/under done. Brilliant.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (at the time I did not have Dijon so I used whole grain mustard)
12 large sea scallops, halved
12 sliced smoked bacon, halved
24 toothpicks
2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Disclaimer: I ended up using about 40 medium sized scallops (because it was cheaper to buy so many small ones as opposed to 12 large ones) so I actually ended up having to double the recipe. Also, this recipe is adapted from this recipe on All Recipes.

Stir together the maple syrup, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard in a bowl until smooth. Add the scallops, and toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and marinate at least one hour.

While those are marinating, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. Arrange the bacon on the baking sheet so they do not overlap, like so...

Bake in the oven until some of the grease has rendered out of the bacon, but the bacon should still be soft and pliable. About 8 mins in the oven should do it. Remove bacon from the sheet and pat with paper towels to remove excess grease. Drain or wipe grease from baking sheet.

Once the scallops are finished marinating, wrap each one in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle scallops with brown sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven (same temp as you cooked the bacon at) until the scallops are opaque and the bacon is crisp, 10 to 15 mins, turning once.


I served this as an appetizer with Jaime's Cranberry Spinach Salad, the only difference being that I candied my almonds.

And if you're wondering,  yes, my husband and I ate all 42 scallops. No, we don't like to share all the time.
Oh and for anyone else who is curious, I didn't make it past the Winnipeg audition of MasterChef. Not gonna lie, I had a little cry when I found out but it was still such a cool and fun experience that I'll definitely do it again if I get the chance. And hopefully someone from my audition group made it to Toronto so I have someone to cheer for!

Thanks for being patient, my (three or four?) dedicated fans...

xoxo

Ash

Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Okay everyone, get ready to change your pants because these banana bars are a 10 on the shit-your-pants scale. And that's all the explanation you need so go make these right meow.

Ingredients:
Banana Bread Bars:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional. But I used them. So you should too. Unless you are allergic. Please don't in that case)

Brown Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk

Directions: (Oh, I just though of New Directions and then got really sad. RIP Cory Monteith...)
Preheat your oven to 375 F. Grease a 10x15 inch cookie sheet (I saw it written as a jelly roll pan, and I had NO clue what that was. So I googled it. It's just a large cookie sheet. Am I making it very obvious that I'm Canadian?) Start with the ingredients for the bars. Beat together the sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs in a large bowl until creamy.

As a side note, Whenever I have bananas that are getting a little on the brown side, I just chuck them in the freezer and take them out a little bit before I want to use them so they thaw out some. Once they are thawed they come out of the peel nice and easy (it's kind of gross actually).
Okay, so mix your gross bananas with the sugar/butter/egg etc. mixture along with the vanilla extract. Mix until well blended. Then add the flour, baking soda and salt and blend until just incorporated, about one minute. Stir in walnuts (which you should be using; allergies are the only exception in my opinion).

Spread the batter evenly into the pan (it should come up right to the top of the sides of the pan) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Okay, while that sucker is in the oven, start making your frosting.
Put the butter in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until boiling. Let it turn a delicate shade of brown...

... and then take it off the heat immediately. Make sure you don't let it burn! It's called BROWN butter frosting, not BURNT butter frosting.
Once off the heat, add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until very smooth but still thick.

Once the bars are out of the oven...

... Use a rubber spatula (or a yeetzlapel, for all my fellow Mennonites. Bad spelling, I know) and spread the icing on while the bars are still warm! I know that sounds weird (well, at least it did to me) but it's important! The icing will not slide off, don't you worry your pretty little head.

Now, you can let that cool off a bit before you dive in. And once you do, be warned, you will not be able to stop.

Just look at those things!! Ugh, I can't even handle it.

Don't say I didn't warn you...

xoxo

Ash

Recipe found via Pinterest on Life's Simple Measures

Rice Pudding

This post is dedicated to my Grandma Annie.

Rice pudding is something that really reminds me of my Grandma Dueck. She made this for me and my brother (and I'm assuming all of my cousins as well) all the time. I remember eating this warm, creamy dish with a whole whack of cinnamon on top. If you can take a particular dish for granted, this is one that I definitely did. Once we were older and she moved out of her house into her condo, I can't remember ever having it again however time has not dimmed the memories of eating rice pudding in her kitchen at the house at the end of River Road South. Sometime last year, after my Grandma had passed away, my husband saw the rice pudding was on sale at the grocery store. We picked some up and I realized I had forgotten how much I liked it. And then all the memories of having it at Grandma's house came flooding back to me and I thought, "This is nonsense, I am Annie Dueck's granddaughter, I'm making this from scratch." So that's exactly what I did...

Creamy Rice Pudding:

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup golden raisins (my Grandma never made it with raisins but I happen to love them so I though, what the heck)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
(as a side note, I changed the method with this recipe, for the original recipe's method follow the link above)
First, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Once the water is boiling, stir in the rice. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering for 10 mins or until all the liquid is absorbed.
Next, in a clean saucepan, combine the cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt.

Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, at leeaaaasst 20 minutes, if not longer. Once you have it at a consistency you are happy with, stir in the remaining half cup of milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook two minutes more, stirring constantly.

Once those two minutes are up, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve topped with a little bit of cinnamon if you so desire.

That's also the same bowl that I used to eat rice pudding out of at Grandma's place. So it was really the only bowl I could eat it out of this time. Miss you every day, Grandma.

xoxo

Ash

Sweet Potato and Rosemary Soup Featuring Ham, Gruyere and Apple Paninis

Have I mentioned how much I love Giada De Laurentiis? Because if I haven't (which I'm sure I have) I love her so much. I think I might be in love with her. That skinny bitch. No seriously, I love everything about her, even that she can stay so skinny and beautiful when she cooks such rich and delicious recipes. I love to cook too and I sure as heck can't stay that skinny. Anyway, today's recipes are brought to you directly from Giada. I saw her make these recipes on her show Giada at Home a couple of years back and I decided to cook exactly what she made that show all on one day and it was probably one of the best days of my life. No joke. The soup complimented the paninis so perfectly, this will be your new favorite "comfort food" (no offense to tomato soup and grilled cheese, but we play for keeps over here at Food Talk at Five).
Anyway, enough rambling, let's get to the recipes...

Creamy Sweet Potato and Rosemary Soup: Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (salted is fine too, just cut down on the salt later)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 large or 6 small shallots (I can never find large ones, so I always use 6 small)
2 to 3 cloves minced garlic
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 pounds (about 2-3) sweet potatoes, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 (6 inch long) stems fresh rosemary
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I always use low-sodium, something I learned from Giada)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
3 Tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

Chop up all your sweet potatoes first, this part takes the longest and you'll need to have them ready to chuck in the pot when the time comes.

The recipe says to use an 8 quart stock pot, I use a dutch oven, so use whatever tickles your fancy or whatever is in your cupboards. In your chosen pot, melt butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until the shallots are soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, rosemary and chicken broth and add a little more salt and pepper to taste.

Bring this mixture to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 20 to 25 minutes. Once the potatoes are tender, turn off the heat and remove the rosemary stems. Most of the rosemary leaves will probably be left in the soup, don't worry, you'll take care of them in the next step. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick. If you don't have an immersion blender, just put the soup into a blender in small batches and pour back into the pot until everything is blended up nice and smooth. And thick. Whisk in the mascarpone and maple syrup. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Keep the soup warm over low heat until ready to serve. Okay, onto the paninis...

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons unsalted better (let's be honest here, most of us use regular salted butter, so just go nuts)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or dried, but in a smaller quantity)
8 (1/2 inch thick) slices white bread (or whatever bread you want)
1/2 cup whole grain mustard
2 cups shredded Gruyere
8 slices Black Forest ham

Melt butter in a skillet and add apples and thyme. Sautee until the apples are soft, about 4 minutes, then cool for 5 minutes. Preheat panini press. Spread 1 tablespoon of mustard on each slice of bread. Add 1/4 cup of cheese on four of the bread slices and top with 2 slices of ham. Top with apples.

Add the remaining cheese on top of the apples and top with the remaining four bread slices. Place in the panini press and grill until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden and crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes.

(Not the best picture, I know). Here they are, all nice and squished :)

There you go. A perfect Sunday lunch. When Giada made these she also made Oatmeal, Cranberry and Chocolate Chunk Cookies. You should make those too. You won't regret it.

Now, I'll take this time to promote a new business venture I have started! As of a couple of weeks ago, I officially became an It Works! Consultant. I wanted to make some extra money and my beautiful friend Chantelle hooked me up with the business and I couldn't be more excited! Want to be slimmer and more toned in 45 minutes? Then I'm your girl! I know, it sounds too good to be true, but it really is as close to magic as you can get! Check out my website ashleyolynick.myitworks.com for more info and send me a message if you want to know more about our Ultimate Body Applicators or about becoming a part of this awesome company!

Take care my faithful followers, I love you all..

xoxo

Ash