Dear 7 year old Tracy,

I'm watching you. You're sitting at Taco Bell with your brothers scarfing down cinnamon crisps.  At your age, Taco Bell isn't a scary place. You always order the Mexican Pizza and there's only like 10 options on the menu. Today there's a GAZILLION. You don't even know about that crazy annoying Chihuahua yet! Consider yourself lucky. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this place as an adult. Your parents did the right thing and only took you out to fast food restaurants sparingly. You won't understand how important that is until later on in your life but I promise it will be worth it. Sorry for the lecture. Apparently you've turned into one of THOSE adults. Have I lost you?

Let's talk about those cinnamon crisps you like soo much!  Taco Bell stopped making them. They went through dozens of incarnations, but never returned to what you are eating now. Don't fret. The 31 year old version of you JUST made some. If I could go back in time and give you this recipe sooner, I would. Sorry-time travel isn't a done deal yet.

These cinnamon sugar tortilla crisps are crunchy and ooooh so yummy! Your son Cooper LOVED them and your husband, Casey begged you to make some more. Yes, at 31 you will have a son and a husband. So that little M.A.S.H. game you played was wrong.  You don't live in a shack and you aren't married to Joey McIntyre with 12 kids.  Ok, get back to what you are doing. Enjoy your life and keep up the good work!

Love,

31 year old Tracy

p.s. I served some of these with Baked Mangoes & Blueberries. Don't worry, you'll learn to like mangoes!

This is all it takes. Butter, cinnamon sugar & flour tortillas.

Melt butter and put in a big bowl. Toss tortillas til well lubed. I ended up dipping each tortilla in.

Buttery hands don't make for good picture taking. Trust me.

Look at your well lubed tortillas! They go on a baking sheet with parchment.

Sprinkle the cinnamon & sugar on both sides.

Into the oven they go....

Out they come! Hello stack of deliciousness!

I started with one...and ate soo many.

Damn you Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Crisps! I think I love you.

Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Crisps

(recipe adapted from Everyday Food)

• 4 flour tortillas, halved
• 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Happy Thursday, Friends!

Wanna know why I'm obsessed with food? What inspires me? My tips on food blogging? What I love for Brunch?

You can eavesdrop on the conversation I had with my dear friend Christine. She's got a new blog --- Brunch!

I'm pretty sure you're gonna love her new space. I must tell you it's soo dreamy for a graphic design admirer like myself!

Please check it out!

And a big thanks to Whitney for taking my action shots!

Here I am working our the Scrambled Egg Turnovers!!

I wish alarm clocks had built-in smell alarms. Why haven't we figured this out yet?! Imagine the possibilities!! You wouldn't have a problem getting up for a 6am flight if the smell of these cinnamony Monkey Bread Minis assaulted you. Now to think of it...the 13 year old Tracy would have set my brother's alarm clock to rotten farts at 4am.

OK we NEED to make this happen.

If you are familiar with monkey bread, then you should know that this recipe doesn't produce a doughy/yeasty pull apart roll. It's like a hybrid of a cinnamon roll (taste wise) and an old fashion donut (texturally). Yes. DONUT.  The best part is that there's no yeast stress involved. Yup, yeast stresses me out when I'm not properly caffeinated. There I said it. I think little hands would love dipping dough into butter & cinnamon sugar. When I get over my fears of Cooper's messy sticky cinnamon fingers on our micro suede couch, I'll totally do it. For sure!

You'll enjoy putting every last piece into your mouth hole. I know I did.

Let's get started!

Butter goes in the food processor with sugar, baking powder & flour. Pulse!

Here's the part where I realized I didn't have buttermilk. Cue the Joy's Buttermilk Substitution Post.

Thank god for smart phones in the kitchen. This is my old phone--before I ran over it with MY CAR.

Nuff said.

I used the lemon juice & milk trick to make buttermilk. Thank heavens for that cheat.

Spew the dough out onto your counter with flour.

Cut up your pieces to roll into balls.

Drop each round into the maple syrup & butter mixture.

Roll it in cinnamon sugar and press each ball into the muffin pan.

Your kitchen will be filled with balls. (ha!) I put about 5-6 in each muffin mold.

Off it goes into the oven.

And here it comes out. Look at that sugary crust!

Let the monkey bread minis cool. Then chisel them out. Use a non stick pan. Don't be like me.

This process was tough because I didn't use my non stick pan....

Don't worry, I didn't waste all those crumbs!

Make your glaze. Look down- you see that little muffin? That's one of my *samples* I dunked it in that bowl.

Then you drizzle the glaze on top of your monkey bread.

I had a difficult time with a few so I piled the crumbs on a plate....

and dug right in!

Monkey Bread Minis

(recipe from Rachael Ray Magazine)

• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, chilled

For the Drizzle:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

1. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 425°. In a small bowl, microwave 4 tablespoons butter and the maple syrup at high power until melted, 30 seconds; stir. In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar and the cinnamon.
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the salt; pulse to combine. Cut the remaining 1 stick chilled butter into small pieces and pulse with the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Pulse in the buttermilk until the dough just comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface; pat into a 10-inch square (the dough will be sticky). Quarter the dough, then cut each quarter into 16 equal pieces; roll into balls.
3. Dip each ball in the maple butter, then coat with the sugar mixture. Place 5 to 6 coated balls into each muffin cup and press to compact.
4. Bake until cooked through and golden, 15 to 17 minutes (tent with foil if the tops darken too quickly). Transfer the muffin pan to a rack and cool for 10 minutes. Using a knife, loosen the sides of the monkey bread; invert onto a platter, then turn right side up. Mix confectioners' sugar with milk and drizzle over the bread as it cools. Serve warm.

USE A NON STICK PAN!

It FINALLY felt like summer. It's been a weird year here.

To help beat the heat, Cooper, Casey & I shared the last of my Mango Carrot Pineapple Ginger Popsicles.

They held up really well in our freezer! Wow. They were in there for almost 4 months. Not too shabby!

Coop calls them "eye keem" ---as in ice cream.

Poke poke poke.

Tasting...

And...ENJOYING!! I like how he shows concern over the the popsicle drips.

Teetering around with his popsicle while Casey waters the plants.

I'm gonna throw this one in because it cracks me up. MIST!!  What a ham.

The end of summer is near...but I am going to enjoy every last drop of it.

Let's get our fill of berry cobblers & blueberry pies before we enter Fall!

You'll find my Southwestern Pizza recipe!

Please check it out here!

p.s- Isn't this logo the CUTEST?! It's the fabulous work of draw! pilgrim!

If you've been on Shutterbean before, you might notice that I like to drink out of mason jars.

My best friend got me hooked when I lived up in Oregon!! There's just something about the weight & thickness of a jar that makes me like it. I also know that out of a room full of cups, I can easily spot mine. A few of my jars have the ounces labeled on the side! It's pretty handy when I need to measure out a drink, or account for how many oz. of water I drank! A huge plus when I can put a lid on one and take it on the go!

I think its funny that people find it weird to drink out of jars.  I often get "you're drinking out of a jar!"  As if I didn't know....

This little delicate little jar/votive ceramic piece has found it's home in our living room.

It's a little birthday gift from a good friend. Isn't it pretty? I can't wait to see it lit up with a candle inside!

She knows how much I love mason jars! I wish I could have a dozen of these!

You see what it's sitting on? The first issue of 3191 quarterly.  It arrived two days ago!

I absolutely adore the work of Stephanie & Mav!

Happy Birthday to me!

Dearest Organic Free Range Eggs,

I'm sorry I failed you. You totally needed a win; especially with all this bad press about eggs giving people salmonella. This turnover recipe made me think that you needed to be *set* before I tucked you into a pocket of puff pastry and let you slumber in my hot oven. Little did I know that you would turn out overdone! I'm now know that I should have followed the 1 minute the recipe suggested rather than the 3 minutes I insisted on. Would that have meant you would have been super runny on the puff pastry? Hmmm...

Thank god the zucchini, puff pastry & melted cheddar made up for your shortcomings. I heard that my Mom's green salad was delighted to join you on the plate for lunch! You two make such an excellent couple! I took a picture of you two! I think it turned out pretty nice!

I hope that you accept my sincere apology. Maybe next time I'll include some bacon with the zucchini & cheese mixture? Sound good?

I look forward to seeing you soon! Maybe in tomorrow's breakfast? You free?

Forever yours,

Tracy

Let's start the show!!!!!

Ingredient party! You're invited!

Get those eggs cracking!

Zucchini needs shredding & salting. Set aside in a bowl.

Grate your cheddar. Have a few samples. Eat some of those chunks of cheese. I give you permission.

Scramble the eggs with the oregano, salt & pepper. Take a look at the recipe again.

Drain the zucchini in a paper towel. Surprising how much water comes out of it, huh?

Get out your puff pastry! Roll it out! Get your egg wash ready.

Cut your dough and plop on all the fillings. Brush edges with egg wash & seal it up!

I used a fork, but they puffed up soo much you would never know...

Here they are in the oven. I decided to add cheese. Cheese is always a good idea.

Fresh from the oven....I think this is what heaven looks like. Look at that crusty cheese on the parchment! EEK!

Look at that crusty cheesy top.

Glorious...minus the overcooked egg bit ;)  Be careful with that.

Scrambled Egg Turnovers

(Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe)

• 2 small zucchini, grated
• salt & pepper
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed & halved lengthwise
• 1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the grated zucchini in a bowl and season with salt; let stand for 5 minutes. Squeeze with paper towels to dry. In a medium bowl, beat together 5 eggs, the oregano and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt & pepper. In a small bowl, beat together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water.

2. In a large non stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Pour in the oregano egg mixture and scramble for 1 minute (this is the part where I messed up). Transfer eggs to a plate.

3. On a work surface, brush the eggs of the puff pastry with some egg wash. Working with 1 piece at a time, arrange one quarter of the scrambled eggs on one side of the puff pastry. Top with cheese & zucchini. Fold over the pastry and press the edges to seal. (I crimped them with a fork) Transfer pastry to a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the tops with more egg wash. Repeat with 3 more pastries.

4. Bake until the pastries are puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. I added a bit of shredded cheddar to the top after about 15 minutes of baking!

Are you a creamed spinach fan? Do you also love mushrooms & pasta? Ever wish you could combine all three? Then you'll probably love this! The end result is a very creamy pasta that won't have you slaving for hours in the kitchen. It comes together super quick, and now that I've been through it once, I probably don't need to follow the recipe again! I found some asparagus chilling in my fridge, so I tossed it into the sauce. It added a really yummy crunchy bite to the pasta- and a little more depth.

My only advice is- eat the pasta fast (the sauce starts to thicken up when the heat escapes) and make sure you have someone else to eat it with! No one can be trusted with a pot of this at hand. Maybe you can answer this question for me...All those veggies negate the calories & fat in the creamy sauce, RIGHT?! I thought so!

Let's get started!!

You'll need to get your pasta going in a pot of boiling water.

This recipe calls for whole wheat pasta-which I'm sure would be awesome! For some reason, Casey isn't a fan...so I used regular spaghetti.

Heat up some olive oil- throw in some garlic.

Toss in your mushrooms & cook them for a bit.

Gather your cream cheese & milk.

This is the part where I realized I have leftover asparagus to use up!

I tossed them in with the mushrooms and cooked them for a couple of minutes. Now it's time to add the dairy components!

After your sauce thickens & the cream cheese melts- add the spinach & wilt it down.

You have a creamy sauce now!

Add it to the cooked spaghetti. STIR STIR STIR!!!

Throw in your chopped chives.

Add LOTS of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top! Season with salt & pepper.

Top with grated parm and DIVE RIGHT IN.

You won't want to stop eating it. I'm pretty sure of that.

Mushroom Spinach & Asparagus Pasta

(recipe from Sunset Magazine)

• 8  ounces  whole-wheat pasta
• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1  pound  sliced mushrooms
• 6  ounces  cream cheese
• 1/2  cup  milk
• 8  cups  lightly packed spinach
• 1/2 lb. asparagus, chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh chives
• 1/2  cup  grated Parmesan cheese

1. Boil 2 qts. water in a large pot and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.

2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add garlic and mushrooms, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and milk and heat until boiling, stirring often. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then pour over pasta. Sprinkle with chives and serve with parmesan on the side.