My Dirty Little Secret's

Ok, so they aren't dirty secrets, but there have been some requests for recipes from my last post. For some reason I like to protect the gem recipes I find, but that seems a bit selfish (maybe because you will realize how easy the things I make are and not be so impressed) so here they are.

Tortellini Carbonara 

 

Ingredients:

1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini 

8 bacon strips - cooked and crumbled (I chop mine because I like the smaller pieces. I usually just cook a whole package of bacon and add the desired amount and save the rest for other meals)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley (I have used dried parsley and use maybe a tablespoon or about 1/4 cup or less fresh parsley - depending on your personal tastes)

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (this you can totally change based on taste, I like it more cheesy and put abut 3/4 cup to a cup - I think it makes it a thicker, richer sauce as well)

Directions:

COOK the tortellini according to the package directions. 

COMBINE the bacon, cream, parsley and cheese in a saucepan; cook over medium heat until heated through.

DRAIN the tortellini; toss with the cream sauce

SERVE immediately.

Serves 4 (be we find it's more like 2 1/2 since we eat so much of it - you can easily double the tortellini to the 20 oz package and not really double the sauce and it seems to go just as well)

Elephant Ears or Palmier's

Ingredients:

1 package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground ground cinnamon 

1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

THAW pastry sheets at room temperature 30 min (mine take a bit longer to become workable) Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix egg and water. Mix the 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon.

UNFOLD 1 pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Brush with egg mixture. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. sugar mixture and a fair helping of plain sugar. Starting at short sides, fold (or roll) pastry toward center, leaving 1/4" space in center. Brush the top of the folds with egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 tbsp. sugar mixture and more sugar. Fold one side over the other, making 4-layer rectangle. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet.
 

CUT each rectangle into 12 (3/4") slices. - IMPORTANT - this is crucial to these turning out (in my opinion), get a plate of sugar and flatten each slice (pushing one side and then the other) into the sugar - this helps them cook more evenly, look nicer, and adds even more sugar that cooks to a nice crunch on the outside 

PLACE cut-side down 2" apart on baking sheet. Brush tops with egg mixture (I nixed this part due to the sugar coating).
 

BAKE 12 min. or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack (do this immediately while the sugar is still soft/melted otherwise they will stick to the baking sheet). 

Makes 24 pastries.

I couldn't help but add my own little ways of doing things on these recipes (notated by the italics). I feel like my adventures in the kitchen go so much better when I read the string of comments after most recipes. But take these and make them your own as you wish - that is the joy of cooking/baking.

So there you have it folks. These are both pretty easy recipes and both scrumptious. I hope you make them and love them as much as we do here!