Cooking with a Wallflower

Desserts Fall Cravings Healthy Quick and Easy Snacks

Mini Apple Pie Tartlets

Warm diced apples covered in cinnamon brown sugar in a buttery croissant crust, perfect as a snack or a dessert. 

Mini Apple Pie Tartlets | Cooking with a Wallflower

I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving. There’s been so much to be thankful for even though 2013 has been a difficult year for me. I hope you had a lot of yummy foods on your table. I know we did. But we ended up with so much leftover, I think we have enough to last us another week! Here’s a peek at our Thanksgiving dinner table. There was so much food that we didn’t know where to put the turkey! Or the brownies!

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Desserts Fall Cravings Healthy Quick and Easy Snacks Vegan Vegetarian

No Bake Baked Apples

Warm cinnamon-y apples filled to the top with oats and walnuts, tasting like apple pie but without the crust. Quick and easy, healthy, and delicious, a perfect snack to chase away late afternoon hunger. 

No Bake Baked Apples | Cooking with a Wallflower

Whenever it hits mid to late afternoon, I start to get a little hungry. It’s too late for a small meal since it’s close to dinner time, but I’m not sure I can wait that long. A no bake baked apple is exactly the type of snack I’m looking for. It doesn’t take long to make, and there’s not much of a mess either. It’s sweet and cinnamon-y like apple pie yet still healthy. I originally saw a recipe for a no bake baked apple on a cooking show called The Chew. The recipe was called Daphne Oz’s Dorm Room Apple Snack.  But I didn’t have all the ingredients needed to make that exact recipe. So I improvised and created my own.

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Appetizers Quick and Easy Vegetarian

Baked Mushrooms Stuffed with Summer Vegetables

Large mushrooms stuffed with julienned zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots topped with Italian breadcrumbs for a slight crunch. They’re quick and easy to prepare yet delicious and healthy.

Baked Mushrooms Stuffed with Summer Vegetables | Cooking with a Wallflower

I love mushrooms, and I think they’re even better stuffed with all of your favorite ingredients. I wanted to create a healthy appetizer that I could make and serve relatively quickly so I came up with the idea of stuffing mushrooms with julienned vegetables. These veggies are seasoned with garlic powder, crushed red peppers, and a little bit of salt topped with parmesan cheese and Italian style breadcrumbs. It’s simple and healthy but still delicious. It has the earthy taste of mushrooms, refreshing taste of zucchini and yellow squash, sweetness of carrots, and crunchiness of the breadcrumbs. A little garlicky and a little spicy, all in one mushroom.

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Appetizers Quick and Easy

Baked Shrimp with Mushrooms, Basil, and Cheese

Warm cheesy shrimp baked with chopped mushroom, fresh basil, and Italian seasoning, a simple but delicious appetizer that tastes just like pizza. 

Baked Shrimp with Mushrooms, Basil, and Cheese | Cooking with a Wallflower

This is a great appetizer for Thanksgiving, but you’ll have to make several batches if you want it to last. No matter how much I make, they’re always gone in a few minutes. My recipe is only for a dozen shrimp, but it can easily be doubled or more to fit the number of guests.

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Dips and Sauces Quick and Easy Vegetarian

Spicy Spinach Artichoke Dip

A warm creamy dip made of spinach, artichoke, and cream cheese with a slightly spicy kick from jalapeno. Perfect as an appetizer or snack with chips and slices of bread.

Spicy Spinach Artichoke Dip | Cooking with a Wallflower

As Thanksgiving Day looms closer, I’m searching for perfect dishes to make for the entire family. Something that is quick and simple because with so many dishes to make I don’t have a lot of time to spend on just one dish. And what can be easier than making a dip? It’s a great starter. Guests can munch on chips or slices of bread with a warm creamy dip until the rest of the food is ready. And it only takes 10-15 minutes to prepare and serve.

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Entree Pasta Quick and Easy Vegan Vegetarian

Pasta Marsala with Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms

Delicious pasta with fresh shiitake mushrooms in a rich warm marsala wine sauce. Perfect for a quick dinner. 

Pasta Marsala with Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms

I love pasta. I don’t think I can ever get tired of it. Why? Because it comes in various shapes and sizes and textures. You can eat them in so many ways. If you add different ingredients and use another sauce, you get a brand new dish. It’s simple. It’s fast. It’s delicious.

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Introduction

Welcome to my blog! My name is Andrea. I’m a 26-year-old dental hygienist in training. While I am working on getting my license, I decided to distract myself from all the stress in my life. What better way to do that than to immerse myself in what I love most: writing, food, and crafting.

I started this blog so I could share all my recipes and all my craft projects  with everyone. I know how difficult it can be to figure out what to eat for dinner every night after a long busy day, or what to eat for breakfast the next morning before going to school or work, or what to bring for lunch. I hope that by sharing my recipes with you that you can find something you like that is relatively easy, not too time consuming, and still fun. With my recipes, it will also be easy to substitute ingredients that I use with ingredients that you might like better. After all, what’s the fun in eating if you don’t like what you’re eating?

I also wanted to share my ideas for DIY art and crafts projects because I love being able to give friends and family something I made myself. I feel that by putting time and effort into creating something unique, I’m giving a part of me to them. I especially love cards. Hopefully, by posting some of my projects onto this site, you can find something unique to make and give as a gift to your family, friends, and significant other. It’s very important to like what you’re doing because it shows in the final product!

Why do I call myself a wallflower? I grew up a bookworm, with my head always buried in a good mystery novel. Later on, I developed a love for writing, for expressing my thoughts and feelings  on paper whether as myself or as a character in a story. I find it so much easier to express myself on paper than it is to be vocal. I stutter and stumble over my words when I get nervous, especially when I’m in front of a group of people, and most of the time, I’m the quiet one. So I think a wallflower is the perfect term for me. Always there, but not always noticed.

I hope that you’ll have some fun browsing through my blog and finding inspirations for your own recipes and projects. Have fun, enjoy, and love what you’re doing!

~ Andrea