I have a double post today! Fantastical Food Fight had a Chocolate Covered Treats theme, and Improv Cooking Challenge had a Chocolate and Chiles theme! What a perfect time for a crossover recipe!
I found this super interesting recipe that took chocolate chip cookies and added cayenne and rosemary, then dipped them in dark chocolate and topped them with sea salt. Perfect! (more…)
I fell behind on posting over the holidays, which I wouldn’t too bad about, except that it means I haven’t posted about these empanadas yet! These were Melissa’s idea for one of our amazing vegetarian lunches. You can see from her post, which is from all the way back in October, just how far behind I am!
Anywho, back to the empanadas! Crispy, buttery, flaky crust. Smoky, creamy, hearty filling. Cool, creamy, vibrant dipping sauce. Yes, yes, yes!
You will need to bake some sweet potatoes, the fastest and easiest way to do this is in the microwave. Then scoop out the flesh and mash it with a fork. (more…)
It’s time for a seasonal post from the Secret Recipe Club! Our theme was Fall Dishes and I was assigned Things I Make (For Dinner). This blog is written by Sarah who, in addition to my name, shares my love of cooking, travel, and sleeping.
Fall means pumpkin for a lot of people, myself included, and I found a Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting that looked yummy. For me, it also means apple; like this Apple Crisp or Apple Fritter Cake. But what about something a little different, like Nutella Ice Cream? Or something savory like Tex-Mex Stuffed Butternut Squash?
In the end, there was one dish that caught my eye the most: Pumpkin Maple Custards.
These custards are made with pumpkin, cream, milk, maple syrup, egg yolks, and spices. Simple and delicious. After the base is made, it is poured into ramekins and baked in a water bath, much like creme brulee. (more…)
If you are in need of festive dishes, look no further! I have collected my most relevant recipes onto one page for you.
Halloween Candy
Halloween Candy Bark
Candy Corn Jello Shots
Apple Desserts
Apple Oat Muffins
Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies
Cheddar Apple Hand Pies
Black and Orange
More like green and orange, but you get the idea.
Butternut Squash and Kale Mac and Cheese
Sweet Potato and Chard Gratin
Butternut Squash and Kale Pizza with Smoked Mozzarella and Bacon
Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna with Homemade Spinach Whole Wheat Noodles (more…)
It’s time for this month’s Secret Recipe Club! I was assigned Cookin’ Mimi – a blog full of comfort food and home cooking with lots of influences like Southern, Southwestern, and some International. The author is a Southern Californian with a Southern family – which explains the variety of influences! She doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t cooking.
I was in crunch mode when I chose a recipe, on the search for an easy dinner. Mimi is a big fan of casseroles, like me, so I looked at this Cheesy Broccoli Chicken and Rice Casserole and this traditional Chicken and Rice Casserole, but decided on this Cheesy Green Chile Chicken and Rice Casserole.
I also scrolled through the desserts quickly and saw Pineapple Upside Down Cake Ice Cream, Coconut Tres Leches Cake, and Pina Colada Poke Cake. Clearly I’m in a tropical mood.
But back to the casserole! It is really straightforward and simple – combine chicken, green chiles, rice, and a sour cream sauce; top with cheese; bake; the end. But something in the recipe jumped out at me as unfamiliar – it called for par-boiled or converted rice. What the heck is that? I turned to the internet and found out that by par-boiling the rice, the nutrients of the outer parts are forced into the grain before they are removed – making it something in between brown and white rice. In fact, it supposedly has most of the nutrients of brown rice, an even lower glycemic index, and the soft texture of white rice, without getting as mushy. How had I never heard of this before?! It is perfect to use in casseroles and slow cookers because the texture holds up. It’s awesome!
But, there is a downside – unless you are ordering it from Asia, most brands are grown in the Southern US and have high levels of inorganic arsenic, which is toxic. So, you know, don’t eat a ton of it all the time. (more…)
May has five Mondays this year, which means – themed Secret Recipe Club post! Falling on Memorial Day, the theme for this reveal is Picnic/BBQ and my assigned blog was A Day in the Life on the Farm. Wendy and her husband are former police officers who moved out to the country and became farmers. They treat their animals humanely, are part of an organic CSA, trade with other farmers, and live sustainably as much as possible – I am so jealous! I dream of being a radical homemaker, but don’t have the commitment. I was on a specific mission this month, but I look forward to perusing the blog more thoroughly.
I actually made three recipes from Wendy’s blog this weekend, in order to have a full meal for the holiday. She had tons of recipes that are appropriate for the challenge, and I chose BBQ Beef Sandwiches, BLT Pasta Salad, and Black Forest Trifle. Each of these was easy to make with the help of store-bought ingredients, so that I didn’t have to spend a full day in the kitchen. And each of them was a big hit! (more…)
It was recently the birthday of my friend Melissa’s blog, Smell’s Like Brownies. And by recently, I mean a couple of months ago… She wanted to make the famous Milk Bar Funfetti Birthday Cake to celebrate and asked if I wanted to help. Heck, yes, I did!
This cake is supposed to taste like the classic boxed version, but elevated. And the presentation is striking with naked cake layered between stark white frosting and topped with funfetti crumble. It takes a lot of steps to achieve those things (I think this is the longest recipe I’ve ever posted), but the end result is gorgeous and tastes amazing. Let’s dive into the process! (more…)
It’s time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal! This month, I was assigned Pale Yellow – written by a science teacher (informal science educator/curriculum specialist?) and avid baker with two adorable turtles.
She has a TON of great dessert recipes – Brown Butter Biscoff Rice Krispie Treats, Brown Butter Banana Bourbon and Bacon Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting (someone call Elvis), and Tres Leches Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream. She also has some yummy looking boozy recipes – Banana Leche y Cafe con Chocolate y Rum, Boozy Nutella Milkshake, Painkiller Cocktail, and Vanilla Pudding Shots. There are also some tasty sounding savory baked goods – Roasted Strawberry Blue Cheese and Walnut Biscuits, and Caramelized Onion Bacon and Smoked Gouda Biscuits.
I ended up settling on these Blueberry Rhubarb Streusel Muffins, except that my store didn’t have any rhubarb (not even frozen!) so I used raspberries instead. I thought the color and tartness would be similar to rhubarb. They came out great! Tender and sweet, but with a little tang. (more…)
Happy Easter, my lovelies, and enjoy these Spring recipes!
Egg Dishes
Caprese Baked Egg Cups
Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups
Baked Eggs in Avocado
Egg/Chicken Salads
Avocado Egg Salad (plus how to “boil” eggs in the oven)
Green Goddess Egg Salad
Creamy Lemon Basil Chicken Salad (more…)
There is an extra Monday in February this year, so you get and extra Secret Recipe Club Post! Extra posts are themed and the theme for this one was Easter or St Patrick’s Day. I went for Easter with these Peeps Marshmallow Stuffed Cookies from Burnt Apple.
The author has 3 picky children and a husband with Type 1 diabetes, so she has a lot to deal with, plus she focuses on healthy cooking on top of that – wow! She has shared her recipes with Whole Foods and on TV, which is a huge deal. Of course, I picked one of the very few not healthy recipes on her blog, but I just couldn’t help myself.
First off, you will need Peeps bunnies. The recipe stated not to use chicks and, while I’m not sure why, I didn’t want to risk it. So bunnies it was! Of course, they aren’t in stores yet, but I was able to order them on Amazon. (more…)