Posts

Showing posts from November, 2021

Eggnog Muffins

These eggnog muffins are flavored with the traditional sweet old timey holiday drink. I love the flavor of eggnog. It's wonderful for flavoring coffee, for dipping French toast, and, of course, served as a traditional Christmas drink spiked with rum, whiskey, or brandy. In fact, I've made eggnog cheesecake, waffles, and cookies, all delicious. When my husband came home with a giant carton of

Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potatoes

This Crock Pot loaded baked potatoes recipe is a fun way to take your favorite twice-baked potato recipe and turn it into an easy, crowd pleasing, slow cooker casserole. These potatoes are loaded with cream cheese, sour cream, Colby Jack cheese, and lots and lots of bacon. They taste just like your favorite twice-baked potatoes, but without the potato skins. This recipe makes enough for a crowd

Make Ahead Beef Stew

This Make Ahead Beef Stew is so rich and flavorful. The beef is browned and then simmered on the first day, and then refrigerated over night to more fully tenderize the meat. This make ahead beef stew is rich and flavorful. Plus, instead of chuck roast, the beef is boneless short ribs, my new obsession because they are so "beefy." I don't know what took me so long to discover short ribs, but now,

Cranberry Crackle Tart

This cranberry crackle tart is a delicious combination of sweet meringue and tart fresh cranberries on a sweet cookie crust. The tart also had a layer of sour cherry jam (you can use any jam, such as raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry) spread on the sweet pastry crust. This helps keep the cranberry juices from soaking through. This cranberry tart is baked in a 300 degee oven for an hour. The

Rum Cake with Glazed Pecan Topping

This rum cake with glazed pecan topping is a showstopper dessert that requires very little effort to make. Make this rum cake the next time you are having a few folks over for dinner. Your guests will swoon over the heady aroma of the tender cake and the sweet sticky pecan glaze. If you have any leftovers, I highly recommend them for breakfast the next day. Just call it "coffee cake." I'll never

Stir-Fried Scallops and Broccoli

If you love scallops, be sure to try this scallop and broccoli stir-fry. It's loaded with fresh vegetables and sweet tender scallops. Along with broccoli, this stir fry includes fresh yellow squash, canned baby corn, and snow peas to round out the vegetable goodness. You can prepare it in a wok or, if you don't have a wok, a large skillet. The vegetables are crisp tender and the scallops are so

Prosciutto-wrapped Cherry Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Basil Bites

These prosciutto-wrapped cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil bites are the perfect appetizer when you want to serve something flavorful but easy to prepare. These cute little appetizers are also super portable, so you can bring them to a potluck or a party without having to do a lot of prep when you get to the party. With a quick olive oil drizzle and a sprinkling of multicolored pepper, these

Hällakakor (Soft Scandinavian Flatbread)

Hällakakor is a soft yeasted flatbread from Sweden. It's super easy to make, and can be patterned by rolling it out with specialized rolling pins. You make these flatbreads decoratively patterned by first rolling them with a grooved rolling pin, and then rolling them with a hard tack pin (one that is carved in a large checkerboard pattern). I made these with a combination of whole wheat flour,

Homemade Chicken Bone Broth (Instant Pot)

By making this homemade chicken bone broth in the Instant Pot (or any multi-cooker), you can produce this amazing magical ingredient in just an afternoon. Chicken bone broth can be used for any recipe that calls for chicken broth or stock. Making it in the Instant Pot or multicooker takes much less time than in the slow cooker or the stove top, plus, you don't have to monitor it at all. Instead

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Chocolate peppermint crunch cookies - tasty chocolate cookies filled with mini chocolate chips and topped with crushed peppermint candies and a chocolate glaze. These chocolate peppermint crunch cookies are the perfect holiday cookie and would be a great addition to a Christmas cookie tray. The chocolate and mint combination is just right, heavy on the chocolate with just the right amount of

Cinnamon Spiral Cookies

These cinnamon spiral cookies are tiny bites of buttery dough laced with sugar and cinnamon and rolled up into cute little tandem spirals. The base for these cinnamon spiral cookies is made with cold butter, cold sour cream, and vanilla. It is mixed together quickly to create a somewhat flakey dough. It's not flakey like pie dough or puff pastry, but you can see a hint of layers, and the cookies

Savory Monkey Bread

You are going to love the "oohs" and "ahs" you receive when you set this savory monkey bread down on the table. These little rolls are flavored with a hint of herbs and coated in seeds. They are delicious warm and spread with butter or dipped in your favorite gravy, soup, or stew. You can use any type of seeds you like for coating these rolls. I hunted through my freezer and found toasted sesame

Orange-Scented Alfajores

These orange-scented alfajores, sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche, are so soft that they will almost melt in your mouth. What are alfajores?Allfajores are round sandwich cookies that are filled with dulce de leche and are popular in South America, especially Argentina and PerĂº, where they are a Christmas tradition. The most well-known version of an alfajor (singular) is made with a

Candied Pecans

These candied pecans are subtly sweet, lightly crunchy, and perfect for salads, cheese and fruit boards, or just for snacking. All you need are three ingredients, the most important one being gorgeous pecan halves. Other than the pecans, you'll need powdered sugar and oil for frying. This frying method for making these candied pecans reminds me of the way Chinese cooks make candied walnuts,