easy Archives - Page 26 of 35

Cranberry Cornbread

November 13, 2012 ·

Cranberry Cornbread puts a fun, fall/wintery twist on traditional cornbread. We have been making chili almost weekly these days, and of course what goes better with chili than cornbread. I used a cornbread muffin recipe from Cooking Light for the base, making a few adjustments to accommodate the cranberries. Fresh cranberries add just the right amount of tartness which is balanced nicely with brown sugar. Buttermilk lends a moist crumb, and the result is a delicious tart-sweet cornbread. Cranberry Cornbread would make a nice side dish for Thanksgiving, or any holiday, and of course pairs very well with a spicy chili!

Speaking of chili, I am working on a fabulous new chili recipe to share with you soon. In the meantime, this Three Bean Vegetarian Chili can be made in less than 30 minutes and is our current chili of choice.

Cranberry Cornbread

Yields: 16 servings

Ingredients

1¼ cups buttermilk
¼ cup canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8" square baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl (or in a liquid measuring cup) combine buttermilk, oil and egg.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add milk mixture to flour mixture, folding until just combined. Gently fold in cranberries.
Pour mixture in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Adapted from Cooking Light, September, 2012

Filed Under: bread, Recipes, sides Tagged With: buttermilk, christmas, cooking light, cornbread, cranberry, easy, holiday, quick, snack, thanksgiving

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

November 1, 2012 ·

This easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make using simple pantry ingredients!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake is a simple and delicious pumpkin pound cake, with warm spices and pumpkin-y goodness throughout. What attracted me to this recipe, aside from a slight pumpkin obsession, is that the ingredients are simple pantry items that I have on hand at all times. What made me fall in love with the recipe, aside from it being delicious, was how easy it was to make. The batter took me less than 10 minutes to whip together. Then bake for about an hour, let it cool, and voila! You have an elegant and versatile dessert that will happily feed a crowd or, in our case, treat a small family for a week. 🙂

Not only will this Pumpkin Bundt Cake be excellent served alongside your holiday cookie platter, but it would also be a tasty alternative at Thanksgiving dinner or even served at a brunch.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Yields: 24 servings

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
2½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 10-inch bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and add vanilla with the last egg.
To the egg mixture, alternate adding flour mixture and pumpkin, beating well on medium-low after each addition.
Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a tootpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Let cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Filed Under: breakfast, dessert, Featured, healthy, Recipes Tagged With: 12 weeks of Christmas Treats, bundt, cake, christmas, easy, entertaining, halloween, holiday, pumpkin, thanksgiving

Mounds Brownies

October 25, 2012 ·

With Halloween just around the corner, the excitement is building for fun costumes and candy. We always somehow end up with more candy than we need to give out (thanks to the person who buys the candy, *ahem* Mike). While that may be intentional, I’m always happy to try new and tasty recipes using “leftover” candy ~ these Mounds Brownies being one of them!

Mounds Brownies take a basic brownie recipe and dress it up with coconut, simply by adding Mounds candy bars. It’s amazing how such a simple addition can really transform an otherwise ordinary dessert into something unique and seemingly decadant. You get a nice-sized chunk of candy bar in each brownie, and fans of chocolate and coconut will enjoy the complementary flavors.

By the way, it’s that time of week again. We are now in Week 5 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats! While this recipe is shared in part to use up Halloween candy, these Mounds Brownies would be a super fun addition to your holiday treat platter. They’re something a little different yet delicious and very easy to make too.

Mounds Brownies

Yields: 16 brownies

Ingredients

¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 snack-size Mounds candy bars
Baking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8-inch square pan with baking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or a use double-boiler), stirring frequently until melted. Remove bowl from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until well-blended. Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixture. Fold in flour mixture until combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Place Mounds bars on top of batter, pressing down slightly. (I did 3 rows of 4).
Bake until just set, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Slightly adapted from All You, October, 2012

Be sure to check out all the other bloggers who are participating this week in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop. And if you’re a blogger and want to join in on the fun, check out this post for the form to fill out to start baking along with us.

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: 12 weeks of Christmas Treats, bars, brownies, candy, coconut, easy, halloween, holiday, make ahead, quick

Easy Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

October 18, 2012 ·

cake mix homemade oreo cookies with cream cheese filling

Easy Chocolate Sandwich Cookies are a simplified version of a chewy homemade Oreo cookie. The chocolate cookies are soft, yet sturdy and the filling is a sweetened cream cheese frosting. The dough literally took me 5 minutes minutes to whip together. I feared the dough would be gooey and messy to work with, but it was quite firm and rolled into balls by hand without a huge sticky mess.

These cookies are fun any holiday or celebration because you can color the filling to suit any occasion or simply roll the sides in sprinkles for a cute, colorful decoration. The recipe yields a generous amount of cookies, which is perfect if you’re looking to share. It also halves easily, which is what I did…(I still shared though) 🙂

I am sharing these delicious yet super easy cookies as part of Week 4 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats, hosted by Meal Planning Magic. While this recipe makes plenty and these cookies are perfect for any holiday cookie platter, I made them pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Week hosted by Erin of Dinners, Dishes and Desserts. To conclude Breast Cancer Awareness Week, tomorrow Erin is hosting a giveaway, so be sure to visit Dinners, Dishes and Desserts on Friday for a chance to win!

Be sure to check out the thumbnails at the bottom of this post and visit the other bloggers who are posting amazing recipes today in support of Breast Cancer Awareness, and also for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats!

Easy Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Yields: approximately 4 dozen sandwich cookies

Ingredients

2 packages devil's food cake mix
4 eggs, lightly beaten
⅔ cup vegetable oil
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened - (I used Neufachtel / ⅓ less fat)
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring or sprinkles for decorating, if desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mixes, eggs and oil until combined (Note: I used a hand mixer; batter will be very stiff).
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Using the side of a silicone spatula, press to flatten the balls slightly.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling. (Note: I baked the cookies the night before and did the filling the next day).
For the filling: In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Add food coloring, if desired.
Spread filling on bottom of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies. Finish decorating, as desired.

Source: Taste of Home: Best Loved Cookies and Bars

Be sure to check out the bloggers who are supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Week for some delicious pink and/or healthy recipes!

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: 12 weeks of Christmas Treats, chocolate, christmas, cookies, cookies 'n cream, cream cheese, easy, entertaining, holiday, make ahead, oreo

Black Bean Nacho Burgers

October 16, 2012 ·

Black Bean Nacho Burgers are a healthy, spicy, cheesy burger that tastes just like black bean nachos! {vegetarian}

As we all know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In honor and recognition of this, my friend Erin at Dinners, Dishes and Desserts contacted me about joining a bunch of bloggers together this week to share pink recipes or healthy recipes that are helpful for fighting cancer. What a great idea! So this week I will be sharing 2 recipes ~ today’s being the healthy one ~ Black Bean Nacho Burgers.

Some studies suggest a link between red meat consumption and breast cancer. While we don’t eat a lot of red meat in this house, I am always happy to find new substitutes for red meat standbys, such as a burger. Sometimes a burger really hits the spot, right? Even though it is an occasional indulgence, after having these Black Bean Nacho Burgers, I will be happy to never have a beef burger again! They are super easy to make, with a simple list of ingredients, and really do taste like black bean nachos! Made with black beans, crushed tortilla chips, some cheese, salsa and seasonings, these are a truly delicious healthy alternative to their red meat counterpart. Even Mike, who as I’ve mentioned before is a bit of a burger connessieur, thought they tasted incredible and did not miss the red meat.

Black Bean Nacho Burgers

Yields: 4 patties

Ingredients

15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup finely crushed tortilla chips
⅓ cup salsa
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 scallion, white and green, finely chopped
black pepper, to taste
hamburger buns, lettuce, cheese, salsa, etc. for serving

Instructions

Using a potato masher, fork or a food processor, smash bean until chunky, leaving some partly whole.
Stir in chips, salsa, cheese, egg, scallion and pepper. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes, and then form mixture into 4 patties.
Place patties on plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes to overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place patties on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 on each side, or until browned and cooked through. (Note: Patties will be a little fragile when flipping).
Serve on a bun with desired toppings.

Adapted from Fitness Magazine

Filed Under: healthy, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: black beans, burgers, easy, make ahead, quick, sandwich

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 11, 2012 ·

Every time I drop Adam off at Preschool, he asks what I’m going to do while he’s at school. Last week I told him laundry and other boring things. He told me I should make something…I should make something with pumpkin. Little did he know, I had these Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies on my list of things to do, so easy enough. I told him I would make some pumpkin cookies, and he just beamed! That definitely sounds better than laundry 🙂

These Pumpkin White Chocolate Chips cookies are very soft with a little chewy bite from the oats. I changed up the sugar ratio a bit from the original recipe because I love what brown sugar does to baked goods. The original recipe calls for 1 egg, but I initially made a half recipe. How do you cut an egg in half? I used the full egg in half, and 2 in a full recipe. The dough is a little gooey, so it helps to refrigerate it a bit before baking. Otherwise I don’t know exactly how this impacts the recipe, but I do know these cookies are perfection and would not change a thing.

I am sharing these delightful cookies for week 3 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats, hosted by Meal Planning Magic. While these cookies are perfect for any holiday cookie platter, I do think they would also make an excellent Halloween or Thanksgiving treat, or any time treat for other fellow pumpkin lovers!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: approximately 48 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1½ cups white chocolate chips

Instructions

In a large bowl, cram butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
Stir in flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with pumpkin. Fold in white chocolate chips.
Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes to overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Adapted from Taste of Home

If you’re a blogger and want to join in on the fun, check out this post for the form to fill out to start baking along with us!

Filed Under: dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: 12 weeks of Christmas Treats, baby/toddler, brown sugar, christmas, cookies, easy, halloween, holiday, oats, pumpkin, white chocolate

Grandma’s Lemon Bars

October 4, 2012 ·

For the next 11 weeks, I am excited to join a group, hosted by Meal Planning Magic, called 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats. I missed last week due to somebody’s pesky 2 year old molars, hence 11 weeks 🙂 So every Thursday, I will be sharing a delicious Holiday-inspired treat. I know what you’re thinking…Christmas? It’s only October! It’s never too early to plan. Time to dust off those holiday cookie platters!

For my first Christmas treat post, it is only fitting that I share a favorite recipe that my Grandma used to make for the Holidays ~ Lemon Bars. There was always something extra special about her lemon bars. They had a perfect balance of tangy and sweet, they had the lovely dusting of powdered sugar on top, and they literally melted in your mouth. Of our favorites she made, my grandma’s lemon bars topped the list of many (and there definitely were many). To me, no Holiday cookie platter is complete without lemon bars. I never realized how easy they were to make, which is an added bonus!

Grandma’s Lemon Bars

Yields: 16 bars

Ingredients

½ cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup powdered sugar
Cooking spray
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
powdered sugar, for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8" square baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together butter, 1 cup flour and ¼ cup powdered sugar. Press into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and baking powder. Add eggs, juice and zest, folding gently until combined.
Pour lemon mixture over baked crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar.

Be sure to check out all the other bloggers who are participating this week in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop. And if you’re a blogger and want to join in on the fun, check out this post for the form to fill out to start baking along with us!

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: 12 weeks of Christmas Treats, bars, christmas, easy, holiday, lemon

Golden Grahams S’mores Bars

September 26, 2012 ·

This post is sponsored by Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels, the perfect special ingredient for all of your family’s favorite treats!

Golden Graham’s S’mores Bars are a no-bake, graham, chocolate, and marshmallow bar that is super easy to make. These classic flavors never get old, and it is always fun to find new ways to enjoy the taste of s’more. These bars are similar to a rice krispie treat, only using graham squares cereal , and chocolate is melted with the marshmallow mixture. They take about 10 minutes to melt and mix together and then about an hour in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

I found the recipe years ago on the back of a Nestlé® Toll House®Morsels bag, but had not had an opportunity to make them. Fortunately, as part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program with Nestlé® Toll House®Morsels, I received a baking kit and coupon for free Nestlé® Toll House®Morsels and was invited to spend the afternoon baking with my favorite little man. It just so happens that Adam is very interested in all that goes on in the kitchen these days. He was more than excited to help!

This was the perfect recipe to get Adam involved in the kitchen. He served as chief ingredient pour-er and chief mixer (before melting, of course), and may have done some on-the-job sampling. He took his jobs very seriously and took great pride in his work. It was fun to have a little baking buddy, and fun to have an excuse to make these Golden Grahams S’mores Bars!

Golden Grahams S’mores Bars

Yields: 24 bars

Ingredients

12.5 ounce box Golden Graham's Cereal
6 cups (10.5 ounce bag) miniature marshmallows, divided
1½ cups NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Milk Chocolate morsels
5 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup light corn syrup (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Instructions

Pour cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
5 cups of marshmallows, chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stirring until well coated. Add remaining marshmallows and stir.
Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
Pour mixture into prepared baking pan, using a spatula or back of wooden spoon to press the mixture into the pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour, until firm. Cut into bars and serve.

Source: back of the Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels bag

Disclaimer: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a baking kit, a coupon for free bag of Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels, and a stipend. Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content.

Filed Under: dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: chocolate, easy, graham, marshmallow, nestle, no bake, s'mores, tastemaker

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

September 12, 2012 ·

Pumpkin Banana Muffins put a Fall twist on banana bread with the perfect balance of pumpkin and banana.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins | alidasktichen.com

Pumpkin Banana Muffins are a huge hit in our household. They are made with whole wheat flour, bumping the nutrition value. The pumpkin and banana make for a moist muffin, so not a lot of oil is needed. I typically make these as a combination of mini muffins (24) and standard muffins (3) and freeze half of the mini muffins.

So last week was Adam’s first day of preschool. I decided to make Pumpkin Banana Muffins as a special surprise after school. Pumpkin Banana Muffins are his favorite muffin of all time, so I knew they would be a hit. He loved school and was welcomed home with his favorite treat. It is safe to say, he had the best day!

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Yields: 30 mini-muffins (or 15-18 standard muffins)

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour/1 cup whole wheat flour)
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with baking spray and fill empty cups with water. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
In a separate bowl, whisk the bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla, until well-blended.
Add banana mixture to flour mixture, gently folding until combined.
Divide mixture evenly among prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes for mini muffins / 13 to 15 minutes for standard muffins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

ETA 10/19/12: I have made these several times since posting and have experimented with different flours, since white whole wheat flour isn’t an ingredient I always have on hand. All whole wheat pastry flour works really well, and the recipe has been updated below accordingly.

Source: Pumpkin Banana Bread

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Popular, Recipes Tagged With: baby/toddler, baked, banana, brunch, easy, muffins, pumpkin, snack, whole wheat

easy vegetarian spinach manicotti with no boil noodles

Easy Meatless Manicotti

September 5, 2012 ·

I don’t know about you, but I am very excited for Fall. It is my favorite time of year for cooking and baking, plus I love the cooler temperatures. Even though the season has not technically changed, Labor Day is kind of an unofficial kick off to the Fall season. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. I have already made a pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, chili and cornbread, beef stew, and a few other Fall-inspired goodies to be posted soon. (Ok, confession…I may have done some of this before Labor Day).

In any case, this Easy Meatless Manicotti is one of my favorite dishes and is a perfect comfort food for the cooler temperatures. There are a couple time-saving steps in this recipe to help make it “easy.” First, no boiling of the noodles is required. Not having to boil the noodles is not only a time-saver, but filling firm shells is a whole lot easier than flimsy cooked shells. This recipe also uses a jarred pasta sauce, though if you want to make your own, go for it! The filling is very flexible – I’ve used cottage cheese or ricotta, and either works fine. I have used frozen broccoli in place of the spinach; I have added onions, shredded zucchini, whatever extra vegetables that needs to be used up. Leftovers heat up beautifully, which make for great lunches or quick dinners. Easy Meatless Manicotti is healthy and delicious and a regular in our dinner rotation.

Easy Meatless Manicotti

Yields: 7 servings

Ingredients

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
¼ cup (1 ounce) grated parmesan cheese
16 ounces nonfat cottage cheese
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1½ teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning (or dried oregano)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Cooking Spray
3 cups marinara sauce (or 24-28 ounce jar pasta sauce)
1 package (14 noodles) manicotti noodles - uncooked
½ cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine 1½ cups mozzarella, Parmesan, and cottage cheese, along with the spinach, garlic, Italian herb seasoning, red pepper and salt/pepper to taste.
Spray 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour ½ of the sauce in the baking dish.
Fill the manicotti noodles* with filling mixture until full, about 3 tablespoons.
Pour the remaining sauce over the noodles, making sure the noodles are covered.
Slowly pour ½ cup water around the perimeter of baking dish. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with nonstick foil (or spray foil with cooking spray) and bake for 1 hour. Let sit uncovered for 10 minutes and serve.

Notes

Filling tips: Put filling in a ziploc bag, cut off a corner and fill shells OR I have found an iced tea spoon is the perfect size for spooning the filling in the shells.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2 shells

Adapted from Cooking Light