Vegetarian Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS
Filling
1 ¼ pounds sweet potatoes (2 small-to-medium)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 ounces (½ cup) crumbled feta cheese
2 small cans (4 ounces each) diced green chiles
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Remaining Ingredients
2 cups (16 ounces) mild salsa verde, either homemade or store-bought
10 corn tortillas
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon water
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and coat the flat sides lightly with olive oil. Place the sweet potatoes flat-side down on the baking sheet. Bake them until they are tender and cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes.

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Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken breasts About 1 pound of chicken total
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese fresh grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup marinara sauce
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoon minced parsley optional, for garnish

Instructions
Line a baking sheet with foil, brush foil with olive oil.  Adjust oven rack so that is in the second from the top space. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cut the chicken breasts in half and pound to even thickness: Cut through the middle of the chicken breast as if you are going to butterfly it (cutting it open like a book), but cut all the way through to make two equal sized pieces.

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Cheddar Broccoli Rice Patties

Ingredients
2 cups rice, cooked cooled
2 eggs
1 cup cheddar
1 cup broccoli, par cooked
1/2 cup panko
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Tony's creole seasoning

Instructions
In a medium bowl combine all ingredients.
Over medium-low heat, heat 1 tsp of oil to a medium non-stick skillet.
Depending on the size of skillet, add 2-3 1/3 C mounds of the rice mixture.

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Baked Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS
4 tortillas (8 inch)
olive oil (enough to lightly coat the tortillas)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar
3 cups roughly chopped spinach

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the mushrooms in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes to soften them. Drain the mushrooms and set aside.
Lightly brush one side of each tortilla with the olive oil and place on a baking sheet, oiled side down.
Distribute the mushrooms, spinach, mozzarella, and cheddar evenly over half of each of the tortillas, and fold the other half over top.

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Beef Stroganoff French Bread

INGREDIENTS
For the stroganoff:

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups mushrooms

2 teaspoons salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons thyme

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

For the toasts:

1 loaf French bread, insides hollowed out

2 cups mozzarella

3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Make the stroganoff:  In a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms with one teaspoon salt and black pepper. Add thyme. Cook mushrooms until golden, approximately 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add butter, onions and garlic to the pan and saute 2 minutes. Cook ground beef over medium heat until brown, approximately 4 minutes. Add flour and paprika to coat evenly. Add beef broth, sour cream and mustard. Mix thoroughly and add mushrooms back in.

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Vegan Broccoli Potato Soup

Ingredients
1/2 yellow onion (or 1/2 leek) -chopped
4 cloves garlic -minced
2 lb golden potatoes (scrubbed, rinsed & diced)
1 large carrot -diced
1 celery stick -chopped
1 cup raw cashews
7-8 cups vegetable stock (low sodium)
5-6 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 lb broccoli florets
1 pinch sea salt (to taste)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/3 cup fresh chives -snipped for garnish
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
US Customary - Metric

Instructions
Preheat a heavy stock up over medium low heat and sauté the onion in a splash of water (or a drizzle of olive oil) until translucent.
Add the sea salt, pepper flakes, celery and carrots and give everything a nice toss. Cover with a lid and sweat a few more minutes until the carrots begin to soften.
Add the garlic, potatoes, cashews and vegetable stock and bring everything to a simmer. Stir in the nutritional yeast, cover with a lid and cook 20 minutes or until the potatoes and cashews have softened.
Transfer the soup to a powerful mixer and carefully purée until silky smooth. ( the Vitamix did an exponentially better job at this than my immersion blender).

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Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Fat, gooey, fudgy brownies marbled with beautiful swirls of rich, decadent cheesecake. Life does not get better than this, people.

This is easily the richest, gooiest, recipe on my entire blog. And if you're a regular here, you know... that is saying a lot.


Actually, this is an old recipe from my trusty arsenal. This post for Cheesecake Swirled Fudge Brownies contains some of the first photos I ever took that I was really proud of.

Now, not so much. HA.


But though I may look at all the "photography successes" of my younger days (um... like everything previous to last year) down a snobbishly upturned nose, I at least have to give myself a little credit for the invention of these babies.

If you're like me and you like the super gooey richness of a somewhat underbaked brownie, DO NOT CHANGE A THING ABOUT THIS FABULOUS RECIPE.

But. If you are a boring person and like your brownies to have a slightly less... raw quality, you may want to add ten minutes or so to the baking time.

Also, if you did look at the old pictures I took of these brownies back in 2011, you may notice that the brownie batter looks super thick. Well, I don't know why, but it just turned out to be less thick this time. I make these brownies all the time, so you would think I would know what the "normal" consistency of the batter is, but... I don't.

Pretty much though, whatever the consistency is you'll just want to dig one trench in the batter at a time to pour the cheesecake into. There's no such thing as being too sloppy. It's called rustic.

Have fun.


Cheesecake Swirled Fudge Brownies

For the Brownies:
2 sticks of butter, melted
2 1/4 cups of sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips

For the Cheesecake:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Read more at 

German Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients
16 tablespoons butter cut into 8 pieces

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups milk chocolate chips
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
German Chocolate Icing
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
6 tablespoons butter
2 cups sweetened angel hair coconut
1 cup toasted chopped pecans

Instructions
Place the 16 tablespoons of butter and chocolate chips in a large bowl.
In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and evaporated milk to a boil. Stir constantly for 10 minutes.

Pour sugar mixture over the butter and chocolate chips.
Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture for 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla extract.

Full Recipe

Easy Homemade Divinity Candy

Ingredients

2 egg whites, at room temperature
2 & ¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup water
½ cup light corn syrup
⅛ tsp salt
½ cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat together the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 7-10 minutes or until the temperature reaches 260 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. Just before the candy reaches temperature, beat the egg whites on high speed using an electric mixer or stand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Remove the boiling candy from the heat and, with the mixer on high speed, stream in the hot candy VERY slowly. It should take you at least 2 or so minutes to fully pour the hot candy mixture into the egg whites. Continue beating the mixture until it's no longer glossy and it holds its shape, about 6-10 minutes (it depends on your mixer). Stir in the chopped pecans and vanilla extract until combined.

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No Bake Orange Creamsicle Truffles

Ingredients


1 cup white chocolate melting chips
1/4 cup unsalted butter
zest from 1 orange
3 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. orange extract
a few drops orange food coloring
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, divided
Instructions

Place white chocolate melting chips in a medium bowl and set aside.
Combine butter and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 1 minute. Pour in heavy cream and stir to prevent scalding the cream.
Keep stirring for another 2 minutes, then pour the mixture through a fine strainer over the white chocolate melting chips.

Full Recipe

Orange Cream Star Cookies

Ingredients
For the cookies:
3 ounces cream cheese, very soft (86g)
8 ounces unsalted butter, very soft (16 tablespoons or 226g)
1 cup granulated sugar, (206g)
finely grated zest from 1 orange
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour (337g)
For the orange filling:
½ cup unsalted butter, softened (4 ounces or 113g)
1 ⅔ cups powdered sugar, plus more for dusting (190g)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cut two pieces of parchment to fit your baking sheet(s). Using a round cookie cutter create a template by drawing 1 ½-inch circles, about 1-inch apart, on one side of the parchment. Turn the paper over so the circles are on the bottom. Repeat with the second sheet of parchment. Set aside.

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Smooth Vanilla Bean Fudge

Ingredients
3 cups white chocolate chips
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional:
1/2 cup candied cherries chopped
1/2 cup nuts of choice

Instructions
Line an 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil and set aside.
Melt the chocolate chips and the sweetened condensed milk in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, stirring regularly or microwave until melted. Once mixture is melted, stir in the vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract and mix.
Add in chopped cherries and nuts and pour into prepared pan.

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Pumpkin pie magic cake

Ingredients
1 (30 oz) can pumpkin pie mix
4 large eggs
1 box spice cake mix
1 cup salted butter (2 sticks) melted
1 container white or vanilla frosting

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350f degrees.
Lightly spray the bottom only of a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a stand mixer, (or large mixing bowl) mix together pumpkin pie mix and eggs.
Then mix in cake mix and melted butter. Mix for a full 2 minutes.

Full Recipe

Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar lightly packed
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 grams) pumpkin puree squeeze out excess moisture with paper towels*
1 and 1/2 cups (150 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

INSTRUCTIONS
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until fully combined. Then mix in the pumpkin puree until well combined.

Full Recipe

Buttery Pecan Snowball Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped pecan
1 cup powdered sugar for dusting
INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In stand mixer cream butter and powdered sugar. Turn to low and mix in salt, vanilla, flour and pecans. Roll into one inch balls. Place on parchment covered baking sheets a few inches part. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until very lightly browned. Do not over bake

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Skillet Steak Fajita Nachos

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. Flank Steak
1 packet 1 ounce Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
1 can 4.5 ounce Old El Paso green chiles
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
large bag STURDY tortilla chips
8 ounces Mexican blend cheese
1 green pepper chopped
1 red pepper chopped
2 onions chopped
1 cup pico de gallo
guacamole sour cream, more cilantro, and pico de gallo for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS
Place olive oil, taco seasoning, lime juice, green chiles, cilantro, and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend until well combined and smooth. Place flank steak in a large ziplock bag and pour in the marinade, reserving a bit of marinade for the veggies. Place in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 24 hours.
After 24 hours, take out steak and cook in a skillet on high for 4-6 minutes on each side, or until cooked through to your liking. Remove steak from skillet and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.

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Secret Ingredient Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

12 Large Hard Boiled Eggs, peeled and halved
1/4 + 1/8 Cups Mayonnaise
1/2 Tbs. Yellow Mustard
1/8 tsp Onion Salt
1/8 tsp Garlic Salt
1 1/2 Tbs. Dill Pickle Juice
Instructions

Peel and halve the hard boiled eggs.  Put the yolks in a small mixing bowl.
Mash up the yolks with a fork.
Mix in the mayo, mustard, onion salt, garlic salt, and dill pickle juice. Use a rubber spatula to squish all the little yolk pieces until the mixture is completely smooth.

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Chocolate Kahlua Cakes

Ingredients
For the cake:
1 ¾ cups (350g) sugar
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (100g) cocoa powder
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 eggs (room tº)
1 cup milk
½ cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup drip (or espresso) coffee (very hot)
½ cup Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 or 2 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee liqueur

Instructions
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350ºF /180ºC.
Butter and flour or spray well with cooking spray, 12 mini bundt molds.
Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I measure everything and sift it directly over the wet ingredients.
In a large bowl beat eggs, milk, vanilla, and oil for 1 minute.

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Three Classic Christmas Treats to Make and Give

Homemade gifts are always best, but especially when they are edible! Classic pecan bourbon balls, mini golden rum cakes, and buttery shortbread are some of the season's best and most traditional eats.

Recently I had the opportunity to make some Christmas treats for my friends at HGTV.com. I even got to drop in on their 'Friendsmas' party photo shoot because I was close enough to deliver the goodies personally! My desserts were just one small part of the festivities, with a little corner set up for DIY ornaments and a HUGE spread of appetizers on the longest table I've ever seen!


You may already know that I love making bourbon balls for Christmas gifts and for entertaining. My usual recipe is made with walnuts, but this version is made with pecans making it even more southern (if that's possible).

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Sheet Pan Sesame Chicken and Veggies

INGREDIENTS
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large head of broccoli, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 medium red bell peppers, cut into chunks
1 cup snap peas
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional toppings: sesame seeds and green onions
For the sauce:
¼ cup lower-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 Tbsp honey
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. fresh ginger

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
To make the sauce: In a small saucepan, heat soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, honey, garlic and ginger on medium heat and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and allow sauce to simmer, whisking occasionally, until sauce is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.

Full Recipe