So after last Wednesday’s post for quesadillas, I’m back to healthy Wednesday posts with today’s curried cauliflower soup. No other intro needed. This is healthy, hearty, and not your average soup. So whip up a batch this week or weekend!
Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars
You may have noticed by now that I like bar recipes. I seem to post them a lot. Maybe it’s because they have fruit in them and I tell myself they’re not quite as unhealthy, who knows. But here’s another bar recipe. And I’m sure I always say this, but these are amazing. I made them over the holidays and even ended up eating some of the ones I’d packed up to share with others. I just couldn’t resist.
Brussels Sprout, Bacon, and Bean Quesadilla
You guys know my stance on quesadillas. I love them, and would pretty much eat them every night if I could (see my previous post on them). Today’s post is a slight break from my streak of healthy Wednesday posts, but I promise, it’s worth it for this delicious quesadilla. Plus, it’s on a whole wheat tortilla, so it’s healthy, right???
Rosemary Butter Cookies
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to post a cookie that would be perfect to make for loved ones and friends. Most of the cookie recipes I post are just oozing with sweetness (if you hadn’t figured it out yet, I love everything sweet). But these are much simpler, with just a hint of sweetness. They are a twist on the traditional shortbread cookies. I decorated them with red sprinkles to help give them a festive feel, but you could also just use clear decorative sugar if you’d like them to be simpler. If you want the more traditional Valentine’s Day cookie, see my post from last year!
Farro and Carrot Salad
One of my favorite bloggers, and now cookbook authors, is Deb Perelman who writes Smitten Kitchen. I’ve made a lot of recipes from her blog over the years, and I’ve loved every single thing. So I was really excited to try out the recipes in her cookbook, which my mom got me for Christmas. I was so fired up, I wanted to make something right when we got back to town, before I’d had time to go through and plan what to buy. Based on the ingredients I had, I was able to adapt one of her salads into my own creation. And although I’m sure the original version is scrumptious, my salad turned out delicious as well. This week is the third week in a row that we are having this for dinner. And for those of you looking for a new cookbook, I highly recommend picking this one up (I think my mom found it at Costco).
Salted Caramel Bars
For my holiday party last month, in typical Amelia fashion, I made a very ambitious list of things I wanted to bake and cook (I think I made 18 items in the end). And then as I was going crazy trying to get ready by myself since our party was on a Tuesday and everyone else was at work, I decided I’d cut a couple of things I had been planning on baking. But then I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to eat every single thing on my list. This dessert was one of things I was going to cut because nothing I’d bought for it would go bad. But I am so glad I did not because I think these bars might have been the best dessert I made. These are seriously addictive, so if you just want a little snack for yourself, I recommend not making these. If you’re like me, you’ll eat every last one. But if you want to take a delicious dessert for a party, these are the perfect treat!
Loaded Sweet Potatoes
The next post in my series of healthy but hearty dinners is loaded sweet potatoes. These are very easy to make and work as a great leftover lunch the next day as well. You could also alter the toppings if you don’t like some of the ones I used, or if you just want to clean out your cupboard/fridge.
Mini Peppermint Brownies
I love brownies. More specifically, I love brownies made from the box. I know. I can’t believe it either. But I’ve tried making brownies from scratch before, and normally I still come crawling back to the boxed ones. I also have a particular soft spot for any place that sells brownies with that horribly fake chocolate frosting on top. There was this cafe in college that sold MASSIVE brownies with the frosting. And I mean really massive, like the size of a plate. I don’t even want to know how many of their brownies I ate.
Anyways, back to the subject at hand – homemade brownies. So normally I don’t make these myself, but because I wanted to make them slightly more festive for our holiday party, I decided to make my own, and I have to say, they were amazing. They turned out just like the mini ones you can buy at the store (Costco, Trader Joe’s, etc) but with peppermint added. And the best part – they are so easy to make! The only complication was trying to track down peppermint extract (it took way too many trips to different grocery stores, but I did eventually get it). If you’re not a peppermint fan, I think these would also be great with some peanut butter mixed in, or perhaps some broken up bits of peanut butter cups. Anyways, here’s how to make mini peppermint brownies…
Spaghetti Squash with Bolognese Sauce
Continuing on with the theme from my last two Wednesday posts, I am again posting something healthy and hearty. I know I use this phrase a lot, but that is because I think a lot of healthy meals out there are great, but often leave you still hungry for more food at the end of the meal. And often, this undoes the healthiness of the original meal because you get hungry sooner and end up snacking. So for my Wednesday posts through the end of February, I am going to try to give you lots of yummy and filling meals that will also keep you on track with any health related new years resolutions you made. Today’s post is: spaghetti squash with bolognese sauce.
I came up with this recipe because Dave is a big fan of pasta, and loves to make bolognese sauce. But I tend to avoid eating too much pasta, so I decided this was the perfect compromise because he could make the sauce and serve it on pasta, and I could serve my portion on spaghetti squash, which is very easy to make!
Mini Eggnog Cheesecakes
So I know this post is going up after Christmas, but I am hoping it will still come in handy for those of you who have some leftover eggnog in your fridge and are looking for a way to get rid of it. I made these for our holiday party because eggnog is such a classic holiday treat, but I personally have never been the biggest fan of drinking it. So instead of just serving it in liquid form, I figured I’d put it in a dessert. Plus, these were fun because they are mini and as I’ve mentioned before, small or bite size desserts always seem to do better at parties.
The only slightly complicated part about this recipe is the pan. First of all, you have to buy a special mini cheesecake pan. I found one on Amazon, like this one. Then, getting the cheesecakes in and out of the pan takes a lot of patience. Plus, assuming you only have one pan, you have to do these in batches if you are making more than 12 (I made 36). Despite all of the hurdles involved, these were very popular. You can do the mini cheesecakes with any flavor, not just a holiday appropriate one. So if you’re like me, and you like to bake things like this just for the challenge (and because you know people will like them), go ahead. However, if you’re not a big baker and are easily frustrated, this may not be the best recipe for you.
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the petite croissant 