A couple of weeks ago, I gave you a little sneak peek at my biscotti and promised it was coming soon… so I hope you’re ready, because here it is! I recently signed up for the Food Blogger Cookie Swap, which is basically like this really fun cookie exchange with awesome bakers from across the country. Since I needed cookies that would mail well, I decided to experiment with some Biscotti. And here’s the great news– this biscotti? It’s crazy easy.
I love tiramisu. It’s delicious. It just tastes fancy. There’s something about that blend of coffee and cream and everything delicious that makes my mouth water.
But it’s also kind of a pain in the butt to make. All of those layers! Don’t worry, though– you can totally serve the best tiramisu ever, without really serving tiramisu. With this easy tiramisu dip, you’ll give your guests (or yourself!) all of the flavor without any of the work that actual tiramisu requires.
Looking for an easy dip that will be a stunner? Want to make sure no one else will have the same dip as you do? This Raspberry Black Bean Dip is spicy and sweet, and it’s a perfect fit for any party, but it’s so simple that no one will believe the minimal effort!
Christmas… New Year… The Super Bowl… it seems like for the next three months, everyone is going to be slammed with parties, get-togethers, and other activities that require sustenance. After all of the slaving away in the kitchen (or the last minute invites), you may need a go-to dip that takes minutes to make. But that doesn’t mean you should sacrifice taste. This southwest corn dip fits the bill of easy AND delicious.
Note: This is a republication of a post that I shared in March. With the Thanksgiving season upon us, I thought a few of you might want to see it again. Happy Thanksgiving!
Bacon? Check. Cheese? Check. Tons of flavor? Absolutely. See, these are the easiest potatoes I think I’ve ever made, and they’re a hit with everyone. I mean, who doesn’t love cheesy potatoes with bacon?
One of the many recipes that came from the family recipe box, this handwritten recipe with an unknown source simply stated “They’re named for the famous river because they’re LONG on taste and MIGHTY good!” Well, they didn’t disappoint, anyway! Cheesy potatoes get a big punch with this recipe because of the added bacon, the creaminess, and the green onions.
Start with some ingredients you may already have– 8 to 10 cups of potatoes, diced, 1 cup of Mayonnaise (the real deal, not salad dressing), about a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, a 16 ounce block of cheddar, diced (or the equivalent in shredded cheddar), 1/2 a cup of green onions, chopped, and a package of bacon. You can add half a cup of olives if you’d like to, but why ruin perfectly good potatoes? (Unless you’re an olive fan, in which case, you probably don’t see that as ruining them).
Start by slicing your bacon into pieces. Don’t look at me with that shocked face that I get every time someone sees me do this… you can TOTALLY bacon your bits instead of bitting your bacon. This method gets a lot less grease on your hands because there’s no tearing it up post-fry… if you do the cutting first, your bacon will be in perfect bite sized bits when you’re done. I promise. Just trust me– cutting bacon is NOT bacon blasphemy, no matter what anyone tells you.
Put that in a pan and cook it, trying not to eat too much bacon as the smell fills the air. Seriously, bacon is so hard to resist. That’s why there is bacon everything. While the bacon cooks, start peeling and dicing your potatoes, dicing your cheese, and chopping your green onions.
Delicious! Finish getting your other ingredients chopped and ready.
In a 9×13 pan or a 3 quart casserole dish, mix the green onions, cheese, bacon, and potatoes. If you’re adding olives, now is the time to do that, too.
Toss the ingredients with mayonnaise, coating well. Bake for an hour and a half, or until the potatoes are tender, in a 325 degree oven.
Enjoy that bubbly, bacon-y, cheesy potato side dish. You could even add in some hamburger meat or chicken and make it a main dish, if you wanted to.
If you love the combo of cheese and potatoes, you will want to check out the cheesy potatoes in this Hearty Cheeseburger Soup!
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Not too long ago, a rule was made that my brother had to pitch in with dinner sometimes. Now, my brother is a pretty good cook, but like all of us, he likes easy, and a lot of times, he sticks to the tried-and-true. So much so that we quickly realized that any nights where it was Jeffrey’s turn to cook, we either got waffles, or we got hobo packs. I started watching him making the hobo packs (as we affectionately call them, but apparently foil packet meal or foil packet dinner also works), and realized why he loved making them so much. They were easy. They were delicious. And most of all, they were versatile. With a family full of picky people, versatile is important.
I like easy dinners. I mean really easy dinners. With Jeffrey playing soccer non-stop, Zach having a great Music and Movement class, and all of the other day-to-day life, sometimes it is almost dinner time and I’ve forgotten to even think about dinner. It has nothing to do with me having trouble putting down the book I’m reading or anything. It’s totally everyone’s schedules. I swear.
Anyway, this dinner is so ridiculously easy that I can’t believe I didn’t make it sooner.
Start out with three-ish chicken breasts. It’s not an exact science. I used 3 because I had 3 thawed, but if they’re really big, use two. If they’re tiny, use more. You’ll also need 3 bags of Birds Eye Steamfresh Specially Seasoned Southwestern Style Rice. It is seasoned, and has bell peppers, onions, and corn already in it. You’ll also want to check into Campbell’s Great for Cooking Soups– a can of Cream of Chicken and a can of Cheddar Cheese soup are perfect. Add in a drained can of Rotel and you’re golden. I used Mild Rotel because my family just can’t take the spice, but if your family is able to handle it, by all means, load that puppy up with some Hot Rotel (or at least Original).
Cook the chicken fully, then shred it into bite-sized pieces.
Pour the still-frozen rice in and break it up. Yes, it will be a little bit icy– that’s part of how it steams. This will cook into the food when you bake the dish. Now, mix in your chicken.
You’re on the home stretch now with this dish… stir in the two great for cooking soups and the drained Rotel, then pop the casserole in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbly.
It serves 6-8 people, and it’s so quick and easy to make that you’ll be out of the kitchen and back to reading… I mean, uh, driving the kids around to all of their stuff… in a heartbeat.
Love easy recipes? Try my Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup, Pollo Magnifico Freezer Meal, or Hearty Cheeseburger Soup!
What’s your go-to “I forgot to cook dinner!” recipe? Share it in the comments below!
I’ve mentioned a lot lately how much I love spring. It’s that 70 degree weather and the delicious seasonal foods that appear in stores about this time, for sure. So the other day, I was shopping at Target, wandering the store the way I do… you know how you go into Target for one thing and there’s that unspoken law that you can’t leave without spending $50 even if you went in for just one $5 item? Yeah, so, I was wandering. And stumbled upon a Target exclusive.
Oh my goodness, Target, you kill me with those exclusives…
Betty Crocker got sneaky and made a WATERMELON cake mix. And frosting to go with it. And oh my goodness, this cake mix, it’s just like a watermelon. But like, in cake form. Psht, like I needed another excuse to eat cake!
So I gathered my Betty Crocker Watermelon Cake mix, a box of Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding, 4 eggs, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 cup oil, then preheated my oven to 350.
Now, I want to tell you here, I used the Watermelon Cake mix because I really wanted to have that amazing watermelon bread flavor. The vanilla pudding compliments that well, but you can use literally any flavor of pudding and cake mix. Want chocolate bread? Try chocolate cake and chocolate pudding. Want chocolate covered strawberry? Use a strawberry mix and chocolate pudding. Want lemon? Use lemon cake mix and lemon pudding and add some poppyseeds… or, use lemon cake and vanilla pudding for a lighter flavor. The sky is the limit!
But for today– Watermelon Cake Mix, Vanilla pudding. Everybody still tracking along?
Put your dry ingredients in the bowl, then add in your wet ingredients while mixing.
Aww, look at all of the fun “seeds” in the watermelon mix! This is a good time to mention that, while these great black seed bits came in the mix, you CAN add in mix-ins like chocolate chips or poppyseeds when making a cake mix quick bread. Use your imagination!
I divided my batter among 4 mini loaf pans, but you can make two regular loaves instead. I like mini loaves because they’re so cute, and great for sharing! The baking time should stay the same or increase just slightly if you’re using the regular loaf pans. Always insert a toothpick or use your method of choice to check for doneness!
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until edges are golden. Then, cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes to an hour before slicing and serving. See, breads will continue to bake just slightly after removed from the oven, so cooling them before slicing allows that soft center to get fully cooked.
Cake mix quick breads are great because they use ingredients people usually keep on hand, and they’re so easy to take to friends or family, serve as a breakfast or dessert, and are just a great treat.
The best thing about the Watermelon quick bread is it’s delicious watermelon flavor that tastes so true to the actual fruit. This is the moistest sweet bread you’ll ever taste!
What cake mix/pudding combo would you try in your Cake Mix Quick Bread? Let me know in the comments below!
These cookies are nothing short of miraculous. Well, I mean, look at them. They look like your standard, very delicious, absolutely cute cookies.
But, they’re just a handful of ingredients, and they take almost no time at all. These are the kind of cookies you make when you say “I have to have cookies! Like now!” Or the kind of cookies you say “Oh! Crud! The school bake sale is today and I forgot to bake something!” But, they’re also the kind of cookies you make when you need something delicious, time-pressed or no, the kind of cookies that taste so much harder than they are. And that’s what’s miraculous, and also very, very dangerous about them.
For the base cookie, you just need a box of cake mix, a carton of whipped topping, and an egg. You’ll also need powdered sugar to roll the cookies in before baking. I chose to add in some white chocolate chips for that whole “and cream” bit. Strawberry is a fun, and unexpected, cookie flavor for Valentine’s day. While this cookie could easily be made with chocolate, or with red velvet, you’ll love the flavor of a strawberries and cream cookie amidst scores of chocolate choices in the Valentine’s season.
This is where things get almost stupidly easy. You toss your cake mix, your Cool Whip, and your egg into a bowl, and mix. It’ll be an extra thick cookie batter.
Like very thick! At this point, fold in your white chocolate chips. Then, roll the batter into balls.
Roll those balls in powdered sugar. Relish in the fact that you’re not having to take a picture one handed of this step– it’s tricky!
Place the balls several inches apart on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Waiting for them to cook is hard. You may be surrounded by people with their mouth open like little birds, just waiting for a taste of warm cookie, fresh from the oven.
Once cooled, you’re able to enjoy them! They’ve got a really great flavor, and they’re so easy, anyone could make them. The strawberries and cream is unique and exciting, something new!
They’ll be gone quickly! I promise!
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Counting calories this V-Day? There are only 140 Calories per cookie, and they’re way more satisfying than a hundred calorie pack! Calorie counts may vary.
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Trying a variation on these cookies? Let me know how they turn out in the comments below!
I’m a pretty big fan of popcorn. There really isn’t a time or place where popcorn isn’t a decent answer… whether it’s kettle corn at the soccer game, super extra mega butter popcorn at the theatre, or just microwave popcorn with the family as a night snack. But there’s always a very special place in my heart for mixes that involve popcorn and other foods I love. This harvest cinnamon popcorn mix is no exception. With only a few ingredients, and the ability to make it in under 10 minutes start-to-finish, it’s the perfect treat for a last minute snack!
Start out with four simple ingredients. I picked up this Sweet Cinnamon Act II popcorn on a whim when I saw it at the store, and it has an incredible cinnamon scent that can’t be beat. The S’mores Candy Corn was also an impulse buy of mine (and a good one at that!) CandiQuik is good for mixes like this because it solidifies after being melted and then cooled, so it is a good way of keeping a mix held together. Finally, the Pumpkin Spice M&Ms are really yummy… and remind me so much of the chocolate chai latte from Starbucks. Yummy! You could also add in some peanuts, cashews, or chopped walnuts to this mixture to add a protein punch while still maintaining a yummy fall flavor blend.
Start by popping your sweet cinnamon popcorn in the microwave the way you typically pop microwave popcorn. Spread the popped popcorn out on a large cookie sheet.
By the handful, add the Pumpkin Spice M&Ms and S’mores Candy Corn, making sure to get a pretty even distribution of the candy over the popcorn. I’m not going to give exact measurements because this is really done to taste, but I added about 2/3 cup of each candy in the bag of popcorn. Just add what looks “right” to you– there isn’t a right or wrong in this recipe.
Next, melt your CandiQuik (about 2 squares) in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each nuke, until it’s melted.
Take your spoon, fill it with CandiQuik, and with a flick of the wrist, drizzle it over the popcorn mixture evenly. Don’t worry about being precise or pretty– you’re just going to break this into bits once the CandiQuik is set!
See? Beautifully coated!
Let that sit for just a smidgen, until the CandiQuik is hardened and no longer melty. Then, put all of the popcorn mixture into a bowl, cup, or other favorite serving receptacle, and enjoy with family and friends! It’s a perfect snack for sharing… and it’s oh-so-yummy.
Yum.