Category: Recipes

Main Dishes, Other, Recipes

Cheesy Southwest Farro

Sarah

Cheesy Southwest Farro: a healthy, delicious dish good any time of the day! Plus you can make it in less than 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for busy schedules. 🙂
Cheesy Southwest Farro: a healthy, delicious dish good any time of the day! Plus you can make it in less than 30 minutes, so it's perfect for busy schedules. :)

Before you disappear in the depths of heavy Christmas food later this week, I wanted to share a delicious, easy, and healthy recipe that we’ve been enjoying lately. It’s always a struggle in the midst of parties and Christmas baking [see my list of Christmas cookie ideas if you still need inspiration!] to eat real meals and still maintain a fairly healthy diet, I think. There’s lots of reasons and this is a busy time of year so I won’t go into all the details… you probably know and experience them already. But this dish can rescue you over the next couple weeks of merriment when you need something that’s quick to make, fairly healthy, and still tastes amazing. The best part is that you can eat it for ANY meal. That’s right… Cheesy Southwest Farro is good ANY time of the day. 🙂

Cheesy Southwest Farro: a healthy, delicious dish good any time of the day! Plus you can make it in less than 30 minutes, so it's perfect for busy schedules. :)

Ashley originally created this dish as breakfast fare, but let’s face it: I don’t have 30 minutes to whip up breakfast before work. So I decided to make it for dinner one night…and serve the leftovers for breakfast. Perfect! I can make a fried egg and operate the microwave in the morning. 🙂 We loved the cheesiness and the Southwestern flair… and who can say no to avocados [though they didn’t make it into the photo]? To speed the preparation of this meal up, I used 10-minute farro from Trader Joe’s, but you can use whatever kind of farro you can find, or sub quinoa, rice, or another quick cooking grain. Enjoy!

one year ago: Spiced Biscotti with Eggnog Glaze
four years ago: Pfeffernusse
five years ago: Cranberry Sauce Face/Off: Cranberry Relish vs. Gingered Cranberry-Apricot Sauce

Cheesy Southwest Farro

  • Servings: 4
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from Greens & Chocolate

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 cup 10-minute farro from Trader Joe’s*
  • 2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1  – 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles
  • 1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese [or use jack or more cheddar cheese for less spice]
  • 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 fried or poached eggs, for serving
  • diced avocado, for serving
  • green onions, for serving

Directions:

Add olive oil to a medium skillet over medium heat. When hot, saute onion until softened, about 5-6 minutes. Add farro and cook for 1 minute to saute before adding broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, and farro is soft and chewy.

At the end of the cooking time, start preparing eggs as desired–fried is my preference!

When farro is done, stir in cheese then remove from heat. Cover and let rest for a few minutes to allow cheese to melt.

Serve a fried egg, avocado, and green onions on top of a spoonful of farro. Enjoy!

Note: *You can also used pearled farro or semi-pearled or whole farro in place of the 10 minute farro from Trader Joe’s. It’ll take longer, about 30-40 minutes for the pearled variety.

Candy, Desserts, Recipes

No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars

Sarah

Addictive, sweet, chewy, easy no-bake bars. Can you go wrong with marshmallows, peanut butter, butterscotch, and graham crackers? I don’t think so! You need to try these… and SOON.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars... can't go wrong with these easy, delicious treats!

I am always more ambitious with holiday baking, decorating, and cards than is ultimately reasonable. Case in point: this year I made our Christmas cards. Half got sent out earlier this week, the other half will [hopefully] go out this weekend. Sorry family, your cards were last. Ha. To compensate for the card making extravaganza of 2015, this year we decided not to get a tree… mainly because Isa the kitten would probably climb it and knock it down. Seriously, that cat has mad climbing skills. She scampers up the support poles in our living room like they’re nothing [and they already have a rustic look to them, so I’m not concerned with kitty claw marks. If she was destructive towards our furniture, that would be another story. I have no tolerance for that!]. The world is this kitten’s toy, and a tree would be no exception. Hopefully next year she will have matured a wee bit! 🙂 One area that I haven’t skimped in so far is Christmas baking! I made a mess of the kitchen many times over last weekend, and this weekend will be no exception. The best treat I made–by FAR–were these fairly unassuming looking No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars... can't go wrong with these easy, delicious treats!

Brown food never looks that appealing to me, so don’t let the photos turn you away from these babies. If you make one new last-minute sweet treat this Christmas season, let THIS be it. They’re every bit as ooey gooey, sweet, and fantastic as they sound. The ingredient list is short and sweet: butter, peanut butter, butterscotch chips, marshmallows, and graham crackers, and the preparation is incredibly easy. Melt, stir, spread, refrigerate, cut, eat, and enjoy.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars... can't go wrong with these easy, delicious treats!

This treat is well worth the sugar rush, I promise… and with one batch making an entire 12×18 inch jelly roll pan full of these yummy bars… you’ll have enough to feed the neighborhood and yourself for days. 🙂 I’m seriously pondering making another batch this weekend just to have “extras” around! Word of warning though, especially for those of you experiencing higher than average temperatures: these can get pretty soft at room temperature so plan ahead to store in the fridge… they are delicious cold!

one year ago: Orange Spritz Cookies
three years ago: White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies
four years ago: Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
five years ago: Eggless Cookie Dough for Snacking

No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars

  • Servings: 12x18 inch jelly roll pan
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adapted from my friend Susan and How Sweet Eats

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 cups peanut butter [I used 2 cups regular, 1 cup no-stir, non-refrigerated natural peanut butter — Peter Pan brand that’s pretty good for baking]
  • 1 – 11 ounce bag butterscotch chips
  • 2 – 10.5 ounce bags mini marshmallows
  • 4 cups graham crackers, roughly broken
  • sprinkles, optional

Directions:

In a large pot set over medium-low heat, melt together butter, peanut butter, and butterscotch chips. Stir constantly until everything melts–about 8-10 minutes. If a few chips are stubborn, that’s okay.

Remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. While mixture is cooling, line a 12×18 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, you could use a 9×13 inch pan for thicker bars, or even some mini muffin cups greased well or lined with paper liners [but I haven’t tried these options].

Stir in 1 bag of marshmallows and half of the graham crackers until all are incorporated, then stir in remaining marshmallows and graham crackers. Turn out onto jelly roll pan, then use a spatula to press flat and smooth out. Top with sprinkles if desired, then refrigerate for 1 hour to set. Cut into small pieces and store in the refrigerator before serving. Enjoy!

Bars, Desserts, Recipes

Cranberry Crumb Bars

Sarah

Tart, sweet cranberry crumb bars… they are amazingly delicious. What more can I say?

Tart, sweet cranberry crumb bars... they are amazingly delicious.

In the winter, my favorite flavor is cranberry. Between Halloween and Christmas, I buy up/hoard fresh cranberries in a ridiculous fashion–and then freeze a zillion bags for “emergencies.” Crazy, I know, but you DO NOT know when a cranberry craving will strike and have you ever had to look for cranberries in June? Impossible, I tell ya. And I’m sure I’ve told you that before. Ha! 🙂 I also like dried cranberries but fresh cranberries are much better for baking. And these Cranberry Crumb Bars are no exception!

These bar cookies are really really simple and definitely deserve a spot on your Christmas cookie tray this year. They’re rich, buttery little treats with a pop of fresh cranberry and orange in every single delicious bite.

Tart, sweet cranberry crumb bars... they are amazingly delicious.

Over the years I’ve seen lotsa recipes for cranberry cookie bars/crumbles of various sorts but so many of them require you to use “leftover cranberry sauce.” Who ever heard of such a thing? I inhale cranberry sauce so there’s never any left, much less enough for BAKING. And I’m the simple baker type, most of the time. I don’t want to take the time to dirty up the food processor or a saucepan to MAKE cranberry sauce before making dessert. Even though Ben does 90% of the dishes in our house [I’m a lucky girl!], I can’t justify that nonsense. But even so, I didn’t know if a recipe like this would work. Reading over it, I was a bit skeptical. A crust recipe that has you blend in an egg [even in the topping] and not pre-cook it? Sounds weird. A filling with, literally, just fresh cranberries and flavorings and a tiny bit of liquid? Was I going to be wasting a bunch of ingredients?

Tart, sweet cranberry crumb bars... they are amazingly delicious.

[Spoiler alert: NOPE!] These bars are absolutely magical, wonderful, and amazing. The winter dessert of my dreams… no lie. I am so happy I tried them and seriously wouldn’t change a thing about them. The original recipe suggests maybe a drizzle of white chocolate on top, and while that might make them prettier, I think–for me–that extra sweetness would take away from the perfect pairing of tart + sweet + butter. But you do you, and I’ll do me, and we’ll do these Cranberry Crumb Bars together, okay? Enjoy! 🙂

one year ago: Crockpot Minestrone Soup
two years ago: Baked Fish Tacos with Cranberry Salsa
three years ago: Cranberry Orange Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup
four years ago: Baby Bella, Spinach, and Bacon Frittata
five years ago: Sweet Potato Soup

Cranberry Crumb Bars

  • Servings: 24
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from Bakerita

Ingredients:

for the crust:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup almond meal or whole wheat flour
  • zest of half an orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup cold, unsalted butter
  • 1 egg

for the filling

  • juice of 1/2 an orange [I just added a few tablespoons of orange juice]
  • zest of 1/2 an orange
  • 12 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flours, orange zest, and cinnamon. Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly — you can also use a food processor for this step.

Press half of the dough into the prepared pan, then mix up the filling.

In another medium bowl, combine orange juice, orange zest, cranberries, sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch. Stir until combined, then spread over crust. Evenly distribute remaining crust over cranberry mixture.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely in the refrigerator before cutting into squares. Store in the refrigerator. Leftovers freeze well. Enjoy!

30 Before 30, Breads, Recipes

St. Lucia Buns

Sarah

Soft, buttery yeast rolls made with saffron and golden raisins. St. Lucia Buns are a Christmas treat you do not want to miss!

Soft, buttery yeast rolls made with saffron and golden raisins. St. Lucia Buns are a Christmas treat you do not want to miss!

I have wanted to celebrate St. Lucia’s Day for nearly 22 years, and last December, I finally did it. When I was eight years old, I received a Kirsten doll for my birthday. If you were a girl in the 80s and 90s [or have a little girl today!] you know how much of a Big Deal that was. I read every single one of Kirsten’s stories again and again, and all the other doll’s stories again.

With Kirsten

This photo isn’t from Christmas, but it was the best digital photo I could find with Kirsten, except for some embarrassing college photos of my friend and I with our Kirsten dolls. 😉 Yes, we were the kind who brought our dolls to college for a birthday party… wild and crazy, huh? Ha! Since Kirsten is from Sweden, her family always celebrated the Christmas season with a visit from St. Lucia… only their first Christmas in America, according to the wonderful book, Kirsten’s Surprise, all the necessary supplies for the day were stuck in town! You can imagine the drama, if you haven’t already read the book. 🙂 And you can probably predict the outcome too–Kirsten saves the day [along with some help from dear ‘ole Dad] and the family celebrates St. Lucia Day as usual. It was glorious!

Soft, buttery yeast rolls made with saffron and golden raisins. St. Lucia Buns are a Christmas treat you do not want to miss!

Traditionally, St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated on December 13th–this coming Sunday! Lucia, who died as a martyr for her faith, is the saint of light and as such, an important symbol throughout Scandinavia as a promise of light through the dark and wintry months. Typically, the eldest daughter in the family wakes the family with singing and the treat of these delicious buns. She wears a white gown with a red sash and a crown of berries, twigs, and candles. It always seemed like such a lovely tradition to me, but for some reason I never woke up earlier than my parents with a freshly baked batch of sweet, golden yeast buns! Funny! Ha.

Soft, buttery yeast rolls made with saffron and golden raisins. St. Lucia Buns are a Christmas treat you do not want to miss!

These rolls, though a bit labor-intensive, are worth every bit of the time and effort. They’re absolutely SO soft and buttery, and a beautiful shade of golden yellow from the saffron. Saffron can be expensive [ugh] but it’s pretty reasonably priced at Trader Joe’s. I’ve also seen it at World Market in the past, and found mine in the Latin section of my local Publix… a tiny amount for a few dollars. I’m sure it’s not the best quality, but c’est la vie… These buns taste amazing straight from the oven with some fresh butter, but they’re also enjoyable for breakfasts with coffee and fruit over the next few days. #perfection Hope you can try these this weekend to celebrate St. Lucia!

Soft, buttery yeast rolls made with saffron and golden raisins. St. Lucia Buns are a Christmas treat you do not want to miss!

one year ago: Art Smith’s Macaroni and Cheese
two years ago: Cranberry-Pistachio Citrus Butter Cookies
three years ago: Streuseled Cran-Apple Sweet Potato Casserole
four years ago: Cranberry Pineapple Sauce
five years ago: Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits

St. Lucia Buns

  • Servings: 12
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from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, lightly crushed
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup potato flour or 1/2 cup instant potato flakes [I used the flakes]
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs – 1 egg will be divided [see below]
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg white, reserved from dough + 1 tablespoon cold water – for topping
  • coarse pearl sugar, optional – for topping
  • golden raisins, optional – for topping

Directions:

Place milk and saffron in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Heat to just a simmer [so not long at all!] and remove from heat. Stir in butter, then set aside for the butter to melt and the mixture to cool to lukewarm. This will take about 35 minutes, but you can speed it up about 10 minutes by placing the entire saucepan in the refrigerator.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, yeast, potato flour, salt, and sugar. Crack the eggs into a small bowl, reserving the white for the topping later.

When the milk mixture has cooled sufficiently, pour over the dry ingredients. Add the eggs [2 whole eggs and 1 yolk] and vanilla. Mix to combine, then knead until the dough is smooth. In the mixer this should take about 7 minutes; by hand, 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl, then cover and let rise for an hour. The dough doesn’t have to be quite doubled, but should be puffy.

Gently tap to deflate the dough, then divide into 12 equal pieces. King Arthur Flour recommended a scale–each piece should weigh about 92 grams or 3.25 ounces. You can also do the ‘ole divide in half and half and half trick too.

Roll each piece into a short log, then cover and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Then roll into a thin 15-18 inch rope. It’ll shrink when you stop rolling, but that’s okay. Shape each roll into an “S,” then place a golden raisin in each of the coils if you would like.

Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat, or grease lightly. Place buns about an inch apart on the baking sheets, then cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until puffy. They shouldn’t double in size. At this time, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add 1 tablespoon cold water to reserved egg white, then brush mixture on each bun. Sprinkle with coarse pearl sugar if desired.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Check on the rolls after 15 minutes for doneness–especially if your oven runs hot or if you used raisins, as you’ll want to tent with foil for the last few minutes to prevent burning.

Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cornbread - delicious, lightly spiced cornbread that is perfect with any hearty soup or bbq!
Breads, Recipes

Pumpkin Cornbread

Sarah

Light, airy cornbread with a hint of pumpkin and spice! Perfect for all your soup-dipping needs. 🙂

Pumpkin Cornbread - delicious, lightly spiced cornbread that is perfect with any hearty soup or bbq!

I always forget about making cornbread or any bread for dinner until it’s too late. The soup is already done, or we’re starving. I don’t know what it is–I always plan ahead for a salad or other veggie side, but when it comes to bread I just forget about it. Makes no sense because I love it! So whenever there’s a soup-based meal planned at work or with our friends, I love to volunteer to make the bread or cornbread for dipping. I made this pumpkin cornbread earlier this fall and it was absolutely FABULOUS! It didn’t have that dense texture that some cornbreads get, so it was light and airy, just like I like it. Plus it was a little sweet but not overly so… delicious with or without extra butter and honey. 🙂

Pumpkin Cornbread - delicious, lightly spiced cornbread that is perfect with any hearty soup or bbq!

Isa the kitten was very interested in it too, btw! Don’t worry–these photos were taken AFTER I served this cornbread to others. 🙂 My favorite part of this cornbread was how crispy the edges got. I’m not really an edge brownie girl [give me the fudgy middle piece any day!] but crisp edges of bread or cake are my jam. There’s just something about how everything caramelizes as it bakes that’s delightful. I know pumpkin season is nearly complete, but soup season is still a-happening so this pumpkin cornbread should happen in your kitchen too! Enjoy!

one year ago: Mini Apple Cupcakes with Cranberry Buttercream
two years ago: Dark Chocolate Ginger Squares
three years ago: Caramel Apple Dip
four years ago: Honey Yeast Dinner Rolls
five years ago: Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Cornbread

  • Servings: 16
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from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon molasses

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, and cornmeal. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, oil, and molasses. Pour wet ingredients into the dry, then gently stir to incorporate. Mixture may be a little lumpy. Transfer to prepared baking dish, then bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm! Cool completely before covering, then keep at room temperature for up to 3 days before freezing any leftovers. Leftovers can be cut into individual pieces and wrapped in plastic or foil to enjoy later.