I don’t usually post on Saturdays, but I’ve had the honor of being a guest contributor for whattoexpect.com, a site I go to every week to see my baby’s progress! I really hope you will visit to check out my recipe for Iron Woman Ginger Cake. It’s so nice to have healthier options (especially ones that taste good) during the holidays, and this cake definitely fits the bill!
XOXO,
Veronica
There’s probably not a huge need amongst the masses for an ice-cold autumnal punch recipe, since usually you want to start drinking hot beverages when the weather cools, but this is a nice refreshing drink that is a great alternative to serve at holiday gatherings. Thanksgiving, even? My sister, Lacey (that’s her hands pouring the punch below), mixed up a big punch-bowl full for my Lil’ Pumpkin Baby Shower and there was hardly a drop left by the end. It was so perfect with the pumpkin cupcakes and the entire theme and tasted wonderful!
And if you’re in need of more Thanksgiving recipes, I’ve updated my current favorites on the side bar. I love everything over there and can’t wait to eat some of it soon! Gobble gobble! :D
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
1/2 gallon apple cider
1 (64 oz) bottle cranberry juice cocktail
1 (2 liter) bottle ginger ale
1/2 gallon orange sherbet
Combine the apple cider, cranberry juice, and ginger ale in a large punch bowl. Scoop the orange sherbet on top and allow to sit for at least half an hour before serving. Stir the sherbet into the punch and serve. Fills 1 large punch bowl.
*Veronica’s notes: I made ice cubes by freezing two batches of the single serving recipe for this punch linked to below, however the ice cubes aren’t really necessary with the orange sherbet, which keeps the punch cold. Also, Dennis added the sherbet and only used half of the half gallon, but I think it would be best with a full half gallon.
Recipe source: adapted from Jam Hands (click the link to get Ali’s single-serving recipe)
Other favorite autumn drinks from my archives…
Photo by Dolly Grace Photography
I have shared a Pumpkin Cheese Ball recipe before, and this one is very similar but the few changes make it so much better and cuter, so I have to share!
Photo by Dolly Grace Photography
As with the other Pumpkin Cheese Ball, there is no actual pumpkin in it, but there is paprika and cayenne (don’t worry, it’s not spicy at all) to color it orange and then you do a little extra to make it resemble a pumpkin, including rolling it in crushed Doritos and putting a pepper stem on top. Cuteness! This would be a great addition to your Thanksgiving spread, or for next year’s Halloween festivities. We served two of them at my Lil’ Pumpkin Baby Shower and they were a huge hit!
Photo by Dolly Grace Photography
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
2 packages (16 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sour cream
1 tablespoon dried chives
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups (8 ounces) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed nacho cheese chips
1 green pepper stem or celery rib with leaves
Assorted crackers
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Beat in the chives, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne until incorporated, then beat in the cheddar. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Before serving, roll the cheese ball in crushed chips and press a green pepper stem (or celery rib, using some of the leaves for pumpkin vine leaves) into the top. Allow to sit at room temperature at least 1/2 hour before serving to soften. Serve with crackers.
Recipe source: a Veronica’s Cornucopia original, with inspiration from Family Fresh Meals
With the holidays upon us, you might be looking for more cheesy goodness to add to your spread. Why not try…
Dill, Cheddar, and Green Onion Cheese Ball
*Disclaimer: this post is sponsored by Kellogg’s, but all thoughts and opinions (and recipe-hehe) are my own. :)
Have you seen this adorable Rice Krispies commercial? Sometimes I really miss commercials (we don’t watch TV), so it’s nice that the good ones are available online whenever I choose to watch them.
[unrulysponsored code=144502383 align=center]
It’s true, they are so gentle on your tummy, which I know because I’m pregnant and a pregnant tummy can be awfully sensitive sometimes. Although I lucked out in the morning sickness department, even I have food aversions and prefer Rice Krispies over a flavorful meal once in a while. They are just so good! They also supply a surprising amount of nutrition, despite consisting mainly of rice. Have you ever looked at a nutrition label for these babies? Gotta love that they’re low in calories as well.
The ingredients for my treats. Still easy to digest…maybe not as nutritious. ;)
Anyway, after watching the commercial, I realized just how long it’s been since I’ve made Rice Krispies treats! I had a special reason to make these, as well as the Pretzel Pumpkins yesterday, but I’ll share that with you later.
Although I love to bake, there is something really satisfying about combining a few ingredients and having a delicious treat to enjoy without ever having to turn on the oven. Rice Krispies treats are my favorite no-bake treat, and I love coming up with new & fun recipes for them. These were inspired by the Pumpkin Spice Mallows that are cropping up in stores lately, combined with my favorite recipe for Brown Butter Crispy Treats. They are so simple and delicious!
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag Pumpkin Spice Mallows
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
1 cube of vanilla almond bark/candy coating (for optional drizzle)
Line a 9-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides with foil, letting some hang over the edge. (You can also use a 9×13 pan if you prefer thinner treats.) Butter the foil and set aside.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the butter turns amber in color, and the solids have separated and turned a chocolate brown. Turn off the heat and stir in the salt and the Pumpkin Spice Mallows. Continue to stir until the marshmallows have melted completely and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the cereal until well coated, then quickly spread into prepared pan and press down using a silicone spatula or a piece of waxed paper that has been sprayed with oil.
Once the bars are completely cool, use the foil overhang to lift the bars out of the pan. If desired, melt the almond bark in a small microwave safe bowl – microwaving for 1 minute at 50% power, then turning over and cutting in half, and microwaving another minute at 50% power, stirring well until smooth. You might need an additional 10 seconds or so to get it completely smooth but be careful not to overheat it or it will seize up. Spoon into a disposable pastry bag or small Ziploc bag and snip a bit off the tip (or corner for the Ziploc bag) and use a sweeping motion while gently squeezing to drizzle over the top of the treats. Allow to set, then cut into squares.
Need some more snap, crackle, pop in your life? Try these yummy treats!
Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
Gingerbread Rice Crispy Treats
I ran across the cutest idea for making pumpkins out of mini pretzels on Butter with a Side of Bread. I found a limited edition of Wilton’s candy melts called “Pumpkin Spice” and thought of those cute pumpkins. I couldn’t resist!
Jessica made solid pumpkins, covering the holes with the candy coating (see photo below for my attempt at this), but I decided to just keep to a thin coating and leave the holes because it seemed to turn them too sweet to use that much coating. Also, I think the texture of my coating made it harder to do the way she did hers. In my experience, adding food coloring (the gel kind used in frosting, like Jessica used) to candy coating changes the texture and makes it thicker, which probably helped her coat her pretzels completely with no holes. Mine was thinner and it was a lot easier to coat the pretzels thinly – the two I did like Jessica’s actually took more time because the coating kept wanting to fall through the holes. Whatever you decide to do, these are fun, easy, and tasty! Kids are sure to love them.
I highly recommend the Pumpkin Spice flavored candy melts if you can find them – they are so good! I found mine at Walmart in the Halloween section where all the Halloween sprinkles and treat-making supplies were located.
They almost looks like spooky jack-o-lanterns!
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
50-75 mini pretzels
1 (10 oz) bag orange colored candy melts (Wilton’s Pumpkin Spice recommended)
Green M&M’s*
Melt the candy melts according to the package directions. I recommend being even more careful than the package recommends and after doing 1 minute at 50% power in the microwave, doing only 15 second intervals and stirring extremely well between zaps. These candy melts tend to get very thick if you overheat them at all, so be careful. Once melted, dip each pretzel in the coating using a fork and tap off the excess chocolate before placing on waxed paper. Take a green M&M and press into the top (I dipped mine in the coating a little to help them adhere, but it’s probably not necessary) to make a stem. Continue with remaining pretzels until all the M&M’s are used up, gently reheating the coating as necessary when it becomes too thick or starts to harden. If you still have coating left when the M&M’s are gone, keep dipping pretzels until it’s used up. Allow the coating to set completely before removing the pretzels to a bowl to serve. Keep covered until ready to serve.
Makes about 50 pumpkin pretzels
*I got about 50 green M&M’s from a regular bag, which turned out to be an almost perfect amount. I only had a little bit of candy coating left once I ran out of the M&M’s, and I just coated about a dozen more without stems and mixed them in with the others.
Recipe source: adapted from Butter With a Side of Bread
This was the chili I made the Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread to go with last week. It was the smoky factor that called to me when I saw it on Tami’s blog, and it didn’t disappoint! I upped the spicy factor to suit our tastes and it was just wonderful. The only change I would make next time is to take the suggestion to run the red peppers through the food processor (and use two red peppers instead of one orange-lol), because I imagine that makes the chili thicker and more red and visually appealing. I wasn’t reading the recipe closely and just diced the peppers as I usually do, which was fine, but I look forward to trying it the recommended way.
And don’t be scared of the lentils! I personally have a distaste for regular lentils, but red lentils are totally different and do not have that earthy flavor to them at all. I found mine at a Lebanese market (you can get them at N & J Cafe’s market here in Wichita), and hope you’ll be able to find them in your area too. So much tastier than regular lentils, IMO.
This chili has a wonderful balance of flavors and I was impressed that the creator even thought to add vinegar, something I’ve never added to chili, but somehow it’s perfect here. You won’t really notice it, but it did need some tang to balance everything. So good, you won’t even miss the meat.
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
2 ounces dates (approximately 9 Deglet Noor)
1 pound red lentils (they look orange in the package)
7 cups water, divided
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes (fire roasted preferred)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 large chopped onion
2 large red bell peppers, finely chopped*
8 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1½ tablespoons dried parsley
1½ tablespoons dried oregano
1½ tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika (different than regular paprika)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder (or more to taste – I used 1 teaspoon)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste – I used 1 teaspoon)
scallions or Faux Parmesan – optional (for topping at the end)
Blend the dates in one cup of the water until smooth (unless you have a water-tight food processor, use a blender, or the liquid will fly out. Lesson learned the hard way by me). Place the puree, along with all remaining ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Alternatively, you can cook in an electric pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 minutes, or in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Sprinkle with chopped scallions or Faux Parmesan and serve with baked tortilla chips or over a baked potato if desired.
*Chef AJ’s note: I like to use the food processor so it’s almost a puree.
*Veronica’s note: If you live in Wichita, go to The Spice Merchant for the smoked paprika and chipotle chile powder – you will pay much less than you would for the pricey McCormick spices, and they’re just as good!
Yield: 8 servings
Recipe source: Nutmeg Notebook, originally from Unprocessed by Chef AJ.
I’m a newly established fan of sweet cornbread, and although I have some good recipes for sweet cornbread in my arsenal, I was lacking one that called for buttermilk. I do have one with buttermilk for the hard-core Southern cornbread fans, but since I like sweet cornbread, I had to make one for the folks like me who’d like to have a sweet cornbread recipe that calls for buttermilk when that’s the only kind of milk they have on hand.
As was the case a last week when I made a big pot of spicy chili and wanted some sweet cornbread to go with it. This is perhaps the most tender cornbread I’ve ever made, and when fresh from the oven, is so close to the texture of a cake. The next day it’s more sturdy, but still the crumb is quite delicate compared to regular cornbread. I loved it! Balanced our spicy chili perfectly. :)
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
1 cup (4 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 7/8 oz) cornmeal
2/3 cup (4 3/4 oz) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 square pan (I used bacon grease) or a 10 inch cast iron skillet; set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt until combined. In a separate smaller mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk and oil. Pour into the cornmeal mixture and stir together until mostly blended but a few lumps remain. Let the batter rest for five minutes, then pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes (start checking at 20 minutes for a cast iron skillet) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter.
Recipe source: a marriage of my Favorite Cornbread and Grandmother’s Buttermilk Cornbread from allrecipes.com
Soup & chili weather is upon us, and cornbread is the perfect accompaniment!
Favorite Cornbread – my pictures don’t do this cornbread justice. It is my favorite and probably will always be my favorite.
Homestead Cornbread – no flour, no sugar! Naturally gluten-free.
Lighter Northern Cornbread – great cornbread doesn’t have to cost the calorie bank an arm and a leg.
I was blessed to celebrate another birthday this week – my 33rd! So thankful to celebrate another birthday. It may mean I’m older, but hopefully it means I’m wiser too. And it also means I’ve almost lived long enough to see my life-long dream of having a baby fulfilled, so there was no sting at all affiliated with turning another year older. :)
Every year, my only birthday plan is to eat a piece of cake. If I can have a piece of cake on my birthday, I’m a happy girl. I’ve only posted maybe 200 recipes for cake on my blog, so you might have noticed I’m a fan. But my sister, Danielle, thought I needed an actual celebration, so she decided to throw a little pizza party for me at her shop. Imagine my surprise to get gifts to boot! I didn’t celebrate my birthday growing up, but I felt like a kid again, or what one probably feels like that celebrates their birthday. :)
Danielle is crackin’ me up how she is holding little Mariam to feed her! I was feeding her but needed a cake break, then I got schooled on how to feed babies, Danielle style. Dad, Dennis, Owen, and Margo’s middle daughter, Norah, are in the other room.
And I got my piece of cake too. It’s a new tradition for Dennis to make my birthday cake because for me, that’s the ultimate gift and thankfully, while baking (or cooking) isn’t really his thing, he’s willing to do it for me every year that I ask (this year makes three cakes he’s made for me). I picked out an easy one this year since he went a tad overboard last year (lol – see below the recipe). He rocked it!
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
Cake:
1 (18.25 oz) Duncan Hines Orange Supreme cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box
1 cup (3.5 oz) flaked, sweetened coconut
Frosting:
1 (15 oz) can mandarin oranges, plus more for garnish if desired
1 (5.1 oz)large instant vanilla pudding mix (not prepared)
1 cup (3.5 oz) flaked, sweetened coconut
1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Brush Miracle Pan Release on the bottom and sides of two 8″ or 9″ cake pans, or grease and flour them; set aside.
Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions. After you’ve finished mixing the cake, stir in 1 cup of coconut. Bake according to cake mix instructions for the size of pans you’re using. After cooked through, remove from oven and turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Prepare frosting: In a large mixing bowl, mix the mandarin oranges with their juices with an electric mixer until crushed. Mix in the instant pudding mix and coconut and mix well. Fold in the whipped topping until combined.
Using a cake leveler or a long serrated knife, cut the tops off both of the cakes to get a flat surface. Take one of the cakes and place the cut side up on the cake plate. Add a layer of frosting. Place the 2nd layer cut side down on top of the frosting layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with mandarin orange slices if desired. Chill in the fridge for several hours before serving.
Recipe source: Sweet Tea and Cornbread, as seen on Jam Hands
Love cake as much as I do? Check out some of my past birthday cakes:
2010: Easy Coconut Layer Cake
2011: Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte
This year I only had a couple hours to prepare the food I was going to take to the Pig Roast so I didn’t have time to make some really razzlin’ dazzlin’ cupcakes like I had planned. I went to the recipes I had saved on Pinterest and decided on these bars because they were pretty quick to make, could feed a crowd, and I had some overripe bananas ready to be used. While many were disappointed I didn’t bring cake or cupcakes (I guess by now I’m kind of known for them), most of the pan was eaten by the time the meal was over (and there were tons of desserts) so apparently they weren’t too disappointed. :)
I got the best reaction from the teenage girls, for some reason – they flipped for them. There were two short rows left when we were cleaning up after the meal, and I asked one of them if she wanted any more before I put them in my trunk and she took another three, saying she’d already eaten five. I’d say that’s a pretty good endorsement.
The bars have a nice, moist crumb, and really good classic banana bread flavor, but the thing that makes them stand out is the browned butter icing. I knew brown butter and bananas was a good match, and that’s why I worked so hard to perfect my recipe for Brown Butter Banana Bread. But I think that the flavor comes through so much better when used in an icing on top of the bread. Oh soooo delicious!
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
Bars:
1 ½ cups (10 ½ oz) granulated sugar
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
½ cup (4 oz / 1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups (15.25 oz, peeled) over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 or 4)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ½ oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup (2 oz) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Frosting:
½ cup (4 oz / 1 stick) butter
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
about 3 tablespoons milk or half and half
Heat oven to 375F. Grease and flour a 10×15 jelly roll pan or line with parchment paper (for thicker bars use a 9×13 pan and bake longer). Beat first four ingredients until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla for one minute. Add dry ingredients and blend for one minute. Stir in nuts if desired and spread in pan. The pan will be very full but it’s OK, it won’t rise over the edge during baking. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting.
For the browned butter frosting: Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat past the melting point until it is boiling and a delicate brown, stirring constantly. The solids will separate and turn into chocolate brown flecks at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining ingredients. This should be thicker than a glaze and thinner than frosting. Using a spatula, smooth over the top of the Banana Bread Bars immediately. The frosting will be easier to spread once it’s on the warm bread.
If not serving the same day, let the pan sit out until cool and the frosting is dry to the touch, then cover with foil until ready to serve. These will last several days at room temperature, but I found them even more delicious when served cold from the fridge!
Recipe source: The Girl Who Ate Everything
Nutty for banana bread? You might go ape for these…
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread {Low Fat, Low Sugar}
Buttermilk Banana Bread (my favoritest favorite!)
Virginia Street Banana Nut Bread (multiple blue ribbons winner!)
*You may have noticed I’ve started to include links to older recipes at the bottom of each recipe post. Since I’ve built up quite a collection of recipes on my blog that many new readers have never seen, I’d been thinking about sharing recipes from my archives on a certain day each week like my girl Marsha. But I’m having so much fun rehashing them this way, because I get to search my own archives like a treasure hunter and see if I can come up with three similar recipes to the one I’m posting. So far I’ve been able to do it fairly easily, and I hope you guys enjoy these oldies along with the newbies! :)
You may be thinking I forgot it’s Thursday and I’m supposed to be thankful today, but you’re wrong! I wrote this post Tuesday night to be published Wednesday, but when I went to add the photos, I realized my memory card that had them on it was missing. One minute it was in my laptop, the next it was just gone. It took me almost twenty four hours to find it, and I’m super thankful I did, otherwise I couldn’t have shared this recipe, and many others, with you. Hopefully you are thankful I found it too. :D
I came across this recipe in the latest Cook’s Country magazine and made it almost immediately since I had all the ingredients on hand. It is a super simple and quick recipe to make, and unlike a lot of my fast & easy go-to dinners, does not include any boxed mixes or canned soups. I don’t mind prepackaged stuff too much, but I do appreciate a quick & delicious dinner that is made from scratch!
I really enjoyed this, and Dennis liked it even more than I did. I missed the sweetness from ketchup that is on a regular burger (this recipe has no added sweetener at all) so I actually dotted my plate with a little ketchup and enjoyed it much more that way. Try it if you miss that hint of sweetness too.
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
1 lb. 85% lean ground beef (I used 93% lean)
1 cup finely chopped onion, divided
12 oz (3 cups) elbow macaroni
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper
6 oz. chopped deli American cheese (I used cheddar)
1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
Cook beef and 1/2 cup of the onion in a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Add macaroni, chicken broth, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender, 8-10 minutes. Stir in cheese, pickles, and remaining 1/2 cup onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Recipe source: Cook’s Country October/November 2013
Hungry for noodles? You might enjoy these simple recipes…
Soba Noodles in Peanut Sauce {Vegan}
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