My parents' wonderful neighbor, Jennifer, made this delicious spinach dip on Christmas Eve. It was so cheesy and delicious! I will definitely make this soon, maybe for Superbowl!?! Merry Christmas!
Ingredients:
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup swiss cheese, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 - 8 oz package frozen spinach, chopped, thawed and drained really well
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all cheeses and reserve 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture. Then mix in all ingredients.
3. Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish.
4. Top with the remaining cheese and bake for 25-30 mins or until warm and bubbly. Let cool about 10 mins before serving. Serve with crackers, bread, or pita.
Enjoy!
I made this cake for our early Christmas dinner. It is extremely moist and delicious! The recipe can make 1 large Bundt cake or 2 small ones (I did 2 small).
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
1 1/2 cup softened butter (3 sticks)
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup chopped pecans, plus a little extra for topping
For the Glaze:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Directions:
For the cake:
1) Preheat the oven to 325 and spray and flour a bundt pan. This will fill one 12 inch bundt pan or 2 smaller bundt pans.
2) Beat butter and sugars together until fluffy. Then add eggs, one at a time until well combined.
3) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to batter, starting and ending with the flour.
(Buddy is helping)
4) Stir in the pecans and spoon batter into the pan. If you are using 1 large bundt pan, bake for about 80-85 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you are using 2 smaller bundt pans, bake 40-50 mins, until a toothpick comes out clean.
5) Let the cake cool about 10 mins, then remove from pan. Let the cake cool completely before glazing.
For the glaze:
1) Heat the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add cream, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Let cool until thickened, then use glaze immediately. Top the cake with chopped pecans.
Enjoy!!
~ Amanda
These are one of the easiest and yummiest desserts to make. They are great to take to a party (which is what I am doing. Our Family Christmas party is tomorrow), or to wrap up in little treat bags as gifts. You can change them up by using different flavored Oreos or using different chocolate to dip them in (like white or dark). You can also make them a lot prettier than mine by drizzling white chocolate over them or adding some festive sprinkles. You will need a food processor for best results. This makes about 30-40 truffles, depending on how big you make them.
Ingredients
1 package of Oreos
1 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
4 oz. milk chocolate chips
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1) Place Oreos in a food processor and turn on High until they are fine crumbs.
2) Transfer crumbs to a mixing bowl and tear pieces off of the cream cheese and drop them in the bowl. With your hands, knead together the crumbs and cream cheese until you have a soft dough-like texture and you do not see any white from the cream cheese.
3) Roll the mixture into small balls, a little smaller than a golf ball. Place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and put them in the freezer for about 10 mins to set.
4) Place both kinds of chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl and microwave for about 2 mins and stir until smooth and melted. (add time in 20 second increments if it is not melted)
5) Dip Oreo balls in the chocolate and place back on the wax paper. There is no clean way to do this, you will get messy. I mainly just use my fingers, but a toothpick can come in handy too. If you are going to add any sprinkles or decorations, you would add it now while the chocolate is melted. Allow the Truffles to set in the fridge for at least 30 mins before serving.
My dogs are always great helpers! :)
Enjoy!
This is a simple delicious Israeli dish. It is officially called Shakshouka, but we just call it eggs in spicy tomato sauce. We try to do meatless Mondays, and this is a great dish for that. It is really hearty and filling. Serve it with toasted pita bread. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, more or less to taste, this make it pretty spicy (in my opinion)
pinch of sugar
pinch of slat and pepper (to taste)
4-6 eggs (It really depends on how many you can fit in your pan, it is just the 2 of us so we normally just make 4)
optional toppings: Feta cheese, parsley, Sriracha
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and sauté for a few minutes until soft, then add garlic to pan and continue to sauté for about 2 more minutes. Then add the chopped red peppers and sauté for about 5 minutes until peppers are soft.
2) Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste and stir. Then add chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper, and sugar. Stir until combined. Simmer mixture over medium heat for 5-7 mins.
3) Crack the eggs, one at a time, into the tomato mixture. Cover the pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the skillet and make sure that there is still liquid so the tomatoes do not burn.
4) While the eggs are cooking, prepare the pita bread by slicing each pita into 8 triangles (you will need about 1 pita per person). Arrange on a baking pan and brush one side lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and place in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
5) Serve with pita bread and garnish with parsley, feta, and sriracha if desired.
Enjoy!
~ Amanda
These snicker doodles are simple to make and so delicious. This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies. Enjoy!!
Ingredients:
1 cup softened butter (2 sticks)
1 cup sugar plus 2 Tbsp
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2) With a mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, 1 cup of sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
3) In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until a soft dough forms.
4) Roll dough into 1 inch balls.
5) In a small bowl, mix together the 2 Tbsp of sugar and the 1 tsp of cinnamon.
6) Roll the dough balls into the cinnamon sugar mixture to lightly coat the balls with sugar.
7) Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 325 for 15 minutes. I did mine in 3 batches to ensure the pans weren't too crowded.
8) Let cool on a cooling rack and ENJOY!!
~Amanda
You can never go wrong with brownies. These brownies are moist, fudgey (not sure if that is actually a word), and delicious! I used to be intimidated by brownies because I was always scared of burning chocolate, but these could not be easier. I melted my chocolate in the microwave, but if you prefer stovetop, that is fine to, just be very careful not to burn it.
Ingredients:
5 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used semisweet choc. chips, you can also get a bar and coarsely chop it)
2 oz unsweetened chocolate (1/2 a bar), coarsely chopped
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour
Directions:
1) Put your oven rack in the middle position and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch square baking dish with a foil sling by placing 2 long sheets of foil perpendicular to each other and pressing down in the corners and smoothing out any wrinkles in the foil (mine is never perfect). This just makes it so much easier to remove the brownies from the pan. Grease the foil.
2) Melt the butter, cocoa powder, and both chocolates in the microwave, stirring often, about 1-3 mins.
Let the mixture cool slightly.
3) Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Then add the melted chocolate and whisk until well combined. Stir in the flour until just combined. Do not over mix. Over mixing can make the brownies very airy.
4) Pour the batter into your foil lined baking dish and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 mins, rotating the pan half way through baking. Check doneness with a toothpick. If it comes out with just a few crumbs, they are ready. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan. Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil. Cut and serve.
Enjoy!
~Amanda
This pasta dish is light, fresh, delicious, and super easy. The combination of the herbs and vegetables are wonderful. Finishing it with mozzarella and parmesan makes it even better! You can really use any type of pasta. We just happened to have angel hair on hand. It also works really well with shells and bow tie pasta. The leftovers are great too!
Ingredients:
8 oz. pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup roasted red peppers (I used the one in the jar, you can roast your own too)
1/4 cups chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon paprika (smoked paprika is even better if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I added more to my plate of pasta because I like it spicy)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups fresh arugula
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded parmesan (for topping)
Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet and cook the shallot and garlic until t becomes soft and fragrant.
3. Add the tomatoes, roasted red peppers, half of the basil, paprika, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper and stir to combine. Cook about 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan by adding the wine and scraping the bottom as you stir. Let the wine reduce, about 2 mins.
4. Add the arugula to the pan and the remain teaspoon on olive oil. Stir and cook until the arugula begins to wilt.
5. Turn heat to low and stir in the mozzarella. Add the cooked pasta and the pasta water and toss until well combined. Top with parmesan and the remaining basil.
Enjoy!
~Amanda
These cinnamon rolls are everything a cinnamon roll should be, sweet, sticky, fluffy, and so much more. They are pretty time consuming, but they are well worth it. You can make them the night before if want. To do this, do not let them rise in step 7. Instead, after slicing them and arranging them in a pan, refrigerate them. They can be refrigerated for up to 16 hours. Then take them out in the morning, let them rise for about 1- 1 1/2 hours and bake as directed.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
3/4 cup buttermilk, warmed in the microwave for about 30 seconds or about 110 degrees
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs
4 cups all purpose flour (plus a little more, depending if your dough needs it)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope instant or rapid rise yeast (1 envelope is 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Cinnamon Filling:
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon melted butter
For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1) For the dough: whisk together the warm buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs in a medium bowl or large measuring cup (I like to use a measuring cup because it is easy to pour). In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Turn mixer on low and mix the dry ingredients for about 1 minute. Then add the buttermilk mixture slowly. Mix for about 2 minutes, until dough comes together.
<--buttermilk mixture
2) Turn the mixer speed on medium and knead until the dough is smooth (about 5 minutes). If the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it pulls away from the sides cleanly.
3) Put the dough on a clean counter that is lightly floured and form into a ball. Place the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2-2 1/2 hours. (the pic below is the after picture, before it rose it only took up 1/2 of the bowl)
For the filling:
4) Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and all spice in a small bowl and set aside.
5) After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll out into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle. It is important to get the dimensions right so I measure with a ruler. Brush the rectangle with the 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over it. It is very important to leave a 3/4 inch border along the top so the dough will seal.
6) Loosen up the dough by gently sliding a spatula under it. Start rolling the dough tightly into a log (you want to roll the 16 inch side). Pinch the seam closed and turn seam side down. Then gently stretch and pull the log until it is 18 inches long. Pat the ends to even them.
7) Slice the log into 12, 1 1/2 inch rolls. Use a serrated knife and a sawing motion so you do not mash the dough. Then arrange them in a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise for 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in size. (If making ahead of time, see note above).
8) After the rolls have risen, bake them at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.
For the glaze:
9) Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, cream cheese, and milk in a medium bowl until smooth.
Flip the buns out upside down onto a wire rack. Let the cool about 5 minutes. Then flip them upright on wire rack and drizzle with glaze. (I put parchment paper or a paper towel underneath for easy cleanup.) Serve warm.
Enjoy!
