I love the combination of chocolate and pumpkin together. So when I was trying to think of an update to a traditional cookie, my mind went right to these flavors, which brings me to this recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Rugelach.
Rugelach are the perfect cookies for this combo. Traditional rugelach uses an apricot spread that is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, walnuts, and raisins, and then rolled into a spiral. The pumpkin butter takes the place of the apricot spread, and mini chocolate chips are substituted in for the walnuts and raisins.
Note: I was sent samples of PBfit in order to write this post. All opinions are mine alone.
I try to do a few make ahead recipes when I have the time on my weekends to make weekdays a bit easier. I tend to focus on dinners for busy weeknights, but from time to time I’m able to whip up some make ahead breakfasts as well. My favorite make ahead breakfasts? Muffins, of course! So I decided to make Peanut Butter Banana Muffins!
Not only are muffins an easy way to make a huge batch of future breakfasts, but they also freeze well! We always have bananas around the house, so when we end up with some overripe bananas, I love to use them in muffins. This recipe adds in some PBfit powder for peanut butter-y goodness!
PBfit is peanut butter powder made by pressing roasted peanuts, grinding those peanuts and mixing in some coconut palm sugar, and a pinch of salt. The result is a delicious peanut butter powder that has 87% less fat and 1/3 the calories of traditional peanut butter. Because it’s in powder form, it works great in baked goods!
Note: I was sent a copy of AMERICAN COOKIE: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations for review. Opinions are mine alone.
Every cookie recipe has a back story, from the chocolate chip cookie to thumbprint cookies. What’s truly interesting about these back stories is how they align with the shaping of American baking through the generations. I love cookbooks that provide a back story to the recipes, like AMERICAN COOKIE: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations by Anne Bryn. Did you know that the first snickerdoodle cookie recipes were actually bars? Or that the first Girl Scout Cookies were baked at home to help raise money to send girls to camp?
Source: Penguin Random House
I assume I’m not alone in associating different recipes with different parts of my own life. I can’t look at a Peanut Butter Cookie without thinking of my family’s recipe, passed down from my great grandmother, or snack on a Neiman Marcus “$250” cookies without recalling many December weekends spent making them with my mom as a child.
I was first introduced to rugelach cookies — a cookie made by rolling a triangle of dough around a sweet filling — by my mother-in-law. She makes them every Christmas and has since my husband was little. So when I saw a recipe for Apricot and Raisin Rugelach in AMERICANCOOKIE, I knew I had to try them as a nod to my mother-in-law’s fantastic baking every December. This recipe differs from my mother-in-law’s version but the general idea is still there.
Rugelach cookies were first brought to America from Austrian-Hungarian immigrants, and has over time been adapted and modernized by Jewish-American bakers. Apparently, the original dough was quite time consuming to make. Somewhere along the line, cream cheese was added to rugelach dough, resulting in an easy to work with and flaky dough. Rugelach cookies have become a staple in many American households, and typically include raisins, nuts, spices and jam or preserves as a filling.
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
As someone who does her best to cook a bunch of meals over the weekends to eat during the week, my slow cooker is one of my most used appliances. I recently tried to move it into a closet to declutter my kitchen, but I keep asking my husband to help me retrieve it so often that he’s questioning its removal from our counter top.
One of my favorite takeout meals is Butter Chicken, so I wanted to learn how to make a version at home.
I based this recipe off a recipe from NY Times food, but adjusted it for the slow cooker, because we all know how much I love a slow cooker recipe. My version makes about 8 servings.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Greek yogurt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ tablespoons ground turmeric
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole tomatoes from a 14oz can of whole tomatoes (~1/2 of the can), chopped
It really takes me a while to adjust to colder weather. I feel like I’m always freezing! So a warm and hearty meal is a must this time of year, especially a soup or stew.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I go through a ton of chicken broth and stock — I never seem to be able to keep enough on hand!
So when I was making my Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken, I knew homemade Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth would be the natural next step.
Making your own broth or stock is a super easy (and affordable) way to get the most out of your whole chicken!
Just a quick summary on the difference between stock and broth: both simmer bones and/or meat in water with onions, carrots, celery, and aromatics but stock is left unseasoned (no salt) while broth is seasoned.
Ingredients:
1medium sized onion, quartered
2carrots, cut into large chunks
2stalks celery
6 clovesgarlic
2bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
10 whole peppercorns, omit for stock
1/2 teaspoon salt, omit for stock
the bones of 1 chicken carcass
8cupswater, or as needed
Note: If you’re making this immediately following making a chicken in your Pressure Cooker, you won’t need as much water.
My husband has been on a pretty solid streak of making himself salads for weekday lunches. Nothing terribly fancy: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, a protein, and some olives or cheese with homemade dressing. For the protein, he tends to use canned tuna, beans, or rotisserie chicken. So when I heard that you can make your own “rotisserie” chicken in a pressure cooker, I knew I had to try it! May I introduce you to: Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken!
The recipe is quite straightforward… season your chicken, brown on all sides, and then pressure cook. Pressure cooking doesn’t result in crispy skin, but boy does the meat stay juicy!
I’m seriously loving using my pressure cooker! My husband was out of town while I was experimenting with this recipe, so I enlisted the help of a couple of friends to be my taste testers. Luckily they were willing to oblige!
The unsuspecting friends showed up without knowing what exactly I was planning on preparing – they are very trusting! 🙂
I had a craving for bulgogi recently, so I decided to make a pressure cooker Korean beef. Bulgogi is typically made with thin, marinated slices of beef that are then barbecued. The marinade is usually a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic with a touch of crushed red pepper.
This recipe is inspired by the flavors of bulgogi, but instead of grilling thinly sliced beef, it instead uses chuck roast beef and a pressure cooker to make a super tender, shredded version.
Ingredients (serves 8):
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more if needed
4 lbs chuck beef, cut into cubes, excess fat trimmed
1 small onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 tablespoons beef stock
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
green onions, sliced, for garnish
white sesame seeds, for garnish
4 cups cooked rice
To make, cut the beef into large chunks. Season with salt and pepper. (Go light on the salt, the soy sauce will provide all the salt you need!)
Press the “saute” function on your pressure cooker. Press the “cook time” button and increase the time to 25 or 30 minutes (it took me about 25 minutes to brown up all of my meat.) Press the “adjust” button and choose “more/high.” Press “on/start.” The pressure cooker will beep five times when it is preheated.
Carefully add the vegetable, oil and then add some meat to the pressure cooker (without crowding the beef).
Brown the meat on all sides. Remove from the pressure cooker and continue with the remaining beef.
When done browning the last batch, remove the final pieces and set aside. Press “stop/cancel” to turn off the saute function.
If needed, add a bit more vegetable oil. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add a little bit of beef stock (1 or 2 tablespoons) to the pressure cooker and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pressure cooker using a wooden or plastic spoon.
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce (or coconut aminos), sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ginger.
Add back in all of the beef to the pressure cooker, as well as any juices from the beef.
Pour in the soy sauce mixture, evenly covering the beef.
Close the lid, ensuring that the steam valve is closed. Select the meat/stew pressurized cooking function. Press the “adjust” button and choose “more/high” to set it for 45 minutes. Press “on/start” to begin cooking.
Once the unit has reached optimal cooking pressure (~15 minutes), the unit will beep once and start counting down from 45 minutes. You’ll notice that the pressure release valve (red) rises up during this time.
The pressure cooker will beep 3 times to alert you when cooking has finished. It will automatically go on to “keep warm” mode for up to 6 hours. Once cooking is complete, turn off the pressure cooker by pressing “stop/cancel” and unplugging the power cable.
Let the unit cool down for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the float valve drops down. Using an oven mitt, move the pressure release value to the “release” position to let out any remaining pressure in the unit. Wait again for the float value to drop down before opening the pressure cooker.
The meat should be really tender.
Remove the meat from the pot, keeping the liquid in the pot, and shred with two forks. Add to a large bowl.
Measure out about 1 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the bowl.
Fill bowls with rice and top with the shredded beef. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions and serve.
The beef is wonderfully flavorful and juicy. My friends and I just gobbled this up! It’s most certainly not spicy so if you prefer some heat, add a bit more crushed red pepper.
This is a great make ahead dish as well. If doing so, add some more of the cooking liquid to the container before refrigerating, so that when you reheat it, there is still plenty of juicy liquid to drizzle over the top!
I also made the rice in the Cosori Multicooker and it came out great! (Tip: if you have extra cooking liquid, substitute some of that in for the water/broth in your rice.)
If you’re looking for more information about the Cosori Multicooker, check out my review post here (plus a recipe for Barbacoa Beef Tacos).
4 lbs chuck beef, cut into cubes, excess fat trimmed
1 small onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 tablespoons beef stock
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
green onions, sliced, for garnish
white sesame seeds, for garnish
4 cups cooked rice
Instructions
To make, cut the beef into large chunks. Season with salt and pepper. (Go light on the salt, the soy sauce will provide all the salt you need!)
Press the “saute” function on your pressure cooker. Press the “cook time” button and increase the time to 25 or 30 minutes (it took me about 25 minutes to brown up all of my meat.) Press the “adjust” button and choose “more/high.” Press “on/start.” The pressure cooker will beep five times when it is preheated.
Carefully add the vegetable, oil and then add some meat to the pressure cooker (without crowding the beef).
Brown the meat on all sides. Remove from the pressure cooker and continue with the remaining beef.
When done browning the last batch, remove the final pieces and set aside. Press “stop/cancel” to turn off the saute function.
If needed, add a bit more vegetable oil. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add a little bit of beef stock (1 or 2 tablespoons) to the pressure cooker and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pressure cooker using a wooden or plastic spoon.
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce (or coconut aminos), sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ginger.
Add back in all of the beef to the pressure cooker, as well as any juices from the beef.
Pour in the soy sauce mixture, evenly covering the beef.
Close the lid, ensuring that the steam valve is closed. Select the meat/stew pressurized cooking function. Press the “adjust” button and choose “more/high” to set it for 45 minutes. Press “on/start” to begin cooking.
Once the unit has reached optimal cooking pressure (~15 minutes), the unit will beep once and start counting down from 45 minutes. You’ll notice that the pressure release valve (red) rises up during this time.
The pressure cooker will beep 3 times to alert you when cooking has finished. It will automatically go on to “keep warm” mode for up to 6 hours. Once cooking is complete, turn off the pressure cooker by pressing “stop/cancel” and unplugging the power cable.
Let the unit cool down for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the float valve drops down. Using an oven mitt, move the pressure release value to the “release” position to let out any remaining pressure in the unit. Wait again for the float value to drop down before opening the pressure cooker.
The meat should be really tender.
Remove the meat from the pot, keeping the liquid in the pot, and shred with two forks. Add to a large bowl.
Measure out about 1 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the bowl.
Fill bowls with rice and top with the shredded beef. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions and serve.
I have such a sweet tooth. Seriously, if I could get away with eating ice cream and only ice cream for the rest of my life, I probably would. So, I am constantly looking for ways to satisfy my sweet tooth without, well, eating a pint of ice cream.
Cue this recipe for Overnight Chocolate Chia Pudding — its dairy-free, gluten free, and vegan. And, it tastes amazing!
The Coconut Almond Whipped Cream really puts it over the top. But the pudding is pret-ty darn awesome on its own!
Ingredients:
Chocolate Chia Pudding:
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (check the label to make sure they are vegan)
I’ve mentioned before that my husband is an avid runner. He’s currently training for a marathon, so I’ve been trying to support his training with more food geared toward fueling him both before and after his runs. It’s important to fuel up with something protein rich after working out to help promote muscle recovery.
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies are a yummy choice after a long run, while still satisfying my husband’s sweet tooth.
The cookies are made with peanut butter, protein powder and almond flour, so they are surprisingly filling too.
Note: I was sent a Cosori Premium 6qt multicooker in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
I’m not going to lie, pressure cookers have always kind of intimidated me. I was under the impression that they were difficult to use, and easy to mess up.
Well, after trying out the Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker over the past couple of weeks, I’m here to tell you they are actually quite easy to use!
source: cosori.com
Pressure cookers are definitely having a moment right now, but they’ve actually been around since the 1600’s in some form or another. Pressure cookers use steam pressure to help cook food faster. When cooking tough meat, pressure cookers help tenderize the meat and cook it surprisingly quickly in the process.
source: cosori.com
The Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker is actually a multicooker – it’s a pressure cooker, hot pot, steamer, slow cooker, food warmer, sauté pan, yogurt maker, and rice cooker – all in one! The unit has 17 smart cooking programs, but you can also adjust the cooking time, temperature, and pressure cooking levels to customize your cooking.
source: cosori.com
I couldn’t wait to test the pressure cooker out! I immediately thought of barbacoa – super tender and shredded meat (typically lamb or beef) with seasonings, so it’s time to try making Pressure Cooker Barbacoa Beef Tacos!
We eat a lot of tacos in my house, so I knew this would be a perfect test of the pressure cooker’s ability. This recipe actually uses two of the features available -” sauté/brown” and “meat/stew” pressure cooking. The Cosori premium pressure cooker is quite large (6 quarts!), so I decided to make a huge batch for future dinners. (It’s always helpful to have a full freezer for busy fall weeknights.)
Note: If you’ve been considering purchasing the Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker, click on this link and use code UCS9PK3K to receive 10% off! (The code is only good through October 31, 2018, so be sure to purchase before then!)
Ingredients: (makes 12 servings)
6 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 chipotle in adobo, plus 3 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cups beef broth, plus a tablespoon or two, divided
I’ve been trying to think up more bring-to-work lunch ideas recently. We tend to just eat leftovers or traditional salads for lunch, which can get boring quickly.
So when my Hungry Harvest (note: this is a referral link) came with absolutely huge cucumbers, I figured I could make a slightly different lunch (or a make ahead side for dinner) with it!
This dish has chickpeas to make it a bit more hearty, red onions for flavor (and color), and of course, cucumbers. I tossed all of those in a lemony, zesty ranch Greek yogurt mixture.
Ingredients:
1 large (or two medium) cucumber(s), cut into bite sized pieces
I’m not sure what took me so long, but I’ve just started using Hungry Harvest. Hungry Harvest rescues produce that would normally go to waste, packages them up in different box options, and delivers it to your doorstep. Each box is customizable, so if you don’t like something in it, you can opt for another product through their website before delivery. There are also add-ons, like eggs, crushed tomatoes, or other fruits/vegetables.
To be honest, I don’t really see an issue with any of the produce I received. Apparently, reasons include that the produce is too big, too small, has some discoloring, are oddly shaped, or there were just too many in the crop. For example, the carrots I used for this post were “randomly sized and have some curve to them.” They still taste the same to me!
Anyways, I am loving having veggies delivered to my house and am experimenting with some new sides to add to my rotation. These carrots are inspired by a dish at a local Italian restaurant in South Philly: Ristorante Pesto. After ordering, they bring out a nice bruschetta plate as well as these awesome balsamic marinated carrots that I couldn’t get enough of! They serve theirs cold as an appetizer, but the below recipe for Balsamic Honey Roasted Carrots can be served either hot or cold.
Note: This is not a sponsored post, but if you’d like to try Hungry Harvest, feel free to use my referral link to sign up. You’ll receive $5 off your first order. I will also receive a credit when you receive your first delivery.
The school year has begun. I don’t have kids, but I am married to a teacher, so this time of year gets pretty hectic. Which means it’s about time I started stocking my fridge and freezer on weekends so weeknight dinners are a bit more manageable.
These Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers are a super tasty (and easy) make-ahead meal. You can cook these over the weekend and reheat during the week, or freeze before cooking, thaw, and cook when ready to eat!
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
4 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 cup jarred salsa (mild or medium)
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 oz) box of yellow rice, cooked according to package directions
I’m not going to lie. I’m a bit of a margarita wimp. I prefer my margaritas as fruity as possible. I do have a Grilled Margarita recipe, but my other margarita recipes have pomegranates and blood oranges in them. Yum.
Anywho, I came across this recipe for Blackberry Orange Margaritas in Cooking Light and knew I’d like this one! The original recipe adds spicy serrano tequila, but I decided to keep this one spice-free.
Ingredients:
6 ounces tequila
12 ounces fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons agave nectar
Add the blackberries, 1 cup orange juice. 1/2 cup lime juice, and 2 tablespoons agave to a blender and process until smooth.
Strain through a sieve, discarding the solids. Use a spoon to press down on the sieve to strain the liquid.
Stir in the tequila. Divided mixture among 4 ice-filled glasses and serve.
Tangy, slightly sweet, and super refreshing. Exactly what I want in a cocktail!
I love the color of this too. The photos don’t really do it justice. Definitely a statement drink that would be perfect for the next time you’re entertaining. You can also make this ahead of time and pour when ready to serve.
