Cinnamon | I Can Cook That

Jerk Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

I have been in full on grilling mode recently. I can’t seem to get enough of recipes made on the grill! So as the end of summer continues to creep closer, I am trying to get in all of the grilling I can. As much as I would love to grill in the colder months, I’m a wimp and know I just won’t stand out in the cold.

I’ve used indoor counter top grills in the past and really wasn’t thrilled with the cooking results — it didn’t seem to heat up enough to get proper grill marks, all of the juices would flow out of the grill making for a very dry protein, and I’d always under or overcook the meat.

So when I was contacted to test out the T-fal OptiGrill as part of T-fal’s OptiGrill Blogger Bash, I had some reservations about if this grill would really live up to expectations. Well, I was really pleasantly surprised! What sets the OptiGrill apart is its Precision Grilling Technology that adjusts the cooking time and temperature depending on the type of protein and the thickness of whatever you’re cooking.

The T-fal OptiGrill has a cooking level indicator with a color changing display that notifies you when your protein has reached rare, medium, or well-done. It also beeps when your food reaches each of the cooking stages. (Keep in mind that if you want your meat to rest before slicing, it continues to cook. So if you wanted a steak at medium rare and planned to let it rest for 5 minutes, you should probably take it out when the OptiGrill hits the “rare” notification.)

The grill comes pre-programmed with 6 settings that adapt cooking temperature and times for different types of food: burger, poultry, sandwich, pork/sausage, red meat, and fish/seafood. There is also a frozen food function button so that you can cook your protein even when frozen; just push the snowflake button and then one of the 6 pre-programmed buttons. The grill will defrost and cook the protein in one easy step! When cooking fruits and veggies, just use the manual mode, which allows you to determine when the food is done cooking. The OptiGrill also takes into account the thickness of your food using an integrated thickness sensor so that the protein is fully cooked correctly.

The grill is made of brushed stainless steel with die-cast aluminum plates with a non-stick coating. The plates are removable for easy cleaning and are even dishwasher safe. The plates are angled so that drippings can flow into the removable drip tray, which surprisingly doesn’t leave the meat tough, dry, or chewy.

Want to see the grill in action? I decided to test it out with a yummy recipe from Cooking Light that uses both chicken thighs and chicken breasts. Chicken is so easy to overcook leaving a dry meal so I thought it would be a perfect way to test what this grill can really handle. This recipe also includes grilled pineapple so I was able to test out the manual setting as well. I made the marinade from this recipe for Jerk-style Chicken and the salsa from this recipe for Jerk Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa.

**I also am giving away one T-fal OptiGrill to one lucky reader, courtesy of T-fal OptiGrill! Details below the recipe.**

Note: I was sent a T-fal OptiGrill to test for this review. T-fal is also offering one I Can Cook That reader the chance to win their own T-Fal OptiGrill. All opinions are my own.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1/4 cup fresh lime juice plus 1 tablespoon, divided (about 3 limes)
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon brown sugar (substitute 1 tablespoon molasses to make paleo)
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
3 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 (1-inch) slices fresh pineapple
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/3 cups sliced green onions

Continue reading Jerk Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Blueberry Breakfast Bars

I have a coworker who absolutely loves blueberries. She is retiring this week, and I wanted to make her a blueberry treat before she left. I adapted this recipe for Blueberry Breakfast Bars on The Kitchn, with the original recipe coming from the Whole Grain Mornings cookbook by Megan Gordon.

My version uses quite a bit of substitutes and including using sprouted spelt flour instead of whole wheat flour because I could not find my whole wheat flour when I went to make these (I guess I need to clean out my pantry!) I also have more blueberry filling in my version, and used a different sized pan. Be sure to check out the original version on the kitchn to see if you prefer their method!

Ingredients:

Blueberry filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries, divided
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon water

Crust:

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup original wheat germ
3/4 cup sliced raw almonds
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1 cup sprouted spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg, beaten
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄4-inch cubes, plus more for greasing the pan
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Continue reading Blueberry Breakfast Bars

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Almond Streusel

My boyfriend and I were visiting friends this weekend and I wanted to bring a little something for everyone to enjoy. This month’s Cooking Light gave me the perfect recipe: Blueberry Coffee Cake with Almond Streusel.

Coffee cake can refer to two different dishes: a cake made with coffee, or a cake that is served with coffee. This coffeecake is the latter and can be served for breakfast or as a dessert.

Ingredients:

9 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup nonfat buttermilk

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cooking spray

Continue reading Blueberry Coffee Cake with Almond Streusel

Haroset Braised Short Ribs

Passover begins tonight so I wanted to share a recipe I found from Martha Stewart for Haroset Braised Short Ribs that is Passover-friendly. The recipe can be made ahead of time and reheated but I just made it all in one day (this is definitely a recipe that involves some time to make– 5-ish hours. It might work well as a slow cooker dish. I will have to try that in the future!)

The short ribs are braised in Manischewitz wine and then served with a deconstructed Haroset, resulting in a really delicious dish!

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless beef short ribs
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5 small carrots (about 1 pound), 1 roughly chopped, 4 halved lengthwise and reserved
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups Blackberry Manischewitz wine
3/4 cups red-wine vinegar
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
1/4 bunch fresh curly-leaf parsley, plus sprigs for garnish
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup walnut halves, for garnish
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into wedges

Continue reading Haroset Braised Short Ribs

Slow Cooker Chicken Chickpea Tagine

Tagine or Tajine dishes are Moroccan slow cooked dishes named after the pot they are cooked in. The dishes are typically a stew with a protein, spices, and fruit. Cooking Light had a version with chicken and chickpeas that sounds delicious. This recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Chickpea Tagine combines both sweet and spicy elements to make a really flavor-filled dish.

This recipe takes a bit more prep time that my usual slow cooker recipes, so be prepared for that. This recipe is great for a Saturday: prepare everything in the morning, run whatever errands you have for the day, and come back to an amazing smelling kitchen and dinner mostly ready! I shredded my chicken and served it over couscous but you can keep the chicken whole and eat it as is.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large or two medium onions (about 2 1/2 cups), chopped
6 to 8 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup unsalted chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
2/3 cup dried apricots
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish
cooked pearl couscous, for serving

Continue reading Slow Cooker Chicken Chickpea Tagine

Slow Cooker Nutella French Toast Casserole

As most of the U.S. has been dealing with seriously cold weather and snow, I thought it was time to share another French Toast recipe. Without fail, people always go out before a storm and stock up on bread, milk, and eggs so French Toast is the perfect meal on a snow day. This recipe for Slow Cooker Nutella French Toast Casserole with Caramelized Bananas is sure to become a favorite snow day meal for you!

This recipe is based off my Slow Cooker Apple French Toast Casserole, but incorporates Nutella and tops it off with caramelized bananas for good measure. I love using my slow cooker for French Toast because it makes a bunch of servings to either share with a group or pack up and enjoy all week!

Ingredients (get all ingredients here):

1 loaf challah bread (about 1 pound), cut into cubes
6 large eggs
2 cups vanilla almond milk (or normal milk)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 heaping tablespoons Nutella, plus more for topping
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 bananas, sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Continue reading Slow Cooker Nutella French Toast Casserole

Star Anise Snickerdoodles

Boy did I start my cookie baking late this year! I can’t believe Christmas is just days away. I was recently sent a beautiful carved cinnamon bark box with 3 oz of Vietnam cinnamon by World Vision so I wanted to make a cookie recipe that would feature cinnamon, so I had to make snickerdoodles! This recipe for Star Anise Snickerdoodles from Cooking Light adds ground star anise to traditional sugar cookies for a subtle different take on the classic.

World Vision is a Gift Catalog that allows you to give a truly meaningful gift this holiday season. The catalog is filled with items for every budget ($16 to $39,000) that help children and families in need worldwide. The World Vision Gift Catalog offers an alternative (or addition to) traditional holiday gift giving. You can choose a gift for these families that fits your financial abilities and personal tastes. For example, a gardener may enjoy giving hybrid or drought-resistant seeds to a farmer with a donation of just $17 to help one family.

With a financial contribution, the gift giver can select one of 36 items that you will get while helping a person in need. The cinnamon used in this recipe comes with a donation of $85. The wonderful people at World Vision Gift Catalog have offered to give another Prosperity Cinnamon Box away to a lucky reader!

More after the recipe …

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground star anise (about 2 pods)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Continue reading Star Anise Snickerdoodles

Caramel Apple Pie

You can never have too many pie recipes during the holidays! This one for Caramel Apple Pie is a great spin on a traditional apple pie that adds caramel to really amp up the flavor. The recipe comes from Organic Valley and uses their Salted Butter, Whole Milk, and Eggs. Note: I was sent a coupon to receive one Organic Valley product for free.

Organic Valley is a co-op of organic farmers based in La Farge, Wisconsin. The cooperative was founded in 1988 and markets its products in all 50 states as well as Canada and Japan. Organic Valley promotes organic agricultural methods, with each participating farm certified as organic by the National Organic Program.

A problem I still run into when cooking/baking is I rarely read the directions all the way though before starting (a huge no no). So I made a completely different pie crust by accident because I got confused as to where the sugar and egg was supposed to go in the original recipe. Luckily it turned out fine (whew!) but for the original recipe, be sure to head over to the Organic Valley website.

Ingredients:

CRUST:
4 cups organic, all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups Organic Valley Salted Butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, chilled in freezer at least 15 minutes
2/3 cup Organic Valley Whole Milk, cold
½ tsp salt
1 Organic Valley Large Egg
1 tbsp sugar
FILLING:
2 pounds organic Granny Smith apples (10-11 medium-sized apples or 4 large), peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch thick slices (coat slices with juice of 1 lemon to prevent browning)
4 tbsp Organic Valley Salted Butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp apple cider
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla powder but vanilla extract works just as well)
OTHER:
1 Organic Valley Large Egg
1 tbsp sugar

Continue reading Caramel Apple Pie

Spiced Apple Two Bite Tarts

I love fall treats, but I can’t really justify making a whole apple pie for just my boyfriend and I; we would be eating it for days! So I love that this month’s Cooking Light had a recipe for mini spiced apple two bite tarts that I can also share with friends. I adapted the recipe slightly, adding some more fall spices. I also didn’t have any 1% milk on hand so I substituted heavy cream. I also topped mine with mascarpone instead of crème fraîche because I thought it would taste great with these tarts.

These are really easy to make; the most difficult part (a.k.a. most time consuming) is dicing the apples. But you definitely want to cut them nice and small so that they fit in the tarts. You also need a mini cupcake tin for this, but you can adapt it to make normal cupcake sized ones if you wanted, just increase the baking time.

Ingredients:

CRUST

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup very finely chopped toasted pecans
Baking spray with flour

FILLING

2 cups finely diced peeled Granny Smith apple (~4 apples)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup mascarpone

Continue reading Spiced Apple Two Bite Tarts

Chocolate Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles

I had a craving for a pumpkin treat this weekend so I went in search of a recipe I could make with stuff I already had on hand. I came across this recipe from Whole Foods for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles and was all set to make them as stated in the recipe. But I find white chocolate to be such a pain to work with and honestly, I don’t really like the taste.

So although the Whole Foods recipe is the inspiration for this post, my recipe is completely different. These pumpkin truffles are made with dark chocolate and are then rolled in toasted pecans to give it some crunch.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
2 Walkers Stem Ginger Shortbread cookies, crumbled
3 Walkers Highlanders, crumbled
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of fine sea salt
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

Continue reading Chocolate Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles

Mini Preserves Tarts

This month, Walkers Shortbread sent us a little surprise with our monthly shipment for the Walkers Ambassador Program: Fig and Golden Plum Mirabelle preserves from Bonne Maman! I was so excited to use them in a recipe and immediately wanted to make mini preserves tarts. I incorporated some of the shortbread into the crust for a boost of flavor. (I used Martha Stewart’s recipe as a base and made some changes)

These mini preserves tarts would be great to set out as little bites for guests while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be prepared, or would be a wonderful addition to the dessert table! You could make it with any type of preserves or jams you wanted: Bonne Maman has almost 20 different options that would all make for a yummy dessert.

In addition to these yummy tarts, I have two other recipes that would be great Thanksgiving desserts that use Walkers Shortbread:

Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle

Walkers Shortbread is offering I Can Cook That readers an exclusive promotion, running from Monday, October 28 through Monday, November 4: 20% off your entire purchase at www.walkersus.com (excluding sales items) with the code ICCTFALL. So stock up for all your Thanksgiving needs!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Walker Shortbread Rounds crumbs (~7 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons Bonne Maman preserves (I used 1 tablespoon fig and 1 tablespoon golden plum)
1 tablespoon heavy cream

To make the mini preserves tarts, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using a food processor, blend the shortbreads until they resemble a fine crumb.

Add the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon and process for 10 seconds.

Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 seconds.

Combine 1 egg yolk with 3 tablespoons ice water and 1 teaspoon almond extract.

Add to flour mixture and process until the dough comes together, about 10 seconds. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour; roll out dough to just thinner than 1/4 inch (6 mm). Using a round cookie cutter, cut out shapes and press into a mini cupcake tin. (I used a 2 1/2″ round biscuit cutter)

Use a fork to press down the dough around the edges of each mini cupcake tin. Fill each with 1 teaspoon preserves.

Lightly brush exposed dough with heavy cream. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer tarts from tins to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

These are perfect little bites! The crust is light and fluffy and help highlight the delicious sweetness of the preserves.

You get a hint of the almond extract which is a great complement to fig and plum. If you don’t have almond extract you can sub in some vanilla extract.

Mini Preserves Tarts

Recipe Type: Dessert, Make Ahead

Author: I Can Cook That

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Walkers Shortbread Rounds crumbs (~7 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons Bonne Maman preserves (I used 1 tablespoon fig and 1 tablespoon golden plum)
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Using a food processor, blend the shortbreads until they resemble a fine crumb.
Add the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon and process for 10 seconds.
Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 seconds.
Combine 1 egg yolk with 3 tablespoons ice water and 1 teaspoon almond extract.
Add to flour mixture and process until the dough comes together, about 10 seconds. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour; roll out dough to just thinner than 1/4 inch (6 mm). Using a round cookie cutter, cut out shapes and press into a mini cupcake tin. (I used a 2 1/2″ round biscuit cutter)
Use a fork to press down the dough around the edges of each mini cupcake tin. Fill each with 1 teaspoon preserves.
Lightly brush exposed dough with heavy cream. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer tarts from tins to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

3.2.1255

Bourbon Pumpkin Flan

It’s no secret that I love pumpkin everything. Sweet or savory, it’s a safe assumption that I will enjoy whatever pumpkin treat comes my way. So when I was contacted about restaurants under the Darden Restaurant umbrella featuring pumpkin desserts for the month of October, I was happy to taste test!

I was sent a $30 gift card so that I could go to Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse to try their pumpkin desserts. Here are the yummy offerings:

Red Lobster: Pumpkin Pie in a Jar – layered pumpkin and cream cheese mousse with a graham-cracker crust, topped with sugared pecans

LongHorn Steakhouse: Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake – warm pumpkin spice cake filled with a cream cheese icing and drizzled with Maker’s Mark^®bourbon-caramel sauce and candied pecans

Olive Garden: Pumpkin Cheesecake – pumpkin cheesecake topped with whipped cream, caramel sauce and ginger cookie crumbles

They are as delicious as they look! I unapologetically scarfed down each and every one. They are super rich so I’m sure you should probably share them. But hey, I’m not going to judge.

I was given a second $30 gift card to GIVE AWAY so that one reader can go try one (or all) of these desserts for themselves! More on that after the recipe! {THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED}

I made my own pumpkin dessert inspired by a mixture of the three above: Bourbon Pumpkin Flan with Graham Cracker Crumbs. This recipe incorporates the Bourbon in the Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake, the creaminess of the Pumpkin Cheesecake, and the graham cracker “crust” of the Pie in a Jar. I adapted this recipe from a Bon Appetit Pumpkin Flan recipe.

Ingredients:

6 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided (I used Sugar In The Raw for a deeper caramel flavorMi)
1 tablespoon bourbon
2 1/3 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup milk
5 whole cloves
3 whole star anise
1 cardamom pod, cracked
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)
1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
freshly ground nutmeg
Continue reading Bourbon Pumpkin Flan

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Bowls with Guacamole

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, IMUSA and McCormick Spices have teamed up to sponsor a great giveaway for I Can Cook That Readers! Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 to October 15 and celebrates the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking Nations of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

I will be giving away a Cuban/Caribbean-themed package which includes the following:

IMUSA’s Wood Mortar and Pestal, Caldero, and Tostonera
McCormick’s Black Pepper, Garlic Salt, Curry Powder, Paprika, Cinnamon, Oregano, Black Peppercorn Grinder, Chicken Bag n’ Season, and Black Beans and Rice Mix

Details on how to enter will be at the end of this post!

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I also received a nifty little package myself which included an IMUSA Cloth Tortilla Warmer, IMUSA Multicolor Salsa Dishes, IMUSA Granite Molcajete, and McCormick’s Black Pepper, Cumin, Mexican Oregano, Chili Powder, Cilantro Leaves, Taco Recipe Mix, Enchilada Recipe Mix, and Tinga de Pollo Recipe Mix.

So what better time to whip out the slow cooker and make Chicken Taco Bowls topped with Fresh Guacamole?

I adapted this recipe from a Budget Bytes recipe; the recipe is perfect for large crowds so I tested it out on a group of friends who came to visit this weekend. It also makes for one delicious reheated lunch option during the week!

Ingredients:

Taco Bowls

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 (16 oz) jar mild salsa
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
2 (8 oz) bags frozen corn
1 packet Taco Seasoning Mix
1 tablespoon Chili Powder
½ tablespoon Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 cups chicken broth (or water), divided
3 cups long grain rice
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Guacamole

3 Haas avocados
The juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup (~1/2 small onion) diced red onion
½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Continue reading Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Bowls with Guacamole

Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

It’s time for my monthly Walkers Shortbread Blogger Ambassador program post, and I think they tailored this one just for me! This month’s theme is “Fruit Desserts for Fall,” where we were asked to use in-season fall autumn fruits including apples, pears, cranberries, figs, pomegranates, or pumpkins. Clearly, there was no question which one I was choosing.

Walkers Shortbread also has an exclusive promotion for I Can Cook That readers. Now through Monday, September 23, you can receive 25% off your total purchase, excluding sales items when you use the promo code ICCTFRUIT. So you can experiment with your very own fall treats! (Another favorite of mine that uses Walkers Shortbread is this Gingerbread Chocolate Pumpkin Trifle)

Because it is September and it hasn’t completely cooled off just yet, I thought I’d go for a chilled dessert. I have wanted to make Pumpkin Cheesecake for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. But to make it a little more special, I decided to swirl in some Nutella.

The crust is a mixture of Walkers Shortbread Highlanders and Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies to give it a bit more flavor. I adapted this recipe from a recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars on Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

1 7 oz box Walkers Shortbread Highlanders (9 cookies)
5 Walkers Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies (~1/2 box)
1 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 8 oz packages reduced-fat cream cheese
1 8 oz package regular cream cheese
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom
1/8 teaspoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
2 eggs
1/4 cup Nutella, warmed

Continue reading Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Mini Pumpkin Blossom Honey Cakes

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began last night at sundown. Honey plays a significant role in Rosh Hashanah celebrations, signifying hopes for a sweet new year. Apples or challah dipped in honey is popular, as is honey cake. Because of the time of year, honey cake typically includes flavors associated with fall. My mom had given me a Pumpkin Blossom Honey recently and I thought this would be the perfect way to use it.

I adapted my recipe from one found on Epicurious and gave it my own pumpkin-y spin. Pumpkin Blossom Honey is created by bees that solely pollinate pumpkins and pumpkin blossoms. It has a darker amber color and has a really nice spice flavor at the end. I thought it would work great with some traditional fall spices thrown in!

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/2 cups cake flour (or all purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
1 cup Pumpkin Blossom honey
8 oz lukewarm pumpkin coffee (I used Green Mountain’s)
The zest of one orange

Chocolate glaze:

1/2 cup shaken canned unsweetened coconut milk (not light)
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
Flaky sea salt for garnish, optional

Continue reading Mini Pumpkin Blossom Honey Cakes