Every year, I am tasked with bringing a chocolate pumpkin dessert to Thanksgiving. Pumpkin and chocolate is my aunt’s favorite combination so I try to experiment a bit each year. This year’s recipe is actually really simple, and if you use store-bought ice cream, you can make this whole Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie in just minutes (plus freezing time)!
In fact, you can make this Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie as homemade, or as store-bought as you’d like. I personally made my ice cream, but bought the pie crust and the whipped cream.
Although some may think this is in bad form, hosting friends is when I love to try out new recipes. Luckily, I get more hits than misses, but it’s always fun to experiment with friends who are up for the adventure.
So when we recently hosted a bunch of friends at our house for the weekend, I decided to try this Grilled Zaatar Chicken recipe. I love a good prep ahead recipe (and a good On the Grill recipe!) so that I can get a bunch of things done ahead of time, and this Grilled Zaatar Chicken tastes best when allowed to marinate overnight.
If you’re unfamiliar with za’atar, it is a Middle Eastern spice blend. The ingredients in the blend can vary, but the blend I used, Pereg Za’atar (paid link), contains quinoa flour, coriander, olive oil, hyssop (a mint-like herb that has a slight bitterness to it), parsley, salt, and sour salt.
We hosted friends recently at our house for the weekend. Whenever we have guests, I prefer to do as much of the prep work ahead of time as possible. So it should come as no surprise that I lean on recipes like this make ahead breakfast casserole as a go-to breakfast option when entertaining people for the weekend.
Not only is this recipe super versatile, but you can assemble it entirely ahead of time and then pop it into your oven when ready to eat!
The vegetables and protein in the below Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole recipe are honestly more of a suggestion than a rule; I was using up a bunch of vegetables I had on hand, so feel free to use whatever sounds good to you as well!
So, I’ll be honest. I was actually trying to make a different ice cream than what I ended up with. But this oh so chocolatey Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream is so delicious, it was quite a happy mistake!
My original goal/inspiration was to recreate the now defunct Capogiro’s scuro gelato – the most decadent and beautifully silky dark chocolate gelato. It was my mom’s favorite gelato ever and she’s basically been chasing the high of Capogiro’s scuro gelato ever since they sadly closed in December 2018.
I didn’t quite get to dark chocolate status this round (don’t you worry, that will be a future post!), but I am pretty sure this is the best chocolate ice cream ever. EVER. Don’t believe me? Try this recipe out for yourself!
Well, I’m sure this comes as no surprise but now that I know how easy it is to make homemade ice cream, I’m trying out more and more flavors. This recipe for Homemade Nutella Ice Cream was one of my husband’s first requests.
(He’s a HUGE Nutella fan, which is why I have quite a few Nutella-filled recipes on my blog.)
This recipe is actually even easier than the pistachio one, so I was happy to make this for him. It does not have any egg yolks in the recipe, and you don’t even have to heat the cream mixture! With just five ingredients, it comes together in no time as well!
You will still need some equipment to help make this recipe (paid links):
It’s no secret how much I love ice cream, but I haven’t really tried to make much at home. With the beautiful weather we have been having, I figured it was time to try! I happened to have some shelled pistachios on hand, so why not make some Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream?
Pistachio ice cream is one of my absolute favorite flavors, and I had no clue how easy it was to make my own homemade version!
Some recipes, like this one for Italian Sausage Bread, are so easy and yet are oh so satisfying. My mother-in-law seems to have an endless supply of sausage bread prepared at her house, so I never really thought to make it myself until this past year. Now that I have, I know it is the perfect make-ahead option to keep in your freezer!
This sausage bread can be made with either hot Italian sausage or sweet Italian sausage. I suggest changing the color of the pepper you use inside so that when you have it out for snacking, everyone knows what they are about to bite into. (I used red in these photos because I was making one with hot Italian sausage; I use green in my sweet Italian sausage breads.)
It’s that time of year where there are plenty of barbecues and outdoor gatherings again. Whenever our friends host, I never want to come empty handed so I like to have a bunch of dessert recipes on hand, especially no bake dessert recipes!
This No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake is perfect for summer meet ups – you don’t have to turn on your oven and overheat your own home, and it can be made ahead and served chilled or at room temperature.
The cake is super simple to make. It is layers of graham crackers, whipped cream pudding, and chocolate frosting, mimicking the flavors of a chocolate eclair. If you don’t want to make your own frosting, you can also buy store bought and just use that.
Ingredients:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (16 oz box) plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, divided
2 (3.4 oz) boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups whole milk, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
I recently came home after a weekend trip to some of the saddest looking bananas I’ve seen in a long time. Which means I spent my Monday making this super delicious Banana Walnut Bread!
This recipe largely uses typical pantry items, so the next time you find yourself with overripe bananas, there is a good chance you will already have everything on hand to make this banana bread — if you don’t have any walnuts, you can substitute another nut or omit them completely.
If kept in a sealed container at room temperature, the bread will last for 4 days so it’s perfect for breakfast for most of the week!
If you want to store it longer, you can also freeze the bread by wrapping it completely in plastic wrap before adding to your freezer.
I can’t believe I’ve never shared a pumpkin roll recipe on this blog! For someone as pumpkin-obsessed as me, I’m happy to finally rectify that!
This recipe is a mostly classic recipe, with the addition of chocolate chips into the cream cheese filling. I made this for Thanksgiving, and my aunt who hosts it enjoys pumpkin-chocolate combinations, so I made this one for her.
This pumpkin roll recipe has been developed to be made in a half sheet pan (paid link).
Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, plus more for sprinkling
For those that follow me on Instagram or Twitter, it comes as no surprise that I am a huge fan of pumpkin recipes. In fact, I have over 30 recipes that use pumpkin on this blog!
So hopefully you’ll allow me to add another one to the list: Frosted Pumpkin Brownies!
So when I had a nagging sweet tooth recently, I figured it was time to also feed my pumpkin need. This recipe for Frosted Pumpkin Brownies is comprised of a chewy, chocolatey brownie topped with a nice thick layer of pumpkin buttercream frosting, resulting in a decadent treat for the chocolate and pumpkin lovers in your life.
Note: I was sent samples of Bear Mountain BBQ Wood Pellets in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
I’m going to keep the yummy smoked recipes going because, well, I can! This recipe for Smoky Bacon Topped Mac and Cheese would be a perfect make ahead dish to bring to your next barbecue.
The Bacon highlights the smoky flavor, but if you want to keep it vegetarian, just omit it!
This recipe is basically my Homemade Mac and Cheese recipe with a few adjustments to make it ready for some smoker action!
‘Tis the season for coquito! If you’ve never had coquito before, it’s a bit like eggnog.
Coquito means “little coconut,” and gets its flavor from coconut milk, cream of coconut, rum, and spices. For my version, I also used a coconut spiced rum to really up the flavor!
Coquito is a traditional Christmas drink that originated in Puerto Rico, but there are versions of it throughout the Caribbean. It’s absolutely delicious, plus it’s really easy to make!
Ingredients:
1 cup (8 oz) white rum (I used a coconut spiced rum)
I’m all about making as many things as possible ahead of time to make actual dinners or events easier to manage. And Thanksgiving is certainly no different. Slow Cooker recipes, like this Slow Cooker Creamed Corn, are perfect for make ahead sides for Thanksgiving!
This recipe for Slow Cooker Creamed Corn is super easy and can be made a few days ahead of time if needed. But, because it’s in your slow cooker, it’s also easy to make the day of while not using precious stovetop and oven space!
I am a big fan of my slow cooker (I have 50+ slow cooker recipes on my blog); especially recipes I can set them and walk away (or leave my house) for 4 to 8 hours. But like a lot of people, I’ve been home quite a bit more, given the pandemic, so I decided to try to make a recipe that requires you to stay a bit closer to your slow cooker – Slow Cooker Granola.
My mother-in-law mentioned making granola in her slow cooker, and how great the results were, so I wanted to try to make my own version!
This recipe is very adaptable, you can substitute in any nut, oil, liquid sweetener, and dried fruit you prefer. This recipe also makes a good amount of granola, but if your house is anything like mine, it will be gone before you know it!
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
5 cups old fashioned rolled oats (use gluten-free oats to ensure this is gluten-free)
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds (or any nut you prefer; omit to make nut-free)
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon each of
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg
salt
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup agave (or maple syrup or honey if you prefer)
1 tablespoon almond extract (or vanilla extract to make nut-free)
