Tag Archives: recipe

February 16, 2022 · 7:03 am

Red Beans & Rice with Smoked Sausage

This is an easy-to-make, family friendly recipe. (Unless you are the one of my five children who won’t touch anything that looks like a hot dog or sausage. She just picks around those and eats the rice and beans.) I usually have all of these ingredients on hand, so when I end up at the end of the day and don’t know what to cook, it is easy to pull some smoked sausage out of the freezer and put this together.

You can start with uncooked rice, or use leftover cooked rice to prepare it even faster.

The amounts of spice in the recipe will make a mildly spicy dish. Adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning and tabasco sauce to your family’s spice tolerance.

RECIPE:

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Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as brown rice, Cajun, entree, main dish, recipe, red beans, skillet meals, smoked sausage

February 8, 2022 · 9:29 am

Chocolate Cookies & Cream Cake

Even with all of the new and exciting Oreo flavors that are released each year, there is something about the classic cookies and cream flavor that can’t be topped. Especially when they top a 3-layer chocolate cake filled with thick and delicious Oreo frosting!

When making this frosting, do NOT make it ahead of time. The Oreo crumbs become very soft in the frosting and will completely mix in if the frosting is left sitting too long (giving you gray frosting instead of flecked cookies & cream).

It is also important when frosting this cake to do a thin crumb coat first. It will keep you from overmixing the frosting and make smoothing the frosting much easier and faster. And you do need to work fairly quickly so that the Oreos don’t dissolve into the frosting base.

RECIPE: Continue reading →

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Filed under Desserts

Tagged as chocolate, cookies and cream, dessert, ganache, layer cake, Oreo, recipe

February 2, 2022 · 5:29 pm

Seven Layer Dip

We are going old-school today, with a seven layer dip straight out of the 80’s. Sometimes the classics are worth a revisit.

I like the spiciness turned up a notch, so I use spicy refried beans mixed with diced canned chiles. But since there are a lot of flavors going on in here, I stick with a simple guacamole: avocados, lime juice, and salt.

Technically, there are more than 7 ingredient layers in this chilled dip, but the olives, green onions, and diced jalapenos aren’t really distinct layers so I count them all as one layer.

This makes an easy appetizer to assemble ahead of time and then pull out for the big game!

RECIPE: Continue reading →

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Filed under Appetizers

Tagged as appetizer, dip, guacamole, Mexican, recipe, seven layer dip, super bowl, Tex Mex

January 20, 2022 · 11:54 am

Sugar-Free Raspberry Cheesecake Streusel Bars

These sugar-free bars are made with a coconut/almond shortbread type crust, topped with a cheesecake layer swirled with fruit, and sprinkled with a delicious streusel topping.

These photos shows the bars with a raspberry fruit filling. You can also use blueberries, strawberries, or a mix of different berries.

I like to bake these cheesecake bars in a water bath to keep the crust and edges from over-darkening and ensure the cheesecake layer bakes evenly. If you choose not to use a water bath, I recommend using a metal baking pan. Metal pans distribute heat much better than glass or ceramic when baking and your bars will bake more evenly.

RECIPE: Continue reading →

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Filed under Desserts

Tagged as bar cookies, cheesecake, dessert, keto, low carb, raspberry, recipe, sugar free

December 12, 2021 · 9:01 am

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Coconut Almond Drop Cookies

DAY 12: Coconut Almond Drop Cookies

We are always looking for delicious non-chocolate cookie varieties around here (for a certain chocolate hating child). These coconut almond cookies are perfect: soft, delicious, and full of flavor and texture.