August 2012 Recipes: Cinnamon Raisin Bread Smoothie (vegan, GF) Just Nuts Strawberry Jelly Rolls (major shortcut used) Baked Peach and Nectarine Donuts with White Chocolate Drizzle Malibu Rum Fruit Loops Treats (no-bake) Coconut Cream Pie Smoothie (vegan, GF) Coconut White Chocolate Chip Blondies 10 Smores Day Recipes Frozen Chocolate Pudding Wafer Cake (no-bake, 3 ingredients) Cinnamon Sugar Chocolate Pretzels (no bake, vegan, GF) Citrus and Spice Smoothie (vegan, GF)...

I was with about one dozen other Southern California bloggers. We toured one of California’s leading avocado packing houses, West Pak. We learned all sorts of avocado factoids. For instance, avocados aren’t picked ripe from the tree. They begin to ripen after they’re picked. If you ever need to speed the ripening process of an avocado, put it in a brown paper bag on the counter with a banana or an apple, and that should speed things up....

comment icon 48 more comments But first, more pressing news. Something awesome happened in my fourth grade classroom this week. It was this book. What is it about animal stories? I mean, after reading the dramatic dolphin tale (obviously titled Angels of the Sea) my class erupted into a full-out spontaneous round of applause. I’m not even lying when I tell you that there were tears shed during this story....

Do you have a hard time deciding what side dishes to take to a BBQ? Try the Baked Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Corn Salad, or Buttermilk Cornbread! How to make Baked Beans: Cook Bacon over medium heat, stirring often until crisp. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Sauté veggies: Drain some of the bacon grease then sauté onion in same pot for 4 minutes. Add bell pepper and garlic then cook for 2 more minutes....

So, my sister. Remember her? Think scones and fruit pizza. comment icon 312 more comments She gets all the credit for this recipe. Well, no. The lovely Gina from Skinny Taste gets first and foremost credit, with honorable mention going to Pinterest for putting the recipe in front of my sister’s friend’s mom’s face who then printed it and gave it to my sister. But my sister gets secondary credit because she’s the one who introduced me to this incredibly easy, healthy, and completely gorgeous recipe idea....

Baked Zucchini Fritters with Corn Summer is upon us and that means two ingredients are in abundance: zucchini and corn! These baked zucchini corn fritters are just the thing to help you enjoy summer’s bountiful ingredients in a healthy, bite-sized popper that everyone in the family will enjoy. Zucchini acts as the backbone in these oh-so-poppable zucchini poppers and as you know, zucchini is quite neutral in flavor. The zucchini and corn fritters have a very subtle sweetness from the corn while the addition of serrano chiles adds heat....

For example, the smell of stew while I’m making it – good. The smell of stew that lingers on my jacket (and wafts around the room during my 8am meeting) – bad. The smell of Bjork, freshly showered and wearing clean clothes – good. The smell of ripe, sweaty socks and shoes on my fourth graders – very bad. (…Apologies for that. Please disassociate that smell from this blog.) Good news, people....

Easy Monkey Bread Using Bisquick This monkey bread tastes amazing, is ready from start to finish in about 45 minutes, and isn’t at all fussy. Anyone can make it! No yeast, no waiting, no dough to roll, no mixer, and so easy. It’s perfect for your Easter or Christmas celebrations, a lazy weekend morning, your next brunch, or an easy weeknight dessert. I used Original Bisquick™ Mix to make the dough along with ingredients you probably already have on hand....

Serve them as a main dish or side dish alongside Chiles Relleno, Mexican Tamales, Chicken Enchiladas and more! There’s a restaurant near my house that serves incredible Borracho Beans and I’ve been determined to make my own that are just as good! I adapted these from my tried and true Charro Beans recipe and they’re a total winner! What are Borracho Beans? Borracho beans, or “drunken” beans, are similar to Mexican Charro Beans but are simmered in beer, rather than water or broth, giving them a unique flavor....

Do you love breakfast recipes? Try my Eggs Benedict, Blintzes, Overnight Cinnamon Rolls, or Yeasted Waffles! Why I love these crispy breakfast potatoes: Roast in the Oven – Less mess and monitoring, and keeps your stove clear to make eggs, french toast, crepes, or pancakes. Crispy and flavorful – These oven breakfast potatoes are roasted at high heat to get them crispy, and I love the extra seasonings and addition of onions and bell peppers for flavor....

If you love breakfast food, and breakfast for dinner, as much as we do, don’y miss my Huevos Rancheros, Quiche, or my favorite 5-minute Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes. Breakfast for dinner (Brinner) is my go-to when I’m struggling to think of something to make for dinner. You can adapt these Breakfast quesadillas to use what you have in your fridge, including the type of cheese and tortillas you like. You could even add extra veggies like chopped bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach and onion....

What are you going to do with all that candy corn you’ve accumulated? My suggestion is to make these They’re easy, no-bake, and the whole project is done within 10 minutes And who doesn’t love cookie dough? If you don’t, well, I don’t fully understand. And there’s only one bowl + one spoon that will be dirtied in the making process Why spend time doing dishes when you could spend time eating candy corn....

If you love making fun cakes you have to try our Berry Cake, Lemon Cake, Coconut Cake, or Yellow Cake. How to make a Cannoli Cake: Make Cake Batter: In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer then mix on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla then mix....

Probably because anything that is cooked with a little butter, sugar, and cream goes from ho-hum to oh-yeah-gimme-some. There are all kinds of ways to caramelize bananas. One way is in Bananas Foster (vegan, GF). Yesterday I simply seared the bananas for one minute in a non-stick skillet, added butter, cinnamon, sugar, cream, and stirred for a couple minutes until a caramel sauce began to form and the bananas caramelized a bit....

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Muffins Years ago, I made these Healthy Egg Muffins. They’ve been a reader favorite over the years. Everyone from moms of picky toddlers to ladies hosting large brunches in need of something make-ahead-ish have written to tell me how much they love the recipe. I revamped that recipe by taking out the vegetables and adding sausage. You’re welcome. The sausage is juicy and adds so much flavor....

Old-Fashioned Ham Scalloped Potatoes No holiday dinner is complete without at least one potato side dish! Or if you’re my family, we may have a few. This is a no-frills, old-fashioned recipe for ham scalloped potatoes. I used my favorite Three Cheese Scalloped Potatoes as a jumping off point when creating this recipe, and this ham version is even easier to prepare! Thinly sliced potatoes are layered with salty chunks of ham, and it’s all coated in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce....

Do you love pie recipes? You have to try this German Chocolate Pie, Banana Cream Pie, Oreo Cheesecake, or Blueberry Pie! If you’re from the South you’ve definitely heard of Chess Pie! I love old-fashioned recipes like this that use the simplest ingredients, because they were developed during a humbler time when you had to use what you had and make it work. Many traditional chess pie recipes call for vinegar, but since we live in a time where citrus is easily found year-round, I’ve used lemon instead, and I love the hint of tangy flavor it adds to the richness of the pie....

Easy Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet Recipe When you’re in need of a easy chicken dinner recipe that combines the savory flavors of seasoned chicken with the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes, look no further than this easy chicken skillet and sweet potatoes recipe. It’s ready in 45 minutes from start to finish. Not only are there sweet potatoes and scrumptious chicken thighs, but green peppers, onions, and garlic add extra texture and flavor....

Best Ever Almond Butter Dessert I’ve made a ton of bars with peanut butter but it’s been years since I’ve baked with almond butter. These easy, one-bowl, no-mixer bars were worth the wait. They’re similar to my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies in that there’s no flour but I swapped peanut butter for almond butter. The result is a soft, perfectly chewy bar, minus any gluten. The interaction of the almond butter and egg creates enough for structure that they don’t fall apart but if you love soft bars, these are for you....

Easy Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chips Cookies Recipe In the past, I’ve made these Turtles Candies Chocolate Chip Cookies and these Halloween M&M’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. I took that dough base and made these super soft, perfectly chewy, browned butter cookies that are loaded with both chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. It’s an easy one-bowl, no stand mixer (or hand mixer) recipe that starts with browned butter. I love browned butter cookies for a few reasons....