Today is the first Friday of Lent, so I’m kicking off my annual Lenten project – sharing meatless meals every Friday. What began as simply a way to keep from eating plain spaghetti and pizza every Friday has grown into one of my favorite yearly blog projects.
But, nine years on, how do I keep this series fresh? I’ve spent a bunch of time thinking about our family’s current needs and how to get them to reflect in my meatless Friday posts.
Banana bread is not new to the blog. In fact, I’ve already blogged nine different versions of banana bread or muffins.
Why another one, then? This one was just that good.
This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
I always feel a little more nostalgic about my German heritage at Christmas. I think it’s a remnant of Opa’s Christmas cookie packages, which were synonymous with Christmas for all of my childhood. Without even thinking about it, I end up planning some German-inspired dessert for our holiday table – like this Black Forest Cheesecake.
This is obviously not traditional, but the flavors are there – and, I’ll be honest, this is going to be easier than your traditional Black Forest Cake.
This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
I am all about a festive breakfast for holiday celebrations – and these delicious doughnuts are a perfect treat for Christmas morning!
These pack a big punch of flavor thanks to LorAnn Oils Chocolate Hazelnut Flavor. Just a little gives these a great, complex flavor – and it’s balanced nicely by the vanilla icing. Sweets & Treats sprinkles make them extra festive and perfect for the holiday!
This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
Fluffy and soft on the inside, but crisp around the edges, these Chocolate Orange Crinkle Cookies will be your new favorite to leave for Santa!
Chocolate and orange is a nostalgic Christmas flavor pairing for me, thanks to years of chocolate oranges in our stockings! These cookies taste just like that childhood treat.
Cranberry Orange muffins are my favorite. I love cranberry and orange together, and this time of year always feels like muffin weather. Curl up with one of these and a hot beverage and you’ve got the perfect fall treat.
These are an easy one to mix up and I love that it makes a relatively small batch – great for a small family brunch.
The flavors are bright. Orange juice and orange zest make the batter a sunny color, and the fresh cranberries add a great tart bite to these. I love these fresh out of the oven, but you can also pop them in the oven or toaster to warm up the next day and they’re also fabulous.
I’m excited to be sharing this recipe as part of Cranberry Week – now in it’s third year! See all the tasty cranberry recipes being shared today below and follow #cranberryweek on social media for more ideas all week long.
Cranberry Orange Muffins
(from Joyful Healthy Eats)
Makes 12 Muffins
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cranberries
1 egg
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp. grated orange zest
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake papers.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in cranberries.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, orange juice, orange zest, and coconut oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
Note: I received complimentary product for this post. All opinions are my own.
New, inventive recipes are always fun – but sometimes you just want a classic. We love banana bread around here. Add in lots of chocolate, and you’ve got a treat that barely lasts 24 hours.
Lots of other chocolate goodness this way, too! —>
Chocolate Banana Bread
(from Chelsea’s Messy Apron)
Makes 1 loaf
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup coconut oil, measured melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup mashed bananas, approx. 2-3 bananas
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup white whole wheat flour or plain white
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips dark chocolate chips for healthier
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
Run the oats through a blender or food processor until the consistency of flour.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and yolk. Whisk in the yogurt and coconut oil. Whisk in the vanilla and sugar. Stir in the mashed banana.
To the same bowl, add the oat flour, salt, baking soda, flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for an hour, until a knife inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing from the pan.
Yay for #Choctoberfest ! As a chocoholic, I look forward to this week all year and I’m so excited to be participating again this year!
From now until the end of the week, I am joining forces with over 100 other bloggers from around the world to post delicious chocolate recipes. Every day, #Choctoberfest bloggers will be celebrating all things chocolate – milk, dark, white, bittersweet, semi-sweet, and cocoa! I have some really fabulous things planned for this week, so stay tuned!
We are starting with a #Choctoberfest prize pack from our generous sponsors. Scroll down to learn how you can enter to win. One lucky winner will receive the following:
That’s a prize pack worth over $400! Open worldwide, except where prohibited. Must be 18+ to enter (21+ in some locations). See terms and conditions for more details.
To enter, simply follow our sponsors using the widget below. You can gain additional entries by following me and the other participating bloggers. A winner will be drawn on October 21, 2018 and contacted via email. Good luck!
Don’t forget to come back to my blog for more chocolatey goodness between now and October 20.
Check out our participating bloggers:
The PinterTest Kitchen ♥ 2 Cookin Mamas ♥ 27th and Olive ♥ A Day in the Life on the Farm ♥ A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures ♥ A Little Fish in the Kitchen ♥ addicted 2 recipes ♥ Amy’s Cooking Adventures ♥ An Affair from the Heart ♥ April GoLightly ♥ At the Table with R and R ♥ Baking Sense ♥ Blade & Barbell ♥ Blogghetti ♥ Body Rebooted ♥ Books n’ Cooks ♥ Bottom Left of the Mitten ♥ Canning and Cooking at Home ♥ Cheese Curd In Paradise ♥ Chef Sarah Elizabeth ♥ Cindy’s Recipes and Writings ♥ Coconut & Lime ♥ Cook With Renu ♥ Cook’s Hideout ♥ Cookaholic Wife ♥ Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt ♥ CopyKat.com ♥ Daily Dish Recipes ♥ Everyday Eileen ♥ Fairyburger ♥ Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice ♥ Family Around the Table ♥ Fix Me a Little Lunch ♥ Frankly Entertaining ♥ Frugal & Fit ♥ Get the Good Stuff! ♥ Growing Up Gabel ♥ Hardly A Goddess ♥ Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks ♥ Home Sweet Homestead ♥ House of Nash Eats ♥ Intelligent Domestications ♥ jenniferbakes ♥ JoAnn’s Food Bites ♥ Join Us, Pull up a Chair ♥ Jolene’s Recipe Journal ♥ Jonesin’ For Taste ♥ Karen’s Kitchen Stories ♥ Kate’s Recipe Box ♥ Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats ♥ LeMoine Family Kitchen ♥ Life on Food ♥ Life, Love, and Good Food ♥ Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish ♥ Little House Big Alaska ♥ Long Distance Baking ♥ Maria’s Mixing Bowl ♥ Moore or Less Cooking ♥ Must Love Home ♥ Norine’s Nest ♥ Our Good Life ♥ Our Sutton Place ♥ OVENTales ♥ Palatable Pastime ♥ Prettysweetblog ♥ Red Cottage Chronicles ♥ Restless Chipotle ♥ Reviews, Chews & How-Tos ♥ Sarah Cooks the Books ♥ Sarah’s Bake Studio ♥ Savory Moments ♥ Seasonal and Holiday Recipe Exchange ♥ Seasoned Sprinkles ♥ Seduction In The Kitchen ♥ Simple Family Crazy Life ♥ Simply Inspired Meals ♥ Snacks and Sips ♥ Soulfully Made ♥ Stephie The Happy Mom ♥ Sumptuous Spoonfuls ♥ Sweet Coralice ♥ Take Two Tapas ♥ Tampa Cake Girl ♥ That Recipe ♥ The Baking Fairy ♥ The Beard and The Baker ♥ The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine ♥ The Gingered Whisk ♥ The Heritage Cook ♥ The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen ♥ The Olive Blogger ♥ The Pajama Chef ♥ The Redhead Baker ♥ The Saucy Fig ♥ The Spiffy Cookie ♥ The Weekday Gourmet ♥ This is How I Cook ♥ Trampling Rose ♥ Turnips 2 Tangerines ♥ Walking Fruitfully ♥ Wendy Polisi ♥ Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen ♥ Zesty South Indian Kitchen
It’s National Pizza Month – a holiday my kids can really get behind. Even as “good eaters”, they’re not immune to the lures of a good pie, and when tasked with picking dinner, they’ll pick pizza 99% of the time.
But, they rarely want anything other than cheese pizza, which is why I got excited for this linkup – an excuse to make a blog worthy pizza? Sold.
This pie is delicious, but the onions are what really sold me. Hitting them with the balsamic vinegar at the end add such a great depth of flavor – and they pair brilliantly with the bacon and spinach. This is easily one of the best pizzas I’ve ever made!
And if you want more reasons to celebrate this month, here are a few from my fellow blogger friends:
Caramelized Onion, Bacon & Spinach Pizza
(adapted from Cooking Classy)
Makes 1 12″ Pizza
1 lb. pizza dough or a prepared crust
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large red onion
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup frozen spinach, thawed and rung out well
2 Tbsp. butter
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup milk
6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Put your pizza stone in the oven, if you have one.
In a skillet over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Slice the onion thinly and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is soft then stir in the sugar. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, until caramelized. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cook another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
Roll out the pizza dough into a 12″ round.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in garlic and flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. While stirring constantly, bring to a boil.
Spread the garlic sauce over the prepared dough. Top with half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan. Sprinkle bacon, onions, and spinach evenly over the pizza. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
This post is like a love letter shout-out to my moms club friends. Because, oh, do they humor me.
It’s hard to make friends as an adult, and I was super lucky to fall into this group shortly after becoming a mom. Having a local group of women going through the same stage of life has been invaluable for my sanity.
And, like I said, they humor me. When I come up with something I get excited about, I can count on them to jump in and be excited too. My latest pet project? Monthly potluck dinners. This month’s theme was “Back to School” so everyone brought slow cooker meals and freezer-friendly casseroles. Next month, we’re doing “Fall Favorites”.
Besides the good company and the opportunity to try things I wouldn’t normally make, this also gives me a captive audience for recipe testing. I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for Christmas for the last few years, but I keep eyeing recipes that are variations. This sweet combo is amazing as a decedent breakfast or special dessert.
Raspberry Chocolate Sweet Rolls
(adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)
Makes 16
For the dough:
1 cup milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
12-oz. package frozen raspberries
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
To make the dough:
In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the milk until lukewarm. Add the warm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir in the sugar and yeast using a spoon. Cover with a towel and let stand 5-10 minutes, until yeast is activated and looks foamy. Add the softened butter, eggs, and salt and mix until combined but the butter will be chunky. Slowly add the flour and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and pliable, about 10 minutes longer.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for about 2 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
Line the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper, sprayed with non-stick spray.
Place the dough on a floured work surface. Roll the dough into an even 10×24 inch rectangle.
To make the filling:
In a medium bowl, toss the still-frozen raspberries with the sugar and cornstarch. Gently mash the raspberries so they are small pieces. Spread evenly over the dough. Sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 24-inch-long log. Cut into 15 even pieces. Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Cover the rolls with foil and bake for about 25 minutes, until they are golden and the chocolate chips are melted. Transfer the whole pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
To make the glaze:
Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and heavy cream together in a small bowl until smooth. Add more sugar or cream, depending how thick you want the glaze. Pour glaze over the rolls. Serve warm.
