recipes Archives | Page 20 of 22

how to make kool-aid playdough

June 24, 2015 by Abby

Adding a packet of Kool-Aid to homemade playdough is a simple way to give your batch a vibrant color and a fun, fruity smell.

Summa summa summatime! My Facebook and Pinterest feeds are full of creative outdoor activities to keep kids occupied this summer. Soda bottle sprinklers, lawn-size board games, any number of homemade paints and chalks; you could try a different craft every day all summer long.

But can I tell you a secret? I don’t like outside. I live in Mississippi, where summer is really freaking hot and humid. I’m a fair-skinned (read: I burn like toast) mom of two fair-skinned ginger kids. We avoid the sun with vampiric skill. So when school’s out for the summer, we turn to creative ways to have fun indoors, including this Kool-Aid playdough.

I love that it’s easy to make and it’s easy to double or triple the recipe. This playdough is soft and smooth, not grainy like the store-bought version. You can customize it using your child’s favorite color, and along with the rich color comes a pleasant smell.

Kool-Aid playdough is an excellent opportunity to discuss the five senses: your kids can touch the smooth dough, they can smell its fruity scent, they can see its vibrant color, they can hear it plop on the table, and they can even taste its salty flavor. [Read more…]

brown sugar pound cake with caramel icing

June 22, 2015 by Abby

Brown sugar pound cake with caramel icing is a rich, moist cake, flecked with toffee bits and smothered in an easy, decadent caramel sauce.

Every June, the extended family of J.’s maternal grandfather gathers at the town community center for a reunion. J. and I have been married a while- seven years to the day as I type this!- so I’ve been to a few reunions.

Last year, I brought this brown sugar pound cake. There’s a relative, Ms. Ruth, who, according to the family, doesn’t eat a lot of sweets. She took a slice of cake, though, and she raved about it. And then she took another slice. I heard, from no fewer than three relatives, how great that cake must be for Ms. Ruth to have two pieces.

This year, a couple days before the reunion, I got word that Ms. Ruth wouldn’t be able to make it, but that she was hoping I would make the brown sugar cake again. She promised me some of her famous chocolate-covered peanut butter sandwich crackers in exchange for a slice.

How could I say no to that? I couldn’t, of course, which is how this cake became a family reunion staple.

[Read more…]

parmesan and panko crusted baked vegetables

June 17, 2015 by Abby

Green beans and asparagus are coated in crispy bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until tender for a healthy side dish with a satisfying crunch.

If you’re in the “a vegetable with a few added calories is better than no vegetable at all” camp, you’ve come to the right place. I make my home in that camp. I’m Head Counselor of that camp. I fly that camp flag with pride.

Today, I’m showing my camp spirit by sharing with you how to take ordinary asparagus or green beans, dust them with flour and soak them in egg, and then crust them with crispy panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. It’s a dish our whole camp can get behind.

When I made this dish, I used a combination of green beans and asparagus, because that’s what I had. The two work well together because they’re of similar thickness, but you could choose to use both or one or the other.

[Read more…]

twice-baked potato casserole

June 15, 2015 by Abby

Fluffy baked potatoes are mixed with all the best fixings- sour cream, butter, cheese, bacon- and baked until bubbly in this twice-baked potato casserole.

I hate to use the word casserole. For me, it conjures up images of muddled flavors and indistinguishable ingredients. So while I’m calling this a twice-baked potato casserole, let’s get this out of the way from the start: this is not your grandma’s casserole (sorry, Granny!).

This dish combines all the classic baked potato flavors that we love. There’s the requisite butter, plus tangy sour cream, crunchy bacon, and shredded cheese that gets delightfully melted. For added smoothness, you toss in a brick of cream cheese, in addition to salt and pepper. The gang’s all there.

Twice-baked potato casserole is a perfect dish for summer barbecues or family potlucks. The steps are simple enough to keep you from sweating in the kitchen all day, but the flavors bring the wow. If you think regular baked potatoes are just as good, think again; this casserole will blow your mind.

[Read more…]

150 calorie dark chocolate almond bites

June 10, 2015 by Abby

Dark chocolate chips are melted and drizzled over whole almonds, and then sprinkled with sea salt, to make this indulgent yet healthy low calorie chocolate snack.

Dark chocolate chips are melted and drizzled over whole almonds, and then sprinkled with sea salt, to make these indulgent yet healthy low calorie chocolate snack.

Y’all, this blogging thing is hard. Sometimes you make a to-die-for new recipe. You make it a few times before it dawns on you to share the recipe with your blog readers. So you make it again- oh, the hardship- in order to photograph the delectable little morsels.

But there’s a problem. In your haste, you melt the chocolate too fast. It gets lumpy and not super appealing looking (but don’t worry, it still tastes amazing).

I know that my readers expect- nay, they demand– only the very best from winstead wandering, and because I aim to please, I was forced to make these dark chocolate almond bites yet again.

The things I do for my readers.

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better for you triple chocolate banana bread

June 8, 2015 by Abby

Better for you triple chocolate banana bread has no butter, oil, or added sugar- except for the chocolate, of course- while still delivering big on flavor. With sweet, moist bananas and three kinds of chocolate, this bread tastes decadently indulgent.

Several years ago, when we were still living in Oregon, I had a favorite better for you banana bread recipe. When we came back from the beach a couple weeks ago with several overripe bananas, I went in search of that recipe, only to discover that the website had been removed.

Removed.

The author of my absolute favorite all-time best ever better for your banana bread deleted her blog without consulting me. The nerve.

Not to be deterred, I decided I was up to the challenge of re-creating the recipe. After all, I’ve made my share of quick breads– a lot of quick breads– and I remembered the basics of the original recipe.

It took two tries to get things just right, but I had no shortage of willing recipe testers. My sources tell me that this one is a keeper.

[Read more…]

pan-fried romaine lettuce {a frugal side dish}

June 3, 2015 by Abby

Pan-fried lettuce…that sounds crazy, right? The idea that you’d take a vegetable traditionally served chilled, a vegetable that’s typically consumed along with an assortment of garnishments designed mostly to hide the flavor, and intentionally heat it, wilt it, and season it only with ingredients intended to enhance it’s natural flavor.

Well, call me crazy, because I love this stuff. It’s such a unique, quick, and inexpensive side dish. The romaine is seasoned only with the garlic-infused olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s pan-fried at high heat, so the romaine gets hot and wilted without losing it’s natural crunch.

You could throw in any spices you like, but I prefer to keep it simple. I tend to crave crunchy, salty foods and, while I won’t try to pretend this lettuce is a substitute for potato chips, it does fill a little of that void.

[Read more…]

blueberry lemon pound cake with lemon glaze

June 1, 2015 by Abby

I don’t remember fully appreciating the culinary combination that is lemon and blueberries when I was younger. Sure, I loved a good glass of lemonade, and I never turned down a blueberry muffin. But neither flavor was my favorite, and I certainly didn’t willingly pair the two together.

That’s all changed. Now, I actively seek out foods that marry the lovely sweet-tart flavor of berries and the refreshing citrus zest of lemons. And if that food is also topped with a rich glaze flecked with ribbons of lemon zest? Well, then I have to make a pan. Or two.

The original version of this recipe called for more sugar and butter than I felt was necessary. I’ve been known to bring the butter when the recipe really calls for it, but in this case, I felt certain that the whole thing could be lightened up without sacrificing moistness or flavor.

Don’t get me wrong; this recipe is in no way light and healthy. It’s just lighter and healthier than the original version.To make it that way, I took out a stick of butter and used Greek yogurt instead. I also reduced the sugar by a half cup.

The pound cake, on it’s own, is buttery and moist and studded with juicy blueberries. It can hold it’s own as a stand alone treat. But when adding a glaze is an option, I always choose it. Which is why these little guys were finished off with a glaze of powdering sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, and milk. The glaze is just rich enough to stand out against the moist cake, but not so decadent as to overpower it. They play well together.

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how to make homemade tortilla chips

May 25, 2015 by Abby

I try not to buy a lot of snack foods, specifically chips. When there’s a bag of tortilla chips in the house, I tend to make nachos. A lot of nachos.

When I want to satisfy my craving for something crunchy and salty, I whip up a batch of homemade tortilla chips.

One of my favorite things about these chips is how they can be customized to suit any mood or meal. You can switch out the savory spices for sweet ones to make dessert nachos. You can skip the spice and use Italian seasonings for a fun twist.

[Read more…]

no clean-up baked garlic green beans

May 20, 2015 by Abby

These baked garlic green beans are easy, healthy, and delicious. The best part? They only use a few ingredients and you don’t have to dirty any pans or bowls to make them.

Green beans are ranked right up with carrots and bell peppers as one of my favorite vegetables.

I love that they have a crisp crunch and fresh flavor of their own, but that they’re easily enhanced by whatever seasonings you add to them.

These no clean-up baked garlic green beans hit all the right notes. The prep and clean-up couldn’t be easier. The beans are tossed with seasonings right on a foil-covered baking sheet, so you have no bowls or pans to wash.

The beans are coated with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper; just a few classic flavors to bring out the fresh snap of the green beans without taking over.

[Read more…]