I love red velvet and when I came across a recipe for red velvet chocolate chip cookies I knew I had to give it a try! This recipe combines the best of red velvet cake and the classic chocolate chip cookie. It was very easy to throw together and the total time took about 90 minutes. Most of that time was used to chill the dough as it was too sticky to pop in the oven right away. The inside had an almost cake-like consistency–so soft and pillowy! I will definitely be making these again.
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Recipes
Salted Coconut Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Who can say no to chocolate covered strawberries? For Valentine’s Day I decided to go with a recipe that’s both simple and tasty! These strawberries are dipped in semi-sweet chocolate with added coconut oil and sea salt. The Coconut oil and sea salt are simple additions that enhance the flavor of the chocolate and give it a little more complexity. For the chocolate I chose a high quality semi-sweet chocolate chip which I melted in a DIY double boiler. If you have leftover chocolate eat as is or throw it on some ice cream with extra strawberries!
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Leftover Hambone and White Bean Soup
If you have a leftover ham bone from a spiral cut ham sitting in your freezer you can make this delicious soup! This recipe is loaded with healthy vegetables and beans. I was surprised at how fast the stock came together. It only took about an hour of simmering for it be fragrant and full of good flavor. I decided to use a trick for it that’s often used when cooking stock for Vietnamese Pho: adding whole spices like allspice and cloves to enhance flavor. It worked out quite nicely and the rest of the soup came together in a flash. It was a great way to use up those leftovers from dinner and is a perfect soup for cold February weather.
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Roasted Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage
I’ve never really considered making tomato soup until recently. This recipe is full of roasted garlic and tomato flavor along with the savory spiciness of the Italian sausage. This tomato soup recipe is anything but boring! For the roasting I place the garlic on top of the cut side of the tomatoes. Placing it there helps the garlic roast and allows that flavor to become better infused into the tomato. Call me crazy but it really works! I pan roasted the sausage and you can either blend it into the soup after or finely mince by hand. The soup comes together easily and it has quickly become a staple dinner recipe.
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Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Tacos
Once I had a batch of Pickled Corn Salsa ready I took a nice pork shoulder and slow cooked it for some tasty tacos! The pork is marinated in tomatoes, onions and spices and slow cooked for about 4 hours in a crock pot. The pork ended up being succulent and fall apart tender. I was really happy with how soft and flavorful it turned out. The acids from the pickled salsa complimented the richness of the shredded pork. For garnish, I added a touch of lime and queso fresco.
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Pickled Corn Salsa
The holidays are over and the doldrums of January are here: time to liven things up and pretend it’s summer, right? This salsa is a great addition to any taco recipe. It goes great with fish, chicken, pork and beef so it’s pretty versatile! Pickling the corn is easy–all you need is some vinegar and lime and it will pickle in the strong acids. I jarred it for a few hours and all the flavors melded together. It ended up being a nice counterpoint to the richness of the creamy queso and the savory meat of the tacos I prepared. Another benefit of pickling: if you seal the salsa in a glass jar it will keep for about a month!
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Italian Sausage and Apple Stuffing
There are lots of ways to make a great stuffing for the holidays and this one uses hot Italian sausage and granny smith apples to kick things up a notch. The combination of the softened tart apples and spicy crumbled sausage was so delicious! Instead of leaving the bread out over night or using a toaster the bread cubes are baked in the oven until brown and slightly crispy. Everything is combined in a bowl and then baked in the oven once more. So easy and a great side dish for the holidays!…
Carrot Soup with Roasted Chickpeas and Lemon Tahini
It’s been a little colder the last few weeks so I thought a warm bowl of soup would be a nice thing to come home to. After all the eating from Thanksgiving I settled on a healthy and hearty soup made from carrots and garnished with chickpeas and tahini. I’m not usually a fan of pureed soups but this one caught my eye because of all the tasty garnishes on top. I was already a big fan of Baked Chickpeas so I was excited to try them out in a soup. I was surprised at how well all the ingredients came together. I loved the earthy flavor of the carrot soup with the tangy tahini and crispy chickpeas. I served the soup with a few slices of pita bread which also served as an edible spoon!
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Maple Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce
Every year as Thanksgiving gets closer I look forward to trying out new ways to serve cranberry sauce. This year I chose a cranberry sauce flavored with cinnamon and maple syrup. I also added a little brown sugar instead of white sugar to give it a little something different. The sauce turned out excellent and the flavors of maple and cinnamon were delicious together! I served this alongside my Thanksgiving staple, Gingered Cranberry Sauce, so I got a chance to compare and contrast. I liked both a lot and they each complimented the turkey perfectly.
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Turkey Sausage Soup with White Beans and Wild Rice
After Thanksgiving the food fest continues with new ways to make tasty leftovers! This recipe uses sausage but can be substituted for leftover turkey instead. It’s a perfect comfort food recipe as the days get colder and the nights get longer. It didn’t take long to throw together either! The beans, wild rice and corn made it a very hearty meal. I had never used turkey sausage in soup but it added some really nice flavors. I used a homemade chicken broth instead of store bought which enhanced the flavor of the soup quite a bit. The rice absorbs a lot of the broth so make sure to have extra on hand to add in later.
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