This salad is many things. It’s colorful, it’s healthy and it has one of my favorite ingredients: quinoa. For me, quinoa is a lot like brown rice in taste and texture, so it works splendidly in this salad and especially with soaking up all those amazing Thai flavors.

When Monique posted this recipe for Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing on Tasty Kitchen, I found myself drooling all over my keyboard. With that said, I knew right away I was going to make it and it was going to be all kinds of amazing. A salad that can be served as wholesome vegetarian main dish or as a side to jazz up any main course is more than alright in my book. So if you’re like me and always on a hunt for a good quinoa recipe, you better stop and try this recipe. I promise you’ll be glad you did.

I just love when a recipe contains a rainbow of vegetables. It truly makes for a colorful and enticing salad, no? This salad is loaded with red bell peppers, purple cabbage, carrots and green onions just to name a few, and the ginger peanut dressing is as amazing as it sounds.

To make the quinoa, start by bringing 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan.

While you’re waiting for that to happen, rinse and drain 3/4 cup of uncooked quinoa.

Add the rinsed quinoa to the boiling water, cover and reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed every last drop of water.

While the quinoa is cooking away on the stove, it’s a great idea to get started on the dressing. Start by combining 1/4 cup of peanut butter with a tablespoon of honey. Pop it into the microwave for about 20 seconds to warm it slightly so it’s easier to stir.

Measure and add in the 3 tablespoons of soy (I used gluten-free tamari), 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and a teaspoon of sesame oil.

Grate in 2 teaspoons of peeled fresh ginger root into the bowl with the peanut butter and honey.

Lastly, add in a teaspoon of olive oil.

Give it a good stir to incorporate all those flavorful ingredients and set it off to the side for a quick second.

Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl.

Pour in the ginger peanut dressing.

Add in the chopped red bell pepper, red onion, purple cabbage and cilantro.

Toss all those together until coated with dressing.

Simply garnish with a few cashew halves (peanuts work too!), then scatter a few green onions over top and a squeeze or two of fresh lime.

This salad is fresh, light and has so much textural deliciousness. I could really just live on this salad alone and be quite alright with it. I loved it, and I know you’ll love it—it’s a total win-win situation!

There’s more where this came from, so please be sure to check out Monique’s recipe box here on Tasty Kitchen—and visit Monique’s blog Ambitious Kitchen, where she cooks and bakes up just about anything your heart (and stomach) could ever want, like whole wheat coconut banana waffles with chocolate chips and roasted almonds. And she captures all of it with beautiful photography. 

Thank you Monique for sharing this healthy and flavor-packed salad!

Recipe

Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

by Monique of Ambitious Kitchen on April 14, 2013 in Special Dietary Needs, Vegetarian
See this recipe post on Monique of Ambitious Kitchen’s site! April 14, 2013

Special Dietary NeedsVegetarian

5.00 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s)

Prep Time 10 Minutes

Cook Time 15 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 6

6

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Recipe Description

Delicious vegan (and easily made gluten free) salad with Thai flavors and a perfect crunch. It’s even better the next day!

Preparation Instructions

To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with cold water in a mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water.

Remove pan from heat and fluff quinoa with fork. Place in a large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.

To make dressing: Add peanut butter and honey or agave into a medium-sized microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.

Add as much or as little dressing as you’d like to the quinoa. I always start out with a little bit of dressing and usually add more to suit my taste preferences. Alternatively you can save the dressing for later and add when you are ready to eat; however the flavors of the dressing usually soak into the salad so I love adding it to the quinoa first.

Next fold the red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.

Ingredients

• FOR THE SALAD:
• 1-½ cup Water
• ¾ cups Uncooked Quinoa
• 1  Red Bell Pepper, Stem And Seeds Removed, Then Diced
• ½  Red Onion, Diced
• 1 cup Shredded Red Cabbage
• 1 cup Shredded Carrots
• ½ cups Chopped Cilantro
• ½ cups Cashew Halves Or Peanuts, (honey Roasted Is Good)
• ¼ cups Diced Green Onions
• Fresh Lime, For A Bit Of Tang
• FOR THE DRESSING:
• ¼ cups All Natural Peanut Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Honey (use Agave If Vegan)
• 2 teaspoons Freshly Grated Ginger
• 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, Gluten-free If Desired
• 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
• Water To Thin, If Necessary

 
 
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Laurie is the force behind Simply Scratch, a blog that documents her efforts to find and create recipes that are made simply from scratch. (We think it’s sweet that her mother-in-law helped her set up her blog and get started.) We love her recipes; they’re not just tried and true, but they look gorgeous as well. Check out her blog and you’ll become a fan too.

 
When I first made these Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Cookies from TK member Katie, I posted a pic on Instagram and someone commented saying, “HOLY UNIVERSE” and I really haven’t been able to come up with a better way to introduce these bites of heaven to you since. They will rock your world, your universe and your life all at the same time.

Are you ready to get into these? Let’s get moving! We’ve got cookies to make!

First we’ve got to melt some butter and dark chocolate together. You can do this over a double boiler if you’re awesome, but if you’re lazy like me, a microwave works too.

Then let’s start combining the dry ingredients. Let’s start with flour.

We’ll add in a few tablespoons of cocoa powder …

Followed by some baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Give it all a whisk to evenly combine and then set it aside.

Now, let’s combine our eggs, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a mixer. Mix it up until it’s evenly incorporated.

Add in the chocolate and give it another good mix or two until the chocolate is incorporated.

And then fold in the flour and chocolate chips. Your cookie dough will look delicious, just like this. Try to do everything in your power to not grab a spoon and go to town like I did. If you wait about 15 more minutes, I promise it’s going to be worth it.

First, we need to whisk together some creamy peanut butter and powdered sugar in a bowl. Once that’s whisked together we’re ready to assemble!

Okay, let’s scoop some cookie dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and press them into little discs. Add a touch of the PB mixture on top of each disc

Add a little more dough on top of each cookie to seal the PB mixture into the middle! I placed the whole sheet pan with the stuffed cookies into the fridge for a bit while I did the next two steps.

Place a handful of pretzels into a food processor or blender.

Blend them up until they are of sand-like consistency. Then take your cookie dough balls out of the fridge, roll them in the pretzel mixture and pop them into the oven at 350ºF for about 11 minutes.

And then you’re going to have these! Be still my heart and get in my belly!

Big thanks to Katie for creating these decadent and sinfully delicious treats! She has more treats in her blog, Veggie and The Beast, so go pay her a visit there!

Recipe

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Cookies

by Katie | Veggie and the Beast on May 29, 2013 in Cookies, Desserts
See this recipe post on Katie | Veggie and the Beast’s site! May 29, 2013

CookiesDesserts

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time 30 Minutes

Cook Time 10 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 24

24

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Recipe Description

Super dark chocolate cookies stuffed with peanut butter and rolled in pretzel crumbs. It’s the cookie you always wished existed, and now it does!

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Melt the chopped baking chocolate and the unsalted butter in a double boiler (or a makeshift double broiler: simmer water in a pan and set a glass bowl over the top). Stir frequently, and remove from heat as soon as it melts.
3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugars and vanilla until fluffy. Slowly mix in the melted chocolate. Gradually add the flour, scraping the bowl after each addition, until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. In a separate bowl, beat together the peanut butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Set aside.
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, and set on the parchment paper, then flatten with your hand. Drop about 1 teaspoon of the peanut butter filling in the center of the dough, then fold the dough around the peanut butter. If the peanut butter comes out of the top, just grab some extra dough to fill in the gap.
7. Once you have a ball of dough with the peanut butter in the center, flatten the ball slightly and then drop into the pretzel crumbs. You can coat one side or all over (I did a bit of both). Repeat with remaining dough.
8. Bake for about 11 minutes. Watch carefully after 10 minutes, because you want these just a bit underdone.

Chocolate cookie recipe adapted from Martha Stewart. Recipe inspired by Sweet Pea’s Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces, weight Baking Chocolate, Roughly Chopped
• 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• ⅔ cups All-purpose Flour
• 3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 2 whole Eggs
• ¾ cups Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Creamy Peanut Butter
• ¼ cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 cup Pretzel Crumbs
• ⅔ cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

 
 
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Gaby Dalkin is the young lady behind What’s Gaby Cooking, a food blog that’s bursting at the seams with incredible recipes and food photography. She’s a personal chef and professional recipe developer, and if you follow her on Twitter, you’ll soon discover her two-fold obsession: guacamole and cheese. She has small feet, a large heart, and a smile that can light up the whole building. We’re pretty stoked to have her here.

 
Pull-apart breads have been blowing up Pinterest for a few years now, and all I’ve gotta say is that I love it. Which truly is saying a lot because, if I’m being honest, Pinterest kinda stresses me out these days. There are just so many things! I browse Pinterest for all of seven minutes and instantly want to plan another wedding, buy a new wardrobe, put jewels on my nails, paint my TV stand robin’s egg blue, travel to Mykonos and design a killer party for a 3-year old kiddo that I don’t even have. And I’d like to do it all next week. It’s like complete sensory overload.

In the world of pull-apart breads, this cinnamon sugar version from TK member Fanny is a classic. A few years ago I made one filled with cheese (which was ah-mazing), but knowing the value in a good gooey, sugar-coated cinnamon bread is the key to all life’s problems. Right?

Here’s what you need: some flour and sugar, vegetable oil, whole milk, baking soda and powder, active dry yeast (don’t be scared!), salt, cinnamon, and of course, butter.

First, heat the milk, oil and sugar together, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is slightly warm, but not hot. Remove it from the heat.

Stir in the flour and the yeast. At this point I was afraid that my pot was a bit too hot, so I transferred the mixture to a different pot and it worked perfectly. All in the name of saving cinnamon bread.

Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for about an hour.

After an hour, stir in the remaining flour, baking soda, powder and salt. If the dough is super sticky, you can add a little extra flour if needed. I probably added in a tablespoon or two.

Roll the dough into a large rectangle on a floured surface and cover the entire thing in melted butter…

Then cover it in sugar and cinnamon. This is getting good.

Using a pizza cutter or a large knife, slice the rectangle into six equal strips. Or, uh, five strips. I’m not very skilled at equally cutting dough into perfect strips, so I accidentally ended up with five. Still worked, so if you have that issue, don’t fear.

After slicing the strips lengthwise, pile them on top of each other (carefully!) and cut the dough again in six places, creating six stacks. Cute little dough stacks!

Stuff the cute dough stacks in a buttered 9×5 loaf pan, then cover with the towel and let it rise for another hour or so.

It should look puffy and pretty!

Stick it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. If the top gets too brown while baking, tent it with aluminum foil. A few minutes before the bread is finished, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk to create the glaze.

Remove the bread from the oven and let cool for just a few minutes, then gently remove the loaf from the pan and immediately cover in icing.

The sugary goodness sinks in to all the cracks and crevices since the bread it still warm.

I’d tell you to wait a few minutes before serving so you don’t burn your mouth, but that’s basically impossible. Just look at it! You’ll want to dig in instantly and I don’t blame you.

Thanks to Fanny for sharing this! Go check out her blog Oh Sweet Day! for more sweetness.

Recipe

Pull-Apart Bread

by Oh Sweet Day! on June 6, 2013 in Breads
See this recipe post on Oh Sweet Day!’s site! June 6, 2013

Breads

3.50 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Prep Time 1 Hour

Cook Time 30 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 4

4

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Recipe Description

Pull-Apart Bread

Preparation Instructions

To prepare the dough, combine milk, oil and 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan. Heat it until warm to touch and sugar dissolves. Remove pan from heat. Sprinkle in the yeast and add 2 cups of flour. Stir to combine, then cover with tea towel and allow to rise for an hour.

Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup flour, along with baking powder, baking soda and salt. If dough is too sticky to handle, stir in another tablespoon of flour.

Roll out dough onto a floured surface, into a 6×6 inch square. Brush melted butter all over the dough. Mix together the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over the dough.

Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 6 strips, then stack all the strips into one long stack. Cut the stack of strips into 6 slices.

Place the stacks sideways into a greased standard size loaf pan. Be sure not to cram them into the loaf pan, and leave space for the bread to expand. Cover the loaf pan with a tea towel and allow to rise for another hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it and cover the top of the bread with a loose sheet of aluminum foil about halfway through if it is browning too quickly.

Remove pan from the oven. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife along the edges to release the bread from the pan and invert it onto your serving platter.

Mix together the icing ingredients and drizzle over the top when the bread is still warm. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

• FOR THE BREAD:
• 1 cup Milk
• ¼ cups Canola Oil
• 1 cup Sugar, Divided
• 1-⅛ teaspoon Active Yeast
• 2-¼ cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ sticks Unsalted Butter, Melted And Cooled
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
• FOR THE ICING:
• 2 cups Powdered Sugar
• ¼ cups Milk

 
 
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Jessica Merchant is a personal trainer turned food writer and blogger. Her blog, How Sweet Eats, is where she proclaims her love for all things sweet, all things bacon, and everything else in between. She works her magic in her Pittsburgh kitchen, which she shares with her husband of 2 years.

I love quick and easy weeknight meals, especially when they taste like you’ve been slaving in the kitchen for hours, creating a fusion of delicious flavors that’s nothing short of a masterpiece. Extra points are awarded if I can get the entire family to eat it, which is what happened when I whipped up these Ham and Cheese Sliders from TK member Lindsay.

The secret is in the special sauce that’s drizzled on top, then the little nuggets of gold are baked until they are gooey and caramelized. Trust me, these babies are good and your whole family will thank you for making them.

You’ll need: Hawaiian rolls, deli ham, sliced provolone cheese, butter, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds. Sounds good already, doesn’t it?

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil. Arrange your sliced rolls on the baking sheet.

Place a slice of ham on each roll.

Followed by a slice of your cheese.

In a small bowl combine the butter …

The brown sugar …

The mustard …

And the Worcestershire sauce.

Microwave until the butter is just melted, about 30-60 seconds.

Add the poppy seeds and stir until combined.

Place the top half of the roll on top to assemble your sandwich.

Drizzle the butter mixture evenly over the sandwiches.

Just use your own judgement on how much to use. I used all of my sauce.

Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and the butter mixture starts to caramelize, about 10 minutes. 

Serve warm and enjoy the deliciousness!

Thanks Lindsay for sharing such a delicious sandwich recipe with us! This will make a regular rotation at our house. Don’t forget to stop by Lindsay’s blog Perfecting The Pairing, where you can find the original recipe and see more of her tasty dishes!

Recipe

Darn Good Ham and Cheese Sliders

by Lindsay on September 7, 2012 in Main Courses, Sandwiches
See this recipe post on Lindsay’s site! September 7, 2012

Main CoursesSandwiches

5.00 Mitt(s) 5 Rating(s)

Prep Time

Cook Time

Difficulty Easy

Servings 6

6

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Recipe Description

These Darn Good Ham and Cheese Sliders may look like any other sandwich, but they are so much better. They are darn good.

Preparation Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick foil. Assemble the sandwiches with a slice of ham and a half slice of cheese on the bottom half of each roll and top with the top half of the roll. Place the assembled sandwiches close together on the baking sheet.

In a small bowl combine the butter, sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Microwave until the butter is just melted, about 30-60 seconds. Add the poppy seeds and stir until combined.

Drizzle the butter mixture evenly over the sandwiches. Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and the butter mixture starts to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Ingredients

• 12 whole Hawaiian Rolls, Split
• 12 slices Deli Ham
• 6 slices Deli Provolone Cheese, Halved
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 1-½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1-½ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• ¼ teaspoons Poppy Seeds

 
 
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Amber is a stay at home mom who lives in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. It’s a long way from where she grew up, in Wales (yes, way over in the U.K.). The recipes in her blog Sprinkled with Flour include her original creations as well as her family recipes. Go check them out!

 
I tend to go for savory foods over sweet ones, but these Gluten Free Coconut Muffins from Tasty Kitchen member Julia really had me going back for more. They’re not too sweet, and filled with healthy coconut and rich olive oil. Eat them for breakfast or on the go, they’re very satisfying.

To make them you will need: shredded coconut, olive oil, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, vanilla extract, gluten free all purpose flour, salt, sugar, coconut milk and coconut flour.

Note: My first attempt at this recipe did not turn out quite as expected and the muffins collapsed. (I must have been missing my gluten-free baking mojo that day!) But they tasted good, so I was determined to make it work. I made some changes to the recipe, which did the trick for me. I’ll list those changes at the end of the post.

In a bowl combine the two flours.

Add the baking soda …

And baking powder.

Sprinkle in the sugar (I used 3/4 cup) …

Followed by part of the coconut.

Give it all a nice stir and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients, first the egg …

Then the olive oil (I used 1/4 cup) …

Then coconut milk (I used 1 cup) …

And finally the anilla extract. Mix it all together very, very well.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Combine them together with a spatula…

Until you have a uniform consistency.

Pour the batter into some greased tins.

And sprinkle the tops with shredded coconut.

In about 20 minutes you will have fluffy, soft and healthy coconut muffins. They are great for any time of day, even a midnight snack. Thanks to Julia for this recipe! Visit her website The Roasted Root for other delicious treats.

As promised, here are the changes I made. I used:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar

Fill the tins 3/4 full and you will yield 9 muffins.

Recipe

Gluten Free Coconut Muffins

by Julia {The Roasted Root} on April 22, 2013 in Breads, Muffins
See this recipe post on Julia {The Roasted Root}’s site! April 22, 2013

BreadsMuffins

0.00 Mitt(s) 0 Rating(s)

Prep Time 5 Minutes

Cook Time 22 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 12

12

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Recipe Description

Delicious and nutritious coconut muffins made with all sorts of coconut-y greatness!

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly oil a 12-muffin pan. Set pan aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and one cup of the shredded coconut.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining (wet) ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan.

Sprinkle the remaining half cup of shredded coconut over the batter and bake in the oven for 22 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Gluten-free All-purpose Flour
• ½ cups Coconut Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1-½ cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, Separated
• 2 whole Eggs
• ⅓ cups Olive Oil
• 2 cups Full-fat Coconut Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

 
I’ve been dying to share this with you. This recipe for Bacon Stuffed Roasted Chicken with Caulflower comes from TK member Mama Schell. But I really think it came from angels. Or maybe Mama Schell is actually an angel herself. Wouldn’t surprise me. 

A roasted chicken with bacon stuffed under the skin cooking over pieces of cauliflower and fresh garlic can only be heaven-sent. You’ll never look at chicken the same way again. Or cauliflower.

You’ll never believe how simple this is, too! Let’s get started.

You only need a few things: a whole chicken, some bacon, a head of cauliflower, and a head of garlic. Oh, and some heat-safe oil (I used grapeseed), salt, and black pepper.

Start preheating your oven while you get the chicken prepped. Once you remove the packaging and the creepy sack of organs (sorry, but it creeps me out), lift the skin and separate the skin from the breasts with your fingers. You can also use the end of a wooden spoon, but try not to rip the skin.

Now stuff two slices of bacon into each side. I folded mine in half and shoved them in there.

I made the mistake of using thick-cut bacon, and you’ll see why it was a mistake in a minute.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan or a rimmed metal baking sheet. I used a baking sheet because I wanted more of the cauliflower to have contact with the pan. Drizzle the chicken with oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and salt.

While the chicken is roasting away, start prepping the cauliflower! Cut away all of the greens and the tough stem, cut it into florets and rinse them off.

Then take the head of garlic, place it root-side up and press hard on it with the palm of your hand. Lots easier than trying to pick apart those blasted cloves.

Here comes the fun part. Ok, not really. Just slightly annoying, but completely worth it in the end.

To make this go quickly, smash each clove with the side of your knife (and the palm of your hand), then the skin should fall off the clove easily. Most of the time.

Put the cloves in a bowl with the washed cauliflower and drizzle with heat-safe oil (again, I used grapeseed).

Hello again, salt and pepper. Set the cauliflower aside for a few minutes.

About halfway through roasting the chicken should look like this. Remember how I said I shouldn’t have used thick-cut bacon? I think that may be the reason why the chicken skin split. I wasn’t too concerned, though, because my entire house smelled like bacon and roasted chicken. That’s enough to take all your cares away. 

Spread the cauliflower and garlic around the chicken. Like I said, I prefer using a rimmed baking sheet for this because more of the cauliflower ends up having those dark, caramelized crispy bits on it. And because I don’t own a roasting pan. (Seriously, what’s wrong with me?)

Stir the cauliflower around a couple of times while the chicken finishes up and this is what you end up with. I can hardly stand it. I’m salivating again just thinking about it.

THIS is why you need to make this as soon as possible. I like cauliflower, but I never knew it could taste this good. Just about any vegetable roasted in bacon and chicken drippings will be palatable to any vegetable hater, but if you happen to love vegetables to begin with, you’ll be craving this every. single. day.

Oh ya, the chicken was excellent as well. The breast meat that the bacon oozed on had this incredibly smoky flavor. And I kind of like that the skin split because it made some of the bacon crispy!

Thank you, Jennifer, for this recipe! Check out her TK Recipe Box and her blog, Mama Schell Says for more recipes and beautiful photography.

You’ll find the complete recipe and instructions in the handy printable below!

Recipe

Bacon Stuffed Whole Roasted Chicken with Cauliflower

by mamaschell on December 12, 2009 in Main Courses, Poultry December 12, 2009

Main CoursesPoultry

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Prep Time 10 Minutes

Cook Time 1 Hour

Difficulty Easy

Servings 6

6

• + Print Recipe

Recipe Description

Bacon Stuffed Whole Roasted Chicken with Cauliflower and garlic, or the only way to get my son and husband to eat cauliflower!

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Clean 1 whole roasting chicken. Gently pull skin away from the breast and insert the four slices of bacon between the skin and breast of the chicken.

Place whole chicken (breast side up) in a roasting pan. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper or any other seasonings you may like.

Bake chicken in the oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

While chicken is baking, cut up cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Peel garlic cloves, leaving them whole, and place cauliflower and peeled garlic into a bowl. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Add cauliflower and garlic to the roasting pan with the chicken. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and cook for 30 more minutes, or until chicken is done.

Serve and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 whole Chicken
• 4 slices Bacon
• 1 head Cauliflower
• 1 bulb Garlic (10-15 Cloves)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

 
 
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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!

  
So what if I told you this was my first go at blondies? It’s true! Not a day in my thirty-something years on earth have I ever had a blondie until the other day. Truly it was only a matter of time, and when my eyes locked on Sharon’s recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies I knew that it was time for me to take the plunge.

If you’re like me and new to the blondie scene, then there’s no better way to start your journey off right then with a decadent and amazing recipe such as this. Sharon adapted this recipe from Clementine, a bakery/cafe in LA, and shared it with us back in 2011—and I’m so glad she did. You guys have to make these. You’ll know what I mean once you take your first bite, as they’re simply amazing!

For these bars you’ll need just some basic pantry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, eggs, butter, salt, and of course… what blondie is complete without chocolate chips and nuts? Sharon’s recipe called for walnuts, but since I didn’t have any I substituted almonds and they worked out perfectly! And never mind the second stick of butter you see. I was getting it out for something entirely different and somehow it ended up in this shot.

Start by buttering a 9×13 baking dish, making sure to get every nook and cranny.

Then in a medium bowl measure 1-3/4 cups of all purpose flour …

And I also added in 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder.

Measure and add in 2 teaspoons of salt (I used kosher).

And gently whisk those together and set the bowl off to the side for a moment.

In a small skillet add the 10 tablespoons of butter.

Slowly melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once it reaches a dark amber, color pull it off the heat to cool slightly.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add in the 2-1/4 cups of brown sugar, the browned butter and a teaspoon of real vanilla extract.

Blend those together until combined.

Slowly add in one egg at a time, mixing well after each one.

Now it’s time to add in the dry ingredients.

Gradually add in the flour mixture, mixing after each spoonful.

Stop once all of the flour has been incorporated.

I gave a half cup of almonds a rough chop. They added a deliciously crunchy texture to these bars, which is never a bad thing. However if you have a nut allergy, simply omit this step.

Add the chopped almonds along with 1-1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the blondie batter.

Then give it a good stir by hand until combined. 

Pour and spread evenly into the prepared baking dish and bake at 325ºF for 20-25 minutes.

Let these bars cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

Grab yourself a fork and a tall glass of milk. (The fork is of course optional.)

These blondie bars are quite easy to whip up and yield a chewy, buttery bar. What I love the most is that they have this rich taste of butterscotch about them, without there being an ounce of it in the recipe! They’re incredible and I just know you all are going to love them.

Thank you Sharon for sharing these fantastic bars with us on Tasty Kitchen! 

You guys, Sharon has many more creative and delicious recipes right here in her TK recipe box, like Boozy Bacon Brown Butter Oatmeal Raisin Bars or Cara Cara Orange Sorbet! Be sure to also check out her lovely blog Cheesy Pennies for even more amazing recipes.

Recipe

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

by cheesypennies on August 11, 2011 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts
See this recipe post on cheesypennies’s site! August 11, 2011

Brownies and BarsDesserts

5.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)

Prep Time 15 Minutes

Cook Time 25 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 12

12

• + Print Recipe

Recipe Description

These are exactly what a great blondie should be: sweet, chewy, buttery and full of caramel flavor, with the perfect hit of salt to balance everything out.

Preparation Instructions

The best blondies I’ve ever eaten. As they bake, this smooth little crust forms on top that just melts in your mouth. Awesome! This is an adaptation of a recipe from Clementine, a bakery/restaurant here in LA.

Butter a 13×9 pan and preheat oven to 325ºF.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt together, and set aside.

Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. After the butter melts, continue cooking for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. It may foam up, which is fine. Watch carefully, as your goal is to see the milk solids and salt in the butter begin to turn brown, but you don’t want to have them burn. If they do, the butter will have a very bitter taste. When the butter is a light tan/golden color and begins to smell toasty, immediately remove from heat.

Place brown sugar into a large mixing bowl, then pour in the browned butter and vanilla. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until combined. Blend in the eggs. Add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until dough is smooth and a little bit shiny. Fold in the nuts/chocolate chips by hand.

Spread dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until top is puffed, smooth, and light brown. When you remove the pan from the oven, the top may collapse. This is perfectly fine; it means your blondies will be dense and chewy, just as they should be.

Cool for at least 20 minutes, then serve.

Ingredients

• 1-¾ cup Flour
• 2-½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 10 Tablespoons Butter
• 2-¼ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1-¼ cup Chopped, Toasted Walnuts, Optional
• 1-¼ cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (optional)

 
 
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Laurie is the force behind Simply Scratch, a blog that documents her efforts to find and create recipes that are made simply from scratch. (We think it’s sweet that her mother-in-law helped her set up her blog and get started.) We love her recipes; they’re not just tried and true, but they look gorgeous as well. Check out her blog and you’ll become a fan too.

 
I am kind of a sucker for deviled eggs. Eggs in general I love, but I especially like the possibilities for flavoring and filling the yolks. Deviled eggs are little bites of bliss and a great party food. These Bacon Horseradish Deviled Eggs from TK member Carrie were spectacular. The smokiness from the bacon combined with the sharpness from the horseradish was really otherworldly.

To make these you will need: 3 strips of crispy bacon, 6 hard boiled eggs, pickle juice, horseradish, mustard, mayonnaise, paprika, salt and pepper.

Start by slicing all of your eggs in half with a sharp knife.

Separate the yolks from the whites and place all of the yolks in a bowl.

Add your mayo …

Then your mustard …

And a drizzle of pickle juice …

Along with a nice dollop of horseradish. Yum.

Mash it all together well until it is creamy.

Break up two pieces of the bacon and mix well.

Add spoonfuls of the yolk mixture back into the egg whites and sprinkle the tops with paprika.

Finish by breaking up the last piece of bacon and garnishing the tops with it. These are crunchy, creamy, salty and delicious. You will adore them. Thank you to Carrie for this delicious treat. Visit her website Kiss My Whisk for other great recipes!

Recipe

Bacon Horseradish Deviled Eggs

by Kiss My Whisk on April 20, 2013 in Appetizers, Canapes
See this recipe post on Kiss My Whisk’s site! April 20, 2013

AppetizersCanapes

0.00 Mitt(s) 0 Rating(s)

Prep Time 15 Minutes

Cook Time 10 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 12

12

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Recipe Description

Deviled eggs with bacon and a kick of horseradish!

Preparation Instructions

Peel hard boiled eggs under cold water. Carefully cut hard boiled eggs in half and remove yolks.

Mash/stir together egg yolks, mayonnaise, pickle juice, mustard and horseradish. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Break 2 slices of bacon into pieces and mix in. Taste mixture to see if any seasoning adjustment is needed.

Spoon yolk mixture into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika and garnish with the remaining piece of bacon (broken into pieces).

Ingredients

• 6 whole Hard Boiled Eggs
• 3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Pickle Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Prepared Horseradish
• Salt And Ground Black Pepper
• 3 slices Bacon, Cooked Crisp, Divided
• Paprika

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

 
Lamb lovers, you will love me for this one. Ok, actually, you will love Tasty Kitchen members (and sisters!) Vanessa and Ingrid for this one. Their recipe for Lamb Meatballs in a Spicy Curry might seem like an ordinary meatball recipe, but the secret is in the sauce. Truthfully, these are no ordinary meatballs. Drown meatballs in a curry that’s spiced just right, and they become a fun and exotic meal. And as far as curries go, this one comes together pretty quickly!

To get started, get out the ingredients you’ll need: lamb, Madras curry paste (I used homemade curry paste but store-bought is fine), water, salt, onion (I used 2 medium onions instead of 1 large onion), garlic, fresh ginger, ghee (or you can use butter), tomato paste, and parsley (instead of cilantro). You can use cilantro (fresh coriander leaves), but I am one of the unfortunate cilantro-averse people who taste soap instead of the loveliness that everyone else tastes when they eat cilantro. It’s genetic, what can I say? Such a shame though.

Alright, I’m over it.

Crush the garlic.

Dice the onion.

Chop the parsley (or cilantro). I sort-of went chop-crazy and minced it without realizing that the recipe just called for a rough chop. Oops!

Add the lamb, cumin, ginger, and salt to a large bowl and give it a good mix with your hands.

Then shape the meat mixture into meatballs about 1 tablespoon big. Please excuse the meat all over my hands. It’s the price you pay when rolling meatballs, but it’s oh-so-worth-it, especially for a dish this good.

All lined up and ready to go!

Melt the ghee (or butter) in a large skillet over medium heat and add the meatballs.

Brown them on both sides. I cooked the meatballs a little longer than the recipe says to let them get nice and brown on each side, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. I like them to develop a nice deep color. Oh, and I had to cook the meatballs in 2 batches so the skillet wasn’t overcrowded.

Don’t forget to let the excess oil drain off the meatballs by putting them onto a paper towel-lined plate. Notice that even though the meatballs are nicely browned, they aren’t cooked all the way through, so don’t taste one yet (you’ll finish cooking them in the curry sauce).

And now get back to that same skillet! It’s like gold at this point, with all the nice brown bits in the bottom. You might need to add more oil to the skillet if your lamb was really lean; otherwise, if your lamb wasn’t so lean, drain off all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the pan.

Still over medium heat, add the onion and scrape up those gorgeous brown bits from the bottom.

You can add the garlic at the same time like the recipe says, but I like to give the onion a little head start. I cook the onion until it starts to soften and brown, about 5 minutes. Don’t forget to stir!

Then I add the garlic, stir it around, and cook it until it’s fragrant, about 1 minute.

Now add the curry paste. It should be starting to smell insanely delicious!

Stir it in and cook for another minute.

Stir (or whisk) in the water.

Add the tomato paste …

And give it a stir.

Bring the sauce up to a boil, then cover and simmer it until thickened. This took about 5 minutes for me.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and let them finish cooking (covered), about 5 minutes.

And it’s ready! Don’t forget to sprinkle the cilantro (or parsley) on top.

You can serve this beautiful dish “rustic-style” right out of the pan it was cooked in. Love when that happens.

Vanessa and Ingrid suggest serving this curry with rice and/or roti and adding a dollop of yogurt or raita on top; both suggestions sound fabulous to me. I eat curries the way normal people eat soup or stew, so I ate this as-is, but for my hubby I made a quick basmati rice pilaf to serve alongside. It got a thumbs-up from both of us.

Thanks to sisters Vanessa and Ingrid for their delicious recipe! Be sure to check out their beautiful blog Food Opera for more of their tasty dishes!

Recipe

Lamb Meatballs in a Spicy Curry

by Vanessa and Ingrid on March 16, 2013 in Lamb, Main Courses
See this recipe post on Vanessa and Ingrid’s site! March 16, 2013

LambMain Courses

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time 10 Minutes

Cook Time 20 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 4

4

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Recipe Description

I used to be a bit overwhelmed by the amount of spices needed to cook a curry, and with a 3 1/2-year-old and a 1-year-old, I’m really time poor. I want easy, everyday dishes, but I certainly don’t want to compromise on taste. This is a great weekday family curry recipe for those with busy lives.

Preparation Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add the mince, cumin, ginger and salt, and using clean hands, mix until combined. With wet hands to prevent sticking, roll into tablespoon-sized balls.

2. In a large frying pan, on a medium heat, melt the butter and brown the meatballs, turning for 2-3 minutes. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Set aside.

3. Using the same pan (add more butter if needed), fry the onion and the garlic until soft.

4. Add the Madras paste, mix through and fry for a further minute. Add the water and stir through.

5. Add the tomato paste, stir, bring sauce back to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes until thickened.

6. Drop the meatballs into the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Serve on rice and/or with roti, scatter coriander and add a dollop of natural yoghurt or store-bought raita.

Notes:
1. You can make most of this curry ahead of time, just hold back dropping the browned meatballs into the sauce until five minutes before serving.
2. You could add some greens to the dish, Add frozen peas or spinach into the sauce 5 minutes before serving.
3. Chicken mince will also work well with the flavours of this dish.
4. This curry sauce freezes well.

Ingredients

• 1-⅔ pound Lamb Mince
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Grated Fresh Ginger
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Butter Or Ghee
• 1  Large Onion, Peeled And Finely Diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Crushed
• 4 Tablespoons Madras Paste
• 1 cup, 4 tablespoons, ¾ teaspoons, 1-⅞ pinches Boiling Water
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• ½ cups Coriander Leaves, Roughly Chopped

 
 
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Faith Gorsky is the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind the blog An Edible Mosaic. She lives in Upstate New York and loves to travel, especially to places steeped in rich culture and history. She also enjoys reading, vintage shopping, watching movies, and is enamored with ancient cultures. She just released her first cookbook, “An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair” (Tuttle Publishing), a collection of authentic Middle Eastern recipes handed down to her from her husband’s family.

 
This Walnut Crusted Chicken from Elaine seemed simple at first but blew me away with just how flavorful it was. And I just love how protein packed it is with the walnut crust and juicy dark meat. It is healthy without making you feel deprived.

To make it you will need: toasted walnuts, panko breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, cayenne, mustard, an egg white, and chicken thighs.

Blitz your walnuts in a food processor until they are fine, like breadcrumbs. If you don’t have time to toast them first, that is fine because they will brown in the oven later.

In a bowl combine the panko, cayenne and salt, and stir.

In a second bowl combine the egg white with the mustard. Instead of Dijon, I used a spicy coarse mustard, which was wonderful. You can get creative with what you have. Sriracha would even be great.

Add the walnuts to the breadcrumb mixture and stir.

Coat a chicken thigh in the egg white mixture on all sides.

Then transfer it to the breading and coat it well. Repeat this until all of your meat is well covered.

Place the chicken in a greased baking dish and pop it in a 450ºF oven for about 30 minutes.

The result will be a very juicy tender inside and a crunchy outside.

You won’t be able to get enough of this dish! It is so healthy and satisfying. Thank you so much to Tasty Kitchen member Elaine for this recipe. Check out her absolutely stunning website and food photography at Hungry Brownie.

Recipe

Walnut-crusted Chicken

by Elaine { Hungry brownie } on April 19, 2013 in Main Courses, Poultry
See this recipe post on Elaine { Hungry brownie }’s site! April 19, 2013

Main CoursesPoultry

4.33 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)

Prep Time

Cook Time

Difficulty Easy

Servings 4

4

• + Print Recipe

Recipe Description

Easy and crispy walnut-crusted chicken thighs you will surely love.

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a shallow dish, combine panko breadcrumbs with cayenne and salt. Set aside.

Grind toasted walnuts in a food processor until nicely chopped then combine them with the breadcrumb mixture.

Whisk egg white with Dijon mustard in a separate shallow bowl. Mix well.

Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Dip each chicken in the egg white mixture, then into the walnut mixture to coat. Press firmly then place chicken on the baking sheet. Repeat until you go through all your chicken pieces.

Bake until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

Serve with rice or mixed greens. Best if paired with sweet-chili sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• ½ cups Panko Breadcrumbs
• ⅛ teaspoons Ground Cayenne Pepper
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ½ cups Toasted Walnuts
• 1  Large Egg White
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1-½ pound Boneless Chicken Thighs, Washed And Patted Dry
• Salt And Pepper, to taste

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.