This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!
Chocolate Turtle Pie Yield: Serves about 10 people Ingredients
So, let’s discuss slow cookers. Everyone knows slow cookers are wonderful. You can use them to make extremely simple or gourmet dishes. My first solo experience with a slow cooker was my freshman year in college. I would make sweet potatoes in the slow cooker all of the time. Pretty much that’s all I ate ever. I realize this sounds peculiar, but have you ever made a sweet potato in a slow cooker. It is really delicious.
Oftentimes, I think people associate slow cookers with casseroles and soups. It’s true, those are great ways to use them, but you can use them for a whole lot more. And that’s what I wanted to showcase in this recipe. But first, let me share some slow cooker tips.
The flavor is in the brown
Do yourself a flavor (I hate that joke but I couldn’t resist) and spend 4 minutes of your day browning your meat before putting it in the slow cooker. You’ll be rewarded with an incredible depth of flavor in the finished dish.
Don’t peek!
Keep that lid closed! I know it’s tempting to get a sneak peek and a quick whiff, but the heat will escape from the inside and it will take a while for the temperature inside the slow cooker to return to what it was.
Don’t overfill it
Slow cooking works when the heat can properly circulate inside the slow cooker. If it’s too crowded, your ingredients will cook unevenly.
Put your vegetables on the bottom
Vegetables require more time to cook than meat, so placing them at the bottom will ensure they cook quicker.
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken and Vegetables
Ingredients
6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces baby carrots
1 sweet onion, quartered
16 ounces red potatoes, quartered
Rosemary
Thyme
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 head broccoli
Directions
Brown chicken thighs on stove 2 to 3 minutes per side, set aside
Drizzle a little olive oil in your 5-6 quart slow cooker and spread garlic on bottom
Add layers of the onion, carrots, red potatoes, and chicken thighs
Sprinkle rosemary and thyme on top
In small bowl, combine brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes and pour on top of chicken thighs
Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours or high for 3 hours
Add broccoli on top of chicken thighs, and cook for another hour
Garnish with more fresh herbs and slivers of almonds if desired
A lot of times the content I produce for this blog and my segments is food that I don’t eat as a meal. Let’s face it, you’ve seen a lot of cookies and cupcakes around here. And contrary to popular belief, I don’t just go and eat those treats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That’s why it’s extra special when my recipe becomes my meals for the week, as was the case this week for this flu-fighting soup.
To be completely honest, I was shocked by how wonderful this soup tasted. I expected it to be good, but I couldn’t believe how much the individual flavor profiles within the soup stood out. You can really taste the ginger and the lime and the cilantro, but it all blends so well together.
I’ve eaten this every single day for the past week now, and I haven’t gotten tired of it.
What really makes this soup so special is the fact that I created it using ingredients known to fight off flu and colds. Those ingredients include ginger, garlic, onion, turmeric, and mushrooms. If you google search “What to eat to get rid of flu,” those are the ingredients that repeatedly appear, so I really recommend making this soup at the first sign of a cold.
Flu-Fighting Soup Yield: Makes about 10 servings Ingredients
2 large carrots, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms (I used canned, whole mushrooms, but it’s your preference)
6 scallions (or about 1/2 bunch), chopped
2 cloves garlic (about 2 teaspoons), minced
3 Tablespoons red curry paste
1 1/2 Tablespoons ginger, minced
2 teaspoons turmeric
6 cups chicken broth
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 pounds chicken, cooked and shredded
1 (8 ounce) box brown rice noodles
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Optional: Avocado, limes, or more cilantro for serving
Directions
Heat large soup pot to medium heat with a little bit of oil; add carrots and sauté until soft, or about 5 minutes
Add red pepper and mushrooms, and sauté for another two minutes
Add scallions, garlic, and ginger, and sauté for one minute
Add red curry paste and turmeric and sauté for 30 more seconds
Pour in chicken broth, coconut milk, and lime juice; bring to boil then reduce to simmer
Add chicken and noodles and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until noodles are al dente
Right before serving, stir in cilantro
Serve soup with sliced avocado, lime wedges, or more cilantro
Slow Cooker Version
If you want to adapt this recipe for a slow cooker, simply dump all ingredients except chicken, noodles, and cilantro in slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours. You may want to microwave your carrots for about a minute first just to make sure they're soft enough.
Once the 6 hours is up, add chicken and noodles and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes in the slow cooker, or until the noodles are al dente. Right before serving, stir in the cilantro.
Cooking pasta is one of the most basic tasks for anyone who is new in the kitchen. How difficult can it be — all you do is add noodles to boiling water, right? Well, actually there’s a little more to it than that in order to ensure you get the tastiest pasta possible. Here are a few of the tips I follow:
Heavily salt the pasta water once it starts boiling. Emphasis on the word “heavily.” Like 2 Tablespoons per pound of pasta. Why? The pasta is absorbing the water while it cooks. So if the water is heavily seasoned, the pasta will absorb it and taste better. Add the salt after the water starts boiling so it doesn’t evaporate ahead of time.
Bring your water to a rolling boil, not a simmer. The force of the boiling water will ensure that your noodles don’t stick together. Previous generations believed adding olive oil to the pasta was the answer to this “impastable” problem. But actually, the olive oil creates an oily film on your noodles, and as a result, the sauce doesn’t stick to the pasta as well. You should already be cooking your pasta in a big enough pot to generate a rolling boil without the water spilling over. Bit if you don’t have a big enough pot, just cook the noodles in smaller batches.
Do not walk away from your pasta while it’s cooking! Stir the pasta every minute or so to prevent the pasts from sticking together. Or if you want a workout, go ahead and gently stir the noodles the entire time.
Drain your pasta, but dot not rinse it with cold water. Your pasta comes out of the pot coated with a starchy film. This film helps sauces adhere to the pasta. The film will rinse off if you rinse the pasta in cold water. The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is if your are making a cold pasta salad.
That being said, I absolutely did not rinse the spaghetti for this recipe. It’s very important that all of the ingredients stick well to the pasta to help keep it in a nest shape.
Spaghetti and Meatball Bites
Yield: Makes about 24 pasta bites
Ingredients
1/2 pound spaghetti noodles
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups marinara sauce, divided
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
24 meatballs
Basil, if desired
Directions
Cook spaghetti to al dente, about 7 minutes; drain and let cool
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Combine cooled spaghetti with beaten eggs, 1 cup marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and garlic powder
Spray muffin cups with nonstick spray
Twist spaghetti on fork and set in cavity in cupcake pan
Spoon 1 tablespoon marinara sauce over each spaghetti “nest” and place meatball on top
Sprinkle more parmesan cheese over the top of each meatball
Bake for 20 minutes or until meatballs are heated through and cheese is melted
Sprinkle basil on top and serve with more marinara sauce if desired
There's nothing more special than Christmas morning. I know a lot of people who like to wake up early to open presents, but that's never been the case with me. It's the one day of the year when I know I don't have anywhere to be, and I can stay under my heating blanket for as long as I want.
Since there's no rush, there's plenty of time to create fun Christmas morning breakfast. There are a lot of tasty breakfast options, but I try to stick with the holiday theme as much as possible.
The Christmas morning recipe I'm featuring this year is a Breakfast Pizza Wreath. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this sooner. I mean, pizzas already kind of look like wreaths when you're hungry enough. All I had to do was use a circle cookie cutter to take out the center. It doesn't get easier than that.
I also created a bow out of red peppers, and I really think that completed the look. Another unnecessary but cool idea is to add a little dill around the edges. I recently decided that dill is the most underrated, festive-looking herb.
Of course, you can add whatever toppings you please, just like you would with a regular pizza. I see a lot of people commenting on my recipe video that gravy would be a good substitute for pesto as well.
This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!
‘Tis the season of giving. And depending on your situation, all of the giving can really add up. It gets pricey once you start to buy gifts for teachers, co-workers, friends, etc. That's why making edible gifts is a great option.
I saw edible cookie dough (cookie dough without eggs) sold in cute little jars at the store for the first time recently, and I was inspired to add that to my list of edible gifts.
Sometimes I come up with recipes for my blog, and I honestly don’t know how well they will be received. For example, I really think this edible cookie dough is a good idea to give as a gift.
People love cookie dough, and it’s very different than giving out regular cookies. I really strive to be unique when giving out gifts.
But as I was developing the recipe, there's always the fear that everyone else will think it's silly, and the comments will be so rude, I won't be able to sift through them order to answer people's legitimate questions (yes, this does happen).
That being said, I have gotten more emails about people interested in making this cooking dough than anything else I’ve ever made! So here are a few answers to the questions I’ve been getting!
First of all, I’m calling it "edible" cookie dough because it doesn’t contain eggs and the flour is toasted to kill bacteria. No one wants to give the gift of salmonella or E. coli!
Secondly, you do need to keep it refrigerated just like regular cookie dough. I recommend sticking a label on top that says "Refrigerate" to remind the recipient. Sure, it can stay out of the refrigerator for a few hours to allow enough time to give it as a gift, but stick it back in the refrigerator when possible.
Thirdly, as you can see this recipe contains milk. I initially tried making it without milk, however, I thought it was a little too grainy. You can absolutely use any type of milk your heart desires, whether that be almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, etc. Because of the milk, this will keep up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
I used 8-ounce mason jars to package the cookie dough, but you can use any jar available.
Like I said, I realize this gift is pretty unique and a little unexpected, but everyone loves cookie dough. No one would turn this down!
Edible Christmas Cookie Dough Yield: Makes enough for about 3, 8-ounce jars Ingredients
This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible! I love holiday-themed treats more than anything. Any holiday – Valentine’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween… I just think making holiday treats is so fun. And there’s just something so special about Christmas treats.
Last year, you may remember that reindeer brownies for National Brownie Day, which is December 8. They were a total crowd pleaser! Everyone wanted one!
This year I wanted to do the same concept except with presents instead of Christmas trees!
It is very rare that I use a box mix for anything, but in this case you should definitely use a box mix. The reason being is that you’re already going to decorate these brownies so why create even more work for yourself?
This Ghirardelli mix is my absolute favorite. But I always doctor it up by substituting the water for milk and the oil for Challenge butter. The brownies will taste so much richer!
Christmas Present Peppermint Brownies Yield: Makes 16 brownies Ingredients For the brownies
Line 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick baking spray; set aside
Mix the milk, butter, and egg in bowl. Add the brownie mix and stir until well blended.
Spread mix into pan and bake for 26 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean
Remove from oven and let cool completely
Once cooled, lift parchment out of pan
For the buttercream frosting
Beat softened butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Add powdered sugar, cream, vanilla extract, peppermint extract and salt and mix on low speed until combined and then increase to high speed for 3 minutes.
Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick.
Frost brownies before cutting into squares
Use red cookie icing to make cross in center of each brownie
Create cross by standing up 4 M&Ms in center of brownies
