A non-chocolate no-bake recipe!

I've been in a baking mood lately, and last week I tried two new cookie recipes. Here's one of the recipes:

Peanut Butter and Honey No-Bake Cookies
courtesy of allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/3 whole milk (I substituted almond milk)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 pinch salt
1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used smooth)
3 1/2 cups instant oatmeal (I used regular oats)

Directions:
Combine butter, milk, sugars and honey in a pan and cook over medium heat. Bring to a boil for at least 2 minutes (the recipe says 90 seconds but that is not long enough!). Add the salt and peanut butter, mix and immediately add the oatmeal. Stir to combine, add extra oatmeal if needed (I did, ended up being at least 4 cups of oatmeal).Drop the dough by spoonful onto parchment paper and allow to set up for 2 hours.

These cookies were good but they aren't my favorites. One person described them as "soggy", which is never a good adjective when it comes to food! However, another person told me they LOVED them and asked when I was bringing more. I guess it's all about personal taste!

Mexican Chicken Chili in the crockpot

My sister gave me the Taste of Home Slow Cooker magazine for Christmas, and I decided to try a crockpot chili recipe from it. The recipe is super fast to put together, and I only modified it slightly.

The recipe says to brown the chicken in a skillet first and cube it, but I omitted that step and just put the chicken into the crockpot while frozen. After it cooked for 8 hours I shredded the chicken and mixed it back in with the other ingredients, which makes for almost no prep time at all!

The magazine recipe is very similar to this recipe. The only changes are to add an additional can of tomatoes, use real chicken, frozen corn instead of canned, only one 14 ounce can of broth, add extra green chilies and to season with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
I would make this recipe again, but next time I'm going to reduce the broth by half. This recipe turned out more like soup than chili.

Should-have-been Vegetarian Cassoulet

I have been cooking extensively from the Quick-Fix Vegetarian cookbook (by Robin Robertson), and you're going to be seeing several more recipes in the coming week from this book.

I made her Quick Stove-Top Cassoulet recipe, with one big modification. I used regular pork sausage instead of veggie sausage - it's what I had on hand. I did feel a little guilty for subbing a meat product into a vegetarian recipe, but oh well. I didn't add any additional salt to the recipe either, as there was plenty from the pork and broth (if you don't get no-added salt beans or tomatoes you'd be getting even more, too).

Cassoulet "is a rich, slow cooked bean stew or casserole" - it's really not that similar to our regular American casseroles as this recipe was cooked exclusively in a pan on the stove. There was no oven time at all.

Directions:I cooked the sausage in a very large skillet over medium heat, and when done removed them from the pan and cut into small pieces. I then put the carrots, onions and garlic in the pan, covered and cooked until soft.Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, and thyme, cover and cook until veggies are tender. Add the sausage back into the mixture, get everything warmed and cover with the bread crumbs.
I actually really enjoyed this recipe, although I'm not so sure about the bread crumb topping. I put in the recommended amount but it seemed a little too grainy for my tastes. Next time I'll probably only put a 1/2 cup in.

Lemony Tuna, Olive, and Veggie Pasta

Do you have a recipe that you can fall back on when you're too tired to cook and are contemplating having pizza delivered? This is my fall-back recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Lemony Tuna, Olive, and Vegetable Pasta
from mediterrasian.com (I've doubled the recipe to ensure leftovers!)

Ingredients:
1lb pasta
24 green beans (trim ends and cut in half)
2 red peppers, julienned
12 ounces canned tuna
6 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small can diced black olives
2 tablespoons flat parsley
2 tablespoons capers, chopped
2 cloves garlic (diced)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (I omit this)
1 teaspoon sea salt (I omit this)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Cook the pasta, adding the green beans and red peppers to the pot for the last 8 minutes of cooking.Mix the tuna, olive oil, lemon juice, olives, parsley, capers, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a bowl. Drain the pasta, return to the pot and top with the sauce mixture. Toss to combine. Enjoy!My variations: throw the garlic cloves in the water at the same time as the beans and peppers. Let it cook and mash it before adding to the sauce mixture. You can substitute any veggies in this recipe - I love adding peas in place of the beans.

Jamaican Red Bean Stew

I recently made my first recipe out of the Quick-Fix Vegetarian cookbook, by Robin Robertson. I decided to make Jamaican Red Bean Stew, which is made in the crockpot. I love crockpot recipes, is there anything better than coming home to a meal that is ready to eat?

You can find this recipe here. Visit Robin's website here.

Just throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and set on low for 8 hours.I enjoyed this recipe, but next time I'm going to add some celery or corn to add a little texture to the dish.

New Year, New Spinach Dip

We were invited to a New Year's party at our friend's house in Seattle, and of course I immediately started planning what to bring. I came across this recipe, and it was a huge hit (I did adapt it a little bit)! I got so many compliments on this dish, and it was ridiculously easy to make.

Spinach Dip in a Bread Bowl, from allrecipes.com

1 cup Miracle Whip
16oz sour cream
1 package onion soup mix
10oz frozen chopped spinach
1 loaf sourdough bread (round)

In a bowl mix together the miracle whip, sour cream, onion soup mix and spinach. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
Hollow out the bread loaf and fill with the dip. Have a 2nd loaf of bread ready for dipping. Enjoy!

My "special occasion" cake

Along with the pumpkin roll I also made a "Tunnel of Fudge" cake for Christmas. This is my go-to cake for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc. It's so delicious, and I get rave reviews every time I make it.

*Please ignore the weird formatting/font issues in this post. Try as I might, I can't seem to fix it.*

Tunnel of Fudge Cake, from Can I Get the Recipe?
Ingredients - Cake:

3 1⁄2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

13⁄4 cups sugar

6 large eggs

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

21⁄4 cups all-purpose flour

3⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups chopped walnuts (note: I omit the nuts)

For the Glaze

3⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa

4 to 6 teaspoons milk

Directions:

• Center a rack and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the pan.

• Cream the butter on medium speed and gradually add the 13⁄4 cups of regular sugar (NOT the confectioners’), beating until light and fluffy.

• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, beating to blend well.

• By hand, stir in the flour and cocoa until well blended. Stir in the nuts (if using).
  

• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with the spatula.

• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is set and the edges are beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remember, this cake has a gooey center, so your clean toothpick/skewer/ clean knife method will not work!

• Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Flip directly onto a serving plate and unmold. Allow to cool to room temperature, which will take approximately 2 hours.
  

To Make the Glaze

While you’re waiting for the cake to cool, mix your glaze: Combine the confectioners’ sugar, unsweetened cocoa, and 4 teaspoons of the milk. Stir until the glaze has a smooth texture. Add more teaspoons of milk in order to get it to the right consistency for drizzling.

To Finish the Cake

When the Tunnel of Fudge Cake has reached room temperature, gently spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing some to roll down the sides. Serve.

I serve this cake with homemade whipped cream (heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar whipped until peaks form). You could also try serving it with creme fraiche.