Recipes – Page 2

Triple Berry Coffee Cake

It’s no secret that I have an addiction for triple iced espressos served over ice with a splash of half & half. I will seek out my favorite coffee houses for the best variations of my drink. My Mom has her go-to’s from Starbucks and even as a baby Payton shared the same love for Starbucks’ very berry coffee cake. There is just something about the airy cake studded with fresh berries topped with a light buttery streusel that makes the dreariest of mornings bright. It tastes even better with a bold cup of espresso.

My “copycat” recipe isn’t reduced fat like Starbucks’ but it is pretty darn close in terms of flavor. I have made a few versions and this one was the best! This version skips the streusel because I wanted a lemony glaze instead. I hope you enjoy it just like my family does.

Triple Berry Coffee Cake

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

A copycat version of Starbucks' very berry coffee cake.

Author: Melissa

Recipe type: Breakfast & Breads

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

For the Loaf:
¾ cup all purpose flour + 1 tablespoon
¾ cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup blueberries
½ cup blackberries
½ cup raspberries
For the glaze:
1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease bottom and sides of bundt pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the fresh berries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing cake to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
While the loaf is cooling,
To make the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, the lemon juice and the milk. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of milk if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides. Let the glaze harden slightly before serving.

Goldfish cracker Crusted Mac ‘n Cheese #Goldfishmix

This post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GoldfishMix #CollectiveBias

I realize the New Year has just begun, but I have to tell you that there is just something about the Winter months that make me crave comfort foods. In SoCal, we’re actually experiencing Winter-like weather so the craving of comfort foods has been insane. I have also been brainstorming comfort-type foods to bring to the annual big game party. I think I accomplished all my goals with this simple mid-week meal that can be made ahead for guests, for a quiet night in with the kids or to bring to a party. You must try my version of creamy mac ‘n cheese with a buttery, crisp and decadent Goldfish cracker crust.

I know you’re probably asking yourself, Melissa, did you just say Goldfish cracker crust? Yes, I sure did people! I know I might be channeling my inner grandma here but we’re not talking crushed potato chips on top of tuna noodle casserole. We’re talking about a grown-up version of mac ‘n cheese that takes the cute Goldfish crackers we have all grown to love, crushed with all it’s buttery goodness atop creamy noodles chock full of cheese. You might seriously thank me for bringing Goldfish crackers to the dinner table.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Goldfish cracker Crusted Mac 'n Cheese

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

A twist on an all-American comfort food. This mac 'n cheese takes the Goldfish crackers we all enjoy and love to the next level by adding a buttery crust to the creamy mac 'n cheese.

Author: Melissa

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 pound Elbow Macaroni
½ stick Butter
8 oz. Extra Sharp Cheddar
8 oz. Colby Cheese
2 cups Whole Milk
¼ cup Flour
1 Egg
2 tsp Ground Mustard
2 tsp Fresh Thyme
salt & pepper to taste
Crust:
1.5 cups Crushed Whole Grain Goldfish crackers
¼ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
½ stick Butter

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a boil
Boil pasta to al dente, do not overcook pasta.
Meanwhile, grate your cheeses. In a pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk flour and butter together and keep stirring for roughly five minutes until you have a blonde color.
Pour milk into flour/butter mixture. Stir for another five minutes or so until it begins to thicken.
Crack your egg into a separate bowl and scramble. Add in a few spoonfuls of milk/flour mixture to temper the egg. Mix the tempered egg back into the pot.
Add in the cheese, ground mustard, salt and pepper.
Once the pasta is cooked add the hot pasta to the cheese mixture. Mix until combined.
Taste for seasoning and add in fresh thyme.
Coat a baking dish and spoon in mac 'n cheese. Top with an additional sprinkling of cheese and then crumb topping.
Crust:
In a small bowl combine: crushed Goldfish crackers, panko breadcrumbs and melted butter. Mix until combined. Top onto mac 'n cheese.

If the mac ‘n cheese isn’t enough comfort food fun, I went even further with my love for Goldfish crackers and whipped up my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. But, instead of just plain ‘ole chocolate chips I added: caramel filled chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and pretzel Goldfish crackers. I mean, if you thought you were going to just “wow” everyone on game day you can pretty much seal the deal with these sweet & salty pretzel Goldfish cracker cookies. It’s basically like a Take 5 bar wrapped up into a cookie! Yum!!

Bring a smile to any table with my Goldfish cracker crusted mac ‘n cheese and my gooey pretzel Goldfish cracker cookies. You can find Goldfish crackers on the cracker & cookie aisle at Walmart. Goldfish cracker cartons are on Rollback right now!

You can find additional Goldfish cracker recipes by visiting their Facebook page or by following them on twitter at @GoldfishSmiles

Pumpkin-Apple Spice Cheesecake with Rolled Oat Crumble

No matter what the holiday is I am the one in charge of creating the desserts. Before it was me, it was my Dad and before him, my Grandma. It’s like the passing of the torch per se. I can never bake the same dessert, I wish I could because it would be a lot simpler to just re-create the recipes my family has already approved. But if you know me, you know I like a challenge and a baking challenge is always right up my alley. No matter what the dessert spread always includes: pumpkin pie for my sister because it’s the only pie she likes, there’s apple for my husband because that’s what he likes and typically there’s a cheesecake for my Mom and I. The kids never seem to mind what there is as long as there’s plenty of cookies and whipped cream involved. For Thanksgiving I baked the most amazing pumpkin bourbon cheesecake. For Christmas, I felt that I could jazz that recipe up and create a spin on my favorite, dutch apple cheesecake, creating my newly developed pumpkin-apple spice cheesecake with rolled oat crumble. Doesn’t it sound so heavenly decadent? I mean, the name in itself is a mouthful to say so why not make it the most amazing holiday dessert all wrapped into one?!?

This decadent cheesecake will complete any dessert spread for the holidays and if you’re the giving type, it makes an even better present to give to neighbors and friends alike! You can make this cheesecake as individuals, mini’s or as an 8″.

If you’ve ever baked a cheesecake you know that it takes time. If you’re baking a cheesecake with many layers it will take even longer to prep. Make sure to give yourself enough time for prep and chilling. A good cheesecake needs to rest and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Gingersnap Oat Crust: Gingersnap Cookies, Rolled Oats & Butter

Rolled Oat Crumble: Oats, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar & butter

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Filling: Cream Cheese, Pumpkin, Brown Sugar, Eggs, Flour, Spices & Sour Cream

Pumpkin-Apple Spice Cheesecake with Rolled Oat Crumble

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

Add this decadent cheesecake to your holiday spread or gift to neighbors and friends this holiday season.

Author: Melissa

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

Crust:
20 Ginger Snap Cookies
¼ cup Quaker Oats Quick Oats
½ stick Melted Butter
Filling:
2 (8oz.) packages Cream Cheese
1 cup + 2 tablespoons canned Pumpkin Puree
2 Eggs
4 tablespoons Sour Cream
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Fresh Ground Nutmeg
2 tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 Apples, thinly sliced and diced.
Crumble:
½ cup All-Purpose Flour
¼ cup Quaker Oats Quick Oats
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
¼ tsp Cinnamon
¼ cup Butter, cold and diced into ½-inch cubes

Instructions

This recipe will make: six 3" individual, three 3" individuals + eight cupcake size, one 8", or 24 mini cheesecakes.
Preheat oven to 350*F
Prepare crust by combining cookies in a food processor. Pulse until a fine crumb is achieved. Toss any large chunks of cookies that didn't process. Add in Oats and melted butter and pulse until combined.
Add two rounded tablespoons of moist crust crumbs into each individual springform pan (1 tablespoon if mini). Use the back of the spoon (or I like to use my fondant rolling pin) to press down the crumbs, to form a crust.
Prepare the filling-
Beat the cream cheese, pumpkin, eggs, sour cream, sugar and spices, flour and vanilla in a food processor until well combined. (You can also use a hand or stand mixer but since my food processor was already out I opted to minimize the dirty dishes).
Pour filling into prepared crusts.
Top each cheesecake with 1-2 teaspoons of diced apples.
For the streusel:
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, quick oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add cold butter and using fingertips, rub butter into dry mixture until it comes together it small crumbles and pieces of butter are no longer visible. Add 1-2 teaspoons of crumble to each cheesecake.
Bake cheesecakes in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Turn off oven and let cheesecakes sit for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool about 15 minutes. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours minimum or overnight.
For a large (8") Cheesecake- Follow general directions above. Press crust into the botom of a 8" springform pan. Prepare filling (as listed above). Bake cheesecake 1 hour, let cool in oven for 20 minutes and then remove. Cool 15 minutes at room temp and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before serving.

You can find the limited edition Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Oats 42oz & Quaker Oats Quick Oats 42oz winter canisters exclusively at Target. Pick up a canister for all of your holiday baking and breakfast needs! Plus you can use this coupon to save on your purchase!

Mexican Street Fair Corn Salad {Elotes}

One of our favorite things to get at the San Diego Fair is the roasted corn. It’s so simple, the kids love it and apparently it’s a fair standard, you can tell just by the line alone! This year I noticed that they added, Elotes, a Mexican corn salad. The corn salad is served with mayo which I happily declined but has buttery corn, plenty of cotija cheese, cilantro and lime. To the side of the stand you can add as much chili and tapatio as you wish. After The Fourth of July we had several ears of corn leftover so I decided to recreate this new fair fav!

Mexican Street Fair Corn Salad

Ingredients:

3 ears of roasted corn, cut off the cob (here’s a great tutorial)
1/2 stick of butter
1-2 tsp chili powder
salt, to taste
1/4-1/2 cup cotija cheese
2 TB cilantro, chopped
tapatio, to taste
fresh lime

Directions:

In a skillet melt the butter. Once melted, add the corn and heat through until warm. Toss the corn with the chili powder, use more or less depending on your taste. Season with salt.
Toss the warm corn with desired amount of cheese. I added additional on top, because let’s face it, everything is better with more cheese! Add a few dashes of tapatio and garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Enjoy! Now you can enjoy the flavors of the fair all Summer long.

Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Bake #choosesmart #collectivebias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

How has the Fourth of July already passed? It’s crazy how fast the days are passing. The last week has been really fun! The in-laws came into town from New Jersey and then we took a quick getaway to Las Vegas for our seventh anniversary. Before I could blink it was already Wednesday and we had my parents and sisters family coming into town to celebrate the Fourth. I was in the South part of town and decided to check out the new Smart & Final vs. going to deal with the crowds at Costco. I was so surprised with the new store, it might actually be the nicest Smart & Final I’ve ever been into! I was seriously blown away with the produce and meat departments and the staff was super friendly so that was a bonus! While I was out shopping for the festivities I also needed to pick-up dinner for the following evening. I wanted to create an easy meal that everyone would love, so I went with one of my favorite weekday recipes, my roasted vegetable enchilada bake. I normally make this casserole vegetarian, but I wanted it to be a little more hearty for the others in the family. In addition to the fresh roasted veggie layer, I added layers of shredded rotisserie chicken (which was $5.99 for a three pound chicken!) and Montecito pinto beans. There is plenty of gooey cheese in each layer that left everyone going back for seconds! I served the warm and perfectly seasoned casserole with creamy avocado, tangy cilantro and cool black olives. Give this recipe a try, your family will love it and you’ll have enough leftovers for lunch during the week! I have to be honest that this was my first time purchasing Montecito brand products from Smart & Final. I am very picky about my tortillas and so is my family. We like them thin and moist and these did not disappoint. The bag was on the larger size ($1.89 vs. the competitors $2.99) so I plan on freezing the remaining tortillas to make this meal again in the weeks to come. You can find the tortillas on an end cap at the Poway store. They are towards the back of the store by the dairy section.

Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Bake Ingredients:

1 Mexican Squash, diced (if you cannot find this use a zucchini)
1 Yellow Squash, diced
1 Red Onion, diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
3 TB Olive Oil
Cooking Spray
20-25 Montecito Corn Tortillas
1 bag Mexican Shredded Cheese
2 cups Montecito Pinto Beans, drained
2 cups Rotisserie Chicken, shredded
1 32-oz can Red Enchilada Sauce

Extras:

Sliced Black Olives
Avocado, sliced
Cilantro, chopped

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350º

Line a baking sheet with parchment and toss your diced vegetables with olive oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes until soft and slightly brown.
Slice tortillas into thick strips (I did not use round edges).
Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray, spread 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom and top with a layer of sliced tortillas.
Top with chicken.
Next add a layer of cheese.
Repeat with tortillas and sauce.
Layer pinto beans and cheese. Top with tortillas and sauce.
Remove the veggies from the oven.
Layer the warm veggies.
Repeat with the last layer of tortillas, sauce and cheese. Bake covered for 15 minutes and then uncovered for 10 minutes until bubbly and brown. Serve with toppings and enjoy!

If you’re anything like me you’ll want to be snacking on chips & salsa and sipping on a refreshing margarita while preparing a delicious meal for your loved ones! Make sure to check-out your nearest Smart & Final, you might be surprised just like I was! Stay connected via Facebook, where they are giving away one gift card per day for two weeks!