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Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipe

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Manhattan Clam Chowder, that “other” soup with clams, highlights the chewy, salty bits from the sea with a tangy tomato base and the subtle smokiness from crispy bacon.

Manhattan Clam Chowder in a white bowl on a grey napkin

Avert your eyes, New England-based readers. I know some of you believe anything with tomatoes in it is no clam chowder at all, but I’m going to offer a little shout out for my Manhattan Clam Chowder.

If you’re willing to give it a try, you just might learn to appreciate this tasty variation!

WHAT ARE THE TWO MAIN TYPES OF CLAM CHOWDER?

New England and Manhattan are the two main types of clam chowder. Comparing Manhattan clam chowder vs New England clam chowder, you’ll find the main difference is in the base. Manhattan clam chowder recipes start with a thinner, tomato broth; New England clam chowder is a thick, cream-based dish.

You’ll definitely find versions in other areas of the country, too, down the east coast in New Jersey and North Carolina, and the Minorcan chowder (named for the type of clams used) in Florida, as well as versions along the west coast. Some have clear broth, some are served in bread bowls (yum!), but they all highlight the tiny mollusk.

Manhattan Clam Chowder in a white bowl on a grey napkin

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOSTON AND NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER?

Although subtle differences do exist between the clam chowders in the New England area (which includes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island), Boston clam chowder is just another name for the same cream-based version known as New England clam chowder.

The cream-based chowder was definitely invented first, and many New England purists still believe adding tomatoes is sacrilege. According to the Manhattan clam chowder Wiki, there was even a law introduced in the 1930s that would prohibit such an abomination. Thankfully that debate didn’t hold water (or at least tomato juice), and most of us enjoy the step-child, Manhattan Clam Chowder, just as much as the white version.

IS MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER RED OR WHITE?

The thing that makes clam chowder Manhattan style is tomatoes, in the form of paste, sauce, and chopped, so it’s known as a “red chowder.” The New England version is known as white clam chowder.

It’s worth noting you’ll find some blending happening between the white and red chowders on restaurant menus, where chefs add cream to a Manhattan style clam chowder. I suppose that means you can find red, white, or pink chowder depending on where you are!

So, back to my Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipe . . .

Manhattan Clam Chowder in a white bowl on a grey napkin

WHAT IS MANHATTAN STYLE CLAM CHOWDER?

Manhattan style clam chowder has salted pork, a few aromatics – usually celery, onions, and a little garlic, with fresh or canned tomatoes, a little tomato paste or sauce mixed with water or stock, potatoes, and, of course, the clams.

Canned clams are often used, though whole, shell-on clams may be cooked directly in the chowder if they’re available.

My easy Manhattan Clam Chowder doesn’t deviate from this formula much, but I think it has just the right consistency, acidity, and overall clam-y quality you’d expect from a really stellar chowder.

The bacon in my recipe adds a lovely smokiness to the dish. Many soup recipes, even those with other types of meat, will start with a pork base.

Depending on the recipe, they may be large pieces (like the sausage in my Chicken Tortellini Soup) or barely discernible bits after everything’s cooked down, but the pork enriches the soup and adds a savory, smoky quality to whatever gets added next.

Some recipes (like the Manhattan clam chowder Martha Stewart makes) use pancetta, a cured but unsmoked Italian bacon, but I definitely prefer the smoked version. As the bacon renders its fat, the aromatics will soak up that subtle smokiness too which adds a depth of flavor that’s discernible even in this tomato-based chowder.

As for the aromatics, in addition to the classic celery/onion/garlic combo, some recipes call for carrots. They do add a subtle sweetness, but I prefer to use a little red bell pepper instead.

It accomplishes the same “sweetening” without the rooty flavor of the carrots, plus they cook more quickly which is a win win.

To ensure a deep, rich tomato flavor I use tomato paste rather than sauce, then deglaze the pan with a little white wine to make sure all the caramelized bits get incorporated. White’s perfect for adding some additional acidity without competing with the bright flavors of the tomatoes.

Manhattan Clam Chowder in a white bowl on a grey napkin

WHAT KIND OF WINE GOES WITH MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER?

I like using pinot grigio when I’m making clam chowder since I usually have it on hand, but a sauvignon blanc will work too. Something more full-bodied (hello, oaky chardonnay) will get lost in all the tomato flavors going on, and a lightly floral white works much better than something sweet like Marsala or sherry.

Time for some tubers! Russet potatoes are my potato-of-choice, and I add them to many soup and stew recipes like my Vegetable Beef Soup because they have just the right starch content to hold their shape during the cooking process without thickening the dish.

We also need some chopped tomatoes, and I like to use canned rather than fresh here since I know they’re consistently ripe. Rather than just dumping them in straight from the can, I like to give them a rough chop to break up those perfect little cubes into something that looks a little more rustic.

Next comes the chowder liquid, and if you look at the Manhattan clam chowder Allrecipes options you’ll see they range from tap water to potent seafood stock. I find a lot of recipes use chicken broth, which is what the Manhattan clam chowder Emeril Lagasse makes calls for, but I like to use clam juice instead.

It really grounds the main flavor we’re after here – the salty, briny quality of the clams and obviously compliments the flavors.

Although I don’t enjoy just drinking it by the glass like some people, I do like to keep clam juice on hand as an easy substitute for seafood stock or water in a seafood dish, plus having some in my pantry means I’ll have an excuse for some impromptu brunch-time Bloody Marys!

I like to add a little Italian seasoning, which I really should call my “house-seasoning” at this point, to my Manhattan Clam Chowder, as well as a bay leaf, then it cooks for a few more minutes – just enough time to heat up some bread and get out your bowls. Soup, er, I mean, chowder’s on!

Manhattan Clam Chowder in a white bowl on a grey napkin

RECIPE NOTES FOR MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER:

Choice clams – In an ideal world, we’d all have access to fresh clams, but most of us, between availability, time, and expense, don’t have that option. Your seafood market may have frozen clams, which are probably the next best thing to fresh, but they can be pricy.

Canned is the way to go for me, and they work beautifully in this chowder. Just try to look for a brand that has limited ingredients (Cento is a popular one), and definitely steer clear of any smoked clams.

Slow cooker – Sure you can make this Manhattan clam chowder recipe slow cooker style! You’ll need to cook your bacon and saute your aromatics first, then place all the ingredients in the crockpot to cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.

Some recipes suggest waiting until the end to add the clams, then finishing the chowder on high for a few minutes until they’re heated through. You can experiment, of course, depending on how hot your crockpot gets, but I find the clams don’t toughen up when they’re cooked on low.

 

Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipe

Manhattan Clam Chowder, that “other” soup with clams, highlights the chewy, salty bits from the sea with a tangy tomato base and the subtle smokiness from crispy bacon.

  • 2 Slices Thick Cut Bacon (Cut Into 1/4 Inch Pieces)
  • 1 1/2 Cup Yellow Onion (Chopped)
  • 1/2 Red Bell Pepper (Chopped)
  • 2 Stalks Celery (Chopped)
  • 6 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
  • Pinch Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
  • 1/2 Cup White Wine
  • 5 8 Ounce Bottles Clam Juice
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dried Italian Seasoning
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 2 Large Russet Potatoes
  • 1 28 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes, Including Juices, Roughly Chopped
  • 6 6.5 Ounce Cans Minced Clams, Drained
  1. Fry the bacon in a large pot over low heat until the fat renders and the bacon crisps, 5-7 minutes. Add the onion, red pepper, celery, garlicand the red pepper flakes and cook over low until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine, maintaining the heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to loosen up the brown bits.
  2. Add the clam juice, Italian seasoning, bay leaf and potatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer, covered until the potatoes are tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices and the drained clams. Cover and simmer on low until clams are heated through. Ladle into serving bowl and sprinkle with parsely.

The post Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipe appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.


Empress Chicken

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Get ready to impress with my Empress Chicken – tender, crispy nuggets of chicken dripping with a sweet and tangy glaze that packs a spicy punch.

Don’t bother looking for an empress chicken Wiki – there isn’t one. But if you’ve perused many Chinese restaurant menus in the U.S. you’ve likely stumbled across this spicy cousin of sweet and sour chicken.

It has a unique breading that creates a crave-able crunch.

The Empress Chicken sauce, a mouthwatering blend of flavors, clings to the crispy exterior like its life depended on it and makes for a dinner time dish that wows with both texture and taste.

WHAT IS THE TASTE OF EMPRESS CHICKEN?

Dishes like Empress chicken taste like the perfect complement of ingredients they are – tangy vinegar with a touch of sweetness; pungent garlic, ginger, and chilies paired with mild chicken. It’s savory and satisfying, with a subtle sweet-and-sour going on.

Empress Chicken has opposing textures too – light, crunchy chicken pieces with a thick, sticky sauce.

Opposites attract, and when they do they make for one special meal, a really meat-centered dish (just like my Hunan Beef) where the focus is on the uniquely crispy exterior and the complexity of the sauce without any superfluous veggies to get in the way!

IS GENERAL TSO CHICKEN THE SAME AS EMPRESS CHICKEN?

Many Chinese-American fried chicken dishes have similar descriptions, but they are different.

Empress Chicken vs General Tso – General Tso Chicken has a darker, soy-based sauce and is spicier than Empress Chicken.

Empress Chicken vs Sesame Chicken – Sesame chicken has sesame oil and seeds, no chilies, and is sweeter than Empress Chicken.

This isn’t one of those dishes you can put together with your eyes closed, but it’s definitely worth the little bit of care it takes to get the chicken cooked to crusty, plump perfection.

HOW DO YOU MAKE EMPRESS CHICKEN?

To make Empress Chicken, you marinate chicken breast pieces, then bread and fry them until crispy.

The sauce gets prepared in the same pan – a combination of soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, green onion, and chilies, then the chicken takes a dip in the sauce before serving.

This recipe uses big chunks of boneless chicken breasts, rather than the sliced chicken breasts you often find in other stir-frys like Mongolian Chicken, and the pieces undergo a magical transformation that requires a flavorful marinade and a special bready coating that creates lots of nooks and crannies for the sauce to stick to.

My Empress Chicken recipe starts with the marinade, and you’ll notice some of the old standbys including egg whites, rice vinegar (a milder, slightly sweet version of regular white vinegar), and cornstarch. These are the necessary ingredients for the classic Chinese cooking technique called “velveting.”

HOW DO I VELVET CHICKEN?

To velvet chicken, you marinate the meat in a combination of egg whites, cornstarch, and rice wine, plus any other seasonings specific to the dish. This technique tenderizes the meat, which is then often blanched (or “passed through”) hot water or oil to protect the meat from overcooking during the stir-fry.

The other ingredients are important in the marinade, but they’re really critical in the upcoming breading step. The egg white helps to tenderize, but it also works as a binder, and the baking soda will lend some poof to the breading while breaking down the proteins in the chicken to ensure that melt-in-your-mouth quality.

The really unusual ingredient in the marinade is vodka.

No, it’s not to sip on while you’re slaving away in the kitchen – it has magic powers that will perfect our breading.

Vodka fights the gluten in the batter which keeps it from getting overly thick and doughy like other versions that use milk or water. It also evaporates more quickly than non-alcoholic liquids which means more (and bigger!) air bubbles that create covetable lacy edges around the chicken and tons of extra crunch.

It’s really a game-changer in this batter, but it’s a secret ingredient you can try in other fried dishes too.

Once the chicken has marinated, we’ll use a whole new batch of dry ingredients, mixed with some reserved marinade, to create a crumbly coating.

You’ll combine the two until the texture resembles breadcrumbs, something like a good piecrust mixture looks before you start adding the cold water. We’ll toss the chicken in this crumb mixture and make sure it’s pressed into the sides of each piece before deep frying.

Yes, the breading/frying process in this recipe is a little more complicated and time-consuming than just rolling the pieces in panko or using a simple tempura batter, but nothing else creates the bumpy, scrumptious, sauce-saving spaces on the surface of the chicken quite like this technique.

The next Empress Chicken ingredients to talk about are the ones for the sauce.

There are only a few, but each works to hit a different flavor receptor on your tongue – salty, sweet, spicy, and sour.

Fresh ginger and garlic provide some wonderful aromatics for the dish too, and you’ll smell them the second they hit the hot wok.

By the way, woks are great at what they do, but not everyone wants to buy a specialized piece of equipment, especially one that’s a pain to clean and store.

Woks also don’t work as effectively on an electric stovetop, for those of us who don’t have a gas range, and you can still create a perfect stir-fry without one of those round, Chinese kitchen staples.

WHAT CAN I USE INSTEAD OF A WOK?

If you don’t have a wok, simply use a large skillet with high, slanted sides. Since there’s less surface area, you’ll just need to avoid overcrowding the pan and cook in batches if necessary.

A large skillet works great (it’s what I use to make dishes like Shrimp Lo Mein), plus you can use a non-stick option to help with clean-up. No need to make a special trip to the Asian market just for this recipe!

The only step left is bringing the heat, which I like to do with a little chopped jalapeno and red pepper flakes, then your restaurant-quality Empress Chicken is ready for the dinner table. I

serve this dish with steamed rice and usually have more fresh chopped jalapenos and pepper flakes on the table since I like a little extra heat.

The sauce is really flavorful on its own, so a simple steamed veggie is all you need to call this a meal. You can even use one of those steam-in-the-bag microwave options.

That should give you just enough time to sneak in a little taste-test of the beautiful chicken you just prepared and pop open a cold Tsingtao.

RECIPE NOTES FOR EMPRESS CHICKEN:

Breading/Frying Tips – Don’t skip the resting step on the wire baking rack.

Not only does it let the chicken tenderize a little while longer, it also helps the coating ingredients stick.

I always pull out my thermometer when I’m doing this kind of frying too, since consistent temperature is critical to cooking the chicken without burning the breading.

If you need to keep some of the chicken warm while you’re batch-frying, put the cooked pieces on a cooling rack set inside a cookie a sheet and place it in a 250 degree oven while you continue frying.

Wok vs. Skillet – If you have a wok, you’ll be able to fry all the chicken at once.

If you end up using something in place of it, you’ll probably need to cook the chicken in batches so you don’t crowd the pan. Overcrowding will reduce the temperature of the oil significantly, and you’ll have soggy, greasy chicken instead of the delicate, crispy morsels we’re after.

Skip the Chicken: Forget Empress Chicken and make Empress Shrimp!

What is Empress Shrimp, you might ask? The same dish but with shrimp instead.

Substitute a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp for the chicken in this dish, and you’ll shave off a few of the Empress Chicken calories.

 

Empress Chicken

Get ready to impress with my Empress Chicken – tender, crispy nuggets of chicken dripping with a sweet and tangy glaze that packs a spicy punch. Skip the Chinese take out tonight and try our recipe for Empress Chicken for dinner instead.

Chicken and Marinade:

  • 1 Large Egg White
  • 2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoon Vodka
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 3 Tablespoon Cornstarch
  • 1 Pound Boneless (Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into 1 Inch Cubes)

Dry Coating:

  • 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Sauce:

  • 1 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 1/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Seasoned Rice Vinegar
  • 3-4 Cloves Fresh Garlic (Minced)
  • 1 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger (Peeled and Grated)
  • 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch

Stir Fry:

  • 1 3/4 Cup Peanut Oil
  • 1 Bunch Green Onions (Thinly Sliced on the Diagonal)
  • 1 Fresh Jalapenos (Seeded and Chopped)
  • 1 Teaspoon Dried Red Chili Flakes
  1.  Make the Marinade: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy. Stir in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar,  and vodka. Pour half of this mixture in a small bowl and set aside. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 3 tablespoons corn starch to the half of the marinade remaining in the large bowl. Add Chicken pieces and using your hands, toss to coat evenly.  Set aside.

  2. Make the Dry Coating: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup corn starch, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in reserved egg marinade and mix, breaking up large clumps, until mixture has coarse, smaller mor granular clumps. Add chicken pieces and using your hands, toss to coat evenly. Press to help coating adhere . Remove well coated chicken pieces, shaking off excess coating, and spread out on a wire baking rack. Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, Make the Sauce: Add all sauce ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
  4. In a wok, heat peanut oil to about 350 degrees. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, carefully lower pieces of dry coated chicken into hot oil, cook, stirring frequently, so pieces don’t stick together, monitoring temperature of oil and maintaining a temperature of 325-370 degrees. Cook until chicken is cooked about 3-4 minutes. Remove cooked chicken to a paper towel lined plate and drain well.

  5. Drain all but 1 tablespoon oil from wok. With the heat on high unitl just smoking, add the half the green onions, jalapeno, and red chili flakes and cook just until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds. Add the chicken back to the wok alnog with the suce and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce has thickened. Garnish with the remaining half of of the green onions and a few red pepper flakes and serve.

The post Empress Chicken appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

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Delicate and decadent, these tangy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are studded with tiny black bits and coated in a sticky-sweet glaze that makes you come back for more . . . even after breakfast! Every bit as good as the ones from the bakery.

If you’ve ever worked in an office, you know there’s only one thing that motivates people to make an early morning meeting – muffins.

We have such a love affair with these little baked goods wrapped in colorful paper cups, and moist Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins always rank high in the top ten favorite ways to greet the day.

Honestly, there are so many muffin varieties (more than we could probably rank on any reasonable list), though, that the line between muffins and cupcakes is starting to get a little blurry!

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MUFFIN AND A CUPCAKE?

The ingredients for making muffins and cupcakes are very similar – flour, sugar, eggs, fat. The difference is that muffins are usually made with oil and cupcakes usually call for butter.

Each produces a different crumb, so the texture itself is usually enough to tell the difference between the two.

Muffins often have “mix-ins,” too, and there’s always the fail-proof way to tell one from the other – the frosting!

If you’re not the office-meetings type, you may just opt to pick up a muffin from your local coffee shop or bakery, but, trust me. Homemade is the way to go here.

These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are super simple to put together, and, since most of those coffee shop muffins have likely been frozen, there’s just no competing with the quality of fresh-from-scratch.

HOW DO YOU MAKE MUFFINS FROM SCRATCH?

Making homemade muffins requires just a few pantry staples.

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another, then combine the two. You can add mix-ins, like blueberries or chocolate chips, or top the batter with streusel, then bake. Using baking cups will make clean-up a snap!

Like many muffin recipes, you can make lemon poppy seed muffins from cake mix, but this recipe comes together so quickly there’s really no excuse not to hop in your kitchen and make up a batch.

Honestly, the cake mix changes the texture a bit, plus it’s harder to control the amount of sugar and lemon.

Everything you need to make these is probably already in your kitchen anyway, and, since they fall into the “quick bread” category, they’ll be warm and ready to eat before you’ve finished your second cup of coffee.

WHAT INGREDIENTS DO YOU NEED FOR MUFFINS?

To make muffins, you need flour, sugar, salt and baking soda or powder, plus eggs, vegetable oil, and milk or some other liquid.

Depending on the specific type of muffin, you may choose to add extra flavor-izers like cinnamon or vanilla or some texture-izers like nuts, oatmeal, or fruit.

Or seeds! These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins have a generous amount of those crunchy little flecks, which provide a lovely contrast to the pale yellow muffins, plus a slightly nutty quality (both in texture and flavor).

Those tiny things also have some health benefits, believe it or not, so that’s all I need as a blessing to eat as many as possible.

There’s also lots of “tart” in these muffins both in the form of buttermilk and lemon . . . lots and lots of lemon.

HOW DO YOU MAKE A LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFIN?

You start with a basic muffin batter and add lemon juice and zest, some additional tang from thick, rich buttermilk, and plenty of poppy seeds.

Then you capitalize on the infusion of lemon by drizzling the tops with a simple lemon glaze to really brighten the flavor.

Fresh lemon juice, especially in the glaze, really is a game changer for this recipe. One of the other things that makes my version stand out in the sea of other lemon poppy seed muffins recipes is the addition of buttermilk.

Many recipes, including the lemon poppy seed muffins Allrecipes options, use sour cream or yogurt to add extra flavor as well as some acidity to prevent too much gluten formation (the same reasons I use cream cheese in my Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake).

Acid breaks down the proteins in the flour to create a more tender, delicate muffin than whole milk.

Both yogurt and buttermilk have lower fat than sour cream which means the crumb is slightly larger, my preference for a good quality muffin.

Surprisingly, even the lower fat options produce a similarly moist result, so it’s an easy way to reduce the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins calories without sacrificing quality.

I choose to make my Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins without yogurt, though, since the moisture content seems to vary a bit from brand to brand. Plus I’m more likely to have buttermilk in my fridge than plain yogurt.

Even with this acidic addition (and all the lemon juice in the batter), I still suggest letting the batter rest for a few minutes before baking just to make sure the muffins are as light and airy as possible.

And keep your hand mixer tucked into a cabinet for this one. A large spoon or spatula swooped through the batter about 10 or 15 times is all you need. Remember, little lemon clouds is what we’re after here!

Once these have baked and cooled a little, you can get out your drizzler (that’s the technical term for my fork) to add the glaze.

This is the same glaze from my Lemon Zucchini Bread recipe, and it’s just two ingredients, but it really is the perfecting step for these muffins.

If you want to stretch the batter a little further (or portion them out less generously for those muffin addicts), you can make about 36 mini muffins with this recipe.

They’ll need a little less baking time than the big guys, so I’d suggest reducing the 400 degree baking step to 10 minutes, then checking them for doneness with the toothpick test after about 7 or 8 minutes at 325 degrees.

Fresh is best for the lemon juice, as I’ve already mentioned, but fresh muffins are also best.

If there’s more self-control at your house and you’re not likely to polish off all twelve off in one sitting, you can bake just a few, then pop the leftover batter in the fridge for another day or two before baking the rest.

It won’t keep much longer than that, only because the baking powder and soda start to lose their poof-ing power, but you can definitely extend your ability to enjoy fresh muffins all week with this little trick.

Muffins make mornings manageable, and these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins take them from “manageable” to “magnificent!”

RECIPE NOTES FOR LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS:

Muffin tin tips – Paper or foil liners (or the reusable silicone option) are a no-brainer when making muffins, but I do occasionally still use a non-stick spray to lightly coat the flat part of the tin around the muffin holes.

This provides a little extra protection if your batter spills out of the sides when they’re baking.

Another tip is to use either a gravy ladle or ice cream scoop to get a consistent amount of the batter into the muffins. The muffins will look more uniform, of course, but they’ll also cook more evenly.

Healthy – If you want to make these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins healthy (or at least improve the good-for-you factor a bit), you can replace some of the oil with unsweetened applesauce.

You can also use half whole wheat flour and half regular all-purpose flour. If you need to make the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins gluten free, you can substitute your favorite gluten-free flour blend (though I’d suggest adding some xanthan gum if the blend doesn’t include it).

If you want to make the gluten free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins vegan, you can try using an alternative egg (made with flaxseed, for example) or omitting it altogether, as well as replacing the buttermilk with a vegan version made with dairy-free milk and apple cider vinegar.

Whether you make these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins vegan or choose another method to make healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, definitely give them a try!

If you make this recipe, or it looks good to you, we’d love for you to rate it below. We love hearing from you so please leave a comment 

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Delicate and decadent, these tangy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are studded with tiny black bits and coated in a sticky-sweet glaze that makes you come back for more! Just like you get from the bakery.

  • 2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
  • 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
  • 1 Large Egg (Lightly Beaten)
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 Cup Buttermilk (Well Shaken)

Glaze:

  • 2-3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 standard muffin tins with paper liners.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and poppy seeds; Set aside.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the vegetable oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, egg, vanilla and buttermilk. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined (do not over mix). Allow batter to sit for 5 minutes.

  4. Spoon batter into prepared baking tin. Bake 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and continue to bake 10 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack.

  5. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Whisk 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice with powdered sugar in a small bowl. Slow add just enough lemon juice to thin the glaze to a thick, but pourable consistency. Use a fork to drizzle muffin tops with glaze.

Source: Gonna Want Seconds originally published on Centsless Meals

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Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts-A Cocktail Classic

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These Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts are a crispy, crunchy nibbler destined for greatness on your next buffet table. A nostalgic cocktail classic that will have everyone raving!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts on a White Rectangular Platter

You know how ranch dressing makes everything better? Well, everything’s even better-er wrapped in bacon!

These Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts are a perfect little bite that will have your flavor buds singing. Sweet and salty, crispy and crunchy. Betcha can’t eat just one!

Should you try water chestnuts wrapped in bacon? Why not!

We love draping bacon over jalapenos (or adding some inside them – Cream Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers), crafting bacon belts for asparagus and tater tots, or even making bacon-flavored meat like hotdogs and steak. Bacon Wrapped Smokies, anyone?

It’s crispy, smoky, and salty – a combination guaranteed to make any savory dish better, and, believe it or not, even some sweet pairings like bacon-dotted chocolate chip cookies benefit from a few crumbles.

Combine bacon with the unique crunch of water chestnuts, and you’ve got a match made in foodie heaven.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts is essentially a simple take on rumaki, a Polynesian-inspired hors d’oeuvre that became really popular in the 1950s and 60s. Rumaki still has a bit of a culinary cult following and even made a couple of cameo appearances in Mad Men.

Okay, side note, Anyone else besides me LOVE Mad Men? Who was your favorite character?

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts on a White Rectangular Platter

WHAT IS RUMAKI MADE OF?

Rumaki is made by stuffing a chicken liver with a water chestnut, then wrapping it in bacon and baking until crispy. The sauces vary a bit, but most have some combination of soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger.

You won’t find any chicken livers in my Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts, which both simplifies the prep and reduces the calorie-count compared to its rumaki origins. At the center of both recipes, though, is the mysterious water chestnut.

If you eat much Chinese takeout, you’ve likely had those mildly flavored, crunchy bits in a stir fry, but what exactly is a water chestnut? As you might suspect, it’s not a nut at all. Water chestnuts are the corm (a fancy word for underwater bulb) of a plant that grows in muddy bogs. The corms do resemble chestnuts in shape and color but don’t have to be roasted to be ready to eat.

Close up of a Single Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnut

CAN YOU EAT RAW WATER CHESTNUTS?

Raw water chestnuts are edible and have a slightly sweet, fruity flavor and crisp texture that makes many people actually prefer the fresh, uncooked version. In China, they’re sold by street vendors as a popular snack.

Canned water chestnuts are what most of us are used to, a version that’s been peeled and blanched before making their way to the grocery store shelves. If you visit an Asian supermarket in your area, though, you’ll find fresh ones in the produce section.

If you can find fresh and want to use them for this recipe, they’ll roast up beautifully. The canned ones are definitely easier to find, though, and obviously easier to prep for cooking with, so that’s what I use.

My recipe for Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnut appetizers only has five ingredients and we’ve already talked about one. Next is the bacon, and we’ll use little pieces to wrap each of our water chestnuts in a salty blanket.

Some recipes suggest pre-cooking the bacon a bit so it’ll crisp more quickly once it gets put in the oven, but I find that’s not only unnecessary but a bit of a pain. Cold bacon holds its shape much better, which means it’s easier to blanket the water chestnuts. If it’s softened, it requires a bit more wrestling.

The water chestnuts will cook long enough in the oven to ensure a nice crispy exterior, so you don’t have to worry about sad, soggy bacon.

How to Cut Bacon for Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

HOW LONG DO YOU COOK BACON WRAPPED WATER CHESTNUTS?

To cook Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts, you’ll place them in the oven for 10 minutes, then add the sauce and cook for about another hour. Once it’s done, the bacon will be crispy and each morsel will be infused with all the wonderful flavors of the sauce.

The sauce is super simple, just a few ingredients that work really well with the cured pork product: ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.

Other cooks keep with the rumaki theme, and when they make Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts soy sauce is the first thing they reach for. Soy definitely adds a wonderful umami flavor to this dish, but I think Worcestershire sauce, which has so many different uses all on its own, has a lot more to offer in the flavor department.

That impossible-to-pronounce sauce has anchovies that add a salty quality, tamarind (which resemble tart dates), garlic, and a touch of chilies to bring a little heat. When you mix it with ketchup, it really produces a pretty complex sauce, especially considering we’re only talking about two items from your fridge!

There are varying degrees of “sweet” for this dish depending on the cook.

Some recipes make a bacon wrapped water chestnuts pineapple version where you nestle a chunk of pineapple in with the water chestnut before wrapping. The added fruit changes the texture, though, and I really like this to be all about the crunch.

There are also bacon wrapped water chestnuts maple syrup versions, replacing some of the brown sugar with this liquid sweetener.  I think the brown sugar is all you need and creates the perfect balance of sweet and salty.

Definitely, don’t skip the foil on the baking sheets in this recipe or else you’ll have an epic clean-up on your hands. Sugar really has a knack for ruining cookie sheets, and the foil makes clean-up a snap. Parchment paper will work too.

How to Make Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

CAN YOU REHEAT BACON WRAPPED WATER CHESTNUTS?

If you’re thinking about serving these at a party, you may be wondering can you make Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts ahead of time. The answer is yes, and they can be reheated in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes.

I don’t like to cook these Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts slow cooker style because the bacon won’t get crispy. You can bake the water chestnuts and bacon until crispy, then add them with the sauce to the crockpot, but they still won’t turn out quite the same. The slow cooker is good at keeping them warm, though, after you’ve finished cooking them in the oven.

With five ingredients and minimal prep time, this is the perfect recipe to pull out for unexpected guests. You can also easily cut it in half if you’re having a Netflix and chill kinda night. Fair warning, though, they’re kind of like that canned potato chip. No one can eat just one!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts on a White Rectangular Platter

RECIPE NOTES FOR BACON WRAPPED WATER CHESTNUTS:

Fire-free zone – If you’re worried about the toothpicks turning this into a flambé dish, you can soak them in cold water for 10 – 30 minutes before you need them. The water helps prevent the sticks themselves from getting too charred during the cooking process.

Bacon – Some like it fatty, some like it lean, but don’t use a thick-cut bacon in this recipe. It takes longer to cook and usually won’t crisp as well. There are some different “flavored” bacons you can experiment with though like Applewood smoked or black pepper-crusted.

I also don’t recommend reducing the fat here with turkey bacon since that’s both literally and figuratively a different animal altogether.

Spice things up – If you want to turn this into a spicy Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts recipe, you can make a Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts Sriracha version by adding 2 – 4 tablespoons to the sauce (or just serve some on the side).

You can also substitute a spicy ketchup for the plain ketchup or make Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts chili sauce style by replacing some of the ketchup with your favorite brand. A touch of cayenne mixed directly into the sauce will work as well.

Bacon Wrapped Waterchestnuts

These Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts are a crispy, crunchy nibbler destined for greatness on your next buffet table. A nostalgic cocktail classic that will have everyone raving!

  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar (Packed)
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 Cups Ketchup
  • 1 Pound Bacon (Slices Cut in Thirds)
  • 2 (8 Ounce) Cans Waterchestnuts (Drained)
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9X13 inch baking dish with aluminum foil.

  2. Combine brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup until smooth.

  3. Wrap each water chestnut with a bacon piece, overlapping ends, then securing with a toothpick. Place in a prepared baking dish in a single layer. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Drain off excess grease.

  4.  Pour the sauce over chestnuts then arrange in a single layer. Place back in the oven and continue to bake another 50-60 minutes, or until bacon crisps up.

The post Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts-A Cocktail Classic appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

Easy Turkey Tacos Recipe-No Seasoning Packet Required

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These healthy ground Turkey Tacos are so tasty and quick to put together ANY night can be taco night! Perfect for when you want a healthy delicious dinner ready in less than 20 minutes. The whole family will love these so skip the “packet’ and go homemade!

Close up of Turkey Tacos on a metal platter

If someone ever told me I had to narrow down all the foods I love and only eat one thing the rest of my life, I’d be hard pressed not to at least consider tacos.

There are so many different, a-ma-zing combinations of tortillas and fillings that I’m pretty sure I’d never get bored: fish tacos, fajita tacos, carnitas tacos, even those chocolate-covered, ice-cream stuffed choco-tacos.

One of my family’s favorites is my version of Turkey Tacos, a quick and easy, people-pleasing meal that you’ll want to add to your own list of “things I could eat every night,” especially since you’ll barely have time to set the table before these are ready to put ON your table.

My recipe is for ground Turkey Tacos, which are much more practical for me than shredded turkey tacos since I only have leftover shredded turkey that one day in November everyone else does (when Thanksgiving turkey tacos may seem like a better option than some other creative use for those leftovers!).

What makes my Turkey Tacos infinitely better than just adding a store-bought seasoning mix is that I’ve created my own blend of spices and seasonings that’s perfectly dialed in for my family and yours – even the picky eaters – with a special depth of flavor you just can’t find in one of those little packets from the grocery store.

Ground turkey gets a bad rap sometimes, especially from those who believe ground beef is the only thing good enough to grace the inside of a crispy shell. But it really is a wonderful alternative both for flavor and texture, plus it makes me feel a little less guilty about going back for seconds . . . or thirds.

Turkey Tacos on a metal platter

IS GROUND TURKEY BETTER FOR YOU THAN GROUND BEEF?

Although some prefer the milder flavor of turkey over beef, others choose ground turkey because it’s better for your heart.

If you compare a similar lean-to-fat batch of turkey to beef, you’ll find the calories and protein content are pretty consistent for both, but the turkey contains less saturated fat.

Most of us equate fat with flavor when we’re talking about meat, but with the right seasonings and care to not overcook it, turkey can be just as satisfyingly scrumptious as beef. That’s where my Turkey Tacos seasoning knocks other turkey taco recipes out of the ballpark.

Ground Turkey Taco Meat in Skillet with Wooden Spoon

WHAT DOES GROUND TURKEY MEAT TASTE LIKE?

Ground turkey is a very mild meat – similar to chicken or pork – that basically serves as a blank canvas for whatever culinary concoction you’re in the mood to put together. If you’ve had both light and dark meat off that Thanksgiving turkey, I’d say it more closely resembles the breast meat.

Ground turkey IS mild, so whether you’re using it in a pasta dish, making Turkey Meatloaf, or stuffing it in tortillas you want to choose ingredients that pack a serious flavor punch.

I like to start with fresh chopped onion, since that adds a teeny bit of texture, then add all my spices. Chili powder, smoky cumin, oregano, coriander, and garlic set the stage for a classic Tex-Mex meal.

They’re staples in most store-bought mixes for a reason! Adding them into the oil with the onion gives each of these herbs and spices a chance for the hot oil to extract all the flavor out of them before they meet the ground turkey.

Ground turkey is available in a few different lean-to-fat versions, and the leanest (99% lean to 1% fat) is mostly white meat. These tacos are best made with a good mixture of light and dark meat, like an 85/15 blend. Using all breast meat just doesn’t bring the same flavor.

This IS turkey, though, so the advantage of it being lower fat means there’s the disadvantage of it drying out.

Unlike ground beef, we don’t need to brown the turkey before we add the sauce – just seal the edges of the pieces with heat, then let the turkey finish cooking in the sauce. It won’t overcook this way, plus it’ll absorb a little more of the saucy goodness by cooking directly IN it.

Most other taco recipes would stop here, or maybe add a few diced tomatoes into the mix. I took a little inspiration from the classic sloppy Joe recipe and created a savory, tangy, subtly sweet sauce that is, I think, what makes this such a popular recipe for my family.

Tomato sauce makes the filling nice and thick (which helps minimize dribbles out of your taco shell), and I add a touch of apple cider vinegar and brown sugar for that teeny bit of “sweet and sour” quality everyone loves in those messy sandwiches.

There’s so much flavor here you might be tempted to serve this filling in a bowl all by itself, but I definitely suggest loading up some taco shells with all your favorite taco toppers.

Turkey Tacos on a metal platter

HOW MANY CALORIES ARE IN HOMEMADE TURKEY TACOS?

The calorie content of homemade Turkey Tacos can vary depending on the type of tortilla, the amount of cheese and other toppings. An average crispy turkey taco with cheese and sour cream has around 190 calories. If you use a soft shell, you’ll add another 20 calories or so.

This is seriously like the fastest dinner and so simple to put together (second only, maybe, to my Taco Chili). Prepping the toppings may actually be the most time-consuming part!

If you want to make this ahead of time for some reason, though, you can make ground Turkey Tacos slow cooker style by softening your onions and cooking the turkey, then putting everything into the crockpot on low for a few hours.

I prefer to double this recipe and pop some of the taco filling into the freezer so there’s always some waiting on me.

Close up of Turkey Tacos on a metal platter

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF TURKEY MEAT IS BAD?

If ground turkey is bad, the smell may be sour (or just “off”) and it may have a slimy coating or strange color. Remember when in doubt, throw it out!

Even these amazing Turkey Tacos aren’t worth getting sick over. If you store it in the refrigerator, raw ground turkey should keep 1 – 2 days. You can stretch that to 3 – 4 months in the freezer if it’s wrapped really well.

My filling will last just as long in the freezer, so you’re always prepared in case of a taco emergency.

Close up of Turkey Tacos on a metal platter

RECIPE NOTES FOR TURKEY TACOS:

Use leftovers – As I’ve already mentioned, I don’t cook turkey very often and rarely have leftovers to make leftover Turkey Tacos. If you do have some cooked turkey on hand, you can make chopped or pulled Turkey Tacos by substituting 2 ½ to 3 cups of cooked turkey for the ground. Keep in mind you may need to adjust the amount of salt in the recipe, depending on how seasoned your leftovers are.

Heat it up – If you want to make spicy Turkey Tacos, you can stir in a few dashes of cayenne pepper with the spices. If you have some chipotle peppers in adobo on hand, you can stir in one or two finely chopped peppers along with a little adobo for a smoky kick, or even chop a fresh jalapeno (or three!) and saute it with the onion.

Serving suggestions – Serve these with warmed corn or flour tortillas, or the boxed prepared taco shells (heated, of course). My kids go crazy for those crunchy things! If you want to do a lower carb version, you can skip the shells altogether and serve it as a tasty Turkey Taco salad with your favorite lettuce blend on the bottom and lots of toppings.

Quick Turkey Tacos

These healthy ground Turkey Tacos are so tasty and quick to put together ANY night can be taco nightThese healthy ground Turkey Tacos are so tasty and quick to put together ANY night can be taco night! Perfect for when you want a healthy delicious dinner ready in less than 20 minutes. The whole family will love these so skip the “packet’ and go homemade!

  • 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Cup Onion (Chopped)
  • 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Cumin
  • 2 Teaspoons Oregano
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Coriander
  • 1/2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
  • 1 Pound Ground Turkey
  • 8 Ounces Tomato Sauce
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
  • 3 Teaspoons Salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoons Black Pepper

Serve With:

  • Corn or Flour Tortillas (Softened)
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Sour Cream
  • Avocado
  • Fresh Cilantro (Chopped)
  • Lettuce
  1. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet, over medium-high heat, until it shimmers. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it just begins to brown, 3-5 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, coriander and garlic powder and continue to cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

  2. Add the turkey to the skillet and continue to cook, until its still slightly pink, about 2 minutes. 

  3. Add the tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper and cook until the sauce thickens about 4 minutes. Adjust seasonings.

  4. Serve with prepared tortillas and your favorite toppings.

Source: Adapted From American Test Kitchen

 

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No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

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If you love peanut butter and chocolate, as much as I do, you’re going to love these no-bake peanut butter bars. Perfect for any occasion and guarenteed to please everyone who can’t get enough of that irresistble combination of peanut butter and chocolate!

 

When you’re craving candy, these peanut butter bars are sure to satisfy you.

There’s a good chance you’ve played around with a peanut butter bars recipe or two in the past. There are no bake peanut butter bars, chocolate peanut butter bars and even peanut butter and jelly bars! You’ll also find peanut butter crunch bars and peanut butter oatmeal bars. Yum!

But this peanut butter cookie bars recipe is hands-down the best. They’re the perfect mix between peanut butter cookies, peanut butter pie and fudge.

Mmmm… fudge. Okay, so if it’s peanut butter fudge you’re after, be sure to check out my recipe for Easy Peanut Butter Fudge. They’re very simple to make, and you’ll find that they’re not as sickly-sweet as the fudge shop candy.

You can also make a batch of my Easy Fudge, which is a great alternative to serve at a party or sell at the bake sale. Believe it or not, not everyone loves peanut butter. (Incredible, right?!)

But if you’re looking for something in between, I promise you’ll love this recipe for peanut butter chocolate bars. It’s the perfect peanut butter squares school recipe – you know, for that last-minute holiday party. They’re just as easy to make as peanut butter bars without graham crackers, but the grahams add an unexpected twist.

One of my favorite places to travel is a little town in North Carolina called Blowing Rock. This sleepy little mountain town is set in the Appalachian mountain range, not far from Appalachian State University.

There’s a landmark which draws tourists to the area. Not at all coincidentally, it’s called The Blowing Rock. Chickasaw legend has it that what is lost over the edge of the Blowing Rock is one day returned.

In addition to the legends that surround the small town, Blowing Rock is also one of those places travelers seek out for the food. You’ll find seafood restaurants with mountain sunset views. You’ll discover the most fabulous family-owned ice cream shops.

And it was in Blowing Rock that I first fell in love with peanut butter bars candy.

Not long after my first trip to Blowing Rock, I tried to create the perfect replica of the chewy peanut butter bars recipe I first tasted there. I tried peanut butter bars without chocolate and with. I even tried peanut butter bars with oatmeal.

At first, I couldn’t place exactly what it was that set those bars apart from the others I’d tried in the past. Surely it wasn’t just the mountain air?

After a bit of trial and error, I figured it out. Those weren’t baked peanut butter bars at all. In fact, it was just the opposite. They were no-bake peanut butter bars. That gooey goodness I loved wasn’t a result of omitting an egg or adding some flour. It was the simplicity of the confectioners’ sugar and the melted butter.

Anyway, my friends, I know that not everyone can make it out to Blowing Rock, North Carolina for a weekend. So I’m bringing Blowing Rock to you.

I hope you enjoy these peanut butter candy bars just as much as I do. As you take your first bite, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and visualize the mountains of North Carolina in the springtime.

Recipe Notes For Peanut Butter Bars:

 A word about double boilers – The double boiler, also called a bain-marie, has been around for a very long time. It works quite simply. In short, water can never exceed a certain temperature, no matter how high the heat beneath it.

In contrast, foods like chocolate can burn if the heat beneath them rises too much.

The double boiler in this recipe will gradually and gently heat your chocolate to a temperature which isn’t high enough to burn it.

Don’t have a double boiler? It’s okay! All you’ll need is a large pot of water and a bowl.

Make sure that your bowl doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot; you can do this by placing a raised baking or cooling rack at the bottom of the pot. Place your chocolate chips into that “internal” bowl. As the water boils, your chips will melt but not burn.

On peanut butter allergies – If you’re preparing this peanut butter bars recipe for a school event, please be sure to check with administration. A rising number of children have peanut and tree-nut allergies, and as a result many schools have banned the nuts.

You can other butters for peanut butter, but you may find that the texture of your cookie bars isn’t quite what you’d expected. As an example, sun nut butter has a thinner consistency than peanut butter. Therefore, your bars may not be exactly right.

It’s best to experiment ahead of time. You can try:

  •   Sun-nut butter (from sunflowers)
  •   Tahini (from sesame seeds)
  •   Soy nut butter (from soybeans)
  •   Coconut butter (you guessed it – from coconut)

Feel free to play around, and please let me know what you come up with!

Don’t get stuck – In quite a few of my recipes, I recommend that you line your pan with aluminum foil or with parchment paper.

Usually, it’s because I want to make sure that your cookie bars don’t get stuck. There’s nothing worse than tossing a simple recipe together at the last minute, only to have it ruined when it sticks to the bottom of the pan.

I will tell you that I’ve made these peanut butter bars both with aluminum foil and without. And while the stickiness wasn’t too bad when I tried it without, I still don’t want you to run into any trouble.

Line your dish with aluminum foil, or parchment paper if that’s what you have on hand.

Let the ends of your foil overlap the sides of the pan by a few inches. That way, when your bars are ready, you can just grab onto the ends and lift it out. Easy peasy!

Peanut Butter Bars

If you love peanut butter and chocolate, as much as I do, you’re going to love these no-bake peanut butter bars. Perfect for any occasion and guarenteed to please everyone who can’t get enough of that irresistble combination of peanut butter and chocolate!

Peanut Butter Base:

  • 1 Cup Butter (Melted)
  • 2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
  • 1 Cup Peanut Butter

Topping:

  • 1 1/2 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 4 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
  1.  Line a 9 X 13 inch baking dish with  aluminum foil, allowing 2-3 inches to extend over long sides. Spray generously with non stick cooking spray.
  2. Mix together the butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioner’s sugar and 1 cup peanut butter until evenly combined. Cool in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm.
  3. Meanwhile, melt the semi sweet chocolate chips and 4 tablespoons peanut butter in a double boiler or in the microwave. Spread over cooled peanut butter base. Refrigerate until firm. 2-4 hours. Cut into bars and enjoy.

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Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe

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Succulent shellfish and a rich, creamy sauce make these Shrimp Enchiladas truly something special – a Tex-Mex staple transformed into good old-fashioned comfort food.

A forkful of Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas, close shot

I think it’s safe to say there’s a little “pleasure seeker” in all of us, whether it’s jumping out of airplanes or seeking tamer activities without the adrenaline rush . . . you know, like spending a whole day in your pajamas.

My kitchen is one of those places of pleasure for me (big surprise, I know), and there’s nothing quite like ooey, gooey, cheesy plates of awesomeness – things like lasagna or other casseroles – to send me over the moon.

I think you’ll find these delicate Shrimp Enchiladas, covered in a velvety cream sauce, are your gateway food to pleasure town.

No, I wouldn’t call these healthy Shrimp Enchiladas and we’re not going to mention the Shrimp Enchiladas calories. “Comfort food” isn’t generally synonymous with “health food,” LOL.

This recipe was inspired by my White Chicken Enchiladas, which boasts a similar sauce with a simple shredded chicken stuffing. I wanted something more elegant, decadent even, and plump fresh shrimp were just the ticket.

Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas in a white casserole dish

WHAT DO I NEED FOR SHRIMP ENCHILADAS?

To make Shrimp Enchiladas, you need tortillas and a shrimp filling (either simple grilled or baked shrimp or something more elaborate). You also need some type of sauce (usually red or green), and a sprinkling of cheese.

It just takes a few ingredients to create something really magical, and my recipe starts with tortillas . . . flour tortillas.

ARE AUTHENTIC ENCHILADAS MADE WITH CORN OR FLOUR TORTILLAS?

Authentic enchiladas are made from corn tortillas. Using flour tortillas as an alternative makes for a simpler recipe that doesn’t require softening the tortillas before stuffing, plus it creates a more neutral background flavor that doesn’t compete with the enchilada filling like corn tortillas can.

(I also find that flour tortillas hold up a little better during the baking process which makes them ideal for any re-heatable leftovers!)

My creamy Shrimp Enchiladas are stuffed with a savory filling that’ll make you glad there’s no corn-y competition. It starts with onion, garlic, and fresh jalapenos, the perfect aromatics for our shrimpy star.

Jalapenos can vary quite a bit in their heat, by the way, so you may want to try a little nibble and adjust the amount based on just how much heat you can handle.

Next, I toss some sliced mushrooms into the saute pan. This is a unique addition (unless you’re making a veggie enchilada filling) that provides some meaty texture, but it also helps the shrimp go a little further.

Although most of us can find fresh or frozen shrimp in the market nowadays, they can also be a little pricey depending on what’s available.

Finely chopped onions, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro on a wooden chopping board

The good thing is, because we’ll be chopping these into smaller pieces, you have some flexibility to choose what might be freshest and on sale. I’d just avoid the little popcorn-sized shrimp because they tend to get lost in the enchiladas and have less flavor than the larger varieties.

It’s also generally better to buy shrimp with the shell on, then peel and devein them at home since the shell helps protect the texture of the shrimp when they’re frozen. Here are some tips for navigating all the head-on, flash-frozen, wild vs. farm-fresh options at your market.

The shrimp mixture is seasoned with ground cumin and chili powder which provide a little smokiness and subtle heat, plus some chopped cilantro.

Don’t shy away from the love-it-or-hate it herb here. It adds some lovely color and a fresh quality, with the complex citrusy flavor we all (well, most of us, anyway) love adding to our Mexican or Thai or Vietnamese dishes. If you’re really in the “hate it” category, maybe try reducing the amount rather than omitting it entirely or have it on the side as a garnish like I do for my Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas.

Honestly, the filling is so good you should try it on your next taco night, but we’re going to use it to build something even more amazing with some help from my white enchilada sauce.

When most people think of enchiladas, they visualize the classic red, dried-chili based sauce (like you typically find on cheese or Beef Enchiladas), and when you look up recipes for shrimp enchiladas red sauce is usually on top (the shrimp enchiladas recipe Food Network versions are either topped with red sauce or mole).

The sauce I use in this dish is similar to shrimp enchiladas suizas or “Swiss” enchiladas, which gets their name because of the copious amounts of dairy in the sauce. It’s also what makes these such a decadent treat.

We’ll start by making a basic roux of butter and flour and cook it just until the raw flour flavor is gone – no need to darken it like we would for a brown gravy. Next, we’ll add some milk and thicken the mixture to a gravy-like consistency.

The real “creamy” quality of this sauce comes from sour cream, whisked in after the mixture has cooled a bit. The result is a rich cream sauce with a touch of tanginess that balances the sweetness of the shrimp.

We’ll also add some cheese to maximize the velvety feel of the sauce and make sure there are plenty of those enticing cheese strings stretching from the baking dish to your plate. Monterey jack works perfectly here, both for color and mildness of flavor, as well as its smooth melting consistency.

I add chopped green chiles for color and heat, and I like to use the fire-roasted Ortega version. Feel free to substitute another brand, though, if you prefer.

You’ll add a little of the sauce to the filling, then put together the enchiladas.

A single serving of Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas on a white plate

HOW DO I MAKE SHRIMP ENCHILADAS?

To make shrimp enchiladas, you start by softening corn tortillas in oil and rolling them into a cigar shape with some filling inside. Next, you place the stuffed tortillas into a baking dish, top them with sauce and cheese, and bake until bubbly.

We get to skip that first step since we’re using flour tortillas which shaves a decent amount of prep time off a traditional enchiladas recipe. Make sure you place the stuffed tortillas into the casserole dish seam-side down to keep them from unrolling and use a pan that lets you pack them in tightly.

Since all the ingredients are already cooked in this dish, the enchiladas just need a little time to heat up in the oven. You WILL want to let them cool a bit before serving or else you’ll lose a good bit of the sauce between the baking dish and plate (the sauce will thicken a bit as it cools). Once you’ve tried these, though, you’ll find it hard not to dive right in straight out of the oven!

Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas' filling in a pot

RECIPE NOTES FOR SHRIMP ENCHILADAS:

Heat it up – If you want to turn these into spicy Shrimp Enchiladas, you can make Shrimp Enchiladas with jalapeno cream sauce. Just add a couple of chopped, fresh jalapenos to the sauce and/or use the “spicy” version of the canned chiles. You can also substitute pepper Jack for the Monterey Jack cheese.

I do prefer to use green chiles to heat things up, though, because cayenne or chipotles can give the white, creamy sauce a pink hue.

Mix it up – Don’t feel like shrimp are the only option here. You can do a seafood combo and make crab and shrimp enchiladas (adding a little jumbo lump crab to the shrimp filling) or scallop and shrimp enchiladas, substituting small bay-size scallops for some of the shrimp. I don’t like to use fish in enchiladas, only because overcooked fish is kinda inedible, and controlling the cooking process when it’s inside a stuffing is difficult.

Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas in a white casserole dish

Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe

Cream Sauce:

  • 6 Tablespoon Butter
  • 6 Tablespoon Flour
  • 3 Cups Chicken Broth
  • 1 1/2 Cups Sour Cream
  • 1 (7 Ounce) Can Diced Ortega Chilis
  • 1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese (Shredded)

Filling:

  • 2 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
  • 1 Cup Yellow Onion, Chopped
  • 1 Jalapeno (Finely Chopped and Seeded)
  • 4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 8 Ounces Sliced Mushrooms
  • 1 Pounded Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined (Cut into 3/4 Inch Pieces)
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon Cumin
  • 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
  • 1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro (Chopped)

Assembly:

  • 8 6 Inch Flour Tortillas
  • 1 1/2 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese (Shredded)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Make the Sauce:

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk flour and stir until the butter and flour are well combined. Continue to cook for 1 minute to remove the flour taste. 

  2. Remove the skillet from heat and whisk in broth. Place back on heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened and is bubbly. Cool sauce for 3-5 minutes. (Don’t skip this step-if the sauce is too hot and you add the sour cream it will curdle it) Add sour cream, chilies, and 1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese and stir until sauce is smooth and sour cream is completely dissolved. Set aside.

Make the Filling:

  1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion, jalapeno, and garlic and sauté until slightly softened about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to saute until tender, 5-8 minutes. Add Shrimp and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes or until pink just start to turn pink. Remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, fresh cilantro. Add one cup of prepared sauce and stir to combine.

Assembly:

  1. Lay tortilla on a flat surface and spoon 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture in the center, roll tightly and lay seam side down into the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and shrimp mixture. Pour the cream sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle 1 1/2 cups cheese evenly over top. Place in preheated oven and bake, covered, until lightly golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

  2. Remove from the oven and let the enchiladas sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

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Grandma’s Fruit Cocktail Cake Recipe

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This easy Fruit Cocktail Cake recipe is going to be a quick family favorite. Serve it up for dessert or invite your friends for coffee – either way you’re going to love this old fashion cake!

 A slice of Grandma's Fruit Cocktail Cake topped with whipped cream and cherry Pin it to your CAKE  BOARD to save for later!

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When you think about fruit cocktail, what do you think of? If you’re like most people, you think about that sweet can of fruit Mom used to open for you as a kid. And unless you were an only child, you probably think of the squabbles you and your siblings had over those bright red maraschino cherries.

For me, fruit cocktail makes me think of fruit cocktail cake. More specifically, fruit cocktail dump cake, which has been a family favorite for years – not just now but ever since I was a kid.

My recipe for fruit cocktail cake is super easy to make. It’s literally a matter of three dishes. You’ll need a mixing bowl, a baking pan, and a saucepan. Seriously!

Grandma's Fruit Cocktail Cake in a glass baking dish

What is fruit cocktail cake?

Well, it’s kind of in a category all its own.

Fruit cocktail cake with butter sauce is similar to a coffee cake because the butter glaze adds that sort of texture to the top. You can serve it warm or at room temperature when you have your friends over for coffee (or tea) and it’ll do quite nicely.

But it’s a dessert cake, too. Fruit cocktail cake with glaze is always a fan favorite at church potlucks, school events or just family suppers. There are a few ways you can garnish the dessert to appeal to everyone – from your own kids to the president of the PTA.

It’s lighter than a fruitcake or a pound cake, so don’t let the name fool you. To put it simply, you’ll just have to try my fruit cocktail cake recipe for yourself!

If you search online, you’ll find quite a few variations of this dessert. It’s one of those desserts that some people embellish to make it more “interesting” or more “elegant.” My opinion? You don’t need all that.

The thing I love best about this recipe is that it’s just So. Darn. Simple. Like I mentioned, it’s a dump cake. You’ll pour each of the cake ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir. Then, while it’s baking, pour the fruit cocktail cake icing ingredients into a saucepan and heat. Done.

Some of the recipes you’ll come across online are similar to the Betty Crocker fruit cocktail cake. They call for similar ingredients to mine but use a cake mix for the batter.

I don’t use boxed cake mix in my recipe. That’s because, over the years, I’ve figured out that each cake mix comes out juuust a little different. Fruit cocktail cake with cake mix is unpredictable, at best, and I like sticking with the tried and true.

There are a few other notable recipes I’ve tried – the fruit cocktail cake recipe Paula Deen uses came out just fine, but it was super complicated to make compared to mine. The same was true for the Taste of Home fruit cocktail cake.

So, guys, I’m stickin’ with what I know best – the dump cake. Before you bake this one, I want to share a few tips with you.

A slice of Grandma's Fruit Cocktail Cake on a white plate

How to make Fruit Cocktail Cake:

First of all, you’re going to use one can of fruit cocktail. One. So you know what that means – just like you did when you were a kid, the kids are going to be arguing over those three maraschino cherries they put in the can.

To break up arguments before they happen, keep a can of Reddi-Wip and a jar of maraschino cherries on hand. When it’s time to serve your cake, just add a dollop of whipped cream and one or two cherries. Crisis averted.

Secondly, I mentioned that you can serve this cake at room temperature or warm. My family likes it best when it’s still oven-warm and oh-so moist. If you’re nibbling on yesterday’s fruit cocktail cake, you can heat it for a few minutes in the oven before you serve it.

That said, the cake will keep on the counter for a few days. I don’t, however, recommend that you store it in the fridge. The cold air changes the texture of the icing, and I promise you won’t like it as well.

If you do need a cake that you can prepare ahead of time and stash in the fridge, try my Pina Colada Sheet Cake. It’s just as fruity and won’t be bothered by the refrigerator.

Finally, it happens to the best of us. You’re unpacking your groceries and realize that you’ve picked up fruit cocktail in juice rather than in syrup. Or condensed milk when you meant to buy evaporated.

Again, happens to the best of us, but don’t let it happen to you! Fruit cocktail cake with condensed milk is a cavity waiting to happen, and fruit cocktail in this cake will be disastrous.

I’m not trying to scare you off, though! I can’t stress it enough. The cake is so very simple to make, and you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry.

Planning for a bake sale? Fix a fruit cocktail cake and a Strawberry Sheet Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. They’re both quick and easy – and be sure to have copies of the recipe on hand. People will ask, trust me.

Grandma's Fruit Cocktail Cake in a glass baking dish

Recipe Notes for Fruit Cocktail Cake:

Keep it simple – One of the best things about this cake is that it’s so simple to make. Don’t overthink it. You may be tempted to use a stand mixer or even an electric beater. You don’t have to! Seriously, just dump your batter ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir. Using beaters or a Kitchen Aid may end up making your batter too dense.

Time the fruit cocktail icing – When I make this cake, I usually spend about 20 minutes in the kitchen, total. You can put the cake in the oven to bake, then come back later to make the glaze.

Remember, though, that it’s important that you add the glaze to a hot cake. So you’ll have to time your icing to make that happen. About 10 minutes before your cake is set to come out, place your glaze ingredients in your saucepan. You’ll want the ingredients to boil for about 1-2 minutes, then it’s ready to pour.

Mind your pan – You can use either a glass of a dark pan with this fruit cocktail cake recipe. Either should be greased before you pour the batter. Don’t forget that cake in a dark pan may bake faster than a cake in a glass pan. So be sure to set your timer to check your cake about 5 minutes before the recipe calls for.

A slice of Grandma's Fruit Cocktail Cake topped with whipped cream and cherry

 

Grandma's Fruit Cocktail Cake

Cake:

  • 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
  • 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 Large Eggs (Lightly Beaten)
  • 2 Teaspoon Vanilla
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 3/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Can (16 Ounce) Fruit Cocktail With Syrup (Undrained)

Topping:

  • 1/2 Cup Butter
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (Firmly Packed)
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Cup Evaporated Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 1/2 Cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut
  • 3/4 Cup Pecans (Chopped)

Garnish:

  • Reddi Wip
  • Maraschino Cherries

Cake:

  1. Adjust an oven rack to medium position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together all cake ingredients until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Topping:

  1. Meanwhile, make the topping by combining all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue to boil, stirring constantly,  for 2 minutes. Pour over hot cake and smooth evenly with an offset spatula. 

Garnish:

  1. Top individual slices of cake with a dollop of Reddi Wip and Maraschino cherries.

More Grandma Approved Recipes:

American Goulash -Need a BIG batch, ONE DISH meal that is perfect any time of year! My family has been making this recipe for 3 generations! This is sure to become an instant Family Favorite!

Carrot Salad You won’t be able to get enough of this yummy Carrot Salad! Loaded with Pineapple, Raisins and Pecans/

Chicken Noodle CasseroleLooking for an amazing Chicken and Noodle Casserole. It’s a super creamy, cheesy pan of deliciousness that is quick and easy to put together!

Source: Gonna Want Seconds

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Texas Sheet Cake Recipe

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 My Texas Sheet Cake is the stuff sweet dreams are made of – a thick, fudgy icing fused to the top of a moist cake masterpiece. You’ll be doing the two-step after just one bite of this quick but oh, so rich dessert.

A slice of Texas Sheet Cake on a blue plate

This ain’t your average sheet cake, y’all. It’s like a brownie . . . but better! A Texas chocolate sheet cake is thin – barely the height of its fudgy cousin (some even call this cake Texas Sheet Cake brownies), but it packs all the punch of a serious slice of chocolate cake.

And the best part? The recipe for Texas Sheet Cake is super simple! The ingredients for it are all likely lurking in your pantry right now, and I wouldn’t blame you at all if you skipped right to the recipe at this point! LOL!

We’re not sure who to thank for creating the very first Texas Sheet Cake. Maybe it was someone who actually lived in the Lone Star State or maybe someone just dreaming of bluebonnets and brisket.

WHY IS TEXAS SHEET CAKE CALLED TEXAS SHEET CAKE?

Though we can’t pinpoint the original Texas Sheet Cake recipe, its name likely comes from the cake’s enormous size. It also typically includes buttermilk and pecans, two Texas favorites, and some would argue it has just as much oil in it!

“Sheet cake” is a bakers’ term used simply to describe a flat, rectangle-shaped cake. They come in full, half, and quarter sizes, so they’re easily adjustable to fit the size of the crowd you’re serving. Like most cakes, sheet cakes are frosted and provide a simple way to serve a lot of people without the fussy cutting required for a round, layered cake.

Texas Sheet Cake batter poured into the sheet pan

HOW MANY SERVINGS ARE IN A FULL SHEET CAKE?

A full sheet cake serves approximately 70 to 80 people, with a half sheet cake serving 35 to 40. A full Texas Sheet Cake is roughly the length and width of a half sheet cake, but it serves only about half as many due to the height difference.

By the way, a quarter sheet cake is roughly the size of a 9” x 13” pan, so you’ll see some recipes that are cooked in everyone’s favorite casserole dish called a “sheet cake” too (like my to-die-for Strawberry Sheet Cake). They all tower above the Texas Sheet Cake, though.

A slice of Texas Sheet Cake on a blue plate

WHAT MAKES IT A TEXAS SHEET CAKE?

The true hallmark of a Texas Sheet Cake is its short stature, but required ingredients include chocolate (though there is a white Texas Sheet Cake with no chocolate), as well as buttermilk or sour cream, lots of butter or margarine, a fudge-like icing, and usually pecans.

Some cooks believe it’s not a true Texas Sheet Cake without coconut, while others say tradition demands a Texas Sheet Cake cinnamon infused version, like a Mexican hot chocolate, with a noticeable hit of that warm spice in the cake. The truth is no one’s turning down a piece of this cake regardless of what your mama, or your mama’s mama, put in it.

Some still swear by making a Texas Sheet Cake buttermilk version (the Texas Sheet Cake Pioneer Woman makes, for example), but, like many others, my recipe swaps out the buttermilk for sour cream.

Sour cream has more fat, which means more moisture, but it still produces a light, tender crumb. It also does this without sacrificing the lovely tangy quality buttermilk brings to a cake since it has its own acidity.

So, what else is in this cake? Butter, lots of butter (unless you follow the Texas Sheet Cake Southern Living recipe which uses oil), and the basic ingredients you’d find in a chocolate cake – sugar, cocoa powder, plus flour and some leavening.

 

I do like to bump up the chocolate flavor a bit with a cup of brewed coffee too, a trick I use in some of my own, more traditional chocolate cakes. If you don’t have any brewed coffee leftover from your morning pot, you can easily make what you need for this recipe using instant coffee.

Unlike most chocolate cakes, though, there’s no need to make sure everything’s at room temperature or dirty up every dish in your kitchen. The batter comes together on the stovetop in one pot, then gets dumped into the pan for baking.

Just make sure you’ve beaten your eggs a bit before adding them to the batter. Over-mixing once the flour has been incorporated can make your cake tough, and the eggs will be hard to incorporate if they’re not mixed ahead of time.

The Texas Sheet Cake pan size is a classic jellyroll pan, roughly 10” x 15” x 1”.

You may call this a “cookie sheet” too since it usually pulls double duty in most kitchens (and it’s equally good at making Texas Sheet Cake cookies, by the way, which is a cookied-up version of this recipe). Using a thin pan means this cake will cook up super fast, so it’s a perfect option for last-minute company or potlucks, just like my sweet-and-scrumptious Caramel Apple Sheet Cake that’s cooked in the same type of pan.

A slice of Texas Sheet Cake on a blue plate with fork on the side

HOW LONG DO YOU BAKE A TEXAS SHEET CAKE?

A Texas Sheet Cake needs to bake about 20 minutes, just until the toothpick test produces a clean result. The warm icing will need to be added while the cake’s still warm too so the two can mingle where they meet in the middle.

And the icing’s just as easy to put together as the cake, all in one pot (though you may appreciate a little help from an electric mixer). The icing adds such a lovely texture to this cake – it’s like a soft fudge that’s so creamy it melts in your mouth. You can also copy other recipes like the Pioneer Woman Texas Sheet Cake and add a generous cup of pecans on top of the icing or stir them into the icing itself to add a little crunch.

The only tip for the icing is that you’ll need to work quickly so it’s still spreadable enough to coat every nook and cranny of your cake. I also like to add some instant coffee here too.

Just so you know, adding the coffee doesn’t translate to a “coffee” taste in the cake. What it does do, however, is enhance the flavor of the chocolate and boosts the chocolaty-ness. I’m thinking that’s a real word, right?

The only thing that’s left is the daunting task of waiting on the cake to cool down enough for eating (or not, if you don’t mind a chocolatey mess on your hands).

My family loves this cake – I mean, what’s NOT to love, and it’s definitely been requested as an alternative to a traditional birthday cake.

Special occasions? Check. Last-minute dessert? Yep. Something to snuggle with on the couch for a late night of binge-watching Netflix? Darn tootin’! Whether it’s from deep in the heart of Texas or some inspired kitchen far, far away, all you need to enjoy this Texas Sheet Cake is a fork and a face to stuff it in.

A slice of Texas Sheet Cake on a blue plate

RECIPE NOTES FOR TEXAS SHEET CAKE:

Time isn’t on your side – Be sure to have your icing ingredients set out and ready to go. This icing gets a thick, fudgy consistency as it cools, so you’ll need to work quickly to spread it on the cake after you’ve stirred in the confectioner’s sugar. I like to mix the sugar into the icing with a handheld electric mixer because it makes quick work of the job plus it requires less of an arm workout!

Peanut butter, anyone? – This cake is pretty customizable. You can stir some flavored chips into the cake batter – chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter, or you can replace the cocoa powder in the icing with ½ to ¾ cup of creamy peanut butter for a Texas-sized twist on a Reese’s cup. Just keep in mind you may need to adjust the amount of milk and/or powdered sugar to get the right consistency.

Texas Sheet Cake

Cake:

  • 1 Cup Butter
  • 1 Cup Brewed Coffee
  • 5 Tablespoons Cocoa
  • 2 Cups Sugar
  • 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
  • 2 Large Eggs (Lightly Beaten)
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Icing:

  • 1/2 Cup Butter
  • 3 Tablespoons Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Cocoa
  • 2 3/4 Cups Confectioners Sugar

Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10X15 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

  2. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add coffee, and 5 teaspoons cocoa,  and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, flour, baking soda and salt and mix until smooth. Add sour cream and stir until combined, then mix in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.

  3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Icing:

  1. In a large saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter. Stir in milk, cocoa, instant coffee granules and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth (I use a handheld electric mixer). 

  2. Pour icing over warm cake. Cool completely on a wire baking rack.

Originally Posted on Centsless Meals

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Chicken Murphy Recipe

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Chicken Murphy topped over angel hair pasta in a white shallow bowl

Our Easy Chicken Murphy is an Italian inspired favorite that includes a delightful mix of diced chicken, Italian sausage, peppers, and potatoes combined with a divine sauce made of stock, wine and pepper brine, and served over a bed of angel hair pasta. Perfect for gather your family around the table for Sunday Supper!

Chicken Murphy in a white shallow bowl, with Cremini Mushrooms and Bell Peppers at the back

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Now, you’re probably going to say at first glance that this Chicken Murphy doesn’t really appear to be an Italian recipe, but I can assure you that it’s at least Italian-American.  

That counts…doesn’t it?

Recipes that fall into this category have been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their children, called Italian Americans. These immigrants settled throughout different regions of the United States and brought with them a distinct regional Italian flare.

And boy, we’re sooooo glad they did!

Chopped Bell Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, and Potatoes

What is Chicken Murphy?

The “Murphy” portion of the recipe is the potatoes, and with the Italian sausage and peppadew peppers, this Jersey Shore classic will quickly become a family favorite. There’s something about the combination – it’s like a flavor trifecta!

You will find yourself making it your go-to meal when dinner calls for something special and you have a little extra time to spend making it.    And because it’s prepared in one pot – with meats, sides and veggies included – cleanup is quick and easy.

Think about it – how can you go wrong combining chicken, sausage, and potatoes in one dish?

Doesn’t adding sausage make anything better?  

The addition of the peppery brown gravy pulls together a dinner that will leave them yearning for more. And the sweet and sour flavor elements the peppadews bring to the dish is over the top delicious!

Left: Uncooked Italian Sausage on a chopping board. Right: Cooked, chopped Italian Sausage in a high sided skillet

What are the origins of Chicken Murphy?

While some people think the recipe is a spinoff of Papa Murphy’s chicken bacon artichoke pizza, it’s not.  And no, it’s not even a version of Papa Murphy’s chicken garlic pizza.

In fact, the Chicken Murphy origin is a bit cloudy – it’s supposedly named after a cook or a waiter or a customer named Murphy.

It typically includes a chicken breast, which is either breaded (a la Chicken Francaise) or not breaded, sautéed with hot pickled peppers, potatoes, and Italian sausage.

Even though we couldn’t find a Chicken Murphy wiki, it’s one of those dishes whose origin can be traced to Italian-American restaurants, mainly in New Jersey.

Chicken Murphy is a more brown sauce centric variation of the sausage and peppers that is fairly common to tailgate party cuisine.

For people who want some delicious Chicken Murphy New Jersey is the place to go!

Many foodies feel that the Chicken Murphy recipe Belmont Tavern uses is the best they’ve ever had. The tavern never changes, doesn’t take reservations, only accepts cash, and could be from a scene in the Soprano’s. Locals who grew up in the area then moved to the suburbs, come back year after year.

Left: Uncooked, breaded, cubed chicken, Right: Cooked cubed chicken in a high sided skillet

How do you make Chicken Murphy?

The idea with this dish is to get everything started in a Dutch oven or a large, high sided skillet and then simmer everything together to blend the flavors, reduce the liquid and thicken the sauce.

Easy enough, right?

Chicken Murphy in brown sauce uses flour to thicken the deliriously delicious stock, wine and brine combination. While it already includes a carbohydrate with the potatoes, I prefer to serve it over angel hair pasta with a sprinkling of fresh chopped parsley. I mean, can you really ever have too many carbs?

We like to call it Chicken Murphy pasta!

Chicken Murphy in a high sided skillet

Rather try a Baked Chicken Murphy?

  • Here’s how you can do it:
  • Simply bake potatoes in microwave or boil whole until mostly done. Slice into large chunks and put them into a large roasting pan.
  • Brown sausage before marrying with the potatoes. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and brown in the same skillet. Remove and add to sausage mixture in roasting pan.
  • Sauté your aromatics and add to the roasting pan. Follow the same preparation steps as the original version and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Quartered Cremini Mushrooms held in palm

What’s the difference between Chicken Murphy and Chicken Scarpariello?

Chicken Scarpariello is believed to have originated in New York and “Scarpiello” in Italian means “shoemaker or shoe fixer”.

There are a couple of thoughts on how this dish got its name – the first idea is that this dish refers to “shoemaker style”, meaning that is a meager dish.

Made with sweet peppers in a light wine sauce, this Italian-American chicken recipe is right up there in poultry greatness. There are many variations to the recipe, but it’s almost always made with just a handful of ingredients and a ton of flavor.

Just like the Chicken Murphy, the Chicken Scarpariello is elegant enough for a special occasion but works just as well for a midweek treat. Although it’s basically a complete meal, you’ll definitely want to have some crusty bread nearby to dunk in the leftover sauce!

Chicken Murphy in a white shallow bowl

Differences and similarities between the two dishes include the following.

  • Potatoes: For the Chicken Murphy, the potatoes are cooked in the broth – at the end – until tender.  Russets are the potato of choice for this recipe because they help to thicken the sauce. For the Chicken Scarpariello, fingerling potatoes are tossed with olive oil and S&P and roasted in the oven.
  • Chicken: Chicken Murphy uses boneless breasts cut into cubes, while the Chicken Scarpariello uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
  • Sausage: Both use Italian sausage with the casings removed, but I think the Chicken Scarpariello seems to work better with the sweet version.
  • Aromatics: Both use aromatics – onion, garlic, bell pepper – but Chicken Murphy also incorporates mushrooms.
  • Sauce: Both use white wine, chicken broth, and pepper brine to rescue the tasty bits from the bottom of the pan and make some might yummy pan sauce.
  • Peppers: Both use peppadew peppers and their brine. They’re a branded pepper originally discovered in South Africa. They are cherry tomato–size, and are often available hulled, seeded, and pickled in brine. You can find them at specialty grocery stores and online stores. If you can’t find them, cherry peppers are the best substitute.
  • Preparation:  Chicken Scarpariello is finished in the oven while Chicken Murphy is cooked completely on the stovetop.
  • If you like these recipes, you’re sure to love another classic Italian-American favorite like Chicken Vesuvio, which is almost always prepared with a whole cut-up chicken.

Another favorite is Chicken Française,  an Italian-American dish consisting of flour breaded then egg-dipped, sautéed chicken cutlets finished with a sauce made of lemon-butter and white wine.

The dish is popular in the region surrounding Rochester, New York, to the point where some have suggested the dish be called Chicken Rochester.

Peppadew Peppers in a bowl

Recipe Notes for Chicken Murphy:

Bring the heat (or not) – Most restaurants in New Jersey make this dish with cherry peppers.

This creates a dish that is fairly spicy, so if you’re a fan of heat, cherry peppers are the perfect peppers for you to use in this recipe.

My family prefers a little less heat, so I make our Chicken Murphy with Peppadew peppers. They are available in both hot and mild varieties.

I find both varieties less spicy than the cherry peppers and the peppadews combine just the right mild kick with a lovely sweetness that adds a fabulous taste dimension.

Pick your pasta – Since Chicken Murphy isn’t typically served with enough sauce to dress even half a pound of cooked pasta, I like to serve mine on a bed of cooked pasta that’s been tossed generously with olive oil and garlic.

Angel hair or penne are my favorites for this dish because the flavors complement each other perfectly to make a complete meal.

Potatoes – It’s important to use Russet potatoes in this recipe because they break down and thicken the sauce.

Be sure to cut them in small, uniform pieces. If you cut them into large chunks you’ll have to extend the cooking time. 

Season generously – When you begin, remember to generously season the chicken cubes with salt and pepper then dredged in flour, before shaking off the excess. Don’t skip the salt and pepper at this step.

Flush the fat – Because the sausage renders a good amount of fat, you’ll need to pour off all but 2 tablespoons before adding the onions, red and green bell peppers and mushrooms.

Wine rules –  When adding your favorite white wine, remember, if you won’t drink it, don’t cook with it!  

 

 

Chicken Murphy in a white shallow bowl

**Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below or leave a comment!**

Chicken Murphy Recipe

  • 1 Pounds Chicken- (Cut Into 1 1/2 Inch Cubes)
  • 1/4+1 Tablespoons Cup All-Purpose Flour- (Divided)
  • To Taste Salt
  • To Taste Pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 Pounds Italian Sausage- (Casing Removed)
  • 1 Large Onion- (Diced)
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper- (Seeded, Cut Into 1/2 Inch Pieces)
  • 1 Green Bell Pepper- (Seeded, Cut Into 1/2 Inch Pieces)
  • 16 Ounces Cremini Mushrooms- (Quartered)
  • 4 Large Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Cup White Wine
  • 2 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 1/2 Cup Peppadew Pepper Brine
  • 1 Russet Potatoes- (3/4 Inch Diced)
  • 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
  • 1 Cup Peppadew Pepper- (Cut In Half)
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Parsley- (Chopped)
  1. Season chicken cubes generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Add 1/4 cup All-Purpose flour to a shallow bowl and dredge chicken pieces in flour, shaking off excess.

  2. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil, in a large high sided skillet or Dutch oven, over medium heat then add floured chicken and brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

  3. Add sausage to skillet and cook, over medium heat until its just browned. Remove sausage to the plate containing chicken and set aside. Remove skillet from heat and pour off all but enough fat to just coat the bottom of the pan.

  4. Add onions, red bell pepper, green bell pepper,mushrooms, and garlic. Cook on medium for 6-7 minutes. Sprinkle skillet with remaining 1 tablespoon flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add white wine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer vigorously, until the wine has reduced to a thick, syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Add peppadew brine, chicken stock, russet potato, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered until potatoes just tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in butter and add browned chicken and sausage and cook until heated through and edges of potatoes are slightly crumbling. Serve over cooked angel hair pasta. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

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Butterfinger Cake Recipe

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A slice Butterfinger Cake and a piece of cake on fork

Our easy Butterfinger Cake recipe starts with a cake mix so it’s a snap to make. Uniquely moist, flavored with chocolate and caramel, and topped with a thick generous layer of whipped topping and crushed butterfingers. Perfect any time you need a yummy, easy dessert to feed a crowd!

A slice Butterfinger Cake on a plate with fork on the side

This Butterfinger Cake recipe serves up a dessert that’s super moist and super sweet.

If you’re looking for the perfect sweet cake to serve after dinner, this Butterfinger Cake can’t be beaten.

Ready to get started? Read the how-to’s below.

Butterfinger Cake in a 9X13 inch glass baking dish

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What is Butterfinger Cake?

Butterfinger Cake is, quite honestly, exactly what it sounds like! It’s a cake that’s literally infused with caramel goodness, topped with – you guessed it – Butterfinger candy.

This particular recipe is made from chocolate cake mix, which makes it’s incredibly simple to put together.

You could make your cake from scratch, but I’ve found that the extra time it takes doesn’t add much to the taste.

You see, there are two secrets to Butterfinger Cake, and neither secret has anything to do with the actual cake part of the cake.

The first secret is the Butterfinger cake frosting or topping. Sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping give the frosting just the right texture to impart even more moisture to your cake.

The second secret is this: my recipe for this dessert could actually be considered a Butterfinger poke cake.

Whether you make it with a box mix or from scratch, the trick is to poke holes in your cake to let the topping permeate the cake.

The result is an even sweeter cake. It’s truly like eating candy for dessert! Nothing wrong with that!

Once you learn how to make a Butterfinger cake, I’m sure you’ll want to play around with the recipe. Believe me, I’ve tried many.

I’ve come up with a Butterfinger cheesecake, a Butterfinger layer cake and I’ve even tried my hand at a Butterfinger cake with angel food cake instead of chocolate.

As it turns out, after all that experimenting, my favorite ended up being the original, this recipe!

Crushed Butterfinger Bars on a chopping board

How to Make Butterfinger Cake

Okay, so on to the good stuff – how to make Butterfinger cake.

If you look up this recipe online, you’ll find all sorts of variations.

Some recipes call for using a Devils Food Cake mix. I use a Chocolate Cake mix in my recipe. I love the slightly deeper flavor the chocolate brings to this cake.

I’ve even made the Butterfinger cake Paula Deen makes, baking the cake from scratch. It’s, of course, really yummy. But, as I’ve said,  I just don’t think its necessary with this recipe.

One of the things I love best about this cake is its simplicity. That said, there are three things you need to remember when you’re making this recipe.

 

A slice Butterfinger Cake and a piece of cake on fork

First, follow the instructions on the cake mix box. Remember to check your cake a few minutes before it’s due to come out of the oven because some ovens run hotter than others. Elevation can also make a difference.

Secondly, remember that timing is key.

You’ll need to allow your cake to cool for about 5 minutes before you start poking holes in it.

Then make sure you apply the caramel and sweetened condensed milk mixture while the cake is still hot so the mixture absorbs well into the cake.

Finally, remember to use a 9×13 pan! If you’re experimenting, you might be tempted to try a Bundt pan or even smaller pans for a layer cake.

For a lot of cakes, changing pan size can work well, but for this particular recipe, a 9×13 pan works best.

Butterfinger Cake in a 9X13 inch baking dish poked with wooden spoon

How Long Do You Bake Butterfinger Cake?

Depending on the cake mix you choose, the time it takes to bake a Butterfinger cake may vary slightly. Follow the box direction and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake, when the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done baking.

Because there are a couple steps after the cake is baked, it’s not one of those desserts you can put in the oven when your family sits down to dinner, and serve it when it’s time to clear the table!

Most Butterfinger cakes will take around an hour to make. That includes the bake time. The good news is that you can actually prepare the cake in the morning (while the kids are at school and aren’t begging to lick the beaters-leaving you the first shot at them!) and serve it for supper that night.

The beauty of making it early in the day is that the topping will have all day to absorb into the cake. That means a sweeter, denser, moister, cake for you and your family.

Condensed milk/caramel mixture poured over poked Butterfinger Cake

What’s the Difference Between Butterfinger Cake and Better Than Anything Cake?

I’ve passed along this recipe to a few of my friends, and they’ve compared it to Better than Anything Cake. So, what’s the difference between the two?

Very little, but enough to make a difference! Better than Anything Cake is a poke cake, just like this one. The biggest difference between the Butterfinger cake and the Better than Anything cake is that Better than Anything Cake often uses Heath Bars.

That might not make much difference if you’ve never tried this recipe before. But Heath bars just… do something different to the taste of the cake! Bottom line, if you’re looking for a super sweet way to end your supper, a Butterfinger cake is the way to go!

The beauty of the 9X13 dessert:

Whether you’re treating your family to a delicious dessert or bringing along a cake to a bake sale, Butterfinger cake is a winner.

Need a little variety? I love these easy to make 9X13 inch cakes! They’re always perfect to bring to an extended family get together, church potluck or neighborhood barbecue.

They’re easy to cut and serve, they feed 10-12 people, and they’re always popular!

Looking for a less sweet option?  Try out my recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

It’s a rich, dense and moist chocolate cake that’s made totally from scratch. And, what’s more, is that there are even some veggies snuck in! Trust me – your kids will never notice!

Recipe Notes For Butterfinger Cake:

  • Thaw Time-  Remember frozen whipped topping needs to be thawed properly before you use it in the recipe. Otherwise, the topping won’t fully infuse into the poke cake, and the dessert just won’t be the same.

Whipped topping spread over poked Butterfinger Cake

  • Cake Mix- In this recipe, the cake mix you use doesn’t make a great deal of difference. My preference, however, are the name brand mixes. I just don’t think the store brand cake mixes work quite as well. For the best results, try Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines or another reputable brand.

A forkful of Butterfinger Cake

**Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below or leave a comment!** 

Butterfinger Cake

Cake:

  • 1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix

Toppings:

  • 1 (14 Ounce) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 (12 Ounce) Jar Caramel Dessert Topping
  • 1 (16 Ounce) Container Frozen Whipped Topping (Thawed)
  • 2 (2.1 Ounce) Butterfinger Candy Bars (Crushed)
  1. Prepare the cake as directed on the back of the box, using ingredients called for (not  on above list) in  9X13 inch baking dish.

  2. While cake is baking, stir together sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce; set aside.

  3. Immediately after taking the cake out of the oven, poke holes in hot cake, 1 inch apart and 1 inch deep. Pour condensed milk/caramel mixture evenly over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.

  4. Spread whipped topping over cake, then sprinkle top with crushed Butterfinger. Refrigerate until serving.

Looking For More 9×13 Dessert Favorites?

Fruit Cocktail cake – Just like Grandma used to make! Made from scratch, moist, tender and topped with a yummy butter sauce loaded with coconut and pecans!

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake – Our Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake is tender and moist with a unique crunchy lemon sugar topping.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – This moist Banana Cake is loaded with lots of banana flavor and topped with a generous layer of cream cheese frosting.

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Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

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Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole on a plate, topped chopped with green onions and bacon

Our Easy Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole takes minutes to assemble and the result is a dish that’s perfect for family breakfast,  fancy brunch, or a church potluck! A cheesy, comfort food casserole loved by kids and adults! This tater tot breakfast casserole is truly the perfect one-dish meal.

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole on a plate, topped chopped with green onions and bacon

There’s a game that I used to play with my kids called “If You Could Only Eat One Thing for the Rest of Your Life What Would it Be?”.

Their answers always bounce back and forth between Fruit by the Foot and Ring Pops (my children are health fanatics, can you tell?).

I, however, consistently have two answers for them: cheese and/or tater tots. From this, ladies and gentlemen, a casserole was born.

It’s now no secret that our Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole was made out of love, but unlike love, this recipe is really simple. The speedy night-before assembly is only a plus compared to the flavor.

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Warm and cheesy, this breakfast tater tot casserole is like a hug. It is a perfect compliment to any table.

Bacon, potatoes, sausage, eggs (and did I mention cheese?) combine to make a meal that encompasses all of your favorite breakfast foods, in one. Perfect with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or a tall glass of orange juice.

Kid-friendly, parent approved, this is one you won’t want to skip!

Arranging tater tots in a baking dish

HOW DO YOU MAKE TATER TOT CASSEROLE?

There are about a million ways to make tater tot casserole. You can make a tater tot breakfast casserole with sausage and sausage only! My family prefers a tater tot sausage breakfast casserole with bacon hands down!

But you, dear reader, might have a house full of bacon lovers! Whip them up a tater tot breakfast casserole with bacon galore!

One quick search of “tater tot casserole breakfast” on Pinterest will prove that tater tot recipes are to casseroles like shoes are to closets. You can never have too many, but it’s also a tad overwhelming and you’re never sure which casserole to wear…er, make.

There are so many choices. You can make them with everything from condensed soup to powdered ranch mix. It really depends on your own personal preference.

Casseroles became popular in the 1950’s, as it was around this time that new forms of bakeware appeared on the market. The one pan, one dish concept was immediately incredibly popular among busy women.

Obviously, it stuck, since casserole dishes remain at the forefront of many weeknight dinners today.

Most (if not all) casseroles are put together with the bulk of the ingredients (i.e. bacon, sausage) baking in added liquid (beaten eggs, milk). Tater tot casseroles are no different.

The liquid thickens in the oven, creating a delicious, gooey combination of crisp potatoes and bubbly cheese. The savory flavors are a perfect compliment to a sweet side. Try our Blueberry Coffee Cake to create the perfect, classic breakfast duo.

Egg mixture poured over tater tots in a baking dish

CAN YOU MAKE TATER TOT CASSEROLE AHEAD OF TIME?

Absolutely! This recipe, in particular, is fantastic for a make-ahead dish.

Whether you’re prepping it at home for breakfast the next day or making a large batch to take to a brunch, it’s very easy to assemble.

It can be whipped up at any time and kept in the fridge for 24-48 hours before baking. I do recommend baking it within the first 24 for taste.

Our version contains raw eggs, as many of them do, so be sure to keep it well covered and separate from other foods. Safety first, friends!

Close up, Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole on a fork

CAN YOU FREEZE TATER TOT CASSEROLE?

You sure can!

The freezing ability of casseroles reigns far above most foods. They freeze well.

They just DO. The best part is that when you take them out, unthaw, heat and consume…they taste just as good!

After baking (and eating), pop your leftover casserole into a freezer safe container and freeze away!

I like to divide it up into a few smaller servings so I can just take it out and warm it in the microwave, but that’s up to you! Casseroles with cooked eggs should not be stored longer than 3 months.

Don’t worry though, it will never take you that long to eat it. Check out these fantastic guidelines on freezing food and storage time.

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, topped with green onions and bacon

CAN YOU MAKE TATER TOT CASSEROLE IN THE CROCKPOT?

Yes. According to me, you can make anything in the crockpot. I consistently eyeball a recipe and wonder out loud, “can I put this in the crockpot?”.

Sometimes it’s a yes, sometimes it’s a no.

We will not get into the crockpot cheesecake disaster of 2007. My grandmother used to tell strangers she met in the dairy aisle at the grocery store all about it.

Simply mention cream cheese, and boy does she have a story for you.

Anyway, I assure you that you can absolutely make tater tot breakfast casserole crockpot friendly!

We all love the crockpot for one reason: convenience. It helps us live life a little more simply. It was a great convenience having breakfast ready to go while I was trying to get children out the door in the morning.

It’s almost as fantastic as being home alone with a king-sized Toblerone and a Gilmore Girls marathon.

All you have to do to make this happen is to get up early. You don’t even have to stay up. You can stumble joyously back to bed, knowing that breakfast for your family will be ready when they all wake up!

CROCKPOT INSTRUCTIONS;

  • Follow the recipe instructions as listed below, but combine in your slow cooker instead of a casserole dish.
  • Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 4-5.

Our Easy Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole takes minutes to assemble and the result is a dish that's perfect for family breakfast, fancy brunch, or a church potluck! A cheesy, comfort food casserole loved by kids and adults! This tater tot breakfast casserole is truly the perfect one-dish meal.

Oh, and as just a little side note, Check out the photo above. This is my favorite part of this whole dish! The amazing crispy edges!!!

I’m telling you this dish is perfection!

RECIPE NOTES FOR TATER TOT BREAKFAST CASSEROLE:

Versatile: One of my favorite parts about this tater tot breakfast casserole is that the flavors are completely interchangeable!

You can switch up any added ingredients based upon personal preference, and isn’t that what cooking is all about?!

The tater tot breakfast casserole Tasty recommends uses condensed French Onion Soup for flavor, but even with water, it turns out a bit thick.

You’re better off stealing any little tasty bits and bobs that you have in your fridge to make something all your own. Leftover ham works wonderfully. Veggies, a pinch of garlic powder, maybe some pepper jack cheese and sriracha for spice…the possibilities are endless.  

If you do decide to spice it up, try our Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins as a sweet and tangy addition. The lemon compliments a spicier dish perfectly. You won’t be sorry!

Our tater tot breakfast casserole recipe is also incredibly easy to lighten. Don’t get me wrong, it’s delicious as is, but you’ll see yet another change in flavor if you try chicken sausage, turkey bacon, or even skim milk!

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole on a plate, topped chopped with green onions and bacon

Make it Vegetarian: On that note, we created our tater tot breakfast casserole with bacon and sausage, but making it vegetarian is easier than convincing a three year old to skip a nap.

Omit the bacon and sausage (obviously) and add a plethora of vegetables. Trust me when I say that you can literally add almost any vegetable to this dish to create the ultimate tater tot breakfast casserole no meat version!

Diced bell peppers, tomatoes, fresh spinach and even broccoli are just a few examples of fresh veggies that complement the taters…and please the tots. Kids LOVE the veggie version. See what I did there?

You can even attempt the tater tot casserole sausage fake out. Use Morningstar Farms sausage crumbles! Oh, let me count the ways…

Simplicity: No matter how you decide to make this dish, the fact that the tater tots can go right into the pan from the freezer, and that it can be prepped in advance or made completely in the same day, makes it incredibly appealing for not only weekday breakfasts, but for large events as well!

This dish is simple, yet delicious.

Perfect for beginners in the kitchen and for those of you who’ve been around the whisk a few times.

Great if you’re pressed for time, fantastic if you have all the time in the world. The tools required are those present in every kitchen, whereas other recipes, like the tater tot breakfast casserole Pioneer Woman makes frequently, calls for a cast iron skillet and a couple other steps that aren’t really time savers.

It’s definitely delicious, but with our recipe, there’s no sacrificing time for the taste.

**DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW OR LEAVE A COMMENT!**

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

  • 2 (9 Ounce) Packages Sausage Links
  • 1 Pound Bacon
  • 1 (32 Ounce) Package Tater Tots
  • 12 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 Cup Milk
  • 1/4 Cup Green Onions (Thinly Sliced)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese, (Shredded)
  • 2 Cups Cheddar Cheese, (Shredded~Divided)
  • 2 Tablespoons Green Onions, (Thinly Sliced)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

  2. Cook the sausage in a skillet until cooked through. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and drain skillet of all fat. Slice into 1/2 inch pieces.

  3.  Cook bacon in the same, defatted skillet until brown and crispy. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble.

  4. Arrange Tater Tots in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Whisk together eggs, milk, 1/4 cup green onions, salt, and pepper. Fold in 1 cup Monterey jack cheese and 1 cup of cheddar cheese into egg mixture. Pour egg mixture over tater tots. 

  5. Bake in preheated oven until egg mixture is set and, 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1 cheddar cup cheese, pop back in the oven, about 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted. Allow to stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and green onions and serve.

Looking For More Casserole Favorites?

Chicken Tater Tots Casserole – This casserole is one of those casseroles that my family just can’t get enough of! Oooey~goooey, creamy and delicious. Loaded with chunks of Chicken and Bacon in a super Creamy Sauce then topped with Cheesy Tater Tots!

Hamburger Casserole – Made with ground beef or turkey, with noodles, cheese, and a delicious sauce, your Family will think its one of the best dinners in your rotation.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna – This new delicious twist on classic lasagna and wings will have you wondering why you didn’t think of it sooner.

Easy Dorito Casserole – Dive into a delicious, Dorito-studded casserole layered with a zesty beef filling – it has all the flavor of our favorite orange chips without all the hassle of orange finger-tips!

Million Dollar Spaghetti – is super easy to put together and has a center layer of creamy, gooey cheese. This is one of my favorite ways to serve spaghetti and people just can’t get enough of it!

Mom’s Porcupine Meatballs –  These super easy meatballs are made with beef and rice then simmered in a delicious tomato sauce

 

Source: Adapted from Southern Living

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Honey Walnut Shrimp Recipe

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A bowl of rice topped with Honey Walnut Shrimp

This Honey Walnut Shrimp is better than most restaurant versions. Generously battered shrimp, sweetened walnuts, and the sweet honey sauce is Mind Blowing! A bowl of rice topped with Honey Walnut Shrimp

Have you ever visited a restaurant and fallen in love with something on the menu? How about fallen so head over heels that you made plans to return to the restaurant the next day? I have, of course, eating out every night fits in with just about no one’s schedule, and just about no one’s budget. That’s why I began working on this Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe.

For years our family would eat at a lovely, high-end Chinese Food restaurant in Roseville, California called “Fats”. The food there was really fabulous. One of our all-time favorite dishes, and frankly one of the main reasons we ate there so often, was because the entire family couldn’t get enough of their Honey Walnut Shrimp. Chinese food was always a family favorite but when we discovered this dish, it was a “Katie bar the doors” kinda situation.

If you’ve tried this dish before and weren’t too thrilled, try my recipe, it’s absolutely phenomenal… It’s the perfect blend of sweet and savory, and it’ll be all you can do to keep your family from literally licking their plates clean. You’ll find similar recipes all over the web; there’s the Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe, for example, but honey walnut shrimp Panda Express recipe has got nothing on this one.  Or you can find recreations of the Honey Walnut Shrimp Trader Joe’s sells. Nope. Not quite.

Want to know the secret? It’s the mochiko. Those other recipes are great, but they use cornstarch, which is quite different from mochiko.

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A box of Sweet Rice Flour

What is mochiko?

“What is mochiko?” you ask. I’m so glad you brought it up! In America, mochiko is usually pronounced mo-chee-ko, though that varies depending on where you live. It’s a kind of a glutinous rice flour, made from sweetened “sticky rice” and it’s got a really distinct texture to it – it could be described best as “toothy” or even chewy.

It’s not just the texture that separates the mochiko from cornstarch or different flours. It’s also the flavor. Like I mentioned, mochiko is made from sweetened flours. In fact, it’s often used in desserts in Japanese dishes.

You can find mochiko locally if you have an Asian market in your area. If you live in a larger city, you may even be able to pick up a bag at the grocery store. For those of you in the smaller towns, though, you can find mochiko for sale on Amazon.

If you do buy your mochiko online, be sure to check the seller’s reviews. The last thing you want is to end up with a bag of expired mochiko. Like white and other flours, mochiko changes taste as it ages, and older flour can mean a bitter taste for your food.

A bowl of rice topped with Honey Walnut Shrimp

Can you use cornstarch instead of mochiko?

Yes! You can use cornstarch instead of mochiko in this recipe. But I say that hesitantly because the mochiko really does bring out the flavor of the honey walnut shrimp. It gives it a sweet flavor and that texture I was talking about – cornstarch just fries differently than mochiko does.

You’ll find cornstarch in other recipes like the Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe Food Network promotes. The way I figure it, there are three reasons for this. Maybe mochiko isn’t locally available and you don’t want to wait for an online delivery. Most of us already have cornstarch on hand, so it’s an easy substitute.

The second reason is that people are trying to make a healthy Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe, so they use cornstarch instead. Yes, cornstarch does have fewer calories. But I don’t think the difference in taste is worth it. Besides, one cup of mochiko has 578 calories, and one cup of cornstarch has 488.

The third reason might actually surprise you. I mentioned that mochiko is a “glutinous” rice flour. Some people substitute cornstarch (which is gluten-free) for mochiko because they want to avoid gluten, but they don’t need to! Both contain no gluten at all.

Walnuts on a metal baking sheet

Besides being gluten-free, is Honey Walnut Shrimp healthy?

If you’re looking for info on Honey Walnut Shrimp calories, I’ll just give it to you straight – honey walnut shrimp isn’t exactly a low-calorie meal. This particular recipe contains about 600 calories per serving. The dish is sweet, and has honey, sugar, mayo and sweetened condensed milk in it. And while you could absolutely make substitutions, you’d have to experiment because some substitutions may change the texture and, of course, the taste of the dish.

For an easy way to cut a few calories, try making your honey walnut shrimp not fried. Just pan-fry your shrimp without the batter using a bit of olive oil. There are other adaptations of the recipe, for sure – there’s even a honey walnut shrimp wiki on the web. That’s how much people love this dish! If the calories in this recipe are just too much to justify, you’ve got a few options. First, try one of my other recipes, inspired by dishes from some of my favorite Chinese restaurants.

You’ll love the Shrimp Lo Mein. It’s an easy meal – everything comes together in your wok or large skillet. Another favorite is my Szechuan Beef. Again, this is an easy one, it takes just 30 minutes to prepare. Last but not least, there’s Mongolian Chicken. The chicken in this recipe is pan-fried, cutting down on some of the fat and calories.

A bowl of rice topped with Honey Walnut Shrimp

How do you make honey roasted walnuts?

The Walnuts in this recipe are sugared. The technique in our recipe produces a slightly sweet, tender walnut that works perfectly in this dish. If you’d prefer a honey roasted walnuts, here’s how to make them:

  • To make honey roasted walnuts, you’ll need a half cup honey and a half teaspoon of salt. Combine that with a quarter cup raw sugar in a saucepan, toss in a cinnamon stick, and cook until the sugar is dissolved.
  • Some people like to add a dash of cayenne pepper. If that’s not your thing – skip it. Once the sugar is dissolved, toss in a cup of walnut halves, and stir to coat the walnuts.
  • Once everything has simmered for about 5 minutes, toss the cinnamon stick in the trash, then drain the mixture through a sieve. Spread the nuts out evenly on a wire rack over a pan. To protect your pan from burnt sugar, cover the pan with foil.
  • Bake for about 10 minutes, then take them out of the oven. There you have it! Perfect honey roasted walnuts. Toss these in your honey walnut shrimp recipe and you’ll see what I mean.
  • Once you’ve tried this recipe for Honey Walnut Shrimp, you can play around with it a little. One of the best adaptations I’ve tried is using honey roasted walnuts instead of simply candying them. Oh. My. Gosh. It turned out so good that it was me who came close to licking the plate.

 

Honey Walnut Shrimp sauce ingredients in a small bowl with a wooden spoon on the side

Recipe Notes for Honey Walnut Shrimp :

Shrimp size – You can really use any size shrimp you want. Keep in mind, though, that the smaller the shrimp is, the more of the sauce it will pick up. That may sound like a good thing, but it’s easy for the flavor of the shrimp to be overwhelmed. Restaurants that serve honey walnut shrimp near me use medium shrimp, but I’ve had the best success with large. Jumbo shrimp tend to be too big.

Frozen shrimp – I’ve been asked several times whether you can use frozen shrimp in this recipe. You can. Be sure, though, that you rinse the shrimp in cold water before you cook it, and that you let the shrimp dry, or pat it with a paper towel, before dipping it in the batter. Pre-cooked shrimp will not work with this recipe.

Mayonnaise substitutions – Some recipes work well using Greek yogurt instead of mayo to cut calories. I don’t recommend that in this particular. You can certainly try it, but Greek yogurt has a tang to it whereas mayo is a combination of sweet and tart. I’ve found that there’s a big taste difference when you skip the mayo in favor of more “healthy” ingredients.

A bowl of rice topped with Honey Walnut Shrimp

**DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW OR LEAVE A COMMENT!**

Honey Walnut Shrimp

This Honey walnut shrimp is better than most restaurant versions. Generously battered shrimp, sweetened walnuts, and the sweet honey sauce is Mind Blowing!

  • 1 Cup Water
  • 2/3 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Walnuts
  • 4 Large Egg Whites
  • 2/3 Cup Mochiko- (See Substitution in Recipe Notes)
  • 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 Pound Large Shrimp- (Peeled and Deveined)
  • 1/4 Cup Honey
  • 2 Tablespoon Canned Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 2-3 Cup Peanut Oil (Amount Used Will Depend on the Size of Your Pan)
  1. In a small saucepan, stir together water and sugar and bring to a boil. 

  2. Carefully stir in the walnuts and boil for 2 minutes. 

  3. Remove walnuts with a slotted spoon, gently shaking to drain all the water, then spread out on a baking sheet to dry.

  4. In a medium bowl, using a hand held electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. 

  5. Mix in the mochiko until combined. Add the shrimp to batter, a few at a time, shaking to remove any excess batter.

  6. Heat oil in a medium sauce pan to 350 degrees. Add shrimp and fry until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.

  7. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, honey and sweetened condensed milk. Add the fried shrimp and toss to coat. Spread on a serving dish and sprinkle with candied walnuts and green onions. Serve.

  8. Add the fried shrimp and toss to coat. Spread on a serving dish and sprinkle with candied walnuts and green onions. Serve.

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Grandma’s Coca Cola Cake-A Sweet Southern Tradition

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Coca Cola Cake on a white plate with fork on the side

Our Coca Cola Cake has been a Southern tradition for generations. A sweet, fudgy, crazy moist cake with a thick fudgy icing. Quick and easy to put together!

Coca Cola Cake on a white plate with fork on the side

This is one of those easy, always made from scratch cakes my family grew up eating. It’s an old fashioned Coca Cola cake recipe and tried and true classic.

WHAT IS COCA COLA CAKE?

Coca Cola cake is, according to historians, Southern in origin. Whether or not it stems from home kitchens, or simply a Coca Cola marketing team, there’s no doubt that it’s a staple favorite at many, many family and social gatherings.

Other versions of this cake can be found all over the internet, from the easy Coca Cola cake with cake mix recipes, to the Coca Cola cake recipe Southern Living recommends. This is the recipe that has been passed down to me from my Grandma and been made more times than any of us dare count! Now that leads me to my next point, marshmallows!

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Coca Cola Cake in a glass baking pan

COCA COLA CAKE WITHOUT MARSHMALLOW?

Okay, the burning question? Did the original recipe call for mini marshmallows to be added to the batter? Honestly, I don’t know!  My recipe doesn’t. Since my grandmother never used them while making this cake, I stick to her way. But not just to follow tradition, I do it because her recipe is amazing! 

I love marshmallows, but adding marshmallows to this type of cake make it taste more like Mississippi Mud Cake than the Coca-Cola cake we’re aiming for. To back me up in the “no marshmallow camp” I must point, out that Cracker Barrel Coca Cola Cake omits them and the Coca Cola cake recipe Paula Deen makes does as well. Just Sayin guys!

**WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS RECIPE**

  • The Frosting to Cake Ratio.
  • The Off-The-Charts Moistness of the Cake.
  • The Incredible Fudge Frosting.
  • The Way it Freezes So Beautifully!

CAN COCA COLA CAKE BE FROZEN?

Calling all planners! Coca Cola cake can definitely be frozen. When freezing, be sure that you’ve already frosted the cake while hot. Let it cool, then cover and freeze! A side benefit as to why this cake is so amazing is how well the leftovers freeze. The fudgy and oh, so delicious taste remains! Oh darn, I made too much …not!

Tip: Cut the cake into pieces before you pop it in the freezer. This way, you already have individual slices to let thaw or warm for a few seconds in the microwave.

Coca Cola Cake on a white plate with fork on the side

WHAT DOES COCA COLA CAKE TASTE LIKE?

Heaven. Next question. Just kidding!  Most people assume that Coca Cola cake would just taste like Coca Cola. Spoiler alert! It really doesn’t. The carbonated beverage we’ve all come to know and love has been invited to this party to make the cake moist, airy and fudgy all at the same time. 

Honestly, its the uniquely moist texture that sets this cake apart from other chocolate sheet cakes. Texas Sheet Cake would be a good example of a similar chocolate sheet cake. Both have the perfect cake to icing ratio in my opinion! Texas sheet cake is a denser, deeper chocolate flavor, while Coco Cola Cake has a medium chocolate intensity, is less dense and more cakey, and even more moist.

Coca Cola Cake on a white plate with fork on the side

Recipe Notes For Coca Cola Cake:

Buttermilk: Oh, buttermilk. One of those ingredients that you either always have in your fridge, or you never have in your fridge. There is no in between. If you’re not an avid baker, chances are you definitely do not have buttermilk on hand frequently, if ever. Buttermilk is fantastic for baking, as it adds a very subtle tang along with tenderness to the batters it’s added to. In my opinion, there should never be a Coca Cola cake without buttermilk! I highly recommend making sure you grab some for this recipe, but  in a pinch, you can use the following substitute:   

  • Buttermilk Substitute:    
    • 1 Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice
    • 1 C milk
    • Stir, let stand for 5 minutes
    • This recipe will be equal to one cup of buttermilk

Cinnamon and Marshmallows: If you’ve perused recipes for a while, you’ll find that many people add cinnamon and mini marshmallows (previously discussed) to their Coca Cola cake. I love both of these ingredients but for me, it’s just not how we grew up enjoying this cake. It’s not how we traditionally made Coca Cola cake. 

Glaze: This cake is delicious on its own, but the glaze, added while the cake is still warm, adds a fudge-tastic topping that completes it.

      Three things are very important in our Coca Cola cake icing instructions:

  • Making the glaze while the cake is in the oven.
  • Pouring while the cake is still hot.
  • Ensuring that the Coca Cola has boiled down to half a cup. If the Coke does not reduce and thicken up, you’ll be left with a glaze that’s too runny and seriously lacking in fudge.

Powdered Sugar: Nobody wants lumpy glaze on a Coca Cola cake. Sift your powdered sugar. You want it to blend in smoothly to the glaze and avoid white lumps!

Diet Coca Cola:No. Just a Big No. Don’t do it. This, and all other, Coca Cola cake recipes call for regular Coca Cola only!

Double Up on Chocolate:  As I said above, this cake has a lovely, medium chocolate intensity. If you want to make it with a deeper chocolate intensity, here’s how to create a double chocolate Coca Cola cake :

    Make the following adjustments to the recipe below:

  • Add 1/2 cup cocoa to the cake instead of the 1/4 cup called for.
  • For the frosting:
    • Boil your Coke down to ¼ a cup instead of a ½.
    • Add ¼ a cup of chocolate syrup to make up for the lost pop.
    • Reduce your powdered sugar to 3 cups (still sift it well!)
    • Add ½ cup cocoa powder instead of 1/4 cup

        Interested in mega chocolate? Use dark chocolate cocoa powder. Holy. Moly.

Making Coca Cola Cake with Cake Mix: I often use cake mixes in my recipes, but with this cake being so EASY to make and the fact that it always comes out so amazingly moist and delicious, this is a time I never even think about using a cake mix.

Coca Cola Cake held in hand

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Coca Cola Cake

Our Coca Cola Cake has been a Southern tradition for generations. A sweet, fudgy, crazy moist cake with a thick fudgy icing. Quick and easy to put together!

Cake:

  • 2 Cups Sugar
  • 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Can (12 Ounces) Coca Cola (Regular-Not Diet)
  • 1/4 Cup Cocoa
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter (Cut Into Cubes)
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Glaze:

  • 1 Can (12 Ounces) Coca Cola (Regular-Not Diet)
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (Cut Into Cubes)
  • 1/4 Cup Cocoa
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
  • 3 3/4 Cups Confectioners' Sugar (Sifted)

Prepare Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray a 9 X 13-inch baking pan.

  2. Whisk the first 4 ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.

  3. In a small saucepan, add the Coca Cola, cocoa, and butter and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Pour into flour mixture and stir until blended.

  4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla together then whisk into flour mixture.

  5. Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Prepare Glaze:

  1. Start making the glaze the last 15 minutes before the cake is done baking. In a saucepan, bring the Coca Cola to a boil; continue to cook 12-15 minutes or until soda has been reduced to 1/2 a cup. Stir in the butter, and cocoa until the butter has melted. Remove from heat, add vanilla and Confectioners’ Sugar and mix until smooth. Pour immediately over hot cake.

Want to Try More of Our Favorite Sheet Cakes……

Pineapple Sheet Cake – Our pineapple-studded cake drenched in a sweet, creamy coconut icing, with crispy toasted pecans on top. You’ll be dreaming of beach vacations and tropical cocktails after just one bite!
Caramel Apple Sheet Cake – This cake is Super Moist, Deliciously Spiced, Cake loaded with chunks of fresh Apple all topped off with a Luscious Caramel Icing!
Coconut Sheet Cake – This cake is incredibly delicious, super moist, Coconut Sheet Cake topped with a perfect Coconut frosting.

**Sending You Some Dog LOVE-From My Pack To Yours!**

My Sweet Bruno! 

Originally Published on Centsless Meals

The post Grandma’s Coca Cola Cake-A Sweet Southern Tradition appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

Texas Chili Recipe – Beefy, Thick, Spicy and Smokey!

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Our authentic Texas Chili recipe is beefy, thick, spicy and smokey. This “Bowl o’ Red” is hearty and succulent homemade goodness your family will LOVE!

Hands holding bowl of Texas Chili topped with shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, and dollop of sour cream

Texas Chili is a staple in many a Southerner’s diet. In fact, chili is the state dish of Texas! Recipes are passed from generation to generation and often contain closely guarded secrets. Every cook and diner has his or her own opinion on what ingredients and steps are required, and which are prohibited, in the making of Texas Chili. Read on for my favorite version of this timeless dish. Spoiler alert: it includes tomatoes, but excludes beans! If you enjoy this homemade Texas Chili recipe, you will love its close relatives, Walking Tacos and Frito Pie. Texas Chili is the primary ingredient in Walking Tacos, so once you have followed the steps below, you are halfway home. Simmer up a pot of full-flavored Texas Chili today and warm your diners to their bones. They are sure to ask for another helping.  

What is Texas Chili?

Texas Chili is a classic southern dish, though it is also a favorite in many areas above the Mason-Dixon Line. The primary ingredients in an easy Texas Chili recipe are tender beef, seasoned onions, and ground chilies. Recipes vary from there.

Texas Chili is one of those fundamental recipes that every home cook eventually tries their hand at. As a potluck go-to or hearty meal for hungry families, it possesses a depth of flavor that has been refined via many iterations. The Houston Press describes chili con carne as a uniquely Texan invention from the 1800’s, popularized by working class “chili queens”.

Some stories trace chilies history even further back in time. One legend claims that a small town Spanish nun was the first to record the recipe, in the 1600’s—after her spirit traveled across the ocean to preach Christianity to the Native Americans, according to National Chili Day.

What I love most about this recipe:

  • I love how thick and meaty this chili is!
  • Texas Chili makes a good base for a variety of other southern dishes.
  • The full, hearty flavor will leave no one hungry!

SAVE THIS TEXAS CHILI

TO YOUR CHILI OR DINNER BOARD FOR LATER

LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

Prepared ingredients for Texas Chili

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Texas Chili:

While the list below will, of course, be contentious to some, here is what I believe are the essential ingredients. My Texas Chili recipe (no beans) requires beef, aromatics, chilis, tomatoes, masa, and spices.

Beef: You will need a cut that has sufficient fat to hold up to the simmering process and deliver a texture that isn’t dry. Hand cut cubes from a chuck roast work beautifully. I prefer a coarsely ground 80/20 (also called a “chili grind”) that I can pick up from my local butcher. You might also use a standard grind 80/20, but it will have a smoother, less chunky texture.

Onions: Help produce its classic, perky aroma.

Garlic: Minced.

Spice Mix: Chili Powder, Bay Leaves, Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Oregano, Salt, and Pepper

  • Grinding your own chili’s is absolutely an upgrade, but a good commercial brand will also do the trick. The added convenience of purchasing pre-ground chili will likely encourage you to make the recipe far more frequently. Check out this link for the best supermarket chili powder. TIP: If you do grind your own whole chilies, one whole chili makes about 1-1 ½ teaspoons of ground chili powder.

Tomato: This is probably the most controversial ingredient in an authentic Texas Chili! I will admit, I prefer tomatoes in my Texas Chili, as do many Texans! Many people do like their chili gravy tomato-free, however. Chili Con Carne, for example, differs from Texas Chili in that it has neither tomatoes nor beans. I say, let there be peace amongst us friends!

Masa: Masa is a dough made from corn flour. It is commonly used in Latin American dishes like tamales and tortillas.

Better than Bouillon: Beef Better than Bouillon is my totally unauthentic but incredibly flavorful addition to this recipe. I habitually add this to my soups and stews to enhance their beefy flavor. Watch out—it might just become YOUR new favorite—a secret ingredient that takes your recipes to the next level!

How to make Texas Chili:

Texas Chili is made by simmering beef with beer and a variety of spices and seasonings. Follow these four easy steps to rustle up your own award-winning Texas Chili recipe.

First, brown your beef. Next, cook the onions with garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano. Third, add salt, pepper, bay leaves, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Better than Bouillon, amber ale beer, and water, and add the beef back in. Finally, supplement the mixture with additional beer and water as needed. Dinner is served!

Step By Step Process How To Make Texas Chili

Step-By-Step  Overview For Texas Chili:

  1. Brown the beef in batches.
  2. Cook the onion until soft.
  3. Stir in the garlic and the spice mixture.
  4. Return the beef to the pan and add the salt, pepper, bay leaf, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Better Than Bouillon, 3/4 cup of the amber ale beer and 1/3 a cup of water and simmer 20 minutes.
  5. Not Pictured- Add the remaining 3/4 cup of beer, another 2/3 cup of water, and masa and simmer 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chili is thick.

What kind of meat for Texas Chili:

Beef is best for Texas Chili. You can use either a coarse grind or a standard grind of 80/20 ground beef or chuck (which comes from the shoulder area of the cow). Course grind beef is also referred to as a “chili grind.”

Alternatively, you can hand cut cubes from a chuck roast. Your local butcher can point you to these options if you have trouble locating them.  

Bowl of Texas Chili topped with shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, and dollop of sour cream

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Texas Chili Recipe-Beefy, Thick, Spicy and Smokey!

Our authentic Texas Chili recipe is beefy, thick, spicy and smokey. This “Bowl o’ Red” is hearty and succulent homemade goodness your family will LOVE!  

  • 2 Pounds Coarse Ground Beef, 80/20 or Chuck (Also Called Chili Grind)
  • Vegetable Oil, (As Needed)
  • 2 Cups Yellow Onions, (Chopped)
  • 2 Tablespoons Garlic, (Minced)
  • 3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
  • 2 Tablespoons Ground Cumin
  • 1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika
  • 1 Tablespoons Oregano
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • 2 Teaspoons Black Pepper
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1 (28 Ounce) Can Crushed Tomatoes
  • 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
  • 1 Heaping Tablespoon Better than Bouillon-Beef Flavor
  • 1 (12-Ounce) Bottles Amber Ale Beer
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 2 Tablespoons Masa

Toppings:

  • Cheddar Cheese, (Shredded)
  • Sour Cream
  • Red Onions, (Chopped)
  • Jalapeno, (Sliced)

Make Chili:

  1. In a 6-quart saucepan, over medium-high heat, brown the beef crumbling as it browns, in batches so as not to crowd the pan. Remove the browned meat to a paper towel lined plate.

  2. Remove all but 1/4 cup of the fat in the pan, if there’s not 1/4 cup fat, add vegetable oil, as needed.  Add the onion and cook, on medium, stirring occasionally, until browned and soft, about 10-12 minutes.

  3.  Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano and cook, stirring constantly so as not to burn the spices, until the spices are fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

  4. Return the browned beef to the saucepan and add the salt, pepper, bay leaves, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Better than Bouillon, 3/4 cup of the amber ale beer and 1/3 a cup of water and simmer 20 minutes.

  5. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of beer, another 2/3 cup of water, and masa and simmer 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chili is thick.

  6. Serve with any toppings you like.

Scooped Texas Chili from a pot

Recipe Notes For Texas Chili:

Types of chili powder: Chili powder selection is no trivial matter for true chili aficionados. My family prefers meals on the milder side, so I usually go for a good commercial blend that is readily available at the supermarket. I want the result to have a sturdy chili flavor with big deep tones and detectable smokiness.

How to freeze: This homemade Texas chili recipe freezes very well in any standard freezer-safe dish. Simply stow the remainder of your meal in an airtight container, label it, and it will retain its flavor for several months. Some say it tastes even better the second time around!

Better than Bouillon: A blendable beef base made of meat, spices, and vegetables, Better than Bouillon packs a flavorful punch. According to Cook’s Illustrated, this brand has a “fuller” taste than the alternatives, “stores easily,” and “dissolves quickly”. And it’s cheap to boot! Cook’s Illustrated rates Better than Bouillon as their #1 winner for Beef Broth.

Authenticity: As with any well-loved regional recipe, each chef, cook, and consumer of this dish will have their pet perspective on the authenticity of the ingredients and techniques that go into creating the “best Texas Chili recipe ever.”

Cumin and Bay Leaves: are rich sources of vitamins and minerals, including iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and may benefit cardiovascular health. Read more here about the uses and potential benefits of bay leaves

Bowl of Texas Chili topped with shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, and dollop of sour cream

Does Texas Chili Have Beans?

Texas Chili with beans?? In my opinion, heck no! But there are many well-loved varieties of this dish and to each her own.

I prefer the bean-free version because it allows the tomatoes and onions to shine and reduces the risk of other flavors and textures overpowering the robust beef mixture. There are plenty of chili recipes out there that include beans, however, and these have the benefit of additional fiber and protein.

Texas Chili Recipe Slow Cooker:

To make this recipe in a slow cooker, first, brown the beef and drain excess fat. Then combine all of the ingredients in a crockpot and cook for about 8 hours on low heat, or closer to 6 hours on high heat.

It is not absolutely necessary to brown the beef before adding it to the crockpot, but doing so will allow you to remove some of the grease prevent clumping, and improve the flavor and feel of the final product.  

Source: Gonna Want Seconds

  • Check out Texas Chili wiki for more ideas.

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Tallulah at the Beach

Tallulah and a beach friend <3

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Butter Chicken Recipe- Restaurant Quality Indian Comfort Food

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This quick version of Butter Chicken is a game-changer! No marinating required, it still yields restaurant-quality, full-flavored, tender buttery chicken.

A bowl of rice topped with Butter Chicken garnished with parsley and ground cashews

There’s a good reason why Butter Chicken is one of the most quintessential and beloved Indian recipes of all time. Having eaten it at restaurants many times, I thought that because the flavors were so complex it would be difficult to recreate. Boy, was I wrong!

Just the name ‘Butter Chicken’ conjures up a vision of tender, succulent chicken in a spicy, creamy, buttery sauce with a bit of a tang from the yogurt. And yes…it’s just as luxurious and rich as it sounds! And while the word ‘butter’ is in the recipe name, heavy cream is really the jewel in the creaminess crown.

And don’t let the long list of spices and ingredients intimidate you – the Butter Chicken recipe Sanjeev Kapoor makes has many, many more! Next time you’re craving some Indian cuisine but don’t feel like going out, try this Butter Chicken recipe at home in under 30 minutes.

What is Butter Chicken?

Indian Butter Chicken consists of chicken in a comforting sauce. It contains a medley of spices that are balanced and not overpowering. Some prepare it with chicken breasts, but most prefer the fatty goodness of dark meat chicken thighs.

Our Butter Chicken sauce has a tomato base and contains the flavors of many Indian recipes – onions, ginger, and garlic – made creamy by the addition of butter, heavy cream and yogurt. It’s a very forgiving recipe, so feel free to make adjustments to suit your taste.

With its signature orange color, versions of this dish are popular all over the world.

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

  • The Sauce is velvety, rich and ah-mazing!
  • Prep time is only 30 minutes.
  • The aromatic spices are spot on authentic Indian.

SAVE THIS BUTTER CHICKEN

TO YOUR CHICKEN OR DINNER BOARD FOR LATER

LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

A piece of Butter Chicken on a fork

How To Make Butter Chicken?

While it seems like there are a lot of ingredients in this authentic Indian Butter Chicken recipe – don’t be intimidated – there aren’t many steps involved.

First, you’ll make the sauce by sautéing some onions and shallots. When tender, you’ll add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.

While the sauce is happily simmering away, cook the chicken in oil for 10 minutes, season, and marry with the sauce. Simmer until reduced and the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Is Butter Chicken Authentic Indian?

Yes! Butter chicken was developed in India in the 1950s as a way to extend the life of Tandoori Chicken. The incredible blend of spices will transport you straight to a kasbah in India.

**DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!**

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Butter Chicken Recipe

This quick version of Butter Chicken is a game-changer! No marinating required, it still yields restaurant-quality, full-flavored, tender buttery chicken.

SAUCE:

  • 1 Tablespoon Peanut Oil
  • 1 Shallot (Finely Chopped)
  • 1 Cup White Onion (Finely Chopped)
  • 2 Tablespoon Butter
  • 2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
  • 2 Teaspoon Garam Marsala
  • 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
  • 1 Teaspoon Coriander
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 Cup Tomato Puree
  • 1 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
  • 1/4 Cup Plain Yogurt
  • 2 Tablespoon Finely Ground Cashew
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Pinch Black Pepper

CHICKEN:

  • 2 Pound2 Chicken Thighs (Boneless, Skinless, Cut Into Bite Size Pieces)
  • 1 Tablespoon Peanut Oil

For Sauce:

  1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat peanut oil over medium-high heat just until the oil is shimmering. Saute onions and shallots until soft and translucent. 

  2. Add, butter, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon garam masala, ginger garlic paste, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and bay leaf to the skillet and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. 

  3. Pour tomato sauce in the skillet. Continue to cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Then, pour heavy cream, yogurt, and ground cashews. Reduce heat to low, stir frequently and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside. 

For Chicken:

  1. Season chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper.

  2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, in batches so as to not crowd the pan, and brown over medium heat on both sides, about 10 minutes. Mix in the sauce and simmer until the sauce is reduced, making sure that the chicken is completely cooked.

  3. Pour the sauce over the browned chicken and simmer gently  (adding more heavy cream or water as needed if sauce gets too thick.) until the sauce is thick and the chicken is completely cooked about 10 minutes

Recipe Notes For Butter Chicken:

Spices: If you’re not familiar with the spices in this recipe, don’t worry, they’re generally easy to find in most grocery stores. Keeping recipes convenient so that people actually make them is very important to me.

Garam Marsala: This is a primary spice blend in Indian cooking that often includes cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, peppercorns, coriander, cinnamon, and cumin. It offers a deep warm flavor but not a peppery bite. Be sure to get the best garam masala you can – it does make a difference in this recipe.

Ginger Garlic Paste: If you don’t have this on hand, you can make ginger garlic paste at home.

Ground cashews: If you have an allergy to nuts, omit this ingredient of course.

Dairy: Regardless of which cooking method you use, always add the dairy last. Heavy cream tends to split when it’s boiled, and you don’t want that!

Ground Cashews on a measuring cup

What Do You Serve With Butter Chicken?

We like to serve this dish with basmati rice, naan bread or both, to make a really authentic Indian meal!  If you’re trying to cut carbs, cauliflower rice also makes an excellent accompaniment.

How Do You Make Crockpot Butter Chicken?

With its blend of warm Indian spices, Butter Chicken in the Crockpot is a delight and a great addition to your busy weekday recipe roundup. With Butter Chicken recipe slow cooker style, the sauce actually marinates the chicken as it cooks, which makes it super-moist.

Following are the steps for making my Butter Chicken recipe in the Crockpot.

  •   Put all ingredients – except yogurt and heavy cream – in the Crockpot and stir to combine.
  •      Cover and cook on a high heat setting for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.
  •      During the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in the dairy products and finish the cooking time.

How Do You Make Instant Pot Butter Chicken?

This Butter Chicken Instant Pot recipe is short on cooking time, but long on flavor.

It’s really all about satisfying your craving quickly in a way that will satisfy you for a long time.

  •      Set the Instant Pot setting to sauté.
  •      Add oil and aromatics and sauté until tender-crisp.
  •      Mix the spices together in a bowl.
  •      Add butter and when bubbly, add tomato puree.
  •      Add spices and chicken chunks and stir.
  •      Close the lid and switch to Manual mode and set the timer for 15 minutes.
  •      When finished, switch to Natural Release mode for 10 minutes and enjoy butter chicken instant pot!

A bowl of rice topped with Butter Chicken garnished with parsley and ground cashews

What is the difference between Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala?

Butter chicken curry is popular all over the world, although there are deviations in flavors and preparation that depend on the specific region where it is being made. There are even versions of peanut butter chicken out there!

It is believed to have been served for the first time in Moti Mahal, which was one of the most popular restaurants in Delhi. It became known as an excellent way to use chicken leftovers by kicking it up with a bold flavor.

On the other hand, while chicken tikka masala is also considered to be a curry dish, it does differ in some ways. The chicken is grilled and smothered in creamy tomato-based sauce, making it taste like an Indian form of pizza.

Although inspired by the flavors of Indian cuisine, chicken tikka masala is not really from India. Some accounts say that it was first introduced in the 1970s in Glasgow and some formally recognize it as being of British origin.

More Indian Flavored Food:

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Knock Knock!

Originally Published on Centless Meals

The post Butter Chicken Recipe- Restaurant Quality Indian Comfort Food appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

Walking Tacos

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Pump up your dinner “fun factor” for kids of all ages with our Walking Tacos! It’s a party in a bag and the most fun way to eat tacos on the go!

Walking Taco in a bag of Fritos held in hand

Who doesn’t like to munch dinner out of a Frito bag? And who doesn’t enjoy minimal prep work and next to no cleanup? Walking tacos use premade chili and involve zero dinner plates, which means a quick and clean mealtime for you. The natural next life of leftover Texas Chili or Turkey Chili, walking tacos help you cut back on waste and forgotten freezer treasures.

Named for their transportability and popularized by their palatability, walking tacos (aka traveling tacos) is a memorable meal for the family fun night—a cool option for Taco Tuesday. Make walking tacos for 50, heck, make walking tacos for 100 just follow this no-fuss recipe. Eager to learn more about various ways to make this enjoyable dinner fare? Treat this walking taco recipe as your walking taco wiki, a go-to source for all the taco information you have ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

What I love most about this recipe:

  • It’s a perfect use for leftover chili.
  • Walking tacos easily feed a crowd.
  • It’s a fantastic alternative to Taco Tuesdays.
  • Walking tacos are great for camping, picnics, and outdoor adventures.
  • It offers the easiest clean up a cook could ask for! Zero plates required.
  • Your diners can personalize their ingredients according to their taste and dietary needs.

What is a Walking Taco?

While the walking taco definition varies slightly depending on whom you ask, in short, it is a self-contained and portable taco meal! Take your walking tacos camping, make a walking taco concession stand—name your portable food need, and walking tacos can cover it.

Texas style chili is the original and authentic chili to serve in walking tacos, but there are many other fine options. Keep reading for some variations.

SAVE THIS WALKING TACOS

TO YOUR DINNER OR MEXICAN BOARD FOR LATER

LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

Bags of Fritos in a rectangular woven basket

Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Walking Tacos

The foundation of walking tacos is some sort of chili—Texas, turkey, or canned. In addition to chili, you will need Frito chips and taco toppings like cheese, lettuce, onion, and avocado.

If you enjoy learning about the origin of the ingredients you use, you may like this MentalFloss article on the history of the Frito. Teaser: “Frito” means “fried” in Spanish, the Frito business sold for $100. in 1932. The buyer’s mother financed the purchase by pawning her wedding ring… 

Toppings for Walking Taco prepared in individual bowls

How To Make Walking Tacos:

Walking tacos are a breeze to put together. Crunch up a snack sized bag of Fritos, pour in ready-made chili, top with your favorite toppings, and dinner is done.

You can open the chip bag from the top or cut it open from the side; either way works for walking tacos. Set up and clean up only take a couple minutes since the chili is pre-made, and the dinner “plates” are single use.

How To Make A Walking Taco Bar:

To make a walking tacos bar, set out bowls with your family’s favorite toppings. I like to provide a few varieties of shredded cheese, some guacamole, finely chopped onions, shredded lettuce, and sour cream.

Set up your crunched Fritos on one end, sitting them upright in a serving tray. Next comes your big bowl of warm chili, followed by a line of small topping bowls accompanied by serving utensils. Your guests or family simply walk down the line, preparing their taco bags.

What to serve with walking tacos: in addition to a refreshing beverage like freshly squeezed limeade or chilled sparkling cider, walking tacos go great with more mellow sides like green beans and fruit salads.  

Bags of Fritos in a rectangular woven basket

Homemade Or Canned Chili?

I recommend using my Texas Chili recipe. This type of chili was originally used in the creation of walking tacos. Turkey Chili is another alternative that will work just fine. Turkey Chili makes one pound of turkey taco meat, and the recipe can easily be scaled for whatever sized group you need to serve. The recipe employs a great spice combo, no seasoning packets required!

Your third chili option is canned chili. While a homemade foundation is always more delicious, sometimes time constraints get the better of us all! Canned chili could enable you to feed a larger crowd or serve walking tacos on short notice.

Alternatively, you might opt to cook a pound of ground beef with a packet or two of taco seasoning instead of homemade or canned chili. Just brown the beef on medium heat, crumbling as you go, and adding the seasoning to taste.

Walking Taco in a bag of Fritos held in hand

Make Ahead Instructions For Walking Tacos:

The primary ingredient in walking tacos (chili or taco meat) can be made ahead of time—even well ahead of time if you choose to freeze it. Chili will keep for several months in the freezer. For a flexible serving time, keep pre-made chili warm and ready to go in a crockpot.

You can also set up your topping bowls a few hours in advance, cover them, and refrigerate. Drip a little lemon juice on the shredded lettuce if you are worried about browning.

Scooped Texas Chili from a pot

**DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!**

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Walking Tacos-The Best Way To Eat Tacos On The Go!

Pump up your dinner “fun factor” for kids of all ages with our Walking Tacos! Make them for 50 or even walking tacos for 100 by following this no-fuss recipe.

  • 6-8 Snack-Sized Bags Fritos
  • 1 Pound Texas Chili (Cooked And Ready To Serve)

Toppings:

  • Cheddar Cheese, (Shredded)
  • Monterey Jack Cheese, (Shredded)
  • Shredded Lettuce
  • Red Onion, (Finely Chopped)
  • Sour Cream
  • Guacamole
  1. Have chili ready and warm.

  2. Prepare all your toppings and set up to have ready to serve.

  3. With the bags of Fritos closed crush the chips then open the bag. Spoon in chili then allow everyone to top with their favorite toppings. Grab a fork and enjoy!

Walking Taco in a bag of Fritos held in hand

Recipe Notes For Walking Tacos:

Shredding lettuce: Tear with your hands or cut with a knife to shred lettuce, but another option is (well-washed) scissors! Many people don’t think of this common implement as a tool for the kitchen, but it can be used to dice and slice a number of ingredients. 

Chopping onions: You can keep from crying when chopping onions by chilling or freezing them in advance. Running the kitchen vent or fan while dicing also helps. Check out Wil Fulton’s entertaining take on other tried and false chopping tricks.

Spice level: Feel free to ramp up or tone down the spice level of your chili depending on your audience. You may have made Texas Chili for adults originally, and intend to serve walking tacos to a group of young’uns. Tone down the spice level by adding sour cream, yogurt, tomatoes, and or a little milk. 

Frito substitution: If you don’t have Fritos on hand, or one of your diners has an unusual Frito aversion, Doritos, Tostitos, or another corn chip varietal will do the trick as well.

**SENDING YOU SOME DOG LOVE–FROM MY PACK TO YOURS!**

 

The post Walking Tacos appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

Sock it to Me Cake

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Sock It To Me Cake is a delicious Southern butter cake with an amazing streusel filling. Our cake starts with a cake mix to make prep easy and results foolproof.

A slice of Sock It To Me Cake on a saucer with whole cake at the back

Sock It To Me Cake comes to you straight from the 1970’s, but it hasn’t lost a bit of its flavor! Ready for a blast from the past? This decadent cake combines the simplicity of a cake mix with a streusel filling for results that are “Totally far out, man!”

By adding sour cream and extra eggs, this cake is off the charts moist. The filling of pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar gives it a southern vibe. A cross between a dessert and a coffee cake, this Sock It To Me Cake recipe is perfect any time of the day!

**Our Secret Tips**:  Our recipe for this cake differs from the original in that it has a couple of small tweaks which, in my ever so humble opinion, makes the finished cake even more delicious!  Our cake is just a tad sweeter than most versions. It’s in no way overly sweet though. That little bit of extra sweetness takes the flavor of this cake to a whole new level. It’s absolutely addicting. Betcha can’t eat just one slice! We also have a thicker tunnel of streusel filling running through the cake, which let me tell ya is Ah-mazing! 

To make Sock It To Me Cake Walmart or any local grocery carries everything you need. No hard to find, fancy ingredients in this classic- and it’s easy on the wallet too! It pulls together in minutes, and everyone will think you spent hours making it from scratch. We won’t tell them if you don’t! 

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

  • The texture of this cake is the “perfect butter cake” texture.
  • It’s To-Die-For moist.
  • It’s got the perfect amount of sweetness.
  • OMG! That Streusel Filling!!

What Is Sock It To Me Cake?

It’s a super simple Southern butter cake with a tunnel of yummy streusel filling and a glaze on top. It crosses a coffee cake with a dense, moist pound cake. It’s a match made in heaven!

According to Southern Living Sock It To Me Cake is on the list of one of the most popular cakes of all time. Now that’s saying a lot!! With richness that feels distinctly Southern Sock It To Me Cake was incredibly popular all over the United States in the 1970’s. The added convenience of using a cake mix increased its popularity, and it was the go-to dessert of the era. 

SAVE THIS SOCK IT TO ME CAKE

TO YOUR CAKE OR DESSERT BOARD FOR LATER

LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

How do you make sock it to me cake?

Making this cake couldn’t be easier. Combine a butter cake mix with the wet ingredients and mix up the streusel filling on the side. Put in a bundt pan in layers. Bake and top with a drizzle of icing and chopped pecans.

Why is it called Sock It To Me Cake?

It’s history began in 1972 when this cake took the home baking world by storm. The comedy TV show Laugh-in had recently popularized the phrase ‘Sock it to me’ (which was originally used in the 1965 hit song RESPECT by Aretha Franklin). The cake was so good and wildly popular, it quickly became known as Sock It To Me Cake because when anyone was asked if they wanted a slice, the answer was always, “Sock it to me, baby!”

Sock It To Me Cake with glaze and chopped pecans on a cake plate

**DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!**

**PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW OR LEAVE A COMMENT!**

Sock It To Me Cake

Sock It To Me Cake is delicious Southern butter with an amazing streusel filling. Our cake starts with a cake mix to make prep easy and results foolproof. 

  • 1 Package Butter Cake Mix
  • 1 Cup Sour Cream
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Water
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1/2 Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 3 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 1/2 Cup Pecans (Chopped)

Glaze:

  • 1 Cup Confectioners' Sugar (Sifted)
  • 2-4 Tablespoon Milk
  • 2 Tablespoon Pecans (Chopped)
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 10 cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

  2. Remove 3 Tablespoons of cake mix to a small bowl and reserve set aside.

  3. In a large bowl beat together remaining cake mix, sour cream, oil, water, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, using a handheld electric mixer, for 2 minutes on high. 

  4. Mix together 2 tablespoons of reserved cake mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans; set aside.

  5. Pour about 3/4 of batter into the prepared pan and then sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on the center of the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the cinnamon sugar layer and spread evenly. 

  6. Bake 45-55 minutes in preheated oven. Cool for 25 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely on a wire baking rack.

Glaze

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth. If necessary, add more milk, very slowly so it doesn’t get too thin, until desired consistency is achieved. 

  2. Drizzle glaze over the cake. Sprinkle top with 2 Tablespoons chopped pecans and serve.

Recipe Notes For Sock It To Me Cake:

Bundt Pan: A bundt pan can create a stunning presentation with the carved impression of the pan on the cake. There are many kinds of bundt pans, and because of the detailing on the pans, cakes made in Bundt pans have a tendency to stick more often. When I make this cake, I use baking nonstick cooking spray along with my nonstick bundt pan. It pops out of the pan like a dream.  Here’s a great article with more tips on how to avoid stuck-in-the-pan frustrations!

How to Make as a 9 X 13: If you don’t have a bundt pan, no worries! You can still make this delicious cake! Follow the instructions to make the batter and filling. Spread about ⅔ of the batter into the bottom of a well greased 9×13 pan. Spread the cinnamon sugar filling evenly over the batter and top with the remaining batter. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool and remove from pan. Drizzle the glaze over the cake- get creative with a crisscross pattern or something more abstract!

Can you freeze sock it to me cake?

Most definitely! Cake on the whole freezes really well, and Sock It To Me Cake is no exception. The key to freezing a cake is to wrap it well- including the hole in the middle! It should keep for several months with no loss of freshness. You can glaze it before or after freezing!

Slice of Sock It To Me Cake with Streusel Filling

Can you make Sock It To Me Cake from scratch?

Indeed you can. Cook’s Country Sock-It-To-Me Cake is a good example. Honestly, though, we love the convenience and results with a cake mix. Going the long way around seems like a wasted effort in this case!

Though it hasn’t enjoyed the same amount of notoriety in recent decades, Sock It To Me Cake is a fantastically easy cake that is perfect for any occasion! It will transport you back to Mom’s kitchen with its Formica table and linoleum floor. This indulgent treat pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee. So put on a pot and serve yourself a slice of history!

More Yumminess:

Sock It To Me Cake marries pound cake and coffee cake with delectable results. If you’re still craving pound cake, try our Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake for a moist, buttery treat with a hint of nutmeg and bourbon- a fantastic combination. It is sure to satisfy your pound cake craving!

Another beautifully moist and dense cake is our Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake (…stay tuned, we’ll post a link soon…). The classic combo of apple and cinnamon practically shouts fall but is a decadent treat any time of the year!

Sock It To Me Cake makes a wonderful dessert but can also be served as a morning coffee cake or a spectacular centerpiece at brunch or afternoon tea. If serving this as a breakfast coffee cake, consider these great accompaniments!

More Delicious Cake Recipes……

**SENDING YOU SOME DOG LOVE–FROM MY PACK TO YOURS!**

Invented by Duncan Hines Sock It To Me Cake recipe was actually printed on the boxes for years.

The post Sock it to Me Cake appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

Hobo Dinner

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Our hobo dinner is a perfect summer meal made over the campfire but gets even better as the nights become cooler. Potatoes, onions, carrots, and beef come together with a creamy sauce to create a wonderful comfort food dinner.

Hobo Dinner in unwrapped foil packet

There is a slight chance that when you cheerily tell your wine-toting dinner guests that you’re making an authentic hobo dinner, they may look for the door. When you usher them into the dining room and tell them to have a seat because the best hobo dinner ever is almost ready, they may panic. Unfortunately for them, they’ve already committed.

Fortunately for you, they’ll love this meal from bite one. Truly delicious and worthy of your fanciest dinner guest, hobo meal is delicious. It’s a crowd pleaser, and trust me when I say your once fearful guests will be asking for thirds.

Hobo Dinner in unwrapped foil packet

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

  • Super Easy to Put Together
  • No Plates To Clean! 
  • It Brings The “Fun Factor” To A Simple Dinner 🙂
  • It’s Really Yummy!

WHAT IS HOBO DINNER?

A true meat and potatoes meal, hobo dinner is a mashup of sweet and spicy beef and veggies nestled in cream of mushroom soup and tucked away into foil packets. Easy to put together, flavors from brown sugar to chili powder explode in every bite. Often referred to as hobo packets or sausage hobo dinner, this yummy meal gives each person at your table an individual packet filled with meat, vegetables, and love. There are many recipes out there that call for hobo dinner with cabbage, but I prefer to leave it out. Hobo dinner across the internet comes with a laundry list of variations (including a hobo dinner video), making this recipe not only versatile but fun to play with!

SAVE THIS HOBO DINNER

TO YOUR DINNER BOARD FOR LATER

LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Hobo Dinner:

Prepared ingredients for Hobo Dinner

You’ll just need a few, easy to find ingredients to make this yummy, family friendly dinner! Ground Beef, butter, carrots, potatoes, onion, cream of mushroom soup and salt, pepper, dry mustard, brown sugar, and chili powder.

HOW DO YOU MAKE HOBO DINNER?

Hobo dinner is made by combining ground beef and spices and forming hamburger patties out of the mixture. Chopped onions, carrots and potatoes are placed in a layer in a foil packet. They are then topped with the beef patty and cream of mushroom soup. Seal the packet and bring on the heat! How easy is that? Not only is hobo dinner simple, but there are quite a few ways to cook it up.

  • HOBO DINNER IN THE OVEN: My favorite method, and the one I recommend with this recipe. Hobo dinner in the oven is easy! After laying out your foil, vegetables come first. Top with a dollop of butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top the veggie layer with meat and follow it up with soup. Seal your packets and bake!
  • HOBO DINNER ON THE GRILL: Ah, grilling season. From traditional hot dogs to the less common grilled pizza, everything tastes wonderful on the grill. Hobo dinner is no exception. Start with your beef patty and lay it flat on the foil. Top with veggies. You can choose to use cream soup here as well, but a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce is so good! Seal and place on the grill, grilling over medium heat for 25-30 minutes. Meat should be cooked through and vegetables (especially potatoes) should be tender. The grill is where you’ll want to test out a steak hobo dinner recipe. So good! There you have it folks, hobo dinner on the grill!
  • HOBO DINNER CAMPING: When you think about it, it really makes sense to cook hobo dinner over an open flame. Taking your hobo dinner camping is one of the easiest things you’ll ever do, especially if you have a big family! Putting the meal together is fundamentally the same. For camping, start with meat, add the vegetables and top with soup! Again, Worcestershire sauce is a great substitute here. Seal it all on up and cook over an open flame for about 30 minutes. Making sure the meat is cooked well takes precedence, so don’t rush it. The campfire is a fantastic place to try a chicken hobo dinner recipe…the flavor is amazing!

Step By Step How To Make Hobo Dinner

Step By Step Overview: How To Make Hobo Dinner

1. Mix together the beef, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and brown sugar.
2. Prepare and cut into cubes: potatoes, carrots, onions.
3. Form beef mixture into 4 patties. Set aside.
4. Spread 4– 12-inch aluminum foils and stack 1/4 of each vegetable in a layer in the center of each sheet of foil. Generously season with salt and pepper. Top with a tablespoon of cubed butter.
5. Top the vegetable layer with a beef patty.
6. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons cream of mushroom soup. 
7. Place it on top of the beef patty.
8. Seal foil packets and place on rimmed baking sheet. Bake. 

**DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!**

**PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW OR LEAVE A COMMENT!**

Hobo Dinner

Our hobo dinner is the ultimate comfort food. A perfect summer meal made over the campfire (or in the oven) Wonderful in fall as the nights get cooler.

  • 1 Pound Ground Beef (80/20)
  • Salt, (Divided)
  • Black Pepper, (Divided)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Brown Sugar, (Packed)
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter, (Cut Into Cubes)
  • 3 Medium Russet Potatoes, (Peeled and Cut Into Cubes)
  • 1 Medium Yellow Onion, (Cut Into Cubes)
  • 2 Large Carrots, (Peeled and Cut Into Cubes)
  • 1 Can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup-Low Sodium,
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. In a bowl, mix together the beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and brown sugar until the spices are evenly incorporated.

  3. Form beef mixture into 4 equal sized patties. Set aside.

  4. Spread out 4- 12-inch sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil.   

  5. Stack a 1/4 of each vegetable in a layer in the center of each sheet of foil. Sprinkle the vegetables generously with salt and pepper and dot the top with 1 tablespoon of cubed butter.

  6. Top the vegetable layer with a beef patty then top with 2 tablespoons cream of mushroom soup.

  7. Seal foil packets well and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until the beef patty reaches an internal temperature of 160Degrees, and the vegetables are tender about 30-40 minutes.

  8. Bake in preheated oven until the beef patty reaches an internal temperature of 160 Degrees, and the vegetables are tender about 30-40 minutes.

A forkful of beef patty from Hobo Dinner

RECIPE NOTES HOBO DINNER:

Meat: The patties for hobo dinner can be made with ground beef or turkey. You can use premade patties as well! Cook times will vary, and frozen patties will take a bit longer to cook when cooking from the point of being frozen. You can also make your homemade patties in advance, and freeze them to use for future hobo dinners!

Veggies: The size you cut the veggies is related to the method of cooking, as well as whether or not you are using frozen patties. For example, it’s fine to cut your vegetables larger if your baking in the oven and using frozen patties. However, grilling and using a fresh patty will call for smaller, thinner slices of veggies. As your cook times vary, adjust veggies accordingly so they aren’t too hard or too soggy.

Sauce: We talked briefly about Worcestershire sauce as a swap out for Cream of Mushroom soup…but hobo dinner is downright incredible with prepared barbeque sauce. Substitute it for the soup and you’ve got a whole new flavor combo.

Make Ahead: Hobo dinner is super simple to make ahead, especially if you are using frozen patties. Chop your veggies early in the day, or even a day or two in advance! When you’re ready to rock, your hobo ingredients are ready to roll. If using fresh patties, put your foil packets together early in the day or the night before, and pop them in the oven or on the grill when it’s time to start dinner.

Looking For More Easy And Delicious Beef Ideas……

Step By Step How To Make Hobo Dinner

The post Hobo Dinner appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

Balsamic Chicken-Made In One Skillet Delicious Any Season!

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Our One Skillet Balsamic Chicken is delicious for any Season! The sauce is made with fresh grape tomatoes which are readily available year round. Easy Delish Dinner! No marinating time or extra pans required.

Balsamic Chicken with sauce, garnished with freshly chopped basil, topped on a plate of pasta

This recipe requires no advanced prep work or planning but delivers a complex and super flavorful result. The chicken and sauce are both prepared in the same skillet, which cuts back on clean up time and multitasking. If you are juggling enough as it is today, this is the dinner for you!

Prepared with ripe grape tomatoes, plentiful in the supermarket, my Balsamic Chicken is nutritious and garden fresh in addition to bold and tart and just a little bit sweet! As an added benefit, the balsamic vinegar in the balsamic sauce is believed to help lower cholesterol and blood pressure! 

If you and your loved ones enjoy this Balsamic Chicken recipe, check out my Balsamic Vinaigrette or try a honey balsamic chicken recipe variation.

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

  • Only one pan to clean!
  • Uses fresh tomatoes that are available year round.
  • No advanced prep or planning required!
  • The SAUCE! Thick, Complex and sooo Yummy!!
  • Balsamic vinegar has a number of health benefits! 

Balsamic Chicken cook in sauce, topped with freshly chopped basil, in a skillet.

What is Balsamic Chicken?

Balsamic chicken with tomatoes is a tart and savory dinner entrée made using chicken broth and fresh seasoning. A balsamic chicken Allrecipes fan favorite, this recipe is an easy weeknight dish. It pairs well with a wide assortment of starches and vegetables.

It’s namesake balsamic vinegar originated in Italy and is made from grape must. Check out Supreme Vinegar’s article for a more detailed story about the origin of balsamic vinegar, including the scoop on a poem written in 1046 that is the first known written reverence to the liquid

SAVE THIS BALSAMIC CHICKEN

  TO YOUR CHICKEN OR DINNER BOARD FOR LATER

WE’D LOVE TO BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!

Prepare Ingredients for Balsamic Chicken

What ingredients do you need for Balsamic Chicken?

Balsamic Chicken one pan requires only a few common ingredients. For seasoning, the balsamic chicken thighs or balsamic chicken breasts, use salt, pepper, and olive oil.

For the balsamic chicken sauce, use rosemary, a shallot, garlic, balsamic vinegar, grape tomatoes, basil, chicken broth, and butter. That’s it!

How do you make Balsamic Chicken?

My balsamic chicken skillet dish is made by seasoning and pan frying chicken then preparing a balsamic sauce in the same pan. The sauce needs to simmer for about 10 minutes before you add the chicken back in.

The tomato, garlic, vinegar sauce will thicken nicely as it simmers. Once the chicken is warmed through, garnish with some chopped basil and serve!

Step by Step How To Make Balsamic Chicken

Step By Step Overview: How To Make Balsamic Chicken

1. Pat chicken breast with paper towels to remove excess moisture (not in picture). Then, season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet, add chicken breast. Brown on each side for about 3-5 minutes until cooked.
3. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate. Set aside.
4. Add the shallots and garlic to the same skillet. Cook for about 4-6 minutes.
5. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir scraping up all the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the vinegar is reduced and jammy.
6. Stir in the tomatoes and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the sauce has thickened a bit.
8. Add butter and stir until melted and combined. Not in photo: Add chicken and nestle into the sauce. Simmer until chicken is warmed through, flip to coat with sauce. Remove chicken to serving platter and sprinkle with chopped basil. Serve.

**DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!**

**PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW OR LEAVE A COMMENT!**

Balsamic Chicken

Our One Skillet Balsamic Chicken is delicious for any Season! The sauce is made with fresh grape tomatoes which are readily available year round. Easy Delish Dinner! No marinating time or extra pans required.

  • 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary, (Chopped)
  • 1 Large Shallot, (Finely Chopped)
  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic, (Minced)
  • 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • 3 Cups Grape Tomatoes, (Cut In Half)
  • 3/4 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1 Cup Basil, (Chopped)
  1. Pat chicken breast with paper towels to remove any excess moisture from packaging. Season chicken breast generously with salt and pepper.

  2. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, when it begins to shimmer, add chicken breast. 

  3. Cook, turning once, until firm to the touch, about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the breast. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and set aside.

  4. Add the shallots and garlic to the same skillet. Cook over medium-low heat until the shallots are soft, about 4-6 minutes.

  5. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet, and cook until the vinegar is reduced and becomes syrupy. 

  6. Stir in the tomatoes and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the sauce has thickened a bit. 

  7. Add butter and stir in until melted and combined. 

  8. Add chicken, along with any accumulated juices, and nestle chicken into the sauce. Simmer until chicken is warmed through. Flip chicken to coat with sauce. 

  9. Remove chicken to serving platter and sprinkle with chopped basil. Serve.

Recipe Notes For Balsamic Chicken:

Warming the chicken: Be careful not to over-simmer the chicken or it will become tough and rubbery. While the chicken will need to be rewarmed in the final step of this recipe, a process that will take a few minutes, don’t put it back in and forget about it!

Cutting the tomatoes: I generally buy the 24-ounce container of grape tomatoes. I use all but a handful of the tomatoes to make the 3 cups. The extra tomatoes are great for throwing in a salad.

*TIP*- For a quick grape tomato slicing method, try gathering your tomatoes in a cluster, holding them in place with a plate or lid, then slicing through the group in one fell swoop. Cutting them one by one can be a tedious process!

Balsamic Chicken with sauce, garnished with freshly chopped basil, topped on a plate of pasta

Can you make Balsamic Chicken ahead of time?

You can make Balsamic Chicken in advance in one of two ways. Option one: finish the entire dish, then freeze or refrigerate the chicken and sauce it in an airtight container like a gallon plastic bag. Cooked chicken keeps for about three months in the freezer and three days in the refrigerator.

Alternatively, you can cook the seasoned chicken, freeze it, and put together the sauce when you want to serve. Defrost the chicken by putting it in the refrigerator the night before.

Can you freeze Balsamic Chicken?

Yes. Store it in an airtight container for up to several months, defrost, and reheat slowly on medium heat. The tomatoes break down as they cook in the sauce anyway, so do not worry about any loss of texture.

Balsamic Chicken cook in sauce, topped with freshly chopped basil, in a skillet.

What do you serve with Balsamic Chicken?

Balsamic Chicken goes well with cooked spaghetti, angel hair pasta, rice or simply a loaf of french bread. Seasoned red or gold potatoes, saffron rice, and dark leafy greens are other good companions.  Savory vegetable sides like buttered zucchini squash and asparagus are great if you want to up the ante!

For something more off the beaten path, try serving with fried plantain or roasted beets.

More One Pan Chicken Meals…

Step by Step How To Make Balsamic Chicken

The post Balsamic Chicken-Made In One Skillet Delicious Any Season! appeared first on Gonna Want Seconds.

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