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Classic Banana Bread

April 1, 2023 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Over Ripe Bananas

Is there anyone who doesn’t end up with a half bunch of over ripe bananas sitting on their counter every once in a while? I try to freeze those bananas for smoothies before they reach that over ripe point but it just doesn’t always happen. When I don’t manage to freeze them, I default to banana bread. I’ve altered my original recipe to give you this Classic Banana Bread. I actually think this is my new favorite and I’m certain you’ll love it too! This recipe uses four bananas to give you the perfect amount of moisture in addition to delicious flavor. Have an abundance of bananas? Go ahead and make an extra loaf. You can wrap the extra loaf in plastic wrap and store it in the freezer for later. Remove it from the freezer at least an hour before serving.

Just Ten Ingredients

Preheat your oven to 350℉ and gather your ingredients – Just 10 ingredients for this Classic Banana Bread. Grab a medium mixing bowl and whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, ground cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl (I use by stand mixer with a flat paddle attachment), mash up the bananas. Add sugar and mix until combined. Add vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. On low speed, gradually stir dry ingredients into banana mixture. Pour batter into a parchment lined loaf pan and bake for 1hr 10min. Use a test stick to verify loaf is baked through. Keep in mind every oven varies slightly on temperature and you may need to adjust your bake time accordingly. My family loves this Classic Banana Bread as is. However, I know there are a lot of people out there who feel banana bread should be made with walnuts. If this is you, stir a half cup of toasted, chopped walnuts into the batter just before pouring it into the loaf pan.

Classic Banana Bread

Sarah Baade

This recipe uses four bananas to give you the perfect amount of moisture in addition to delicious flavor.

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Cook Time 1 10

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 bananas, very ripe
1 cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas.
Beat sugar into bananas until combined.
Mix in oil, eggs, and vanilla.
Stir dry ingredients into banana mixture.
If using walnuts, stir them into batter.
Pour baatter into parchment lined loaf pan.
Bake 1hr, 10min or until a test stick comes out clean.

Keyword Banana Bread, Classic Banana Bread, Homemade Banana Bread

Sarah’s Minestrone Soup

February 27, 2023 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Make It Your Own

The base of any minestrone soup is going to be vegetables and pasta. In Sarah’s Minestrone Soup (yes, I’m putting my name on this one), I start with a pound of ground breakfast sausage before diving into those classic ingredients. If you want to spice things up, you can choose a spicy sausage but I use “original” flavor. I keep the chopping to a minimum in this recipe. Yes, you need to cut an onion and mince a few cloves of garlic but that is it! All other produce is either canned or frozen. It is so much easier to have canned and frozen items on hand and frankly, it can be cheaper. I do use fresh thyme in this recipe because I prefer the flavor over the dried version but use whatever is easiest for you. Plucking those fresh thyme leaves is a tedious task. I prefer to use food safe twine to bundle the thyme sprigs. The exact number of sprigs is not critical, just grab a few and move on with the recipe.

Methods

As far as soups go, Sarah’s Minestrone Soup comes together fairly quickly. Brown the sausage first to ensure it cooks through. This will also provide oils to help cook down the onions and garlic. Once those are cooked down, you add the canned tomatoes, salt & pepper, vegetable broth, and frozen vegetables. The blend I use includes green beans, corn, carrots, and peas. But use whatever blend you prefer or have on hand. Toss in your thyme and bay leaf then bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, add your pasta. Be sure to stir periodically as the pasta cooks so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. You are ready to serve once the pasta is cooked through. Yes, this makes a large pot of soup. Perfect for feeding a crowd, sharing with neighbors, or storing half of it away in the freezer for a later date.

A wooden spoon full of soup over a pot of soup.

Sarah’s Minestrone Soup

Sarah Baade

A hearty soup full of veggies, pasta, and sausage.

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Course Dinner

Ingredients

1 lb ground sausage
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz canned fired roasted diced tomatoes (do not drain)
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups vegetable broth
16 oz frozen mixed vegetables
5-10 sprigs fresh thyme tied into a bundle with food safe twine
1 bay leaf
1½ cups small pasta of your choice (I used ditalini)

Instructions

In a Dutch oven or large pot, brown sausage over medium heat.
Stir in onions and cook until translucent.
Add garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and salt & pepper.
Add vegetable broth, vegetables, thyme, and bay leaf to pot and increase heat to high, bringing soup to a boil.
Add pasta and stir occasionally to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Once pasta is cooked, remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
Serve warm. Optional to sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

Keyword Homemade Soup, Minestrone Soup, Soup

Additional Cold Weather Recipes:

Barley Soup

Semi-Homemade Pot Pie

One Pot Vegetarian Chili

VIRTUAL BAKING WITH MAMA

January 31, 2022 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Up For The Challenge

At the start of 2021, I hadn’t seen any of my family in over a year due to the pandemic. My mom and I have always enjoyed baking together and so we decided to create a virtual baking challenge for the year. Each month, we chose a bake that neither of us had ever attempted – that alone was a challenge as we both have years of baking experience. We baked each recipe on the same day and then did a video chat to compare our results, discuss what we might change about the recipe (if anything), and review how easy or difficult we felt it was. You can find the virtual baking reviews on my Instagram video series titled “2021 Baking Challenge”. In the mean time, here are the links to the recipes we made along with some brief discriptions. *None of these recipes are my own.

Top Three

I’m giving you the full list of virtual baking recipes, month-by-month, below. But I know you want the short version so here is my top three. Be sure to check out my descriptions below for more detail though. Drumroll please… Coming in at #3) January – Tarte Tatin. #2) April – Burnt Basque Cheesecake. And my #1) October – Beef and Potato Pithivier. I never would have guessed that the savory bake would be my top choice but the belly wants what the belly wants. I’m already looking forward to making it again soon.

January – Tarte Tatin

This one had me nervous. I thought it would be really complex in skill level. As it turns out, the hardest part was finding the right size pan. I would add some warm spices next time to make it a little more flavorful. Overall though, I found it to be relatively easy to make and I loved the crispness of the crust.

February – King Cake

This King Cake itself was heavenly! We purchased our decorations here so as to get the colors just right and to ensure we had the traditional baby to add under the cake. My only issue was that the filling did not disburse evenly throughout the cake. Next time I make this, I will roll the dough out and spread the filling evenly before rolling it up. (*This is the only recipe we used that came from a cookbook rather than online.)

King cake topped with icing and green, purple, and yellow sprinkles.

March – Almond Puff Pastry

Possibly my least favorite recipe from the entire year. The filling was delicious but I had trouble with the puff pastry itself. If I were to make this again, I would purchase pre-made puff pastry dough but still use the homemade filling. Not only would pre-made dough give you quality texture and rise, it would save a lot of time.

April – Burnt Basque Cheesecake

If you want an easy, luscious dessert, this is the one for you. The creaminess is unlike any you’ve had in a traditional cheesecake. Just 5 ingredients and no crust. You will need a large food processor or blender and a spring form pan as well as some parchment paper. It looks burned but the flavor and texture are out of this world.

May – Cannolis

There are some things in life left best to the professionals. Cannolis definitely fall into that category for me. The flavor was fantastic. However, I had a lot of difficulty keeping the shells wrapped together as I fried them. I also generally don’t like dealing with the mess of frying things.

June – Pavlova

This is a show stopper!! The white fluffy meringue topped with fresh fruit is absolutely stunning. I know I didn’t get the texture of the meringue just right (I believe I over baked it) but it was still delicious. To me, this would be worth practicing and perfecting the techniques in order to get it just right.

July – Sticky Toffee Pudding

This is NOT an American style pudding. This is a European style dessert which is what Americans would consider to be more of a cake. I was fascinated by how this was made. The sweetness of the cake itself comes mostly from dates. The toffee sauce gives it a more sugar sweet topping. I appreciated learning how to use dates in ways I’d never thought of before. It essentially looks like a brown blob in the end but it really is yummy.

August – Black and White Cookies

These NYC style cookies are huge and have a cake-like texture. I found it mildly difficult to get a clean line between the chocolate and vanilla icings. I’m sure a little more practice and review of how different people approach it would come in handy. Otherwise, this is a very manageable recipe. If you’re craving a taste of NYC, these are a great way to achieve it.

September – Clafoutis

Let me first say that I am a texture person with food. I’d never eaten a clafoutis before so I’m not sure if we got the texture wrong or if I just don’t like the texture of this dessert. I wanted to like this so badly but it turned out to be a huge fail for me. Again, this may very well be due to my own texture issues rather the quality of the recipe itself.

October – Beef and Potato Pithivier

Our only savory bake of the year. This one also had me pretty intimidated on the technique. However, it turned out to be basically a pie without the pie dish. It was much easier than I anticipated! I actually made the dough on one day, the filling the next day, and then put it all together on the third day. This worked out beautifully for my busy schedule. I wish the recipe had given more specific ideas on how to flavor the filling but the rosemary and garlic I added turned out fantastic. I highly recommend this one!

November – Sugar Spice Pear Gallette

We chose this recipe in honor of my late brother, Ron – it was a favorite of his. I followed the recipe as directed except didn’t add all of the sugar mix to the top. Mine lacked flavor because of this. Mom, cut the sugar measurement in half but kept the full measurements of the spices and said her’s was very flavorful. Overall an easy recipe to make and could be made even easier if you used a store bought pie dough.

December – Stollen

This was one of the more involved recipes we made all year. We candied the citrus peel ourselves and made our own marzipan. You just can’t beat homemade quality on these ingredients. I’d say it was worth the time and effort but I would tweak the marzipan to leave out (or at least reduce) the rose water based on my own flavor preferences. We both also decided we will wait to coat the loaves with powdered sugar for when we are ready to serve it rather than when it is fresh out of the oven. We will also roll out the marzipan, lay it over rolled out dough and then roll them up together rather than do the rod of marzipan in the middle. This would give a more even distribution of flavors, textures, and moisture.

Next Challenge

Although the official year of virtual baking is over, the challenges will still continue. Life is busy so we aren’t shooting for a new bake each month. However, we do plan on completing a virtual baking challenge a few times throughout the year. What would you like to see us bake?

PUMPKIN BLONDIES

October 21, 2021 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

Fall Flavors

Let’s just dive right in, shall we? Fall flavors are my favorite when it comes to desserts. Sure, I’ll gladly eat baked goods from any season, but Fall is where my heart is. And my latest obsession is this recipe for Pumpkin Blondies. With just ten ingredients, the hardest part of this recipe will be waiting for the butter to soften.

Mise en Place

Here we go.. Soften that butter!!! Set it out first thing in the morning so you know it will be ready when you get going on these pumpkin blondies. I know, we all have days where we forget to soften the butter in time. If that is the case, pull the butter out of the fridge first and then start setting up the rest of your ingredients. Preheat your oven. Pull your ingredients out of the fridge/pantry, grab your measuring cups and baking pan. Line your baking pan with parchment paper or sprtiz it with a light coating of non-stick spray. Measure everything out. Once you’ve got all this set, your butter may nearly be softened already.

Plate of pumpkin blondies and a small white pumpkin.

Ingredients & Equipment

Make sure you are using pumpkin puree for these pumpkin blondies. I know the canned pumpkin pie filling will be right there on the same shelf but that is not what you want. We are going to add the pumpkin spice ourselves so we don’t need the pre-spiced filling.

I prefer to use a stand mixer for this recipe because you can cream the butter and brown sugar without tiring your arm. Plus, as long as that butter is softened ahead of time, you can measure and mix your dry ingredients while the mixer works on that butter/brown sugar mixture. However, a hand mixer can absolutely do the job. Stand mixer or hand mixer… either way, make sure you cream those ingredients until it becomes a light, almost fluffy consistency.

Once you’ve got that butter/sugar mixture ready, you’ll mix in your eggs and vanilla. Then mix in the pumpkin puree – it will not fully combine at this point but get it equally distributed. Stir in your dry ingredients and then finally stir in the chocolate chips. Spread it out in your prepared baking pan and then sprinkle your flaked salt on (if you choose to use it). You are now 30 minutes away from you house smelling amazing and indulging in these delicious pumpkin blondies.

Pumpkin blondies with a white pumpkin in the background.

More Options

Before I give you this full pumpkin blondies recipe, I have to give a shout out to some of my other Fall desserts. Pumpkin Bars. Lemon Iced Ginger Cookies. Pumpkin Pecan Pie. Pumpkin Bread. Which one is my favorite? All of them. Now, without further ado… here is the full Pumpkin Blondies recipe.

Pumpkin Blondies

Sarah Baade

Pumpkin blondies with chocolate chips – the ultimate Fall treat.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 9 servings

Ingredients

⅔ cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup pumpkin puree
⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ teaspoon flaked salt (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉ and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or spritz pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Scrape sides of bowl as needed. When you think you have it fully combined, scrape the sides again and continue beating the mixture for a few more minutes.
Mix eggs and vanilla into butter/sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and add pumpkin puree. The puree will not fully combine but you want it evenly distributed.
Gradually stir in dry ingredients until just combined.
With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into prepared pan. If using flaked salt, sprinkle over batter. Bake 30 minutes or until test toothpick come out almost clean.

Keyword Fall Desserts, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Bars, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Spice

Peanut Butter Date Energy Bites

July 18, 2021 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Food Trends

Some people may think food trends are a recent experience created by social media but they really have a much longer history than that. In my grandmother’s old recipe box, I have recipes for jello molds that included shrimp. Yes, you read that right, shrimp jello. I honestly can’t think of very many foods that would gross me out more than shrimp jello. But let me tell you something, my grandmother wasn’t a strange woman, this was a trend back in the 1950’s. I have no idea if she actually made those recipes or not but I can tell you with certainty that I have no intention of ever making shrimp jello myself. In fact, I generally avoid food trends on here altogether. I know that you already have access to dalgona coffee or whatever other trend you want on TikTok and Instagram. However, I recently went down the rabbit hole of energy bites and created my own Peanut Butter Date Energy Bites. Once you try these, I know you’ll understand why I’ve added this trendy snack to this site.

Red bowl sitting on a white plate with energy bites.

The Exception

And yet, that general rule is being broken today. I’m actually quite late to this energy bite food trend. I initially looked at it as something to avoid on here – like shrimp jello. But here’s the thing I’ve learned, some food trends are around because they are fun to make or because they look interesting. Other food trends exist because they are legit worth the recipe. So, these Peanut Butter Date Energy Bites are my exception to the rule of avoiding trends in this space. I’ve been snacking on dates and peanut butter for a while – its a simple and healthy snack option. But adding in a few extra ingredients and blending it together in a food processor makes this snack even more delicious.

Crumbled ingredients in a food processor.

A Couple of Tips

Yes, this is an incredibly easy recipe. However, I do want to give you a couple of tips to make it as easy as possible for you. First, do yourself a favor and buy dates that are already pitted – this will save you the time of pitting them yourself. I recommend pulsing the dates in the food processor before adding the rest of the ingredients in. If your ingredients start to clump together into a large ball, break them up and then keep pulsing until you get a crumbly consistency. From there, you are ready to scoop and form those crumbles into a bite sized ball.

Peanut Butter Date Energy Bites

Sarah Baade

These energy bites are naturally sweetened by dates, naturally gluten free and dairy free, and absolutely delicious.

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Course Snack

Servings 20 energy bites

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

12 oz pitted medjool dates
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons ground flax
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place dates in a food processor and pulse until broken into small pieces.
Add remaining ingredients and blend until crumbly. Scrape sides and break large clumps apart as needed.
Scoop crumbles into your hand and form into 1" balls.

Notes

Energy bites can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Keyword Dairy Free, Dates, Energy Bites, GFCF, Gluten Free, Healthy Snack, No Churn Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Peanut Butter Date Energy Bites, Vegan, Vegetarian

Looking for more peanut butter treats?

Peanut Butter Bliss No Churn Ice Cream

Peanut Butter Cut-Out Cookies

DARK CHOCOLATE TAHINI FUDGESICLES

July 2, 2021 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Summer Treats

We are in full on summer mode which means heat and humidity. Hello, Texas! Summer also means looking for ways to stay cool. We’ve been spending a lot of time at a neighborhood pool this year. Swim lessons and meeting new friends have been exhilarating after so much isolation amid the pandemic. However, pool time is challenging for us to squeeze in on the weekdays. With full time work and school plus an early bedtime for our girl, we need other ways to cool off Monday – Friday. Our alternative for keeping cool? Eating popsicles, of course! To be more specific, we are diving face first into these new Dark Chocolate Tahini Fudgesicles.

Hand holding a fudgesicle with a bite taken out of it.

Just A Twist

Don’t get me wrong, I love a classic fudgesicle. It’s nostalgic and delicious. But, I also love putting my own twist on recipes. It keeps things interesting when I’m creating new posts for you all. It also gives you something you can’t find in a store. You can easily buy a classic fudgesicle at any grocery store. But dark chocolate tahini fudgesicles are only going to happen in your own kitchen. Grab your popsicle molds, friends. This recipe has fewer than ten ingredients and you can mix them together in ten minutes or less. The hardest part will be waiting for them to freeze. The nutty flavor of tahini combined with the richness of dark chocolate gives you the twist you didn’t even know you were looking for.

Dark Chocolate Tahini Fudgesicles

Sarah Baade

The nutty flavor of tahini combined with the richness of dark chocolate gives a new take on the classic fudgesicle.

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Course Dessert

Servings 6 Fudgesicles

Ingredients

½ cup dark chocolate chips
¾ cup tahini
⅓ cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 ¼ cups milk (I used almond milk)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a medium pot, over low heat, stir together chocolate chips and tahini until melted and smooth. Be sure to scrape sides and bottom of pan as needed.
Stir in sugar, corn starch, and cocoa powder until combined.
Stir in milk, salt, and vanilla. Continue stirring until mixture just begins to simmer.
Remove mixture from heat and carefully pour into popsicle molds. **If you are using plastic popsicle molds, let mixture cool before pouring.
Freeze for a minimum of 4 hours or until frozen (I typically freeze overnight).

Keyword Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Tahini Fudgesicles, Fudgesicle Recipe, Fudgesicles, Homemade Fudgesicles, Tahini

Looking for more cool treats?

Cherry Limeade Popsicles

Lemon Delight

EASY SHRIMP GNOCCHI

May 21, 2021 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Bright Flavors

I have been craving bright, fresh flavors lately and this Easy Shrimp Gnocchi is the exact answer to my cravings. I know we all hate it when a food blogger says “you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry right now.” So, I’m not going to take it that far. But… this dish was created from ingredients that I buy routinely. I might not have each item in the kitchen at all times, but I shop these items on the regular. I love cooking like this because it feels less wasteful. I’m not shopping for unique ingredients that I might not use up. I’m not spending money beyond my typical grocery budget. These ingredients are easy to find and familiar to my family.

Any Time Of Day

While I typically think of gnocchi as a dinner item, I actually love this Easy Shrimp Gnocchi as a brunch dish. Yes, you can still have this for dinner but hear me out. The bright lemon flavor along with the spinach and tomatoes just scream brunch to me. To really put it over the top into brunch mode, add a fried or soft boiled egg to your bowl. So. Dang. Good! Keep in mind, this dish is light in flavor but also, the servings are moderate in size. In other words, you won’t be able to feed a crowd with this one unless you double the recipe. Whether you’re eating this for brunch or dinner, personally, I love this dish paired with a glass of white wine.

Blue bowl filled with gnocchi, shrimp, and vegetables.

Easy Shrimp Gnocchi

Sarah Baade

This shrimp gnocchi has bright, fresh flavors and comes together easily in one pan.

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Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
16 oz dry gnocchi (shelf stable)
1 medium shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large handfulls fresh baby spinach
10 oz small sweet tomatoes, halved
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt & pepper to taste
optional topping: shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook until it starts to turn golden brown, approximately 7 minutes.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, shallots, and garlic. Cook an additional 2 minutes.
Add spinach, tomatoes, lemon zest, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Cook until spinach is wilted.
Push all ingredients to one side of the pan. Add shrimp to other side of the pan, turn shrimp as needed until cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss shrimp with all other ingredients in the pan. Serve warm, topped with parmesan if desired.

Keyword Easy Shrimp Gnocchi, Gnocchi, One Pan Meal, Shrimp

Looking for more summer recipes?

Panzanella Summer Salad

Sober Sangria

Rainbow Fruit Salad

HOT CHOCOLATE MIX

February 18, 2021 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

Cold Weather Days

I have spent time in cold places. Several years, in fact. Growing up in Kansas, we would see snow a few times each year. Grad school in Buffalo, NY felt like winter would never end. Living in Colorado still brought plenty of snow but it would melt pretty quickly. San Antonio? We rarely get snow here. But here I am, texting snow pictures to family and friends and quickly going through all of our hot chocolate mix. The South isn’t built to handle the cold and snow. It broke down the power infrastructure to the point that much of the state (not just the city, but the entire state) has had power outages for three days. Even as I sit here writing this, I’m expecting the power to go out again at any moment. This is not something I ever expected to deal with in South Texas.

Overhead view of a mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows next to a bowl of hot chocolate mix and a bowl of marshmallows.

Coping With The Cold

Admittedly, my family has had it better than most. We have a gas fireplace which normally doesn’t get much use but has thankfully still been functional without power. We also have a gas stovetop so I’ve been able to light that up with a lighter and still cook for the family. Did you know you can cook chicken nuggets on your stovetop? Turns out, they are delicious that way! We managed to save most of our food from spoiling by putting it outside in the freezing cold temperatures. We also have ample supply of hot chocolate mix. Truthfully, when I initially made this mix, I wasn’t sure how quickly we might go through it. A week ago, we were hitting nearly 80℉ – who drinks hot chocolate when its that warm out? But here we are, warming ourselves from the inside out with lots of hot chocolate as we sit near the fireplace. As I look out the window, I see that snow has started coming down at a pretty good pace again. Honestly, I’m over it. But at least I know we can snuggle up together with mugs of hot chocolate in our hands.

Hot Chocolate Mix

Sarah Baade

This mix is very easy to make and will keep the whole family warm during those cold winter days.

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Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Servings 17 servings

Ingredients

1½ cups dry milk powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1½ cups cocoa powder
¼ cup powdered vanilla creamer
Optional toppings: marshmallows; whipped cream

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients until well combined.
Mix ¼ hot chocolate mix with 8oz hot water or milk. Stir until mix is fully dissolved. Add toppings as desired.
Store mix in an air-tight container.

Notes

If your cocoa powder has clumps, sift it into the bowl rather than just adding it in as is.

Keyword Chocolate, Hot Chocolate, Hot Chocolate Mix, Hot Cocoa, Hot Cocoa Mix

Wanting a treat to serve with this hot chocolate? I’ve got you covered. Check out my recipe for Fudgy Brownies. This is the perfect pairing for any chocolate lover.

FUDGY BROWNIES

February 12, 2021 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

The Fudgy Brownies Journey

All my life I was making brownies out of a box mix. And I was content with it, until I wasn’t. A couple of years ago I made a box mix that was dull, flavorless, and more cake-like than true brownie texture. I didn’t even really want to serve them to my friends but that was all I had time for that day. Maybe it was the brand or type of mix that I bought that was the problem. I suspect it is actually just that I have higher expectations of baked goods. So I began the process of creating my own recipe. I bake everything else from scratch, why should fudgy brownies be the exception??

The Challenge

As it turns out, fudgy brownies are actually a huge lesson in chemistry. I did not study chemistry of any sort in college, certainly not food related chemistry. So, when my first attempt at my own fudgy brownies failed, I began to research. You’d be surprised how little information there is out there on how to get that shiny, flaky “skin” that we all love to see on top of our brownies. Without finding much info online, I have modified, adjusted, and tested several versions of brownies. Each version has been delicious. The asthetic has just been off from what I want.

Brownies on a white plate and white background.

The Answer

As I was about to finalize my recipe, a friend shared a YouTube video with me. She didn’t know I had been working on this recipe for a year and a half. A delicious, chocolate filled year and a half. This video explained what I was trying to figure out. That flaky shine on top of brownies is related to the sugars being fully coated in fat. I altered my recipe again… and again. As I sit here typing, I literally have four slightly different batches sitting on my counter. What I’ve determined is that the a super high gloss shine is achievable. I can almost see my reflection in one batch but it doesn’t taste as good. The ultimate balance is a light, flaky shine on top while maintaining that fudgy, rich chocolate in the middle. So here it is, my labor of love, my fudgy brownies recipe. Enjoy!

By The Way…

My favorite pairing with these Fudgy Brownies is my No Churn Chocolate Chunk Coffee Ice Cream. Go ahead and try it, and let me know if you agree 😉

Fudgy Brownies

Sarah Baade

Rich chocolate flavor with that classic flaky shine on top. You'll never reach for a box mix again.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Equipment

Electric mixer. Ideally, a stand mixer is best for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional but adds richness to the chocolate flavor)
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Scrape sides of bowl as needed. When you think you have it fully combined, scrape the sides again and continue beating the mixture for a few more minutes.
Add powdered sugar to the butter mixture. Start mixing on low so the powdered sugar doesn't fly out of the bowl. Gradually increase speed of mixer and beat until mixture is light in texture and almost white in color. (I use a stand mixer and let it run at the second highest setting while I prepare the next ingredients.)
In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave. Stir every 30 seconds in order to not burn the chocolate. Once fully melted, set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. Set aside. (Don't skip sifting. This prevents you from having clumps of cocoa powder in your brownies.)
Add eggs and vanilla to butter mixture and begin mixing at low setting.
While continuing to mix butter and eggs, add melted chocolate. Beat on medium speed until fully combined. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.
With a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula, gradually stir dry ingredients into mixture.
Spread brownie batter into greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake 30 minutes or until test toothpick come out almost clean (you want to see a few bits of slightly undercooked batter on the toothpick).

Keyword Brownies, Fudgy Brownies, Homemade Brownies

Looking for additional dessert recipes? Try these Peanut Butter Cut-Out Cookies or Chocolate chip Cookie Bars.

TOT TOPPED SHEPHERD’S PIE

January 17, 2021 by Sarah Baade 4 Comments

Changes To Our Meals

We all know life has changed over the past year. Okay, that is an understatement but I know I know need to go into all of the ways life has changed. I want to tell you how my family’s dinners have changed. Prior to Covid-19, my family and I focused on plant based options most days of the week. We still included meat of one sort or another a couple of times per week but most of our dinners were vegetarian or even vegan. When we started ordering our groceries online for curbside pick up, things changed for us. Being able to stop by the store on the way home from work/school, kiddo in tow, became something we are less comfortable with. Picking up groceries only every other week means relying more on foods that store well longer term (hello freezer!). Long story short, we’ve started eating more meats because they are easy to store in the freezer long term. As our eating habits change, it only feels right to shift the blog as well. My first beef based recipe for you is Tot Topped Shepherd’s Pie.

Wooden spoon with a scoop of tater tot shepherds pie and a white casserole dish with tater tots in the background.

Tot Topped Shepherd’s Pie

In addition to introducing more meats into our diet, we are focusing on smaller dishes to accommodate our small family without having excessive leftovers or waste. I recently saw this idea of topping a shepherd’s pie with tater tots and I knew I needed to make my own version of this. I love a traditional shepherd’s pie and even have a plant based, Baby Bella Shepherd’s Pie on here. But my least favorite part of making the traditional version is the mashed potatoes. The peeling, cutting, boiling, and mashing of the potatoes seems to take forever. Worth it? Yes. Do I always have time for those steps? No. These tater tots save tons of time and give a slightly crispy texture that is a hit with my whole family. Added bonus? Tots keep in the freezer until you’re ready to make this dish (as do the ground beef and peas). Give this Tot Topped Shepherd’s Pie a go and let me know what you think of this new recipe!

Tot Topped Shepherd’s Pie

Tater Tots make for a super easy topping on this cozy dish.

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Course Dinner

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
3 large carrots, cut into ¼" slices
½ medium yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup beef stock
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 package frozen tater tots

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown ground beef. Drain any excess grease.
Add carrots to beef and cook 2-3 minutes.
Add onion and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
Stir in garlic, thyme, salt and pepper.
Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir until evenly coated.
Add peas, beef stock, and tomato paste. Stir until paste is evenly distributed.
Transfer mixture into a greased 8×8 pan. Place tater tots on top of mixture in straight rows then bake for 25-30 minutes or until tots are golden. Serve warm.

Notes

Number of servings varies slightly based on who is eating. My family of three (two adults and one young child) managed to get two servings each. If feeding four adults, I would estimate four servings.

Keyword Casserole, Hot Dish, Shepherd’s Pie, Tater Tots, Tot Topped Shepherd’s Pie