It’s been… a week. And I couldn’t be more stoked that it’s Friday. Normally Friday doesn’t mean a whole lot to me since I’m technically ‘always working’, but today means that my kiddo will be out for school for the next week and I can’t wait for the bit of a rest! To celebrate, I decided to try and make something epic. Something BIG.
That’s where this Giant Instant Pot Pancake comes in! This big boy is about an inch and a half tall and nearly takes up an entire dinner plate. That’s how big it is! It’s definitely not meant for just one person, unless you’re spreading it out over a couple of days. And it’s for sure a fork and knife sort of situation here…
Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake
Dinner is SERVED. This Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake is super simple to make, it’s meatless vegetarian, and it only has a few ingredients. It starts off with a whole wheat pasta. I used some odds and ends of small pasta that I had on hand; some elbow and some shells that I put together to make a full 10 ounces of noodle. Of course, it’s lightened up with reduced fat cheeses, both with the mozzarella and with the ricotta which goes along with a full 16 ounces of spinach!
I did decide to use a jarred pasta sauce to keep it extra simple. But if I had any leftover sauce stored in the freezer, I would have used that instead. So feel free to use your favorite tomato based spaghetti sauce or marinara here. And you’ll want to reach each part individually so that you really get the flavor through it all that you want…
Read MoreSpinach Pie
I like spinach and I like pie, so here we are. This Spinach Pie sort of reminds me of a quiche but it doesn’t have any egg in it. I could still see it being a good pie to have for just about any time of the day, be it breakfast, brunch, lunch or even dinner. It’s completely meatless and vegetarian. Another good thing about this recipe is that it’s super easy to make and is pretty tasty when you take the time to season each layer to your liking.
Can I say how much I enjoy using puff pastry as a crust for pies? I love the flaky crispy brown bits that you get and the bread crumb on the bottom layer adds a bit more texture and serves to soak up any of the leftover moisture from the spinach…
Read MorePumpkin Spice Poke Cake
Not all poke cakes are created equal! This Pumpkin Spice Poke Cake is basically taking a poke cake and mashing it together with the deliciousness that is pumpkin spice. It starts off with a boxed spice cake mix and adds even more spice to it a long with a TON of pumpkin. In fact, whipping up a cake mix or brownie mix with pumpkin puree is an old trick I’ve used before to lighten up a cake!
Once the cake is baked, it’s poked through and topped off with some sweetened condensed milk that seeps through and makes that cake sweet and full of richness. Then it’s all topped off with some whipped cream and even heath bits for added crunch texture!…
Read MoreButternut Squash Salad + Maple Vinaigrette
Yes, another salad! This Butternut Squash Salad is a little different though since it’s got a lot of fun Fall flavors packed into it and it’s super easy to make. The homemade maple vinaigrette has to be one of my all time favorites, and it’s easy to see why. This salad starts off with a base of greens. I went with a mixture of baby spinach and a spring blend, but arugula would be a good option too!
After that it’s loaded up with oven roasted butternut squash, cranberries, feta cheese, and YES even bacon! The homemade maple vinaigrette might sound strange, but trust me, you’re going to love it. I used a bourbon aged maple syrup, but you can use any kind you want so long as it’s actual factual maple syrup, and not just flavored like maple syrup. Trust me, there IS a difference…
Read MoreJalapeno Popper Air Fryer Wontons
Sometimes you just need a new sort of side dish or snack, or even to take an old favorite and mesh it together with another to come up with something new and different. That’s where these Jalapeno Popper Air Fryer Wontons came in. I decided to keep it simple one night this week with a spiced up homemade tomato soup, and wanted something fun and exciting to pair with it.
My first thought was jalapeño poppers, but I wanted something that I could dip into the soup too if I wanted, sort of how you do with tomato soup and grilled cheese or crackers! So, I settled on these Jalapeno Popper Air Fryer Wontons which are basically jalapeño poppers inside a wonton wrapper to make them perfect for dipping and dunking!…