Bacon Fried Rice

Photo: Unsplash

Breakfast for dinner never looked so good.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of bacon, chopped

• 1 small white onion chopped

• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots

• 3 eggs lightly beaten (omit for vegan)

• 3 cups cooked white rice

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

• 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce to taste

• Green onions, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

1. Add your chopped bacon to a medium-sized skillet or work. Cook over medium-high heat until it is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the grease leaving about 1 tablespoon.

2. Next, add your chopped onion and frozen peas and carrots and sauté for 1-2 minutes until they are tender.

3. Slide your veggies to one side and add the beaten egg to the other side. Scramble the egg until it is cooked through. Combine it with the peas and carrots.

4. Add cooked rice and bacon back to the skillet and combine. Add sesame oil and soy sauce to taste. Let it heat through and garnish with chopped green onions.

Thanks to The Recipe Critic for this outstanding recipe. She has so many more delicious dishes on her website so check it out.

Blackberry-Basil Mule

Photo: Unsplash

A party in a glass - no alcohol needed.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced ginger

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 3/4 cup filtered water

• 1 cup blackberries

• 3 fresh basil leaves, chopped

• 1 lime

• 1 cup sparkling water

Instructions

1. To make ginger concentrate, add ginger, coconut sugar, and water to a saucepan.

2. Bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour.

4. Strain out the ginger. Divide blackberries and basil between two glasses. Muddle into the bottom.

5. Squeeze 1/2 lime into each glass. Add 3 tablespoons ginger concentrate to each glass, then add 1/2 cup sparkling water to each and mix to combine.

Thanks to Amy Myers, author of The Autoimmune Solution Cookbook: Over 150 Delicious Recipes to Prevent and Reverse the Full Spectrum of Inflammatory Symptoms and Diseases, for this recipe. Published on Epicurious.

Cheese And Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

Photo: Delish

Bread and cheese, what else does one need to be the best chef at the party?

Ingredients

• 1 crusty loaf of bread, preferably sourdough. If you’re cooking for some gluten-free friends, they make gluten-free sourdough loaves, usually in the freezer section of the grocery store.

• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (or other melty delish cheese)

• Garlic butter

  • 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced

  • 3/4 tsp salt

  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Melt the butter, garlic and salt in a bowl in the microwave and stir in the parsley when melted.

3. Cut the bread on a diagonal into 1" diamonds but do not cut all the way through the bread.

4. Use your fingers or a knife to pry open each crack and drizzle in a teaspoon of butter and stuff in a pinch of cheese.

5. Brush the surface with the remaining butter.

6. Wrap with foil and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has mostly melted, then unwrap and bake for 5 - 10 minutes more to make the bread nice and crusty.

7. Serve immediately.

There is an underground of pull-apart bread recipes from cranberry gouda to spinach dip if you want to take a deep dive.

Butternut Squash Soup

Photo: Unsplash

This soup is best served snuggled up under a blanket with a side of football.

Ingredients

• 1 (2.5-3 lb) butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1 ½ inch cubed (buy it already cubed at the grocery store to save time)

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered

• 2 sweet apples, (fuji, gala, honeycrisp), cored & sliced

• 8 garlic cloves

• 3 sprigs thyme

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper

• ¼ tsp nutmeg

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• ½ cup heavy cream (or coconut cream if you are vegan or whole30)

• Pepitas (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Place the cubed squash, onions (separate the layers), apple slices, garlic cloves and sprigs of thyme on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle veggies with olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3. Roast 30-40 minutes until squash is fork tender.

4. Transfer all the roasted veggies (discard the stem from the thyme) along with the cream to your blender. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and secure the lid.

5. Turn the blender on and slowly increase to the highest speed. Blend for 5-6 minutes or until heavy steam escapes from the vented lid. Serve immediately.

Thanks to Modern Proper for this recipe.

Apple Butter Old Fashioned

Photo: Unsplash

Cheers to a weekend of fall fun whether that's a Halloween party or a quiet night in watching scary movies.

Ingredients

• Coarse sugar, for the rim (optional)

• 1/4 cup apple cider

• Juice from 1/2 a lemon

• A dash of orange bitters

• 1 tablespoon apple butter

• 2 ounces bourbon

• Ginger beer or ginger kombucha, for topping (optional)

• Thinly sliced apples and cinnamon, for garnish

Instructions

1. If desired, rim your glass with coarse sugar.

2. In a cocktail shaker, combine the apple cider, lemon juice, orange bitters, apple butter and bourbon. Shake to combine.

3. Strain into your prepared glass filled with ice. If desired top with ginger beer. Garnish with cinnamon and apples. DRINK!

You know we’re slightly obsessed with Half Baked Harvest over here. This is another one of their fabulous recipes. Enjoy!

Cookiedilla

Photo: cookingtv-channel.co

So good everyone will want a bite, but do you really want to share?

Ingredients

• I package of prepared cookie dough (for gluten free version - make sure you use gluten free cookie dough. We’re obsessed with Immaculate’s Double Chocolate Chip and Sweet Loren’s) sugar cookie).

• 1/2 c marshmallow creme

• 1/2 c chocolate syrup

• Other options include a caramel drizzle or melting chocolate chips (see last step when returning to oven) in place of the chocolate syrup.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

• Divide cookie dough into 2 balls. Flatten into large disks and place one on each prepared baking sheet. 

• Bake until golden and cooked through, 15–20 minutes. (You don’t want an underbaked center). Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

• Spread marshmallow cream on the bottom of one cookie and cookies and chocolate syrup (or chocolate chips) on the bottom of the other cookie. Carefully sandwich them together on a baking sheet. 

• Return to oven for 3–4 minutes more, until warmed through. Serve cold or keep warm on the blech or hot plate until ready to slice and serve.

10-Can Chili

A few years ago we watched Jesse James Decker on “Good Morning America“ where she shared her favorite chili recipe. It was so good that we had to bring it back.

This recipe is a great one to adopt for a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. There are so many veggies in it that you won’t miss the meat.

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 3 carrots, chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey or chicken - leave out for vegetarian/vegan)

• 1 (10-ounce) can Ro-tel diced tomatoes and green chilies

• 3 (15.5-ounce) cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• 2 (15.25-ounce) cans of white corn

• 1 (15-ounce) can of vegetarian chili

• 1 (15-ounce) can of tomato sauce

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans of cut green beans

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Shredded Cheddar cheese, for serving (leave our for vegan)

• Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

• Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

• In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the carrots and onion and when they start to soften, after about 5 minutes, add the beef and brown for about 7 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spatula or spoon. Drain the fat from the meat and discard the drippings.

• Stir in the tomatoes with green chilies, kidney beans, corn, vegetarian chili, tomato sauce and green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, Tony's seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until you are ready to eat.

• Top with cheddar, garnish with cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

From JUST FEED ME by Jessie James Decker Copyright © 2020 by Jessie James Decker. Reprinted by permission of Dey Street, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Disclaimer: Click the book to purchase it on Amazon. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn a commission.

Smoky Fall Margarita

Photo: PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAOLA + MURRAY

Cheers to fall.

Ingredients

• 2 oz mezcal (¼ cup)

• 4 oz apple cider (½ cup)

• 1 oz fresh orange juice

• 1 oz fresh lime juice

• 1 oz Grand Marnier (or similar orange liqueur)

• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup

• Ice

• Lime wedges

• Cinnamon sugar for the rim

• Cinnamon stick for garnish

Instructions

1. Add mezcal, apple cider, lime juice, orange juice, Grand Marnier, maple syrup and ice to a cocktail shaker.

2. Shake until cold.

3. Line a cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar and fill with ice.

4. Strain the cocktail mixture over the ice, top with a cinnamon stick and enjoy!

The recipe is courtesy of Rockin Meals. We’re not trying to claim we came up with it. We’re simply sharing her good work. There are great tips, including how to make this by the batch vs. individual servings on the original recipe if you’d like to check that out.