Pink Champagne Margaritas

Photo: The Adventure Bite

Perfect for any, and all, occasions.

Ingredients

• 1 cup champagne

• 2 cups pink lemonade

• ½ cup tequila

• ½ cup triple sec

• ¼ cup lime juice

• Lime slices

• Toppings — sugar sticks rimmed with pink salt and/or sugar

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients.

2. Rim glass with lime slice then dip them in sugar or salt.

3. Serve with sugar sticks.

Thank you to The Adventure Bite for this amazing recipe. Make sure you check out their site to adjust the recipe for serving sizes (this recipe serves one). Cheers!

Baileys Irish Cream Pancakes

Top o' the Morning to you.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 large egg

• 2/3 cup milk

• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Irish cream liquor (such as Baileys)

• 1 3/4 cup (7 ounces) cake flour

• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 4 tablespoons butter for cooking pancakes and to garnish

• Maple syrup, for serving

Instructions

1. Whisk butter, sugar, salt, and egg in a medium bowl.

2. Whisk in milk and Irish cream liquor until combined.

3. Add flour and baking powder to the bowl, then stir until just about smooth (see note).

4. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet until melted over medium-low heat. Scoop as many 1/4 cup portions of batter into pan as will fit without crowding, then gently spread out into a disc shape.

5. When bubbles appear on the surface, flip the pancakes over and continue to cook until done, about 1-2 minutes more.

6. Repeat with remaining batter (see note).

7. Serve warm with butter and syrup.

Note: Cake flour can get easily packed if you measure with a cup. For best results, scale-out the flour or gently spoon the flour into the cup. If the first pancake is too thick, gently stir in a tablespoon or two of milk (or Baileys). Avoid over-mixing the dough or else the batter will become too tough—your final batter will contain some lumps. When cooking the subsequent batches of pancakes, you may only need a slight bit, if any, extra butter for the pan.

Thank you to Serious Eats for this recipe. Make sure you check out the original recipe for cooking tips and leads on other amazing recipes.

Eggplant Lasagna

Maybe your best dinner yet by mixing two comfort food favorites, eggplant parmesan and lasagna, for this delicious dish.

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants, about 6" to 8" long

• Kosher salt

• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 yellow onion

• 2 tsp. dried oregano

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1- 25 oz. jar marinara

• 16 oz. whole milk ricotta

• 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

• 4 c. shredded mozzarella

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Cut ends of eggplants and slice thinly, about 1/4” thick. Lay slices on a cooling rack and season with salt. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Pat salted sides with a paper towel. Flip, season again, and let sit for another 20 minutes. Pat dry with a paper towel.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Sauté garlic for 1 minute, then add onions and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and cook until onions are translucent. Add marinara and cook until warmed through.

4. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, egg and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

5. In a 9"-x-13" casserole dish, spread a thin layer of marinara sauce, a single layer of eggplant “noodles, "a layer of ricotta mixture, then a layer of mozzarella; repeat layers. Top last layer of eggplant with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.

6. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. If desired, remove foil and broil until golden on top, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then garnish with parsley and serve.

Thank you to Delish for this recipe. Make sure you check out the original recipe for other amazing recipes.

The Ultimate Cheese Plate

The best of the best all in one place.

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 kinds of cheese (at least one soft)

• Dark chocolate

• Olives

• Marcona almonds or nuts

• Some type of fruit- even just a touch of berries- blueberries or raspberries across the plate looks beautiful 

• Marinated peppers (usually by the olives at the grocery store)

• Mini pickles 

• Some type of salami meat or prosciutto (check out Instagram for inspiration on making salami flowers)

• Your favorite carb: crackers (grab gluten free to make this gluten free), baguette, toast points

1. Start with a really cool base - cutting board, plate or a baking sheet in whatever shape you’d like.

2. Position your cheese first, then your meats.

3. Use your crackers/baguette to fill in the holes

4. Sprinkle in the nuts, fruit and chocolate to finish it off

Other considerations to include:

• Mini pumpkins for fall

• For kids: use fruit, veggies, popcorn, goldfish or granola. Or give them each a theme with a veggie, fruit, meat and cheese and let them create their own.

• Dessert board: think brownies, cookies, fruit, candy

We gathered suggestions near and far on what to include in your cheese plate. Might we suggest following Cheese by the Numbers, That Cheese Plate or Kate’s Cheese Shop on Instagram for continued inspiration?

Apple Highball

Finally, a cocktail that dry January participants and those who choose to close their day with a drink can agree on.

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounces Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative or your favorite whiskey (for Keto/Paleo, use the whiskey alternative)

• 1 bar-spoon (about a teaspoon) orange marmalade

• Ginger beer (enough to fill the glass)

• Dried apple and orange chips, for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine whiskey/whiskey alternative, marmalade and ginger beer.

2. Give it a good shake, but you don’t have to go too hard for this one. Just mix it up and go.

3. Garnish and serve. And save those apple and orange chips for a late-night snack.

The original recipe is from the Greatist/Alex Pendergrass.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Is there any better combination than chocolate, peanut butter and sugar? Nope.

Ingredients

Sift together:

• 1 3/4 cups of flour (see below for a gluten free option)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

Cream together:

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/3 cups peanut butter

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Add:

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp vanilla, beat well

1. Blend in dry ingredients gradually. Mix thoroughly.

2. Shape dough into balls using a rounded teaspoon for each.

3. Roll balls into white sugar and place them on greased cooking sheets.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 mins.

5. Top each cookie with a Hershey Kiss, pressing down firmly.

6. Return to oven for 2-5 mins.

Thanks to our mom for this recipe. If you can believe, it’s almost 50 years old as she received it from a friend back in 1972. It’s a mainstay in our household for the holidays and may your family enjoy it as much as we have.

PS: We have made these with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and they’re fantastic.

Holiday Martini

Photo: Kourtney Brooke/TINGE

‘Tis the season to be merry.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) vodka

• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) 100% cranberry juice (not sweetened*)

• ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) Cointreau

• ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) lemon juice

• 2 teaspoons simple syrup or maple syrup*

• For the garnish: cranberries, rosemary sprig

*See link below for modifications if you’re using sweetened cranberry juice…it changes your simple syrup measurements.

1. Place the vodka, cranberry juice, Cointreau, lemon juice, and syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake 15 seconds until cold.

2. Strain the drink into a cocktail or martini glass. Garnish with cranberries and rosemary and serve.

Thanks to last week’s Water Me Wednesday guest Kourtney Brooke from TINGE for this sharing this A Couple of Cooks recipe! Visit the original recipe on their website for modifications and how to make a larger batch of these babies for a party.

Fall Flatbread

Photo: So Let’s Hang Out

It’s like a pumpkin spice latte but for dinner.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup coconut flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk

• 3 eggs

Toppings

• 1 delicata squash, de-seeded and cut into circles

• 1 apple, cored and cut into circles

• 1 onion, sliced

• 2-3 cups spinach

• 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (don't like blue cheese? Replace it with goat cheese or any other cheese of your choosing!)

• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Wash your delicata squash and your apple. Slice the delicata squash into little circles. Once you have sliced it up, using your fingers remove the seeds from the inside of your circles.

3. Core your apple and slice it into thin circles, much like your delicata squash.

4. Toss your delicata squash and apples with a tbs or so of olive oil. Lay flat on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until they are cooked through. You should be able to penetrate the squash easily with a fork, and the apple should have softened a bit.

5. Once they are done, set them aside and start on your crust. Turn your oven temp down to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with olive oil. Set aside.

6. In a large mixing bowl add your dry ingredients for your crust. This is going to be your coconut flour, baking powder, salt and granulated garlic. Whisk together until well combined.

7. In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together your eggs and your coconut milk until they are thoroughly combined.

8. Add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and whisk until everything is well combined and there are no longer lumps. It should be the consistency of a thick pancake batter. If it seems too thin, you can add coconut flour one tbs at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Be careful though, coconut flour is SUPER absorbent.

9. Pour your batter out onto your parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a baking spatula, spread your batter out evenly into a flatbread-like shape. Don't spread it too thin as it could make it crumbly.

10. Bake for 20 minutes. It is done when the batter is set and the top is a light golden-brown color.

11. While your crust bakes, you can caramelize your onions. Heat some olive oil up in a skillet over medium heat. Add in your sliced onions and allow them to caramelize and become a rich brown color. Stir frequently. This will take several minutes. Once your onions caramelize, add in your spinach and cook it down until it wilts. Set aside.

12. Remove your finished crust from the oven and layer it will your ingredients starting with your caramelized onion and spinach mixture. Layer your blue cheese on top of this and then top with your apples and delicata squash. Bake at 375 for 5-7 minutes. Your blue cheese will get melty and your squash will start to sweat.

13. Remove from oven, slice and serve! Enjoy!

The recipe is courtesy of Gina at So Let’s Hangout. We’re not trying to claim we came up with it (we’re followers, not creators when it comes to recipes)! We’re simply sharing her good work. There are great tips (like alternative cheese choices), tricks and great jokes on the original recipe if you’d like to check that out.