Coconut Pecan Frosting

This Coconut Pecan Frosting is such a delicious and flavorful frosting. It has a nutty taste paired with shredded coconut that is perfect for German Chocolate Cakes. It is one of my FAVORITE frosting recipes of all time!

German Chocolate Cake is my mom’s favorite type of cake. My grandma has been making that cake and using this frosting recipe for years.

This frosting will blow your mind with its rich and nutty flavor and wonderful texture! I have used this recipe for a variety of recipes on the blog, like these German Chocolate Cookies, but figured it was high time we gave this outstanding frosting its one post and let it shine in the spotlight ;)

If you have not tried this recipe yet, DEFINITELY give it a try! You will NOT regret it!




Author: Nikki
Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

•     1 cup evaporated milk
•     1 cup sugar
•     3 egg yolks
•     ½ cup butter
•     1⅓ cups shredded coconut
•     1 cup chopped pecans
•     1 teaspoon vanilla

Read More: Coconut Pecan Frosting

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies

These Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies are fantastic! Fudgy red velvet brownies, delicious Oreo truffle and melted chocolate combine to make the three layers of this spectacular dessert. They are a hit with everyone who try them!

My original Oreo Truffle Recipe is one of my favorite recipes on the blog and one of the ones I am most proud of. They are delicious and combine EVERYTHING I love. Brownies. Oreo Truffles. And melted chocolate.

With Valentine’s around the corner I was brainstorming some festive recipes I could be doing and it dawned on me to make my favorite brownie recipe with a red-twist!


These were super fun and enjoyed by all who tried them! If you love chocolate then these are a MUST MAKE! They are seriously insane in the best way possible and will be one unforgettable treat.


These Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies are fantastic! Fudgy red velvet brownies, delicious Oreo truffle and melted chocolate combine to make the three layers of this spectacular dessert. They are a hit with

Author: Nikki
Recipe type: Dessert


Ingredients

•     1 cup butter, softened
•     2 cups sugar
•     4 eggs
•     1 tsp. vanilla
•     ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
•     1⅓ cups flour
•     ½ tsp. salt
•     1 fluid ounce bottle of red food coloring

Oreo Truffle Layer

•     1 pkg. Double Stuffed Oreos
•     8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Chocolate layer

•     1½ cups milk chocolate chips
•     ½ cup semi-sweet milk chocolate chips
•     1 Tablespoon shortening

Read More: Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies

Fried Mozzarella

This Fried Mozzarella is simple, delicious and a perfect appetizer. The outside is crispy with a gooey soft cheesy inside. It is drizzled with Alfredo and paired with Marinara. The flavor combo makes this one outrageously tasty party food!

My pregnancy cravings have been so weird this pregnancy. One day I hate salt. The next I don’t. Fruit and sugar tend to be a constant. I am pretty sure I have ice cream every single day. I go out to lunch (or dessert-lunch; thats a thing right?) almost everyday. The other day I went to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants for lunch JUST to order their Fried Ice Cream, nothing else. It was heavenly but I’m pretty sure the waitress looked at me like, “You’re really going to eat this all by yourself?” even though she didn’t say anything.

Occasionally though, I get a craving for something salty when I go out to lunch. One particular day drove me to Olive Garden. I was looking over the menu and the main thing that caught my eye was actually an appetizer. It was called Fried Mozzarella. It was different than mozzarella sticks in the sense it had a slightly less thick outside shell and I could instantly tell it was made from slices of a block of mozzarella cheese because they were rectangular in shape.

The thing that caught my attention the most was that they drizzled them with Alfredo sauce and paired it with Marinara sauce for dipping. The addition of Alfredo was absolutely brilliant and was truly a perfect paring.

I knew as soon as I got home I needed to recreate it so that I could have this the next time I had a random salty craving because this truly hit the spot.

If you are looking for a perfect, easy, last minute idea for the Super Bowl this Sunday or need a great party appetizer that people will be going crazy over, give these a try! You will not regret it!



Author: Nikki
Recipe type: Appetizer


Ingredients

•     8 ounce block of mozzarella cheese, sliced into ¼ inch rectangles
•     2 to 3 cups oil
•     ¾ cup flour
•     3 eggs
•     1½ cups Panko
•     ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
•     ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
•     ½ teaspoon salt
•     1 cup marina sauce
•     1 cup alfredo sauce

 

 

Read More: Fried Mozzarella

Skinny Green Monster Smoothie

A vitamin packed smoothie, perfect for breakfast or lunch on the go!

Ok, so I’ll admit, first time trying a green monster smoothie… and quite honestly I was not prepared to like it!

I mean, spinach in a smoothie?? Even though green may be my favorite color, it sounded way too healthy even for my taste! But it’s January, a month of new beginnings, resolutions and cleaning our bodies so I was willing to take a chance.

So, after someone recently sent me their recipe I took a chance and tried it for myself. What’s the worst that could happen? If I don’t like it, I’ll just toss it, right?

I had all the ingredients on hand and put them in my blender. Myself, my teenager and my aunt just watched as the blender ran and the smoothie turned into a shade of bright green.

I was the first to test it out, and not bad! Good actually! All I really tasted was the peanut butter and banana, nothing else really stood out. I could get used to this! They all agreed, even my picky teenager thought it was good!

So, why should you try a GREEN MONSTER?? Vitamins!! A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, lutein, magnesium, potassium, protein and calcium! Give it a try and see what you think!

Read more at Skinny Green Monster Smoothie

Fried Ravioli Appetizer

This Fried Ravioli Appetizer is out of this world! Crispy golden ravioli seasoned to perfection! Dip in marinara and Alfredo and you have one out of this world appetizer!

Super Bowl Sunday is almost here. It is one of my favorite days of the year- good company, good game and good food! While most people are glued to the game, I am glued to the food table.

Appetizers are one of my favorite categories of food and there is no shortage of them on Super Bowl Sunday. This Fried Ravioli Appetizer is a MUST MAKE! Oh my goodness! Thy are crispy, flavorful and easy to make! When you dip them in Alfredo Sauce and Marinara you have one appetizer that will knock the socks off of all who try it!

Author: Nikki
Recipe type: Appetizer


Ingredients

•     9 ounce package refrigerated cheese ravioli
•     2 to 3 cups oil
•     ¾ cup flour
•     3 eggs
•     1½ cups Panko
•     ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
•     ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
•     ½ teaspoon salt
•     ½ teaspoon garlic powder
•     1 cup marinara sauce
•     1 cup alfredo sauce

Read More: Fried Ravioli Appetizer

Garlic Butter Mushrooms and Gnocchi in Foil Packets

If you are looking for a light yet nutritious dish that does not skimp on flavor, you have come to the right place! Savor the taste of  these mediterranean foil packets. Gnocchi and mushrooms are topped with a fragrant garlic butter sauce then quickly baked in the oven. Fresh parsley adds herbaceous notes on top.

Ingredients:

•     1 pound (450g) gnocchi
•     1 pound (450g) mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
•     1/4 cup (60ml) clarified butter or ghee
•     5 garlic cloves, minced
•     Fresh thyme leaves
•     Salt and fresh cracked pepper
•     Crushed red chili pepper
•     Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

 

Read More: Garlic Butter Mushrooms and Gnocchi in Foil Packets

Make-ahead Frittata Squares with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Feta

Think of frittata as an Italian cousin to the French omelet, with a few notable differences.
Instead of folding the omelet around the filling as the French do, Italian frittatas mix the eggs and filling together from the start and then bake them together in one dish. It’s a little like an open-faced omelet that can feed the whole family!
Frittatas are usually cooked on top of the stove, and either flipped over in the skillet or finished in the oven. To make life easier, I’ve taken some liberties and eliminated the stovetop flipping step.
With this recipe, all the ingredients go into a baking dish and then straight into the oven. The preparation itself is quick – just quickly cook the filling ingredients and mix them into the eggs – while the time in the oven is a bit longer. Slow and gentle oven-cooking helps bring out the best texture in the frittata.
One other advantage of a baked frittata is that it can be made ahead, and individual squares can be reheated in the microwave for an easy grab-and-go breakfast. With eight servings from the pan, you have breakfast for the whole week!
This also makes a stellar make-ahead brunch recipe. Just add a salad, some crusty bread, and a bowl of fruit and you are ready to relax when guests arrive.

Make-ahead Frittata Squares with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Feta Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 9 squares

Ingredients

• Butter (for the baking dish)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• 5 ounces (about 3 1/2 packed cups) baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 12 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (about 5 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Special Equipment:

• 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish (8x8 square or 7x11 rectangular)

Read More: Make-ahead Frittata Squares with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Feta

Tropical Citrus Collins

Lots to talk about today, like my new found skill of mastering house plants, hence the title of 90 Days of Green Living—more on that in a bit. The first order of business: Tropical-Citrus Collins.

It’s easy to make and perfect to celebrate any achievement in life—small or large. And since life doesn’t always give you time to get all mixologist and stuff, it’s nice to have a cocktail that you can easily throw together.
To start, grab some Tropicana^® Tangerine Lemonade for the base – perfect when you don’t want to squeeze your way through a dozen-plus lemons. It’s unique blend of tangy and sweet citrus juice makes it my go-to cocktail vehicle. From there all you have to do is add a little gin, some muddled pineapples, a squeeze of tangerine, soda water and you have yourself a killer tropical cocktail.
Of course, the other reason I reach for Tropicana first is because they leave out all the artificial flavors and artificial sweeteners. Which means sans the alcohol and I’m sipping on this all day.

Speaking of work, lets talk about my reason to celebrate: 90 days of Green Living.  Forever and ever, I have always had a black thumb, even with hardy herbs like rosemary and mint. They would thrive for about two weeks then take on a slow death, mocking me with their yellow-brown leaves that would finally fade to all the leaves just limping and wilting away.
But then a just a few months ago, I decided I was going to beat that black thumb of mine. So I looked up “easy house plants”, easy as in ones that didn’t require a lot of work. I started with a few pothos, ivies and finally picked up a fern hair maiden- a notoriously fickle plant. They not only lived, they were thriving – whaaat?
I’m so proud.

My boys make fun of me because I talk to them and tend to them so lovingly. Cole calls them my girls. I loved that he refers to them as girls because prior to their arrival, Piper (the Yorkie) and I, were the only females in the family. But now we outnumber the boys. Yay us!
Confident by my success, I picked up a fiddle leaf – even more notoriously hard to maintain than The Maiden. I’m 90days in and all the girls are doing great. I showed that black thumb of mine who’s boss!
Never mind that all this celebration might just be an indication of how long I’ve failed with plants. But those days are gone, so let’s celebrate small achievements like this, yeah? Cheers!

Tropical Citrus Collins

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Tropicana^® Tangerine Lemonade
• 1 tangerine, juiced
• 1.5 ounces gin
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 4 oz. chopped pineapple
• soda water

Read More: Tropical Citrus Collins

Chicken Breasts with Mustard Cream Sauce

This elegant dish is so easy to make, it’s almost criminal. But luckily, I don’t think anyone will get in trouble just for making really special chicken fit for anything from a weeknight meal to a dinner party — even if it does only take a half an hour.
The first trick is to brown the chicken in a mix of butter and oil. This gives you the best combination of flavor and browning for your chicken.
If the breasts are slightly thick (which they probably will be), they won’t cook all the way through at this point. That is a good thing! Place them on a baking sheet and let them gently finish cooking in the oven while you make the sauce.
For that sauce, just add some wine to the skillet and let it reduce by half. Don’t worry about exact measurements here, so just eyeball it. Most of the alcohol evaporates at this point and just leaves flavor and acidity behind.
Next, add some cream to the pan. Don’t skimp and try to use half and half. You need the fat in the cream to keep the sauce smooth.
Last but not least, stir in the mustard, capers and parsley. Spoon this over your (now finished) chicken, and serve!
Oh, and try not to lick the plate

Chicken Breasts with Mustard Cream Sauce Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed well
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Read More: Chicken Breasts with Mustard Cream Sauce