Appetizer Recipes
February 3, 2014
2 Comments

Easy Stuffed Peppadews

Stuffed Peppadews

Hi, it’s Colleen here again! Today I have for you an appetizer that is SUPER easy, colorful, versatile and all around fun party nibble!

Ever hear of a Peppadew?

I’m sure you have been around them, you just may not have know their name. A Peppadew is the brand name of a variety of chili pepper originally grown in South Africa. What makes Peppadews a brand is a proprietary process used to take out the seeds, most of the heat and then pickle them.

I think I tasted my first Peppadew about 6 years ago, and one taste was all it took to get me immediately hooked. I adore the sweet juiciness that comes with every bite. I remember searching the internet back then trying to find out how I could buy them and finally found a place to buy huge commercial cans. We were eating peppadews for quite some time. I stuffed them, put them in salads and various dishes. My favorite was when I added them to turkey burgers; the juiciness of the peppers kept the burgers so moist as they grilled.

Peppadews are more mainstream now. I see them turning up at parties from time to time on anti-pasta trays. They are ALWAYS the first empty spot on the tray – I know I can never resist them! You can probably buy them right from your grocer, either in the salad bar or olive area. Just scoop how many you want into a container and you are good to go. Many markets also sell them in glass jars – just ask.

Here are 2 fun and easy ways to use peppadews which are a nice change from the heavy dips and such you may be finding (but can’t stay away from…like me) at your sports watching gatherings or any gathering for that matter. I personally love apps that are easy to pick up and eat at parties.

I enjoy making Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppadews and Sausage Stuffed Peppadews. Both are easy and have few ingredients. You can choose to stuff them with plain or flavored goat cheese for a great meatless appetizer, or you can stuff them with sweet, hot or chorizo sausage. Sometimes I cook them in the oven, sometimes I just stuff them and eat them. Either way these make a fabulous addition to a cheese plate, antipasto plate or a stand alone appetizer.

I will list the ingredients…specifics depend on what you choose to stuff them with, the quantity you want to make and the size of Peppadews you purchase.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppadews
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Ingredients
  • Peppadews
  • Goat Cheese (plain or flavored)
  • Chives or thin slices of scallion (optional)
Instructions
  1. Allow your goat cheese to soften a bit, then stuff each Peppadew with enough goat cheese to fill it.
  2. You can choose to add some minced herbs to your plain goat cheese or use flavored goat cheese.
  3. Serve them at room temperature or place them in a 300-degree oven for 5 minutes.
Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppadews
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Ingredients
  • Peppadews
  • Goat Cheese (plain or flavored)
  • Chives or thin slices of scallion (optional)
Instructions
  1. Allow your goat cheese to soften a bit, then stuff each Peppadew with enough goat cheese to fill it.
  2. You can choose to add some minced herbs to your plain goat cheese or use flavored goat cheese.
  3. Serve them at room temperature or place them in a 300-degree oven for 5 minutes.

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Drink Recipes
January 23, 2014
13 Comments

Move over Hot Chocolate… It’s Hot Caramel!

Hi, it’s Colleen and today I’m excited to share one of my family’s favorite winter treats…. a recipe for Hot Caramel!

Move over Hot Chocolate . . . this Hot Caramel recipe is TO DIE FOR!!!!

Hot Chocolate is something that just about everyone adores. I bet that you have a least one incredible memory from your childhood as well as your adult life tied into a warm cup of chocolate decadence…Am I right? How about trying something a little different and possibly create a new memory?

I like chocolate but I LOVE caramel!  

So years ago I experimented with mixing in leftover homemade caramel into warm milk and I was smitten with the result! When I had kids we introduced them to hot chocolate around age 3, then when they became a little more sophisticated around 7-8, I introduced them to the Hot Caramel. My daughter who is now 9 has never looked back! She always likes the idea of a cup of hot chocolate but only ever drinks about 20% of it.  She’s not the worlds biggest chocoholic (obviously she takes after me and not the 2 chocolate monsters I live with…aka my husband and 12-year-old son).

You can make your own caramel for this, use a store bought caramel sauce or you can simply use caramel candies. I either make my own or use the candies and can hardly tell the difference. You can enjoy it straight up or go a little crazy as I did above and top it off with some freshly made whipped cream and a caramel drizzle (swoon!!)

Hot Caramel
Recipe Type: Drink
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Ingredients
  • Caramel Sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 TBS corn syrup
  • 6 TBS heavy cream
  • 2 TBS unsalted butter
  • Dash or two of vanilla
  • Hot Caramel
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/3 cup Caramel Sauce
  • Optional Toppings
  • Fresh Whipped Cream
  • Caramel Drizzle
Instructions
Homemade Caramel Sauce (omit this part if you use storebought sauce)
  1. In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar and corn syrup. Cook over medium high heat undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Every so often you can swirl pan, but do not stir. Sauce will begin to turn amber. Swirl your sauce every so often and keep on heat until it has a nice amber color…maybe another 3-6 minutes.
  2. Carefully remove from heat, quickly whisk in the cream – be careful as sauce can expand quickly. Be sure you are whisking while you pour in the cream.
  3. Stir in butter and vanilla. Let sauce come to room temperature. At that point you can cover and chill for later use…keeps well in a sealed jar for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Hot Caramel Drink
  1. Mix 1/3 cup caramel sauce with 2 cups milk in a saucepan (or more to taste). Heat through over medium heat, stirring often. Serve.
Caramel Drizzle
  1. If topping with drizzled caramel, put 6 Kraft Caramels and 1/2 TBS heavy cream into a bowl and heat in your microwave in 30 second bursts until mostly melted; stir until smooth. Scrape into a baggie, snip the corner and drizzle over whipped cream – Mmmmm!

P.S. If you liked this post, you might want to sign up to receive my recipes to your email inbox. Sign up here!!

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Appetizer Recipes
December 30, 2013
25 Comments

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms: a delicious appetizer for your next party!

Hey, it’s Colleen here! When it comes to the holidays, don’t you feel like we turn into Wonder Woman? There are presents to buy, parties to host and attend, a house to clean again and again, wrapping to do, lists to make and remake… and if you have young kids, there are presents to creatively hide as well as food to make and cookies to bake! If we put THAT much energy into something else…we could rule the world!!

This year I hosted Christmas Eve (my family celebrates the Wigilia… the Polish tradition in honor of my almost 102 year old grandmother) as well as Christmas Day. If that wasn’t enough, I also had 15 fourth grade girls at my home three days before Christmas for a Cookie Swap and gift exchange. Sometimes I wonder if I am nuts, lol!

Note to self… never… ever… ev-er have more than six girls at a cookie swap or any type of gathering until the Senior Prom!! It was com-plet-ely crazy. I couldn’t hear anything, they couldn’t hear me at times, drama was happening, and “groups” were fractioning off. Time never moved that slowly… ever! Luckily I lived to tell the tale and learned a life lesson, whew!

When it comes to hosting MY family & friends, I have learned over the years to keep it as simple as I can. I used to try to do it all. I always wanted to make everything as fresh as I possibly could and as perfect as I possibly could… I thought THAT was being a good hostess. Now I make as much ahead as I can and say yes to friends and families when they offer to bring a dish. I get to mingle and have fun too, which is less stress for my husband and me, plus everything is just as good!

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

One app that I make (and am asked to make often) is Stuffed Mushrooms. My husband is crazy for them. I make them a number of ways. Meatless, crab or the always crowd pleasing Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms. This Spinach & Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushroom recipe is great because it’s a 2-fer… 1 recipe that you can serve 2 ways!

Like me, many people want nothing to do with mushrooms. SO when I decided to make my popular Spinach and Artichoke Dip a little bit thicker to stuff into mushrooms, I saved half of the mixture to serve a s a dip. There you go… 1 dish served 2 ways, and just about everyone is pleased… especially me!

Another party staple of mine is this super-simple but oh-so-delicious 5 Ingredient Hot Onion Dip. (I am asked at parties for this recipe more than any other.) It travels well – just cook it when you get there. The ingredients are ingredients that you probably have in your fridge/pantry right now – so when you need an app in a pinch, this is it!

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 3/4 cup diced Vidalia onion
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup flour (gluten-free, optional)
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cups sour cream
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 8 ounces Monterey Jack (pepper jack) cheese, sliced or shredded
  • 1 TBS chicken bouillon
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 TBS sugar
  • 5-6 shakes of Tabasco sauce
  • 12 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry
  • 6 – 6.5 ounce jar of artichokes, drained, blotted dry and chopped
  • Mushrooms appropriate for stuffing
  • Tortilla chips for dipping
Instructions
  1. Warm olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat; add in onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently.
  2. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk vigorously; remove from heat and slowly pour in chicken stock, whisking vigorously until it is incorporated.
  3. Return the pot back to med-low heat; once the mixture is simmering, whisk in the cream, sour cream and then the cheeses, chicken bouillon, lemon juice, sugar and Tabasco. Stir well.
  4. Add spinach and artichoke, stirring until fully incorporated and bubbly.
  5. If serving as a dip, serve warm in a small dish that can be heated in the oven, along with tortilla chips for dipping.
  6. If serving in mushrooms, cool the dip (it can be made one day ahead and stored in the refrigerator). Clean and stem the mushrooms.
  7. Brush your baking sheet lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle salt and pepper on the tray.
  8. Line up your mushrooms on the tray and spoon some of the dip into each. Don’t over fill them.
  9. You can also sprinkle a pinch of shredded Parmesan cheese on top of each mushroom.
  10. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes (or until mushrooms are cooked to your liking….it depends on the size mushrooms you use).
  11. If you want to make the mushrooms extra special, throw in a bit of jumbo lump crab!
Notes
I have always used flour in my dip, however, on 2 occasions I have used gluten-free flour so a good friend of ours could partake, and it was just as good. [br][br]If making some or all of this as a dip and you want the dip a little thinner, add 1/2 cup sour cream (to a whole batch or 1/4 cup of sour cream to a half batch).[br][br]Make the dip as spicy as you desire by adding more Tabasco – or not spicy at all by only adding a couple of drops. Tabasco has a way of flavoring a dish with just a bit yet not making it spicy – taste as you go and enjoy!

Do you have a favorite party app recipe to share? Happy New Year!

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Drink Recipes
December 19, 2013
10 Comments

Wassail Recipe | A Festive and Delicious Holiday Drink

Hi everyone! It’s Colleen here. Every year for the Christmas holiday, I make a big pot of Wassail, something I have been doing as long as I can remember, and every year without fail people always ask…what? What is it? What is Wassail?

Did you ever hear the song Here We Go A Wassailing?

Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green... This delicious and easy wassail recipe will warm you to your toes this Christmas season. And as an added bonus, we've got the wassail song lyrics for you as well!

Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a-wand’ring
So fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.

There you go! The wassail song lyrics are just an added bonus. The wassail recipe is what you came for, right??

Wassail is a fun and festive offering for the holidays. I like to keep a big pot of  it simmering on the stove. I always make people who have never had it taste it, and I always catch them going back for more – I love it!

Wassail is traditionally enjoyed as an integral part of “wassailing”, an ancient English drinking ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest. The purpose of wassailing was/is to awaken the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the Autumn.

Wassail makes your home smell delicious, warms you to your toes and is easily transported. Once made and cooled, I pour it back into the cider container and take it wherever our holiday travels take us. It’s easy to reheat in a pot on the stove once you get there. I think there are as many variations of wassail recipes as there are cider apple orchards in England. This is the one I have settled on over the years.

I make this non-alcoholic so all ages can enjoy it, but feel free to add Brandy to taste.

Wassail Recipe
Recipe Type: Drinks
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
This traditional festive holiday drink can be served with or without alcohol so everyone can enjoy it.
Ingredients
  • 4 cups apple cider
  • 1 ½ cups orange juice (no pulp)
  • 6 oz can of pineapple juice
  • 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
  • 3 TBS sugar
  • ¼ cup mulling spices OR to make your own mulling spice by combining 4 sticks of cinnamon, 3 long strips of orange rind, 1 TBS whole cloves and 1 TBS whole allspice berries.
Instructions
  1. Combine everything in a large pot; bring to a boil, stirring often. (If you have a metal spice ball, use it, if not, just throw it all in then pour through a strainer prior to serving or storing).
  2. Turn off the stove and let it sit for 30 minutes before reheating to serve.
  3. Serve it very warm like you would tea.
  4. You can make it ahead, refrigerate it and reheat as necessary.
  5. Wassail keeps well for 4-5 days.
Notes
If you want to make an alcoholic version add in some Brandy or Cognac. [br][br]After you have made the Wassail, you can also stud an orange with cloves and add that to your pot or crock pot and slice up an apple to add to the pot as well festive look.[br][br]If you don’t like the flavor of pineapple juice, replace it with apple juice.

Happy Holidays!

Follow my All Things Christmas pinterest board for more delicious holiday recipes, crafts, decor and more!

Follow Jo-Lynne Shane’s board All Things Christmas on Pinterest.

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Dessert Recipes
November 14, 2013
13 Comments

Apple Raisin Bread Puddings with Whiskey Sauce

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Pompeian Grapeseed Oil Spray.

Apple Raisin Bread Puddings with Whiskey Sauce

Ever wonder just what tips & tricks celebrity chefs use to make their holiday baking spot-on? Check out Duff Goldmans’ Top 5 Baking Tips…They don’t call him the Ace of Cakes for nothing!

  1. I always use a cooking spray to coat my pans when baking a cake. Some bakers say it ruins your pans, but the exact opposite is true. Cooking sprays season your pans, and if you use one like Pompeian Grapeseed Oil Spray, which has a high smoking point, your cakes will never burn from overheated oil.
  1. Don’t over-work your flour! Gluten is the protein in flour so when you mix dough and batter for too long, the protein chain just gets stronger and stronger and you end up with cookies and pastries that are too chewy and not tender. Think bagels. Do you want a muffin with the chewiness of a bagel? Of course not.
  1. When a recipe says to scrape down the sides of the bowl when mixing a dough or batter, DO IT! If not, you’ll end up with a big bit of baking soda or salt in your finished product because your product wasn’t mixed well. Yum!
  1. Almost always under-bake your products by a few minutes. Everything keeps baking for a bit outside of the oven, so if you pull out your baked goods when they are done, they will over-bake.
  1. Pastry flour, cake flour, all-purpose flour, and bread flour are all different things. Learn what they are and when to use each, and your baking will improve immensely.

To celebrate the launch of the new Pompeian Grapeseed Oil Spray and the start of the holiday baking season, Pompeian is partnering with celebrity pastry chef and executive chef of Charm City Cakes, Duff Goldman, to show Americans how to enhance their holiday baking recipes with the new Grapeseed Oil Spray AND they are having a fun Challenge with a heartfelt prize! Everyone wants to do good deeds, especially around the holidays, right?

How would YOU like to win $5,000.00 for your local food pantry?

GSSpray_5oz_HiRes

From November 4 – December 6, consumers can enter this Challenge by following @Pompeian on Instagram, then uploading a photo to Instagram showing how they are giving their baked goods a tune up with Grapeseed Oil Spray, using the #Bake4Better hashtag and tagging @Pompeian.

The most innovative photo taker, who will be crowned by celebrity pastry chef Duff Goldman, will receive a $5,000 donation in the name to their local food bank and a Pompeian gift basket to continue baking better all year long.

I tinkered around with Pompeian’s Grapeseed Oil Spray to see how it could enhance my own holiday baking, and I enjoyed it. It imparted no unusual flavor, and my staple recipes were a success. I made my favorite Cranberry Walnut Pie, which always graces our Thanksgiving & Christmas dessert tables, as well as a few of my kids’ favorite mini jar pies and my husband’s favorite Apple Bread Pudding with a Whiskey Sauce (above). I really like the fact the the grapeseed spray is an all-natural spray and it has a really high smoke point which makes it so versatile when baking and cooking.

Cranberry Pie

The Pompeian line is made from 100% grapeseed oil which is imported from France, and Pompeian Grapeseed Oil Spray can be used whether you are stir-frying, grilling, sautéing or baking.

Apple Raisin Bread Pudding
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 TBS vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 cups of cubed bread like French, Italian or Sourdough
  • 1/2 cup diced apples (I like Honeycrisp)
  • 2 TBS raisins
  • Whiskey Sauce
  • 2 TBS butter
  • 1 1/2 TBS whiskey
  • 1/2 TBS vanilla
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
  1. Combine the egg, sugar, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Add in your bread, apples and raisins, and toss until every piece of bread is coated with the mixture.
  3. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.
  4. Grease or spray your mason jars and fill to the top, pressing down a bit.
  5. Bake on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are browned a bit and crispy.
Whiskey Sauce
  1. In a saucepan, melt your butter; add in the whiskey and bring to a boil for just a minute.
  2. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla and confectioners sugar, whisk until smooth.
  3. Spoon some sauce over each mason jar-full and serve warm…so good!!
  4. I sometimes double the sauce ingredients since I enjoy a lot of it (must be the whiskey!). Plus I like to pass extra sauce around when we have guests.
Notes
You can also make this the traditional way – as one individual dessert, and scoop out big spoonfuls onto a plate, drizzle with sauce & enjoy!

For the Baking for Better official rules, please visit http://www.pompeian.com/bakebetter. Coupons for Pompeian products can be found at http://www.pompeian.com.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pompeian Grapeseed Oil Spray. The thoughts and opinions within this post are my own.

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Main Dishes
November 5, 2013
17 Comments

Sweet Potato & Carrot Bisque

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Sweet Potato Bisque

Hello November! It’s Colleen here again. I don’t know about you…but my favorite part of this time of year is making soups! Creamy, broth based, simple or complicated, I like them all! Soup is incredibly versatile, you can make a nice big batch and feast on it for days, it makes a fabulous brown bag lunch and often soup is the cornerstone of a satisfying meal.

One of my absolute favorite things to do when making soup is to make a double batch, fill a quart-sized mason jar or two with some and “gift” it to a family member, neighbor or a friend. Why not? That simple act of delicious kindness make both the giver and the receiver happy. Why not make a big ‘ole batch of your favorite soup this week and surprise and delight someone that could use a happy moment with it! Wait until you see how good that feels!

This year, I will be teaching my kids the basics of soup making. My son, who turned 12 last week, will go along with it because he knows it makes me happy. My 9 year old daughter, however, is a cooking machine. She almost never “let’s” me cook without her and often when she comes home from school, dance or a playdate, she kind-of puts her hands on her tiny little hips and says “Mom…you cooked without me??” I am always like “oh, honey…I um….welllll, I had to, err I mean I..” Then I give up and just own up to it. It is hilarious! And you know what, I love it! I love that she loves cooking, I love that we talk SO much when we are making and baking together, I love that my little chef will say things like “Mom, can I get a chicken and make chicken stock tonight?” Or “Mom can you put out ingredients for me and my friends and can we do a challenge and you pick a winner?”  These, I know, are memories that will stay with her forever.

The soup I am sharing with you all today, I made all by myself…twice…Shhh! Mum’s the word!

I adore this soup, my husband is crazy for it as well. I have made this a few times after tasting something very similar at a local restaurant we often go to. They have had it on the menu for years, and this fall I finally ordered it and became instantly smitten! Their addition of cinnamon and sugar croutons put this Sweet Potato Soup over the top!

I didn’t ask them about the soup, I really don’t know if they used sweet potatoes or yams in their recipe or if they had carrots in it. I just went by taste when recreating this and I think that what I ended up with is pretty darned close to what they offer.  It’s a definite keeper and new favorite for me (and I hope for you too)!

This Sweet Potato & Carrot Bisque is pleasantly sweet with a kick of heat to it just after you taste the sweetness. The texture and flavor that the cinnamon & sugar croutons add is just perfect!

Sweet Potato & Carrot Bisque
Recipe Type: Recipes
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 3 TBS butter
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped sweet onion
  • 3 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 2 heaping cups diced sweet potato or yam (see notes)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Red pepper (Cayenne) to taste
  • Cinnamon & Sugar Croutons
  • 20 1-inch cubes of Ciabatta or French Bread
  • 1 TBS sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 dashes of black pepper
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter in a large pot, add in the olive oil and onions and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until your onions are translucent and wilted.
  2. Add in your stock, water, carrots and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil; continue to boil for about 20 minutes or until the carrots and sweet potatoes are mostly tender.
  3. Remove from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly (about 10 minutes).
  4. Carefully puree the soup with your immersion blender or transfer it to a blender and puree it there. If you removed the soup from the pot – rinse the pot out before you return the pureed soup to it.
  5. Add in the cream, maple syrup, salt, pepper and red pepper. Heat the soup through but do not bring it to a boil (since you added in cream).
  6. Serve with a few of the Cinnamon & Sugar Croutons overtop and serve.
Cinnamon & Sugar Croutons
  1. Combine your sugar, cinnamon and pepper in a prep bowl; add in the bread chunks and toss them all around. Lightly rub the bread chunks into the sugar mixture.
  2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add in the bread and cook each side until it is golden brown and crisp.
  3. Sprinkle any leftover sugar mixture over the bread as it cooks. Sugar can quickly burn, stay with the pan the whole time and use tongs to flip the bread from side to side.
  4. When all sides are crisp, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool completely on a baking sheet or plate. They will firm up even more once cooled.
  5. When fully cooled and crisp, you can store these in a sealed container or baggie for days,
Notes
Since sweet potatoes are not always available in the market, I have tested this with yams as well and really can not taste a difference. The only difference is the color of the soup – the yams are more orange like in the photo above, sweet potatoes yield a much lighter color soup. [br][br]Look for a large sweet potato, when you dice the potato and fill your measuring cup the pieces will create excess space – so look to overfill your measuring cups a bit. If your sweet potato or yam yields more than 2 heaping cups…throw it in so you don’t waste it – cut the carrots down a bit to compensate or add a little more liquid.[br][br]I have made this soup with baked sweet potatoes/yams as well (a great use if you have leftovers) with the same results. Just scoop out the flesh and add it to your soup once the carrots are almost tender.[br][br]You can substitute brown sugar for the maple syrup and chicken stock for the vegetable stock. We like heat so I add in quite a bit of red pepper – taste as you go for both the maple syrup and red pepper to get the flavor you enjoy.

Here are 2 of my favorite soups to make this time of year. This Tortellini and Spinach Soup is my #1 go to soup. It comes together so fast and it explodes with flavor. People will think you slaved over this soup for hours – it’s our little secret that you didn’t! A close second (and my son’s favorite) is this Easy Chicken Pho. I seriously think a person’s first bowl of Pho aka Vietnamese Noodle Soup is life-altering!

Enjoy!!

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Dessert Recipes
October 24, 2013
16 Comments

Easy DIY Halloween Candy

Easy DIY Halloween Candy

Hi everyone! It’s Colleen, here. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I know I am not alone in this since last year in the US alone we spent over 8 billion…yup 8 billion dollars on pumpkins, candy, decorations and costumes (even costumes for pets)! Wowzers!!

Maybe it’s the lack of stress around Halloween that is so appealing. No gifts to wrap, no huge shopping lists to tackle. Just some good old fashioned fun and spookiness! Plus…isn’t it fun to transform your house as well as be someone or someTHING else for a day! I sure think so!

Here is a fun 4-ingredient Halloween candy treat to make with or for your kids. I think many a grandparent or special neighbor would appreciate these! This candy is simple and delicious…especially if you love the whole chocolate & peanut butter thing!

4 ingredient chocolate and peanut butter halloween candy

My oldest is about to turn 12 (sniff, sniff) and every year he asks for the same thing. “Mom, can I have a sleepover and invite 7 friends…and can you decorate the house all crazy like you did last time?”

THAT simple request makes me feel like I did a good job the first time we did a Halloween themed birthday party back when he was 4.

I always serve these Edible Eyeballs that I came up with way back then. They have become a Halloween tradition for our family and at my kids school. I turn into an “eyeball” making machine, pumping them out by the hundreds for their school Halloween parties and his party…I now know what the Oompa Loompas must have felt like, lol!

I also make them for our annual “Booing” night – have you ever” Booed”? Simply put…”Booing” is loads and loads of hilarious family fun! My whole family adores this tradition. Learn how to “Boo” !

I happen to have a silicone “pan” with 24 squares in it called a Brownie Pan that I use when making these. Prior to owning that, I just used a 9×9 baking pan.

What is YOUR favorite part of Halloween?  

Easy DIY Halloween Candy
Recipe Type: Candy
Author: Colleen Kennedy
Ingredients
  • 1 pound Wilton orange-colored white chocolate melting discs
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
  1. If using a traditional pan, line your pan with parchment or waxed paper, leaving an overhang.
  2. Melt your orange-colored white chocolate melting discs in your microwave for about a minute; stir until the chocolate is melted and creamy.
  3. Microwave another 30 seconds if necessary to complete the melting, being careful to not burn the chocolate.
  4. Add in the peanut butter and stir until blended and smooth.
  5. Spread mixture into your prepared pan.
  6. If using a silicone pan filled with squares like this, place your melted mixture in a pastry bag or plastic baggie and fill each square a little more than halfway. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or until mostly firm.
  7. In a saucepan, combine your milk chocolate and your cream and heat over medium high heat until melted and smooth, stirring constantly.
  8. Pour/smooth over peanut butter mixture.
  9. *If using the silicone pan repeat above process for filing squares.
  10. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Later, lift out the candy and/or cut into small squares.

Feel free to “bedazzle” these for Halloween. I made some with candy corn, candy hearts, sprinkles and candy pumpkins.

Put some parchment paper in a pretty box, type or hand-write up the recipe on a cute and there you have it…a wonderfully tasty gift.

If you are making this for other than Halloween…use white melting disks (or pink for V-day)

Have fun and be safe this Halloween!

Find more Halloween crafts and costume ideas here.

Also, be sure to follow my Trick Or Treat! board on Pinterest.

Follow Jo-Lynne Shane’s board Trick Or Treat! on Pinterest.

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