Spiced Maple Cake from Half Baked Harvest

Ever since I first saw Tieghan from Half Baked Harvest post her recipe for this Spiced Maple Cake a few weeks ago, I have been itching to make it. So the other night I broke out the eggs and mixing bowl and got to work.

Baking this cake made the entire house smell delicious, leaving each room with a sweet, rich maple syrupy smell that seemed to represent all the warm, comforting feelings this seasons brings. It was like a big, giant hug, and couldn’t we all use more hugs right now?

PJ compared it to more of a crumble than a traditional cake, and I have to agree. The icing was my absolute favorite ever- maple! And by favorite ever, I mean I have never made it before but after I did, it is now my favorite. It was so sweet and yummy and decadent. I highly recommend making this cake to start the new year off right.

Happy baking, friends!!

The Creamiest, Coziest Potato Soup Ever

Freezing cold days = soup for dinner. Every time. It’s just the way it is, I don’t make the rules!

I made this creamy potato soup the other night and it hit all the right spots. We all came back for seconds and honestly I probably could have come back for thirds. If you’re looking for a yummy, easy soup to make tonight, I highly recommend this one. Taken directly from sugarspunrun.com, here is what you’re going to need:

Ingredients:

• 6 strips (uncooked) bacon cut into small pieces

• 3 Tablespoons butter unsalted or salted will work

• 1 medium yellow onion chopped (about 1.5 cup/200g)

• 3 large garlic cloves minced

• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour 42g

• 2 ½ lbs gold potatoes peeled and diced into pieces no larger than 1” (this was about 6 Large potatoes for me/1.15kg)

• 4 cups chicken broth 945ml

• 2 cups milk 475ml

• 2/3 cup heavy cream 155ml

• 1 ½ teaspoon* salt

• 1 teaspoon ground pepper

• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder**

• 2/3 cup sour cream 160g

• Shredded cheddar cheese, chives, and additional sour cream and bacon for topping optional

Directions:

• Place bacon pieces in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot over medium heat and cook until bacon is crisp and browned.

• Remove bacon pieces and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.

• Add butter and chopped onion and cook over medium heat until onions are tender (3-5 minutes).

• Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

• Sprinkle the flour over the ingredients in the pot and stir until smooth (use whisk if needed).

• Add diced potatoes to the pot along with chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and ancho chili powder. Stir well.

• Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes).

• Reduce heat to simmer and remove approximately half*** of the soup to a blender (be careful, it will be hot!) and puree until smooth (half is about 5 cups of soup, but just eyeballing the amount will be fine. Alternatively you can use an immersion blender.).

• Return the pureed soup to the pot and add sour cream and reserved bacon pieces, stir well.

• Allow soup to simmer for 15 minutes before serving.

• Top with additional sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese, or chives. Enjoy!

Happy cooking, friends, and stay warm!! xo

Chicken Tortellini with Basil Pesto & Veggies

Pesto. Chicken. Cherry AND sun-dried tomatoes. Asparagus. Did I also mention you can make it all in one pan? This one’s a winner, y’all.

I came across this recipe the other night from Julia’s Album and once I saw the colors and all the yummy veggies, I knew I wanted to make it for the family. You know how picky little sis has been lately, so I knew this one wouldn’t be that popular with her, but had a feeling everyone else would enjoy it.

What also drew me to this recipe was how few ingredients it called for. Not only are they healthy, delicious, and fresh, there aren’t that many of them! AKA my favorite because it doesn’t take long to make. However, I switched out the ravioli for tortellini because I couldn’t find any ravioli at the store. It was still so good and the kids ate it all up. Also, I have never in my life cooked with sun-dried tomatoes before (why did no one tell me they’re so yummy and flavorful?!), so this was a much needed and welcomed switch-up from our regular dinner rotation ingredients.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 lb chicken breast boneless skinless, sliced

• salt

• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes , drained of oil, chopped

• 1 lb asparagus , ends trimmed, cut in half

• 1/4 cup basil pesto

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes , yellow and red, sliced in half

• 10 oz ravioli

Directions:

1. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat.

2. Add sliced chicken breast (seasoned with salt) and 1/4 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Cook everything on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, turning chicken slices over a couple of times until the chicken is completely cooked through.

3. Remove the chicken and the sun-dried from the skillet, leaving the oil in.

4. Add asparagus (ends trimmed), seasoned generously with salt, and 1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes to the same skillet.

5. Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus is cooked through. Remove the asparagus to a plate.

6. Cook ravioli according to the package instructions, drain.

7. Add cooked chicken with sun-dried tomatoes back to the skillet.

8. Add basil pesto.

9. Stir to coat and cook on low-medium heat until the chicken is reheated, 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

10. Add cooked ravioli and halved cherry tomatoes to the skillet with the chicken. Stir to combine. Add more pesto if desired.

11. Season with more salt if needed.

12. Serve the chicken, ravioli, and cherry tomatoes together with asparagus.

Hope you enjoy all the pretty colors and yummy flavors like we did, and head to Julia’s Album for more delicious recipes like this one! xoxo

A Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe

Here’s the story: we had a lot of bananas. We had a taste for something chocolatey. We knew what we had to do.

We had to make chocolate banana bread, naturally. Actually, we had originally planned to make a banana pound cake that Thomas’ sister made and had sent him the recipe for, but PJ got a taste for chocolate (always) so we decided to make this one first. And we gotta say, we don’t regret it. It’s the perfect mix of banana and chocolate and it’s so moist, almost tasting cake-ish, in all the best ways of course.

Here’s what you’re going to need, taken directly from Two Peas and Their Pod:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 3 large brown bananas   (1 1/2 cups mashed)

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

• 1/4 cup canola vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil

• 3/4 cup  packed light brown sugar

• 1 large egg, at room temperature

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup  semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork. Add the melted butter and oil and stir until combined. Stir in the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, don’t overmix. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the top of the bread. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean, you might have some melted chocolate chips on the toothpick and that is fine. You just don’t want a lot of gooey batter. Check at 50 minutes, just to be safe. Oven times vary.

6. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire cooling rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove from the pan. Let the bread cool on the wire cooling rack until slightly warm. Cut into slices and serve.

7. Note-the bread will keep on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 4 days. This bread also freezes well. To freeze, cool the bread completely and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost before slicing.

Enjoy friends! :)