Bacon Scallion Corn Muffins

These bacon scallion corn muffins include whole grain cornmeal, bacon and scallions, and Vermont cheddar cheese. 

These bacon scallion corn muffins are wonderful as a portable breakfast. They also are fabulous for lunch with a green salad.

My Top Five Desserts for 2018

These are my top five favorite desserts for 2018. 

All of these desserts were so good!

Mini Quiche Lorraine

These mini quiche Lorraine, made with bacon, onions, and Gruyère cheese in a tiny pie crust, are an easy and tasty appetizer or brunch dish.

I served these little quiches as an appetizer on Christmas Eve. It was my turn to host the annual family fête, and with 26 of my most favorite people coming for dinner, I needed appetizers that would pair well with bubbly.

Easy Make-Ahead Baked French Toast Casserole | Best Breakfast Recipes

This make-ahead baked French toast casserole is so easy to assemble the night before and then bake in the morning for breakfast or brunch. 

When my grandsons spend the night at our house, their favorite breakfast the next morning is French toast. When we have time, I will stand there like a short order cook and make French toast until they've had their fill. It's my favorite way to spend the morning with these boys.

Roasted TriColored Pepper Salsa | Best Appetizers from 2018

Roasted tricolored pepper salsa: Bell peppers in three colors that are roasted in the oven, peeled and chopped, and tossed with red onion, basil, cilantro, white wine vinegar, olive oil and a bit of sugar and pepper.

This roasted tricolored pepper salsa, served with toasty crostini, is a wonderful and light cocktail party appetizer.

Herb and Wine Poached Shrimp with Homemade Cocktail Sauce

This Herb and Wine Poached Shrimp with Homemade Cocktail Sauce is perfect for entertaining and super easy to make.

This shrimp cocktail is a little more work than setting out precooked shrimp with bottled cocktail sauce, but it's almost as easy.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups {Copycat}

These homemade Peanut Butter Cups, filled with a dough-like peanut butter filling, will pretty much blow your mind. 

The filling for these copycat Reese's peanut butter cups has a secret ingredient which takes the texture and flavor to a whole new level.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

These Mexican hot chocolate cookies are deeply chocolaty, and spiced with cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. 

The edges of these Mexican chocolate cookies are coated in a mixture of cinnamon and sanding sugar to add some crunch and sparkle.

Brown Rice Pilaf with Shrimp, Scallions, and Snow Peas

Brown Rice Pilaf with Shrimp, Scallions, and Snow Peas - Brown rice simmered in stock and tossed with shrimp, snow peas, scallions, and garnished with cilantro. 

Brown rice is whole grain rice that still has its bran. It is chewier than white rice, and has a nuttier flavor. Any color whole grain rice is considered "brown rice," and can be used in this recipe.

Baked Doughnuts with Currants

Baked currant doughnuts - these light yeasted doughnuts and doughnut holes are baked, brushed with melted butter, and dredged in sugar.

These doughnuts are delicious warm from your oven. They are more "bread-like" than deep fried doughnuts, and they are lighter and airier than the baked doughnuts that have baking powder for leavening that you bake in a special pan.

Shio Ramen with Turkey Broth and Chicken Chashu

This shio ramen with turkey broth and chicken chashu began with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. 

I innocently decided that I would try to make homemade ramen in order to create a soup with my leftover turkey carcass from Thanksgiving.

Chocolate Espresso Mousse

Chocolate espresso mousse with bittersweet chocolate, espresso, cream, and topped with a dark chocolate-covered coffee bean. 

This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

These chocolate espresso mousse (or is it mousses?) take very little effort to make, yet they are an elegant, dinner party worthy dessert.

Peppermint Stick Cookies

These peppermint stick cookies are fun to make, fun to eat, and so Christmasy.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

These peppermint stick cookies begin with a vanilla butter cookie which is dipped in a vanilla glaze and then sprinkled with crushed peppermint candies.

Apricot Sour Cream Bread

This Apricot Sour Cream Bread is wonderful with coffee for breakfast or with afternoon tea.

This bread is studded with dried apricots and sweetened with freshly squeezed orange juice and turbinado cane sugar.

Easy One-Pan Roasted Peppers with Sausage and Rice Dinner

This roasted peppers with sausage and rice dish is easy to make with just five ingredients, and it takes just a few minutes to cook.

All you need is roasted red bell peppers, Italian sausage, cooked rice, plus a little fresh oregano and Parmesan cheese for garnish.

Eggnog Cookies

These eggnog cookies capture the rum and the spices of eggnog in a cookie.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

These cookies are loaded with flavors of an eggnog cocktail.

Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies

These Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies are spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and filled with apricot jam. 

The tops of these gingerbread sandwich cookies have a little cutout in the top that you can bake to make little pop-able cookies.

Christmas Ornament Cookies

These Christmas ornament cookies are a fun treat to make with kids.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with Christmas Cookies Week. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the Christmas Cookies Week recipes. 

These Christmas ornament cookies are big, sparkly, and delicious.

Cornish-Style Steak Pasties

Cornish-Style Steak Pasties - A delicious and portable meat and vegetable hand pie.

Cornish pasties typically are made with beef (usually skirt steak), potatoes, onions, and rutabagas (called swede in Cornwall), which are wrapped in a crust and baked to make a delicious portable meat pie.

Homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder

Homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder - one of my favorite spice blends. Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cloves, fennel, and cinnamon combine to create a wonderful and uniquely flavored seasoning.

Why should you make your own Chinese Five Spice? 

First, one of the cool things about making your own spice blends is that you can control the ingredients in the blend, and customize the spices to your taste.

Spiced Chocolate Molasses Cookies

Spiced Chocolate Molasses Cookies - a chocolate cookie spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, and filled with a dark chocolate and molasses ganache. 

This post is sponsored in conjunction with Christmas Cookies Week. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the Christmas Cookies Week recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

These spiced chocolate molasses cookies will please both the chocolate lover and the spicy Christmas cookie lover in your life. These cookies are fabulous for a Christmas cookie platter or cookie exchange.