Cinnamon Applesauce & Raisin Rye Muffins

These cinnamon applesauce and raisin muffins make a fast, easy, and delicious breakfast treat. Plus, they are made with whole rye flour along with all purpose flour. 

These muffins are soft and moist, and taste just like cinnamon applesauce. 

Homemade Turkey Soup

Homemade turkey soup filled with vegetables, herbs, garlic, and other seasonings, all in a long simmered homemade stock. 

This homemade turkey soup will become your new post-holiday tradition. 

Homemade Fish Crackers with Cheddar and Whole Wheat

These homemade fish crackers with cheddar and whole wheat are a wonderful treat for both kids and grown ups. 

Aren't these little fish crackers cute? They are also really tasty .... they are flaky, crispy, and tender, and they make you look so clever. 

Ham and Black-Eyed Pea Soup

This ham and black-eyed pea soup is the quintessential New Year's Day good luck meal. With ham, collard greens, and black-eyed peas, this soup represents ingredients to celebrate the New Year. 

In the Southern part of the United States, having black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring good fortune for the coming year. If you eat 365 black-eyed peas, you will have good fortune each day of the year. 

Baked Pear Dessert

 This baked pear dessert is such a light and and delicious twist on baked apples. 

Serve these baked pears topped with a scoop of ice cream for a refreshing after dinner treat. 

Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets with Two Dipping Sauces

These air fryer chicken nuggets are made with chicken breasts coated in panko bread crumbs and then air-fried until crispy, juicy, and golden. 

The best part about making these chicken nuggets, besides the fact that they are juicy and incredibly delicious, is that you assemble them in advance, freeze them, and then air fry them whenever you get a craving. You can make as many or as few as you like. 

Nutmeg Custard Cake Doughnuts

These custard cake doughnuts, flavored with nutmeg and frosted with a custard glaze, are so much easier to make than fried doughnuts. 

Don't get me wrong. I love making fried doughnuts, but sometimes you just want something easy. I finally got a couple of doughnut pans for making baked doughnuts and couldn't be happier with them. Plus, my doughnut loving grandsons love them too. 

Cranberry Negroni

This cranberry Negroni cocktail recipe takes the classic bittersweet Italian cocktail and adds the sweet-tart flavor of cranberry sauce. 

A traditional Negroni is made with equal parts gin, Campari, and red vermouth. It's typically served before dinner over rocks with an orange garnish. 

Chicken and Rice Soup with Cabbage

This Chicken and rice soup with Napa cabbage is infused with the Asian flavors of black bean garlic sauce and chili bean sauce. This recipe is succulent and delicious, and the ingredients mimic the results of a long simmered soup. 

This quick throw it together soup gets its beautiful richness from added gelatin to imitate the the richness of long simmered chicken broth. 

Egg and Tapenade Toasts with Anchovies

These little bite-sized toast canapés are a wonderful combination of flavors. The tapenade, egg, and tomato toppings combine with the anchovies to make a tasty treat. 

These egg and tapenade toasts are easy to put together and are the perfect little bites to go with a cocktail or a glass of sparkling wine. You can make your own tapenade or use jarred or fresh tapenade from the grocery store or deli. 

Swedish-Style Saffron Buns

These Swedish-style saffron buns are wonderful for breakfast, especially served warm from the oven with jam. 

These saffron buns are light and slightly sweet and sprinkled with Swedish pearl sugar. They are made with a dough for St. Lucia buns (or lussekatter), which are normally shaped into an "S" and studded with raisins or currants. 

French Bread Cheese Puffs

These French bread cheese puffs are a completely poppable appetizer made with bread cubes dunked in a mixture of cheeses and whipped egg whites, frozen, and then baked into a delicious cheesy appetizer. 

This is a throw back recipe from the 1970s. My mom gave me this recipe, along with a appetizer recipes such as "mushroom roll ups, tostada pie, ham walnut spread, and salmon party ball." 

Creamed Spinach Gratin

This spinach gratin recipe is comprised of an already tasty creamed spinach topped with Gruyere and Parmesan, and then baked. The top is crispy and cheesy, and the inside is creamy and seriously flavorful.

 

 I have made this spinach many times, especially on holidays to accompany roast beef. It kind of reminds me of the side dishes, e.g. creamed corn and Yorkshire pudding, that would be served in the old traditional prime rib restaurants.

Grape Snack Cake with Winter Crunch Grapes

This grape snacking cake is super easy to make, plus, it is topped with delicious, plump, and juicy seedless red grapes. 

Baking with grapes? Actually, they're pretty amazing when they are baked. The grapes get all roasty and even sweeter, and the juices permeate the cake to add an amazing layer of sweetness. 

Emergency Salad from All Stirred Up

The story about emergency salad, according to the book, All Stirred Up: Suffrage Cookbooks, Food, and the Battle for Women's Right to Vote by my friend Laura Kumin, is that this recipe first appeared in the Washington Women's Cookbook, published by the Washington Equal Suffrage Association. 

According to the book All Stirred Up, the name Emergency Salad was a common term in the early 1900s. There are versions with onions, apple, and chopped cabbage. There are also versions of emergency salads with cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, and French dressing. 

Buttery Soft Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

These super soft pull-apart dinner rolls, baked in a cast iron pan, are light as a feather, airy, and layered with lots and lots of herby butter. 

Serve these buttery rolls straight from your cast iron skillet. I guarantee these rolls will be the most popular thing on your table. 

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Filling

 If you are looking for cookies for Santa, these Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Filling would totally fit the bill. 

These little hazelnut shortbread sandwich cookies are fabulously easy. Just make the dough, form it into a log, refrigerate it, and, when you are ready to make them, slice the dough and bake. Next, sandwich the cookies together with a dollop of Nutella in the center. 

Marbled Rye Bagels

These marbled rye bagels, with their wonderful hearty flavor, are the perfect vehicle for deli meats, smoked salmon, and delicious cheeses. 

I love bagels. I've posted lots of bagels here, including New York Water Bagels, Egg Bagels, Asiago Cheese Bagels, and Onion Bagels. Bagels are a wonderful bread with lots of tradition. They are typically made from a lean, stiff dough.