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Veggie Sweet Potato Chili (Slow Cooker)
With the Superbowl coming up, I feel like my friends are always looking for vegetarian recipes that can serve a crowd. The non-veg football recipes seem more obvious, but sometimes the vegetarian options are super unhealthy or boring. This recipe for sweet potato chili is the opposite. It’s warm, hearty, and filling, and I promise, even your meat-lover friends will enjoy it. It’s also a great way to just put together ingredients that you may already have in your pantry and use your magic slow cooker to transform them into something yummy! Ingredients: 3 sweet potatoes- peeled and cubed 1 can garbanzo beans 1 can black beans 1 can tomato…
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Thomas the Tank Engine Cake
My adorable and amazing nephew Mokshay turned 2 this month and I was beyond excited to celebrate his Thomas the Tank Engine themed birthday. Let’s be serious, we all love time in a bouncy house, even in our 20s! For his birthday cake, I made two chocolate cakes (one 10 inch and one 8 inch round). The bottom layer was covered in rainbow jimmies (sprinkles) and the top layer was covered in white rolled fondant. The little thomas train on top is made of rice crispy treats covered in blue fondant. All of the smaller decorations were done in vanilla buttercream frosting or rolled fondant. Here’s some pictures of the…
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DIY Infused Olive Oils
I absolutely love homemade edible gifts. I think they are a great way to show someone you care without having to spend a ton of money (which around the holidays can be a serious problem!) Last year I gifted some people holiday cookies and cookies in a jar (see here). This year I decided to do something a little different, and made infused olive oils. They are super easy to make and cost effective, but are easily usable gifts that taste great! Ingredients: Olive oil bottles (I used these 4 oz bottles from The Container Store) 4 oz of extra virgin olive oil per bottle Several dried chili peppers Several…
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Pumpkin & Spinach Lasagna
I hosted a Friendsgiving two weeks ago to celebrate the arrival of the holidays with some of my closest girlfriends in San Francisco. If you’ve never done a Friendsgiving before, I highly recommend it. It’s an awesome way to share stories and catch up over some delicious food and wine. I decided to make Pumpkin Lasagna for the group because its a great dish that serves a lot of people, tastes delicious, and is easy to make! Ingredients: 18 oz Lasagna sheets (I used a store bought gluten-free pasta) 2 C mozzarella 1/2 C parmesan 15 oz (about 2 C) low-fat ricotta cheese 5 oz fresh spinach 15…
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Feta & Almond stuffed delicata squash
It’s fall in San Francisco, which really means we are experiencing amazing 80 degree weather and enjoying the sunshine. Yes, I do intentionally try to make all of you suffering through any sort of cold jealous. No shame. This week, my CSA (community supported agriculture) farm brought me a wide array of fall fruits and veggies including Delicata Squash. I am a huge fan of squash in general, especially butternut squash and small summer squashes. Delicata is an interesting variety though because unlike butternut squash, the rind is pretty thin and easy to cut. It also is thin enough that you can bake it and eat it without peeling! Here’s…
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Veggie Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada sauce
Enchiladas are a really easy dinner to make and much of it can be done in advance. It’s a great option for a group because you can make it in a large tray and serve several people at once. I had a girl friend over for dinner on Tuesday and we decided to make enchiladas and margaritas. I often dislike store bought enchilada sauces, so I also made this super easy sauce from scratch! (This recipe makes 8 enchiladas) Ingredients: 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz) 2 t. cumin 2 t. salt 2 t. chili powder 1 T garlic minced 1 T AP flour 1/4 C olive oil 8…
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Homemade Fettuccine
I recently purchased the KitchenAid Pasta Maker attachment for my stand mixer and had been dying to try it out. I used a REALLY simple pasta recipe for my test batch and it was amazing! I was shocked at how quickly fresh pasta cooks- way faster than store bought dried pasta- and how much lighter and tastier it is. I am definitely planning to experiment with more recipes so stay tuned. Ingredients: 1.5 C (12 oz) all-purpose flour (semolina is also great, but I didn’t have any at home) 3 large eggs 1 t salt 1 t olive oil sauce/veggies for serving Recipe: 1. Combine salt and flour in a…
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One-Pot Tomato Basil Couscous
It is sometimes hard to find the motivation to cook after a really long work day. I am super happy whenever I find a good recipe that can be made quickly and easily with as little clean up as possible. I know it’s easy to sacrifice flavor or healthiness when you are looking for something quick, but hopefully this recipe can be added to your arsenal of good after-work meals. I made this recipe for myself, but it could easily serve two people… so yes, I did eat if for lunch the next day. Ingredients 1 C Israeli couscous 2 C water 1.5 C fresh spinach (kale could also…
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Blueberry Cheesecake
I absolutely love cheesecake and am positive that I can make 100 variations of it without getting bored. This is a recipe for a dense baked blueberry cheesecake that I made for a coworker’s birthday- Happy birthday Dora! The recipe is pretty simple and carries well in case you want to whip up a quick dessert to take to a party or a picnic. I carried mine for an hour on the train with no problem! Plus, the blueberries that are currently available right now at most Bay Area farmer’s markets are just too good to pass up. Ingredients: 8 graham crackers crushed 6 T unsalted butter melted 1/2 C…
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Rainbow Pride Fruit Tart
After moving to my new apartment, it was definitely time to get back on the baking bus. What better opportunity, than SF’s Pride parade! I hosted a little pre-pride get together and thought it would be awesome to have something fun & sweet for people to enjoy. This rainbow tart is incredibly easy to make, because it takes no baking at all! Plus its a fun, colorful way to enjoy some amazing seasonal fruit. I picked up the fruits I used at the SF ferry building farmers market- strawberries, apricots, pineapple, green grapes, and blue berries! Ingredients: 1.5 C…
