Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

So, I can't take credit for this yummy cookie recipe. Typically I find a couple different recipes I like and then make them my own, but since this was my first time baking red velvet cookies from scratch, I found one to follow almost exactly. The Cooking Classy blog is where I found these red velvet crinkle cookies and I am really happy with how this Valentine day treat turned out.

Now, the only changes I made to this recipe was substituting almond milk instead of regular milk, left out the white chocolate chips and I used a little bit more lemon juice since I had extra from the full lemon. 

I do recommend using all the food coloring to keep the cookies vibrant in color. If you don't have regular food coloring, icing color works too. I tested it since they offer icing color in several different shades at any craft stores. Last, do exactly what she recommends with cooling the dough and buttering your hands to roll into balls. In fact, I used canola oil on my hands and it worked great!  

Finally, make some cute Valentine tags, bag them up and deliver to your loved ones! 

             

New recipes from How Sweet It Is

Guess what? It is going to be a weekend in Portland so I hope to have some great new restaurants posts SOON! Stand by.

But, until then, read about my obsession with some of Jessica's recipes from How Sweet It Is. If you haven't been to her blog, then you are missing out. I warn you...once you start, you won't be able to stop. I could make EVERY recipe and last night, I made two - Sweet Potato Burgers with Avocado and Double Bean Burger Patty Melts.

My love for sweet potatoes is almost surpassing my love for anything inspired by caprese salad. Okay, so that might be an exaggeration, but I do love them. This recipe was so easy and the potato/avocado combination is divine. I did alter the recipe slightly, not because it needed it, but because I lacked the proper ingredients to make the cream. Instead, I made a simple rosemary, roasted garlic aioli:

Ingredients - Rosemary Roasted Garlic Aioli
1/4 c. mayo
1 tablespoon rosemary
4 cloves roasted garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Mash up the garlic cloves and then mix with mayo, rosemary, salt and pepper. Voila!

Now, the reason I also made the bean patties is because my other half doesn't drool over sweet potatoes like I do (he did end up liking the burgers though). The Double Bean Burger Patty Melts were fantastic except that I did something wrong and the ingredients didn't stick together very well. My recommendation - rinse and drain the beans properly. I think I had too much liquid from the canned beans, so I started off on the wrong foot. Not good. Yet, the flavor was still wonderful and the caramelized onions tasted great with the beans and cheese.

Since we had extra patties, I just decided to freeze them, just like we would with a traditional beef burger. They won't last long in there, I can assure you that.

Delicious Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

So, I have a terrible trend of only blogging monthly. What a sad excuse for a "blogger" I am. If I spent half the time writing on my blog as I did reading other people's blogs, I would be a pro. Since I spend most of my time on food blogs, I have quite the collection of recipes to try. Yesterday, I made a Thai Coconut Soup from Our Best Bites and oh.my.gosh it was DELICIOUS. They weren't kidding either...it was easy and so quick!

Most of the ingredients I had at home except the coconut milk. So, since I was out, I made it even easier and picked up a cooked rotisserie chicken. This worked great! I love Thai food so it was almost a no brainer that I was going to love this recipe.

I didn't change a thing when I made the recipe but I did add more jalapenos for spice. One piece of advice that I read in the post was to serve the soup quickly because the ramen noodles absorb a lot of the liquid. This is SO true. We had left overs and when I was scooping the soup into smaller containers, there wasn't nearly as much liquid.

Take a look at the ingredients and for the whole recipe, check it out at Our Best Bites.

Easy Thai Coconut Soup

Recipe by Ourbestbites.com
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh minced ginger, or 1 ½ teaspoons ground dry ginger
2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth
1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk or light coconut  milk (about 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 packages ramen noodes (discard seasoning packet)
optional: ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
1 ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 cup diced or shredded cooked chicken
toppings:  additional chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, and lime wedges

Brown Butter Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Chicken. That was my inspiration for tonight's meal. I had two chicken breasts that I needed to use but I was lazy and tired and definitely not into trying a new recipe. But, I was determined. Eventually, I discovered a new food blog called How Sweet It Is and this recipe was on her home page - brown butter parmesan chicken linguine. YUM.

I have never made brown butter before, so that was what first intrigued me (yes, I know...who hasn't made brown butter?). I jumped up off the couch and instantly started pulling out ingredients. The only thing I lacked was the mushrooms and dry wine, but I improvised and it turned out pretty darn good. 

Making brown butter was a success! I just loved how Jessica from How Sweet It Is wrote this post because she made me so excited about something as simple as brown butter. Reading her post made me want to find as many dishes as I can with brown butter! :) 

Here was the photo that inspired me to make this dish: 

brown butter via How Sweet It Is

A quick look at the ingredients:

1.5-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium sweet onion, sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 pound whole wheat pasta (preferably noodles)

2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for topping

fresh chopped parsley for topping

Check out her blog for other delicious recipes! 

Guest Post on Portland's Finest Restaurant Blog

I recently had the pleasure of writing a guest post on a great blog called Portland's Finest Restaurants.  It is a great resource for information about food/wine/beer events, restaurant reviews and deals in the local Portland area.

Check out my first post about my dining experience at Oba! in the Pearl District.

Leave a comment here or there and let me know what you think!

Cheers!