Cooking with a Wallflower - Page 115 of 139 -

Chocolate Desserts Gluten Free Holidays Homemade Gifts Quick and Easy Recipes Snacks Vegetarian

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Bark

Freeze dried strawberries covered with a thin layer of semi sweet chocolate. Delicious and easy to make, this chocolate covered strawberry bark is the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day.

Just a couple days left until Valentine’s Day! Do you have any special plans for this weekend?

And in case you’re still looking for a quick DIY gift, or some last minute dessert, look no further.

I’m absolutely obsessed with strawberries and chocolate. And as much as I love strawberries dipped in chocolate, they don’t last very long. So my solution is this chocolate covered strawberry bark.

Roasted Almond Strawberry Maple Cereal

Toasted rice cereal lightly sweetened with maple syrup and flavored with coconut oil then tossed with roasted almonds and freeze dried strawberries. This roasted almond strawberry maple cereal is a delicious breakfast that’s both flavorful and easy to make.

Not all mistakes end up as a terrible mess.

This recipe was originally supposed to be snack bars, similar to Kind bars. Actually, that was my intention. I wanted to create Kind bars with my favorite ingredients so that I can eat them any time I want. Sometimes I think that’s my motivation – so that everything is easily accessible at home. Unfortunately, when I substituted maple syrup for honey to make this a vegan snack, the maple syrup wasn’t thick enough to hold the cereal together. If I added more maple syrup, I knew that the cereal would become too sweet. So as a snack bar, a total fail.

But! Instead of writing this off as a loss, I wanted to see if I could use what I made for something else. Cereal.

Which honestly is a poor excuse of a recipe. But hey, it’s my idea of a quick tasty breakfast before work so of course I’d share this recipe with you. =)

Chinese Hot and Sour Soup with Eggrolls

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias and its advertiser Tai Pei® Asian Food. All opinions are mine alone. #NewYearFortune

Celebrate Chinese New Year with hot and sour soup filled with soft tofu, lily flowers, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and cloud ear fungus. This soup is delicious and easy to make, great for a cold winter day.

My family loves soup, and this particular one shows up at our dinner table pretty often, especially during the holidays. And what better way to celebrate Chinese New Year and welcome in the Year of the Sheep than with our favorite dishes? For me, that means soup, eggrolls, and noodles. Oh, and sweets!

I’ve also mentioned before that I’m a major snacker. I prefer to eat many little dishes over one big dish. In other words, I love my soups and appetizers. Soup plus eggrolls? I’m set.

Peanut Butter Nutella Banana Toast Sandwiches

Slices of bread smeared with peanut butter on one side and Nutella on the other topped with slices of bananas and toasted almonds. This peanut butter Nutella banana sandwich is the perfect dessert breakfast on the go.

Oh yes I did.

I know. I know. You’re probably thinking, “This is hardly a recipe.”

It’s not. Not really, anyway.

But it’s meant to inspire, and I wouldn’t share it with you if I didn’t absolutely love it, right?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an obsession with peanut butter and banana. It’s such a delicious combo: sweet, rich and healthy.

I grew up eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch. Seriously, the best lunch combo ever for a kid. Apparently, I don’t need much to please me.

Pomegranate Lemonade

Pomegranate juice mixed with lemonade and topped with fresh pomegranate seeds for a delicious iced beverage. Simple with only a few ingredients, this pomegranate lemonade is the perfect choice for a warm afternoon.

I’ve been dying to use pomegranate in a drink. Seriously, how can you not love that vibrant red color? Or that combination of sweet and tart?

And if you mix pomegranate juice with lemonade then sprinkle the iced beverage with pomegranate seeds? You have one amazing drink.

And it’s perfect if you’re looking for a non-alcoholic Valentine-y drink. Red and sweet.

Shrimp Mushroom Madeira Salad

Spring salad mix topped with shrimp, mushrooms, and snap peas in a sweet and savory Madeira wine sauce. This easy to make Shrimp Mushroom Madeira Salad takes salads to the next level.

I don’t know if you remember, but I’m obsessed with Chicken Madeira from Cheesecake Factory. I’ve wanted to make that dish for the longest time. That way I can have it whenever I want. But first, I had to buy a bottle of Madeira wine. Since it’s sort of a specialty wine, not one that people often buy to drink, it’s a lot harder to track down a bottle than I thought. But guess what?! I finally found a bottle!

I was super excited! Ask my sisters. Except, as I was going to make the dish, I discovered I didn’t have chicken in the freezer, and I haven’t had time to go grocery shopping… But I really wanted to try the wine, which meant it was time to dig in the fridge for ingredients to throw together.

Taaa daaa! Shrimp Mushroom Madeira Salad. A fancy appetizer or even a main dish just in time for Valentine’s Day, or any occasion, really.

And oh my gosh! If you’ve ever had Chicken Madeira at Cheesecake Factory, you would totally love this dish! Can you believe that all it takes to make the sauce is wine, water (broth), a little thyme, and salt? It’s as simple as that.

I love that the mushrooms absorbs the flavor of the wine. I’m almost sure I can just eat mushrooms in the Madeira wine sauce by itself. Does that make me weird?

The snap peas give the salad an extra crunch. And those amazing juicy, succulent shrimp. Um… I’m just obsessed with shrimp. I don’t think you need to read my ode to shrimp.

Toss all these ingredients with spring salad mix and tomatoes, and you get the most amazing savory salad ever with a little bit of sweetness from the wine.

Seriously. You’ll love it. Simple, delicious, what more can you ask for?

Crispy Garlic Basil Chips

Lightly salted basil leaves with the slightest hint of garlic baked in the oven until crispy. These four ingredients crispy garlic basil chips are very flavorful and take so little time to make, you’ll want it all the time.

I’m always looking for a delicious snack.

I’m a huge fan of snacking. I love eating smaller portion meals and having some room to snack after.

And these basil chips? Soo addictive!

I first saw this idea from Simply Scratch back in September. What a brilliant idea, right?

So I had to make these. And I seriously could not resist sprinkling a little bit garlic powder on these basil leaves. Completely optional. But I like the barest hint of garlic.

Shrimp Thai Green Curry

Spicy green curry cooked with shrimp, carrots, mushrooms, and snap peas in coconut milk. Quick to make with simple ingredients, this shrimp green curry is absolutely delicious with rice or noodles.

I’m actually not a fan of curry. I feel that curry has too many spices which overwhelm me. However, Thai green curry is an exception.

I love the spicy kick, the fragrance of lemongrass, and the exotic taste of coconut.

Actually, I’m just a fan of Thai food in general.

What I love about this recipe (although it’s true with most of my recipes) is that you can customize the ingredients to your taste. You can add whatever vegetables or meat you like, just keep the proportions the same.

This green curry is rich and creamy since it’s cooked in coconut milk.

Cooked with mushrooms, carrots, and snap peas, you have different flavors and texture. A little sweetness from the carrots and a bit of a crunch with snap peas.

Three Mushrooms Soba Noodle Miso Soup

Soba noodle cooked with three types of mushrooms in miso soybean soup. This three mushrooms soba noodle miso soup is quick to make and deliciously perfect for the cold winter weather.

It is soo cold these days. I seriously dread getting up in the morning for work, especially when it’s at 5:45 in the morning. What happens when you start at 8 in the morning and you have to take public transportation.

But as much as I’m complaining about the cold, I know it’s so much worse in the Northeast with that snowstorm!

Which is why we all need some nice warm soup. Especially if you’re like me, and slowly, very slowly, recovering from a persistent cold.

Today, I wanted to introduce to you my Three Mushrooms Soba Noodle Miso Soup. This soup contains soba noodle cooked with three types of mushrooms: oyster mushrooms, white mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. But you can always use your favorite types or replace the mushrooms with vegetables and meat instead. The recipe can be very easily adjusted to your taste.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower

Roasted cauliflower seasoned with garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese. Smoky, healthy, and delicious, this roasted garlic parmesan cauliflower is perfect as a side or as a snack.

I know not everyone thinks fondly of cauliflower. But, maybe, just maybe, it’s because you haven’t tried roasted cauliflower.

Seriously. It’s the best thing ever.

There’s something about roasting vegetables that enhances the flavor. That slightly charred edge with that delicious addictive smoky taste.

What I love most about these roasted cauliflower is that it is covered in garlic and grated parmesan cheese. It’s just soo darn good.

And can you tell? My latest flavor combo obsession is garlic parmesan?

Sometimes, I can’t even wait for the cauliflower to cool down so I can transfer them from the baking sheet to a plate. Sometimes, they just go from the baking sheet straight to my mouth. Which might explain why there’s so much less in the picture than what I started out with… Oops…

If you’re looking for a vegan version of my roasted cauliflower, you can try this Roasted Garlic Cauliflower with Lemon Pepper.

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