Jolene's Recipe Journal

Each year I make a Christmas baking plan that's pretty ambitious.  This year, I'd got in my head that I was going to make some brownies and decorate them like trees, but then I wound up doing some tree shaped shortbread instead. 

Christmas morning is hectic for me with the prep for the main meal, so I like to have a breakfast done up ahead that's all ready to go.  Sometimes it's muffins, sometimes it's a baked french toast.  This year I went with Gingerbread Buttermilk Waffles from Taste of Home.

Earlier this month I made Snowy Mountain Cookies and they were such a huge hit I decided to make a variation of them for Christmas.  I left out the walnuts due to allergies, and this time around I cut the shortbread out with a tree shaped cutter.

I was a bonafide veggie hater growing up, but over the last 10 years or so I've really tried to expand the variety of produce that I eat. It's helped that I live in an area that's loaded with farms and orchards.  One of my recent discoveries is delicata squash.  I used it for these Quinoa Stuffed Squash Boats last year, and was so happy to find it again on my last visit.

It's the most wonderful time of the year- holiday baking time! I've been making cookies for our family gathering for over 20 years, and I'm constantly hunting for something new and different.  I found these Brown Butter Chocolate Snickerdoodles on the Nielsen-Massey website, and I couldn't wait to give them a try. 

I'm happy to be joining the Baking Bloggers for December's theme- snow!  Mother Nature must have thought I needed some inspiration because we got nearly two feet of the white stuff over the last week. 

I am a fan of all things gingerbread, desserts, coffee, you name it.  I've got quite the stockpile of recipes in my to-try file, but when I ran across these Caramel Gingerbread Cupcakes from Taste of Home, they went directly to the top of the list!

Really excited to be participating in #ChristmasSweetsWeek 2019!  If there's one thing that I know that my guys will always enjoy, it's holiday goodies.  I'm kicking things off with a cookie that's become an instant family favorite, Angel Sugar Crisps.

These crunchy snacks are a great alternative to traditional arancini, which are made with rice. Quinoa arancini are also a great way to add some extra protein and nutrients to your diet, making them a healthy and delicious option for any occasion.

The leaves are changing, temps are dropping, and I'm getting excited to spend more time in the kitchen.  One of my favorite things to make in fall are quick breads because not only are they delicious, but they freeze so well too. 

Welcome to Fall Flavors Week! I'm kicking things off with what I feel can sometimes be the "forgotten" fruit of the season, pears. I adore apples, but there's just something about biting into a beautifully ripe pear that makes my heart happy.

There's one thing that's always sure to be a winner at my house, and that's cookies.  I've been making this recipe since 2006, when I submitted it as an entry in my town's cookie contest and won my category. 

I hope you are enjoying AppleWeek as much as I am!  It always amazes me to see the creativity of my fellow bloggers and the delicious recipes they come up with each year.  For my second recipe of the week, I wanted to put a fall spin on one of my favorite desserts, cream puffs.

Welcome to Apple Week 2019! This is my fourth year participating in this event, and it's one of my absolute favorites.  I'm kicking it off with these Baked Apple Donuts with Caramel Glaze! I love making baked donuts because it's so much easier than the fried kind.

Even though it was a tough spring, my blueberry bushes still managed to put out a nice quantity of berries.  I made some of our old favorites, and have tried a few new recipes as well.  Something that always goes over well here are turnovers or hand pies.  Who doesn't love pie you can take with you? 

  I'm wrapping up #FarmersMarketWeek with a new spin on one of my favorite dishes, arribbiata. The word means angry in Italian, but I promise you won't be mad at this dish!  The recipe comes from one of my awesome fellow Taste of Home Community Cooks, Courtney Stultz. 

Salsa and chips are one of my all-time favorite snacks.  I'm constantly trying out new version with fun twists. This recipe from Taste of Home features corn, and since it's in season right now, I couldn't wait to give it a try. 

I'm a bit of a packrat when it comes to recipes.  I've saved far more than I'll ever be able to make in a lifetime.  This recipe is a perfect example of why I will continue to save anything that sounds good to me, or catches my eye. 

Welcome to Farmer's Market Week!  I'm so fortunate to live within 20 minutes of several farms and orchards, and I try to get to one at least weekly.  Nothing beats produce that has just been harvested that day!

Whoopie pies are a New England staple.  You can find them in a variety of different flavors, textures and fillings.   Some like the cakey kind, some like the kind that are more cookie-like, but we like them all!

One of the reasons why I join in on events like these is it forces me to get out of my comfort zone and exercise some creativity.  One of the best sources of inspiration that I have are recipes from my grandmothers and my mom.  I found this recipe for Streusel Coffee Cake from my Gram O., and it immediately grabbed my interest because it starts with a pancake mix.

  Here in New England we start school the last week of August.  Now, I'm sure a lot of you are saying, so what? We do, too! The wrinkle here is, our schools are not air conditioned.  Those first few weeks can be uncomfortable for the kiddos, so I like to make sure I have nice cold treats waiting when my son gets home from school.

Summer is winding down, and we are celebrating with #BacktoSchoolTreats hosted by Terri from Love and Confections and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures . All week-long 30 bloggers will be sharing 100+ fantastic recipes for both parents and kids, with breakfasts, snacks, desserts, and drinks to get you back in the school routine. 

I hope you are enjoying #BlueberryWeek so far, I know I am!  One of my favorite ways to use blueberries is in quick breads.  I'd pinned a recipe from Taste of Home for Glazed Coconut Banana Bread, and on the day I made it I'd picked just about a cup of blueberries from the bushes in our yard and I thought, why not toss them in?

Welcome to #BlueberryWeek!  I've been so excited for this week, we are such huge fans of blueberries!  My grandmother used to have 150 blueberry bushes and if you came to visit, you were given a bucket and a row and strict instructions on picking.  Roll the berries between your thumb and first finger, but don't take off the blue "frost." Pick one bush clean before moving on.   And heaven help you if you picked a red or white one!

How would you rate your skill level in the kitchen?  While I consider myself to be proficient overall, there are still tons of things I'd like to perfect, especially when it comes to baking.  Nielsen-Massey's Better Your Bake tip series is a great educational tool, walking you through various techniques and then giving a selection of recipes to choose from to test out what you've learned.

You might be wondering, what the heck is an affogato?  In Italian, affogato means "drowned," and in the case of the dessert, you are drowning gelato or ice cream with a shot of coffee or espresso. 

It's been a while since I've been able to jump in on the Improv Cooking Challenge, so I'm glad to be joining the other bloggers this month! The two ingredients this time around are lime and avocado, and this one truly was a challenge for me, because I've not had much success when it comes to avocados. I can never seem to time the purchase of them correctly so that they are ripe when I need them.  

I absolutely love where I live.  Sure, spring is a bit elusive here, and weeks of soggy weather can force you to grill while holding an umbrella, but there are so many wonderful things about New England too.   We have beaches, forests, mountains, plus there's maple season, wild blackberries, apple orchards, and bread baked in a can.

I'm wrapping up BBQ Week with an festive and delicious dessert, Sugar Cone Chocolate Chip Cookies.  My guys love cookies in all forms, but ones with chocolate chips always go over especially well.  These are even more fun because they have little bits of ice cream cone and sprinkles! 

When you're having a barbecue, the last thing you need is to be stressed out, it's supposed to be fun! For me, one of the best ways to avoid that is to choose a few simple make ahead recipes, like this Balsamic Three Bean Salad.

  So happy that the weather is finally starting to turn and I can start grilling more of our meals!  We eat chicken at least a couple of times a week and it can be a challenge to change it up so we don't get bored with it.  One of the best ways I've found to do that is with marinades. 

Today is day 2 of BBQ Week and I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am!   I like to see green salads at barbecues, because they go well with so many things. I especially like them when they’re paired with fruit, like strawberries.   

May is National BBQ Month, and this week the Festive Foodies and I will be sharing lots of great recipes that will be perfect to serve at your next get together!  

One of the very first local veggies we can get each spring here in New England is asparagus. This year, the wait seemed even longer than usual, but finally I saw posts on the local farm's Facebook page saying it was in and I headed right over.

It's been a while since I've been able to join in with the Baking Bloggers, but I'm glad I was able to participate in this month's theme, Baking for a Tea Party! 

I'm one of those people that preparedness makes all of the difference.  If I have easy snack and meal choices ready to go, then I can resist the call of the drive through.  I've been enjoying baked eggs for a while now, usually with sauteed peppers and onion, on top of a whole grain English muffin.  When Dunkin Donuts came out with their new Power Breakfast Sandwich I immediately thought, I can make that at home!

I've had this recipe for Taco Joe Dip sitting in my to-try file for a while, and what better excuse to pull it out than Cinco De Mayo!  I used low sodium versions of the beans, and taco seasoning.  

Eclairs are my absolute favorite sweet treat.  Beautiful choux dough, delicious pastry cream, and decadent chocolate on top.   

  Today is the last day of Brunch Week, and what an awesome week it's been!  I'm wrapping things up with a cocktail, because I sure could use one (or two)!  I surveyed our supply of alcohol, and right now we are overrun with vodka.  We had a great crop of blackberries last year, and I stockpiled some of them in the freezer, so I pulled them out to defrost.

  Browsing through my Gram's recipe box for inspiration for #BrunchWeek and there was a card for blondies.   I've eaten plenty of blondies in my time, but have never made them myself. These were interesting to me because it starts with melting butter with brown sugar. 

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. I hope you are enjoying Brunch Week as much as I am! When my supply of Dixie Crystals light brown sugar arrived, I started a list of possible things to bake.  We are big fans of bacon coated with brown sugar and baked, and I wanted to capture that flavor and combine it with a favorite dessert of ours, palmiers or elephant ears. 

I'm so excited to be participating in #BrunchWeek 2019 hosted by Love and Confections and A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures ! This is the 7th year of #BrunchWeek and we have 35 bloggers from around the country sharing over 140 of their best Brunch recipes. We have so many delicious recipes for you to enjoy throughout the week including cocktails, appetizers, casseroles, cinnamon rolls, breakfast pizzas, coffee cakes, plenty of desserts, and more!

I am an avid fan of coffee.  I have been for years. My social media was covered with posts about coffee= life. I couldn't start the day without it.   Then I gave it up.  GASP! Horror! It wasn't because of the coffee itself, I realized that I was adding so many other things to it to make it drinkable that it wasn't really coffee that I loved at all, but flavored syrups and sugar and creamer.

It's always a happy mail day when my Taste of Home Special Delivery Box arrives! The Spring box was particularly well-timed because we'd been having a stretch of cold, rainy weather, and it was an instant mood booster. 

When I think about spring in New England, the first thing that comes to mind is rhubarb. I patiently wait for the farms to put up their signs saying that it's available, then I go "stalk" up. 

Almost 20 years ago, a coworker gave me this recipe and an introduction to the guy who would eventually become my husband.  I was crazy busy working full time, going to school nights, and spending as much time with him as possible.  There was no time for baking, so I filed away the recipe for "someday."

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. We are huge Peeps fans in this house, especially my son, and I was so excited to hear that they'd signed on as a sponsor for this event. Peeps wants to know, are you Team #PeepsBunny or Team #PeepsChick ? This got me thinking about different ways the bunnies and chicks might square off against each other. Squares. Checkerboard.  Game on!

Breakfast is a fluid concept around here.  My husband is up and out the door at 4:30 in the morning. My grouchy teenager gets up with just enough time to get dressed, brush his teeth, and run out the door to get the bus. That means that any breakfast type dishes that we consume either have to be portable or will also be good as a dinner option.

I am on a roll with yeast baking!  There was a time that I'd see it yeast in the ingredients list and just click on to the next recipe.  Not any more!  It helps that my new oven has a bread proof setting.  So when I wanted a bread item to go with spaghetti and meatballs, instead of running to the store, I ran to the Taste of Home site and printed this recipe for Sally Lunn Batter Bread.

Winters are long, seemingly never ending in New Hampshire.  One of the best ways I know to combat the blahs that accompany sometimes terrible weather is to make dishes filled with sunny, cheerful citrus.  I'll whip up a batch of my Gram's Lemon Cupcakes , or make some Orange Ricotta Pancakes .

Today is Fat Tuesday, which signifies the end of Mardi Gras.  It's called that because today is the last day to indulge in all the wonderful, sinful things before beginning Lent.  I participated in another event last week where we shared Mardi Gras recipes, and I mentioned that I just couldn't decide between a main dish and a decadent treat, so I'm sharing the second one today. 

  In my younger days, I thought I'd like to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras.  Now that I'm firmly in my adult years, I think that while I'd still like to visit, my goals would be centered much more around food than partying.

When life hands you bananas, make muffins!  Okay, that's not quite how the saying goes, but that's the case when it comes to my house.  No matter how many bananas I buy, the guys will always leave 2 to 3 of them on the counter until I have no choice but to freeze them or to bake something with them.

  Two years ago, I couldn't start my day without coffee. Large iced, cream, sugar, caramel syrup.  I changed my way of eating, and that had to go.   I made it about 4 months, but I realized that wasn't sustainable long term, so I went looking for ways to work it back in. 

I'm Italian, so this month's Improv Cooking Challenge should have been a no-brainer for me.  The first required ingredient was Italian Seasoning, which I buy in bulk because I go through it so fast.  The second, wine, was a little trickier.  I don't drink it, but I do keep a bottle of red and a bottle of white on hand for when recipes require it.

This is going to be a hectic week, with a storm on the way and lots of errands to run.  I love to treat my guys to something special for Valentine's Day, but I know that I'm just not going to be able to fit baking something complicated into my schedule. 

I've watched every season of the Great British Bake Off that I can get my hands on, I just love it.  When the opportunity came up to try British inspired dishes with the Baking Bloggers, I spent hours looking through recipes. There was so much to choose from!  As always, I have to take into account my families allergies and general pickiness, so I settled on scones.

February is National Potato Lovers Month, and in this house, we are truly smitten.  Red, purple, white, gold, mashed, baked, fried, serve them up, we're in! Because it's one of our most often eaten sides, I'm always looking for new ways to make them.

So happy to be joining my fellow Community Cooks for Taste of Home Tuesday this week, it's been a while.  I've still been making lots of great recipes from Taste of Home, in fact, I've already tried 15 in 2019! Our favorite so far had been the Old Fashioned Fudge Cake , but I think these Chocolate Glazed Brownies have definitely tied for first place.

We're big football fans here, and we're even bigger fans of football food!  Ever since my son was little, we've always had special game day meals.  Nachos are a staple, and so are mini corn dog muffins .  This year I decided I wanted chili, and I've been testing out a few recipes. This Spicy Touchdown Chili caught my eye because in addition to the usual ingredients, it also has bacon!

I've found some great new recipes during #NationalOatmealMonth.  First I made Honey Oat Pan Rolls , then Overnight Cherry Almond Oatmeal. When I was searching for recipes to make for this month's Muffin Monday, I found these Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins from Cheryl B. on the Taste of Home website.

Happy National Chocolate Cake Day! Did you know that chocolate cake wasn't even a thing until 1847?  I had no idea!  It seems that chocolate was primarily used for drinking prior to that. Now I love a good cup of hot chocolate, but I can't imagine a celebration without chocolate cake!

If someone had said to me five years ago that I'd be hosting an event for National Peanut Butter Day, I'd never have believed it.  My son was EpiPen required peanut and tree nut allergic.  On the rare occasion we had peanut butter in the house for my husband's work lunches, it was like watching a sci fi movie, with haz mat suits, bleach spray and multiple washings of utensils.

Today is National Cheese Lovers Day! When I think of cheesy foods, the first thing that comes to mind (and my absolute favorite) is pizza.  I was flipping through one of my Taste of Home cookbooks and spotted these Waffled Pizza Bites.

Here in the New England, we are anticipating a winter storm that's supposed to be a whopper.  That means a good bit of time out in the cold, snow blowing and shoveling, and one of the things that makes that tolerable is knowing I can come inside to a nice warm bowl of soup.

Up until a year ago, I was a die-hard coffee drinker.  A change in my eating habits also led to one in my drinking habits as well, and I've actually found quite a few teas that I enjoy. One of them is an apple spiced version, but it's not always available at my grocery store.  I searched the Taste of Home site and found this version from Susan W.

January is #NationalOatmealMonth and also #NationalSlowCookingMonth, so when I chose my recipe for this month's Fantastical Food Fight, I looked for something that was both.  The call out was for overnight oats, and while I'm a big fan of the version done in the fridge, the slow cooker versions are pretty great too!

January is a time when many people make the decision to eat healthier.  I personally made that decision in October 2017, and I've lost 50lbs!  Now if you are a follower of the blog, you know I'm not eating all healthy 100% of the time, I'm a big believer in enjoying everything in moderation.

The Winter Warm Up series continues today, and I've got some amazing cocoa to share with you! 99% of the time, when we want cocoa, we make it from a packet.  But then there are the time that I make it from scratch and I wonder, why don't I do this all the time?

This month I'm joining in on the Improv Cooking Challenge hosted by Nicole from Cookaholic Wife! Each month she gives us two ingredients as a starting point, what we make is up to us.  For January, these ingredients are oats and honey.

When the temperatures drop, nothing quite hits the spot like a warm beverage! I had extra crystallized ginger left over from Christmas cookie baking, and I've started collecting recipes to use it in.  One of them was this Hot Ginger Coffee from Taste of Home.

January is National Oatmeal Month!  I've been eating oatmeal almost daily for about a year  now, and I'm still surprised at how many great ways there are to change it up.  I was surfing Pinterest and came across this Irish Oatmeal Brulee recipe from Taste of Home and immediately put it on the menu.