Dairy-free, Egg-free S'mores Sandwich Cookies

Do you love S’mores? I do. No, correction…I LOVE S’mores!  It’s that fluffy marshmallow melted onto that crunchy sweet graham cracker with just a hint of saltiness, all smothered in smooth, rich melted chocolate! OMG…all that ooey-gooey deliciousness, that’s what I love!

In fact, I love it so much that I have multiple S’mores recipes. And today, I want to share with you one of my favorites: S’mores Sandwich Cookies.  This yummy recipe is quick, easy, and best of all, it’s dairy and egg-free, which is a must in our house due to food allergies.  Now don’t panic! Just because there’s no dairy or eggs, doesn’t mean there’s no flavor. These cookies are fantastic! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

Dairy-free, Egg-free S’mores Sandwich Cookies-makes about 18 cookies, depending on size

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough:

2 ¼ cups of flour

1 cup crushed graham crackers

1 tsp. baking soda

Dash of salt

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 cup vegan butter

¼ cup non-dairy milk

1 cup of miniature marshmallows (I chopped mine to make them even smaller)

Chocolate Filling:

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1 tbsp. non-dairy milk

Let's get started!

Mix dry ingredients (first 4) together in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients (remaining 5), except for marshmallow.  Add dry ingredients, a little at a time, to bowl of wet ingredients.  Mix together. Gently fold in marshmallow.  Scoop cookie dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheet (may use a small ice cream scooper for small size). Flatten slightly. Bake at 350 degrees, for 15-18 mins. until golden brown.  Let cool.

To make the chocolate filling, mix together chocolate chips with non-dairy milk and microwave on high for 20 seconds to melt.  To make the sandwiches, flip one cookie over so the bottom side is up. Spread on some of the chocolate filling and top with another cookie to form a “sandwich”.  Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Chicken Breast for A Date Night at Home

Now that the holidays have passed, all I want is simple, healthy, and delicious food. I will admit, I ate one too many homemade cinnamon rolls and more pie than I should have. Now that all our company has left, Jeff and I were planning a "Stay at Home Date Night." I wanted the meal to look special but not take all day to prepare.

Well nothing goes better with a glass of wine and Netflix, than Pan-Seared Chicken Breast, Herbed Potatoes, and Sautéed Asparagus.

The chicken is moist and flavorful served alongside a smooth white wine pan sauce. You get a ton of flavor out of one skillet.

Ingredients

• 2 Pounds of bone-in chicken breast with the skin (I used boneless with the skin because that’s all the store had but bone-in is preferred)
• 1/2 C chicken broth
• 1/2 C dry white wine
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• salt+pepper
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 1/2 lemon, chopped parsley, rosemary, and thyme for garnishing at the end*

*optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Liberally season the chicken breast with salt + pepper
3. Heat a large oven-safe skillet on medium high heat. Once warmed, add 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil.
4. Add chicken to the pan skin side down. Let the skin brown and crisp up (approx. 4 minutes). Try not to move the chicken too much; this ensures a nice, crispy skin.
5. Flip the chicken, add 1 sprig of rosemary and 1 sprig of thyme, and slide entire pan into oven. Bake for 10- 15 minutes. Depending on the size of the chicken breast, this might be too much or too little time. Check for doneness every so often.
6. When chicken is cooked throughout, remove chicken from pan and let it rest on a plate. Remove herbs.
7. To make the sauce, place pan back on the stove and add the shallot and garlic.
8. Once fragrant, use the chicken broth and white wine to deglaze the pan. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
9. You can place the chicken back in the pan or just spoon the sauce over top when serving!
10. Top with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and enjoy.

Tips

herbed potatoes

If you are trying to be more health conscious, you can lose the butter and use all olive oil, just don't let it burn!

If you don’t have any white wine on hand, just double the amount of chicken broth.

I strongly encourage you to taste the sauce several times as you prepare it. Maybe it needs more salt or pepper. Maybe it's missing some herbs. Add dried rosemary and thyme if necessary.

A recipe like this is hard to provide exact measurements and cooking times for. It needs to be prepared thoughtfully as to not overcook the chicken or end up with a bland pan sauce.

You will be able to find the recipe for the herbed potatoes over on my blog, The New Mrs.Allen. They really complete the meal and require very little effort.

Let me know how your date night goes!

Marissa A

Spinach Puffs: The Perfect Bite-Sized Appetizer

I just got back from London, but before I left, I was able to prepare a brand new recipe for y'all! I finally discovered all the vast possibilities of puff pastry. It comes packaged in these neat sheets, bakes quickly, and turns the most simple of appetizers into something impressive. I first discovered this recipe when I needed to come up with a potluck dish in a hurry. I was running out of time but I opened my freezer and found frozen spinach and a couple sheets of puff pastry. I based the filling off of my beloved spinach dip and was able to make 24 bite size appetizers in about half an hour.

2015-11-03_0005

Ingredients 

• 2 Sheets of Puff Pastry
• 1 package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed
• 1/4 C of Feta
• 1/2 C Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened

plus,

• 1 egg, beaten (for brushing on top)
• 1 tbs butter, to grease the muffin tips

2015-11-03_0002

2015-11-03_0003

Instructions 

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Let the puff pastry sheets thaw and spread them out on a floured surface.

3. Once thawed, cut each sheet into 12 sections.

4. Grease mini muffin pan generously.

5. Gently press sectioned puff pastry into muffin pan. There will be some hanging out of the cup but we will use that to seal them up. (See photo above for reference)

4. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients till combined well.

5. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon and place a dollop of the filling in each pastry square. Pinch all the corners together in the middle and brush the tops lightly with the egg wash.

6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or till golden brown.

Enjoy!

2015-11-03_0004

TIPS 

These can be prepared ahead of time! Just keep them in the fridge until you're ready to bake them.

Cinnamon Apple Pancakes

WHEN BREAKFAST COMES A CALLING..

As a wife and mom of two busy boys I love recipes that are easy,quick, and semi-home made. I am known for doctoring up recipes. So here's an easy recipe that I know the whole family will enjoy!

FullSizeRender

Ingredients

Pancakes

• 2 c favorite pancake mix (Semi-home made: Remember, I don't always have time to start from scratch especially when the family is HUNGRY)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 to 1 1/4 c milk (until perfect consistency)
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon (depending on your liking)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Do not over mix. A few lumps is OK. Pour 1/4 c of batter onto griddle (this is my preferred method but a skillet is fine too). Cook until bubbly and golden on the bottom. 3-4 min for bottom and 2 min on the other side. DO NOT OVER FLIP! ONCE IS ENOUGH!

Now for the good stuff...

FullSizeRender

Cinnamon Apple Topping

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 apples (diced)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (use more if you like cinnamon)
• 1/4 to 1/3 c 100% maple syrup
• 1/3 c pecans (optional)

Instructions

Mix butter, diced apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the apples are tender about 5-7 min. I like my apples with a little bite so I cook them 3-5 min. Pour in maple syrup and pecans. Once warm, pour all that goodness over the pancakes. TA-DAH! Warm cinnamon apple pecan pancakes.

*APPLES CAN BE SUBSTITUTED WITH PEACHES

FullSizeRender

You're welcome :)

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

image

One my favorite times with my husband is lunch together on his day off. We either go out for a day date or I prepare something at home and we binge-watch Netflix. With the weather cooling down, it’s finally soup season! One of my favorite lunch combos is tomato soup and grilled cheese. My tomato soup is smooth, creamy, and topped with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. There is also the fun addition of a little orzo pasta for texture. If I wasn’t an adult, I would live off of grilled cheese! I prefer the white bread version of my childhood but I class it up a little now, and use fresh sourdough, garlic butter, and thick slices of cheddar cheese.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ C onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Carton of Pomi Strained Tomatoes (26 oz.)
• 1 can can vegetable broth
• 2 tsp of brown sugar
• ¼ C fresh basil, chopped
• ½ C of Half and half or heavy cream
• 1 C of orzo pasta, cooked
• Dash of crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• fresh oregano (optional)

plus,

• ¼ C of parmesan cheese, grated
• additional chopped basil, for garnish   

image

image

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare 1 cup of orzo according to the package. Drain and set aside.  
2. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic till translucent, about 5 minutes. DO NOT BURN THE GARLIC.
3. Add the box of tomatoes and vegetable broth. Stir in brown sugar, basil, salt, and pepper. (add the oregano here if using)
4. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes on med-low heat. If you would like a smoother consistency, use an immersion blender now. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular upright blender in batches.
5. stir in the cream and orzo until well combined.
6. Top with additional basil and a little grated parmesan

Serve with a warm grilled cheese, Enjoy!

TIPS

I use pomi boxed tomatoes because they seem to be less acidic. If those aren’t available, don’t worry! Use canned tomatoes and increase the brown sugar and let simmer a little longer.

If you need to make a larger quantity, just double the recipe

It you want to freeze this recipe, do so before adding the cream.

Substitute the cream for 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Tomato Soup with Orzo-0826

Make sure you follow me on Twitter @newmrsallen and Instagram @thenewmrsallen

Coconut French Toast Casserole

Football season is here! This means a few things:

1. I am busy every Sunday until some time in January (or February!)
2. I will host at least 10-20 people in my home during that 5 month span.
3. They will undoubtedly be hungry.

One of my duties is to feed these people. What can I possible make that's easy and can be done ahead of time, tasty, and requires minimal clean up? That’s where this Godsend of a recipe comes in! It can be prepped the night before and all you have to do is pop it in the oven for about 45 minutes (and you look like the most gracious host ever)!

I found this beautiful loaf of white chocolate, coconut sourdough bread at the Farmer’s Market that just added such a unique flavor to this dish. Don’t worry though, it is equally delicious with regular sourdough or even french bread!

image01

Ingredients

• 1 Loaf of Sourdough Bread, French Bread, or Texas Toast
• 8 eggs  
• 2 Cups of Milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2 cup of Half and Half
• 1/2 cup Sugar*
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar*
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

image02

Topping

• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• ½ cup of shredded coconut
• ¼ cup of pecan pieces
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Warm Syrup, For Serving

Butter, For Serving

* If you find a loaf of specialty bread, use half of the sugar recommended

image00

Caribbean Jerk Chicken Tacos

image01

So my husband is from the Southside of Chicago. Some of the best food I have ever eaten has come from the Southside of Chicago. That being said, I am always down for a trip to Ain’t She Sweet Cafe located in the Bronzeville neighborhood. They serve a Caribbean Jerk Chicken Wrap that can’t be touched. It’s full of warm marinated chicken breast, cool crisp lettuce, and a “zesty” Jerk Sauce. In an attempt to satisfy my craving for this wrap, I had to find something similar that could tide me over in the mean time. Enter Jerk Chicken Tacos.

This recipe is one of our favorites because it’s a beautiful combination of spicy, sweet, and it can be done in the slow cooker! That means it can be prepared before the game and when you get back, your house smells amazing and dinner is practically ready. The mango salsa is necessary but I suggest you prepare it fresh, as it only takes about 10 minutes to do. 

Once again, you are impressing your guests while barely spending half an hour in the kitchen! For the sake of time and ease, I used a prepared Jerk seasoning and jazzed it up a bit. You are more than welcome to find a blender marinade but this one passed my husband’s seal of approval and I was able to get everything done before the baby started crying! That’s what matters the most right?

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds of chicken breast*
• 3 Tbsp of Jerk Seasoning 
• 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed 
• Juice of half a lime 
• Juice of half an orange
• 2 Tbsp of brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon of cilantro, chopped
• salt + black pepper, to taste 

Mango Salsa 

• 1 mango, cubed; about 1 Cup
• 1 avocado, diced 
• ½ a red onion, diced; about ½ Cup
• cilantro, chopped
• Juice of half a lime
• salt + black pepper, to taste 

Plus,

• corn tortillas 
• extra cilantro for serving 
• limes for serving 

image02

Instructions 

1.  In a small bowl, mix the jerk seasoning, crushed garlic, and brown sugar together. Coat the chicken breast. 
2.  Add the chicken to the slow cooker and squeeze lime juice and orange juice over the top. Add the crushed cilantro.
3.  Cover with the lid and cook on high for 2 ½ hours or low for 5 hours. 
4. The chicken should start to fall apart. Take two forks to shred the remaining pieces. 
5.  Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and discard half of the remaining liquid. Replace the chicken to keep it moist. 

Serve on grilled corn tortillas topped with plenty of mango salsa, lime wedges, additional cilantro. 

Mango Salsa 

Mix all the prepared ingredients in a bowl. squeeze lime juice over the top and give it a stir. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Serve immediately.

*If serving more than 4, use three pounds of chicken and double all the ingredients

image00