Recipes

Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread + Neighbor Gift

74 · Nov 12, 2014 ·

+ This Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread post brought to you by Silk +

I’m so excited for this time of year… I LOVE baking and creating goodies for my friends and neighbors. I grew-up with a Mom who kicked it into high gear for a few weeks in December every year, pumping out Holiday goodies like peanut brittle, chocolate peanut butter bars, and fudge along with cookies galore. I remember watching both my parents working together on those scrumptious neighbor treats, and it always made my heart happy.

I remember the year when I ate SO MUCH of my favorite Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, I swore I would never eat chocolate again! It took me a few years, but I eventually found my way back.

Now that I’m the Mom, I try to come up with some fun goodie each to year to share with our friends. A few weeks ago, I was at the Pillsbury Bake-Off and was inspired. A few of the entires were fun pull-apart breads with various different flavor profiles. I thought it would be fun to have a Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread for a neighbor gift.

This is really just a simplified cinnamon roll with the addition of a Silk Holiday Nog glaze on top. Why Silk Holiday Nog you ask?

Well… First off, I LOVE it! It has all the Holiday flavor without all the guilt. It is free of dairy, egg, casein, MSG & lactose. It has no cholesterol or saturated fat and has a fraction of the calories of traditional Egg Nog. It’s the perfect Holiday treat minus the guilt. I thought it would be the perfect flavor profile for my pull-apart bread!

Now, the real secret to this pull apart bread is how EASY it is to make! You will look like you slaved over it for hours, but no… It really only took minutes to make. Here’s how you make it.

Holiday Nog Pull Apart Bread Recipe

1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Seamless Dough Sheets

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of Swedish Pearl Sugar (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon Silk Holiday Nog

pinch of salt

non-stick baking spray

Preheat the oven to 350˚

You will need small paper loaf baking pans to bake your bread in. This will also make it easier to give as gifts to your friends. Spray the pan with a non-stick baking spray and set aside.

Open your Pillsbury dough and unroll on a clean surface and brush with melted butter.

Then sprinkle the entire surface with pumpkin pie seasoning and sugars.

I like to add the Swedish Pearl Sugar to my bread, but it’s not totally needed. It just gives it that little extra something. You can find this in most grocery stores these days in the baking isle.

Next, cut your dough into squares roughly the width of your baking pan.

Stack your squares, and place them in your pan.

You should have some extra room for the dough to expand. Brush the top with more melted butter and sprinkle with more sugar.

Place in a 350˚ oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

In the meantime, you can whisk-up your glaze. In a small bowl add 1 cup of powdered sugar and pour 1 tablespoon of Silk Holiday Nog into the sugar, whisk together. The sugar should melt right into the Holiday Nog. Play with the consistency, If you like a thick glaze, don’t add as much liquid, if you like a thinner glaze, add more. Once you get your desired consistency, add a good pinch of salt. Carefully drizzle glaze over your pull-apart bread.

Package it up in a cellophane bag for your friends and neighbors. I think I am also going to add a carton of Silk Holiday Nog to the basket when deliverthis treat! It will taste so good with the bread!!

Now this recipe makes one loaf. If you are wanting to make more than one, you will need to grab more cans of dough and double or triple the recipe.

I will have you know… NONE of the bread that I made for this post even left the house! My husband and the kiddos got to it first and they inhaled them before they even had time to cool and be photographed. Yep they are that tasty!

For more fun holiday treat ideas from Silk, sign-up for their club and get special deals as well. You can also find great ideas on the Silk Facebook page.

What’s your favorite Holiday treat to share?

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Roasted Grape Pork Chops with Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

2 · Nov 10, 2014 · 4 Comments

+ This Roasted Grape Pork Chops with Twice Baked Potatoes post brought to you by the folks at Pompeian +

Several years ago, when my sweetheart and I were first married, I decided to try and learn how to cook a really great meal for him. I did a bunch of research and found a menu from one of my favorite Food Network Chefs, Tyler Florence. It was a bit ambitious for my early culinary skills, but I decided that I wanted to give it a go. It was a fun Fontina and Prosciutto Pork Chops with Grilled Polenta Squares and Roasted Grapes.

I followed the recipe to a “T” and I learned two things…

1. Those 30 minute cooking shows don’t equal 30 minutes in the kitchen for the real home cook. UGH!

2. With an amazing recipe, following each step precisely you can look like a total ROCK STAR in the kitchen!

It was one of my kitchen “ah ha” moments. I could cook, I just needed some direction. The meal was aaaamazing! We felt like we were eating at a restaurant. From that point forward, my approach to cooking was totally transformed. I took the time to learn, not just execute. I tasted things along the way, really TASTING what I was doing. I explored as much as possible so that I developed a palette that was educated and refined. I fell in love with the art of cooking!

My husband just celebrated a birthday and when I asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he basically said surprise me! I decided to recreate elements of that special meal from so many years ago. Of course… This time I put my own spin on the menu!

We had Pork Chops with Roasted Grapes along with Twice Baked Potatoes, my husband’s favorite!!

I made both of these dishes with some of my new favorite cooking oils… Pompeian Avocado and Grape Seed Oil Sprays.

Pompeian Avocado & Grapeseed Oil Spray is an innovative, unique and eco-friendly cooking spray that utilizes a powerful pouch system without the use of propellants or other artificial additives, so not a single drop is wasted and the oil is never mixed with any chemicals.

The unique spray can and pouch system also help to protect the oil from sunlight and oxygen, keeping the product fresher for longer. Pompeian Grapeseed & Avocado Oil Spray has triple action use—drop, stream, or spray—to allow for flexibility and total portion control when cooking. And it’s FANTASTIC for high heat cooking! I’ve used it two different ways. To brown my chops before I put them in the oven and I used it to crisp my potato skins for my twice baked potatoes. Here’s how you make them…

Pork Chops with Roasted Grapes + Recipe

1.0 from 1 reviews

Roasted Grape Pork Chops with Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

Save Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

You will never eat porks chops the same... This brine along with the sweet grapes makes for the best pork chops ever!

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

4-6 thick cut pork chops
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole all-spice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
4 cups of water
1-2 cups of ice
Pompeian Avocado Spray
1 large bunch of red grapes

Instructions

You need to start your pork chops the day before you plan to serve them. The secret to these amazing chops is the brining process. You'll need a large bowl, add all of your spices.Then your salt and brown sugar.
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and the pour over your salt, sugar and spice mixture. Stir to help the salt and sugar dissolve.
Once the salt and sugar have dissolved into the water, add a cup or two of ice to bring down the temperature of the brine. Then slide your pork chops into the brine mixture. Add more water if needed to make sure all of the meat is totally covered.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. Once you are ready to cook, remove the pork chops from the brine and dry with paper towels.
Prepare your oven safe pan (I like to use cast iron) with a generous spray of Pompeian's new Avocado Oil Spray. Also, Preheat your oven to 400˚.
I take the dry pork chops and season with salt & pepper and add them to a hot pan over high heat and then turn down the temp to medium high. Brown one side of the pork chops and then turn after 2 minutes or so.
Add your washed grapes to the pan.
Spray with the Pompeian Grapeseed Oil and place in the 400˚ oven for 10 minutes or until your pork chops are fully cooked and sitting at 145˚.
Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

You need to start your pork chops the day before you plan to serve them. The secret to these amazing chops is the brining process. You’ll need a large bowl, add all of your spices.

Then your salt and brown sugar.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and the pour over your salt, sugar and spice mixture. Stir to help the salt and sugar dissolve.

Once the salt and sugar have dissolved into the water, add a cup or two of ice to bring down the temperature of the brine.

Then slide your pork chops into the brine mixture. Add more water if needed to make sure all of the meat is totally covered.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. Once you are ready to cook, remove the pork chops from the brine and dry with paper towels.

Prepare your oven safe pan (I like to use cast iron) with a generous spray of Pompeian’s new Avocado Oil Spray. Also, Preheat your oven to 400˚.

Then I take the dry pork chops and season with salt & pepper and add them to a hot pan over high heat and then turn down the temp to medium high.

Brown one side of the pork chops and then turn after 2 minutes or so.

Add your washed grapes to the pan.

Spray with the Pompeian Grapeseed Oil and place in the 400˚ oven for 10 minutes or until your pork chops are fully cooked and sitting at 145˚. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Twice Baked Potatoes + Recipe

1.0 from 1 reviews

Twice Baked Potatoes

Save Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour 20 mins

Total time

1 hour 50 mins

These are my husbands all-time favorites. We have them every year for his birthday... YES, they are totally worth the extra time!

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 large baking potatoes
Pompeian Avocado Oil Spray
1 cup chive flavored cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
½ cup bacon bits
fresh chives
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Wash and poke your potatoes with a knife and bake at 350˚ for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool for a bit. Cut potatoes in half, remove the flesh of the potato into a large bowl.
Spray your potato skins with Pompeian Avocado Spray.
Place in a 400˚ oven for 10 minutes to crisp the potato skins.
In the mean time add your other ingredients the cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, cheese salt & pepper and fresh chives to the potatoes.
Using a potato masher, mix well, but don't over mix.
I prefer my twice baked potatoes to still have the look and feel of potato rather than a smooth mashed potato consistency.
Spoon your potato mixture back into the crisp potato skins and place in a 350˚ oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with more shredded cheddar cheese and place back in the oven just until the cheese is melted. Remove and garnish with fresh chives.
Serve along side the pork chops and roasted grapes. You'll be surprised... if you like apples with pork chops, you're going to LOVE roasted grapes with your favorite meat! Give it a go and let me know what you think!

Wash and poke your potatoes with a knife and bake at 350˚ for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool for a bit. Cut potatoes in half…

Remove the flesh of the potato into a large bowl.

Spray your potato skins with Pompeian Avocado Spray.

Place in a 400˚ oven for 10 minutes to crisp the potato skins. In the mean time add your other ingredients the cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, cheese salt & pepper and fresh chives to the potatoes.

Using a potato masher, mix well, but don’t over mix.

I prefer my twice baked potatoes to still have the look and feel of potato rather than a smooth mashed potato consistency.

Spoon your potato mixture back into the crisp potato skins and place in a 350˚ oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with more shredded cheddar cheese and place back in the oven just until the cheese is melted. Remove and garnish with fresh chives.

Serve along side the pork chops and roasted grapes. You’ll be surprised… if you like apples with pork chops, you’re going to LOVE roasted grapes with your favorite meat! Give it a go and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer + This post is brought to you by Pompeian. I have received product and compensation for my time and recipe development. Please know, that I will only post about products that I truly love and use in my everyday life!

Peppermint Almond Steamer with a Chocolate Twist

2 · Nov 5, 2014 ·

+ This Peppermint Almond Steamer post brought to you by Silk® Almond Milk +

I LOVE it when the weather turns chilly… I can’t say that I’m totally in love with deep winter, but I sure love the turning of the seasons. I especially love the warm drink season for sure!

There is really nothing better then curly up with your sweetie by the fire sharing a mug of some kind of warm treat. A few weeks ago I shared a new warm treat that I discovered and fell head-over-heels in love with…

An Almond Pumpkin Steamer made with Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk!

Oh my stars… If you haven’t tried this yet, you NEED to. Run and grab some pumpkin syrup before it’s gone for the season.

Now that we are transitioning from pumpkin season and moving into the peppermint season, I thought I would try a peppermint version of my Silk® Almond Steamer. It’s quite simply… Divine!

I love using Silk® products for my warm drinks. First off, they warm up especially well and you can feel good about indulging in a special treat when you are harnessing the power of plant protein. At 60 calories per serving, Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk is happiness in a glass. You heard right—that’s 1/3 fewer calories than our regular almond milk and still 50% more calcium than dairy milk. With a hint of vanilla and plenty of nutty goodness, our almond milk just got even easier to love especially when you pair it with the flavors of the season.

For those of you with dairy issues… Here is a special treat that you CAN have! I’m sure it becomes quite frustrating when everyone is snuggling with cups of hot chocolate. Here is a dairy-free option just for you!

For those of you who would like to up the ante a bit… You can add a little twist of chocolate to your steamer! This will make it so that it’s not dairy-free anymore, but if you like a smidge of chocolate in your steamer, this is the way to go.

I created some chocolate stirring spoons to serve with your steamers…

+ wood bead trivet by the little red cabin +

Won’t these be super cute to serve at a steamer bar?!

I added some holiday embellishments that I found at Target in the gift wrapping section on top of the wood spoons along with some Washi tape. Those are the extra special touches that take your simple treat and elevate it to something EXTRA special!

Chocolate Spoon Directions

Just make up a few of these chocolate spoons by melting some chocolate chips and dipping your spoon in the melted chocolate. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, place your chocolate dipped spoons and then place the tray in your freezer for 10 minutes, so the chocolate will harden. Then place the spoons in a bowl for your guests.

Then all they have to do is swirl their spoons in their warm Peppermint Steamer to give it a touch of chocolate!

Peppermint Almond Steamer Recipe

2 cups Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk

1/4 teaspoon Watkins Peppermint Extract

Warm the almond milk slowly in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat as soon as you see steam, after about 3-4 minutes. Make sure you don’t over heat. Add the peppermint extract and serve immediately.

Garnish with crushed candy canes and serve with chocolate spoons.

For more ideas on how to use the family of Silk® products this Holiday season, visit the Silk® Facebook page and sign-up for the Silk® Club for all kinds of ideas and special offers!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Chocolate Berry Pudding Surprise

1 · Oct 28, 2014 ·

+ Chocolate Berry Pudding Surprise +

Who doesn’t love to be surprised?

I ADORE a good surprise!!

This last weekend, I was hanging out with some of my favorite people…

This is my friend Sara Nitta and her sweet family. You may recognize her from The Biggest Loser season 11.

Isn’t she a cutie!! We were sitting around chatting the other day, talking about my blog work and stuff. I told her that I had a fun post coming up with Tofu…

Yes, tofu!

I already had a game plan in play and I was ready to share about my tofu adventure. To be quite frank… I really like tofu. I have never shied away from a dish because it had tofu in it.

I love having a plant based protein in my diet. I love that it can take on whatever flavor profile that you want. Did you know that? Tofu doesn’t have a flavor of it’s own. It’s a blank canvas. It takes on whatever flavor you give it.

Worried about the texture… Don’t!

You can get Mori-Nu Tofu in several different textures. If you like a firm tofu that you can season and pan sauteé, you’ll want to go with an extra firm tofu. You like a lighter, creamier feel? Then I would go with a Silken Soft Tofu. The softer tofu is perfect to add to smoothies, dips and sauces. You can even get a lite Tofu with lower calories and fat, but still packed with protein!

What makes Mori-Nu Tofu from Morinaga special, is it’s innovative packaging. With their special box system, you can keep your Mori-Nu Tofu right in your pantry for up to a year. It’s shelf stable and perfect to keep on hand for all kinds of recipes. Not only is is shelf stable, it’s verified Non-GMO, Kosher, Gluten-Free and doesn’t have any preservatives.

Now, when I told Sara about my Tofu recipe, she immediately said… You should create a dessert!

WHAT!

A dessert? For real?

I had a great savory recipe all ready to go, but this intrigued me. Sara had just returned from a week at Fitness Ridge and she told me about these parfaits that they served for dessert at the resort. She loved them! When she asked what the secret was to this creamy dessert… They told her, the secret was the tofu!

YEA, for real!!

She challenged me to come up with my very own parfait…

This is how I came up with my Chocolate Berry Surprise!

This is such a simple dessert to make… AND, it’s packed with protein so it’s not just empty calories. The funny thing, you would NEVER know that it had tofu in it!

First thing I did was throw my Mori-Nu Tofu into my mixer and mixed it up well. Then I a large Jell-o Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix and then continued to whisk on high speed. The mixture then turned into something that looked like brownie mix. Then I slowly added 1 1/2 cups of cold milk. You could even use Almond or Soy milk if you like to keep it dairy-free. Place the pudding mix into the refrigerator to chill.

Then all you have to do is layer your pudding with berries, granola and Cool Whip for a fun parfait!

Now, thanks to Sara, you have a tasty dessert that is packed full of protein and you can feel GREAT about indulging a bit!

Ready to add a little Tofu into your life?! You can check out all kinds of recipes and ideas at Mori-Nu’s Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter feed.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mori-nu. The opinions and text are all mine.