Recipes • Page 18 of 25 • Domestic Superhero

25+ Holiday Cookie Recipes

Published Dec 18, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

During the holidays it's awesome to make cookies and share them with your family and friends. I love trying new cookie recipes every year, and so far this year I have tried several of these. They have all turned out fabulous. Whether you have to make cookies for a school holiday party, your own holiday party, or just want to indulge a little, there is something on this list that you will love! I have also heard that Santa would like all these cookies as well!

Reindeer Cookies

Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Shortcut White Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookie Fudge

Bear Paw Cookies

M&M Christmas Crack

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Gingerbread Magic Cookies

No Bake Candy Cane Sugar Cookie Bites

Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

Cookie Butter Truffles

chocolate-chip-cookies-loaded-with-peppermint-mms-these-are-so-good

Peppermint M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy-Date-Cookies-Old-Better-Homes-and-Garden-Cookbook-Recipe

Soft and Chewy Date Filled Cookies

1-egg-nog-sandwich-cookies-2-egg-nog-buttercream-land-o-lakes-recipe-033

Eggnog Buttercream Sandwich Cookies

Holiday Spritz Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Insanely Delicious Turtle Cookies

Perfect Gingerbread Man Cookies

Chocolate Snow Cookies

Pecan Pie Bars

Thumbprint Cookies

Snowflake Oreos

Candy Cane Meringue Cookies

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Snowman Cookies

Peppermint Rice Krispie Ball Cookies

French Madeleine's

Peanut Butter Pretzel Reindeer Cookies

Peppermint Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

Need some more holiday inspiration? Check out these great posts from Domestic Superhero!

Cheap-and-Easy-DIY-Holiday-Gift-Wrapping-with-Kraft-Paper-free-printables-and-bakers-twine.jpg

Cheap and Easy DIY Wrapping Ideas

Clothespin Holiday Card Wreath

19 Handmade Gift Ideas for the Holidays

19 Creative Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

DIY Snow Globes

DIY Scrabble Ornaments

Handprint Santa Salt Dough Ornaments

16 Free Printable Holiday Gift Tags

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23 Make-Ahead Breakfasts

Published Dec 16, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

I love hosting brunch and breakfast at our house. It's such a comfort getting friends together in the morning with coffee and delicious. From baked goods to eggs, there is always something tasty to be made. Breakfast is also a favorite of my 4 year old son. I swear he would eat 'breakfast' foods for every meal if we let him (and not gonna lie, he eats A LOT of breakfast foods at other times of the day...). I put together a list of 23 great make-ahead breakfast foods because sometimes you don't have enough time in the morning and you need to be able to just eat and go! This list includes recipes that can be made days or the night before, and then easily finished or heated up in the morning.

Overnight Blueberry Stuffed French Toast and Cottage Cheese and Egg Breakfast Muffins

Overnight Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Oats

Overnight Crockpot Steel Cut Oatmeal and Overnight Praline French Toast

Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Biscuit Egg Casserole and Easy Cheesy Breakfast Casserole

Cherry Almond Overnight Oats

Make Ahead Breakfast Energy Smoothie and Crème Brulee Baked Oatmeal

Berry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Mexican Breakfast Casserole and Crock Pot Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Overnight Breakfast Sundaes

Mexican Sausage and Cornbread Strata and Broccoli and Cheese Egg Muffins

Homemade Granola Bars

Overnight Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole and Pumpkin Pie Overnight French Toast

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Pie and Paleo Overnight Breakfast Casserole

The Best Quick Coffee Cake

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

16 DIY Christmas Wrapping Ideas

Published Dec 15, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

With Christmas right around the corner, it’s time to figure out how you’ll be wrapping your gifts! I love finding cute creative ways to spruce up the boxes under the tree! For the last few years I have used simple Kraft Paper (the plain brown paper) and decorated it in cute ways like below. I also love utilizing free printable gift tags! You really don’t have to spend a ton of wrapping paper with these ideas! I have put together a list of 16 fun ways to wrap your Christmas gifts!

Christmas Wrapping from 33 Shades of Green

Interactive Gift Wrap for Kids and Lego Gift Boxes with Free Templates from Lines Across

Cheap and Easy Holiday Wrapping with Kraft Paper and Free Printables

Reindeer Gift Card Holders by That’s What Che Said

DIY Wrapping Paper by DIY Dreamer and DIY Glittered Wrapping Paper and Gift Bags by Just Us Four

Printable Mason Jar Gift Boxes by The Country Chic Cottage

DIY Fabric Covered Jewelry Gift Box by Mod Podge Rocks and Painted Burlap Gift Bags by Tater Tots and Jello

Creative Gift Wrap by Mod Podge Rocks

Santa Sack Gift Card Holders by That’s What Che Said

Sweater Sleeve Wine Gift Bags by That’s What Che Said and Washi Tape Gift Wrap by Elizabeth Doo-Dah!

Holiday Lights Gift Wrap by Burlap and Blue

Santa Treats by The Crafty Blog Stalker

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

19 Handmade Gift Ideas

Published Dec 11, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Handmade gifts during the holidays can really mean a lot to some people. There are simple handmade gifts and more elaborate handmade gifts as well. I put together a list of the simpler ones, because I don’t have much time around the holidays, but I love getting a little crafty and making a homemade gift. From food to art, there is definitely something for everyone! Kids can help with a lot of these gifts too, which is always nice and fun for them!

Last Minute Chocolate Dip Gift

DIY Freezer Paper Stenciled Onesies

Stenciled Holiday Mug

Glitter Utensils Gift Set

DIY Cork Coasters

Last Minute Design A Robot Stocking Stuffer

Handmade Holiday Tableware

DIY Felt Air Fresheners

Chill Pills Gag Gift

Personalized Etched Glass Bakeware

DIY Infinity Scarves

Vintage Bicycle Transfer Platter

DIY Tea Towels

DIY Chalkboard Serving Tray

Gold Decoupaged Mugs

DIY Peppermint Sea Salt Scrub

DIY Wood Burned Serving Spoons

DIY Easy $10 Photo Block

DIY Monogrammed Canvas

Need some more holiday inspiration? Check out these great posts from Domestic Superhero!

Cheap and Easy DIY Wrapping Ideas

Clothespin Holiday Card Wreath

19 Creative Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

DIY Snow Globes

DIY Scrabble Ornaments

Handprint Santa Salt Dough Ornaments

16 Free Printable Holiday Gift Tags

Cranberry Walnut Bread / Cranberry Baked Brie

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Cheap & Easy DIY Holiday Gift Wrapping

Published Dec 9, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

I love wrapping gifts come the holidays, but I am just not that fancy bow type of wrapper. I like to come up with creative ways to wrap, but also not spend a lot of money. I really feel bad spending a lot of money on wrapping stuff that just ends up in the trash! I know, most people recycle and reuse bows, ribbons, and gift bags, but still, it’s a lot of waste and it’s a lot of money for something that just gets torn open! A few years ago, I started wrapping with brown Kraft Paper , which I LOVE! I ordered a HUGE roll from Amazon a few years ago, and I STILL have some left. I use it for everything too. When I have to paint in the garage, I lay it on the floor. When my son is playing with play-doh, I lay it on the table. My point is, it comes in handy for everything. It’s SO cheap, and it’s recycled paper, which I love. With the Kraft paper and some other supplies, I was able to do really cheap and easy DIY holiday wrapping, without breaking the bank.

I just use the Kraft Paper, and then wrap some bakers twine around it. Baker's twine comes in all different colors, but I really like the classic red and white style. Then, I print out all the free holiday tag printables I want, and affix them to the packages! I love this particular style of the printables, because I think the gifts look like little parcels! They have little ‘stamps’ and tags on them- so cute!

With all of them under the tree they look so cute!

So, all in all, I spent $33 on the paper, and $8 on the twine. That means just over $40 for wrapping stuff and I have used it the last 2 years, and for various other things as well! I would say that’s pretty thrifty, and both the paper and the twine are great investments because you will use them for other things as well!

Love it!

Want some other holiday DIY inspiration? Check out these projects on Domestic Superhero.

Handprint Santa Salt Dough Ornaments

Scrabble Ornaments

DIY Snow Globes

16 Free Holiday Gift Tag Printables

Clothespin Holiday Card Wreath

19 Handmade Gift Ideas for the Holidays

19 Creative Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

Cranberry Walnut Bread / Cranberry Baked Brie

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

{disclosure: this post contains affiliate links to Amazon. You will not pay any extra by clicking on the links, but you will help me earn a few more pennies to buy nice gifts for my family for Christmas!}

Easy Clothespin Holiday Card Wreath

Published Dec 8, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This is another one of those projects that I made years ago, and never got around to posting. I was always taking pictures of it over the holidays, but then January would come around and of course I wouldn’t need to share this after Christmas! So, I am excited that I can finally share this fun craft. A Clothespin Holiday Card Wreath is really easy and fun to make, and it’s a fun way to display your holiday cards! Kids are happy to help – they can paint the clothespins and string them onto the wire!

You only need a handful of supplies for this project-

Clothespins (check the dollar store!)
red and green craft paint or spray paint
white plastic beads
a wire hanger
ribbon for hanging

Then, making it is super easy!

Paint half of your clothespins red and the other half green. Let them dry.
Untwist your hanger, opening it up and then shaping it into a circle.
String your clothespins onto the hanger, alternating clothespin colors and putting a bead between them.
Once your hanger is full, twist it together at the top, and add your ribbon. You want some hang from the ribbon so you can hang it from the wall. Use a thumbtack or small nail to hang it on the wall!

Isn’t that easy?! Little hands love helping with this project! If you don’t want to take the time to paint each clothespin, I have heard about people using RIT dye to dye them! Then you could do a whole batch at once, and it would be SUPER fast! I love that idea!

Need some more holiday inspiration? Check out these great posts from Domestic Superhero!

Cheap and Easy DIY Wrapping Ideas

19 Handmade Gift Ideas for the Holidays

19 Creative Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

DIY Snow Globes

DIY Scrabble Ornaments

Handprint Santa Salt Dough Ornaments

16 Free Printable Holiday Gift Tags

Cranberry Walnut Bread / Cranberry Baked Brie

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Holiday Cranberry Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate Drizzle

Published Dec 3, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Now that we are into December, it’s time to start holiday planning, right?! These Holiday Cranberry Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate Drizzle would have been great around Thanksgiving time, but they are even more festive for Christmas. Cranberries are plentiful around this time, and you can always find them in any grocery store. I like the Ocean Spray cranberries which can usually be found in the produce section in a plastic bag. This recipe is topped with warm dark chocolate which really adds to the flavor of the cranberry, but you could also make this recipe without the drizzle, or with a cranberry sauce compote or drizzle…they would all be delicious! That’s the thing I really like about this dessert; it’s so versatile!

This recipe is also very easy and fairy quick to make, even though your guests will feel like you spent hours making it! If you prefer more of a pie feel, you could make this in a pie crust as well, more like a regular cheesecake. I usually use one full fat cream cheese and one ⅓ fat (nuefatchel cheese) block to cut a little bit of the calories. You can use whatever you want in terms of fat content, and it will still turn out wonderful!

Holiday Cranberry Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate Drizzle

Ingredients

Ingredients

For the crust

5 ounces graham crackers
2 TBS sugar
4 TBS butter melted

For the filling

1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar divided
⅓ cup orange juice
2 8-ounce packages of low fat cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
dash of salt

For topping

4 oz dark chocolate broken into pieces
1 TBS butter

Instructions

For the Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a food processor, pulse the graham cracker and sugar until mixed and ground. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated. Dump the mixture in the baking dish and press the crumbs into the bottom of the baking dish using the bottom of a glass or something alike. Bake until slightly firm, about 12 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the filling

1. In a small saucepan, combine cranberries, ⅓ cup of the sugar, and juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 6 or so minutes, or until the cranberries pop and the mixture is syrupy. Cool for about 30 minutes and set aside.
2. Combine the remaining sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add a dash of salt and beat until combined.
3. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled crust. Drop dollops of the cranberry mixture into the cream cheese mixture and swirl with a chopstick. They may sink into the cheesecake which is fine.
4. Bake at 350°F until the cheesecake is set but still slightly jiggly in the center, about 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill the cheesecake until firm, at least 4 hours. Cut into small squares.
5. In a microwave safe bowl, add dark chocolate and butter. Microwave for 30 seconds, mix with spoon, then microwave in 15 second increments, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted. This should not take long.
6. Using a spoon, drizzle chocolate over the top of the cranberry bars. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Bars should be stored in the fridge, up to 1 week.

Like cranberries? Try out these other cranberry recipes from Domestic Superhero

Quick Cranberry Holiday Mocktail / Cranberry Ginger Cocktail

Cranberry Baked Brie / Cranberry Margaritas

Cranberry Walnut Bread with a Crumble Topping

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Handprint Santa Salt Dough Ornaments

Published Dec 1, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Sometimes when you are a blogger, you have all these projects and recipes and things to do, and you do them, but then never get a chance to post them! I have tons of projects and recipes just waiting for a rainy day, because I haven’t had the chance to go through and edit, write a post, and do everything else that goes along with creating a blog post. I know most people probably think that writing a blog post is pretty easy, however, it’s not! The projects or cooking takes time, staging and taking the photos takes a lot of time, then editing the photos takes time….it all takes a lot of time. So, understandably things fall by the wayside. Why am I telling you this? Because in case you didn’t notice, these ornaments have the year on them…and it’s not 2014…it’s 2012. Yes, these are from TWO years ago. How crazy is that?! I have been wanting to post these for TWO years, but haven’t gotten around to it. Geez! Well, finally the time has come to share this awesome project and recipe with you!

Kids LOVE making things, right? These salt dough ornaments are no exception. I would say that this handprint ornament probably need to be done with a kid 4 or under though, because the bigger the hand, the heavier the ornament, and the last thing you want is your tree branch sagging to the floor, right?

Make your dough: I cup of salt, 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of water. Dump it all in a stand mixer and mix it up with the paddle attachment….or, mix it in a bowl with a wooden spoon by hand, until the dough comes together nice and smooth. Roll the dough out, about ¼ inch thick. Then have the kids stick their hands in there good and deep! With a toothpick, poke a couple holes all around the outside of the hand, and trim around the hand with a butter knife in whatever shape you’d like. Next, take a straw and poke it through at the bottom of your handprint (by the wrist, don’t make the same mistake as I did, your hand will be hanging upside down so poke it at the wrist, not the fingers…) all the way to the other side and pop that little bit of dough out. This is where you will put the string later on. Lastly, pop these into the oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook for about 3 hours at 250 degrees F. Remove and let cool. After they are cooled then you can do a quick spray of clear coat on the top, this way the paint wont chip off and it looks nice and shiny!

Then you can get your white, red, black, and tan colored craft paints and get to work making your little Santa face! Clearly, I’m no artist and these do not need to be perfect, so let the kids help and have fun!

I can’t wait to do this project with my little 4 month old this year! His little baby hands are going to be SO cute!!

Like making homemade ornaments? How about checking out these DIY Scrabble Ornaments! So cute and fun!

Need some more holiday inspiration? Check out these great posts from Domestic Superhero!

Cheap and Easy DIY Wrapping Ideas

Clothespin Holiday Card Wreath

19 Handmade Gift Ideas for the Holidays

19 Creative Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

DIY Snow Globes

16 Free Printable Holiday Gift Tags

Cranberry Walnut Bread / Cranberry Baked Brie

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Chocolate Chip Quadruple Nut Crunch Cheesecake

Published Nov 24, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GonutsforNuts #CollectiveBias

Have y’all heard of the Planters Seasonal Nuts? I am OBSESSED with them. Like, literally obsessed. They have a variety of different combinations, but my absolute favorite is the Winter Spice Blend. There are FOUR different types of nuts and these delicious crunchy sesame sticks, all covered in this sweet by savory spice blend. They are SO good. I decided to use them to make a delicious cheesecake because nuts + chocolate chips + cheesecake + chocolate + caramel = nothing short of the most amazing cheesecake you’ve ever had. You can pick up these delicious Planter’s Nut Blends at Walmart. There is a huge sled display featuring the nuts, but unfortunately my Walmart didn’t have that out yet! I found them on a couple different end caps though!

They are so yummy. This cheesecake looks so decadent and difficult to make, but trust me, it’s not. Cheesecake is super easy to throw together, and then adding the toppings is also quick and easy. If you want to impress your friends, make this cheesecake and bring it to whatever holiday/function/event/party/movie night. It’s appropriate anytime, and I swear you will be everyone’s new best friend once you make it.

Another thing I love about Planter’s Seasonal Nut Blends, is the Blippar app! You can download blippar for free on your apple, android, blackberry or windows device (learn how to download at: https://blippar.com/en/ - download). After downloading and opening blippar, you can scan (or blip) one of the Planter's seasonal nut items. A mobile site will populate and provide a menu bar with the following choices: Take a Selfie with Mr. Peanut, browse a list of seasonal Planter's items, and browse recipes. I love using this app because it provides tons of recipe inspiration, and I also love the selfie function because who doesn’t love a good selfie?!

If you need more inspiration for the holiday’s, check out the Cooking Up Good website. They have recipes, sweepstakes, loyalty programs, coupons and more! What's not to love? If you're looking for a new dinner idea or a chance to win some awesome prizes, be sure to check it out!

Chocolate Chip Quadruple Nut Crunch Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 chocolate pie crust
2 8- ounce packaged cream cheese I used lower fat cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
¾ cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup Planters Winter Spice Seasonal Nuts chopped roughly
6 TBS caramel sauce homemade or store bought
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 TBS butter

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or glass bowl if using an electric mixer), add cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and beat with the paddle attachment on medium until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until mixed but not over-mixed.
2. Place ½ cup milk chocolate chips in the bottom on the pie crust in an even layer. Fold the remaining ¼ cup milk chocolate chips into the cream cheese mixture. Carefully pour the cream cheese mixture into the pie crust and use a spatula or spoon to smooth the top.
3. Place in center of oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until edges are set. Do not over-bake. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, place in fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
4. In a microwave safe small glass bowl, place ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips and butter. Microwave for 30 seconds, remove, mix with spoon, and then microwave in 15 second increments stirring in between until melted. This shouldn't take more than 2 minutes total time. Be careful to stir every 15 seconds or you will burn the chocolate.
5. Drizzle 2 TBS caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake (this will help the nuts stick). Sprinkle the nuts over the top in an even layer. Then, drizzle chocolate across the top of the nuts, and then more caramel across the top of the chocolate.
6. Cut with a sharp knife and serve. Store in fridge up to 1 week.

Recipe Notes

*For a clean cut, wipe the knifes edge off between making cuts so there is no cheesecake on it.

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

21 Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

Published Nov 19, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Ahhhh, Thanksgiving is only a week away, how crazy is that?! I know one thing that love about Thanksgiving is all the leftovers! When I was growing up I would dream about the day after Thanksgiving turkey and cranberry sandwiches, and I would make them until the turkey was gone. Sometimes I would even go and get more cranberry sauce so I could have more sandwiches. It was the best. However, as we grow up, our tastes change and we like to try a wider variety of food. That’s why I put together this list of 21 delicious recipes that can be make from your Thanksgiving leftovers! So, make sure you make too much of everything so you can try out all these mouth-watering dishes!

Cranberry Chipotle BBQ Pork Sliders

Cheesy Potato Croquettes & Poutine

Thanksgiving Leftovers Stuffed Eggrolls with Cranberry Dipping Sauce

Garlicky Mashed Potato Cakes & Turkey Tacos with Cranberry Salsa

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Double Daves Thanksgiving Pizza & Crock Pot Turkey Noodle Soup

Cranberry Apple French Toast

Cranberry Relish Turkey and Cream Cheese Crostini & Turkey and Stuffing Sliders

Turkey Cranberry and Stuffing Pocket

Turkey Picante Pie

Turkey Spinach Lasagna Rolls & Turkey Cranberry Mashed Potato Pizza

White Chili with Turkey and Cannellini Beans

Turkey Crescent Bites & Sweet Potato Praline Quesadilla

Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

How to Make Roasted Red Peppers in 4 Easy Steps

Published Nov 17, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

I love making things from scratch, but sometimes it seems like certain things take more effort than they’re worth. Roasted Red peppers are not one of those things. It’ is SUPER easy to roast red peppers, and they are so delicious when they are fresh. I always used spend $5 or more on a tiny little jar, and now I roast these all the time at a fraction of the cost. It’s especially a great deal if your market puts produce on clearance. I usually grocery shop first thing in the morning, and they put out a little shelf with tons of produce they need to get rid of before it spoils. I usually grab a few bags of peppers, and they charge .99 cents for 4-5 large peppers! It’s a total steal. You don’t have to worry about them spoiling if you roast them within a day or 2, and then you can keep them in the fridge for a while until you need them in a recipe. Okay, lets do it!

First, preheat your broiler to HIGH. Next you want to cut the tops off your peppers and discard. Then take out the seeds and discard those. Next, cut your peppers into thick strips; I usually get 5-6 strips per pepper. Next, lay your strips on a foil lined baking sheet. I hate getting baking sheets dirty, so I always cover them, but it’s not really necessary.

Then you want to place the sheet into the oven, about 6 inches under the flames and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the skins are burnt and wrinkled. Watch carefully as you don’t want them totally scorched.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and dump the peppers in a glass bowl. Immediately cover the bowl with saran wrap or foil. Set aside for at least 30 minutes, or longer if the peppers are still too hot to handle.

Now you are going to pinch the peels of the peppers, and pull them off. They should come off very easily. Discard the peels.

Now, if you aren’t going to use the peppers right away you can place them into a jar with an airtight top (like a mason jar), and add some olive oil to the jar (2 TBS should do it). Store in the fridge for for a few days, or put in the freezer in a freezer bag for up to 6 months (this is great because you can take them out as you need them!

Need a recipe to use these Roasted Red Peppers in? Try this delicious Roasted Red Pepper Soup – it’s delicious and SUPER healthy!

Creole Tofu with Peppers and Onions

Published Nov 11, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces.

When I first was looking through the new Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces, I was initially intrigued by the Thai Coconut Curry and the Louisiana Creole sauce.

First, I decided to try out the Thai Coconut Curry simmer sauce in a Quick Veggie and Quinoa dish, which turned out excellent. I just love curry and this sauce was no exception.

Next I decided to try out the Louisiana Creole sauce, which reminded me of a delicious jambalaya. Since I’m a vegetarian, I wanted to make it veggie friendly, and use tofu and veggies for the recipe. After the tofu and veggies simmered in the Louisiana Creole sauce, the flavor was amazing. I served it over rice and it was really a delicious, healthy, and filling meal.

The main things I love about the Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces are that they are easy to use, certified organic, they have no preservatives, artificial ingredients, genetically engineered ingredients, and no MSG. I also love how they come in the convenient pouch, and it makes enough to serve my whole family (4-5 people). Of course, all the sauces are vegetarian and as an added bonus – gluten free. The ease in using them is awesome because all you need is one pan, and that makes clean up a cinch.

Creole Tofu with Onions and Peppers

Ingredients

1 package Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces in Louisiana Creole
1 yellow onion sliced
1 green pepper sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 package extra firm tofu drained and cute into bite size cubes
2 cups cooked rice
½ TBS olive oil

Instructions

1. In a non stick skillet, add olive oil, onions, and peppers. Saute for 3 minutes over medium/high heat. Add red pepper flakes and tofu. Saute another 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add Louisiana Creole sauce pouch and stir.
2. Once the sauce starts simmering, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until tofu is heated through. Remove from heat.
3. Serve ½ cup of the veggie mixture over ½ cup of rice.
Enjoy!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces

Like tofu as much as I do? Check out these other recipes from Domestic Superhero:

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Holiday Cranberry Baked Brie

Published Nov 10, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

I am so excited to announce that I am part of the 2014 Holiday Cocktail Party Blog Hop!

There are over 40 bloggers teaming up to bring you delicious appetizers, cocktails, mocktails, desserts, and sweet treats for the holidays! At the bottom of this post you will find links to all the other blogs, so be sure to click through to a couple and check out what they have! In a few weeks I am going to be posting another post, with ALL the recipes from the blog hop – so exciting! You can also search the internet for the recipes using the hastag #2014CocktailPartyHop

For the Holiday blog hop I decided to make an appetizer, and as my readers know, I love me some cheese. One of my friends was actually telling me a few weeks ago that she tells people that I have an affinity for cheese – like I’m the cheese girl or something. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing to be known for or not, but there is no denying that I love cheese any way you slice it. So for this holiday recipe, I decided to put together some creamy brie cheese, with some delicious sweet tangy homemade cranberry sauce. Baking the brie for a few minutes, and then adding the hot cranberry sauce to the top is a to die for combination. It is so delicious. This is the perfect appetizer for holiday parties. It cooks up super quickly, and even making a homemade cranberry sauce only takes a few minutes.

One tip for this recipe is that I highly recommend making this right before you will be serving it. If you want to prepare ahead of time, make the cranberry sauce and store in the fridge. Then when you are ready to make it, cook the cheese, and then add the cold cranberry sauce, and cook some more together. It cooks really quickly and takes little effort, so you can have it cooking as your guests arrive to your party, then pull it out and pop it onto a tray!

Holiday Cranberry Baked Brie

Ingredients

5 oz whole cranberries
⅓ cup orange or apple juice
¼ cup sugar
1 16 oz round of brie cheese
crackers or bread for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small pot over medium high heat, add the cranberries, juice, and sugar to the pot. Stir to combine. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 5 minutes, covered. The cranberries should be popping, but you can also use a fork or wooden spoon to mash them. Once it has thickened up, turn off heat and set aside.
3. While that is cooking, cut the top of the rind of the cheese using a large serrated knife (this will make it super easy). Place the cheese cut side up on an oven safe plate or dish. Cook for 10 minutes and remove from oven.
4. Top the cheese with cranberry sauce, and place back in the oven for 2-5 minutes. My sauce was extremely hot so I didn't need to bake it much more.
5. Remove from oven and serve immediately with crackers or slices of baguette bread.

Recipe Notes

If you don't want to make your own cranberry sauce, you can definitely used canned with whole cranberries (not the jelly log of cranberry sauce). I highly recommend making your own because it's so easy and delicious!

Please take a look at the blogs participating in this Holiday Cocktail Party!

Appetizers

Domestic Superhero - Just Us Four - The Blue Eyed Dove - Sweet Pea - Glued To My Crafts - Patricia Eales Nutrition - Lemons and Laughs - Cupcakes&Crowbars - Sowdering About - Vegetarian Gourmet - Yesterday on Tuesday - Mom Home Guide - My Craftily Ever After - The Love Nerds - One Krieger Chick - Kenarry: Ideas for the Home - A Dish of Daily Life

Cocktails & Mocktails

One Artsy Mama - The Blue Eyed Dove - Sparkle - Albion Gould - Southern State of Mind - Eat Drink Eat - A Labour of Life - My Creative Days - Shelstring - I’m Bored Lets Go - Blue Crab Martini

Desserts & Sweet Treats

Major Hoff Takes A Wife - This Is The Life I Have Chosen - Crazy for Crust - Sypsie Designs - DIYfaerie - Little Blog on the Homestead - Living Better Together - Laura's INKlings - Life Made Sweeter - Tried & True – FrugElegance - Play. Party. Pin.

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

One Bite Apple Pie Tarlets

Published Nov 4, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Last week I posted about the delicious Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls I made, and I had some ingredients left over from that recipe that I needed to use up. I hate wasting food, so I knew I could use the left over apples and cream cheese glaze for something tasty. It just so happened that I had these cute little Phyllo Shells in the freezer and I thought they would be perfect for this! I was right, and these are super delicious and easy to make. They would make the perfect fall dessert at a brunch or party. They would pair great with a seasonal beer or light white wine. I can’t wait to make them again because they are super cute and delicious!

The overall time to make these little treats is relatively quick, too, about 25 minutes including prep time! I have also put these in the fridge, and warmed them up the next day and they taste just as great!

I would definitely recommend these for a party or get together, just heat them up right before you get there or after the party starts. I love these things and they are so cute and seasonal!

Like Apples? How about trying out these Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls!

One Bite Apple Pie Tarlets

Ingredients

24 Fillo shells phyllo cups/shells

For Filling

2 granny smith apples peeled and diced
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 TBS butter

For glaze

⅛ cup cream cheese softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 tbs milk or half and half

Instructions

Directions

For Filling

1. Heat 2 TBS butter in a skillet and then add brown sugar, mixing to combine. After 30 seconds, add the apples and sauté until apples are slightly caramelized. Sprinkle cinnamon over apples and stir. Remove from heat and set aside.

For glaze

1. mix cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and salt together with an electric or stand mixer on medium speed and set aside.

To assemble

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place shells on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Spoon 1 TBS of filling into the shells (or a little more, just so they are full), and then bake for 5-8 minutes or until the shells are just browned (also check phyllo shell packaging and cook according to that). Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
2. Drizzle glaze over the top of the apple pie tartlets and serve warm.

Recipe Notes

*To reheat, just pop back into toaster oven or oven and cook a few minutes until the filling is heated through.

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

30 Recipes for Leftover Halloween Candy

Published Oct 30, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

So now that Halloween is here, I bet you have bags and bags full of candy in your house. If you have kids, this is definitely the case, and if you don’t, well, I bet you can find a bunch of candy on clearance at your local grocery store. Since you have all this candy that you don’t know what to do with, how about utilizing it in some delicious treats!?!? I have 30 recipes here that use up that Halloween candy and will taste way better than eating those candy bars straight up. There are some cute seasonal recipes that would be great for fall parties or Thanksgiving, and then tons of recipes that are good for whenever! Deliver some of these tasty treats to your neighbors and you will be the talk of the town!

Twix Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate and Caramel Drizzle by Domestic Superhero

Reese’s Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies by Sally’s Baking Addiction

Kit Kat Cookies by Life With the Crust Cut Off & Tootsie Roll Acorns by Food for the Soul

Sweet and Salty Marshmallow Popcorn by Two Peas and Their Pod

Snickers Cheesecake Bars by Domestic Superhero

Milky Way Caramel Cheesecake Brownies by Domestic Superhero

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Bars by The Country Chic Cottage

No Bake Hershey Chocolate Bar Pie by The Kitchen is my Playground

Pilgrim Hat Cookies by Organized 31 and Snickers Blondies by Table for Seven

Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter Bars by Country Chic Cottage

Chocolate Tootsie Roll Cookies by Fun with the Fullwoods

Candy Bar Peanut Butter Cookie Cups by Amanda’s Cookin & 100 Grand Cupcakes by the Novice Chef Blog

Almond Joy Brownies by Inside Bru Crew Life

100 Grand Rice Krispy Bark by The Domestic Rebel

Chocolate & Peanut Butter M&M Cheesecake Bars by Domestic Superhero

Oh Henry Fudge by The Domestic Rebel

Creamy Hershey’s Cookie Dip by Raining Hot Coupons & Reese’s Cheesecake Brownies by Pip and Ebby

Cookie Dough Brownie Stuffed Truffles by Cookies and Cups

Reese’s Turkeys by Mom on Timeout

Malted Kit Kat Blondies with Malted Chocolate Drizzle by Baker by Nature

M&M Cheesecake with Chocolate Covered Pretzel Crust by Yammies Noshery

Buried Treasure Brownies by Fleece Fun & Caramel Twix Treats by The Baking Beauty

Caramel Kit Kat Brownies by I Eat Therefore I Cook

Reese’s Pretzel Bark by Mom Endeavors

Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup and a Slow Cooker Giveaway!

Published Oct 29, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

During the fall, I definitely love utilizing my slow cooker. It’s so easy to throw the ingredients in there in the morning, and then have dinner ready when I come home from work. I also LOVE potato soup, and it just feels so comforting and fall-ish to me. It’s especially easy to whip up in the crock pot, and very inexpensive as well.

This Loaded Potato Soup also freezes extremely well, so I usually double the recipe and freeze half so we can have that later. It’s so easy! I made a bunch of this and other soups when I was pregnant, and then froze them so I could have tons of easy meals after the baby came! If you don’t have a slow cooker, you could make this on the stove top, and it would be just as easy, but I love the set it and forget it mentality behind a slow cooker! Using the Set 'n Forget® 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker With Spoon/Lid is such an easy way to take advantage of this recipe. I love how it’s programmable and I just don’t have to worry about anything.

Since we are vegetarians in my house, I left the bacon out of this loaded soup, but you could easily fry some up and add it into the soup. I think it tastes delicious without it, but I know how some people love their bacon!

Recipe adapted from Peas and Crayons (check her out for other GREAT recipes!)

Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup

Ingredients

5 medium russet potatoes peeled (optional) and cut into small cubes
4 stalks of celery chopped
1 onion diced
3 cups of vegetable broth
3 cloves of garlic minced
¼ cup butter
½ cup sharp cheddar cheese grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup milk I used 2% but you could also use cream, half and half, or skim
freshly grated cheddar cheese for topping
chopped green onion for topping

Instructions

1. In your slow cooker, add potatoes, celery, onion. Then add the broth, garlic, butter, salt, and pepper.
2. Set your slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours, or set it to LOW for 8 hours.
3. Once done cooking, add milk, and then use a potato masher, fork, or immersion blender to smooth out the soup.
4. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Add the garlic powder and red pepper flakes and mix.
5. Serve warm and add your desired toppings.

Recipe Notes

To freeze, add 2 cups of soup to a qt. sized freezer bag, push out air, and then label and freeze. To reheat- defrost overnight in the fridge and then cook in a pot on the stove or in the microwave. I usually add a bit more milk when reheating because it thickens up a lot in the freezer.

Okay, now for the fun part! Hamilton Beach is furnishing a Set 'n Forget® 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker With Spoon/Lid for one of my readers! That’s right, you could win your own slow cooker! Now, I know most people have a slow cooker, but who doesn’t need the latest and greatest model, right? Enter below on the rafflecopter and I will be picking a winner next week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To participate in any promotion, you must be 18 years or older and reside in the 50 United States or D.C. Hamilton Beach is unable to ship to P.O. Boxes. Giveaway will run from October 29th at 7am- November 7th at 7am. Winner will be contacted via email and must respond within 48 hours to claim prize. All prizes will be furnished and shipped by Hamilton Beach and Domestic Superhero is not responsible for that.

Disclosure: Hamilton Beach has provided Domestic Superhero with a Slow Cooker to review. I have not been compensated for this post and all opinions are honest and my own.

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Quick Veggie & Quinoa Thai Coconut Curry

Published Oct 28, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces.

Being a busy mom and wife, I often look for quick and easy ways to reduce dinner time prep, without sacrificing food quality and taste. By the time I get home from work in the evening, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour cooking dinner. That’s one reason I love Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces. They are super quick and convenient, and their flavors are spot on. They have four different types of sauces - Portobello Red Wine, Latin Veracruz, Thai Coconut Curry, and Louisiana Creole. For this easy recipe I decided to use the Thai Coconut Curry Sauce because we love curry! These sauces are the first simmer sauce in a pouch that is certified organic and it has no genetically engineered ingredients, no preservatives or artificial ingredients, no added MSG, it’s gluten Free, and vegetarian. This is the type of sauce you can actually feel good about eating!

This recipe is very versatile because you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, and then all you do is add the sauce! I love baby carrots and broccoli in my curry, so I was sure to pick those up and then I used left over veggies for the rest. It takes 10 minutes to cook this up, and you don’t have to dirty a bunch of dishes either, because everything cooks in one pan.

I decided to use quinoa to go along with this curry instead of rice because I had been dying to multicolored quinoa. It actually went really well with the dish and quinoa adds a lot of protein to this meat-free meal.

Quick Veggie & Quinoa Thai Coconut Curry

Ingredients

1 pouch Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauce in Thai Coconut Curry
2 carrots peeled and sliced
1 red pepper seeded and cut into square bite size pieces
1 cup broccoli florets
½ cup whole baby corn cut in half
handful of snow peas
½ yellow onion cut into bite size pieces
2 cups cooked quinoa

Instructions

1. In a large pan/skillet, spray with nonstick spray, and add carrots, red peppers, and onions. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes over medium/high heat. Add broccoli, baby corn, and snow peas to the pan and stir fry an additional 2 minutes.
2. Add Imagine® Thai Coconut Curry Simmer Sauce, stir, and then cover pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.
3. Add ½ cup cooked quinoa to a bowl, then ½ cup veggies and sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to add or remove veggies to suit your tastes! This recipe is very flexible and can be made how you like it!

Interested in trying Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces? You are in luck! Right now consumers can enter to win their own “Pan with a Plan” prize pack by entering the sweepstakes on Facebook. Sweepstakes will take place on the Imagine® Facebook page (Mid-October through November). Entry rules are detailed online. Forty Eight (48) winners will be selected over the 6-week promotion. Each week, eight (8) winners will be selected to receive a “Pan with a Plan” prize pack (includes a saucepan, four Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces, and a $25 grocery Visa gift card).

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

Published Oct 27, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Stuffed Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread is stuffed with 3 cheeses, garlic, butter, and baked to ooey-gooey perfection. This bread is to die for!

With the holidays rapidly approaching, I am always trying to come up with quick, easy, and delicious recipes that can be served at a party or brought as a dish to pass. Coming up with these recipes is half of the fun, while sharing them with friends and family is the other half of the fun. I came up with this tasty stuffed cheesy garlic pull apart bread and knew all my friends and family would love it.

First you want to cut the bread up into X shapes, but be careful not to cut all the way through the bread. Then you want to melt your butter and mix the other ingredients into the same bowl. After spreading the butter mixture throughout the cracks, you are going to stuff all the cracks with delicious cheese. You will want to assemble this on top of a huge sheet of aluminum foil (big enough to wrap the bread with), because it’s really hard to move it once it’s stuffed. After adding all the cheese you wrap it up in the foil, making sure that it’s all sealed up, and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. Then you unwrap it and let it cook a few more minutes until all the cheese has turned ooey-gooey and delicious!

Yummmmmm

So cheesy and delicious!

Stuffed Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

Ingredients

1 loaf fresh french bread
1 stick of butter melted
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS poppy seeds
1 TBS dijon mustard I like stone ground
3-4 gloves of garlic minced
1 TBS fresh parsley chopped
1 cup Kraft triple cheddar shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a large baking sheet with foil (but don't wrap around, you need this loose to wrap around the bread later), and place the loaf of bread in the center. Cut bread diagonally in X shaped (think bite-sexed pieces).
2. In a bowl, mix butter, olive oil, poppy seeds, mustard, garlic and parsley with a fork.
3. Using a spoon or brush, pour/brush butter mixture into the cracks of the bread- careful not to miss any! Any remaining butter mixture can be poured over the top of the bread.
4. Stuff the cheese into the cracks of the bread being careful not to miss any.
5. Wrap the foil around the bread, sealing it closed. Bake for 15 minutes, then open foil from the top, and bake 3-5 additional minutes or until cheese is all melted.

Recipe Notes

Serve with a side of ranch or your favorite dipping sauce!

Now, onto how I budget for a holiday party. I always calculate the amount I want to budget based on the food, drinks, décor, and invitations. Then I be sure to shop places I know will have the lowest prices, such as Walmart. I also always try to come up with a signature cocktail, instead of purchasing several different drinks, because it saves money and time. There are great cocktail recipes on Pinterest. I wanted to share my budget spreadsheet with y’all, so I am offering it as a FREE printable right now! Just click the link below and print! It will be an 8x10 and you can use it to budget your next holiday party!

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Flatbread with Balsamic Glaze

Published Oct 20, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Lately I have been cooking up lots of flatbreads. I really like that you can throw anything on top of a Naan bread and call it a day. When you go out to eat, these bad boys are usually on the menu and always super tasty, however, they aren’t so great for your wallet. When you make them at home, you can save a ton of money, and get just as great flavor (and even eat in your pajamas if you want!). My go-to place for Naan is Costco. You can get a huge 10 pack for $4, which is the cheapest I have ever seen it. You can also make it, and it's SUPER simple. Here is the recipe. You can also pick them up at the grocery store, usually more expensive, but equally delicious. I always find them in the bakery department.

For this flatbread, I paired 2 of my favorite foods: goat cheese and mushrooms. I know some of y’all hate goat cheese (craziness!), so feel free to switch this out for feta or even bleu cheese crumbles. I think any cheese would be delicious though. The balsamic reduction really brings this together, and the thyme also gives a great flavor punch. I love this combination so much, I made a grilled cheese with most of the same ingredients and it was equally delicious.

5 from 1 vote

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Flatbreads with Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients

2 Naan slices whole
8 oz cremini baby bella mushrooms, sliced thinly
½ yellow onion thinly sliced
½ TBS butter
2 oz goat cheese crumbles
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 and ½ TBS brown sugar
2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions

For the glaze

1. Mix balsamic vinegar with brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until glaze is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Set aside.

For flatbreads

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, add butter to skillet and melt over medium heat. Then add mushrooms and onions and saute over medium/high heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add thyme, salt, and pepper, and saute for a few more minutes or until onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked and soft. Turn off heat and set aside.
3. Brush the tops of the Naan with the olive oil so the top is coated. Then add half of the mushrooms/onions to the top of each bread, spreading evenly over the top. Sprinkle 1 oz goat cheese crumbles to each naan.
4. Place flatbreads on a parchment lined baking sheet, and place in oven for 6-8 minutes, or until cheese is softed. *You do not want to overcook so watch carefully for browning on the bread. Remove from oven.
5. Drizzle 1 TBS of balsamic glaze over each flatbread. Cut into halves or fourths and serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Makes 2 full flatbreads

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Guest Post: Stay Sharp Succulent Picture

Published Oct 15, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Today we have Amy guest posting on Domestic Superhero, and I am so excited to share her art project with you! Lets take a look....

__________________________________

Hello again, Domestic Superhero readers! It's Amy from Delineate Your Dwelling. I write about all things that make my heart go pitter patter over at Delineate Your Dwelling. I’m so excited to be here with you all today sharing my Stay Sharp Succulent picture I put together for my office area.

SUPPLIES:

Cute gold scissors (always a must)

Burlap wrapped board

Assorted ribbons

Gold Paint Pen

Chalk (or colored pencil)

My first order of business was covering my board with ribbon. I wanted the background to have lots of color and pattern since I would be adding a more plain chalkboard overtop. I cut the ribbons to size and glued the edges to the back for a clean look.

Next I sprayed a piece of cardboard with chalkboard paint and cut it into an oval shape. I wanted a whimsical look, so I purposefully cut it not perfect. I added some gold trim with the paint pen.

Here is my tip of the day! For a chalk look without future smears, use a white colored pencil. Be sure you know what your design will look like because you can't erase once you start.

I added a little "stay sharp" sign and added a small piece of cardboard to the back to give it some dimension.

I love how this turned out!

It has a chalkboard look but with more whimsey and color.

Thank you so much for having me today, Allyson! If you would like to see a few other of my favorite projects, be sure to stop by Delineate Your Dwelling and say hello!

You can also see some fun behind the scenes if you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.

The 25 BEST Halloween Desserts

Published Oct 13, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I would put together a list of my favorite 25 Halloween treats! There is such a variety here too, some easy to make, some a little more difficult, but all totally awesome! What are you cooking up this Halloween?

Halloween Sugar Cookie Monsters

Candy Corn Truffle Bark by The Gunny Sack

Celebrate Halloween with a pudding parfait! Add in brownies, marshmallows, pudding, and your favorite halloween candy.

Boo Pudding Parfaits from The First Year Blog

A classic favorite, Twinkies are given a #Halloween makeover with these Frankenstein Twinkies Pops! A step by step tutorial - http://www.ThisSillyGirlsLife.com

Halloween Trash by Just Us Four / Frankenstein Twinkie Pops by This Silly Girl’s Life

Spooky Pumpkin Cupcakes by Glorious Treats

Halloween Bark filled with Oreos and Candy Corn - YUMMY!

Halloween Bark by Lil Luna

5 Minute candy corn pudding cups, the perfect fall dessert that can be made in less than 5 minutes! #shop #SnackPackMixins

Easy Candy Corn Pudding Cups by Play Party Pin

Spider Krispies by Cookies and Cups

Witch Hat Cookies - These adorable cookies are so simple to make and are perfect for a Halloween party!

White Chocolate Candy Corn Pretzel Fudge { lilluna.com } #fudge

Witch Hat Cookies by Like Mother Like Daughter / White Chocolate Candy Corn Pretzel Fudge by Lil Luna

Simple and Halloween perfect cupcakes! The kids and adults will love them!

Wicked Witch Cupcakes by Made to Be Momma

Reese’s Pieces Monster Cookies by The First Year Blog

Spooky Slasher Brownies. A Spooky Halloween treat with no dyes or artificial coloring! // Happy Food Healthy Life

Spookie Slasher Brownies by Happy Food Healthy life

Skeleton Pretzels by Being Genevieve / Fancy Shmancy Krispies by Cookies and Cups

Reese's Frankenstein Cupcakes by Your Cup of Cake

Butter With a Side of Bread: Caramel Apple Nachos

Caramel Apple Nachos by Butter with a Side of Bread

Delicious Gooey Monster Cookies!! Perfect for Halloween! { lilluna.com }

Gooey Monster Eye Cookies by Lil Luna

Pretzel Candy Spiderwebs ~ a fun and easy Halloween treat | FiveHeartHome.com

Pretzel Candy Spiderwebs by Five Heart Home / Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes by Yummy Mummy Kitchen

Candy Corn Krispie Treats by Glorious Treats

Spider Web Cupcakes by Taste and Tell

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Guest Post: Easy Sausage Jambalaya

Published Oct 8, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Today we have a delicious and easy recipe from Britni! I am so excited because I LOVE Cajun food, and this looks awesome! Let's check it out!

Hi! I'm Britni from Play. Party. Pin. I am so excited that Allyson has given me the chance to be here while she's getting some great snuggles from that sweet baby of hers. I'm the mom of a 1-year old boy who has the biggest cheeks and best smile ever. I blog about anything party related - party ideas, games/activities/, crafts, and food. And today, I'm sharing one of my family's favorite recipes with you, an easy sausage jambalaya.

Easy cajun sausage jambalaya recipe from playpartypin.com

If any of you have had a baby, you'll know that the last thing you want to do immediately after is cook. This recipe was created the week after I had my little guy last year when nobody wanted to cook. Okay, who am I kidding? I never want to cook unless the recipe calls for at least a cup of sugar. Luckily, one my husband's favorite things to do is cook, and he's one of those people that can look into a fridge and come up with a delicious recipe out of thin air. Like this one.

I'll be honest, I've never actually had jambalaya. I've only heard great things about it from my uncle who lived in New Orleans for two years and apparently makes a mean jambalaya. Most of the time it includes onions, which is a no-go for this girl, so I've just stayed away from it altogether. Not anymore. This jambalaya is one of my favorite things that my husband makes, and he makes a lot of great food.

The recipe calls for just carrots and celery, but you can add any veggies that you'd like. My husband eats his with tomatoes and red peppers, two more things I don't really like. What can I say? We're pretty much opposites when it comes to food, but we both love this dish. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

4 from 1 vote

Easy Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1- 1 lb. package smoke sausage ¼ diced and ¾ sliced into rounds
3 medium carrots peeled and diced
4 celery stalks diced
5 cloves garlic minced
2 large bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon parsley
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon kofte mix - we bought ours from Turkey but you can make it at home with this recipe
1 ½ cups white long-grain rice, rinsed and dried
3 cups chicken broth

Instructions

Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat.
Add the sausage rounds (keep the diced sausage for later) and cook until browned and carmelized. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to leave the drippings behind.
Add the carrots, celery, and diced sausage and cook until slightly browned and softened, about 4 minutes.
Add the garlic, salt, and dried spices to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
Add the rice to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the rice is done.
Remove the lid and stir in the sausage and serve.

If you liked this jambalaya recipe, come check out some of my other projects and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram! Here are some of my favorite things I've been working on recently.

Splatter Paint Party

Make Your Own Mini Pie Bar Ideas

Spooktacular Halloween Drink Bottles

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Published Oct 6, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Let me start off by saying, I’ve never made cinnamon rolls from scratch, nor have I ever attempted to make them. This was my first attempt. Being that is was my first attempt, it came out great, but I definitely made A LOT of mistakes along the way. For the longest time baking any sort of bread really intimidated me, but then I got my stand mixer and I figured I would be wasting it if I didn’t use it to make bread. I started off easy with pizza dough, and worked my way up to other breads (love me some bread bowls!). I realized that I was being silly and shouldn’t have been so intimidated by making bread. I mean, the worst the happens is that it doesn’t come out right, and then you are out a few bucks on ingredients…there are worse things in the world, right? I am telling you all this, because I get so many comments and emails from people telling me that they were too scared to bake bread or attempt anything with yeast until they tried making *insert awesome recipe here*. They tell me that they wished they would have started sooner. Well, I wish I would have started attempting cinnamon rolls sooner because while they aren’t difficult, they definitely take some practice! Lucky for me, I have awesome family and friends who will eat up my ‘practice’ rolls!

I decided to make these Apple Pie Cinnamon rolls because I felt like they were a perfect reflection of a cool fall morning. It is exactly what I would love to eat on Saturday morning after rolling out of bed, getting cozy under a blanket and pouring a hot cup of coffee (flash forward to 2 kids and this never happens anymore). Attempting to make these was a great idea, however, it wasn’t such a great idea to try them out while my husband was at work and I was in charge of a crazy toddler and psycho baby. Baking and the 2 crazy kids just do not mix at this point. The recipe said ‘let the dough rise for 2 hours’….how about 9 hours? Because after I made the dough, the first chance I had to get back to it was NINE HOURS LATER. ‘While the dough is rising, make the filling’….I started the filling a little while later, and let it simmer for at least an hour (as opposed to the quick sauté the instructions call for) , which resulted in very, very soft apples…but at least they didn’t turn into applesauce (though, I probably could have mashed them easily into sauce). Then, I am pretty sure I added at least triple the amount of apples to my rolls as I was supposed to, because instead of being neat and pretty with apples peaking out of the inside, the apples were oozing out EVERYWHERE and making a huge mess. Now, while I had a multitude of ‘issues’, and my rolls don’t look so pretty, they still turned out delicious. I mean, I would have thought they would have been disgusting (which I warned my husband about before he tried one), but they weren't. What I am trying to say is that even if you think you can’t do it, even if you mess up 100 times along the way, it is still worth a try. I could have easily thrown this all away halfway through, but I am glad I didn’t because they were delicious!

So even if your Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls turn out looking like the above picture, it’s okay! This is definitely not a ‘perfect’ food blogger photo, but lets be real, hardly anything turns out like how you see it on Pinterest and on the gorgeous pages of your favorite food blog, right? So make these, and enjoy them!

Interested in trying these out? You can find the recipe and step by step directions over at The Hopeless Housewife! Hopefully my next attempt will be prettier, but I am not sure they can get much more tasty!

My son was crazy about them too...he tried snatching it off the plate while I was photographing it!

Do you like apple recipes as much as I do?! Check out these other recipes on Domestic Superhero:

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Firecracker Tofu with Brown Rice

Published Oct 1, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf Success® Rice.

Dinner during the week gets so crazy sometimes…with school, work, a baby, and now extra curricular activities for my nearly 4 year old, there isn’t much time left to cook. Once a week we are left ordering pizza or some various takeout because we simply don’t have the time or energy to make a decent meal. However, being a vegetarian, take out options are limited. I love Chinese food, but most fast food Chinese places don’t have many veggie options other than noodles or rice; and recently while I was at Panda Express, I saw a new dish called Firecracker Chicken, and I knew I wanted to recreate it with tofu. That said, the recipe can easily be adjusted to use chicken instead of tofu if that’s what you are into.

While this dish comes together in under 30 minutes, which is fast for a weeknight meal, I also didn’t want to get stuck waiting forever on rice to cook. That’s why I picked up some Success® Whole Grain Brown Rice.

Success® Rice is the original no measure, no mess boil-in-bag rice that cooks perfectly every time and is ready in just 10 minutes. A true pantry staple, Success® Boil-In-Bag Rice is convenient, and can be made on the stovetop or microwave without sacrificing its great taste or quality. This makes cooking the rice so easy, and I can just let it cook while I get the other food all together and made. You can even let the rice sit in the water after it’s been cooked for up to 30 minutes (with the heat off), to ensure it stays warm! So convenient.

This dish turned out so delicious- with chunks of sweet pineapple covered in a spicy sweet sauce, and crispy tofu…yum. I am definitely adding this to our regular rotation of dinners. It also reheats great and is even good cold (hey, when you have a newborn, sometimes you don’t have time to even microwave!). I love that it’s so easy to recreate take out food, because you actually know what is going into your food and it’s way healthier than the alternative.

Firecracker Tofu with Brown Rice

Ingredients

1 block extra firm tofu must be firm or extra firm, drained and cut into bite sized cubes
2 eggs
¼ cup flour
½ cup cornstarch possibly more
¼ cup vegetable oil or other oil good for frying
1 large red pepper seeded and cut into chunks (bite size)
1 large orange pepper seeded and cut into chunks (bite size)
1 yellow onion cut into chunks (bite size)
3 green onions chopped
2 bags Success® Whole Grain Brown Rice cooked and kept warm
2 8 oz cans of pineapple chunks packed in juice, not syrup, drained and juice set aside

Ingredients for the Sauce

2 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less depending on heat tolerance
⅔ cup sugar I used Stevia
1 and ½ cups water
½ cup reserved pinapple juice
2 TBS sweet red chili sauce find this in the international aisle
½ teaspoon salt
4 TBS cold water
3 TBS corn starch

Instructions

1. Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Place cornstarch in a separate shallow bowl. Place flour in a separate shallow bowl. Toss 5-6 tofu pieces at a time, in the flour to coat, then into the eggs, then into the cornstarch to coat again. Repeat with all tofu pieces.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a high sided pan (I like using a pasta pot to prevent grease splatter), and add tofu pieces. You will probably have to do 2-3 batches. Cook 2-3 minutes on first side (or until lightly browned), and then flip over and cook 1-2 minutes on other side. Remove and set on a paper towel lined plate. Continue until all tofu pieces are cooked.
3. Wipe out the pot you used to cook the tofu, and then over medium heat add peppers, onion and pineapple. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, or until onions start to soften.
4. While that is cooking you can make the sauce. In a sauce pot combine garlic, red pepper flakes, sugar, water, sweet chili sauce, pineapple juice and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. In a small bowl stir together the cold water and corn starch. When sauce comes to a boil, add the corn starch mixture to the sauce. Stir constantly until sauce thickens. Reduce heat to low.
5. In the pot with the vegetables, add the tofu and the sauce, mixing gently to coat. Serve over Success® Whole Grain Brown Rice and top with green onions.

Recipe Notes

You could also serve this by itself or with noodles. You can also replace the tofu in this recipe with chicken, however adjust cooking times accordingly.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf Success® Rice.

Like tofu as much as I do? Check out these other recipes from Domestic Superhero:

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Guest Post: Fall Subway Art with FREE Printable

Published Oct 1, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

I am so excited to have Abby from Just A Girl and Her Blog guest posting for me today! I love printables...especially when they are free! You can't beat these easy ways to decorate your house for the different seasons! Let's take a look at the awesome fall printable Abby created for us today!

Hey there, Domestic Superhero readers! I'm Abby from Just a Girl and Her Blog where you'll find home decor projects, crafts, creative ideas, and random happy thoughts. 🙂 I am thrilled to be able to pop in here and chat with you all while Allyson is snuggling her new sweet little bundle of joy! {Give him some extra smooches from me, Allyson!} I love the fall and everything that comes with it: the start of a fresh, new school year, the crisp air that makes us break out the warm, fuzzy sweaters, drinking hot apple cider and going on hay rides... I love it all!

Do you know what else I love? Printables. They make it so easy to switch out your seasonal decor and give a more festive look to your home! So to commemorate all of the incredible things about this time of year, I decided to put together a little subway art printable to use in my fall decorating, and I'm sharing it with you as well!

{Click here to download your FREE Fall Subway Art!}

I printed my subway art on an 8 ½" x 11" piece of white cardstock, and then I used my paper cutter to trim down the edges so it would fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame. If you're using a matted frame, though, you probably wouldn't even need to trim it down. Decor doesn't get much easier than that! Kind of makes me want to go grab a pumpkin spice latte and settle down in front of a good football game... {Go Steelers! 😉 }

Thank you so much to Allyson for having me on her blog today, and thank YOU for reading! I'd love to have you over to Just a Girl and Her Blog for a visit to check out some projects like...

My Fabulously Feminine Home Office

or my Dresser turned TV Stand!

You can also join the fun on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Google+. Hope to see you there! Have a great day!

Fresh Peach Crumble

Published Sep 29, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Living in Georgia, peaches are everywhere during the summer! I was never a big peach eater until I tried fresh, in season peaches. It is such a huge difference eating a big fresh Georgia peach, than eating a little grocery store peach during the winter. You need to buy peaches in season, and fresh if possible. I love going to farmers markets in the spring and summer, and in Georgia they are stocked with delicious peaches. However, if you don’t live in a peach producing state, then head to places like Whole Foods and Trader Joes to get the most fresh produce you find. Anyway, I had some extra peaches in the fridge and needed to use them up before they went bad, so I decided to make a peach cobbler. It turned out more like a peach crumble (what is the difference anyway?!), and it was so delicious. My usually fruit-hating husband even gobbled this down, and my picky eater toddler loved it as well. It was a huge hit and super easy!

If you only have a few peaches, or want a smaller portion, the recipe can definitely be sized down. This recipe makes a large serving, and if I were you I would make the whole thing because people are definitely going to want seconds. Serve this warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and get ready to taste heaven!

This is a good recipe for kids to help with, too, because it really can’t be messed up and there is a lot of dumping ingredients into the dish!

Fresh Peach Crumble

Ingredients

For the filling

4 large peaches cored, peeled, and sliced thinly
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 TBS flour
¼ cup brown sugar

For the topping

¾ cup flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 medium egg beaten
½ cup butter melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 11x7 glass baking dish, and then spread the peaches evenly in the dish.
2. In a small bowl mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup brown sugar, 3 TBS flour, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice with a fork. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the peaches.
3. In a medium bowl mix (ingredients from topping list) flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in the egg with a fork until it resembles a course crumble.
4. Sprinkle the crumbles evenly over the peaches and drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the topping is browned and the filling is bubbling.

Recipe Notes

Serve with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream and enjoy!

Guest Post: Gluten Free Blackberry Meringue Tartlets

Published Sep 24, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

I am so excited to have Anyonita guest blogging on Domestic Superhero today! I have followed her blog forever, and she has the best recipes AND tips for bloggers. If you are a blogger, you definitely need to go check out her how-to's, right now!

Even though Halloween's around the corner, there's nothing spooky about these gluten free blackberry meringue tartlets!

Hello! I'm Anyonita & I blog at Anyonita Nibbles where I like to focus on flavorful food for the whole family. A lot of my recipes are gluten free since I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease earlier this year. I'm happy to be blogging here for Allyson today; her blog is one of my favorites & I'm honored to have been asked to share this exclusive recipe with you all!

One of the biggest frustrations for me regarding Celiac Disease and being gluten free is having to give up foods that I love. I've made it my personal mission to recreate all my favorite dishes in a gluten free manner so that I can continue to enjoy them. That's where the basis of this blackberry tartlets recipe comes from.

Blackberries are on the verge of being out of season, and the last few crops are being sold. This is my favorite time of the year for blackberries. I much prefer them now,after they've had the sweetness of a long, hot summer with ample sunshine to ripen than at the beginning of the season, when they're unevenly sized and sometimes too tart. Late season blackberries always taste much sweeter to me than just-in-season ones. To celebrate them, here's an easy tart recipe that's perfect for fall. I used my favorite Golden Delicious apples, but you could use any native apples that are in season now.

These tartlets taste best when they've aged a few days. So make the blackberry curd and the pastry on the same day and refrigerate both overnight before filling and topping with the meringue. If you have a cook's blowtorch, you could burn the peaks of the meringue with it or you could pop it under a very hot grill/broiler and achieve the same burnished look.

Gluten Free Blackberry Meringue Tartlets

Ingredients

Ingredients
For the pastry
2 tablespoons cold water
50 grams butter
100 grams gluten free bread/strong flour
For the blackberry curd
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
40 grams sugar
60 grams butter
75 ml water
150 grams apples peeled, cored and diced
250 grams blackberries
For the Italian meringue
3 egg whites
15 grams liquid glucose
180 grams caster/superfine sugar

Instructions

For the blackberry curd
Cook the blackberries and apples in a pan with enough water to just cover the fruit.
Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer the fruit for 20 minutes or until soft.
Remove the pan from the heat and pass the fruit through a fine sieve into a clean bowl.
Melt the butter in the pan used to soften the fruit and mix in eggs, lemon juice, sugar and blackberry and apple puree.
Whisk, while moderating the temperature for 15 to 20 minutes until the curd has thickened.
Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic actually touches the curd; and refrigerate while you prepare the pastry.
For the pastry
Combine the flour and the butter in a bowl. Use a fork to mash until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Stir in water quickly and bring the dough together so that it forms a sticky ball. You may need to use more water than the recipe calls. If the dough isn't very sticky, add more water.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out between two layers of greaseproof/baking paper.
Grease the tart tins well and press the dough into the tart tins, being sure to press along the sides.
Blind bake the cases at 340f/170c for 15 to 20 minutes or until starting to color.
For the meringue
Pour 40 ml of the water into a saucepan fitted with a food thermometer. Add the sugar and glucose and bring to the boil, stirring every now and then.
Start beating the egg whites in a stand mixer, when the water, sugar and glucose, reaches 230f/110c on the thermometer. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
Keep an eye on the sugar syrup and stop cooking it, the moment it reaches 250f/121c. Remove the saucepan from the heat and wait a few seconds while it stops bubbling.
Pour the syrup into the stand mixer ever so slowly while the whisk continues to beat.
Keep whisking the whites for 10 minutes after the all the syrup has been absorbed. When the outside of the bowl of the stand mixer is cool to the touch, the meringue is ready for use.
Fill a piping bag with the mix and pipe onto the filled pastry cases.
Burnish the peaks of meringue using either a cook's blowtorch or by letting the tarts stand under a hot grill/broiler for a few minutes.

Recipe Notes

The egg whites will be safe to eat because any bacteria in the egg whites gets cooked out with the addition of the hot sugar syrup.

About Anyonita from Anyonita-Nibbles.co.uk

Enjoyed this post? Check out some of my other stuff & stop by:

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Easy White Wine & Mushroom Sauce

Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Pudding Brownies with Toffee Sauce

Vegetarian Lemon & Chickpea Dukkah Burgers on Gluten Free Buns

Fresh Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Whipped Basil Feta Dip

Published Sep 22, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This recipe is seriously the meaning of summer for me; Cool creamy basil feta dip, mixed with fresh garden heirloom tomatoes, fresh garden basil, and all the goodness of traditional bruschetta. I love making this when friends come over or when I just need a bit of deliciousness. It’s also just great for using up those extra tomatoes and basil before they go bad! Now, I know we are into September, but my garden is still going strong so it's nice making this even in fall!

It only takes a few minutes to whip this up too, which is great because who wants to spend hours in the kitchen during the summer- not me! The longest part of this recipe is going to be toasting your little breads, which really only takes a few minutes as well. You want to start off by making the Whipped Basil Feta Dip (click link or picture for recipe)– super easy, and it’s also good for any occasion.

I make this dip on the weekends for parties, when I have extra basil, or when I am just craving some tangy feta cheese! It lasts in the fridge for a long time (I think I have had it in my fridge for 3 weeks at the most and it was fine, would probably even last longer!), and you can randomly snack on it, or use it in other recipes. Sometimes I mix a little with my Tomato Basil One Pot Wonder Pasta and it adds a nice cheesy tang to it!

Not a fan of feta cheese? Try this easy Whipped Ricotta appetizer!

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Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Whipped Basil Feta Dip

Ingredients

½ cup Whipped Basil Feta Dip
3 medium heirloom tomatoes regular plum tomatoes will work too!, chopped
dash of salt and pepper
¼ cup packed fresh basil chopped
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 TBS shredded parmesan cheese optional, but I like it
1 French bread baguette sliced into small slices

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange your bread slices onto a baking sheet, and give a light spray of olive oil spray. Place into oven and toast breads for about 6-8 minutes, watching closely not to burn.
2. While cooking bread, toss tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, oil, balsamic vinegar, and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Mix gently with a spatula or spoon, being careful not to smash up tomatoes. Set aside or in fridge.
3. Remove breads from oven. Top each slice of bread with a smear of whipped basil feta dip, and set bread on a tray lined up (see photo). Serve breads next to the bowl of bruschetta so people can top their own breads (this will prevent the breads from getting soggy)**

Recipe Notes

**You can also top the breads with the tomato mixture yourself, but I recommend only doing this if they will be eaten right away. Otherwise the oil/vinegar tends to drip onto the bread and make it soggy, and no one likes a soggy bread!

That’s all there is to it- told you it was easy!

Guest Post: DIY Succulent Garden

Published Sep 17, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This is a guest post from Kelley who shares great recipes, crafts, and tips to improve your home and family at the blog Miss Information.

Hi Domestic Superhero fans, I'm so excited to be visiting with you today. Allyson and I both live in Atlanta and belong to a local DIY blogging group. We both enjoy food and family. Allyson asked a few of us to help out while she is enjoying her new baby so today I want to share with all of you who are green thumb challenged a quick DIY project. Have you ever wondered how to make a succulent garden? They look so pretty but until you know just how easy it is they may look intimidating.

Succulent plants are available year round so this is a great indoor gardening project for fall and winter. Succulents require very little watering so for those of us you that are forgetful, this is a great project. Here is what you will need:

flower-pot with drain holes
potting soil
sand
bark
small pebbles
succulent plants

Not to worry you should be able to find small bags of all these items or do like I did and find a neighbor with a sand box and borrow a cup or two from their bag. First I went to our local garden store. I played around with a few sizes and colors to find what I liked best. My favorite is the one in the middle that looks like bright green cabbage roses. One of the secrets to succulent gardens is well-drained soil. First you need to start with a pot that has drain holes in the bottom. If your pot does not you can use a mortar drill bit to make a few holes and not break the pot. The perfect mix of soil for a succulent garden, in my opinion, is a mixture of soil, sand and bark. Use equal parts of all 3 (does not have to be exact).

Now if you have some little helpers on hand you can have them mix it all together.

Place your succulents in the soil mixture and add more soil if needed at the top. I placed the two plants with purple opposite each other and placed the tallest in the middle. This gave the garden more balance. Cover the soil with small pebbles. This is optional but it really adds a great finishing touch.

I placed my planter on a cork trivet in my entryway and every week or so I just spray it with a water bottle. Don't over water it or the roots may rot. It's so great to have real flowers in the house that don't need a lot of attention.

I would love it if you would come and visit me at Miss Information where I share recipes,crafts, tips for cooking, cleaning, and organization. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google+.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter M&M Cheesecake Bars

Published Sep 13, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

In case you haven’t noticed, my blog is called ‘Domestic Superhero’….one of the reasons is because I love superheroes…who doesn’t?! So when I heard about Captain America: The Winter Soldier coming to DVD, I wanted to make a dessert that was Captain America themed. We love M&M’s® at our house, so I thought what better than some M&M® Cheesecake bars? Well, I will tell you what….Peanut butter and chocolate M&M cheesecake bars! With a layer of peanut butter M&M’s on the bottom and then chocolate M&M’s on top of the cheesecake with a buttery graham cracker crust, these cheesecake bars are seriously so decadent and tasty.

Next, I started out by making a simple graham cracker crust.

While that was cooking I separated out all the red and blue M&M’s so it would be Captain America colors!

After that I made the cheesecake filling, and set that aside. After the crust cooled, I added a layer of Peanut Butter M&M’s, then poured the cheesecake filling on top of that, then added the Chocolate Mini M&M’s on the top, and then baked…voila! Super easy.

They taste even more delicious than they look, too!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter M&M Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
⅓ cup butter
¼ cup brown sugar
16 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature (can use lower fat as well)
1 large egg
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter M&M's coarsely chopped
1 cup Mini M&M's

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and brown sugar with a fork until it is a course crumble. Dump the mixture into a 8x8 baking dish (a 11x7 would also work but have a thinner crust), and press the mixture down into the dish until it's even and pressed together. Bake for 10 minutes, remove and cool (leaving in baking dish) for at least 30 minutes.
2. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract together with a hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 full minutes. Make sure there are no clumps.
3. Spread the Peanut Butter M&Ms in a layer over the crust. Pour the cream cheese filling over this layer and use a spatula to spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with mini M&M's, then place back in the oven and cook for an additional 20-25 minutes or until set. Cool completely (at least 1 hour), and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours prior to serving.
4. Cut into bars and serve.

Recipe Notes

Any leftovers must be stored in the refrigerator.

THINGS YOU MIGHT NEED FOR THIS RECIPE:

Like desserts? Check out these other delicious cheesecake based recipes

Milky Way Caramel Cheesecake Brownies

Cheesecake Snickers Bars

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Skinny Mini Key Lime Pies

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Guest Post: Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad

Published Sep 10, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Today I am super excited to have Shannah guest posting for me on Domestic Superhero! Shannah has shared a couple recipes with my readers before, and they are always a big hit! Let's see what she cooked up today...

Hi everyone! I am Shannah from the blog Just Us Four. I am so excited to be here sharing a favorite recipe of mine while Allyson is cuddling her new baby and enjoying some important family time. One of our absolute favorite things in the summer is watermelon. I think my daughter could eat an entire watermelon each day if given the chance. I like to use watermelon in recipes and that is how this watermelon goat cheese salad came about.

Traditionally, most people combine watermelon and feta. I'm a HUGE goat cheese fan though so I decided to change up the cheese. I also added some peppery arugula and a tangy balsamic glaze to finish off the salad.

Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients

1 cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
3 cups watermelon cubes
1 cup goat cheese crumbles
½ cup chopped arugula

Instructions

1) In a small pan, combine the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer until glaze is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
2) In a large bowl, combine watermelon, goat cheese and arugula. Stir to combine. Drizzle balsamic glaze just before serving.

This salad is awesome because it requires so little prep time. You can even make the glaze ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.

I hope you will come visit me over at Just Us Four where I share tons of recipes along with a few craft and DIY ideas too. You can also connect with me on social media

Guest Post: Easy DIY Onesies

Published Sep 9, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Today we have Carrie on the blog sharing a really fun DIY! I am so excited about this, because as y'all know, I just had a baby and these are SO cute! I think I am going to see if Carrie wants to send me some...because she did such an awesome time on these! I LOVE them! Lets take a look....

___________________________________________

Hi, I’m Carrie and I blog about creating a lovely home for less at Lovely Etc.

While I adore being a wife and mom, I also have an insatiable need to create! I love figuring out how to make beautiful things - even if it means firing up a few power tools. And I am all about finding ways to create exactly what I want for as little money as possible. I usually have at least five or six DIY projects going on at any one time and they are pretty much guaranteed to involve an awesome yard sale find, my trusty jigsaw, or my vast collection of turquoise paints.

As soon as my college roommate Hannah told me she was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make her some DIY onesies. It is one of those projects that just looks like soo much fun and I never had the time to make any for my own precious baby.

If you’ve never tried it, freezer paper stenciling is pretty magical. You can buy freezer paper from your local grocery store in the aisle with the wax paper and aluminum foil. I have no idea what freezer paper’s actual purpose is, but it is completely amazing for stenciling on fabric.

First, choose a design. For my first onesie, I went with an arrow design. I chose to draw my arrows onto the freezer paper, but if you aren’t feeling confident about your drawing skills, you can also print some arrows and trace them onto the freezer paper.

Once your design is drawn, it’s time to carefully cut it out. You don’t need any fancy cutting machines to make freezer paper stencils (though if you have one, it will definitely make it faster!) I didn’t use a cutting machine at all – just a good old fashioned x-acto knife and cutting mat. This can be a bit tedious but is not difficult. When you are cutting, remember you are going to be using the area around the arrows as your stencil so be careful with that section.

One side of the freezer paper will feel like plastic and the other side like paper. Lay the stencil on the onesie with the plastic side down and iron it for a few seconds, making sure to completely seal the edges of the design. The heat seals the plastic to the fabric so that no paint sneaks underneath when you are painting your design.

Now you are ready to paint! You can either use fabric paint or you can use regular craft paint mixed with fabric medium.

Once your design is painted on, carefully peel off the freezer paper. If you want to make a few different pieces with the same design, you can usually use the same freezer paper stencil a few times before it loses its stickiness.

For the second onesie, we decided to do a cute little monogrammed tie. The tie was painted using another freezer paper stencil and then the initial was added with a large rubber stamp.

The third onesie was more of a gift for the daddy. He is a huge fan of University of Tennessee football, so a UT onesie had to be thrown in the mix. UT is all about orange and we didn’t have an orange onesie, so we dyed one. We used some one-step tie dye to dye the whole thing but any fabric dye would work. Once it was orange, we went with a cute little football seam design using freezer paper.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I love the clean, crisp lines you can get with freezer paper. I also love that the possibilities are pretty much endless! I’m thinking that even though I missed the onesie train with my son, I’m still going to have to make him some adorable little toddler t-shirts now.

Thank you so much Allyson for letting me share!

I’d love for you guys to hop over to Lovely Etc. and check out some of my favorite projects.

Giant Arrow Growth Chart and Oversized Subway Art

Upcycled Baby Food Jars

DIY Wrapped Photo Canvas

And if you are looking for more DIY inspiration, be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

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This is SUCH a great DIY from Carrie! Thanks again!