Recipes • Page 20 of 25 • Domestic Superhero

Gardening with Scott’s Gro-ables

Published Apr 7, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This post brought to you by Gro-ables. All opinions are 100% mine.

So, everyone who knows me knows that I am not a true gardener. I always say I would love to have a full luscious garden, with my own veggies and herbs, but no matter how hard I try, it seems to never work out! However, every year, I always try again! This year I heard about this new product from Miracle Gro called Gro-ables.

After watching this video about it, I feel confident that I can successfully grow these seeds. I also feel like these will be the perfect seeds to plant with my 3 year old son, because it seems like they are impossible to mess up! Miracle Gro even has a guarantee that they will grow, as long as you plant them according to the directions! These pods help take out all the guess work when it comes to starting seeds. The seeds are already the perfect depth in the pod, and they tell you exactly when and where to plant them as well.

We are planning to plant the basil so that we can have fresh basil to use over the summer. They are so affordable ($1.29-$1.49 per pod) too! I love making pesto and using fresh basil in Italian recipes. Yum! I have been dying to make these delicious Caprese Panini's again, but I have felt like I need to wait until summer to use some fresh basil.

Interested in making them too? Here is the easy recipe:

Caprese Panini's (makes 4)

Ingredients:

1 crusty loaf of bread, sliced

4 TBS fresh pesto (using fresh basil leaves!)

8 slices mozzarella cheese (I used pre-sliced, you could also use fresh)

3 large ripe tomatoes

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

butter

Directions:

1. slice up your tomatoes in medium slices (should have about 12 slices for 4 sandwiches, or 3 slices per sandwich), and place them in a shallow dish. Pour 2 TBS balsamic vinegar over tomatoes. Let sit while preparing the rest.

**Instructions to make 1 sandwich, repeat until you have desired number of sandwiches (recipe is for 4)

2. Butter both sides of bread lightly. Turn over, so butter is facing down. Top 1 slice with 1 TBS of pesto, add 1 slice of cheese, 3 tomatoes, and then another slice of cheese. If you like it really pesto-y, add some more pesto to top slice. Place top break slice butter side out.

3. Heat skillet or panini press, and put sandwich on to cook. If using a skillet, flip when golden brown on one side. I cooked on a skillet for about 3 minutes on medium on each side. I cooked 2 sandwiches at a time and was easily able to flip with enough room in the pan. Repeat until all sandwiches are cooked.

4. Cut in half with bread knife and enjoy!

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Baked Tofu Parmesan

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

With Easter quickly approaching, I have been trying to decide what to make for our family meal. Before we became vegetarians, we used to have a late lunch, around 2pm, and would have all the typical foods. A turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, and other various things would dress our table. The last couple years I have been at a loss on what to make; Everyone wants something delicious, filling, and ‘special.’ That’s when I heard about Kraft Fresh Takes, and how they could make a plainer dish into something amazing.

After looking through the different types; Italian Parmesan, Cheddar Jack w/ Bacon, or Southwest 3-Cheese, I decided on the Italian Parmesan. While these blends are typically to go along with meat, I decided that I could use it with tofu and it would be equally easy.I had a great idea for an Easter meal, Baked Tofu Parmesan! At only $1.98 per package (great deal, it even includes cheese!), I decided to get 2 based on the size of the recipe I was creating.

While at the store I didn’t realize right away that this breadcrumb blend also came with cheese. I’m not talking a little tiny bit of cheese either, it was a large quality, perfect for cooking. At $1.98 per package, this Fresh Take.

Okay, so now for the recipe. It was relatively easy making the Baked Tofu Parmesan. Even as a vegetarian, I was skeptical on how it would turn out, but it was SO good. I had never tried freezing tofu before cooking it, but this made a HUGE difference. The Kraft Fresh Take product coated the tofu perfectly and really gave an exceptional flavor.

You can see how perfect the tofu strips look coated in the Fresh Take seasoning and cheese. Also, one big tip I learned recently for cooking anything breaded, is to put it on a wire rack in the oven. It makes a HUGE difference. Instead of the breading getting soggy and falling off on the bottom, it stays on and gets nice and crispy. Any juices fall into the pan underneath the rack, and the food doesn’t just sit in them getting soggy. Genius!

I swear this recipe would delight vegetarians and meat eaters a like. It was seriously so tasty. We ate it all up for dinner, and both my husband and I cannot wait to make this winning recipe for Easter!

Baked Tofu Parmesan with Kraft Fresh Take

Ingredients

1 block extra firm tofu
2 packages Kraft Fresh Take Italian Parmesan
2 eggs beaten
¼ cup flour
oil spray
1 jar marinara sauce any variety

Instructions

1. Slice the tofu in ¼ inch slices and set on clean kitchen towel. Place another clean kitchen towel on top of the slices, and stack some books or other even heavy objects on top of towel. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. This will squeeze excess water out of the tofu.
2. Place tofu slices on a cookie sheet, and place in freezer for 25-30 minutes to flash freeze.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Place flour in a shallow dish. Place beaten eggs in a separate shallow dish. Mix bread crumbs from BOTH packages of Fresh Take in a shallow dish, and add cheese from one pack to the breadcrumb mixture. Set aside the cheese from other package.
5. After the tofu has been in the freezer for 30 minutes, remove, and set aside.
6. Prep a cookie sheet but placing it to the side of your egg/flour/crumb station and put a wire rack on top of the cookie sheet (the kind of wire rack you use for cooling cookies). Spray the rack with nonstick spray.
7. Take a slice of tofu, coat with flour, dip into egg mixture, and then press into breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Press down on each side, making sure to coat completely with the crumbs. Place coated slice onto wire rack. Repeat with all the tofu slices until you are finished. Spray tops of tofu slices lightly with oil spray and place in preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, watching them after the 18 minute mark to be sure not to burn. They should be browned and crispy. Remove from oven.
8. Taking a glass baking dish (9x11 worked well for me), spray with nonstick spray, and then cover the bottom of the dish with marinara sauce (a light layer). Place tofu slices side by side in the baking dish. **If you have too many to fit at the bottom, feel free to stack them (add a layer of sauce between stacking). Using a spoon, add marinara on top of each tofu slice, coating the top, but not adding too much (about 1.5 TBS per slice). Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of sauced tofu slices.
9. Place back in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is warmed through.
10. Remove and serve slices.

Recipe Notes

Serving size: 3-4 slices per person, serves 4 people.

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

35 Ooey-Gooey Grilled Cheese Recipes

Published Apr 2, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

It’s April, in case you haven’t heard or checked the calendar lately. Yes, spring is in full gear…well, unless you live in one of those unfortunate places where it’s still snowing, but it’s still spring, even if it is snowing! There are lots of special ‘days’ in April: Earth Day, April Fool’s day, National High Five day, Tell a Story Day, Easter, Scrabble Day…and the list goes on (and you can see that fun list here). However, did you know that April is a very special month? It’s a month to celebrate something that is near and dear to my stomach heart…grilled cheese. That’s right, April is National Grilled Cheese Month! Now, I wouldn’t go as far to say that you should celebrate every day by having a daily grilled cheese, but I do think you should tryout some of these unique delicious recipes. You can seriously turn anything into a grilled cheese (don’t think so? Google it, I’m sure it’s been done), and whatever you add mounds of cheese to instantly turns into an ooey-gooey delight.

So, in honor of this wonderful month, I have put together a list of 35 Ooey Gooey Grilled Cheese Recipes. They all look fantastic, and I assure you that you need to try all 35 of these. From a Fried Chicken and Waffle Grilled Cheese to a Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Cheese, there is something for everyone (even a Gluten Free grilled cheese)!

Caprese Panini with Tomato, Pesto & Mozzarella

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese

BLT Grilled Cheese

Grilled Figs and Cheese & White Pizza Grilled Cheese

Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Panini & Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese

The Pizzawitch

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Havarti Melt

roasted strawberry, brie + chocolate grilled cheeeeeeeese.

Garlic-Rubbed Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Tomatoes & Grilled Beer and Cheese

Super Food and Fresh Mozzarella Grilled Cheese

Veggie Stuffed Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Broccoli Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Jarlsberg Grilled Cheese with Arugula and Truffle Oil & Grilled Cheese with Bacon, Avocado & Ham

The Loaded Nacho “Game Day” Grilled Cheese

Cranberry, Pear, & Brie Grilled Cheese

Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese

Roasted Turkey, Cranberry and Brie Grilled Cheese

Pillsbury Grands Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Chicken Parmesan Grilled Cheese

Smoked Salmon, Asparagus and Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese with Fried Egg

Goat Cheese and Strawberry Grilled Cheese & Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Cheese

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese

Pizza Grilled Cheese

Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

Fried Chicken and Waffle Grilled Cheese

Grilled Gruyere, Cheddar and Olive Tapenade Sandwich & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Balsamic Glaze

Grilled Ham and Cheese & Kale and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Baked Cream Cheese Rangoon

Published Mar 31, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Last month I had a really great opportunity to write a guest post for one of my favorite blogs, Lil' Luna, and I was delighted to share this recipe. Now that it's been a while, I wanted to share it with my readers as well, because it's just too delicious to miss out on!

I am obsessed with Chinese food, and I will pretty much make any excuse to indulge in it. But lets be real, most Chinese take out isn’t exactly what you would call healthy. After spotting some of these wonton wrappers at my local grocery store, I decided to try my hand in making one of my favorite Chinese appetizers, Cream Cheese Rangoon. Typically these bad boys are fried to crispy perfection, but I figured they would be just as good baked. After browsing different recipes for a while, I pretty much came to the conclusion that these would be easy to make, and there was no reason I had to spend $6 on an order of 5 rangoons anymore. They would be amazing, I knew it.

Sure enough, I was right! These were so easy to whip up, and you only need 6 ingredients to make them (though, I wouldn’t even count 2 of the 6, personally). Baked Cream Cheese Rangoon are perfect for a dinner party passed appetizer, march madness snack, or as an appetizer to your favorite make at home Chinese meal. Baking these saves so many calories, and you still get that awesome crunch you expect.

Serve them up with your favorite sweet and sour sauce and you are good to go!

Baked Cream Cheese Rangoon

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese , softened
½ clove garlic , minced
dash of salt
2 green onions , chopped
1 egg
24 square wonton wrappers

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, garlic, salt and onions until well mixed.
Whisk egg until well beaten in a small bowl.
Place one teaspoon of cream cheese mixture into the center of one wonton wrapper. Dip your finger into the beaten egg and lightly coat the outer edges of the wonton wrapper. Bring all the corners of the wonton together up to the center and pinch. Slide your fingers all the sides together to to form an "X" or star appearance, and make sure they are sealed (or else the filling may come out). You can add more egg wash if needed. Place on a lined baking sheet. Repeat for remaining wontons.
Lightly spray the tops of the wontons with olive oil spray.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 7-12 minutes or until tops are golden brown in color. Check after 7 minutes to ensure they don’t burn.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, out of the oven

Recipe Notes

Makes 24 rangoon

That’s all there is to it! I hope y’all enjoy the Baked Cream Cheese Rangoons as much as we do at my house!

Like I mentioned earlier, we love Asian inspired food over here…these are some of my favorite recipes:

General Tso's Tofu

Quinoa Fried Rice

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Easy Baked Tofu

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Broccoli Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Published Mar 26, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

So I know I just posted a recipe for Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese last week, but what can I say….we like grilled cheese! I made this broccoli and cheddar grilled cheese a few weeks ago, and it was so good. I had some left over broccoli and cheese, from making….you guessed it, Skinny Broccoli Cheddar soup so I was thinking about what I could do with it. Then it dawned on me…add it to some bread and grill it up! Broccoli cheddar grilled cheese! Yum!

I made sure to chop this broccoli up pretty well (and I used the stems too, not just the florets), because I didn’t want huge pieces of broccoli in the sandwich. I also wanted to make sure the cheese was able to keep it glued together. I used a ton of cheese, just to be sure it didn’t fall apart (or because I love cheese, you be the judge). This is a great meat-free lunch or dinner option, but if you have to have meat, some chopped up deli chicken or turkey would probably be really good in here as well. I would just chop it roughly and then add it to your skillet as you are cooking the broccoli.

I love how the cheese drips down the crust. Some even gets a little browned in the skillet while cooking, and then it gets that delicious crispy cheese crust. So yum.

Broccoli Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Broccoli Cheddar Grilled Cheese is the most comforting and delicious grilled cheese!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Broccoli Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Servings: 3 sandwiches

Ingredients

½ medium yellow onion , chopped
1 large head of broccoli , chopped well (if you don't want to use the stems, you need to get more florets)
butter
6 slices sharp cheddar cheese (you can use any variety of cheddar)
1 garlic clove , diced
salt and pepper
6 slices fresh bread (I like a rustic type of bread, sourdough or french are great)

Instructions

Heat a medium skillet over medium/high heat, with a bit of butter tossed in. Add onions and garlic and saute for minute. Add broccoli bits and mix around, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until broccoli is tender and bright green. Remove from heat, dump contents on a plate or bowl and set aside.
Wipe out skillet and put back on stove. Heat on low heat. Butter 3 slices of bread, and set them in the skillet butter side down. Add a slice of cheese to the bread (in the skillet), then add ⅓ of the broccoli mixture on top, then a second slice of cheese. Butter another slice of bread and set on top of the sandwich, butter side up. Repeat for remaining sandwiches.
Once you have all the sandwiches in the skillet and assembled, turn heat up to medium (not too high, we want the bread to toast and the cheese to melt, if you cook too high then the cheese will not melt before the bread burns), and let cook for 3-4 minutes. Check to see if the bottom is golden brown, and if so, carefully flip sandwiches over. Cook another 3-4 minutes on the other side, checking to make sure not to burn.
Remove sandwiches from skillet, cut in half, serve hot.

Recipe Notes

You can easily add a little more broccoli/cheese to make an additional sandwich, or you can cut this recipe down to make just one sandwich.
If adding sliced meat, I would add that to the skillet while cooking the broccoli, about the last minute of cooking- just enough to warm the meat.

What is your favorite grilled cheese? We love grilled cheese sandwiches on Domestic Superhero…check out these other great recipes:

Caprese Panini with Tomatoes, Mozzarella, & Pesto

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Havarti Melt

Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes

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

Have you ever had a samosa? Considered Indian food, they are little deep fried shells that are filled with a mixture of mashed potato, onion, green peas, spices and green chili. They are usually served with a little sauce on the side as well. They are SO delicious. My friend recommended trying a samosa the first time I ever had Indian food, and I was hooked since then. They are seriously the perfect little appetizer, but unfortunately they aren’t too little (they are kind of large, stuffed triangles), and they fill you up. So while you are eating those, your other food is cooking, and then you have no room for the main course! That is a problem for me, because I LOVE Indian food, and I always want to eat the most possible (seriously). Lately I find myself splitting a samosa when I go out, which is a lot less food, so I have more room for the main course…works like a charm! Use the EASY AIR FRYER METHOD to bake these potatoes!

So anyway, I was looking up ways to make samosas at home, but I don’t really like frying food. There are versions where you can bake the outside, and those look promising, but then I had an idea to do a play on the samosa, using just a baked potato. I probably could have used a baked sweet potato to make it even healthier, but for the first try, I wanted to use a real potato since that’s what is used when making a real samosa. I am glad I did, because it came out really delicious. This larger russet potato is so filling that this is all you need as your main dish. You can serve some sides with it if you want, but one potato each was more than enough for my husband and I.

Two of the star ingredients, ginger and curry powder, are absolute musts in this recipe.

Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

2 large potatoes
½ onion diced
2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoon minced ginger
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
olive oil
¼ cup cilantro chopped
¾ cup peas cooked
3 TBS butter
Salt and pepper
Plain Greek yogurt for topping

Instructions

1. Wash potatoes, and pierce with fork. Bake directly on oven rack at 400 degrees, for one hour.
2. While potatoes cook, saute onions, curry, ginger, and mustard in olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Carefully remove potatoes from oven using oven mitts, and split lengthwise (but don't cut all the way in half). Carefully scoop out insides into a bowl. Add onion mixture, cilantro, peas, and butter, and mash with a potato masher or fork until most lumps are gone. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Fill the potato with mixture, top with yogurt and cilantro, and serve.

Recipe Notes

Each potato serves 1 person as a main dish, but these could also be split in half and served as sides. Double to recipe for 4 full servings.

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

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

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese is the perfect sandwich! Pair it with a side of soup or eat it on it's own, everyone will love this simple recipe!

Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

One thing we can never get enough of in this house is buffalo sauce. We put it on everything and anything, and it’s always delicious. Pairing buffalo sauce with chicken is a no brainer, and then making it into a sandwich seemed like an even better idea - I was right! This Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese is AMAZING!

I love using Buffalo Sauce in my recipes, and I've already shared these amazing Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas, Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip, and Buffalo Mashed Potato cakes!

How to make Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese:

**scroll down for full ingredients list and printable directions**

First, I used frozen chicken so I defrosted the chicken breast’s.

Next, I mixed up the other ingredients - buffalo sauce, blue cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, pepper jack cheese, and cheddar cheese….mix it good!
Added the chopped up chicken breast to the mixture, getting everything mixed up well.
Next, put the mixture on the bread, and start making the grilled cheeses (see below for full recipe and instructions).

Like grilled cheese as much as me? Checkout these other delicious grilled cheeses from Domestic Superhero:

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Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

6 mins

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese is the perfect sandwich! Pair it with a side of soup or eat it on it's own, everyone will love this simple recipe!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: buffalo chicken grilled cheese

Servings: 3 sandwiches

Ingredients

6 slices thick sliced bread
butter
3 TBS cream cheese
3 TBS crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup shredded cheddar
¼ cup pepper jack cheese shredded or chopped up
2 chicken breast fillets cooked and chopped
¼ cup buffalo sauce see recipe in notes below

Instructions

Mix cream cheese, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, and buffalo sauce in a medium bowl. Add chicken and mix to coat.
Heat large skillet over medium heat. Spread butter onto one side of bread, on 3 slices. Place those slices buttered side down in the pan. Top each slice of bread with ⅓ of the mixture, and spread with a fork. Butter one side of remaining 3 slices. Place each slice on top of the sandwiches in the skillet, butter side up. Lightly press down with a spatula.
Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until bread is crispy. Do not turn heat up as you don't want it to burn. Once the bottom is golden brown, carefully flip over to other side. Repeat cooking on that side, and then remove from skillet.
Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Buffalo Sauce recipe HERE

Easy Asian Noodles

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

A couple months ago I was browsing a new local Farmer’s Market and I was finding all sorts of things I wanted to try. Here in Atlanta they have a weird concept of ‘Farmers Markets.’ In the summer, they have outdoor fresh food markets, but year round they have these HUGE warehouses that house the widest variety of produce, meats, seafood's, and ethnic foods you would never ever find anywhere else locally. It’s really cool actually. I was shocked the first time I went to one, and then I had to tell everyone about it.

Not only are they stocked with everything and anything you could imagine (and things you can’t imagine), but they are SO CHEAP. I’m talking half the price for produce of your local chain grocery store. It’s insane and awesome all at once. They also usually have small food courts inside, which also have super delicious foods. Anyway, do you have anything like this near you? Out of all the places I have lived….New York, San Francisco, Detroit….I had never encountered this type of place until I moved to Atlanta.

So while I was there, I found some yummy fresh Chinese noodles (much like fresh pasta) and I had to get them. I knew I could whip up some easy

This is one of those dishes that come together so easily using the left over veggies in your fridge. I always have left over carrots, green onions, and other miscellaneous veggies and sometimes I don’t use them up, which is a shame because I hate wasting food. You can throw whatever you want into this dish, and I promise it will still be good. One thing I didn’t realize, was that you have to cook the Chinese noodles beforehand…oops. I put them in my wok with everything else and then realized they weren’t cooking. Luckily I was able to take them out and cook them how you are supposed to; 4 to 5 minutes in a boiling pot of water, strain, and rinse with cold water….then add to your wok. It still turned out great despite this little mistake!

Easy Asian Noodles

Prep Time

3 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

13 mins

Easy Asian Noodles are the perfect dinner option! Quick, easy, and majorly delicious!

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: asian, Chinese

Keyword: Easy Asian Noodles

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 TBS vegetable oil
1 cup carrots (shredded)
½ small cabbage , shredded
8 oz shitake mushrooms , stems removed and sliced
½ bunch green onions , chopped
1 lb fresh steamed thin chow mein/Chinese noodles , partially cooked, strained, and rinsed in cold water
½ cup vegetable or chicken broth
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
2 TBS sesame oil
¼ cup Lo Mein sauce (look in the international aisle next to the soy sauce- see note below)

Instructions

Heat oil on medium-high in large wok or pan. Add green onions, cabbage, mushrooms, and carrots and stir fry for about 2-4 minutes, or until the cabbage is translucent.
Increase the temperature to high and add the noodles and ½ cup of broth. Cook stirring and tossing constantly for about 45 seconds. Cook for another 1-2 minutes or so or until all the liquid is dissolved.
Add the remaining ingredients; soy sauce, sesame oil, and lo mein sauce, and continue to cook for another 2-4 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve.

Recipe Notes

Fresh steamed chow mein/chinese noodles are only partially cooked and can be found in the refrigerated section at most Asian markets. Cook them a few minutes in boiling water (still firm though), strain and rinse with cold water.
If you can't find fresh chow mein noodles, then use the dried noodles by cooking them first and remove about 1 minute before the package directions. Drain them and rinse with cold water.
Lo Mein Sauce - if you can't find it, you can make it by mixing: 2 TBS reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ½ teaspoon Sriracha. Use in recipe in place of the sauce.

Like Chinese inspired food as much as us? Check out some of my other 'Chinese' recipes (click photo for recipe)

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Overnight Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

Published Mar 12, 2014 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Every year around early December I start searching Pinterest for the perfect Christmas morning breakfast. The last few years we have hosted Christmas morning at our house, and I love serving a delicious breakfast for our family. I like to find something different from what we normally eat, so when I came across multiple recipes for overnight french toasts I found them interesting. It would be so much easier to prep on Christmas Eve and then just have to bake in the morning! Plus, I wouldn’t have to make another big mess in my kitchen, and things would stay relatively clean because all the prep would be the night before! What a genius idea! I found a few different recipes that looked good, and I decided to try my hand at one and use blueberries. Another great part about this recipe is that you can use frozen blueberries…how convenient.

I also used neufatchel cheese (low fat cream cheese) because it’s a lot easier to spread, and coincidentally has lower fat and calories. Around the holidays, everyone can stand to save a few calories where they can. I was also a bit skeptical of putting chunks of bread on the top, but I went with it and I’m glad I did because it was delicious. Even my super super picky toddler liked this dish, which was shocking and made me really happy!

You may be wondering why I am sharing this ‘Christmas breakfast’ now, well, sometimes I run a little behind on posting things, but also, I think this recipe would be great anytime. It would be perfect for hosting Sunday brunch or breakfast, or to make anytime you have company in town. It’s really quick to fix, and then you just bake it in the morning! So easy! I served mine up with a cheesy au gratin potatoes- which were seriously the best breakfast potatoes I have EVER had. I also made those the night before and baked in the morning, which made this breakfast the easiest ever!

Overnight Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients

12 oz. Neufchatel cheese ⅓ less fat cream cheese
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla divided
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries no thawing necessary if frozen
Zest of 1 lemon
10 large eggs
2 cups milk I used 1%
5 TBS granulated sugar divided
1 loaf day old french bread

Instructions

1. Cut ½-inch off both ends of bread and discard (or eat). Cut loaf into 1-inch slices then cut each slice into 1-inch cubes (I cut the loaf in half first then kept the cubes from each half separate so it would be easier to determine half). Spread half of the bread cubes into an even layer in a buttered 13 by 9-inch baking dish, set aside remaining bread cubes.
2. In a small bowl, using an electric hand mixer, blend together Neufchatel cheese, powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl stir together lemon zest and 1 TBS sugar.
4. Using a rubber spatula and a clean fingertip, spread Neufchatel cheese mixture over bread cube layer in baking dish. Sprinkle blueberries over Neufchatel cheese layer then sprinkle lemon zest mixture evenly over blueberry layer. Spread remaining bread cubes into an even layer over top of blueberries.
5. In a blender, blend together eggs, milk, remaining ¼ cup sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla on low speed until well blended, about 10 seconds. Slowly pour mixture evenly over top of bread cubes in baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
6. The following morning, remove baking dish from refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Remove plastic wrap and cover baking dish with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and continue to bake 25 - 35 minutes, until golden brown (if it is becoming too golden brown but isn't cooked through then you can cover with foil again during the last few minutes of baking). 8. Allow to rest 5 minutes, then cut into servings.
Serve with syrup if desired.

Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Cookingclassy.com

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Chipotle Ranch Dip

Published Mar 5, 2014 by Allyson
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Most of my regular readers know that I love dips and sauces. I love how you can really turn anything into a dip. I love chips and veggies and I love dipping them. We always have some sort of sauce or dip stored on the top shelf of our fridge. Lately I have been making lots of recipes with chipotle peppers, and I love the smoky spicy taste they add. I really like the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (found in your international aisle in a small can), as the sauce they are in is so good. I had some left over from making some homemade enchilada sauce so I thought I would put them to good use. Plus, we had pizza on our menu plan for the following day, and I love dipping pizza in different dips. Yum.

This recipe is very simple. You only need a few things and some sort of blender or food processor. I am obsessed with my Food Processor. Best. Gift. Ever. Anyway, you just throw everything in there, hit mix, let it mix for a minute, and then let it chill in the fridge. Now, I know you will be tempted to dig into this dip right away, but please believe me when I tell you, it gets better with time. You don’t need a lot of time, but I would say at least keep this in the fridge for 2 hours, and then enjoy. The flavors really come out in that short time. Even after the day in the fridge the flavors get deeper and spicier…it’s so delicious.

Like I said, this dip is great for whatever. Parties, potlucks, dipping pizza or veggies, chip dip, football games, or just for funsies. It’s great. Trust me, you don’t need a special occasion for this dip.

Chipotle Ranch Dip

Ingredients

1 package Ranch dressing not dip mix
1 ½ cups light sour cream sometimes I divide this and do half greek yogurt, half sour cream
1 TBS chipotle peppers in adobo sauce this will get your dip fairly spicy, use less - ½ TBS if you don't want a lot of spice
1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can
¼ cup to ½ cup buttermilk
Chips veggies, pizza slices, or whatever food you will be dipping into this delicious concoction

Instructions

Throw everything into your food processor or blender. Blend for 30 seconds-1 minute. Slowly add buttermilk and mix until you have your desired dipping consistency. The less you use the thicker it will be, and it will thicken up a bit in the fridge.
When it's all mixed up pour into jar or bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

Like sauces and dips as much as I do? Check out these other recipes from Domestic Superhero:

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Vegetarian Nacho Soup

Published Mar 3, 2014 by Allyson
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Have you ever followed a basic recipe, only to have it come out horribly? Yeah, that happens to me occasionally, and it’s always such a bummer when it does. When I saw this recipe (gone wrong), I thought it looked good and wanted to try it. It’s hard to find vegetarian soup recipes that are really hearty because typically a nacho soup would have beef or some kind of meat, right? So this veggie-only option is really great, however the recipe I followed did not come out well…it came out bad. So bad that I ended up tossing it. It just really didn’t seem salvageable. I hate hate hate wasting food, but sometimes I guess there is nothing that can be done. I was still determined to fix this recipe though, and make it great. With the big changes I made, I think it came out really well and have definitely added this to our regular soup rotation.

This soup is thick, I mean thick (however you can thin it as much as you want), but it’s really great for dipping. Bread, chips, and veggie sticks would all be great dippers. This soup is so dip-able in fact, that you could keep it super thick, and serve it as a bean dip at a party. It’s versatile and you can thin it out to your desire based on what you want to use it for.

You can also add a multitude of toppings to this soup. I really liked it topped with cheese and green onions, while my husband added some hot sauce, cheese, green onions, Greek yogurt (or sour cream), and a bit of pico de gallo. There are lots of options! It would be fun to set this up as a ‘top it yourself’ bar on the table….everyone can add what they like, kind of like a taco bar!

Vegetarian Nacho Soup

Ingredients

1 TBS oil
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
½ bell pepper red, yellow, or green are all fine
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
15 oz can diced tomatoes I like fire-roasted
15 oz can vegetarian refried beans
10 oz can red enchilada sauce
1 cup veggie stock or water if making dip, this might not be needed
salt
black pepper
**Optional toppings: cheese sour cream/Greek yogurt, guacamole, green onions, salsa, hot sauce, etc.

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a pot, and cook the onion, garlic and pepper over a medium heat until translucent and soft.
2.Add chili powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper; cook a few more minutes while stirring until fragrant.
3. Add tomatoes, refried beans, and enchilada sauce, and mix well. Cook over low heat, mixing frequently for a few minutes.
4. Slowly add the vegetable stock while mixing until you reach your desired consistency.
Serve hot with your desired toppings.

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

30 Mouth Watering Mac & Cheese Recipes

Published Feb 24, 2014 by Allyson
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If you love mac & cheese as much as I do, then you probably know there are a million different ways to make it! I’ve put together a list of 30 Mouth Watering Mac & Cheese recipes and I am sure there is something on this list that is going to call your name! From delicious veggie additions, to baked toppings, to gluten free pasta…the options are endless! I just loooove the ooey gooey cheeses mixed with irresistible pastas! Lets get to it!

30 Mouth Watering Mac & Cheese Recipes

The Best EVER Creamy Mac & Cheese by Domestic Superhero

Kentucky Hot Brown Mac & Cheese by Call Me PMC

Grown Up Mac And Cheese Florentine by A Girl in the South

Smoky White Cheddar Mac & Cheese with Leeks by An Edible Mosaic

Cajun Macaroni and Cheese by Just Us Four

Greta’s Favorite Macaroni & Cheese by Garnish with Lemon

The Macaroni and Grilled Cheese by Jacolyn Murphy and Gnocchi Mac n' Cheese by Domestic Superhero

Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese by Big Bears Wife

Jalapeno Bacon Mac & Cheese by Horse and Heels

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese by Country Cleaver

Buffalo Quinoa ‘Mac’ and Cheese by Domestic Superhero

Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese by The Vintage Mixer

Caprese Mac and Cheese by Damn Delicious

Three Cheese Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese by Budget Gourmet Mom

Philly Cheesesteak Mac N’ Cheese by Cookies and Cups

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Link Sausage by Capturing Joy

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese by Snappy Gourmet

Slow Cooker Creamy Mac & Cheese by Six Sisters’ Stuff

Buffalo Mac & Cheese by Our Family Eats

Caprese Mac & Cheese by PopSugar

Greek Mac & Cheese by Saveur

French Onion Soup Mac & Cheese by Bakeaholic Mama and Jalapeno-Scallion Mac ‘n Cheese by Feed Me Phoebe

Crispy Macaroni and Cheese Ball Appetizers by the Hopeless Housewife

Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese by Crème del la Crumb

Pumpkin and Cider Stove Top Mac n' Cheese with Crispy Bacon by Bakeaholic Mama

“Grown-Up’s” Mac n’ Cheese by The Cozy Apron

Creamy Skillet Mac and Cheese by Lemon Sugar

Broccoli-Chicken Mac & Cheese by Iowa Girl Eats

Hope you enjoy these Mac & Cheese Recipes!!!

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Buffalo Cheese Sauce

Published Feb 19, 2014 by Allyson
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Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Buffalo Cheese Sauce make the perfect meal or side dish. Everyone will love this hearty meal!

In case I haven’t mentioned this before (although I am 99% sure I have), we are a potato family. We were out to dinner a few weeks ago and I actually looked down at our food to realize we were eating 3 different potato dishes. My son had french fries, I had potato skins, and my husband had loaded cheese fries. At that point I knew we could really say with 100% confidence that we love our potatoes! Use the easy AIR FRYER METHOD to make these BAKED POTATOES!

Having plain baked potatoes over and over gets boring and there are so many great ways to dress them up. I’ve seen Tex-Mex baked potatoes, fancy baked potatoes, meaty baked potatoes, and of course baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese. I love the broccoli and cheese combo because it adds a healthy vegetable, broccoli, to balance out the not so super healthy cheese sauce (oh come on, it’s healthy!). In our house we like things spicy though, so I decided to take the typical cheese sauce and turn it into a buffalo cheese sauce. Delish.

Tips for making Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Buffalo Cheese Sauce:

Use the air fryer baked potatoes method for quick baked potatoes.
Use the Instant Pot method to make the baked potatoes.
Use this easy homemade buffalo sauce recipe.

Here some other delicious potato recipes from Domestic Superhero:

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Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Buffalo Cheese Sauce

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Buffalo Cheese Sauce

Servings: 4 potatoes

Ingredients

4 large Russet potatoes
olive oil
1 lb fresh broccoli crowns or 1lb bag frozen broccoli, chopped
1 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1.5 cups extra sharp/sharp cheddar cheese grated
1.5 cups of milk (any %)
½ cup buffalo wing sauce (see homemade recipe in notes)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash potatoes thoroughly and dry. Rub olive oil over skin of potatoes and place potatoes on rack in preheated oven. (I like to put a cookie sheet on the 2nd rack to catch anything that drips down, though isn't usually much) Bake for 50-70 minutes or use AIR FRYER METHOD until done (fork should poke into the potato easily). Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool.
After broccoli is chopped steam it on the stove top or microwave. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan make a roux: over medium heat melt butter, then add the flour. Whisk together and cook for 1 minutes, whisking the entire time. Slowly add milk ½ cup at a time, whisking until completely combined after every addition. Once all the milk is added turn up the heat a bit (not too high), and continue to whisk. The mixture will bubble and start to thicken as you are mixing. Once it has thickened up, turn off heat and remove the sauce pan. Add cheddar cheese to milk mixture and whisk until melted and combined. Add buffalo sauce and mix until combined.
Slice open potatoes down the center length wise, then make several cuts across the other way so your potato resembles the strings on a football. Top with broccoli and then spoon buffalo cheese sauce over top.

Recipe Notes

Buffalo Sauce Recipe HERE.

Super Simple Buffalo Potato Wedges

Published Feb 13, 2014 by Allyson
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These Buffalo Potato Wedges are homemade and delicious. Simple to bake and serve on gameday as an appetizer or as a side dish!

These buffalo potato wedges are the perfect side dish, snack, or appetizer! The recipe is super easy and the taste is phenomenal! Use my homemade buffalo sauce and the flavor will really pop! Making potatoes is my favorite as you know from my Air Fryer Baked Potatoes and the Best Ever Salty Smashed Potatoes recipes that I have already shared!

How delicious do these look? Pair them with my FAMOUS BEST EVER BLUE CHEESE DRESSING! They are super simple to make, too, here's how...

How to make Simple Buffalo Potato Wedges:

**scroll down for full ingredients list and printable directions**

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut the potatoes length wise once, and then those halves in half.
In a large bowl, combine oil and potatoes add a little salt and toss until evenly coated.
Arrange wedges evenly on a lined baking sheet, without any overlapping.
Bake for 30 minutes. Turn potatoes and continue cooking another 20 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
Place wedges in a large bowl, drizzle homemade buffalo sauce, and toss until they are coated evenly.
After they are done, drench them in buffalo sauce.

Serve these Buffalo Wedges with a nice dip on the side! Here are my recommendations:

Like Buffalo style recipes as much as I do?! Checkout these other recipes from Domestic Superhero:

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Simple Buffalo Potato Wedges

These Buffalo Potato Wedges are homemade and delicious. Simple to bake and serve on gameday as an appetizer or as a side dish!

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: buffalo potato wedges

Servings: 7 servings

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
7 large potatoes russet (scrubbed clean)
½ cup wing sauce I use Franks Buffalo Sauce
salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut the potatoes length wise once, and then those halves in half.
In a large bowl, combine oil and potatoes add a little salt and toss until evenly coated.
Arrange wedges evenly on a lined baking sheet, without any overlapping.
Bake for 30 minutes. Turn potatoes and continue cooking another 20 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
Place wedges in a large bowl, drizzle with homemade wing sauce, and toss until they are coated evenly.

Recipe Notes

Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe HERE.

Skinny Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Published Feb 4, 2014 by Allyson
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I am excited to share that I am guest posting over at Serenity Now today! I am sharing a delicious recipe for Skinny Mexican Stuffed Peppers, and they are so good! For meat eaters or vegetarians (just substitute cooked quinoa for the meat!), the recipe can be adjusted to your liking. They are also SUPER healthy, at only 160 calories a pop! Head over and visit Amanda at Serenity Now to see the full recipe and post!

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Snickers Cheesecake Bars

Published Jan 28, 2014 by Allyson
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One of my all time favorite candy bars is Snickers. I also love Twix and Caramello….I think as long as it has caramel, I like it. As for desserts go, cheesecake is my ultimate favorite. When I was little I used to request a cheesecake instead of a regular birthday cake. Sometimes my mom would pick up on the the kinds that had all the different flavors…a sampler cheesecake. I would be so happy, because I love cheesecake…every. single. kind. Later in life, when I started baking and cooking, I always shied away from making cheesecake. I am not sure why, although I think it was probably because I was too intimidated by it. How could I replicate the most delicious, perfect dessert? I never even looked into how it was made, because it just seemed impossible.

When Pinterest started getting popular, I would see different cheesecakes popping up everywhere. Cheesecake cupcakes, double layered cheesecakes, cheesecake bars….’how hard could it be?’ I wondered. Finally I decided to tackle my first cheesecake dessert, Sopapilla Cheesecake. Now, this was a little bit of a cheat, because the ‘cheesecake’ was actually just a filling, but I would later find out that the mixture for the filling, is the same basic filling in regular cheesecake. I went on to make Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes, Skinny Mini Key Lime Cheesecake Cupcakes, and Chocolate Almond Cheesecake Bars…all of which were not difficult. Some more tedious than others, but I wouldn’t say any were hard.

Moving on, I decided to combine my 2 favorite treats: Cheesecake and Snickers. How could I go wrong? I decided to make them on an Oreo crust, but I think they would be equally delicious on a graham cracker crust as well. It can be made the same was as the Oreo crust, just with graham crackers instead. The end result of these Snicker Cheesecake Bars was soooo delicious. It was hard to get a picture that did them justice, because they get so messy when you cut them up (or maybe I just need a better knife?). Trust me, you want to make these. I wasn’t even going to post these for a few weeks, but I had such overwhelming feedback when I posted a teaser picture on my Facebook page, that I felt like y’all needed this recipe ASAP.

Snickers Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

For the Crust

20 Oreo cookies any type
5 TBS unsalted butter melted

For the Cheesecake Filling

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
12 fun size snickers chopped
⅓ cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Set aside a 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan.
2. For the crust: In a food processor or blender, pulse the whole Oreos into fine crumbs. Stir the cookie crumbs and melted butter together until well blended. Press mixture into the baking pan filling in all gaps. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow to cool as you prepare the filling.
3. For the filling: Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract together with a hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 full minutes. Fold in the Snickers. Spread the mixture over your cooled crust. Top with chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the cheesecake has set and the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack and then completely cool in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
5. Using a sharp knife cut the cheesecake into bars.

Recipe Notes

Store bars in a covered container for up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9x13-inch pan, baking time will vary - about 45-55 minutes.

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Coconut Almond Bites

Published Jan 16, 2014 by Allyson
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I don’t know why, but I was at least in my 20’s before I tried an Almond Joy candy bar. For some reason I always thought that I didn’t like them. Maybe I tried them when I was a kid and forgot, but I had this weird negative association with them. Finally one day I decided to try one…and I loved it. I love coconut, almonds, and chocolate so the combo makes sense to me. While they aren’t something I eat often, I do enjoy them once in a while. So, when I had a bag of left over coconut, I started brainstorming what I could do with it. I browsed Pinterest and didn’t find anything that really stood out, but then I thought I could do a play on Almond Joy bars!

These turned out really well! I served them to my friends who were actually skeptical to try them because ‘they don’t like almond joy’…but they loved these! My friend actually told me, “don’t associate these with Almond Joy!” but for me, they taste so similar! I guess everyone has different taste buds! Anyway, it’s an easy recipe and definitely great to bring to a party or snack on at home! The kids loved them too!

Almond Joy Bites

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond joy bites

Ingredients

2 cups of shredded coconut
½ cup toasted almonds chopped
½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 ½ TBS sweetened condensed milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ TBS butter

Instructions

Chop the coconut flakes and add them to a mixing bowl. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla to the coconut, mix well until all incorporated. (I recommend using your hands here!)
Add the toasted, chopped almonds and mix until combined.
Form balls with the coconut mixture, pressing them together, hard.
Place each bite on parchment paper (waxy side up) and chill for an hour.
Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave at half power for about a minute, stirring every 15-20 seconds.
Drizzle chilled Almond Joy Bites with chocolate.

Recipe Notes

I recommend keeping them in the fridge, covered, until ready to serve. They taste great and stay together better after being chilled.

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Creamy Jalapeno Ranch

Published Jan 8, 2014 by Allyson
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Since 1992 Ranch has been the #1 salad dressing in the United States, and this is definitely for good reason. Ranch is good on everything. I remember back in my middle school cafeteria my friend, Holly, trying to convince me in that I should dip my pizza in ranch dressing. It sounded disgusting, and I didn’t do it. I liked my pizza how it was! Over the weeks though, I noticed it wasn’t just Holly dipping her pizza in ranch, it was everyone. Reluctantly I gave it a try and since then I haven’t turned back.

Ranch is good on everything. Fact. It can be made as a thin dressing or a thicker dip, but it HAS to be homemade. I literally cannot stomach ranch dressing that comes from a plastic bottle with a blue label. It’s not right. It’s not the real thing…it’s like a weird after-tasty impostor. Once you have had good ranch dressing that’s been homemade (usually at restaurants), you will never turn back. There are tons of ways to make it at home, too, and I love this Jalapeno version. Use this as a dip for Air Fryer Chicken Wings , Jalapeno Poppers, Spinach Tomato Ranch Pizza, or drizzle it on Loaded Nachos!

By adding some jalapenos and chilies to the ranch blend, it kicks up the flavor. I love adding a little spice to my food, so this is perfect. Let me warn you though, the longer this dressing sits in the fridge, the spicier it gets. I really think after a day or 2 it’s perfect, after 4 days you have one spicy dressing on your hands….still good though! It’s seriously tasty on anything, not just chips as shown in the pictures. I love this on my pizza and also with breadsticks…yum! Make this one day before you need it because although you can technically just let it chill and meld for a few hours, it’s SO much better if you give it a day. Trust me. Make it today, use it tomorrow.

If you like dressings as much as I do, checkout these other amazing dressings:

5 from 3 votes

Creamy Jalapeno Ranch

Ingredients

16 oz. sour cream
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup tomatilla salsa green salsa
½ cup mayo
small handful cilantro
5 TBS Ranch dressing mix or 1.5 packets
½ cup pickled jalapeños
Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor, and pulse until smooth
2. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (longer better), and then serve.

Recipe Notes

This dip can continue to be refrigerated, covered, for about a week. If you want it more runny for a dressing, add more lime juice

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Published Dec 17, 2013 by Allyson
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A few weeks ago we had our annual ‘Drinks and Desserts’ holiday party where we get together with friends before the craziness of the holidays really begins. It was such a nice time, and I prepared 4 desserts, this one included. This recipe was a new one for me, but I was excited to try it because I love candy canes! I figured this would be a hit with the adults because of the richness of the dark chocolate and the bite of the peppermint, but it was also a hit with the kids.

These Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies are fairly easy to prepare, and they are like 100 times better the day after you make them. I don’t know why, but they turn even more fudgy and delicious. The recipe does pack a lot of peppermint punch, so if you want to downplay that, just use less extract than the recipe calls for. These are definitely a great seasonal treat, and I will be using this brownie recipe (sans the peppermint) for my go-to homemade brownie recipe from now on!

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
1 ½ cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
5 ounces dark chocolate finely chopped
Coarsely crushed peppermint candies very fine pieces sifted out

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Grease a 9- by 13-in. baking pan and set aside.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder into a bowl.
3. Microwave butter and bittersweet chocolate in a medium glass bowl, stirring often, until melted and smooth, about 1 ½ minutes.
4. Whisk together sugar and eggs in a large bowl until blended. Add extracts and whisk to blend. Stir melted chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Gently fold in flour mixture with a plastic spatula until no streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
5. Bake brownies until a toothpick inserted 2 in. from edge comes out with a few crumbs sticking to it, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool about 45 minutes.
6. Put dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and cook 15 seconds at a time, mixing, until melted (probably about 45 seconds-1 minute but mix every 15 seconds). Put melted chocolate in a resealable plastic bag, snip off a small corner tip, and drizzle half over brownies. Sprinkle with candies and drizzle with remaining chocolate.
7. Let cool until chocolate sets, 25 minutes, then cut into squares.

Recipe Notes

If you don't enjoy a large peppermint taste in the brownies, reduce the extract to ½ tsp. You can also leave that out and use this recipe for regular brownies!

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Cranberry Walnut Bread with a Crumble Topping

Published Dec 10, 2013 by Allyson
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Growing up we always had cranberry sauce at our Thanksgiving table. I am not talking homemade lumpy cranberry sauce, I am talking straight up from a can cranberry sauce. I thought the indents on the cranberry blob/sauce were pretty cool and that it allowed you to see how it looked from the inside of the can. Why did it need those indentations on the can anyway? This, I will never know (well, unless I hit up google, but I am not too concerned about it anymore). Can or not, I always loved cranberry sauce. My favorite thing to do was use it the day after and pile it on top of my left over turkey sandwiches. There is just something really special about turkey and cranberry sauce. It’s no coincidence that this is a combination served in restaurants now.

Flash forward years and years later and now I don’t eat those left over sandwiches. Now we are a house of vegetarians, but I still like to enjoy delicious homemade cranberry sauce. It’s really such an easy thing to whip up with fresh cranberries! Even though Thanksgiving has already passed by us, I love to incorporate cranberries into December/holiday recipes too. They are so festive and delicious! I decided that a Cranberry Walnut bread would be a divine dessert or even breakfast on or around Christmas. I love bread, it’s a fact.

I played around with making it, using a pretty basic sweet bread recipe, and then adding the little extras. I thought this bread was amazing, and then I added the crumble topping and was blown away. It adds a little extra sugary, crunchy goodness that accompanies the cranberries so well. It takes the bread from really good, to really great!

When I made this, I ended up making 4 mini loaves and one regular loaf. I have given the loaves to family and friends, and everyone is loving it. I can’t wait to make this again around Christmas!

Cranberry Walnut Bread with a Crumble Topping

Ingredients

For Bread

½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
½ cup orange juice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ½ cups fresh cranberries roughly chopped or pulsed in a food processor
¾ cup walnuts toasted and chopped (this is optional, but it a great addition)

For Crumble Topping

½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ TBS light brown sugar
1 TBS granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
3 TBS unsalted butter melted

Instructions

For the Bread (use bread ingredients)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5 loaf pan or 4 mini-loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl (I used a stand mixer), cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and orange juice and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat slowly, a little at a time, into the butter mixture. Gently fold in the cranberries and walnuts until just mixed.
3. Spoon the batter into the 9x5 loaf pan or 4 mini-loaf pans. Set to the side.
For the Crumble Topping (use topping ingredients)
1. Combine the flour with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in melted butter, and mix together with a fork, pressing and turning until little clumps form and all the butter is mixed well.
2, Using your hands, sprinkle the topping over the loaf/loaves until it is covered. There is no such thing as too much topping!
3. Place in center of the oven, and bake until golden and a tester has just a few moist crumbs on it (about 30 minutes for mini-loaves, 50-55 minutes for a big loaf). Make sure you use a toothpick to test them as cooking times may vary. Let cool for a few minutes and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe Notes

(makes 1 9x5 inch loaf or 4 mini-loaves)

I hope y’all love this recipe as much as my family, and it earns a spot in your Thanksgiving or Christmas rotation!

You can also connect with me here:

- Allyson from Domestic Superhero

Chocolate Almond Cheesecake Bars

Published Dec 8, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

As everyone knows, the holidays are an incredibly busy time of the year. We have Thanksgiving and then a few weeks later are celebrating Christmas. We even have my son’s birthday between the two holidays, which makes it even crazier. While I love the holidays, I also like to take time to relax and enjoy our friends, before things get too stressful. For the last few years we have taken a night off from all the stress, and had a little holiday party where we get together with our close friends, and just enjoy their company and be free of all holiday stress. I usually use this time to do some holiday baking and cooking. As my close friends know, I love cooking, so I love sharing that with them. While this year we only had around 12 people come over, it was the perfect number and we had a great time.

I decided that we would have a ‘Drinks & Desserts’ theme, and I would make some tasty baked desserts and whip up a signature cocktail.

Before everyone arrived, I finished baking the 4 featured desserts, including the Chocolate Almond Cheesecake Bars (scroll to bottom for recipe). Land O’ Lakes Butter was a star in this recipe and definitely helped in getting the most perfect buttery almond crust on these bars.

I also set up a signature cocktail area, moved the food to the serving table, and finished decorating our Christmas tree…

Right as I set the cheesecake bars onto the table, I heard the doorbell ring! I was so excited for our friends to arrive and start celebrating! Everyone dug right into the desserts and drinks, and we had a great time.

The kids kept sneaking desserts from the table and at one James had his plate overflowing! Audrey loved the chocolate truffles and there was no hiding it!

After everyone was full of delicious desserts the adults chatted and watched football and the kids played and played.

Being behind the camera is sometimes a pain, because you never get to be in any photos with your friends in family! Luckily my husband volunteered to take a picture of me and my 2 friends in front of our tree.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the drinks and desserts, and everyone could not stop talking about the Chocolate Almond Cheesecake Bars! They were by far the biggest hit, and all the husbands wanted the recipe (for their wives to cook!).

Chocolate Almond Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

For the crust

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup toasted almonds finely ground
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup unsalted and O' Lakes Butter chilled
Baking spray with flour

For the filling

6 oz low fat or neufchâtel found by regular cream cheese cream cheese, softened
4 oz regular cream cheese softened
⅔ cup sugar
½ cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt
1 egg
3 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 TBS 2% milk whole or 1% would work as well
2 TBS almonds chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.

For the crust

1. Combine flour, ¼ cup ground almonds, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender, two knives, or a fork until mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Coat a 8-inch square baking dish with baking spray. Sprinkle mixture into the dish and lightly press mixture into bottom of pan until firm.
3. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool crust completely on a wire rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

For the rest

1. Place cream cheeses in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, yogurt, vanilla, and dash of salt; beat at low speed until combined. Add egg; beat 1 minute or until well combined.
2. Pour mixture over cooled crust.
3. Place chocolate chips and milk in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds or until melted, stirring after every 15 seconds; stir mixture until smooth.
4. Dollop chocolate mixture by the spoonful over cheesecake mixture; swirl together using the tip of a knife. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chopped almonds.
5. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until almost set in the middle. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or up to overnight. Cut and serve as bars.
Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

By using lower fat cream cheese and milk in this recipe, it reduces the calories and fat. If you prefer the full fat version, go ahead and use regular cream cheese and whole milk. Using the lower fat versions did not change the taste what-so-ever in my opinion.

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

M&M Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Greek Yogurt and Ice Cream

Published Dec 6, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Earlier this week we celebrated my baby boy’s 3rd birthday (where did the time go?!), and even though we weren’t having a big party, I wanted to still make his actual day special. We had celebrated with family over Thanksgiving weekend, because it was more convenient than celebrating on a random Tuesday night, but these birthdays only come around once a year, and I wanted Austin to live it up! Since he loves M&M’s, baking cookies, and ice cream, I wanted to put them all together for a fun treat.

We started by baking the M&M cookies and then letting them completely cool. Next up was turning them into ice cream sandwiches. For my toddler I used regular vanilla bean ice cream and scooped about ⅓ of a cup onto one cookies, and then topped with the other cookie.

Since my husband and I wanted to indulge in the cookies, but not all the calories of the ice cream, we made ours with frozen vanilla Greek yogurt! I love using Greek yogurt in place of various creamy things because it adds a lot of nutritional value, and I can hardly ever tell a difference. I popped the little container of Vanilla Greek yogurt into the freezer for about 30 minutes, then spooned onto the cookie, and topped with the other cookie.

Both cookies turned out to be a HUGE hit with everyone! I made about 8 more to have on hand and stored them wrapped tight in the freezer! Now, we have M&M Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches available all the time! Total score! Not only did my son devour the sandwich, but then he sneakily ate about 10 M&M’s and an extra cookie!!!! I couldn’t really get upset though…they are totally delicious!

M&M Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Greek Yogurt & Ice Cream

Ingredients

One 12-ounce package of plain M&Ms
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBS cornstarch
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 TBS vanilla extract
Container of vanilla ice cream size is dependent on how many sandwiches you would like to make
Container of vanilla greek yogurt partially frozen* (size is dependent on how many sandwiches you would like to make)

Instructions

For the cookies

1. In a bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). With the mixer on low, add in egg and vanilla. Return mixer to medium and mix until incorporated. Scrape sides if needed.
3. With the mixer on low, add dry ingredients gradually until dough forms. Fold in M&Ms by hand. 4. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mat and set aside.
4. Form balls from approximately 1 tablespoon of dough. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are just barely golden. Remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes on baking sheet before removing and placing on wire rack to finish cool.
5. Scoop about ⅓ cup of ice cream or yogurt onto cookie bottom side up, and then top with 2nd cookie (bottom side to ice cream). Repeat for desired number of cookies.
6. Eat and enjoy, or wrap tightly with foil or plastic wrap and store in freezer for later consumption.

Recipe Notes

*for a small container of greek yogurt, pop into freezer for 30 minutes to an hour to make it partially frozen. You don't want it so hard that you can't scoop it, but you don't want it so loose that it doesn't hold the weight of the cookies.

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Published Nov 18, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps are healthy, easy to make, and pack a ton of flavor! With tons of protein and barely any carbs, it's the perfect healthy recipe!

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken wraps are a healthy version of a the popular chicken wrap, that retains all the traditional elements and flavors. These Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps keep up all of the essential buffalo chicken flavors, and leave out all the fat, calories, and carbs! Using homemade buffalo sauce really makes the flavor pop as well as serving them with the best ever chunky blue cheese dressing!

It's simple to make Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

**scroll down for full ingredients list and printable directions**

Prep all your ingredients, which in this case is just a handful; chicken, celery, carrots, onion, and buffalo wing sauce (recipe here).
Add everything to the slow cooker, and decide if you need to cook on low or high. Set it and forget!
- If you need a slow cooker, I love this one!
The high setting will cook the chicken faster, in about 5-6 hours, where the low setting will take longer, about 7-8 hours.
Remove the chicken breasts and shred them using two forks or a stand mixer (simple hack for shredding chicken).

How to shred chicken in a stand mixer:

Add chicken breasts to a stand mixer's bowl, then add the paddle attachment. Turn on low speed and watch the chicken shred apart with no effort on your end!
Add the chicken back to to sauce mixture in the slow cooker, then mix to coat the chicken.
Load the buffalo chicken into the lettuce wraps, then top with desired toppings. Enjoy!

Serving options for Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken:

Although lettuce wraps are the low calorie choice for this chicken, you could also use:

Wraps (there are many great low calorie/low fat brands)
Sub rolls
Flatbreads
Pitas
Slider buns
Use the shredded buffalo chicken in a salad

Can I freeze Buffalo Chicken?

YES! You could even DOUBLE this recipe and freeze the remaining slow cooker buffalo chicken for next time!
Add the cooled buffalo chicken to a freezer safe zip lock bag, then press all the air out and seal. I like to spread the mixture out inside the bag, then freeze with the bag laying down to save room in the freezer.
To defrost, place in fridge the night before you'd like to use the slow cooker buffalo chicken.

Can I make Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken in the INSTANT POT?

YES! In fact, I have the exact recipe on Domestic Superhero and you can see it HERE!

Are Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps healthy?

Yes! Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken lettuce wraps are seriously low carb (4 net grams), only 162 calories for THREE wraps, and packed with 28 grams of protein!
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps are definitely a very healthy option for lunch or dinner! These would even be great at a dinner party!
They are also gluten free, paleo, dairy-free, grain-free, and Whole30 compliant! These buffalo chicken lettuce wraps fit into pretty much everyone’s diet!

More healthy slow cooker recipes you'll love:

You can checkout ALL of Domestic Superhero's Slow Cooker recipes for tons of different dinner and dessert options!
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is the perfect healthy comfort food. Set it and forget it; this soup is going to become a regular in your dinner rotation!
One Pot or Crock Pot Loaded Quinoa Chili is the perfect healthy vegetarian chili that will satisfy even the pickiest meat eater!

Like Buffalo Sauce as much as I do? Check out these other buffalo recipes!

Make sure you don’t miss a thing! Follow Domestic Superhero on:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

6 hrs

Total Time

6 hrs 5 mins

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps are healthy, easy to make, and pack a ton of flavor! With tons of protein and barely any carbs, it's the perfect healthy recipe!

Servings: 4 three wrap servings

Calories: 163 kcal

Ingredients

For shredded buffalo chicken

1.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
2 stalks celery diced
1 small onion diced
1 medium carrot diced
1 cup buffalo wing sauce (recipe in notes section below)

For serving

12 bib lettuce leaves
1 medium carrot grated
1 stalk celery diced
ranch or blue cheese dressing

Instructions

For chicken

Add chicken breasts, celery, carrot, onion, and buffalo sauce to the slow cooker. Lightly stir to get sauce under the chicken. Close the top and set on HIGH for 5 or 6 hours, or LOW for 7 or 8 hours.
When time is up, remove the lid, then remove the chicken breasts and place on a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken. Alternative you could use the stand mixer hack to shred the chicken (see above). Add shredded chicken back to the pot with the buffalo sauce mixture; stir to coat.

For serving

Scoop ¼ to ⅓ cup of chicken into each lettuce wrap, top with grated carrots and diced celery if desired. Add ranch or blue cheese* over the top of the chicken. Serve immediately!

Recipe Notes

*Nutritional information does not include ranch or blue cheese topping. 163 calories, 4g fat, 6g carb, 4g fiber, 28g protein.

Buffalo sauce recipe here.

Holiday Shopping List: 40+ Gift Ideas for High School and College Students (part 2)

Published Nov 13, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

With the holidays right around the corner, I am trying to get a jump on all the holiday shopping. Luckily, I have Amazon Prime which allows me free shipping (on mostly anything), and other awesome perks as well such as free streaming of movies/TV shows (much like Netflix, but it’s included in the Prime membership)! Don’t worry if you don’t have Amazon Prime, I have a special offer for you! You can click here to sign up, and you will receive a 1 month membership for FREE (it must be the first time you have had a membership)! That means you can order all your holiday goodies, and if you decide you don’t like it for some reason, you aren’t obligated to continue with your membership! Don’t walk, run.

For the first installment of this series, we focused on Infants-8th graders and if you missed that post, go ahead and click here to check it out. For the second part of Domestic Superhero’s Holiday Shopping List we are focusing on high school aged teens (14-18 years old) and college students. Shopping can be tough sometimes, but with a little push in the right direction you can find the perfect gift. Ask yourself a couple key questions….Do they have a favorite hobby or are they passionate about a sport? If so, find something that relates to one of those. Do they like gaming? Perhaps a new Wii or PlayStation game would be nice. Do they likes movies or entertainment? How about a new Blue Ray Player or the latest comedy? Dorm stuff? Here are some ideas that can get you going in the right direction….

Most people have a tablet nowadays and high school and college students are no exception. Heck, I even know 2 year olds with Kindle Fires! The Kindle Fire HD is great because there is such a wide array of uses for it. This is definitely a gift that keeps giving.

Does the student in question have a passion for running? The Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit is a great way to keep track of running stats and help enhance performance. Add a pair of Nike Women's Revolution 2 Running Shoes (men’s available too!) for the perfect runners gift.

How about some Audio-Technica ATH-M30 Professional Studio Monitor Closed-back Dynamic Stereo Headphones?! That’s a mouthful, and an earful! For music lovers, these headphones would be perfect. Need some great tunes to go along with them? Consider loading up an Amazon Gift Card so that they can purchase music from the Amazon Music Store.

At this age, most teenagers and college aged students are driving. Make sure they know the laws surrounding driving while talking on their cell phone. You can go hands free with this Plantronics M50 - Bluetooth Headset and avoid the distraction of hold a phone. Another great car/phone accessory is the iOttie One Touch Windshield Dashboard Universal Car Mount Holder (for iPhone 4S/5/5S/5C, Galaxy S4/S3/S2, HTC One DROID RAZR HD) which is fully adjustable and locks your phone in place on your dashboard. They also make a version for a tablet too (see here).

Board games like Scrabble are really fun for sleepovers and holidays too! Everyone loves circling around a game of Scrabble!

Looking for a BIG gift? The one?! Perhaps the JOOLA Inside Table Tennis Table would be fun. It could be set up in the basement or garage (probably not ideal for a dorm room), and I am sure kid’s from all over the neighborhood would come over to play! When I was in high school I used to go over to my friend's house and play all night. The people who owned the table would always dominate everyone else, and I always wished I would have had one at home so I could have practiced! They even have Table Tennis Clubs in college, so this gift could be preparing your student for his or her future!

Have a gamer on your hands? Just Dance 2014 (available for most gaming consoles) is great for those late night dance parties and Grand Theft Auto V (available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) is perfect for guy’s nights!

Whether you are purchasing a new Kindle Fire, or they already have one, a neat new case could be a great gift! The FINTIE Stand Leather Case (for Amazon Kindle Fire 7" Tablet)comes in 24 different color options!

I think the Wii is at an all time low in price, less than $150! The Nintendo Wii Console Black with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort is a great combination. Grab a Wii and a couple games for some long lasting fun!

Two perfect gifts for trendy girls: FRYE Women's Melissa Button Knee-High Boot (shown in Brown Antique) which come in several different colors, and the Soft Chevron Sheer Infinity Scarf which also comes in tons of colors and is only $5.99!!! That scarf may be the score of the year!

Loaded Questions is such a fun game! I think the description on Amazon tells it best: “This bestselling game tests players on how well they know each other with more than 1,000 questions designed to spark laughter, creative discussion, and lasting memories. Whether you're with friends, family, or people you're just getting to know, Loaded Questions is the perfect answer to "What should we do now?"

This is the holy grail of jackets at college. Not only great for teens and 20-somethings though because they make them in all sizes. People of all ages wear them (but especially High School and College students). The North Face Denali Fleece Jacket is great quality and lasts for a really long time. I don’t know how long, but I bought one in 2002 and it’s still going strong, along with one I bought in 2004. They last forever. They come in tons of color combos and are made in men and women’s sizes (tip, if you are buying for a smaller teen, you can probably get by with the larger kid’s sizing, which is also cheaper!).

The Heat and Iron Man 3 (DVD + Digital Copy) are 2 great new DVD’s that would make great stocking stuffers.

Getting around campus is no sweat with this great High Sierra Loop Backpack . It has several compartments and can accommodate both large and small books. It also comes in tons of different patterns and colors!

For girls having a trendy clutch is a must these days. No one wants to haul around a big bag when they are running out at night, and these are perfect size for a cell phone, some cash, and credit cards. The Urban Expressions Chelsea Clutch and BCBGeneration Luna The High MaintenanceClutch are perfect for teens and college students alike.

Nothing is more frustrating then losing random pieces of jewelry. Even in jewelry boxes things get tangled and go missing. This Closet Complete CANVAS Ultra 80 Pocket Hanging Jewelry Organizer is the perfect solution. Not only does it keep everything organized, but it hangs up, which means you can slide it in the closet with your clothes. It takes up barely any space, and any college student knows space is very tight in those tiny dorm rooms.

This Kenneth Cole Reaction Mens Time Travel Kit is perfect for putting all those toiletries. From going back and forth between the dorm bathrooms, going home for the weekend, or a holiday trip, this puts all those bathroom goodies in one place.

This Killer Concepts Rocksteady Portable Bluetooth Speaker (XS V1.5) system is really cool! It is wireless, has 10+ hours of battery life, and can sync up to any device with blue tooth. It can also be connected via USB if you don’t have the blue tooth option available. It gives off great sound and would be perfect for a dorm room or home bedroom. It’s portable too, so is easy to bring on a tailgate or to a BBQ.

BioShock Infinite is a hot new game for nearly every gaming device. If the student in question likes action gaming, this game will not disappoint!

Nowadays every student it equipped with a computer and some computers don’t even offer CD optical drives anymore. Stay easily connected with the SanDisk Cruzer 32 GB USB Flash Drive. You can save and store, transfer, and bring wherever you need it. Keep it safe in a Case Logic JDS-2 USB Drive Shuttle 2-Capacity case and hook it onto your backpack for easy access.

By the time a girl gets to high school, it’s likely she is wearing makeup. NARS Blush and NARS Lip Gloss are two best selling items for girls. They are light and fun, and don’t look too makeup-y….very natural and feminine.

To apply the perfect makeup, one needs the perfect tools. The NARS Yachiyo Kabuki Brush No. 27 and NARS Bronzing Powder (Laguna) are a perfect combination. Having a really fluffy, dense brush like this one will allow for even distribution and blending.

For girls in college, an Arus Women's Adjustable Velcro Closure Turkish Cotton Shower Bath Wrap is a must. She can throw it on, fasten it, and then get ready in the bathroom without having to worry her towel is going to drop! The Aquis Microfiber Hair Towel is a girl’s best friend when it comes to drying hair. This towel reduces the dry time a ton, but absorbing way more than a regular towel.

The Divergent book series is soooo good! The first book, Divergent , the second book Insurgent , and the 3rd book Allegiant are great reads for any age (12 and over).

This Nostalgia ElectricsRetro Series Countertop Microwave Oven would be the perfect addition to any dorm room or apartment. I didn’t realize when I went to college that you could have a microwave in your room, and ended up buying one later. Even if you have a meal plan included in your tuition, it’s still handy for heating up snacks and coffee!

Reusable water bottles are a must for people this age. Really, I think everyone should just have a reusable water bottle because regular plastic bottles produce so much waste. The Nalgene 32oz Water Bottle and the Camelbak Eddy Bottle are both BPA free and perfect for everyday use. When I was in college I carried my Nalgene bottle with me everywhere.

On the flip side, every college student needs a travel coffee mug. The Contigo Auto Seal West Loop Stainless Steel Travel Mug with Easy Clean Lidis the top selling mug on Amazon, and it has over 3,000 positive reviews. This mug means business! It comes in both 16oz and 20oz, and 9 fun colors (I love the white!). It promises to keep liquids hot for FOUR hours, and cold for 12 hours. This mug has it all!

When you are just stumped on what to buy, let the gift recipient pick his or her own gift with an Amazon Gift Card. Available in any amount and it never expires!

Have kids this age or buying for people in this age range? What are you planning to get them? What are their favorite things?

If you haven’t signed up for your 1 month membership for FREE (it must be the first time you have had a membership) to Amazon.com, do it now! Stay tuned for part 3 of this series which will focus on significant others!

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Skinny Tomato Basil Soup

Published Nov 6, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Look familiar? This soup probably doesn’t look familiar, but if you follow my blog it might

I have a confession…. I actually posted this recipe 11 months ago, but I was always a little embarrassed to share it, because the pictures were really bad. I know no one likes looking at pictures of food that doesn’t look appetizing, and that was a problem I was having. I will even share my embarrassing photo with you….

Maybe it’s not the worst picture ever, but it sure isn’t great! Having bad light or a bad camera can really be a disadvantage. Back then I didn’t know much about photography, light, and good camera equipment and that’s fine, but I have come a long way since then. Now I try to get the best pictures possible; ones that will really capture just how delicious the food is.

Moving on to the main point, this Skinny Tomato Basil Soup is delicious. It’s a sure winner around our house! Not only does it taste fabulous, but it is so healthy. There isn’t even any tricks to make it ‘skinny’, it just is naturally low calorie. With a blend of veggies, some stock, and spices, there really isn’t much to it. If you are on weight watchers, this might even be a ‘free’ food because it’s basically all veggies (and I think those are ‘free’ foods? I’m not positive). It’s also incredibly easy to make. I make huge batched at a time, and then freeze them in QT. size freezer bags. Once you try this, you will never go back to canned condensed soup!

Cook up some biscuits or a fancy grilled cheese to go along with this soup, and get eating!

Skinny Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 celery stalk
3 cloves garlic
30 oz fresh plum tomatoes peeled (or you can use canned tomatoes)
32 oz vegetable broth
3 sprigs parsley
10 basil leaves
2 bay leaves
Parmesan cheese for serving optional

Instructions

1. Chop onions, carrots, celery and garlic using a *mini food processor or chopper.
2. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add butter until melted, then add chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook stirring often until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes, stirring well.
3. Using a string, tie herbs together and drop into the soup**. This will make it easy to remove later. Add salt and fresh pepper, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
4. Remove herbs and discard, blend with a hand blender until smooth. (A regular blender would work, but be sure to let the soup cool before blending and fill only halfway in the blender so it doesn't explode on you).
5. Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated cheese and fresh basil.

Recipe Notes

**From the beginning I used my food processor to chop all the vegetables. I let them process for a minute to get them as chopped/pureed as possible. I skipped using the hand blender at the end because I didn't mind that my soup wasn't super smooth. It's up to you!
Makes 8 cups. About 115 calories per 2 cup serving.

Like healthy soups? Check out all my skinny soup recipes:

Skinny Lasagna Soup	Skinny Cheesy Enchilada Soup	Hot & Sour Soup	Skinny Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Fire-Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons	Winter Squash Soup	Skinny Cheesy Vegetable Chowder	Skinny French Onion Soup

InLinkz.com

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

Monsters University Tasty Monster Treats

Published Nov 4, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Last week I was given the opportunity to host a viewing party for a great new Disney movie that has just been released to DVD, Monster’s University. I knew right away that I was going to have my son, and his 3 favorite friends over to watch it. I picked up the brand new special Monsters University 2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Infinity Figure Combo Pack (which included a little toy, for nearly the same price!), and I also grabbed a Monster’s U toy to get my little guy excited beforehand. Now, most kids wouldn’t need a toy to entice them, but my son has never watched more than 45 minutes of anything at a time, and I knew I would have to get him hyped up and excited for Sully and Mike. I picked a little race car that came with a pop up Mike (Monsters University Roll-a-Scare Ridez), and he loved it; seriously perfect for a car obsessed toddler!

I whipped up a quick and easy treat that played on the Monster’s theme, and the kid’s loved it. I did a fun play on regular rice crispy treats, and then added little monster eyes for fun (see bottom for recipe)!

The kids were so excited to watch the movie, eat the treats, and hang out. My friend and I watched along with them, and I was blown away by the vivid colors in this movie. The blue-ray quality is seriously exceptional, and the execution of the animation in Monster’s University is really impressive.

The kids had fun playing with the Monsters University toys and watching the movie! Can’t wait for our next movie party!

Monsters University Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients

½ cup butter
8 cups miniature marshmallows
10 cups rice crispy cereal
1 package of candy eyes I used Wilton brand
neon green and neon blue food coloring

Instructions

1. Melt half of the butter (¼ cup) in large sauce pan over low heat. Add 4 cups of marshmallows and stir until melted and well-blended. Cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
2. Add several drops of green food coloring, mix.
3. Add 5 cups cereal. Stir until well coated.
4. Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly and firmly in buttered 13 x 9 inch pan.
5. Repeat steps 1-3, using blue food coloring.
6. Press blue rice crispy layer flat on top of the green layer. Press firmly.
7. Press candy eyes into treats in random spots.
8. Cool, cut, and serve.

Welcome to the new Domestic Superhero!

Published Nov 4, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

I am so excited to finally reveal my new blog design! I have been working with Vanessa from Nifty Thrifty Designs over the last month, and I am just in love with what she has done. Since I started my blog over a year and a half ago, I always envisioned having a little superhero woman, but I could never get it put into place. These things take time, talent, and money, and at the beginning I couldn’t justify hiring someone to do it for me. I jumped from one design to the next, always trying to make it look the best I could, but lets be honest, I am no professional when it comes to blog design!

So now that I have been blogging a while, and I am able to make some money doing it, I justified the cost and left it to the pros. Vanessa did an amazing job putting together everything, and I give her major props because my early vision was pretty broad. She was a dream to work with, did everything so quickly, and was majorly affordable! If you are a blogger looking for a new design, definitely get into contact with her!

This is the Domestic Superhero she came up with! I was a little blown away when she first sent it to me, and it was so shocking actually seeing what I had been talking about the last few years! I am in love with the little tool belt and the whisk! She is equipped and ready to go into action! Haha

I want to give you a tour of the new blog, so that if you are confused or can’t find something then hopefully this will point you in the right direction….

The first 2 things I want to talk about are the Menu Bar and the Featured Posts sections.

The menu bar is where you can find lots of additional information. You can click ‘home’ to be directed to the main Domestic Superhero home page at all times. Click ‘about’ to find out more information about me and also the blog’s disclosure policy. Click ‘Recipes’ and you will find every single recipe on Domestic Superhero, in their specific categories. This is a great way to find a recipe you already know of, or if you are in the mood for something (say chicken, look under the chicken headline for all chicken recipes) specific (see below photo for what the recipe gallery looks like). Recipe Gallery:

If you click ‘project gallery’ you will find a master list of all the DIY/crafts/various projects that have been on Domestic Superhero. Want to see where Domestic Superhero has been featured? Click on ‘Featured on’ to see a list of various websites I have had projects and recipes featured on. Under that tab can also click on ‘Link Parties’ to see when I like to link my projects up (see photo below). Lastly, click ‘contact’ for all the ways to get in touch with me. I love hearing from my readers!

The Features Posts section will appear on the homepage, so that when you visit Domestic Superhero you can see what has been going on lately. It will always show the last 5 posts I have published, and you can hover your mouse over them to see the title of the post.

Next up is some sidebar action. You should see this on the right side of your screen, right under the welcome section. I will explain each number I have listed on the picture (correspond the number above to the number below).

#1- This is the subscribe tab. If you would like to have posts delivered to your inbox from Domestic Superhero (so you don’t miss anything!), then type in your email address in the box and click follow.

#2- This is the Category tab. Click where is says ‘categories’ and you can see all the different categories things are posted in on the blog. For example, if you are looking for low fat recipes, click categories, then click low fat recipes. That will take you to all the posts I have classified as low fat recipes.

#3- This is the Archive tab. Pretty self explanatory, you will see a list of months and then how many posts. You can click on each month and it will list the post titles from that specific month.

#4- This is the Top 10 Tab. I love this tab because you can click on it, and see what the 10 most popular posts (currently) on Domestic Superhero are. Here you can see what people are most interested in! It changes daily as well!

#5- These are all my social media icons. Click on any of those buttons and connect with me on Facebook (F), Twitter (the birdie), RSS Feed, Pinterest (P), Email (the envelope), and Instagram (the camera).

Under the first tabbed section on the right side, you will find another tab section! This one contains 3 things…

#1- The search function: Type anything into the search bar to search Domestic Superhero. Looking for a specific recipe? Type it in the box and hit search.

#2- This is the contact tab. Click on this ‘contact’ tab and it will bring you to my contact page where you can see all the ways to get in touch with me!

#3- This is the button tab. If you aren’t a blogger, this probably doesn’t mean anything to you, and that’s fine. For all the bloggers who link up at my link parties, and want to feature my button on their blog, they can click here, and will have 3 available buttons with a code for installation for their blog.

You will also find this ‘Need Something’ box on the right sidebar. This links directly to Amazon and if you search in this box it will bring you to amazon with your search results. I absolutely love Amazon and stand by their company 100%.

I hope that this explanation makes navigating Domestic Superhero super easy for y’all! If you have any questions please feel free to ask! Do you guys like the new layout and design? I’d appreciate any and all feedback!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Published Oct 30, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Homemade Taco Seasoning is simple to make, easy to store, and extremely cheap! This will be your go-to seasoning blend!

Homemade Taco Seasoning is simple to make, easy to store, and extremely cheap! Done in less than 5 minutes, it's perfect for whenever a recipe calls for it!

Taco seasoning is one of those things that is used all the time, but do you really know what’s in it? Making homemade taco seasoning is so easy! Seasoning packets add a lot of extra salt, empty calories, and mystery ingredients. When you season dishes yourself it doesn’t lock you into one flavor, but allows you to adjust the flavor of the dish to your taste. If you like things spicy, add more chili powder, if you like things milder, take some away.

Use this delicious Homemade Taco Seasoning in these Taco Stuffed Burgers or One Pot Mexican Quinoa Bowls! It's also great sprinkled on Air Fryer Frozen French Fries or Air Fryer Fried Pickles for a great snack!

You may think that making Taco Seasoning yourself is difficult, but it’s not. In fact, it’s very easy and will save you a ton of money in the long run! To make your dollar stretch the furthest possible, buy spices from a bulk bin, or spice store. They often have great deals and can be found for a $1 or less per bottle. I have also been able to find great, inexpensive spices at Aldi, the Natural Food Warehouse, and Indian Markets.

I wanted to share this tried and true recipe with you, so you can make your spices at home, and keep you and your family healthy! I hope y'all like it as much as we do!

How to store homemade taco seasoning:

Add seasoning to an air tight container, then store in a cool dry place. Keeps for 6 months.

Dishes to use Homemade Taco Seasoning:

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Homemade Taco Seasoning

Prep Time

5 mins

Total Time

5 mins

Homemade Taco Seasoning is simple to make, easy to store, and extremely cheap! This will be your go-to seasoning blend!

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: homemade taco seasoning

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

In a small bowl mix everything together. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Makes 10 servings.
About 2.5 TBS equals one packet.

Guest Post: DIY Birthday Rosette

Published Oct 28, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Today we have a guest post from Laura! She blogs over at The Little Button Diaries and has tons of cute little projects over there! Lets see what she created for us today!

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I love running and entering races. Well, actually, I like running and I only love races because of the medal at the end. My running buddy, Katie, feels exactly the same, so for her birthday I wanted to make a rosette fit for a winner.

For this project you will need:

Felt in 3 colours
Embroidery thread in 3 colours to match the felt
Needle
Pencil
Tracing paper
Rotary cutter or scissors
Embroidery pins
Self-adhesive badge backing
Fabric glue (optional)

To begin, draw two circles of the same size on a piece of felt. This forms the center of the rosette so use a light color so the stitching can be seen.

Sketch out your design on tracing paper. As my rosette was for a birthday present I used a cupcake design. Pin the design to one of the felt circles. Then embroider your design. I used backstitch for the cupcake case in one color with the frosting in a coordinating color. For the heart topper I used satin stitch. Once you have completed the stitching, carefully tear off the tracing paper.

To make the rosette ribbons cut ten strips of pink felt 1.5cm wide and 7cm long.

Fold each strip in half and pin or glue onto the second white felt circle. If you have pinned them, embroider them onto the white felt circle using cross stitch. Otherwise use fabric glue to attach them.

Cut four longer strips of felt 1.5cm wide and 10cm long. I used two in pink and two in blue. Cut the bottom of each strip at an angle. Pin and sew them onto the bottom of the rosette.

Now it's time to sew the rosette together. Pin the two sections together and sew around the edge of the white circle using running stitch. I used two different colored threads and pointed my stitch towards the center of the rosette.

Finally, peel off the backing of the badge and stick it onto the back of the rosette.

A craft project fit for a winner!

~ Laura xx ~

Skinny Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Published Oct 26, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

In case you haven’t heard, it’s fall! Not only is it fall, but it’s almost Halloween and all the delicious pumpkin treats are in full swing. I should have probably posted these Skinny Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins a while ago, but to be completely honest I just made them last weekend….I am a little behind on my pumpkin cooking. Well, I wouldn't say I’m exactly late, but, better now then never! Use my Homemade Pumpkin Puree Recipe for the ultimate flavor in this recipe!

I was originally making this recipe as a bread, and had some left over batter because, well, I only have one loaf pan (note to self: buy more cooking supplies). The recipe I followed was for 2 loaves, but I figured I could make some muffins to go along with it. Luckily I made the muffins, because the bread didn't turn out so hot. I thought it was done, but after slicing into the middle I realized it wasn't…and no one likes raw pumpkin bread. Not my most domestic moment, but at least these little muffins swooped in and saved the day. Even my picky toddler devoured these muffins!

I love this recipe because it's a lot healthier than your typical muffin. By replacing butter with applesauce, it saves lots of calories and makes the muffins incredibly moist. It's up to you if you want to substitute some of the sugar with the Stevia, but I find it bakes just as well, and I don't mind saving even more calories when possible.

Skinny Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredients

Batter

1-½ cup pureed pumpkin
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 whole egg
3 egg whites
1 cup all-purpose flour
⅔ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup Stevia Cup For Cup sweetener
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cream filling

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 TBS all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Batter
1. With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg (1), and egg whites (3) on medium speed until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, Stevia, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

For the cream cheese filling

1. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg whites (2) and flour until creamy and smooth.
2. Grease 2 muffin tins. Put a small amount of batter in the bottom of each muffin, enough to cover the bottom. Place 1 generous TBS of cream filling on top of the first layer, press down with the back of a spoon to even it out. Top with more batter to cover cream cheese filling. Liners should be ½-3/4 full.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and remove from pans.

Recipe Notes

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

I can cross another thing off my Fall Bucket List! What kind of fall baking are you doing these days?

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

-Allyson

Copycat Outback Bloom Sauce

Published Oct 23, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This Zesty tasty sauce made popular by Outback Steakhouse is easy to whip up! Pair this Copycat Outback Bloom Sauce with a Bloomin' Onion or Onion rings for the perfect snack!

My husband always says that (insert whatever food here) is just a vehicle for the sauce….whatever the sauce may be. I love the sauce that gets served with the Bloomin’ Onion at Outback Steakhouse, so I wanted to get to the bottom of that recipe. It’s tangy and spicy, and really would be delightful on anything you can dip….not just a bloomin’ onion. Serve this Copycat Outback Bloom Sauce with Outback Bloomin' Onion Petals or Air Fryer Green Bean Fries for the perfect snack!

The base for the outback bloom sauce is very similar to the Zax Sauce, but the additions are different. The bloom sauce packs a spicy punch of horseradish, where the Zax Sauce is very mild. After playing around with a couple different ingredients, I think this sauce is nearly identical to the actual sauce that is served at Outback. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Try dipping these Air Fryer Asparagus Fries into the sauce- YUM! Want something less spicy? Try the Copycat BIG MAC SAUCE, In-n-Out Sauce or Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce!

How to make Copycat Outback Bloom Sauce:

Get all the ingredients together: mayonnaise, creamy horseradish, ketchup, paprika, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, salt, and ground black pepper. Add everything to a medium bowl and then whisk well to combine.
Place the mixture covered in the ridge for at least 3 hours to let the flavors meld together.
Serve with your favorite dippers such as Outback Bloomin' Onion Petals, Air Fryer 'Fried' Pickles, or on top of a delicious Air Fryer Burger.

If you like COPYCAT RECIPES as much as I do, you might be interested in these:

Copycat Big Mac Sauce - perfect for burgers or dipping!
Copycat Zaxby's Sauce
Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce
Copycat Outback Bloom Sauce and Bloomin' Onion Petals
Copycat Big Mac Salad
Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas
PF Changs Spicy Green Beans

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Copycat Outback Bloom Sauce

The perfect zesty dipping sauce made popular by Outback Steakhouse and served with the boomin' onion!

Ingredients

½ cup mayonnaise I used reduced fat
2 TBS creamy horseradish
1 TBS ketchup
⅓ teaspoon paprika
⅓ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 3 hours to let flavors meld.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Store in fridge up to 1 week.

Guest Post: DIY Felt Fall Air Fresheners

Published Oct 21, 2013 by Allyson
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Happy Monday everyone! Over the last couple months I have been super lucky to have some amazing bloggers write guest posts for me, and today is no exception. We have a great guest post from Citrus and Cream, and I am absolutely in love with the little Fall Air Fresheners they made! I seriously cannot wait to make some myself, and maybe even some as Christmas ornaments?! This is amazing! Lets get to it!

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Hello Domestic Superhero friends! We are Stephanie and Candace and we blog at Citrus and Cream. We are so excited to have the opportunity to guest post for Allyson, but first we wanted to tell you a little about who we are and why we blog!

Citrus and Cream was created as a place to share the features and finds of our home. We seek to highlight the sights, sounds, and tastes we love, from our farmer's market favorites to downtown discoveries. We have a passion for home-grown, hand-made, and farm-fresh, and we're bringing the best of it all to the table. Each week, we share our favorite seasonal recipes, DIY projects, local activities, entertaining ideas, and much more! We hope you'll hop over, look around, and say hello!

The arrival of Fall means two of our favorite things have come: cozy sweaters and spiced treats! This festive DIY felt air freshener is inspired by both of these faves. Adorable felt fall cut-outs are stitched and filled with cinnamon and cloves. Love!

This simple project requires just a few materials: felt in your favorite fall colors, a medium-sized needle, embroidery thread, two cinnamon sticks, a small handful of cloves, and the template to trace and cut your fall shapes. (Note that you can fill these with any scent you'd like.)

Step 1: Print out the template and cut the shapes. Trace onto the felt and cut.

Step 2: Take your top layer and stitch and decorate it as you'd like! Do this on only one layer, though.

Step 3: Once your top layer looks lovely, line it up with the bottom layer and stitch around the edge. You can use a basic stitch or a blanket stitch, as pictured with the pumpkin.

Step 4: When you have an inch left, fill with crushed cinnamon sticks and cloves. Add extra stuffing (leftover felt works) to make it soft.

Step 5: Continue stitching around the edge.

Step 6: Before stitching closed, make a loop with thread on the back of the air freshener, so you can hang it.

Step 7: Hang, and enjoy the sweet scent of cinnamon and cloves! You can also fill with other herbs and spices. Lavender is nice, as well as dried lemon verbena.

These would make great little gifts for the holidays! Set them on your dinner table with a namecard for your guests to go home with, or hand them out at the office. Visit here to download the shapes and print them for yourself!

A big thank you to Allyson for having us on Domestic Superhero, and thank you for reading!

Candace and Stephanie

Things you might need to make this DIY project:

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Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson