Every time I make a dish with mushrooms in it, it immediately becomes one of Matt’s new favorite dishes. I’m also mushroom obsessed, but Matt is on a whole other level. When I ask him what he wants me to make, his answer is always “that <insert name of food here> with the mushrooms.” This Warm Mushroom Barley Salad was no exception. The reason I’m telling you all this is because I was distracted with getting ready for our Japan trip and I couldn’t think of what to write for this recipe so Matt said, “just tell them that I love it.” Haha! That would be my shortest post ever – Matt loves this dish. The end.

I love cooking with different grains and was excited to discover how much I liked pearled barley a few years ago. It has a nice chewy texture and a slightly nutty taste that pairs really well with the sautéed mixed mushrooms. You can use any mushrooms you want for this, but since it’s the star ingredient I recommend a mix of a few that are maybe a bit different from your usual cremini or white mushrooms. I used a combination of cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms.

The Warm Mushroom Barley Salad is a simple dish, but simple is good. Especially around the holidays, then simple is really good. You can make this dish ahead of time and warm it in the microwave or serve it right from the stove-top without using any precious holiday oven space.

Since it’s simple, feel free to jazz it up further with some of your own obsession ingredients. It would taste so good with some caramelized onions, some kale or even some garlicky chicken sausage – yum! Or just keep it as is and enjoy!

Warm Mushroom Barley Salad

 

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Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup pearled barley
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound mixed mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the pearled barley then cook for 30 minutes, drain.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half the mushrooms for 5 minutes, until tender, seasoning with salt and pepper while they’re cooking. Then remove the mushrooms to a large mixing bowl. Reheat the skillet over medium-high heat with another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and the other half of the mushrooms, cook for 5 minutes, until tender, seasoning with salt and pepper while they’re cooking. Remove the mushrooms to a large mixing bowl.
3. To the mushrooms add the drained barley, the lemon juice, parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Don’t be afraid to salt! Serve warm or room temperature.

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Another Wednesday, another recipe full of pumpkin-goodness! I have two fairly simple desserts recipes that are both big crowd-pleasers that I’ll be sharing with you in time for Thanksgiving. Spoiler: they both include pumpkin! I love pie at Thanksgiving, but sometimes I want something a little different.

I discovered this Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle two years ago and it became an instant favorite. I’m a sucker for a good trifle, especially one that involves angel food cake, because they’re so light, which is perfect for after a big holiday meal. The Summer Berry Trifle is a classic, but I wanted a go-to trifle during the fall and winter months as well.

This Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle recipe is super easy and has just three layers. The first is the angel food cake. You can buy store-bought angel food cake, make it from a box mix or make your own homemade version. I personally like to stick to the box mix version since you just mix it with water and bake – crazy easy! One of these days I’ll try a homemade angel food cake, but when I’m throwing it into a trifle and busy with other holiday prep the box mix is good enough for me.

The next layer is a pumpkin cheesecake filling. Yes, it’s as incredible as it sounds. It’s creamy, warmly spiced and packed with pumpkin flavor. Finally, we have a cinnamon whipped cream because whipped cream is amazing, but cinnamon whipped cream is on the next level. I used whipped topping, but I included instructions for homemade whipped cream as well so feel free to use whichever you prefer!

I used this 7.5” trifle bowl from Crate and Barrel, which as you can see is bursting at the top so you could definitely get away with a larger trifle bowl not looking too empty. Or just pile more cinnamon whipped cream on top! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle

 

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 prepared angel food cake (I use a box mix), cut into chunks using a serrated knife
• 4 cups whipped topping, see note
• 16 ounces cream cheese, light or regular
• 15 ounces pure pumpkin
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, plus more for topping
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice then beat until combined. Fold in 1⅓ cups whipped topping.
2. Combine the remaining 2⅔ whipped topping with the ground cinnamon.
3. Layer ⅓ of the angel food cake chunks into the bottom of the trifle bowl. Top with ½ of the pumpkin mixture, smooth into an even layer. Top with ⅓ of the cinnamon whipped cream, smooth into an even layer. Repeat the layers two more times so that you end with the whipped cream on the top. Sprinkle with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

If you would prefer to use homemade whipped cream instead of whipped topping, you will need 4 cups of whipped cream. Beat 2 cups of cold heavy cream with ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon until stiff peaks form.
Box mix tip: I don’t have an angel food cake pan so when I make the box mix for this recipe I use a 9x13” pan. I put parchment paper on the bottom then bake it at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. The top should be golden brown and not sticky. Then turn the pan upside down using 4 cans of the same height under each corner and let it stay like that until it cools. Once it’s mostly cooled, run a butter knife around the edges then the cake should fall right out.

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I’m going to shock you all right now by letting you know that I’m obsessed with this salad. As I’ve mentioned here before, I am not a big fan of salads unless they are loaded with stuff. This salad doesn’t have a ton of stuff, but the goodies it does have on top are just the right stuff. Cue New Kids on the Block. This Fall Spinach and Arugula Salad with Tahini Dressing is the ultimate culmination of a few recipes I’ve shared recently. I made the Roasted Turmeric Spiced Cauliflower and the Crispy Roasted Chickpeas with this fall salad as my main intention, but they were so good on their own that I figured they deserved their own posts, too.

We’ve also already seen this creamy and tangy tahini dressing before on the Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowls. The dressing pairs really well with spiced and tender roasted vegetables so I knew it would be perfect over the Roasted Turmeric Spiced Cauliflower.

If you haven’t made the Roasted Turmeric Spiced Cauliflower dish yet, you need to make it soon! Preferably to eat on top of this awesome salad. The spices aren’t hot spicy, they are warming spices, which I like to think of as warming you from the inside out, similar to how you might describe a cozy bowl of soup. I threw some red onion in with the cauliflower to get caramelized. I love the flavor onion brings to dishes, but oftentimes raw onion is too pungent for me. Roasting the onion slices really mellows the onion flavor and brings out a nice sweetness to them.

Matt and I had this salad with our dinner and the next day I had it for lunch with some deli turkey slices on top. One great thing about this salad is that it tastes so good whether the cauliflower is warm out of the oven or cold right from the fridge.

I created this salad with Thanksgiving in mind. I think it is a great way to have a healthy salad option that complements the fall Thanksgiving flavors better than your typical garden salad. Also, you can make it ahead and serve it cold so that’s always a bonus for the holidays! Enjoy, everyone!

Fall Spinach and Arugula Salad with Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower, Crispy Roasted Chickpeas and Tahini Dressing

 

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Yield: 4 servings, ⅔ cup of dressing

Ingredients

for the salad

• 2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets
• ½ large red onion, cut into large strips
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 4 cups spinach
• 4 cups arugula
• ¼ cup crispy chickpeas

for the dressing

• ¼ cup tahini
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

for the salad

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Place the cauliflower florets in a mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and ground black pepper. Pour over the cauliflower florets and toss to completely coat. You may want to really rub the tops of the cauliflower florets in the mixture to get them completely coated.
3. Place the coated cauliflower florets on the prepared baking pan and spread them out. Bake for 20 minutes, then add the red onion to the baking sheet with the cauliflower, lightly tossing. Continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and browned. Make sure the onion doesn’t burn. Top with the chopped fresh parsley.
4. Add the spinach and arugula to a large mixing bowl or salad bowl. Top with the turmeric roasted cauliflower, the roasted red onions and the crispy chickpeas. Serve with the dressing on the side.

for the dressing

1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients or mix in a high-speed blender until smooth.

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November already? I’m here to sweeten your Friday with these Double Chocolate Pecan Muffins! Another monthly muffin post, except there’s something different about this one. This is not the Food Network Magazine’s November muffin recipe. Theirs was a corn chestnut muffin that Matt and I could not get excited about so I made these Double Chocolate Pecan Muffins instead!

I used the base from February’s Double Chocolate Salted Caramel Muffins since they were extra chocolatey and moist. Then I add some cinnamon and brown sugar spiced pecans to the top that you can whip together in a small mixing bowl. The inspiration for these November muffins came from my love of chocolate pecan pie – see recipe for Mini Molten Chocolate Pecan Pies – but way easier and perfect for eating for breakfast.

There’s a few things I miss about college, but one of the biggest is their dining hall food – is that weird? Every once and a while Boston College would have slices of the most amazing chocolate pecan pie in to-go boxes and I always had to get it, and maybe a second one for my mini fridge. As you know I have a hard time parting with chocolate treats and I begrudgingly shared these muffins, but I’m glad I did because everyone really liked them! Also, because then I would have eaten them all so basically a win-win all around.

It’s also fitting to be posting these for the November Muffins since Diane’s birthday is later this month and my stepmom loves chocolate pecan pie – big emphasis on the chocolate! I hope you all love these muffins! I don’t like the sound of December’s muffin either so I have something in the works for that one, too. Think savory like March’s Irish Cheddar, Bacon and Potato Muffins – yum!

Did any of you make the Food Network Magazine’s November muffins? What did you think? Also, don’t forget to turn back your clocks this weekend. Fun fact – Japan hasn’t observed daylight savings time since 1951, but they are considered adopting it for the 2020 Olympic Games. Okay, that’s all I have for you today, happy Friday, friends!

Double Chocolate Pecan Muffins

 

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Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• ¾ cup chopped pecans
• ½ tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the chopped pecans, melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and pinch of salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk and vegetable oil then whisk until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Evenly pour the batter into the prepared paper liners. Each muffin cup should be filled ⅔ to the top. Bake for 2 minutes then remove the muffin pan from the oven and working quickly, spoon some of the pecan mixture into the center of each muffin. Return the pan to the oven. Continue to bake for 16-20 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out with just a crumb or two.
6. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then move the muffins to a cooling rack until completely cooled.

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 Recipe from January/February 2018 issue of Food Network Magazine.

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Happy Monday before Halloween! I don’t love Halloween solely because of the candy, but all those Kit Kats and Reese’s are definitely a big factor! No matter what age you are, you’re bound to have leftover candy after Halloween. It may because your kids collected way more than they need so you snagged a stash for yourself. It may be because you bought several Costco size bags of candy, but no one in your neighborhood felt like coming to your house since it’s on a “hill” – speaking from experience.

It may be because you went trick-or-treating at Disneyland’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, which Matt and I did two years ago and it was so much fun! Or maybe you just took advantage of all the after-holiday sales while you were hungry and felt at the time you really had to have all four bags of those fun size chocolate candy bars. Either way, now you have a bunch of candy and while it’s great to eat on its own you can only do so much of that before you never want to look at a candy bar again.

Enter this Halloween Chocolate Lasagna. I hesitate to call it a Chocolate Lasagna since I think the name makes people not want to try it, but according to the internet and Pinterest that is what this layered chocolatey dessert is called. The bottom layer is a no-bake Oreo crust. Next up we have a sweetened cream cheese layer that’s been folded together with some whipped topping to make it light and fluffy. If you don’t want to use store bought whipped topping you could always fold in some homemade whipped cream so I put those directions in the recipe as well. The next two layers are creamy chocolate pudding and then whipped topping. Don’t forget the Halloween candy! You can use whichever chocolate candies you prefer. I chopped up Kit Kat, Reese’s, Milky Way, Snicker’s and 3 Musketeers and sneaked them in between the pudding layer.

This dessert is addictive, especially with the candy added in as a fun surprise. It tastes incredibly light while you are eating it, but it’s also very rich at the same time. Everyone who had this ate it up and they even each brought a bowl-full home.

The first time I ever heard of Chocolate Lasagna was last year when Matt’s mom made it for Christmas. The minute I saw all the whipped cream and chocolate I knew I was going to be in love. We kept the leftovers and by we I mean I may or may not have told Matt he couldn’t have any 😂. When I thought of turning it into a leftover Halloween candy dessert I asked Matt’s mom to send me the recipe so I could share it with all of you. And so I could get to eat it again since I had been dreaming about it since last Christmas. If you are looking for other leftover Halloween candy ideas, check out my Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies!

Leftover Halloween Candy Chocolate Lasagna

 

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Yield: 20 - 24 servings

Ingredients

• 1 14.3-ounce package of Oreo cookies, about 36 Oreos (not double stuff)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk, cold (use any fat percentage of milk except non-fat)
• 12 ounces frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), defrosted
• 2 4-ounce packages chocolate instant pudding
• 3¼ cups milk, cold (use at least 1% milk)
• About 3 cups chopped leftover Halloween candy
• Halloween sprinkles, for decorating

Directions

1. Crush the Oreo cookies using a food processor or by placing them in a large freezer bag and crushing them with a meat mallet or rolling pin. They don’t need to be fine crumbs, but there shouldn’t be any huge chunks of cookie. Pour the cookie crumbs into a large mixing bowl and stir in the melted butter until combined. Pour the crumb mixture into a 9x13 baking pan and press the crumbs to form an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate while you work on the rest of the layers.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in the sugar and the 2 tablespoons of milk then beat until combined. Fold in 1¼ cups of the whipped topping and spread in an even layer over the Oreo crust.
3. In a medium mixing bowl (or the same one used for the Oreo crust), combine both chocolate instant pudding mixes with the 3¼ cups cold milk. Whisk until the pudding starts to thicken. This will take several minutes; be sure to scrape from the bottom as you whisk. Spread half of the pudding in an even layer over the cream cheese layer. Top with the chopped candies then pour over the remaining half of the pudding and smooth with a spatula. Let sit in the fridge for at least 5 minutes so the pudding can firm up more. Spread the remaining whipped topping over the pudding layer. Place in the fridge for 4 hours or the freezer for 1 hour before serving. Add the Halloween sprinkles right before serving (the colors on the sprinkles may run if you add them ahead of time).

Notes

If you would prefer to use fresh whipped cream instead of frozen whipped topping, follow this substitution. Beat 1¾ cups cold heavy cream (in a cold metal mixing bowl with a cold beater is preferred) with ¾ cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until you have stiff peaks. This will make about 4 cups whipped cream.

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