Entertaining

Gingerbread Brownie Sundae with Peppermint Stick Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle

ALL, Entertaining, Sweets, Winter28

These Gingerbread Brownie Sundaes with Peppermint Stick Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle are a fun and interactive dessert that allows your whole family to come together around the table to assemble their own.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hudsonville Ice Cream. The opinions and text are all mine. Thank you for supporting the brands that make VV possible.

Gingerbread Brownie Sundae with Peppermint Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle

Welcome to one of the best seasons of the year (if I do so say myself) – holiday baking season! Although cookies are the go-to, I want to talk to you about making this sundae at your holiday gathering instead this year. The gingerbread brownie pieces in these sundaes allows you to get your cookie fix while taking it to the next level with Hudsvonville ice cream and a molasses drizzle – what’s not to like?? Plus, having a little sundae bar set up at the table will take the pressure off of you and create a fun little interactive station that allows the family to gather around and create their own dessert.

For the ice cream, I used Hudsonville’s seasonal Peppermint Stick ice cream which has an incredibly creamy vanilla base with crush peppermint sticks folded in. It compliments the gingerbread perfectly but is only available during the holiday season which is just one more reason to make these sundaes sooner than later!

As for the molasses drizzle, the holidays are the perfect time to pull out that bottle of molasses that you’ve been hiding in the back of your baking pantry. Instead of making hot fudge, warm molasses slightly (this will thin it out and also create a delicious contrast to the cold ice cream) to drizzle on your sundae.

Gingerbread Brownie Sundae with Peppermint Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle

Love this holiday recipes and want even more? Luckily for us, Hudsonville Ice cream compiled an entire ebook of holiday dessert recipes! You can download it HERE and receive access to coupons so you can make these recipes for the holidays as well!

Now go prep these Gingerbread brownie sundaes for you and your family to devour while watching your favorite holiday movie (Elf anyone?).

Gingerbread Brownie Sundae with Peppermint Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle
Gingerbread Brownie Sundae with Peppermint Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle
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Gingerbread Brownie Sundae with Peppermint Stick Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle

These Gingerbread Brownie Sundaes with Peppermint Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle are a fun and interactive dessert that allows your whole family to come together around the table to assemble their own.

Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Brownies:
  • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips I used mini-chips but regular will work too
Everything else:
  • 48 fluid oz. Hudsonville Peppermint Ice Cream
  • ¼ cup warmed molasses
  • garnish options: crushed peppermint candies chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in ½ cup molasses, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Let cool for 5 minutes and then whisk in the eggs.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and sea salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture. Use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet, just until combined. Mix in half the chocolate chips.
  4. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan and smooth out into an even layer. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake until the center is set, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
  5. When ready to serve, divide the ice cream evenly between 12 bowls. Crumble the gingerbread brownies over the ice cream and drizzle with warm molasses. Sprinkle with peppermint candy or chocolate chips, is using. Serve right away before the ice cream melts!
Gingerbread Brownie Sundae with Peppermint Ice Cream & Molasses Drizzle

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze

ALL, Entertaining, Side, Thanksgiving, Winter33

This Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze is an easy veg-packed Thanksgiving side that is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze

The Thanksgiving count down is in full force – can you believe it’s ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!? Oh wow wow wow! Despite posting my shopping list on instagram stories earlier today, I just don’t feel prepared. I’ve got the food all sorted but boy oh boy do we still need to clean the house…and figure out the table decorations…and get a final headcount on how many people are coming. This thought tunnel of to-dos makes me wonder why I’m on the internet writing this blog post right now and not prepping…but oh wait, I need to tell you about this recipe. That is why I’m here!

Whether you are hosting or just a guest, it’s always great to have a few easy recipes, like this Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze, in your back pocket for the big day! While the Brussels sprouts roast, you make a quick glaze to toss them in which means all of this all takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze

In addition to this recipe being so easy, I love how it allows you to have a little green on the table because, let’s be real, a whole lot of carbs, starch, and meat appear at Thanksgiving so having a little green on the table to balance things out isn’t going to hurt anyone.

The sweet and spicy buffalo sauce compliments the earthy brussels sprouts perfectly so even the pickiest of eaters can get behind this recipe. Feel free to garnish it with scallions and lemon zest if you are feeling fancy or serve as is if you are short on time – they will be delicious either way!

5 from 1 vote
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze
Ingredients
  • 1 pound brussels sprouts halved and trimmed
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup buffalo sauce
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 scallions thinly sliced
  • lemon zest for garnish (optional)
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss Brussels sprouts with 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt, and a turn of freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and spread out into a single layer. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, tossing halfway through, or until browned on most sides.

  2. Meanwhile, combine honey, buffalo sauce, and butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the butter has melted and the glaze has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes.

  3. When Brussels sprouts are done, transfer to a large mixing bowl and toss in the glaze until completely coated with the glaze. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if needed.

  4. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with scallion slices and lemon zest (if using). Serve right away.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Sweet Buffalo Glaze

Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? Check out my 25 Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes round-up!

Cheddar Corn Pudding with Crispy Spicy Sweet Topping

ALL, Entertaining, Side, Thanksgiving, Winter45

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KitchnAid. The opinions and text are all mine. Thank you for supporting the brands that make VV possible.

This Cheddar Corn Pudding with Crispy Spicy Sweet Topping is a creative and delicious Thanksgiving side. The inside is similar enough to traditional corn pudding to please the traditionalist while the crunchy topping brings a whole new level to your Thanksgiving table.

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away – can you believe it?! Do you have your menu planned? And your shopping list sorted? Truth be told, I’m still working on it but at least I’ve perfected this Cheddar Corn Pudding recipe to steal the spotlight. If nothing else, there will be corn pudding!

As a vegetarian, I find the sides to be way more important than the turkey because well, there isn’t turkey on my table. BUT if there was, it still would only be taking up 1/3 of your plate while the sides take up the other third. So why not put as much, if not more, effort into the sides? I always like to straddle the line between traditional and modern when it comes to my Thanksgiving side recipes because I crave the traditional recipes (cornbread casserole, sweet potato casserole, etc) but get so bored with cooking the same recipes every year. And this is exactly why I wanted to develop a corn pudding recipe that was similar enough to the traditional casserole that it’d please the purists while also bringing something new to the table.

I pulled out my new KitchenAid K400 blender to help me whip this up quickly (which is essential when it comes to Thanksgiving cooking – we have too much to cook to spend too much time on any one recipe). It allowed me to evenly whiz up the breadcrumb topping and then cream all the ingredients together within minutes so I could pop it into the oven ASAP and move on to the next thing.

The KitchenAid K400 blender worked so perfectly for this – when it arrived, there was no assembling required and it was powerful enough to easily chop up my bread within seconds. It also comes in an array of colors and the white looks very stylish on my counter. Plus, it can hold a ton of liquid – I was pleasantly surprised at how much space there still was after I put all the liquid ingredients in for this recipe.

Now let’s get into the nitty gritty of this corn pudding. The inside is what you’d expect from a corn pudding but the real show stopper is the sweet and savory crunchy topping. It’s a mix of corn flakes and country bread that is then tossed in a brown butter, honey, and a chili garlic mixture to create a sweet and savory crunchy top.

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Cheddar Corn Pudding with Crispy Spicy Sweet Topping
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 15-oz can cream-style corn
For the topping:
  • 1/2 loaf country bread torn into large pieces
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 2 cups corn flakes
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter.

  2. Tear large pieces of country bread into blender. Cover and pulse 3-4 times or until large breadcrumbs have formed. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

  3. Rinse blender and then add milk, 4 Tbsp melted butter, cornstarch, and eggs into blender. Blend until completely incorporated, about 5 seconds. Add frozen corn, cheese, and cream-style corn and pulse twice to incorporate.

  4. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan and bake for 45 minutes.

  5. Meanwhile, heat 4 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium until the butter has turned down brown and smells nutty, about 4 minutes (watch closely as it will turn past once it starts!). Remove from heat and whisk in chili garlic sauce and honey. Pour corn flakes and breadcrumbs and toss to coat.

  6. When the casserole has 10 minutes left, remove from oven, sprinkle crunchy topping over the casserole and put back in the oven for the remaining time.

  7. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

25 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dishes

ALL, Entertaining, Round-Up, Thanksgiving96

Time to talk about my favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes! Similar to the round-up I did last year, this list features everything from easy vegetarian appetizers to delicious vegetarian Thanksgiving main dishes!

Before we dig into this round-up of vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes, I also wanted to remind you all that I have these resource pages for Thanksgiving as well:

Quick Starters and Appetizers

This Butternut Squash Hummus with Brown Butter & Fried Sage is an fall easy appetizer and snack. The nutty brown butter gives an extra flavor punch to the already rich hummus.

This Roasted Beet Hummus with Hazelnut Oil & Rosemary recipe is a bright and easy snack worthy of serving to guests.

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Peach Tea Lemonade Recipe

ALL, Drinks, Entertaining, Summer, Vegan58

Meet your new summer drink: homemade Peach Tea Lemonade! Simple to make, packed with in-season peaches, and bound to keep you cool during these humid summer days!

Peach Tea Lemonade

Summer is flying right by! I was excited to snag a 25 pound box of peaches from the Georgia Peach Truck last week; it gave me the perfect excuse to spend the weekend baking up a storm to work my way through the box. I can get a little antsy in the summer because it looks gorgeous outside but it’s actually 95 degrees, insanely humid, and buggy as all get out. So, instead, I try to channel that antsy energy into the kitchen and get creative with all the produce popping up.

Peach Tea Lemonade
Peach Tea Lemonade
Peach Tea Lemonade

The first recipe I developed with my peaches was this Peach Tea Lemonade! This Peach Tea Lemonade is so refreshing – a touch sweet, herbal, and flavorful!

For the tea, I used roobis tea because I love the way it blends with lemon. If you aren’t a roobis fan, you could also use chamomile or black tea depending on what you have on hand. Also, traditional simple syrup usually has a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar. However, since the peaches are already sweet and I don’t like my drinks too sweet, I cut down on the sugar for the syrup. Feel free to add more sugar at the end when you are ready to serve if you think it needs a little more for your liking.

Start by making a simple syrup and then mixing the lemon juice straight into it. From there, brew the tea and let it cool while the simple syrup cools. Once at room temperature, we combine the two and let chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Easy! Serve it with additional slices of lemon, peaches, or mint for an extra pop of color!

Peach Tea Lemonade recipe:

Peach Tea Lemonade
Peach Tea Lemonade
Peach Tea Lemonade
5 from 2 votes
Peach Tea Lemonade
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Peach Tea Lemonade Recipe

Meet your new summer drink: homemade Peach Tea Lemonade! Simple to make, packed with in-season peaches, and bound to keep you cool during these humid summer days!

Ingredients
  • 3 peaches pitted and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 6 cups water divided
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)
  • 4 roobis tea bags
  • Fresh mint, lemon slices, and peach slices for serving
Instructions

  1. Place peach pieces, 2 cups water, and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until the peaches has become very soft.

  2. Use the back of a fork or spoon to break up and smash the pieces of peaches to release some of their juices. Continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

  3. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Add in the lemon juice and set aside.

  4. While the peach syrup is simmering, bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, add tea bags, cover, and let steep for as long as the package directions suggest.

  5. Combine the peach-lemon mixture with the tea, cover, and transfer to the fridge to chill for at least an hour.

  6. When ready to serve, taste and add more water if you’d like it more diluted. Transfer to serving glasses, top with ice, and garnish with mint, lemon, and peach slices.

Peach Tea Lemonade

More peach recipe ideas:

Brunch Board With Jarlsberg Cheesy Popovers & Dill-Lemon Butter

ALL, Appetizer, Breakfast, Entertaining, Entree, Spring60

This Brunch Board with Cheesy Popovers & Dill-Lemon Butter is the perfect Easter brunch meal to feed your hungry family! This post is made in sponsorship with Jarlsberg Cheese– thank you for supporting the brands that support VV!

For this year’s Easter brunch, can we please say goodbye to the boring egg casseroles and instead say hellooooo to a vibrantly fresh and super versatile brunch board? Mine is loaded with cheesy mini popovers, Jarlsberg cheese cubes and wedges, lemon-dill butter, sour cherry jam, honey, and a huge pile of blanched / boiled / fresh veggies!

Where to even start with this delicious spread. First up, the cheesy and eggy popovers taste like you are biting into the fluffiest cheesy savory pancake without all the work out that goes into flipping them. Instead. whip up the batter, pour into greased mini cupcake molds, pop in the oven, and viola! They come out puffed and slowly deflate as they cool to create the a perfect light bite that is delicious on it’s own but next level if you break it in half and top with cherry preserves and a slice of cheese! The mild and nutty flavor from Jarlsberg cheese is the perfect compliment to sour cherry preserves and the egg based. This is also the only part of the board that requires cooking so make these first and then assemble all of your other components while they bake.

While the popovers bake, whip up the flavored butter (perfect for smearing all over the fresh veggies), chop your veggies, cheese and transfer everything to a serving board. Once the popovers are ready, add them to the serving platter and serve!

Interested in making your own brunch board but don’t want to go out and buy all the ingredients? Luckily for you, Jarlsberg has partnered with Marissa Mullen to giveaway an Easter Brunch gift basket! The contest runs from April 5th, 2019 to April 18th, 2019. What are you waiting for? Here are two ways to ENTER NOW!

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Brunch Board With Cheesy Popovers & Dill-Lemon Butter

This Brunch Board with Cheesy Popovers & Dill-Lemon Butter is the perfect Easter brunch meal to feed your hungry family

Servings: 8
Ingredients
For the miniature popovers:
  • 2 Tbsp butter melted
  • 1 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup shredded Jarslberg cheese
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp salt
For the lemon-dill butter
  • 3 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
  • 1 /2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • lemon zest from 1 lemon
  • dash of salt and pepper
Everything else
  • 1 apple cored and sliced
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup jam (I used sour cherry jam and it was so good)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1-10 oz wedge Jarlsberg original cheese
  • 1-8 oz wedge Jarslberg smoked cheese cut into cubes
  • 1 package Jarlsberg orginal cheese snack
  • 6 cups raw veggies such as carrots, radishes, snap peas, new pototoes, etc. (boiled if using new potatoes) cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 package crackers of your choice
Instructions
For the popovers:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and butter 3 miniature muffin tins (you can also work in batches if you don’t have 3). Warm the milk slightly by transferring to a large microwave safe mixing bowl and microwave for about 1 minute.

  2. Add eggs, melted butter, flour, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, and salt and whisk just until combined (it’ll be lighter the less it’s mixed). Transfer to the fridge and let chill while you prep the pans.

  3. Place pans in preheated oven for 2 minutes (but not much longer or the butter you greased with will smoke). Once warmed, carefully remove from oven and pour the batter into the muffin tin so each is about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until brown on the top. If working in batches, transfer the leftover batter to the fridge to chill while the rest of the muffins bake.

  4. Once browned, remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter (if working in batches). Once cooled slightly, transfer to serving platter.

For the lemon-dill butter:

  1. In a small mixing bowl, use a spatula to fold the lemon zest and dill into the butter. Transfer to a serving dish and place on platter.

To assemble:

  1. Toss apple slices with lemon juice and transfer to serving platter. Transfer the jam and honey to serving bowls and add to your platter. Transfer cheese to serving platter making sure to leave space between them. Fill in remaining space on the board with veggies and crackers. Serve!

Smoky Quinoa Vegetarian Nachos

ALL, Appetizer, Entertaining, Snack59

Looking for a munchies recipe to make for your next movie marathon or game night? These Smoky Quinoa Vegetarian Nachos are easy to make, addicting, and super versatile so you can easily adapt the recipe to what you like most about nachos (cheese…lots of melty cheese).

Smoky Quinoa Vegetarian Nachos

You all ready to eat your hearts out on Sunday during the Super Bowl? I have no idea who is playing, where it’s at this year, or who will be performing at half time but what I do know that our living room table is going to be filled with delicious snacks. I’m planning to make a huge mound of these nachos along a Pumpkin cheeseball, this Roasted Beet dip, and a batch of Tahini Chocolate Chip cookies. Once you factor in all the time I’m going to spend making and eating all of this, who has time to watch a sports game anyway? ; )

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20 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes You Should Try This Year

ALL, Entertaining, Entree, Fall, Round-Up, Sweets, Thanksgiving, Winter98

Thanksgiving is less than a week away – do you know what you are making yet? Whether you are planning the whole menu or just looking for a dish or two to bring to the party, I’ve got 20 Vegetarian Thanksgiving that are perfect for the occasion.

 

Quick Starters and Appetizers

This Roasted Beet Hummus with Hazelnut Oil & Rosemary recipe is a bright and easy snack worthy of serving to guests.

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Marinated Goat Cheese with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Olives

ALL, Appetizer, Drinks, Entertaining, Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter45

In a hurry? Click here to JUMP TO RECIPE!

This Marinated Goat Cheese with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Olives recipe is an easy appetizer that can be made ahead of time and is a great starter to serve at your holiday parties!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Day Owl Rosè. The opinions and text are all mine. Thank you for supporting the brands that make VV possible. Msg 4 21+Tracking Pixel

Marinated Goat Cheese with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Olives

 

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Chai Spiced Apple Cider Cocktail

ALL, Drinks, Entertaining, Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter104

In a hurry? Click here to JUMP TO RECIPE!

This festive Chai Spiced Apple Cider Cocktail recipe is a delicious fall drink that can be easily made with booze or as a mocktail.

Chai Spiced Apple Cider

I seem to be on a roll with chai-spiced apple recipes this season which I am not at all sorry about (because both of these makes your house smell A M A Z I N G and oh so fall). Ever since my mom moved into her beach home near Lake Michigan in May, I’ve been up to visit her at least once a month. We’ve already worked ourselves into a little Saturday routine which consists of browsing her nearest farmers market and then stopping at both a small Swedish bakery for pastries and a cute little grocery store / coffee shop for sandwiches to pack for a lazy afternoon at the beach. One the last trip up there a few weeks ago, I picked up a really delicious iced Chai Cider which should honestly be the official drink of September because it was the perfect mix of fall spices while still being a refreshing warm weather thirst quencher. As I was sipping on it, I couldn’t help but think about how simple it was – I’m sure it was just half local apple cider and half of their homemade chai mix they use in lattes. Genius! I knew I had to create my own.

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