Hawaiian Baked Beans

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This is by far one of my favorite family recipes. My mom has been making this since we were young, and it's always requested at birthday get-togethers, BBQs or any time we're over my parents' house. It's definitely a kicked up version of the normal baked beans most people had growing up. But in a good way.

It's unlike any other baked bean recipe I've had before, since it includes loads of bacon, chunks of cheddar cheese and even pieces of pineapple. Yes, I know that sounds weird, but it's definitely my favorite part. The sweet contrast against the rest of the ingredients is the best. If there's a shortage of pineapple in the pan, you can most likely find it in my dish. A lack of cheese is because of my Dad, and missing bacon can be blamed on any one of my brothers. We each have a favorite part, but the whole thing together is an excellent combination. Give this one a try at your next BBQ or football gathering and I'm sure it will get everyone swooning. Enjoy!

Printable Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 (15 oz.) cans pork & beans, undrained
• 1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 (15 oz.) can butter beans (or cannellini beans or navy beans, anything but garbanzo beans), drained & rinsed
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, cubed (more if you like it cheesy)
• 1 (15 oz.) can chunk pineapple, drained (more if you like)
• 1/2 lb. bacon, crispy and crumbled (more if you like)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix beans, cheese and pineapple in a 9x13" baking dish.

Cook bacon until crispy. Drain excess fat, leaving 1-2 tablespoons to cook the onions in. Once the bacon is cooled, crumble and set aside.

Add the onions to the skillet with the bacon grease. When the onions are soft, add the sugar, ketchup and Worcestershire. Heat until boiling.

Add the hot onion mixture to the bean mixture. Mix in bacon crumbles. Cover with foil and bake covered for about 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the beans are set.

Source: My Mom

Zucchini, Squash and Ricotta Galette

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This galette kind of like a girl version of a typical pizza. Instead of heavy dough, the crust is light and flaky. The stringy Mozzarella is removed and replaced with sweet ricotta and a blend of spices. And lastly, there's no pepperoni, bacon, sausage or ham. Instead, fresh zucchini, squash and basil are placed on top for a refreshing and summery bite. Hence, I made this when Chris was out of the house. He probably would have laughed.

This galette would be amazing for brunch, a girls' day, a winery trip or a book club meeting. I honestly just snacked on this myself throughout the week, but it would be perfectly fine if you wanted to share.

....not that you'd really want to. It's so good that you might just want to keep it to yourself just like me. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. light butter, chilled
• 2 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, chilled
• 1/4-1/2 cup of ice water

Filling:

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium yellow summer squash
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 egg white (reserve yolk for egg wash)
• 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Egg Wash:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp. water

Topping:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a food processor (or a medium bowl) combine flour and salt for crust. Pulse (or cut) in butter. Once butter is mostly into small chunks, pulse (or cut) in cream cheese. Once butter and cream cheese are in pea size pieces, slowly pulse in 1/4 cup of water until dough begins to come together (adding one tablespoon of water extra as needed). Remove from food processor and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic and place in refrigerator.

Cut the zucchini and squash into thin circles. Spread the cut zucchini and squash onto several layers of paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and let drain for 30 minutes. After that time, gently blot the zucchini and squash. Set aside.

Whisk together ricotta, egg white, garlic, honey, thyme, and cheeses. Set aside.

After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-14″ circle and transfer to a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Spread the ricotta filling evenly over the pie crust, leaving a 2″ border around the edge. Next, evenly arrange the zucchini/squash into an overlapping pattern on top of the ricotta filling. Fold over the edges of the crust, pleating as needed to make and even circle.

Combine the egg yolk/water and brush the outer edge of the crust. Drizzle olive oil on top of the zucchini/squash and place in oven.

Bake galette for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the cheese has puffed. Remove from oven and sprinkle with basil. Cut into wedges and serve. This is great hot, at room temperature or even straight from the refrigerator as a leftover. Enjoy!

Source: Adapted from Naturally Ella

Monster Cookies (Gluten-Free)

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In anticipation of my sweet little niece coming to our house for a sleepover, I wanted to have the house stocked with Princess fruit snacks, chocolate candies, lots of cookies and maybe some grapes...or something. Since she takes after her other female family members, she is a huge chocolate lover and her big brown eyes light up whenever some comes into reach.

Monster cookies can be made with just about anything as a filler, and as soon as I saw peanut butter AND chocolate in the ingredients I knew that these would be a winner. They came out soft and chewy; perfect for kids. I made these cookies as big as her little head and put them in a pretty cookie stand while awaiting her arrival.

In the 24 hours she was at our house, not once did she even look in the direction of these cookies. I think I had too much chocolate lying around for her to even consider switching it up. I probably overwhelmed the poor girl. Guess I asked for that!

On the bright side, two of my brothers came over for dinner that same weekend and they really enjoyed these! My younger brother is on a gluten-free diet, and since these are made without flour he was able to happily indulge. So even though the little princess wasn't having these, at least the three men gobbled them up. I'll take what I can get. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg white
• 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup Reese's peanut butter pieces
• 1/2 cup M&M's plain chocolate candies

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper or a silpat mats.

In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter with the sugars and butter. Use an electric mixer to mix until well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the oats and baking soda. Then stir in the Reece's and M&M's.

Drop the cookies by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. If you'd like your cookies to look pretty, dot a few extra M&M's and chocolate chips on each mound of dough before baking.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets until cookies are set. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Source: Adapted from Recipe Girl

Shrimp Quesadillas

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Quesadillas are a perfect weeknight dinner because they don't take much time and you can cater the filling to whatever your household desires. I used to have cheese quesadillas for dinner a lot when I was single and living on my own, but never thought they would pass as dinner if I made them once I was married. They just didn't seem "substantial" enough.

Adding marinated shrimp to the quesadillas and serving them alongside homemade guacamole upped the ante of these quesadillas by tenfold. I'm sure they will be requested for dinner a lot more often now that we've both had a taste. The spice blend on the shrimp added a little kick, while the combination of cheeses mellowed out the spiciness a tad, but added a great gooey contrast to the crispy tortilla. If you're not big on shrimp, you can easily substitute chicken or steak. You could even leave out a meat altogether and simple cook up some peppers and onions to place on top. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
• 4 large tortillas
• Extra oil, for brushing
• Sour cream, for serving (optional)
• Guacamole, for serving (optional)
• Salsa, for serving (optional)

Cut the shrimp into bite-size pieces. Place in a medium bowl with garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, pepper and lime juice. Allow to marinate for 10-30  minutes.

After the shrimp is done marinating, add 1 tbsp. of oil to a skillet over medium heat. Cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Mix all the cheeses in a bowl and set aside.

Lightly spread one side of each tortilla with vegetable oil. Place one tortilla, oil side down, in a separate skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle on half of the cheese mixture and half of the shrimp mixture. Top with another tortilla, oil side up.

Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes or until lightly brown and cheese begins to melt. Flip quesadilla by placing a dish on top, flipping it onto the plate, and then sliding it back into the skillet. Cook the other side of the quesadilla for an additional 2-3 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Note: You can cover the skillet with a lid in order to speed up the melting process.

Repeat with remaining two tortillas, shrimp mixture and cheeses.

Serve immediately with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

Source: SK Original

Strawberry-Banana Muffins

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First of all, Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the day off!

Second of all, these muffins. How pretty right? And they're equally as tasty.

These muffins are a delicious little morning treat. They're moist and packed with flavor. At first I was weary that strawberry and bananas would taste good together in a muffin, but they compliment each other beautifully. The bananas make the muffin really moist and I loved the small chunks of strawberry that filled each muffin. I'm sure kids would love these as an alternative to their normal breakfast. They're also a quick snack to grab while running out the door on your way to work. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup fresh strawberries (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners or lightly butter or spray the muffin cups with a vegetable spray.

In a small saucepan melt the butter. Let cool to room temperature.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.

In another large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. (This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking.) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Can be stored for a few days at room temperature.

Source: Joy of Baking