Faygo Cola Baby Back Ribs

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New Yorkers may have their cheesecake and Chicagoans may have their deep dish pizza, but here in Detroit we have Faygo. If you aren’t from Michigan you may not have heard of Faygo, but it’s a Detroit brand of pop (or soda) that comes in a ton of fun flavors. From Orange Crush to Rock n Rye to Pineapple, Faygo has pretty much every flavor of pop covered. So it came as no surprise that a Faygo recipe contest was held here in Michigan a few years back. Winning recipes included Rock n Rye Braised Pot Roast and Pineapple Faygo Pound Cake. But the recipe that really stuck out to me was the Grand Prize winning Faygo Cola Ribs. I received the Faygo recipe contest cookbook for Christmas, and have been waiting for barbeque season to give this winning recipe a try. And this past weekend I made the Faygo Cola ribs for my family, and we were blown away by just how good they were. And the recipe is so easy that it made me wonder why I don’t make ribs more often. The ribs were incredibly tender and the meat fell off the bone easily. The Faygo Cola barbeque sauce was slightly spicy, and full of flavor. Definitely the perfect new recipe to try for your Memorial Day Barbeque this weekend. Enjoy!

Ingredients: Serves 6-7 , Recipe adapted slightly from the Faygo Recipe Cookbook

  • 6 pounds of baby back pork ribs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 cup Faygo cola
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Preparation:

  1. Place ribs on a large cutting board and use a paring knife to remove the white fatty membrane from the underside of the ribs (the side closest to the bone)
  2. Rub ribs with salt, pepper, and steak seasoning and place in a large roasting pan and cover with tin foil
  3. Place ribs in the oven, and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours
  4. To make the Faygo barbeque sauce, combine next 8 ingredients in a large bowl (garlic salt through hot sauce)
  5. After ribs have cooked for the first hour and a half, remove from oven and pour Faygo barbeque sauce evenly over the ribs
  6. Cover ribs with tin foil, and return them to the oven for another 1 1/2 hours of cooking time
  7. Remove ribs from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes before serving

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Wedding Cake Tasting

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Our wedding is now less than a year away, so as we get closer to the date, I thought I would share a few wedding planning updates with you all. We’ve gotten quite a bit done since we got engaged last December, and it has been especially nice taking our time with the planning process. So far we have picked the venue, photographer, florist and band for our “Green & White” April wedding. We picked green and white as homage to our alma mater, Michigan State University. But we’re hoping for a subtle toast to our beloved MSU rather than a tailgate themed wedding. No pom pons or confetti, but still a good amount of green and white throughout.

And it probably will come at no surprise to you that the wedding planning task that Eric and I were most looking forward to was the cake testing. We aren’t overly concerned with how the cake looks, but since we’ve dubbed ourselves cake connoisseurs, we wanted to make sure it was very delicious. Back when I worked as a Wedding & Events Manager at a country club, I got to see (and sometimes taste) my fair share of wedding cakes. One of the bakeries that our brides at the club used the most often was Holiday Market, so we decided to try it out as well.

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We arrived at the market a little early and had no trouble passing the time strolling through the aisles. Eric even found an aisle devoted solely to barbeque sauce. Huge win.

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Soon enough it was time to meet with Leanne, our wedding cake consultant (talk about a fun job!) to look through some of her past work and taste some of the cakes. We had chosen 4 selections of flavors prior to our appointment so we knew ahead of time what we would get to taste. Eric and I both aren’t huge fans of cake with fruit fillings so we stuck to 4 varieties featuring mousse fillings.

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She brought out two little cakes that featured two of our selected flavors. We tried Yellow Cake with Chocolate Mousse filling, Yellow Cake with Strawberry Mouse filling, Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Mousse filling and Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Mousse Filling. The cake was incredibly moist and flavorful and the buttercream frosting was light and fluffy and not overly sweet, which we loved. All of the mousse selections were pretty amazing but there was one clear winner. Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Mousse. It was incredible. But since we realize not every one has the exact same devotion to chocolate and peanut butter as we do, we are opting to utilize all of the flavors in different layers of our cake. We even got to take home the leftovers to share with our parents…. although we did warn them ahead of time, we may not have any of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake left to share. Yum!

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Almond Bread

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Before I started my massive cookbook collection and before food blogs stormed the internet, my main source of recipes was Cooking Light Magazine. I used to carefully scour page after page of this monthly magazine and rip out recipes even when I was in grade school. I remember making their marshmallow peanut butter brownies for my 4th grade birthday treat (with a little help from my mom, of course). And here we are,15 years later and I am still a huge fan of Cooking Light. From easy dinner recipes to decadent (but healthy!) desserts, I am pretty much a lifelong fan. And this recipe for Almond Quick Bread is yet another Cooking Light Recipe. The bread tastes rich and decadent and is full of almond flavor, yet it is low in sugar, fat and calories. That’s a win-win in my book. I recently made this bread for “my big girlfriend” Alexandra, because she just had her adorable new baby, Alex…who by the way, is pretty much the cutest baby in the world. This recipe is great to give as a gift and a perfect feature at a Sunday Brunch. So next time, skip the decadent bakery bread and try out this recipe- you definitely will not regret it. Enjoy!

Ingredients: Makes 1 loaf, Recipe from Cooking Light

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 7oz package of almond paste
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup 2% milk
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preparation:

  1. In a medium bowl, combine first 3 ingredients (flour through salt) and set aside
  2. In a large bowl, place cream sugar, butter and canola oil together until just combined
  3. Add almond paste to sugar mixture and beat until well combined (about 3 minutes)
  4. Beat in egg, one at a time
  5. Beat in vanilla extract
  6. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk into sugar mixture, beating well after each addition
  7. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle with slivered almonds
  8. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes

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“Fully Loaded” Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

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Around here, I tend to consider peanut butter a food group of its own. Whether its smothered on a piece of toast in the morning or its just a spoonful straight from the jar, I definitely manage to fit peanut butter into my diet every day. I love the creamy (or crunchy!) texture and the smooth peanut taste. So I kind of surprised myself when I realized I only have one peanut butter cookie recipe here on this blog. And although my Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie recipe is one of my favorites, I felt I needed to share another cookie recipe that features this delicious nutty spread. And what goes better with peanut butter than chocolate? I threw an assortment of chocolate chips and chocolate covered raisins into this classic, fluffy peanut butter cookie recipe and was delighted with the results.  I added cornstarch into the batter, a tip I learned from Pinterest, and the result was incredibly soft & fluffy cookies. I brought these cookies into work with me because I knew it would probably be wiser to share 2 dozen cookies with my coworkers than to leave them in my own kitchen. Well, I think these cookies were a hit, because they disappeared within hours. Although I added chocolate chips and chocolate covered raisins, you could definitely vary the mix-ins for a number of different peanut butter cookie varieties. (I think crushed pretzels or m&m’s would be delicious!) So have some fun and incorporate some peanut butter into you daily diet. It’s a health food, I promise.

Ingredients: Makes 24 cookies

  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chocolate covered raisins

Preparation:

  1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy
  2. Beat in egg until just combined
  3. Beat in peanut butter and vanilla
  4. Add baking soda, cornstarch & flour and mix until just combined
  5. Place dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill
  6. Remove dough from fridge and stir in chocolate chips and chocolate covered raisins
  7. Place tablespoons of dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes

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Mother’s Day Recipe Round Up

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Mother’s Day is the day we get to celebrate the wonderful women in our lives, and I feel pretty blessed that all the “moms” in my life are definitely worth celebrating. I’m lucky to say that my mom is my best friend and my go to person for just about everything. (You may have noticed I talk about her a lot on this blog) My sweet Grandma Dolly is the best Grandma around, and I am so lucky to say that my future mother-in-law is absolutely wonderful as well. And since I’m sure you all have some fantastic ladies to celebrate next Sunday, I thought I would share a few of my favorite brunch recipes with all of you. Seeing as breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day, I realized I have quite a few recipes to share. From main dishes to sweet breakfast desserts, below you will find a delicious list of recipes that are sure to impress your mama next Sunday. Enjoy!

 

Breakfast “Main Dishes”

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast Casserole

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

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Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal

Banana Coconut Pancakes

Muffins and Breakfast Breads

Orange Blossom Muffins

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Blueberry Crumble Muffins

Vegan Chocolate Muffins

Vegan Raspberry Muffins

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Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Vanilla Bean Scones

Pumpkin Scones

Coconut Crusted Banana Bread

Coconut Lime Bread

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Breakfast “Desserts”

Apple Turnovers

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Baked Apple Cinnamon Donuts

Mini Blueberry Pastries

Lemon Blueberry Bars

My BFF Julie

My BFF Julie

Falling Down Brewery

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As I mentioned once before, Eric and I are on a mission to visit every brewery in Michigan, and this weekend we knocked another one off our list. And our trip to Falling Down Brewery in Warren was a perfect example of finding a diamond in the rough. Falling Down Brewery opened about a month ago, and though it doesn’t look like much from the outside, it was absolutely fantastic. I’ll be honest, when we drove up to the brewery, I was pretty skeptical. Eric commented that the building must have been a McDonald’s at one time because it certainly looked like one…even down to the plastic marquee outside. But as soon as we sat down and were given the menu, we had a feeling there might be a little more than meets the eye. And boy we were right. We started with flights of beer, which is always such a fun way to sample all of their brews without…as the brewery name implies..falling down at the end of the night. We got to try 2 oz samples of all 4 of the beers on tap. My favorite was the Amber Ale which was an American Amber with a slightly carmel taste to it. And though we liked the beer, what we really loved was the food. The menu consisted of mostly fun and unique sandwiches that packed in a ton of flavor. My choice was the spicy chicken sandwich:

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The Spicy Chicken was blackened rotisserie chicken, topped with bacon, arugula, avocado and spicy Sriracha aioli. The sandwich had so many different layers of flavor and textures. And served with tangy cole slaw and house made chips, this dinner hit the spot. We kept saying we would definitely have to come back to sample some of the other menu items. Like the BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders or the Cuban Sandwich. The fun thing about our little Michigan Brewery Challenge is that we probably never would have given this spot a second glance but is definitely a place we will most likely visit again. A hidden gem with good beer and good food is a great spot in my book. Happy Sunday!

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Berry Salad with Cornflake Crusted Chicken

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Whenever I go out to eat, I’m drawn to salads that are filled with an interesting mix of produce and topped with a delicious source of protein. But then I’m left wondering why I just spent $15 on something I could easily make at home. So this past Sunday I did just that. I wandered through the produce aisle, and just picked out a few different items that sounded good. Like a fresh mix of berries and a perfectly ripe avocado. I love the contrast of the creamy and mild avocado with the sweet and slightly tart berries. And since I wanted to give an added punch of protein (and I had a certain guy coming over that would NOT eat a plain salad for dinner) I decided to throw together some healthified crispy chicken strips. And rather than use Panko breadcrumbs, like I usually do, I decided to use cornflakes as the main component in the crust. And I thought it had fantastic results. The chicken is perfectly tender with a crunchy and flavorful crust. I made a large enough batch of the chicken strips to have leftovers for quick dinners throughout the week, but you could easily divide the chicken portion of this recipe in half to have just enough for a couple salads. And there you have a perfectly light spring meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients: Makes 2 large salads and 12 chicken strips (plenty of leftovers!)

  • 2 packages thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 4 cups cornflakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 4 cups mixed greens or chopped romaine
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced into strips
  • 1/2 cup mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries & blackberries)
  • Raspberry Vinaigrette

Preparation:

  1. Place chicken strips in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish and cover with buttermilk; place in fridge and let sit for 3-4 hours
  2. Place next 5 ingredients in a food processor (cornflakes through mozzarella) and grind until mixture resembles coarse crumbs
  3. Place cornflake mixture into another 13 x 9 inch baking dish and dredge chicken breast in mixture until completely coated
  4. Place cornflake crusted chicken strips on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes
  5. To assemble salad, mix greens, avocado & mixed berries together and top with cooled chicken
  6. Drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette to taste

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Healthified Bob Evans Biscuits

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According to Eric, one of the things that he likes about me is that I am not a food snob. Although I certainly don’t mind eating at upscale restaurants when I can, I definitely do not turn my nose up at chain restaurants either.  I love the Asian Chicken Roll Up at Applebees and don’t even get me started on the Cornbread from Boston Market. And yet another one of my other favorite chain restaurant staples are the buttery, flaky biscuits from Bob Evans. And although I love these delicious biscuits, I know they are definitely more of a “now and then” food than something I should eat every weekend. So I was excited to find a lightened up recipe for flaky, homestyle biscuits in my latest issue of Cooking Light. This recipe uses a mixture of butter and canola oil to add moisture, whereas the Bob Evans classics most likely contain butter and *gulp* lard. And seeing as lard is not an ingredient I want to consume regularly, this Cooking Light recipe is a great one to have on hand. The result is a soft, slightly nutty tasting biscuit that is perfect when topped with a swirl of honey or jam. Serve with my Homemade Buffalo Wild Wings Naked Tenders and you’ve got yourself a dinner straight from chain restaurant heaven.

Ingredients: Makes 12 biscuits

  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil

Preparation:

  1. Place dry ingredients (flours through baking soda) in a large bowl and mix until just combined
  2. Place butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute, or until butter has melted completely
  3. Add cold buttermilk into hot melted butter and stir until small clumps form
  4. Add canola oil to buttermilk mixture
  5. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined (do NOT overmix, as it will dry out the biscuits)
  6. Drop batter in mounds of 2 tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 450 for 11 minutes

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Whole Wheat Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup

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This weekend was a perfect mix of relaxing and busy. Saturday started with a 7 mile run and a few hours of wedding planning with the best wedding consultant I know- my mom! Next up was coffee with my wonderful friend Kerri who is getting married in less than 3 months! We had so much fun talking about wedding planning and decorating our future newlywed apartments. I feel like we were just in 9th grade choir class talking about what dresses we were wearing to homecoming and now here we are talking about what our first few years of marriage will be like. Where did the time go? And here we are on Sunday, ready to ease into the morning with the perfect weekend meal. Pancakes. Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. And though I love my weekday oatmeal or cereal, I have the firm belief that Sundays are for pancakes. With a little more time on the weekends, you can easily whip up some deliciously decadent tasting pancakes as you ease into your morning. The only problem with most pancake recipes is that they leave me feeling hungry an hour or two later. So I went in search of a recipe with a bit more fiber and protein. And this is when I stumbled upon Greek Yogurt pancakes. Recipes for these “delicious” pancakes are all over food blogs and Pinterest so I thought I would give them a try. And I gotta say…I was pretty disappointed. No matter how long I cooked them they still tasted like uncooked batter and I couldn’t eat more than a bite without feeling like I was eating raw dough. So into the trash can went my Greek yogurt pancake batter. And though my pancake batter went away, my craving for pancakes did not. But luckily, I have a fantastic recipe for whole wheat pancakes that are both delicious and filling. In lieu of sugary maple syrup, I topped mine with a PB2 syrup. As I mentioned before, PB2 is powdered peanut butter that has 85% less fat and calories than traditional peanut butter. When mixed with water and a little honey, you can create a peanut butter syrup that is around 50 calories per serving. So there you have it. A delicious and healthy recipe to satisfy any pancake craving. Happy Sunday!

Ingredients: Makes 8 pancakes, Adapted slightly from Skinny Taste

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup almond milk (or regular milk)

PB2 “Syrup”: Makes 2 servings

  • 1/4 cup powdered peanut butter or PB2
  • 2-3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

  1. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well until no lumps remain
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray
  3. Pour 2-3 tablespoons full per pancake onto skillet and cook through on each side
  4. To make the PB2 syrup, place PB2 and water into a small bowl and stir, adding more water until mixture has the consistency of maple syrup
  5. Stir honey & cinnamon into PB2 syrup and drizzle over cooked pancakes

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Easy No Bake Granola Bars

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Like a lot of people my age, I grew up on Chewy Granola Bars. I remember having those delicious granola bars for after school snacks and post soccer game treats. My favorite by far was always the Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Variety. But although the Chewy bars masquerade as a “healthy snack” the lengthy list of ingredients says otherwise. These classic school time snacks are definitely a healthier alternative than most snack items these days, but they still have quite a bit more sugar and unpronounceable ingredients than I would like to consume regularly. So I was happy to find a healthier alternative that rivals the taste of the childhood favorite. These easy No Bake Granola Bars consist of rolled oats, mashed banana and peanut flour. Peanut flour, often called PB2 , is powdered peanut butter that has far less fat than typical peanut butter. It is available in most grocery stores in the health food aisle, and adds a nice flavor to these bars. The original recipe didn’t contain chocolate chips, but I added a few in because, well… chocolate makes everything better. Enjoy!

Ingredients: Makes 9 bars, Adapted from UndressedSkeleton.Tumblr.com

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 large, very ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 4 tablespoons powdered peanut butter or PB2
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preparation:

  1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well incorporated and mixture resembles oatmeal cookie dough. This will take a few minutes, and the mixture starts out very dry, but don’t add any additional liquid
  2. Once mixture resembles dough, add in chocolate chips
  3. Scoop dough by the tablespoon and form into 2 inch bars
  4. Place bars on a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator overnight

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