mamachallenge | Real Solutions for Real Parents | Dallas Blog

Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

Baking Up Family Memories: Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars

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Sometimes in life, it’s not about what you’re making, but about the time you spent making it together. We’re excited to be Baking Up Family Memories to make Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars with Big G Cereal’s Honey Nut Cheerios, Walmart and a little help from Que Rica Vida (quericavida.com.)

Food has always been the conversation of my life. Actually, it’s my love language.

Growing up, sitting at the table eating dinner, my family would talk about what we we’re going to make for dinner tomorrow. 

For fun, we’d thumb through magazines and cookbooks looking for new recipes ideas like it was a graphic novel. And the television is always turned on to something food-related whether it’s traveling to a new country to try new cuisines or tips for making beloved dishes better from our favorite chefs. 


So it was no doubt, my kids would follow in my footsteps of food. 

HNCheerios

They have their own aprons, pans, and for fun, they like to create their own cooking shows.

And I love spending time with them cooking, learning and sharing tips and moments that I hope they’ll remember years with their kids, well after I’m gone. 

However, with my 7-year old getting more mature and his little sister wanting so much to be a big girl, it was time to let them try their hand in the kitchen – without mom. Well, mom was there, but I wanted to let them read the instructions, measure the ingredients and feel good about themselves for creating a recipe they had made together. 

Cheerios7

So even though the control-obsessed mama who didn’t want to deal with the aftermath, I let them go with a recipe we found on quericavida.com, a bilingual resource of thousands of recipes for every occasion featuring a world of flavor to delight the whole family.  Since we are now a gluten-free family (due to my hubby and children’s allergies), finding a recipe that’s easy enough for my kids to make AND GF, is like hitting the lottery. Featuring one of our favorite cereals, Honey Nut Cheerios (hooray for being GF) and just four base ingredients to make No-Bake Honey-Nut Cereal Bars, I even had the kids add a few things to make it really seem like they were “cookin’.” 

Cheerios5

Of course, they selected peanut butter chocolate chips:) 

Before they started, I did have them read the recipe to me and pull all the items they would need to make their “Gluden Free Breakfast Bars” (that was the 4-year old’s name for their dish.)

Cheerios3

From there on, it was up to them. I now was just the observer and by request, also the camera man. They had decided they also wanted to make a “Cooking Show.” 

Oh, no! But that’s half the fun, right?!?

cooking

Actually watching them behind the lens gave me a chance to really watch them together. It was adorable how he took on showing his sister how to do things like spray the pan with cooking spray and he watching her study his actions, so she knew what to do and how to do it. 

Cheerios6

#ProudMamaMoment. 

Of course, we did have to enlist dad for just a moment to help microwave our mixture (on cue as you’ll see.) Other than that, they made their first dish without mom and almost no fights!

GF-Cheerios

While they may have learned a recipe, mom learned that not everything has to be perfect, clean and Pinterest perfect. Sometimes the best dishes are those that are baked up with family memories (and a little bit of Honey Cheerios.) 

GFCheerios

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Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars

  • Author: Autumn of @mamachallenge.com
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 3
  • Total Time: 78
  • Yield: 16 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 cups Honey Nut Cheerios™ cereal
  • 1 cup chopped nuts
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Instructions

  1. Line bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper. Spray foil with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix cereal, mixed nuts, and peanut butter chips; set aside.
  2. In large microwavable bowl, microwave brown sugar, honey and butter uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until mixture is boiling. Microwave an additional 1 minute allowing mixture to boil and thicken slightly.
  3. Pour over cereal mixture in bowl; stir until evenly coated. Using buttered back of spoon, press mixture very firmly in pan. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm enough to cut.
  4. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered at room temperature up to 1 week.

Notes

  • You can add ingredients to this dish like cranberries, raisins and more for the perfect cereal bar – good for breakfast or snack all day long!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 16
  • Calories: 347
  • Sugar: 11
  • Sodium: 41
  • Fat: 27
  • Saturated Fat: 4
  • Unsaturated Fat: 21
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 23
  • Protein: 10
  • Cholesterol: 2

Celebrate family cooking fun and seach for Dia de los Ninos recipes.

 

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applesauce

Best Recipes Using Applesauce

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Applesauce is like magic; it’s great to eat by itself, but cooking with it, is even better! Here’s some of the Best Recipes Using Applesauce for everything from healthy snacks to hotcakes. 

For the first three years of my daughter’s life, if she consumed anything healthy, it was in a squeezable green pouch. 

She thought it was candy so she thought she was getting away with something. I knew it was Gogo squeeZ and completely natural applesauce, so there was no need to tell her differently (at least at the time.) 

applesauce


Now I can at least get a few more fruits and veggies down her, but using applesauce has become one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. As a natural sweetener, it’s ideal to use in baking and adding a little more health value to a dish. 

apples

Have a big jar of applesauce you need to do something with or just looking to make a healthier breakfast or snack, applesauce is your answer. 

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Healthy Cookie Dough Bites

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Ingredients

Scale
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup Gogo squeeZ
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Directions
  2. Line a pan with wax paper.
  3. Whisk together flour and oats in a medium bowl and set aside
  4. Beat together all of the wet ingredients until combined.
  5. Stir in flour mixture until combined.
  6. Then add chocolate chips.
  7. Scoop two tablespoons of dough; roll dough into a ball with hands. Repeat.
  8. Refrigerate until firm. 

Click on the photo for the rest of the recipes!

FruitRollup

 

Best-Ever-Carrot-Cake

 

ApplePiePancakes Go Go SqueeZ

 

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BabyShowerTrends

Healthy 2 Ingredient Fruit Leather Rolls

By 1 Comment

Tired of buying snacks that you know are full of extra ingredients your family doesn’t need? Then try these Healthy 2 Ingredient Fruit Leather rolls using only applesauce, cinnamon and just a little bit of wait time. 

Between afterschool snack, after homework snack, before dinner snack, and whatever in between snack, are you kids always eating a snack? Mine too. 

However, reading the ingredient list doesn’t always make me happy or neither does looking at my grocery receipt. 

So we took matters in to our own hands to figure out what snacks my kids loved could be made a little bit easier and a little bit healthier. 

Fox4apples

This recipes was featured on Fox Good Day in Dallas.

After many recipes, modifications and more mess ups, I found out one of my kids favorite snacks,  fruit leather, was nothing but two ingredients and a lot of time in the oven. But when they were done, I could actually package them up so they could package them up to be easy pack and go with a little wax paper. 

All you need to make is a little time at the house so you can make sure to be around after 8-10 hours in the oven. 

I know – crazy right? If you have food dehydrator you can make this recipe there or the good ole fashioned way, in the oven. 

FruitRollup

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Healthy 2 Ingredient Fruit Leather Rolls

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Ingredients

Scale
  • 24 ounces organic applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Set the oven to 150-170 degrees (mine only went to 170F.)
  2. Lay a silicone baking mat or parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.
  3. Measure 1 cup of applesauce and mix with cinnamon in a bowl, set aside.
  4. Pour the rest of the applesauce onto the set pan and spread thinly across pan. (Use a rubber spatula to help spread.)
  5. Next, use your cinnamon mixture, thinly layer lines of cinnamon applesauce onto the pan. (Looks a little like a tiger design now.)
  6. Next tap the pan gently on the counter to make everything is even.
  7. Play tray in oven and cook for 8-9 hours or until the applesauce is dried completely and the color has lost any sheen to it.)
  8. Remove from oven and let cool.
  9. Using a knife to cut into strips and roll up.
  10. Store fruit leathers in an airtight container.

 

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applesauce-pinterest

 

Healthy Junk Food Recipes

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Junk food is good…but it’s not good for you. But with these healthy junk food recipes, you can enjoy your favorites without all the fuss. 

Doughnuts. Ding Dongs. Doritos.

They taste good, but face it, they don’t do anything for your waistline or your kid’s either. They are full of sugars, processed foods, and a whole lotta stuff that you can’t pronounce, much less know what it is. 

And while every once in a while a dive into a big bag of chips does seem like it’s going to make you feel better; rest assured it won’t. But we know when you have an itch for something, sometimes you have to scratch it. And when the kids want it, it’s hard to always say no. However, with these tricks and tips we shared on EyeOpener TV, we’re taking the junk out of your junk food for healthy recipes you can enjoy anytime you want  – and you don’t have to feel bad when you eat it either. 


Healthy Donuts

These donuts may not be the healthiest, they are just better for you than what you’ll find at the bakery.  And with only TWO ingredients, this recipe also makes it easy to make too.  All you need is to combine a box of spice cake mix (you can use others, but this is my favorite) and a large can of pumpkin puree; then pour it into a greased donut pan (affiliate) this is the one I used for the TV segment). Cook ’em up and then if you want, add a little glazed icing or powdered sugar. If you need a step-by-step, here’s one with a breakdown…but it’s not rocket science. But it is good. 

Healthy Cheese Crackers

My daughter has probably eaten 100 lbs of those gold-colored cheese crackers – and that was just last week. So when we found out she was allergic to gluten, we had to stop her habit in her tracks. So off to the races we went to uncover the perfect cheese cracker recipe. The best one we found is this recipe using only five ingredients  and replacing the flour for a gluten-free flour alternative. The hardest thing about this is finding a goldfish-shaped cookie cutter (affiliate.)

goldfish

 

Healthy Gummies

I can take down a bag of gummy bears like no-one’s business. I knew there had to be a way to make a healthier version, but unfortunately, I’m still trying to find the perfect way. While we continue to make the perfect gummy, we did uncover a version that can do in a pinch. The only problem is that they have to be refrigerated, so there’s no putting these in your pocket Ferris Bueller style to share with your bestie on the bus. But we’re still working on that. Until then, you have this recipe to do the job from meatified. (And it only has 4 ingredients!)

gummy

Healthy Chocolate Truffles 

When we share this recipe we love to describe the chocolately moment you experience when you bite into these healthy chocolate truffles the first time. THEN we tell them we use avocado to make these rich tasting as well as full of those avocado-riffic nutrients, vitamins and of course, Omega 3s. While people love avocado and people love chocolate, but the idea of them together isn’t always loved. But one bite of these, you’ll change your mind. Too bad you won’t just eat one bite. 

Avocado-Cappuccino-Truffles

Healthy Muffins 

There are plenty of muffin recipes out there that are super healthy; using alternative flours, vegetables, etc. Well, most the time we don’t have time for all that. We’re glad when there’s 15 minutes in the morning to even put breakfast together – much less a healthy one that your kids will eat. But for our healthy muffin recipe, just combine a bag of muffin mix (affiliate) along with one pouch of Gogo squeeZ (or approximately 1/2 cup of applesauce) along with 1/4 cup of milk. Cook as directed and serve. It’s that easy to add a 2/3 serving of fruit to the muffin without negotiating with your kids AND they’re super moist! 

Healthy Kool-Aid

Growing up I LOVED Kool-Aid. Heck, I still do. But now I know when you put a cup of sugar in anything it’s gonna be good, but all that sugar isn’t doing me any favors. And it’s really not doing your kids any favors either! So to make your own Kool-Aid with none of the “stuff” that’s not so good for kids. Using the magic formula of 4: steep 4 bags of herbal tea like this one in 4 cups of hot water.  After 15 minutes of steeping the bags, remove them and 4 cups of cold water. Last add 4 drops of Stevia  for just the sweet taste you need to remind you of your own fruit punch days. 

 

 

Don’t miss these comfort foods with a healthy (AND GLUTEN FREE) twist! 

Gluten-Free-Oven-Fried-Chicken

 

Gluten-Free-Mac-N-Cheese

 

Best Spaghetti and Meatballs EVER

By 23 Comments

You can never go wrong with spaghetti and meatballs. A timeless dish, the perfect plate of spaghetti and meatballs doesn’t have to take hours to make, just a great sauce and this recipe for the baked meatballs (which can be made gluten-free, too!) 

We are serious spaghetti eaters. Like at least three times a week. It’s quick, it’s easy, and everyone is happy with the results (except that one time I accidentally switched out a little salt and pepper for sugar and cinnamon (yep, it wasn’t good.) 


MamaChallenge-Meatballs

In the past we would have spent hours on the meatballs trying to get them carmelized to the point of perfection – crunchy and juicy in the pan. We put a lot of love in making the meatballs, but it took a lot of time and a toll of my dishwashing with the pans, bowls and to be honest, I didn’t even want to eat them after I was done preparing them. I was already too tired to eat (and that says a lot.)

Then we learned a big short cut. Like HUGE. 

Secret-to-Meatballs

Baking them using a muffin pan changed everything. From getting them all to be the same size (so they cooked evenly), to cooking them with less mess, and then of course, making them healthier, baking your meatballs will change your life. 

But that’s not all. 

Want to improve the taste of your meatballs without adding tons of filler and other stuff? Mix your meats. 

Meatball-Secret

For us we enjoy a mix of ground turkey, ground Italian sausage and ground beef. Most the time we use the leaner side of things in making our meatballs, but make sure to add a little fat either to the mix or to the pan (using cooking spray) to make sure the meatballs aren’t too dry or stick to the pan. 

MeatballSecrets

Also, because of our dietary needs, we use gluten-free breadcrumbs, but you can always opt to use ground oatmeal (quick oats with a course ground in your blender) to make a really tasty (and healthier) meatball. (I also use this trick for meatloaf!) 

That’s all. 

Now all you need is your favorite Ragu and some pasta to complete the meal.

Ragu

After 30 minutes, you have the best (and easiest) spaghetti and meatballs! Full of all the good stuff that even Assunta Cantisano, the mama that created the family Ragu recipe the company started with all the way in 1937.

BestMeatballs

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Best Baked Meatballs

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 24 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 lb. ground turkey
  • 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
  • 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 tsp. parsley
  • 1 1/2 tsp. basil
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 c. bread crumbs (gluten free) or 1/2 c.ground quick oats oatmeal

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
  2. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
  3. Combine meats together in a bowl. Add all the ingredients 1/4 cup (1/2 of the breadcrumbs). Set aside breadcrumbs.
  4. Mix all the ingredients together and with your hands create small balls to fit inside mini muffin pan.
  5. Before placing meatballs into pan, roll each one lightly in breadcrumbs. (Can sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you prefer, but the breadcrumbs give the meatball that crunchy, but juicy bite.)
  6. Then place each meatball into mini muffin pan.
  7. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes until golden.
  8. Serve with pasta sauce (we love Ragu) and your favorite spaghetti noodles (we use gluten free!)

Notes

  • Leftover meatballs? Put them in freezer bag and be ready for quick and easy spaghetti and meatballs anytime!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4
  • Calories: 396
  • Sugar: 1
  • Sodium: 1080
  • Fat: 23
  • Saturated Fat: 9
  • Unsaturated Fat: 11
  • Trans Fat: 1
  • Carbohydrates: 12
  • Protein: 35
  • Cholesterol: 154

With no artificial flavors or high fructose syrup, you can feel just as good about the sauce as you do the meatballs you just made for your family. And without all the work…all thanks to her “secret” Ragu recipe and the mamachallenge “secret” to meatballs. 

Meatball

What’s your secret to the best spaghetti and meatballs? 

 

Touchdown with Slow Cooker Shrimp Bisque

By 25 Comments

Be the MVP of your big game party with this easy recipe for Slow Cooker Shrimp Bisque. Give it the kick that will have them coming back for more with El Yucateco hot sauce! 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KingOfFlavor #CollectiveBias

TouchdownYucateco

The best part of any game, either if you’re tailgating or sitting front row in your living room, is the party! Whether you go all out or just keep it to the couch, you can really score with a recipe like this Slow Cooker Shrimp Bisque that lets your play with the team instead sit on the sidelines! What gives this Cajun favorite its really amazing flavor is El Yucateco.


Yucateco

Bisque has always been one of my favorites. Anytime I can find it on the menu, it’s a must have to order and in my time I’ve enjoyed different recipes made in several different ways (A LOT!)  However, with the perfect mix of creamy and smooth with bits of shrimp and the full flavor delivered by El Yucateco, each spoonful of this bisque gives you just what you want and still leaves you wanting more.

ShrimpBisque

With other hot sauces one of the main ingredients is vinegar, but with El Yucateco the pepper is definitely #1! It’s also really versatile for everything from meats to margaritas, especially when there are different levels of heat and pepper blends available at Walmart! 

If you really like to give it some heat with a smokey flavor without the sweetness of chipotle, try the El Yucateco Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce!

Just like NOLA, there’s a party in every bite of this Slow Cooker Shrimp Bisque!
Yucateco-Party

And since you aren’t spending time cooking for your big game party, you can actually add a little fun to your Mardi Gras party as easy as a few beads, masks and even just a little zydeco music will get everyone moving! If you are tailgating or hosting your shindig outdoors, El Yucateco has you covered with a whole line of fun gear in the El Yucateco Store where you’ll find some really cool gear from board shorts for the summer, hoodies for the winter and many shirts for your any kind of party you’re going to!  

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TOUCHDOWN!

So ready to see how easy it is to get your party started? 

BisqueSlowcooker

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Slow Cooker Shrimp Bisque

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
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Description

Make this creole favorite made easy with the slow cooker!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined, chopped chunky
  • 4 c. seafood stock (you can make this fresh or pick up at the grocery already made)
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 4 tbsp El Yucateco hot sauce
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ⅓ cup tomato paste
  • 1 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes
  • ¼ cup dry sherry
  • 1½ cups corn
  • 2 tsp old bay seasoning
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. (My slow cooker lets you do all of this in the same pot.)
  2. Add onions, garlic and saute until tender.
  3. Add mixture mixture to the slow cooker.
  4. Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, 2 tbsps of El Yucateco, sherry, seafood stock, corn, old bay, salt, and pepper combining together.
  5. Then whisk in the cornstarch.
  6. Cook on low for 3.5 hours or high for 1.5 hours.
  7. Meanwhile add remaining El Yucateco to shrimp and allow to marinate.
  8. At this point, either choose a smooth bisque or a chunkier version. To smooth, use an emulsifier. (I prefer a combination with a creamy version with a few chunks!
  9. Next add heavy cream and shrimp to finish the bisque heating the shrimp until it is pink (don’t overcook.)
  10. This should be approximately another 30 minutes in the slow cooker.
  11. Finish with a little more El Yucateco and serve with a crusty bread!

Notes

  • Make sure to taste test the El Yucateco as you go to modify the heat level!

It’s that easy to get that flavor-packed bowl of Shrimp Bisque made in the slow cooker!

mamachallenge_shrimp_bisque

How do you add a little zip to your BIG GAME Party? Score with El Yucateco!

Pimento Cheese Gougères

By 36 Comments

I’ve partnered with Price*s® to bring you this delicious snack idea, but all opinions are my own!

Bring on the (pimento) cheese, please! Pimento cheese gets two makeovers with an uber easy, yet very indulgent macaroni and cheese and a little more upscale with gougères to make your mouth water.

Pimento cheese is often heralded as a Southern staple much like pecan pie or sweet potatoes. Almost like a rite of passage of any proper Southern child, the first time biting into a pimento cheese sandwich gives you a sinfully simple taste of what can be like, if you let it…creamy, cheesy and with just the right amount of bite.


Pimento-Cheese-Goodness
 We’ll get ready for this bite…wealthy New Yorkers in the first part of the 20th century actually created pimento cheese! WHAT?!? It’s true, at least that’s the story. But thankfully, like most things in the South, we’ve given it our own spin and made it better to what the modern pimento cheese recipe we’ve all come to know and love. 

Prices-Pimento-Cheese

No, not the one your grandma makes… or your mama makes… It’s the one found in every container of Price*s® Pimento Cheese. Like a long-time best friend, Price*s® is always there in the refrigerated section at most Walmart stores near the cream cheese ready to be there for you through thick and thin. But this holiday, this stand-by comes with extra-reinforcements with its new Southern-Style Original and Spicy Jalapeno. Two new tastes ready to assist at the unexpected ring of unexpected guests at the doorbell or when you need a new twist to your own menu. 

Prices-Mac

Macaroni and cheese is a staple in our home with two kids, so while ‘macncheese’ is often on the menu, I don’t always want to create an entire batch for dinner or would love to add a little kick in it for my own sake. This is where Price*s Southern Style pimento cheese can be your new bestie. With just about 1 c. boiled elbow noodles, a few tablespoons of milk, a big spoonful (1/4 cup) of Price*s,and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs under the broiler, you have yourself a recipe for mac n cheese that will have them asking for seconds. I highly suggest using the jalapeno blend for just the right kick to take your MAC go to the next level. AND it’s only four ingredients…unless you go even bigger with a crumbled bacon. Then you can call it Merry Mac n Cheese!

Pimento-Cheese-Mac

One of my favorite parts of the holidays are a reason to make hors d’oeuvres a meal. Eating a little bite of everything makes me pleased as pie, especially when it’s something with cheese.  Something bite sized, creamy and leaving you wanting to more is normally my joie de vivre (French for “joy in life”), so Price*s® was right at home in my recipes for gougères. 

Prices-gougères-cheese-puffs

Sounds fancy, right? It is. But making it wasn’t by using Price*s®. Let’s be honest, if I called it a cheese puff (which is basically what it is), you’d envision a crunchy, orange snack in bag with a cat on the front. Gougères are so much more than that though…using the same recipe base of cream puffs, but instead use pimento cheese for a custardy like bite, with the holiday colors of the pimentos and pickles that make it festive for the holiday occasion without even trying. (Which is always ideal to do the least amount of work possible and claim it like you meant to do that.) 

cheese-gougères

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Pimento Cheese Gougères

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
Print Recipe

Description

This easy, yet impressive recipe for pimento cheese gougères will impress your friends when you say it but even more when they eat it.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, chopped into pieces)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 grated extra-sharp cheddar
  • 1 cup pimento cheese
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
  3. Combine milk, water and butter into sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat until melted.
  4. Add flour and salt at once, reduce heat to medium and stir mixture with wooden spoon until it pulls away from sides of pan.
  5. Remove from heat and allow to cool for one minute. Dough should be smooth, thick and shiny.
  6. Add the dough to stand mixer.
  7. Using paddle attachment, mix dough on low speed until dough is not seaming, but isn’t cool before adding eggs.
  8. One a time, add eggs, incorporating into dough before adding next egg.
  9. Next add cheddar and pimento cheese along with seasonings and mix until blended.
  10. Move dough to pastry bag or resealable plastic bag to create heaping tablespoons of dough, two-inches apart on pan.
  11. Bake until golden brown, approximately 15-18 minutes at 400 degrees.
  12. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking for another 8-10 minutes.
  13. Serve immediately.

 

[One tip: To make your gougères just the right size, use a pastry bag or simply use a plastic resealable bag. Fill it up with the dough, cut off the tip and begin your new career in French cooking like a pro (with none of the cooking school cost!)]

Pimento-Cheese-Southern-Style

Ready to get cooking? 

Get recipes and find your closest Walmart location for the NEW Price*s®Southern Style Original or Spicy Jalapeno Pimento Cheese here. Make your holidays a little more cheesier with the NEW Price*s®Southern Style Pimento Cheese!


 Prices-Mac-N-Cheese-Recipe

 

 

Gougère-Pimento-Cheese

 

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Dress Up Your Turkey with Cranberry Apple Jalapeno Cilantro Relish

By 20 Comments

Last year I made my first turkey for Thanksgiving. 

It was a PROUD MOMENT. 

However, I did follow instructions to a T, to make sure from the thawing, cooking and cutting was done as recommended. 


Fast-forward to this year – and once again, there’s so much happening that I don’t have time to go through Turkey Time once again. I mean, can’t I just pick up the turkey and throw it in the oven and a few hours later, it’s done? 

JennieOTurkey

Yep, I found out there’s such a thing from Jennie-O called the OVEN READY Turkey. And it’s as easy as that to make a turkey dinner that your grandma would be proud of without near the time that grandma used to make.  (It’s so easy, it only takes a minute to show you how to make one of your own at home.) No thaw, no mess, in no time at all! 

Now since I was taking almost no time working on the turkey, I had a little time to add my own personal twist to change it up a little. Call it what you will, but I like to add my own unique flavor especially when it comes to Thanksgiving (we are professional Friendsgiving people.) So this year I added a sweet and savory relish that combines the traditional flavor of cranberry and apple, but kicks it up a notch with some of my favorite Texas flavors – jalapeno and cilantro. I couldn’t come up with a snazzy name for it, so I called it Cranberry Apple Jalapeno Cilantro Relish.  

cranberry

In just two steps you’ll have a relish that you’ll want to put on everything from the turkey, your stuffing, your veggies, and perhaps the kitchen sink.

Turkey

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Cranberry-Apple Jalapeno Cilantro Relish

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
Print Recipe

Description

This is the kind of sauce you’ll want to put on everything at Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 1 apple, chopped (I prefer gala)
  • 2 cups fresh whole cranberries
  • pinch salt
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons jalapenos, chopped and seeded
  • Orange zest (optional)

Instructions

  1. Over medium heat, mix sugar, vinegar and salt until dissolved.
  2. Add apples, cranberries and increase to medium-high heat. Cook uncovered 5-7 minutes until fruit is tender, but not soft.
  3. Add ginger, cilantro, and jalapeno and allow to cook on simmer for 2-4 minutes. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
  4. Serve with turkey, dressing and whatever for a southwest flair!

Notes

  • This may be prepared in advance and refrigerated for up to a week (Thanksgiving leftovers!) This recipe has been update (11/17.)

Relis

Other Thanksgiving ideas you might want to check out from MamaChallenge.com: 

rp_Jennie-OOvenReadyTurkey.jpg

 

TurkeyTortillaSoup

 

Chipotle Al Pastor Tacos with Coca-Cola / Tacos al Pastor con Chipotle y Coca Cola

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This should has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MejoresRecetas #CollectiveBias.

I guess you can say he had me at Pastor.

Shortly after meeting my husband’s (then boyfriend), he embarked on an international studies program where he spent a semester in Monterrey. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I spent many three-day weekends visiting him and the robust part of Mexico that didn’t include palm trees or all-inclusive hotels. Part of our explorations still resulted in daily trips to the same taqueria next to his flat for tacos al pastor. Sliced thinly onto the handmade double stacked corn tortillas, carved straight from a trompo on the side of the road after a hot day, dressed with cilantro, onion and the right squirt of lime and a Coca-Cola – every bite was like nothing I had ever had before. The recipe thought seemed too simple to be as good as it was…I just knew I could probably make the same thing at home. 


Pastor-Pinterest

Oh, silly girl! 

Still yearning for that perfect pastor taco, we visited again and again trying to get it right.  Then when we planned to get married it’s that taco that brought us back to Mexico for the ceremony and honeymoon. And a year later almost to the day, that taco is what brought a newly pregnant mama to Mexico to satisfy that same craving. 

What can I say – “I love pastor.” 

Now living in Texas, I get a chance to eat a lot of good tacos (a lot), even al pastor. But I’ve still yet to find that same recipe, the point of perfect satisfaction – magnífico – than sinking my teeth into a juicy bite of al pastor taco, especially when you get a little little grease runs down your lips. 


 Pastor2
So ever since I’ve been in pursuit to find anywhere that could deliver the same taste of those pastor tacos. While we’ve visited many great restaurants, none have quite been the same. So we began trying to create our own pastor, although many of our recipes still paFled in comparison – especially without the use of a trompo to make it the real deal.

Although we haven’t yet made the purchase to have a vertical grill at home to make authentic pastor, we have tried a lot of recipes. This one actually uses a lot of things from the cabinet and other than a few days of just letting your mouth water while it marinates, you’ve got a great recipe that anyone can make without a trip to Mexico or buying a new appliance using Coca-Cola and La Morena peppers at La Michoacana.

La-Michoacana-Pastor

While I still haven’t replicated that recipe for al Pastor tacos, I did create my own Chipotle Pastor Tacos made with Coca-Cola that bring all my favorite memories of pastor tacos together. By using La Morena you get an authentic Latino flavor for a really authentic taste. And since, I don’t have a trompo, I was inspired by SeriousEats.com to use a stacked method to give them a similar cooking process. And then there was the twist of chipotle that give it that smoky heat paired with the sweetness of Coca-Cola for a new pastor taco that can made at home either in the stove or over the grill. 

coca-cola

Just plan for a few days to get the meat just right. Great cities weren’t built in a day and neither will this taco. But you won’t mind a few days of work once you take your first, second or third bite. And neither will your guests. Just be ready for seconds and thirds… 

Setup-Al-Pastor

As the hectic holiday season approaches, making quick and easy meals everyone loves gets a little harder, but with the authentic taste of LA MORENA chiles, beans and salsas and ice-cold Coca-Cola (especially the ones that are “Made in Mexico”) for a memorable Mexican fiesta anytime of the year…Especially during the holidays for a traditional Mexican meal you can now make at home! 

la-morena

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Chipotle al Pastor Tacos

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
  • Prep Time: 72
  • Cook Time: 120
  • Total Time: 7200
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ can of La Morena Chipotle Peppers
  • 3 pasilla/guajilla chiles, seeds and stems removed
  • 1 ancho chile, seeds and stem removed
  • ¼ cup orange juice, fresh preferred
  • ½ tablespoon lime juice, fresh preferred
  • 4 oz. Coca-Cola
  • 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon clove
  • ½ tablespoon brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 2 ½ –3 pounds of pork shoulder, cut into steaks
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1 onion
  • 1 fresh cut pineapple, sliced in rings, grilled
  • salt and pepper
  • 12–18 corn tortillas
  • 1–2 bunches cilantro, chopped
  • 2–3 radish, sliced
  • 2 onion, chopped

Instructions

  1. Combine chiles, juices, spices and vinegar together in the blender.
  2. Place marinade into saucepan and cook on medium until well combined (about 5 minutes.) Once cooled, add to reusable plastic bag. Add pork to bag. Seal and refrigerate overnight. (12-18 hours.)
  3. Next remove steaks from marinade and add them to a loaf pan by alternating steak, a layer of bacon, steak, etc. until all the meat is complete.
  4. Now cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or two days. (12-36 hours.)
  5. Remove plastic wrap and cook meat in loaf pan on baking sheet in a preheated oven at 275 degrees for 4 hours. After cooling slightly, refrigerate 4-6 hours.
  6. Either in a skillet or on a grill, remove pork from loaf pan (discard bacon.) Brush pork with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderate heat until crispy. At the same time, grill pineapple with pork until brown grill marks.
  7. Remove meat and fruit from grill. Cut into strips and serve with warm tortillas, pineapple, onion, radishes and cilantro.

Notes

  • Don’t rush this recipe. Plan to cook indoors and outdoors for best results, but if you have to, you can cook the entire recipe indoors (oven and over skilled) and outdoors (grill low and slow.) Serve with elotes, grilled onions and potatoes.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 12
  • Calories: 535
  • Sugar: 11
  • Sodium: 282
  • Fat: 25
  • Saturated Fat: 8
  • Unsaturated Fat: 15
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 32
  • Protein: 45
  • Cholesterol: 150

Pastor-Two

Search #MejorRecetas for carefully crafted amazing recipes from LA MORENA and Coca Cola and look for specially marked displays in your stores for extra savings.

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