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We love healthy, hearty meals! And these Cheesy Beef Enchiladas fits the script! We’ve made a variety of enchiladas and burritos in our days but this recipe is extra special because it is quick, easy, and you can eat it guilt free! Enjoy these enchiladas during the week and take the leftovers for lunch like we did! This recipe was created for a series of healthy, quick and easy meals for back to school season. These meals incorporate a mix of frozen and/ or pre-made foods but feel free to omit these for more fresh ingredients. Looking for other seasonal recipes? Check out our Fall, Winter, and Spring & Summer Cookbooks! Cheesy Beef Enchiladas Serves 6 Prep time: 10-15 minutes Cook Time: 10-15 minutes Ingredients 1 lb lean ground beef (93/7) 12 oz. frozen riced cauliflower 1-15 oz can black beans 1-15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies 1-10 oz bag frozen chopped peppers and onions 1-28 oz can red enchilada sauce (divided into thirds) 2-1 oz packages taco seasoning 4 oz cream cheese 12 low carb flour tortillas 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese Directions: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large skillet cook ground beef. While ground beef is cooking, place riced cauliflower in the microwave to cook according to instructions on the package. Open all cans and rinse and drain black beans. When ground beef is finished cooking, drain excess grease and return beef to the same skillet on medium-high heat. Add the riced cauliflower, black beans, diced tomatoes, frozen peppers and onions, ⅓ of the enchilada sauce, and taco seasoning. Stir until evenly combined and add in the cream cheese. Occasionally stir mixture for another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pour ⅓ of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Lay out your flour tortillas and when your filling is done, portion it out onto each flour tortilla, roll up and lay into the baking dish. When all of your tortillas have been filled, top with remaining ⅓ of sauce and shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes in the oven while you clean-up! Don't miss the next recipe, subscribe to our weekly email list!

This Strawberry Chia Seed Compote is so delicious! We love the hint of lemon, the texture of the chia seeds, and the incorporation of fresh strawberries stirred in at the end. We created this recipe to be used as a filling in our cinnamon rolls by replacing the brown sugar and cinnamon filling for this Strawberry Chia Seed Compote. You can get our moist, airy, and buttery Cinnamon Roll recipe in our spring and summer Soul Food Brunch Cookbook here. If you were able to register for our Yeast Breads Class, then you have it in your class guide. We think this compote can be deliciously used as a jam or sauce! We welcome you to try it on toast, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, grits, yogurt, ice cream, cake, cheesecake, or whatever your creative minds can think of! We also think this could be used with a variety of different fruits! If you’re feeling up to it, try out some peach, apple, blueberry, or raspberry sweet rolls to celebrate the fruits of the seasons! Just use this recipe as a guide substituting the fresh fruit of your choosing for the strawberries and adding any extra spices or extracts that you’d like. Just make sure not to over season your compote so that the fresh fruit can shine! We can’t wait for you to make this recipe. Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Instagram if you make this Strawberry Chia Seed Compote! Strawberry Chia Seed Compote Ingredients 1 ¾ cups fresh strawberries, small chop ¾ cups sugar ¼ cups water 1 TBS fresh lemon juice 1 pinch of salt 1 tsp lemon zest, lightly packed ( 1 lemon) 1 TBS chia seeds 1 tsp vanilla Corn Starch Slurry: 2 TBS cornstarch 2 TBS cold water Directions: Note: Reserve ¼ cup of the freshly chopped strawberries for the end. Pre-Prep: Make the cornstarch slurry by mixing the water and cornstarch and set aside. Slurry will need to be stirred again before incorporating it into the compote. Chop strawberries, zest and juice lemon, and measure ingredients. In a small pot combine 1½ cups fresh strawberries, sugar, salt, lemon juice and ¼ cup water. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. At this stage the strawberries should be almost completely disintegrated into a sauce. If you still see a lot of visible strawberries, smash the strawberries with a spoon while the sauce continues to simmer. * does salt go above or below with vanilla…it wasn’t listed so not sure Once most of the strawberries are fully combined and incorporated into a thick sauce, bring it to a boil and add the slurry. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is greatly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in ¼ cup fresh chopped strawberries, lemon zest, chia seeds, and vanilla. Let sauce cool at room temperature, uncovered, in a shallow dish for about 1 hour before moving it to an airtight container to store in the refrigerator. The compote needs to be completely solidified and cold before spreading it on your dough. We recommend refrigerating at least 2 hours or overnight. Notes: If you are making this compote for cinnamon rolls, we suggest making it the day before so it has plenty of time to cool off and firm up. Strawberries do not need to be perfectly chopped or uniform but we kept our pieces about the size of pea. The compote should be stored in the refrigerator and can last up to 14 days. Don't miss the next recipe, subscribe to our weekly email list!

This dip is perfect all year round! If it's not sweet corn season, swap fresh corn for frozen. We also love that it satisfies a variety of taste buds and can be prepped well in advance. We love corn! Maybe it’s the Indiana in us! With the Super Bowl around the corner, I (Ricca) wanted a new dip recipe and decided the star of the dip would be corn. From there, Cheesy Fried Corn Dip was born. I love the many flavors of this dip. From the sweet and tangy peppers, to the smoky bacon, to the creamy white cheeses, this dip will be a crowd pleaser. Cheesy Fried Corn Dip is also pretty quick and easy to put together, plus you can make it ahead of schedule! Place it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking or in the freezer up to 2 months in advance. Have fun! I came up with a variety or different toppings to serve as a garnish with this dip. Try one of my suggestions or come up with your own. Place the toppings on top of the dip or buffet style for guests to top their own. I haven’t tried making this dip in a crock pot, but I think it would work! My suggestion would be, if you are able to place your crock pot dish in the oven, do so to broil the cheese on top. Then, place the dish back inside the heating element to keep on low. Please let us know what you think of this dip by leaving a comment below, or by sharing a post on social media and tagging us @yellowhousevibes. If you are looking for other dip recipes check out our Next Level Pizza Dip. It is so delicious and super fun to eat! If you are looking for a new cheese ball recipe you can also check out our Bacon Gouda Jalapeno Cheese Log. Cheesy Fried Corn Dip Ingredients 3 ½ cups sweet corn ½ pound white American cheese, diced or shredded 1 ½ - 2 cups freshly shredded pepper jack cheese ½ pound bacon, chopped ½ cup finely chopped bell peppers (green, red, yellow, and/or orange) 1-4 oz. can green chilies 1-8 oz block cream cheese 2 cups half and half ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp onion powder ½ tsp black pepper 1 tsp tajine For Quick Corn Salsa: 1 cup sweet corn, cooked and cooled ¼ cup finely chopped bell peppers (green, red, yellow, and/or orange) ¼ cup diced tomatoes, optional 3 TBS chopped cilantro 2 tsp olive oil Juice from ½ lime ½ tsp tajine Pinch of salt Pinch of pepper Directions: Pre-Prep: Chop bell peppers, cilantro, and bacon. Dice American cheese. Shred pepper jack cheese. Measure Ingredients. Cook and cool corn for salsa. For the Quick Corn Salsa: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Fry bacon on medium-high in a medium sized, nonstick skillet, until crispy. Place cooked bacon on sheets of paper towels to remove excess grease. Drain all but 1 TBS of grease from your skillet. With the skillet still on medium-high, cook chopped bell peppers and green chilies for about 3 minutes, just until soft. Next, add the cream cheese, half and half, and white American cheese to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and let the cheeses melt together until you have a smooth sauce. Stir consistently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Then, to your cheese sauce, stir in your garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and tajine until combined. Lastly, add the corn and cooked bacon. Once all ingredients are combined, cook for a few minutes to heat everything through before placing dip into a cast iron skillet or your preferred medium sized baking dish. Top dip with your desired amount of pepper jack cheese and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes then broil for 1-2 minutes to brown the cheese on top. Garnish dip with quick corn salsa and serve. Check out our additional topping suggestions below! Notes We purchase our American cheese from the deli. Ask for ½ pound in thick slices for easier dicing. This dip can be made in advance and placed in the refrigerator or freezer until game day. Then bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until the dip is hot throughout. If cooking the dip from the freezer, defrost in the refrigerator or in a 200 degrees F oven prior to baking at 350 degrees F. for 30-40 minutes. We haven’t tried it yet, but spice it up by adding in diced jalapenos, other hot peppers, or hot sauces. Try adding in some more meat like: diced ham, sausage, chorizo, ground beef, or shredded chicken. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. Freeze pre-prepped dip in the freezer for 2-3 months. We recommend not freezing dips in cast iron or glassware. If you do, make sure to set your dips out at least 20 minutes at room temp. Putting these materials directly in a hot oven, may cause them to crack. Besides tortilla chips, serve with: toasted French bread, pita chips, Doritos, breadsticks, pretzel thins, crackers, bagels, bagel chips, garlic bread, or fresh veggies. Cheesy Fried Corn Dip Topping Variations: Have fun with these additional toppings or create your own delicious toppings! Roasted Corn Cooked bacon Salsa Pico De Gallo Sour Cream Hot Sauce Caramelized Onions Pickled Jalapenos Check out more of our amazing appetizer recipes in our Winter Cookbook!

Want to know what makes this pizza dip next level? Keep reading. Or, better yet, whip it up and let us know what you think! DOUBLE THIS RECIPE! Our Next Level Pizza Dip is that good. I, Keyen, have been making this dip for years. It’s been a huge hit with whoever tries it, and I can always count on bringing an empty dish home. America loves their dips right? And what I love about this dip is that it’s delicious but not overly popular. So, I can count on the fact that I’ll be the only one bringing pizza dip to an event. I discovered Pizza Dip on Pinterest when I was looking for a new appetizer for our annual family fish fry. It was probably one of the first recipes I made from Pinterest when it first launched around 2010. I only recall seeing one recipe back then and the base was just cream cheese and I believe parmesan. I started off following the recipe, but after stirring the cream cheese and parmesan together it felt like something was missing. We love cream cheese, but for a dip it was in need of a creamier element and more flavor. So I added some mayo and seasonings to the cream cheese base. The results were next level, hence the name. There are a few too many pizza dip recipes on Pinterest now to find the creator who inspired me to create this recipe but whoever they are, thank you! I cannot wait for you to try it and be sure to let us know what you think! Besides the creamy rich flavor, I have two favorite things about this dip. One, once you have the base you can use whatever toppings you’d like to create what your taste buds are craving. From traditional pizza toppings to BBQ chicken, the options are nearly endless! Check out our suggestions for variations at the bottom of this recipe. My second favorite thing is that this dip freezes well. You can make it days or months ahead and freeze it before you bake it. Or freeze your leftovers and re-bake from frozen. The Super Bowl is right around the corner. If you’re looking for a quick and fun dip that tastes like you spent lots of time on it, try our Next Level Pizza Dip! Need other appetizer recipes? Check out our Winter Cookbook! Next Level Pizza Dip Serves: 6-8 Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 30 min Ingredients For Base 2 - 8oz cream cheese blocks, softened ½ cup mayo, heaping ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried oregano dash of pepper For Toppings 1 ½ cups pizza sauce, homemade or store bought 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese 8 oz. cooked sausage, crumbled 30-40 pepperonis, quartered ½ cup onion, diced ½ cup black olives, diced banana peppers, diced crushed red pepper flakes, optional Italian seasoning, optional Directions: Pre-Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set out the cream cheese to soften, cook sausage. Dice all toppings. Measure ingredients. For Base: Combine softened cream cheese, mayo, garlic powder, basil, and oregano in a medium sized bowl and mix until well combined. Then fold in the mozzarella and parmesan. Spread the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch cake or pie pan. For Toppings: Pour the pizza sauce on top of the cream cheese mixture and spread it evenly. Next, add your mozzarella cheese and distribute it evenly across the pizza sauce. Then layer your sausage, onion, olives, banana peppers, and pepperoni on top of your cheese. Bake your dip until fully heated through, about 30 min. Lastly, place under a broiler for 2-3 minutes to brown your cheese and pepperoni to your liking. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning. Serve with tortilla chips. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. Freeze pre-prepped dip in the freezer for 2-3 months. I cannot wait for you to try it. Please let us know what you think of this dip by leaving a comment below, or sharing a post on social media and tagging us @yellowhousevibes. If you are looking for other dip recipes, check out our Cheesy Fried Corn Dip. It is so delicious and super fun to eat! If you are looking for a new cheese ball recipe you can also check out our Bacon Gouda Jalapeno Cheese Log. Notes Use a good quality pizza sauce with flavor Spice it up and add crushed red pepper to the base Sometimes it’s hard to see pepper on an ingredients list without salt, but that’s intentional here. The mayo and toppings will add plenty. We recommend not freezing dips in cast iron or glassware. If you do, make sure to set your dips out at least 20 minutes at room temp. Putting these materials directly in a hot oven, may cause them to crack. Besides tortilla chips, serve with: toasted French bread, pita chips, Doritos, breadsticks, pretzel thins, crackers, bagels, bagel chips, garlic bread, or fresh veggies. Pizza Dip Topping Variations: Make your favorite pizza into a pizza dip! BBQ Chicken: BBQ chicken, bacon, cilantro, onion, banana peppers Vegetarian: spinach, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, green bell peppers, olives, onions Buffalo Chicken: buffalo chicken, blue cheese, scallions Taco: ground taco meat (beef, turkey, chicken, or vegetarian), refried beans, cheddar cheese, olives, diced tomatoes, onion (add shredded lettuce after cooled) Greek: feta, tomato, spinach, olives, roasted red bell peppers, basil Meat Lovers: sausage, bacon, ham, pepperoni

The secret's out of the bag. We’re praying for some snow and we want to be ready for it. Even when the forecast calls for snow, we usually have no idea if it will be enough to cancel school or the drive into the office. Really, we don’t know if we’ll get anything at all until it’s here. Spontaneity is the hardest part about a snow day, so the best thing to do is to plan ahead! This got us thinking about our favorite snow day memories from our childhood and what a snow day looks like in adulthood. Really they don’t look too different, but we’re big kids at heart! Starting with our favorite childhood memory, and probably a lot of our cousins favorite, is when our grandmother would make snow cream! She would have us take her biggest pots and place them outside on top of the picnic table and the playset. Once they were filled we’d bring them in and our grandmother would scrape off the top layers to get to the clean snow. No one knows her recipe, but we’d like to recreate it once science tells us if the snow will be okay to eat, given the pollution levels! If it's not, maybe we can experiment with some shaved ice! Besides eating snow cream, we’ve made so many other snow day memories. We started reminiscing and put together a snow day stock list and a snow day activities list for you below! Top 10 Snow Day Stock List 1. Hot Chocolate - We recently went to a friend’s wedding and were introduced to hot chocolate w/crushed oreos. It’s a game changer and a must try if you’ve neve experienced it. We also prefer making our own hot chocolate using Hershey’s cocoa powder and the recipe they provide! Or if you only have cocoa packets and some leftover chocolates, add them for a richer flavor. 2. Basic baking ingredients - Such as, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, extracts, baking powder, baking soda, and chocolate chips. Most likely you will already have the majority of these, but it doesn’t hurt to double check before your next grocery run. If you want to go a little beyond the basics, we also like to keep cream cheese on hand. 3. Food coloring and spray bottles - Hit the dollar tree and grab some spray bottles. When the snow arrives, add some color and water to the spray bottles and let the snow be your canvas! 4. A sled - They make them in all sizes for a reason. #innerchild 5. Home spa materials - face masks, foot bath, body scrubs 6. Wintry Candles- Night time usually triggers our desire to burn candles, but snowdays call for daytime candles. They add an extra coziness throughout the day. 7. Snowman kit - carrots, raisins, old buttons, gloves, and hat etc. They even sell kits on Amazon, but we recommend saving money and using what you have! 8. Winter themed movies - The movie choices depend on who's watching, but we think The Chronicles of Narnia movies are great for all ages and keep us adults entertained if needing something kid friendly! 9. New Board Games - It may be a good idea to buy a new game and store it for the next snow day! 10. Books -So many options these days to read alone, outloud to your kids, or listen to audible books as a family! Youtube is a great, free resource for audible and visual books. Top Snow Day Activities If trying to entertain the kids, set times during the day for activities! Go Sledding Drink hot chocolate or hot cider Bake Build a snow fort/igloo Build a snowman Snowball fight Build a indoor blanket fort Go to the park (if you’re lucky you’ll be the first to slide down the snow covered slides) Watch winter movies Read Make slime Make edible playdough Board games Winter walk Walk neighbors a treat We hope you enjoyed reading this blog and that you found it helpful when you find yourself snowed in! We also want to add, it's also okay to just do nothing! Let us know in the comments what you plan to do during your next snow day! Need something to make? Check out our free recipes online or purchase our Winter Cookbook!

This cheese log has layers of flavor! It is both fun to eat, make, and share especially during the holiday season! Cheeseballs are a year-round staple for us! We love cheeseballs, so much so, you can find a cheeseball or log recipe in both our fall and winter cookbooks! The love stems from a variety of reasons. They taste amazing, can be made in advance, can be frozen, are easy to make, can feed a crowd, and are budget friendly! You “almost” can’t go wrong when making a cheeseball. If you use quality ingredients and taste as you go, you are sure to have a crowd pleasing appetizer! We recently invited a few friends over to paint holiday rugs and challenged ourselves to create a charcuterie board on a $25 budget. Feeling a little adventurous we wanted something new for this board. So a new cheese log was born. We love bacon and smoked Gouda so we paired that with sweet pickled jalapeños and green onions. This log is delicious and has lots of flavor! Our friends mentioned that it is perfect for those who like savory and sweet. It was a hit and we are sure you and your guests will love it too! Check out our recipe below and keep reading to get some of our cheeseball tips! Bacon, Gouda, and Jalapeno Log Prep time: 30-90 minutes Serves: 15 Ingredients 1lb cream cheese 8 oz smoked Gouda, shredded ½ lb bacon, cooked ¼ cup green onions, finely sliced 1 tsp garlic powder For Pickled Jalapenos 1 cup sliced jalapenos, about 4 peppers 1 cup apple cider vinegar ½ cup sugar 1 tsp salt For Topping ⅓ cup chopped cranberries ⅓ cup chopped walnuts 2 TBS green onion, finely sliced Directions: Pre-Prep: Set cream cheese out to soften. Finely chop green onions. Shred Gouda. Chop walnuts and cranberries. Slice jalapenos and remove white membranes and seeds. Pickle jalapenos. Cook bacon. For Pickled Jalapenos: Combine vinegar, salt, and sugar in a small pot and bring to a boil. Let boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, place sliced jalapenos into a small heat proof container. Pour hot mixture over sliced jalapenos and let sit for about 1 hour. Once jalapenos are done, remove from the liquid and finely chop. Set aside until ready to use For topping: Chop walnuts and cranberries by hand or with a food processor or blender and mix with sliced green onions. Set aside until ready to use. For Cheese Log: Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or hand mixer with a large bowl, beat cream cheese, chopped pickled jalapenos, bacon, shredded Gouda cheese, garlic powder, and green onions, until fully combined. Place the cheese mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a log. Place the cheese log in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or until it’s firm enough to roll in the topping. Place ½ of the topping mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap and spread evenly. Roll cheese log into mixture and repeat this step until cheese log is completely covered in the topping. Wrap your cheese log in a new piece of plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until it’s ready to be served. Notes You can pickle the jalapenos overnight or up to 3 days before. The longer the jalapenos are pickled the more vinegar and sugar will be absorbed. We have never tried this with store bought pickled jalapenos, but they would probably work. Just note that pickling them according to this recipe gives them firmer texture. We opted to roll our log in chopped cranberries, walnuts, and green onions for a festive vibe, but you can use any nuts, or more bacon if you choose! The options are almost endless!

Need a cocktail that's easy, inexpensive, and bursts with holiday spirit? Look no further! We have the perfect cocktail for you! If you know us, you know we are the queens of taking leftover ingredients and dishes and making them into entirely new creations. This is something our grandmother did often, but you would never know! We stayed true to this calling when it came time to use the leftover wine, oranges, herbs, cranberries, and spices from our Thanksgiving Day sauces. Our Thanksgiving Day sauces include a creamy White Wine Gravy that you can find the recipe for in our Fall Cookbook (page 11) and our Red Wine Cranberry Sauce which is a free recipe on our website. We featured these sauces along with our Spiced Brown Sugar Cocktail during our live Cooksgiving cooking class. This cocktail is full of flavor and festive to look at. It will definitely have you in the holiday spirit. The star of this cocktail is the Spiced Brown Sugar Simple Syrup that is infused with oranges, spices, and fresh thyme. It is so delicious! In fact, we think there are a few different ways to use this simple syrup besides in this cocktail. Like… Over cheeses, such as a log of Goat Cheese, Brie, Whipped Feta, or Camembert Glazed over your baked ham or pork roast With your waffles or pancakes, P.S.. we have the best pancake and waffle recipe in our Spring and Summer Cookbook (page 14) Drizzled on top of vanilla ice cream Stirred into your favorite tea Brushed on top of white or vanilla cake Spooned over a pound cake, we have a recipe for that too (spring and summer cookbook page 39)! Not only does the syrup taste like the holidays in a bottle, and incorporate leftover Thanksgiving ingredients, it will last up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator. You can whip out this syrup between holidays to delight your guests or yourself! And if you need to make a new batch before the holiday season is over, just like it’s name, this syrup (and cocktail) is super simple! Spiced Brown Sugar Cocktail Prep time: 10 minutes Ingredients For Spiced Brown Sugar Simple Syrup 1 cup light brown sugar ½ cup water Juice of 1 orange Zest of one orange 2 sprigs of thyme ¼ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp allspice For cocktail: 2 TBS of Spiced Brown Sugar Simple Syrup (or to taste) 6 oz dry white wine 6 oz ginger beer (more or less to taste) Garnish with: Oranges slices Fresh thyme sprigs Frozen Cranberries or Cranberry ice cubes Directions: Pre- Prep: Wash your oranges, herbs, and fresh cranberries. Measure ingredients. Chill ingredients. For the simple syrup: Combine all ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly so syrup does not burn. Let boil for one minute to dissolve sugar and then remove from heat. Let syrup cool completely then transfer to an air proof container and refrigerate. For the Spiced Brown Sugar Cocktail: If desired, first coat the rim of your cocktail glasses with the syrup and place the rim into sugar sprinkles, raw sugar, or your favorite coarse ground sugar. Into your glasses, combine first white wine and spiced brown sugar simple syrup. Then pour in the ginger beer and give your drink a slight stir. Garnish with ice cubes, frozen cranberries, orange slices and thyme. Notes Ginger beer is considered non-alcoholic. If you prefer, you can use ginger ale in place of ginger beer. Your cocktail will have more fizz and a more subtle flavor. Ginger beer has more flavor. Once the ginger beer is added, keep stirring to a minimum to preserve the carbonation or fermentation depending on what type of ginger beer you purchase. Cranberries float, so if you are making cranberry ice cubes fill your ice cube tray with cranberries then half of the amount of water. Let it freeze then top with the additional amount of water. Use boiled, filtered water for clear ice cubes.

Boujie, classy, fancy? All words that can be used to describe your dinner if you make our Red Wine Cranberry Sauce! This sweet tangy sauce uses spices, citrus, and ginger in the recipe, but those flavors are very subtle. They blend perfectly to enhance the red wine, brown sugar, and of course the tartness and distinct flavor of cranberries! Disclaimer, we would never knock traditional canned cranberry sauce. Although, can we really call it sauce? It’s more of a jelly, right? Anyway, canned cranberry sauce is what has been on our family table for years. Our grandmother loved it. She and a few other family members were the only ones who would eat it. We put a small little sliver on our plates every once in a while, mainly for color if we’re being honest. When we decided to host our free Cooksgiving class, we wanted to focus on sauces. When you ask someone what they’re most looking forward to eating for Thanksgiving, most people don’t name gravy and sauces, but these staples can do wonders to help elevate our favorite dishes. So we thought about how we could put some shine on traditional foods that live in the shadows. Since traditional cranberry sauce is not our favorite, we wanted to try to change that. From there we got to work creating this recipe and we are excited to debut it at our family Thanksgiving dinner this year! Beware, if you bring this to Thanksgiving dinner, be prepared to bring it every year! Luckily, this Red Wine Cranberry Sauce is extremely easy to whip up! In fact, if you’re doing a lot of cooking this year, it will probably be your easiest recipe! Red Wine Cranberry Sauce Serves 24 Prep time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 20-25 minutes Ingredients 12 oz cranberries - fresh or frozen 1 ¼ cup packed dark brown 1 cup dry red wine 1 slice fresh ginger root (about ½ inch thick) 2-3 slivers of orange peel (each about 3 inches long Orange juice from your orange (about ¼ cup) ¼ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp allspice pinch salt Directions: Pre- Prep: Wash your orange and fresh cranberries. Measure ingredients. Add sugar, wine, ginger, orange peel, orange juice, cinnamon, allspice and salt into a medium pot and cook on low for about 1 min until sugar has begun to dissolve. Add cranberries and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes or until cranberries have begun to pop and break down. Then use a spatula or spoon to smash the cranberries against the sides of the pot until all are broken down. Continue simmering on low until the sauce thickens to a syrup-like consistency. Check and stir every few minutes to ensure the sauce is not sticking and burning on the bottom. It will continue to thicken some as it cools. Chill and serve! Notes If you want it smooth, let your sauce cool and then pour it into an upright blender or use an immersion hand blender and blend to your desired consistency. If you want it less sweet, reduce the sugar by ¼ cup. Want more of a spiced sauce? Start by increasing each spice by ¼ tsp.

Fall baking is our fave! The aromas, the spices, the seasonal ingredients, the coziness of a warm kitchen while the outside is cold and windy, all make for the perfect baking environment. However, with our health and weight loss goals we don’t like to consume too many sugary fall baked goods. The solution to this is creating a versatile muffin recipe with ½ the calories, sugar, and fat as regular muffins while also incorporating extra protein and whole grains. We can’t be more thrilled with how this recipe creation turned out! Have you ever been on a health kick and found that delicious item that makes you stop and say, “If I can eat stuff like this, I can do it. I can stay on track”? This is definitely one of those foods. These muffins are perfect for mornings on the go, afternoon tea with friends, and they make the perfect companion with your coffee while you are working at your desk. We opt for the jumbo size and they are perfectly filling and guilt free. Besides being tasty and better for you, they are easy to make! There are a lot of ingredients, however, the steps are super simple! We love the topping on the muffins but feel free to omit this to save some extra calories or time. Also, before baking we suggest checking out the note section for helpful tips! Nutritional information for the muffins are below. Healthier Pumpkin Muffins Recipe Makes 12 Jumbo muffins or 24 regular sized muffins Prep time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15-20 minutes Ingredients 3 cup whole wheat flour ½ tsp salt 2 ½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 TBS cinnamon 1 TBS pumpkin pie spice 1-2 scoops vanilla protein powder, optional 1 medium banana, very ripe 2 eggs ¾ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed ½ cup Greek yogurt 1 cup pure pumpkin puree 1 TBS vanilla extract 1 cup skim milk ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted Topping (optional) 2 TBS unsalted butter, melted 1 TBS dark brown sugar, lightly packed 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice ¼ cup rolled oats ¼ cup roasted pepitas, shelled pumpkin seeds Directions: Pre-Prep: Measure ingredients, melt butter, make the topping and set aside. Line muffin tins with paper cups. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the Topping: Combine all ingredients into a small mixing bowl and set aside. For the Muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and protein powder and set aside. In a blender combine banana, eggs, brown sugar, greek yogurt, pumpkin purée, vanilla extract, and skim milk and blend on medium until smooth. Add wet blended ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold the melted butter into the batter just until it is incorporated. Do not overmix. Portion batter into the muffin tins. Evenly portion the topping and sprinkle over the center of each muffin. Place muffins onto the center rack in a preheated oven. Bake for 12-16 minutes, checking for doneness and rotating pans after 12 minutes. Muffins will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but not wet batter. You can also touch the top of the muffins and if they “spring back” they are done. Let muffins slightly cool in the pan for 1-2 mins and then remove them from the pan and place on a rack to continue cooling. If you don’t have a cooling rack, the counter is just fine. However, don’t forget to remove them from the pan to prohibit additional carry-over baking. Enjoy and freeze what you don’t eat in a double freezer bag for quick weekday breakfasts! We hope you enjoy these muffins as much as we do and if you make them at home, please let us know! Notes Omit the topping and reduce the calories by 40 for the 12 jumbo muffins and 20 calories for the 24 regular sized muffin portions. Use a little more pumpkin pie spice if you want a little more spice. The secret to keeping these muffins moist is to not overbake them. As soon as they are okay to touch, carefully remove the muffins from the pans in order to let them cool completely, without continuing to bake in the pan. Don’t make the mistake we made before and buy pumpkin pie “filling”! Make sure when you purchase your pumpkin purée it is pure pumpkin, with no added ingredients. When re-heating, change your microwave power setting to 70% and microwave in 1-30 second increment followed by 15 second increments until muffins are warm. Muffins should be warm throughout. If you're worried about the muffins tasting like banana, don't! The banana flavor is subtle and adds natural sugar. If you don't have pumpkin pie spice you can substitute it for, 2 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp cloves. Nutrition Information Calories for 12 servings Per serving Calories: 285 Fat: 9 Carbohydrates: 42 Protein 8 *This nutritional information includes the topping. It does not include the nutritional information for the protein powder, because the powder you choose will vary. Calories for 24 servings Per serving Calories: 143 Fat: 5 Carbohydrates: 21 Protein 4 *This nutritional information includes the topping. It does not include the nutritional information for the protein powder, because the powder you choose will vary. We hope you enjoy these muffins as much as we do and if you make them at home, please let us know. If you have any questions, contact us on social media or leave a comment on this blog!

This Spicy Red Lentil Soup recipe is great for everyone including vegetarians and vegans! It is super quick, easy, low-fat and full of fiber and protein. We had a similar soup at a pitch-in a few years back and it was absolutely delicious. We decided to recreate it this past Saturday so we had a healthy meal while decorating Halloween cookies. Unexpectedly, the weather was chilly and rainy so it was the perfect complement to the day. We made sure to write the recipe down so you could have it too! Don't let the spice scare you! While it's a little on the spicy side, our friend Christin (who doesn’t do spicy foods) still enjoyed it with some sour cream! Plus, you can use 1/2 of the amount of Sriracha in the recipe to start with and add more to taste. Speaking of sour cream, we love topping the soup with a variety of ingredients. We listed some of our go to toppings and accompaniments at the end of the recipe. We hope you’ll serve up a pot on a chilly fall or winter night and if you make the full batch, there will be plenty to give away or freeze for another time. Please leave a comment if you make it and let us know how you enjoyed it! Spicy Lentil Soup Recipe Note: This recipe makes a big batch of soup! Cut the recipe in half if you're not looking to feed a small crowd! Prep time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 25-40 minutes Serves: 10-12 Ingredients 4 TBS oil (vegetable, olive, or your favorite cooking oil) 2 cups yellow onion, chopped 2 cups carrots, chopped ½ cup celery, finely chopped 2 ½ TBS minced garlic 2 TBS smoked paprika 3 TBS + 1 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp. black pepper 2 tsp. garlic powder 2 tsp. salt 3 bay leaves 4 TBS tomato paste ½ cup Sriracha 3-14.5 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes 16 cups chicken or vegetable stock 2lb red lentils, sorted and rinsed Garnishes* see notes below Directions Pre-Prep: Examine, sort, and rinse lentils. Wash and chop all vegetables. Mince garlic. Measure and combine seasonings. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté for approximately 6-8 minutes until vegetables are tender. To the vegetables add the smoked paprika, cumin, black pepper, garlic powder, salt, bay leaves, tomato paste, and sriracha and stir until combined. Next, add the petite diced tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the red lentils and simmer uncovered for 25-40 minutes or until lentils are soft and soup is thickened. Serve with your favorite toppings and accompaniments. We have some of our suggestions below! Topping Suggestions Tortilla Chips Jalapenos Limes Cilantro Sour Cream Cheese Red Salsa Tomatillo Salsa Olives Sriracha Hot Sauce Green Onions Avocado Accompaniments Quesadillas Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Turkey, Ham, Cheddar and Dijon Sandwiches Crusty French Bread Jalapeno Cornbread Garden Salad Chicken Wraps Having a chili party but serving vegetarians or vegans? Serve this soup! We have an amazing Bacon Chili Recipe in our fall cookbook! Check it out!

Prep time: 1hr 10min Bake Time: 45-60 minutes Recipe for Triple Crust Strawberry Peach Cobbler: We brought this cobbler to a dinner party hosted by some friends. We had a fantastic time and we were treated to delicious lasagna, salad, and artisan focaccia. The only thing better than the food was the company! If you love pie crust and crumble this recipe really is made for you. We use a layer of pie crust on the bottom, a layer of pie crust on top of the rich filling, and a generous amount of crumb topping on top of the top layer of pie crust. We suggest purchasing fresh fruits when they are in season. If you are not using fresh fruits in their prime, you can purchase frozen fruits, as they are typically frozen right after being picked! For the pie crust you can use store bought, make your own, or check out our Fall Cookbook for our recipe. FYI, with everything else in the recipe being scratch-made we opted for store bought to save time! You will most likely have extra crumb topping. We highly suggested packing it into a freezer bag, storing it in the freezer and using it on additional pies, cakes, muffins, or coffee cakes. If you didn't know, we are freezer queens! Ingredients For filling: ¾ cup white sugar ¾ cup light brown sugar lightly packed ¼ cup + 1TBS cornstarch ¼ tsp salt ½ cup water ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger 3 heaping cups fresh peaches peeled and sliced (about 5 peaches) 3 heaping cups fresh strawberries quartered (about 1lb) 2 TBS lemon juice 1½ tsp vanilla 5 TBS butter Double batch (two) pie crust 1 beaten egg, for egg wash For Crumb Topping: 1¼ cup flour ½ cup light brown sugar lightly packed ½ cup white sugar ½ tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla ½ cup + 2 TBS unsalted butter, melted Directions: Pre-Prep: Remove skin from peaches, by scoring, then blanching. Check out how our friends do it at, https://www.acouplecooks.com/how-to-peel-peaches/ Thickly slice peaches. Quarter strawberries. Measure ingredients. Roll pie crust to fit baking dishes. Place 1 pie crust in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Set aside other pie crust for placing on top of the cobbler. Preheat oven to 400° For Crumb Topping: Whisk all dry ingredients together, then stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Place the mixture in the refrigerator while you prep the other ingredients. For Filling: In a large pot, whisk sugars, spices, cornstarch, salt, and water until smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Add fruit and cook for only 1 minute, gently stirring to mix all ingredients. Turn off heat then gently stir in lemon juice, vanilla extract, and butter. Immediately place filling into the baking dish lined with a layer of pie crust on the bottom. Top with second pie crust and brush with the egg wash. Using a small steak or paring knife, make small slits into the top crust (about 10 slits) to allow air to escape. Remove crumb topping mixture from the refrigerator and crumble with your hands or a fork. Place your desired amount of crumb topping on top of the crust, spreading to the edges. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. We think this cobbler is best served slightly warm or room temperature with ice cream! Keep following for more recipes and hospitality blogs! As always, if you have any questions, or make this recipe at home, please let us know by contacting us on social media or by leaving a comment on this blog!

As seven year old me let my grandmother taste some of the food I was cooking. I can't remember what exactly I was making, but I do remember her words, "It’s too fresh". Fresh was the word our grandmother used to describe food that wasn’t quite right. It needed more seasoning, more time, more soul. This is the moment I started to learn how to make soul food. Soul food is a style of cooking, food traditions, and recipes passed down from generation to generation with its roots traced back from pre-slavery, slavery, and the civil rights era. Soul food is unique to the Black-American culture and became a popular phrase in the 1960's. Southern food is not soul food. Referring to soul food as southern food takes away from its rich history and significance. Soul food is unique to the Black experience in America. Soul food tells both a story of injustice, pain, and hardship yet, also a story of independence, joy, and comfort. Soul food is a cuisine created out of oppression. It is food that speaks to your soul. Soul food is created by long cooking times and heavy seasonings of spices, fatty meats, and aromatic vegetables and herbs. Enslaved Africans were given the offal cuts of meat and small plots of land for gardening. Offal which sounds a lot like awful were mostly pork and cattle cuts of meat that were tough, fatty, and not what slave masters wanted for themselves. These cuts of meats required a long cooking process in order to tenderize the meat. The meat rich in fat and bones, were also used to flavor beans, greens, soups, and stews. In addition to the offal meats, soul food flavors also come from heavy seasoning. Enslaved Africans used spices and seasonings native to their country or reminiscent of their native country. When food was one of the only parts they had control of in their life, the heart and soul went into each dish to bring healing. Soul food is more than just following a recipe. It takes practice and knowledge. Cooking in itself is an art and so in order to create soul food, the passion for the cooking has to stem from an experience, and in this case it’s oppression and the need to survive. While soul food was created from the conditions of slavery and oppression, we encourage everyone to partake in soul food cooking. When doing so, however, it is important to remember that you should participate and appreciate but do not appropriate. Cultural Appropriation means to take someone’s cultural traditions and identities and making it your own. For example, if you're making soul food for guests, you should take the time to educate them about its origin. What Soul food is not: Southern Food: Calling soul food dishes southern food is inaccurate and harmful. Foods derived only from Africa: Soul food incorporates ingredients and techniques from all around the world including fruits and vegetables native to North America. Always unhealthy: Many historical soul food dishes are actually very tasty and very healthy. High-end: While some people have fancied up soul-food dishes so it fits a white tablecloth setting, soul food is not considered “fine-dining” in its nature. Bland- Soul Food is never, ever, bland. This is only a brief background to soul food. It is worth mentioning how Black cooks shaped America’s food culture, helped establish professional kitchens, and fused cuisines from around the world. While studying African-American foodways in college, I had the privilege of getting to know food historian Michael Twitty, an accomplished author, scholar, and James Beard Award recipient. He is a wonderful resource and for learning not only about the historical significance of soul food but also, the social injustices Black Americans have and still experience as it relates to food. Check out Michael Twitty's website using this link: https://afroculinaria.com/ Check out his Youtube videos on 18th century cooking among enslaved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwkRWIwZ43A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VgTtzukqPM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELtVi9ZrvAA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvjsli7ICrI His talk on culinary injustice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFK0UfEFQpE We hope this blog helps you understand the rich history and story behind soul food. We also hope to encourage you to make soul-food or soul-food inspired dishes. Look out for a future blog post on Soul Food Cooking Tips that we've shared in a weekly email! If you aren't subscribed to our weekly email list, you can subscribe here. You can get the recipes for our Quick Sautéed Greens and Brown Butter Sugar Sweet Potato Pie in our Fall themed cookbook. Use this link: YHV Cookbook to order your copy! Until Then, Vibe Yellow!