Chef Marie: Baking and Cooking

Happy Holidays! Here is a recipe for Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies. These cookies are perfect for Christmas or New Years parties. I gave my grandparents a whole tin of them as a present. These are delicious, but they do require about 5 hours to make, since the dough has to be chilled. I found this recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction . Check out her site for more recipes!  The ingredients are listed in the picture below.  The result is a buttery, flavorful cookie! The cherries give the cookies a burst of flavor. I didn't have any white chocolate, but they were delicious without it! Make sure you do not bake them too much, or they will not be very soft. ENJOY!

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars are delicious! You have to try them. I found the recipe on Pinterest, and it is easy to make. This recipe works great for fall, since it that time of the year when everyone craves pumpkin! The original creator of this recipe can be found at Averie Cooks . Here is what you'll need: - 1/ 2 cup unsalted butter, melted - 1 large egg - 3/4 cup pumpkin puree - 1 cup light brown sugar - 1 tablespoon vanilla extract - 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon - 1 1/4 cups flour - 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on the top    Directions: Preheat oven to 350F Line an baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray.  Melt the butter in a large bowl, about 1 minute. Wait for the butter to cool down. Add the egg, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and whisk until smooth. Add the flour and stir. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips. Smoot...

I  got this recipe idea from a Salmon with Summer Salsa recipe from Kayla Itsines' nutrition guide. It is pretty easy to make, and it's very nutritious!  Ingredients: (makes 1 serving) - 2 salmon fillets (frozen) - 1/2 of a cucumber  - 1/2 of a tomato - 1/4 of an avocado - 1/4 or less of a red onion - dill (sprinkle it) - chives (sprinkle it) - lemon juice  - 1/2 cup cooked brown rice Directions: - Preheat oven to 400 degrees - Cook rice - Bake salmon - Dice tomato, cucumber, avocado, onion, chives and dill; mix in a medium bowl - Sprinkle lemon juice on top of salsa mix -  Place cooked salmon on top of the rice - Add salsa on top  There you have it! A delicious salmon dinner! Check out Kayla Itsines' website and products for more recipes.

These Healthy Banana Oat Cookies are delicious! You only need a few ingredients, so they are really easy to make! Here's what you'll need: - 2 ripe bananas - 1 cup of quick oats - 1 Tbs. peanut butter (if not using peanut butter filled chocolate chips) - 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I used peanut butter filled chocolate chips) Directions: - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together; mash the bananas. Using a spoon, drop them onto a greased pan. Bake them for 15 minutes. Enjoy!!

This Healthy Spinach Lasagna is delicious! There is no meat, but with the seasoned flavorful spinach and cheeses, you do not need any meat. I found this recipe at Pinch of Yum , but I altered it a little bit. I used less ricotta cheese because I forgot to buy more, but it tasted great that way! Here's what you'll need: - 2 Tbs. butter - 1 Tbs. minced garlic - 2 tsp. minced fresh thyme - 6 oz. fresh spinach (about 1 bag) - 2 lbs. ricotta cheese (I only used 1 lb., which is one container) - 1 egg - 1/2 tsp. salt - 1/4 tsp. nutmeg - 1 squeeze of lemon juice - 12 oven ready lasagna noodles - 1 24 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese Instructions (from Pinch of Yum): 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme, saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. 3. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, salt, nutmeg, and the le...

It was a boring Thursday afternoon, so I decided to make some donuts! I have never made donuts before, so I thought, why not? My sister found the recipe at: OhSheGlows.com. They are reasonably healthy donuts, they are not fried, and they are easy to make. Here is what you'll need: Dry 1 Cup All Purpose Flour 1/2 Cup Sugar 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1/4 tsp Cinnamon Wet 1/2 Cup Soymilk (I used milk) 1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar (I used white vinegar) 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 1 Egg  4 Tbs butter or margarine Icing Glaze 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 Tbsp milk Sprinkles Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Take  the wet ingredients and put in a small pot on the stove on low. Whisk. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix. Put the batter into the donut pans. I used a muffin pan, since I do not have a donut pan. Bake them for 12 minutes. Makes about 20 (mine made 12) Icing: Combine the p...

My sister found this great recipe on Pinterest, from CrazyAdventuresInParenting.com It is easy to make! Ingredients: - 2 pieces of bread - 2 eggs - butter  - shredded cheese  - salt  - pepper  Directions: - Flatten the bread with a spoon, so the egg will fit inside  - Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the bread - Crack each egg and place on bread - Spread butter on the edges of the bread - Put some cheese on on top of the butter - Preheat a skillet and place each piece of bread it  - I had to flip over the bread so it would cook better; the yolks broke a little, but I think it tastes better that way - Cook until browned  Enjoy this recipe!

Stuffed green peppers are delicious! I found this recipe in a cookbook (pictured below). I made this for the Sunday night football game. Go broncos! This recipe takes about 7-8 hours. There's about 30 minutes of prep time and the peppers must cook in the crock-pot for about 7 hours. They turn out tender and juicy! I will be making this again, especially in the winter months.  Below is the recipe, the cookbook and pictures of the finished recipe. Enjoy this delicious recipe! Crock-pots are the best!

My sister Kathy was browsing Pinterest for desserts and she wanted to use the waffle maker. We decided to make cookie dough, then brownie dough and put them together in the waffle maker. We overcooked them, but they are so good! Next time I will cook them for 4 minutes, instead of 8 minutes.  In the pictures below are the recipes I used, from AllRecipes.com. Make sure you do not overcook them! If you do, dip them in milk!  YUM!