You favorite holiday beverage now in pie form. Since it’s no-bake, you can either make it boozy for an adult party of keep it kid friendly.

HAPPY 38th BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER ANDREW! While I won’t be able to share this pie with him today, I will see him tomorrow as our family gathers in Florida for my grandmother’s 100th birthday!! We will partake in our tradition of seeing a movie on Christmas Day, this year being Star Wars. Both my brother and I have already seen it but we’re never opposed to repeats. And then to continue the nerd-ity we also have tickets to Universal and Disney so that we can visit the full extent of Harry Potter World! Merry Christmas to me!! All the exclamation points today!!!

One year ago: December 2016 Stitch Fix #20 & Tips to Improve Your Next Fix

Three years ago: DIY Cookie Sheet Chalkboard

Four years ago: Hazelnut Baci Cupcakes

Five years ago: Pasta with Butternut Sauce, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach

Six years ago: Blizzard Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

Seven years ago: Buttermilk Pancakes

NO-BAKE EGGNOG PUDDING PIE

Serves 8

Ingredients:

CRUST

18 graham crackers, finely crushed (about 2-1/2 cups) or gingersnap cookies

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

FILLING

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) vanilla pudding

1-1/2 cups eggnog (boozy or regular)

2 (8 oz.) containers frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided

Ground cinnamon and nutmeg, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together with a fork. Press crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. Chill for 30 minutes before filling.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the dry pudding mix and beat on low while slowly pouring in the eggnog. Gently fold in one container of whipped topping until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into pie shell. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie. Top with remaining whipped topping
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Source: Adapted from my No-Bake Chocolate Hazelnut Pie and I am a honey bee.

Get ready for holiday party season with these sweet and savory recipes sure to please all of your guests.

‘Tis the season for cookies and appetizers! This is the last recipe meal plan of the year and we’re making sure you have everything you need to get through holiday party season. I still can’t get over how cute my snowman cheese ball turned out, almost too cute to eat. Almost. If you need a sweet snowman option, I also have little oreo snowman truffles!

P.S. I hate to break it to you, but this is actually the last month that I am hosting the monthly meal plan. Some of the other bloggers are continuing on so keep an eye on their blogs! I just needed to cut back on things because wedding planning is taking over my life haha.

Holiday Recipes

• Sugar Plums – Savory Moments

• 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cup Cookies – The Cooking Actress

• Snowman Blue Cheese Ball – The Spiffy Cookie

• Christmas Stollen Wreath – Pies and Plots

• Iced Cocoa Cut Out Cookies – Kelly Lynn’s Sweets & Treats

• Hawaiian Meets Cajun Crab Dip Sliders – Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck

• Cantucci (Almond Biscotti) – The Pajama Chef

This month’s recipe round up was brought to you by:

Savory Moments | The Cooking Actress | The Spiffy Cookie | Pies and Plots | Kelly Lynn’s Sweets & Treats | Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck | The Pajama Chef

Pin this to your meal planning board for easy access all month long!

One year ago: Buckeye Stuffed Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cake

Three years ago: Hummingbird Cake

Four years ago: Caramel Frosted Pumpkin Mini Cakes

Five years ago: Arugula Pesto Pasta

Seven years ago: Caramel Apple Pie

Originally I had planned on sharing a gluten-free pizza dough recipe today, but it needs more tweaking before it can be unveiled. In the meantime, I’m finally going to make good on my promise to share with you some of our favorite recipes from doing Whole30 for the first time. I didn’t do Whole30 because of any dietary problems or weight loss goals, I was mostly trying to convince myself that I don’t need dessert every day and to create healthier eating habits. The biggest thing I learned? So many food items have sugar in them!

As for the recipes, I didn’t buy any cookbooks, instead I took to the internet (mostly pinterest) and printed off a bunch. From that stack we would select recipes to make for each week, buy all the groceries on the weekend and then be set for the rest of the week. Added bonus of Whole30? Meal planning and never having to figure out weeknight meals on the fly! We also were cooking together more often which was nice as I tend to take over with my blog-stuff.

At first Bob and I always felt hungry. Apparently dense, heavy foods take up less space in your stomach and it takes a minute (or 3 days) for your stomach to realize that it actually is full. Once we got over that hump, and found suitable replacements for certain items, it was easy peasy. It helped that the recipes we found we delicious and have made post-Whole30. Here are 30 of our favorites that we plan on making again, if we haven’t already!

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin – This is the recipe Bob that rubbed in a coworkers face when they made fun of him for being on a diet. For the record, his coworker had a sad looking salad for lunch. Also, this was before I discovered homemade sugar-free bacon (pictured above) which is much cheaper and easier than hunting it down in stores.

Breakfast Bowl – This recipe originally struck me as odd and I imagined it to be something awful in consistency but it was an instant hit! We had this one a few times and plan to make again and again. My favorite way to eat it was using the apple slices to scoop it up!

Breakfast Casserole – Definitely a weekend breakfast recipe but when you are cooking for two, it lasts through the week as well. When weekend breakfasts ran out we usually depended on eggs with homemade sugar-free bacon or dairy-free smoothies.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole – When making this, I worried that it was going to be too much Buffalo sauce for me, and I was right. I like spicy things but not too spicy. Bob on the other hand devoured it.

Buffalo Chicken Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes – I brought these to game night at a friends house and they were a huge hit (and had the right amount of hot sauce for my tastes)! I did alter the recipe a bit based on how I make twice baked potatoes. Hopefully I’ll get around to making these again to take photos and share the actual recipe.

Butternut Sausage Bake with Kale – In my opinion, almost any recipe utilizing roasted butternut squash is a winner.

Chicken Avocado Lime Soup – Soups were a common favorite during the 30 days. They pack so much flavor, are easy to abide by Whole30 rules, and often come together quickly.

Chimichurri Chicken Wings with Ranch Dressing – Guys, I may like these better than “real” wings. Chimichurri on wings is awesome! And hunting down avocado mayo proved to be worthwhile by the addition of the homemade Ranch dressing. I tried making my own mayo, but it was an epic fail.

Coconut Pistachio Larabars – After stock piling on Larabars, I finally got around to making our own and let me just say, Larabar needs to take notes.

Creamy Carrot and Ginger Soup – This was my first experience with carrot soup and it was awesome! I actually have already made this soup twice (the second time I added 1/2 tsp turmeric). It pairs perfectly with a Kale, Pomegranate, and Avocado Salad with Zesty Tahini Dressing (the second time I made the salad I used baby kale and cranberries instead of pomregranate).

Crock Pot Turkey Bolognese Sauce – Bob immediately requested that this be in our regular rotation. Fine by me cause it’s crazy easy! We served this over zoodles.

Garlic Bacon Avocado Burgers – I was kind of impressed with how quickly we didn’t miss buns on our burgers. Guess it helps when the burger and toppings are so yummy.

Harvest Stew with Smoked Sausage – Parsnips are totally underused in soups and stews. You need this in your life and belly.

Jalapeno Turkey Burgers – Bob loved these and I enjoyed them but next time I make them (and there will be a next time), I am going to reduce the amount of lime. They were just a bit too limey.

Lamb Burgers with Rosemary Pesto Sauce – Adding rosemary to pesto? Winner! I want these burgers again, like right now. The recipe suggested serving it with strawberries and sauteed peppers on top. We did lemon potatoes instead.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Potatoes – I actually made this right before we started Whole30 and only realized afterwards that it followed the rules. Hooray!

Mango Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice – So much flavor! Definitely need to make this again soon, especially since it only takes 30 minutes.

Moroccan Chicken Skillet – This recipe was probably the one with the most unique flavor. Bob wasn’t a huge fan but I loved it.

One-Pan Crispy Bacon Wrapped Chicken – Bacon wrapped chicken, what more do you need to know? Serve this with a side of potatoes and it’s a done deal.

One-Sheet Roasted Sausage & Brussels Sprouts Dinner – We actually made this a couple days post-Whole30 because we were loving the recipes so much we couldn’t stop!

Pesto Bacon Chicken – Pesto is such a simple thing and yet makes such delicious meals! The addition of bacon certainly didn’t hurt either.

Rosemary Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken with Bacon and Apples – The only thing I would change about this is to put the bacon on top so that it can get nice and crispy.

Sausage & Kale Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust – I adapted this recipe from 2 or 3 others and now am so in love with using sweet potato as a crust for quiche. Who needs a flour crust?

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup – Yet another awesome soup. Guess doing Whole30 in the winter makes sense because it’s definitely soup season.

Sheet Pan Chicken with Red Potatoes and Sage – Another theme during Whole30 was sheet pan meals. This is yet another that you cannot go wrong with. Using chicken thighs with the skin still on results in juicy chicken with a crispy exterior.

Sloppy Joe Bowls – This is another that we made post-Whole30. How can you deny a sloppy joe serve in a potato?

Spicy Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir-Fry – I’ve never had a stir-fry with ground meat before but I was pleasantly surprised! Sad we didn’t have more leftovers of this one. Guess we’ll just have to make it again, darn.

Sweet Potato Apple Breakfast Bake – This is another surprising breakfast recipe as it seems a bit strange at first but ends up being delicious.

Zucchini Carbonara – Hello dairy-free cream sauce served over zoodles and topped with bacon!

Zuppa Toscana – Last but not least another great soup recipe! Seriously, soups on Whole30 rock.

Have you ever done Whole30? If not, after reading my list of favorites do you think you’d be more willing to try it? I just gave you one recipe per day so you’re already 1/3 of the way there!

Two years ago: Cream Cheese Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Squash

Three years ago: Giant Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Cookie For One

Five years ago: S’mores Molten Lava Cake

Six years ago: Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Layer Pie

Eating lighter options doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice on flavor. Check out this huge list of breakfasts, main dishes, sides, and even desserts to keep your New Year’s resolutions in check.

It’s that time of year again. When the gyms are packed and you struggle to find lighter meals and snacks that don’t bore you. While this blog isn’t specifically geared towards healthy recipes, I do post a decent amount of lighter, healthier, or whatever you want to call them recipes. Some recipes I feel comfortable stamping with the label of “healthy” while others take a lighter twist on a normally not-so-healthy splurge. Good for the body and soul!

What is your favorite lightened up recipe?

One year ago: Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes

Two years ago: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Three years ago: Carrot Cake Oatmeal

APPETIZERS & SIDES

• Asparagus & Wild Rice Casserole
• Baked Falafels
• Baked Zucchini Fries with Balsamic Aioli
• Farro, Cranberry and Goat Cheese Salad
• Healthier Buffalo Cauliflower Dip
• Healthier Elote
• Homemade Veggie Chips
• Homemade Whole Wheat Pita Bread
• Lighter Pizza Dip
• Nutty Edamame Dip
• Orange-Vanilla Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip
• Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip
• Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts
• Roasted Garlic Kale Hummus (pictured)
• Roasted Root Vegetables
• Spiralized Zucchini Pesto Caprese Salad
• Veggie Cups with Green Goddess Dip & Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
• White Bean and Pumpkin Hummus with Spiced Pita Chips

MAIN DISHES

• Asian Fried Quinoa
• Bacon-Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder
• Baked Chicken Fajitas
• Baked Mozzarella Chicken Rolls
• Baked Quinoa Chicken Parmesan
• Beet & Goat Cheese Pizza with Cauliflower Crust
• Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa and Avocado Cream Sauce
• Butternut Squash Lasagna
• Caramelized Chicken with Jalapeno Cream
• Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Cauliflower Pizza Crust
• Cheesy Vegetable Enchiladas
• Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas
• Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
• Chicken-Quinoa Burgers with an Avocado-Yogurt Sauce
• Chicken Salad with Grapes, Apple, and Pecans
• Chili-Lime Roasted Butternut Salad
• Crispy Peanut Tofu & Cauliflower Fried Rice
• Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken
• Eggplant Manicotti with Creamy Pesto Filling
• Eggplant Parmesan with Parsley Orzo
• Eggplant Veggie Burgers
• Greek Yogurt Gnocchi with Spicy Pesto
• Greek Yogurt Pizza Dough
• Grilled Chicken Gyro Salad with Pita Croutons
• Healthy Vegetarian Taco Salad
• Homemade Olive Garden Salad and Dressing
• Lentil Taco Skillet
• Lighter Avocado Alfredo Pasta with Spicy Chicken
• Lighter Cajun Chicken Alfredo
• Lighter Fettucine Alfredo
• Lighter Chicken Bellagio (pictured)
• Lighter Chicken Parmesan
• Lighter Roasted Garlic & Hemp Seed Fettuccine Alfredo
• Mini Greek-Style Meatloaves
• Oven-Fried Avocado Tacos with Cilantro Lime Creme
• Oven-Fried Parmesan-Panko Crusted Tilapia
• Pasta with Butternut Sauce, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach
• Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Roasted Broccoli
• Pizza Quinoa Casserole
• Purple Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Lighter Goat Cheese Alfredo
• Quinoa Turkey Meatballs
• Roasted Pear, Parmesan & Spiced Pecan Salad
• Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Candied Walnuts and Sage Vinaigrette
• Roasted Veggie Bowl with Lemon Tahini Dressing
• Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Skillet Greek Yogurt Chicken
• Skinny Creamy Italian Chicken Skillet
• Skirt Steak with Kale Chimichurri Sauce
• Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers with Roasted Garlic Avocado Cream
• Southwestern Oven-Fried Chicken Salad with Avocado Dressing
• Spaghetti with Roasted Butternut and Brussels & Greek Yogurt Cream Sauce
• Spicy Black Bean Burgers
• Spicy Edamame Burgers
• Spicy Thai Noodles with Tofu
• Spinach and Feta Chicken Rollatini
• Spinach Pizza Dough
• Spiralized Beet Noodles with Feta Cream Sauce
• Strawberry, Rhubarb & Pear Salad
• Veggie Lasagna
• Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza Dough
• Winter Wheat Berry Power Salad

BREAKFAST

• Baked Banana Almond Pancakes
• Baked Banana-Pecan Oatmeal
• Baked Blueberry Almond Pancakes
• Baked Oatmeal with Blackberries and Bananas
• Berry Spinach Smoothie
• Berry Medley Smoothie
• Black Cherry Vanilla Almond Smoothie
• Blueberry Kale Smoothie
• Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie
• Breakfast Crème Brulee
• Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
• Cherry Vanilla Almond Overnight Oatmeal
• Cinnamon Apple Quinoa Parfaits (pictured)
• Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
• Greek Yogurt Everything Bagels
• Greek Yogurt Hollandaise Sauce
• Green Monster Spinach Smoothie
• Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins
• Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix
• Individual Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
• Kale Quiche
• Maple, Walnut, and Flaxseed Pancake Doughnuts
• Meyer Lemon Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
• Nutella Swirl Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
• Open-Faced Ricotta, Arugula, and Egg Sandwiches
• Orange Strawberry Banana Smoothie
• Spiced Pear Smoothie
• Strawberry Almond Scottish Oatmeal
• Strawberry-Banana Colada Smoothie
• Strawberry, Mango, and Yogurt Smoothie
• Whole Wheat Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes
• Whole Wheat Scone for One

DESSERTS

• Berry Frozen Yogurt Bars
• Flourless Black Bean Brownies
• Healthier Buckeyes
• Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Healthier Cookie Dough Fondue
• Healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Healthy Inside-Out Peanut Butter Cups
• Healthier Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• “I Can’t Believe It’s Healthier” Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (pictured)
• Key Lime Greek Yogurt Pie
• Mango Frozen Greek Yogurt
• More Fudge Less Pudge Brownies
• Peach Greek Yogurt Pie
• Peanut Butter Cup Mousse Parfaits
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Parfait
• Raw Cookie Dough Bites
• Raw Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites
• Raw S’mores Cookie Dough Bites
• Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cupcakes
• S’mores Lasagna for One

I’m not usually a big fan of champagne, unless orange juice is involved. Ah yes mimosas, the drink of brunches. In fact when my lab mates and I were in Berlin we managed to order a couple mimosas for “brunch” despite our waitress looking at us like we lost our minds when we described it as a drink that was half champagne and half orange juice. Silly Americans.

This time of year champagne comes out in full force, namely in a couple days for the celebration of another New Year. But who says you have to toast with pure champagne? I say mix some fruit juice in there, have some fun, and dare someone to stop you.

I mixed in some pomegranate to make it seasonally appropriate. Although I think this could also be called a pomegranate bellini, similar to a peach or strawberry bellini. Whatever you name it, I call it a delicious way to ring in the New Year.

Two years ago: Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

Three years ago: Cranberry and Orange Granola

Four years ago: Chicken Scallopine with Sage and Fontina Cheese

POMEGRANATE MIMOSA

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (4 oz.) champagne

1/2 cup (4 oz.) pomegranate juice

Pomegranate arils, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour champagne into a glass. Top with pomegranate juice. Serve garnished with arils.

Source: The Spiffy Cookie original (although I’m sure someone has made it somewhere).

Cheese balls are a classic party appetizer for good reason. They are both incredibly tasty and easy to make. This version has blue cheese in the mix and a coating of bacon and pecans.

I am back in Memphis after my month-long stay in Knoxville, capped on the end by a weekend trip to Boston, and it’s been a whirlwind. Especially since it’s not over because I am off to a wedding in Nashville and a conference in San Francisco next! Apparently I am incapable of sitting still and although it has been fun, I am definitely looking forward to putting an end to all this traveling for a little while so I can get my apartment back into some sort of order.

Going back in time… I made this cheese ball before I left for Knoxville for an ArtjamN outing with my friend Brandi before she moved away to NC for her post-doc. Yes yes, I know I just posted a cheese ball recipe on Saturday, but that was a sweet version, this one is savory! And when I was given this recipe, I was told that this cheese ball drives people crazy. That might be an understatement because it vanished in under 30 minutes. As such it is a great party appetizer – maybe I should turn it into a Snowman or Rudolf cheeseball version for the holidays.

The cheese ball is very easy to put together, but you absolutely must prepare this ahead of time in order to allow the flavors to fully blend and enhance each other. As a result, your cheese ball will have a flock of people circling around it until every last smear of it disappears. Who knew a little blue cheese mixed into cream cheese and then covered in bacon and pecans could create such a crazed group of people!

Post updated 12/29/18, two pictures above are the originals.

BLUE CHEESE BALL

Makes 1 cheese ball

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (I used reduced fat)

4 oz. crumbled blue cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup finely chopped green onion

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. Stir together butter, cheeses, onion and seasonings until well blended.  Press into a 2-cup mold or bowl lined with plastic wrap (I used a cereal bowl).  Chill at least 8 hours or overnight (you must do this or it will have no flavor).
2. Before serving, make topping:  Combine sugar and pecans in a non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray.  Cook until the sugar melts and the pecans begin to toast.  Add the bacon and stir. Remove from heat and let mixture cool.
3. Invert cheese onto serving plate.  Press bacon-pecan mixture on top of cheese.  Serve with crackers or crostini.

Source: Beth’s mom

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