Cheddar Mashed Potato Latkes - Recipe

This was my first time making latke's and it wasn't half bad, but I definitely had to wing it with this recipe as I used the ingredients I already had on hand. If I made any changes to this in the future I'd add in some pre-cooked hashbrowns so that they aren't too mash potato-like in the inside.

2 Cups - Mashed Potatoes

2 Large - Eggs 

1/2 Cup - Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1 Tbsp - Bisquick

1/2 Tbsp - Vegetable Oil

1/2 Tsp - Chives, diced (dried or fresh)

2 - 3 Pinches - Garlic Powder

1- 2 Pinches - Salt

Sour Cream *Optional*

Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the Bisquick until blended. Combine all ingredients except for the vegetable oil and sour cream into the bowl and stir until evenly mixed. Heat skillet on medium heat using some of the oil with each new latke made. Add about 1/2 cup of latke mixture to the heated pan and spread it out to be about 1/2 inch thick. Cook latke 4-5 minutes on each side or until browned and be sure to flatten out the latke a bit with a spatula after the first flip. Plate the latke's and serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Makes around 6 latke's.

Pumpkin Pie Spice - Recipe

Tis the season for Pumpkin Pie Spice everything! You can use this for all your holiday desserts, drinks, or if you're like me you're adding it into your pancake mix as well. So here's my simple recipe on how you can make your own pumpkin pie spice. I used spices by McCormick (I recommend their organic line if it's available in the spice you want), and where it reads "part/s" you can use whatever measuring size you want (I went with tablespoons for mine). I also found that some other pumpkin pie spices may have additional things added to their spice such as ground clove, mace, sweet orange peel, brown sugar, or even cardamom.

Ingredients

2 Parts - Cinnamon, ground (I love ground Saigon Cinnamon for this)
1 Part - Ginger, ground (I used ground Chinese Ginger)
1 Part - Nutmeg, ground
1 Part - Allspice, ground

Combine ingredients into a spice jar (or similar). Close jar with a lid and shake vigorously until well combined.

 Now you're ready to sprinkle your Pumpkin Pie Spice on whatever food your heart desires!

Tom Kha Gai Inspired Soup - Recipe

Since I have a citrus allergy I had to eliminate any lime/lemon from this recipe, and I omitted any hard to find ingredients (such a kaffir leaves, Thai peppers, and lemongrass). You can use fresh or canned mushrooms for this, any variety will do. If you want your soup spicier add more of the chili paste to it, my version is more on the mild side (if you're sensitive to spice I recommend using a lot less than what I did). If I was making this soup for a group of people I would probably slice some lime wedges on the side, and serve with steamed white rice.

4 Cups (32 oz) - Low Sodium Chicken Stock
4 Cups (32 oz) - Unsweetened Coconut Milk, canned
1 lb - Boneless Skinless Chicken, 1-inch cubed
2 Cups (15 oz can) - Mushrooms, sliced
1 branch - fresh Ginger Root, peeled
1/4 Cup - fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 Leaves - fresh Basil, whole
1-2 Tbsp - fresh Scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp - Pad Thai Sauce
2 Tsp - Thai Chili Paste (or similar)

1 Pinch - Sugar (or substitute)
1 Pinch - Chinese Five Spice powder

Add chicken broth, cilantro, basil, scallions, and ginger to a pot and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Except for the coconut milk add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked (no pink in center). Add in coconut milk, raise heat and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat once boiling, remove ginger branch, and allow to cool a bit before serving.

Patacones - Recipe

While in Panama earlier this year I came across a simple side dish known as Patacones, and my boyfriend whom is Panamanian was able to teach me how to make them.

First of all, you do want green plantains or ones where the peel isn't mostly black in color. If you peel the plantain and the inside has a peachy tint to it rather than a white-yellow color than it is probably too ripe in which case the patacone will be on the mushy side, where as it should be a bit hard and crisp after cooking. My boyfriend recommends using vegetable oil with this recipe, and I like using it with this because it seems to give the patacones a nice buttery flavor. I also like to heavily salt the plantains before cooking because in my opinion it tastes less bland and more appetizing, although in Panama it tends to be more on the bland side but to each their own.

Plantains, green
Vegtable Oil
Salt

Cut the ends off the plantain. Cut down into the peel along the center (long ways) of the outer curve of the plantain. Use your fingers to peel back and remove the peel from the plantain (it can be a bit hard but don't be discouraged). Slice the plantain into about 3/4-inch thick cuts. Liberally season the plantain slices on both cut sides with salt according to taste.

Add about a 1/2 inch of the oil in a small pan and heat the oil on a medium-high heat setting. Once the oil is heated place the plantain slices in the pan on the flat cut side of the plantain (you should hear it sizzle when placed into the hot oil). After about 3 minutes flip the slices over and continue cooking another 3 minutes. Remove the slices from the oil and press the slices flat (you can use the bottom of a flat glass/cup, or a tool made for pressing patacones) til they're about a 1/2 inch thick. Once they're all pressed place the flattened plantains back into the hot oil to cook 3 minutes or until golden (you do not need to flip them over). Set the patacones on a paper towel to remove excess oil. These are best served hot.

Cinnamon Bisquick Muffins - Recipe

I started wondering if I could save some money today by using Bisquick and other ingredients I already have at home to make some cupcakes/muffins, and... I also really wanted to attempt making Skyrim's 'sweet-rolls', ahaha. So, I came up with this simple and tasty cinnamon cupcake/muffin recipe, enjoy!

1 ½ Cups - Bisquick

¾ Cup – Sugar, granulated

¾ Cup - Milk

2 Large – Eggs

1 Tsp – Vanilla Extract

¼ Cup – Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp - Cinnamon, ground

1. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Line a cupcake pan with paper baking cups. 

3. In a large bowl beat all ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed for 4 minutes.

4. Evenly fill baking cups 1/3 full, cupcakes will rise while baking.

5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

6. Remove cooked cupcakes from pan and let cool.

Makes: 14 Cupcakes

LL Hawaiian Mac Recipe

I recently made a Hawaiian Mac Salad recipe that I posted on here and I happened to discover that L&L actually has a cookbook out (so I bought it off Amazon.com for about $10) and... it has a recipe for it! I'm actually surprised as to what's in it and how they make it, but I think I gave it a fair shot so here's the actual recipe for it per the cookbook, enjoy.

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1/2 gallon of water

1 pound of macaroni

1/2 cup of onion (diced)

1/2 cup of carrot (shredded)

3 cups of mayonnaise*

1/2 teaspoon of white pepper

2 teaspoons of salt

1 small can of oil based tuna (drained)

1. Put water into a pot and bring to a boil.

2. Put macaroni into the pot and boil for 12 minutes or until cooked.

3. Drain water and cool macaroni thoroughly.

4. Combine all remaining ingredients and chill for at least 1 hour.

Serves 5 to 6 people

*For best-tasting macaroni salad, use Best Foods or Hellman's mayonnaise.

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I've yet to try out this cookbook recipe myself and honestly I'm not sure I'm totally convinced this is even the one used for there plated lunches (as I don't notice or detect tuna and onion in the stuff), but I'll give it a go and update this post once I try it for myself ;)

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad - Recipe

Having traveled around Hawaii before I've recently been trying to recreate L&L Hawaiian Barbecue macaroni salad. There are a million different ways people have tried to replicate this but they've all fallen flat in my opinion. That being said, this recipe I put together tastes the most similar to it in my opinion... so, until the actual recipe for it is ever divulged I hope you can at least enjoy mine in the mean time!

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups - Elbow Noodles
1/2 Gallon (plus more for rinsing) - Water
1 Tbsp - Sea Salt (or 1/2 Tbsp - Table Salt)
1/2 Cup - Hellmann's Mayonnaise/Best Foods Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup - Carrots, pre-shredded matchsticks (chop slightly)
1/2 Tbsp - Morton's 'Seasoned Salt'
1 Tbsp - White Sugar
1 Tbsp - Half and Half (or Whole Milk)
2/3 Tbsp - McCormick's 'Molasses Bacon' seasoning *Optional*

Directions
Pour the water into a large pot and bring to a rapid boil on High-Med heat. Add the salt and noodles, bring water to a rapid boil again (be sure to stir noodles occasionally to prevent sticking). Rapid boil the noodles for around 25 minutes (or until fat and soft).

Noodles are almost done cooking

Drain noodles from the hot water and run under cold running water until noodles are cool, and drain well.

Sauce Mix

Combine the other ingredients in a bowl, stir until blended, and wait several minutes to allow the sugar to dissolve. Add in the noodles to the mix and stir together. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until the mac salad 'sets'. Stir the mac salad before serving.

Side Notes:
I believe I've mentioned before on this blog that all mayonnaise does not taste the same. If you live in Hawaii, their version of 'Hellmann's' mayonnaise is called 'Best Foods' mayonnaise although, I believe certain mainland states they also have it labeled as Best Foods mayonnaise.

With this recipe I made it's really easy to add in additional ingredients to alter this to your personal liking... such as some diced hard-boiled egg, sweet relish, etc. My personal favorite is to add in McCormick's grill mates in Molasses Bacon to the sauce mix (as you may have noticed in my above recipe), which makes for a great side dish to accompany some BBQ (although this is not in a typical Hawaiian mac salad... although I think it should be, haha). If you want your mac salad a bit more on the tangy side than cut down on the mayo a bit and add in some sour cream in its place.

The hardest part to making this dish is the noodles, it's very easy to have them be under-cooked for a mac salad as the cold water does seem to make them firm up and shrink a bit (most the time I cook my boxed noodles for 15 min, but that wasn't working for my mac salad so, you end up having to basically overcook the noodles).

If you're asking yourself "what's so Hawaiian about this dish?" well, to people in Hawaii there version of "Hawaiian" doesn't mean it has to consist of pineapple, Asian ingredients, fish, etc. Sometimes it's more about simplicity, cost, and how to feed the masses. Besides, you'd probably get burnt out on the stereotypical Hawaiian ingredients if you lived in Hawaii... or not? ALOHA!

Lava Nachos - Recipe

A friend of mine recently told me about his "Lava Nachos" and I figured it'd be a great recipe for this upcoming Super Bowl!

Grilled Chicken, chopped
Shredded Mexican 4-Cheese
Mae Ploy, sweet chili sauce
Tostitos Scoops, tortilla chips
Black Pepper, ground

Pour your chips onto a plate. Top chips with the grilled chicken, cheese, chili sauce, and pepper. Cook in the microwave for 90 seconds or until bubbly. Eat and Enjoy!

Simple Ratatouille - Recipe

I just made this easy riff on ratatouille recipe that I found online the other day and I totally have to do a re-post of it on here (I did change a few things on my recipe here) because it's sooo vegan-rific (although I'm not vegan and most vegans would probably pass on the parmesan) and seriously smells like heaven in the making, haha. I'm definitely growing some fresh thyme this year!

Ingredients 
2 tbsp - Extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 - White onion, thinly sliced
1 - Yellow summer squash, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium - White potato, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 medium - Tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 tbsp - Fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp - Grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. Pre-Heat oven to 375°F. Heat oil over medium and cook onion in a pan until tender and lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Arrange the onion on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Overlap tomato, squash, and potato on top of the onion. Drizzle with more olive oil, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with thyme and parmesan.

3. Once oven is at 375°F bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, 30 minutes more. Sprinkle with a bit more parmesan and serve.

My Side Notes: I'd recommend when picking your sliced vegetables for this dish (not counting the onion) that you try to buy them all the same width around so that it fits better when you layer them inside the dish to bake.

Spicy Mayo Sauce - Recipe

If you've ever ordered spicy tuna rolls at a sushi restaurant then you're probably familiar with the spicy mayo sauce that goes on top. This is one of my favorite sauces to make and it's really simple :)

1/2 Cup - Mayonnaise (Hellman's brand)
2 Tbsp - Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (add more or less to adjust spiciness)
1 Tsp - Toasted Sesame Oil

Combine all ingredients and mix together until blended. Refrigerate overnight (this step is optional but I found that this helps bring out the heat of the Sriracha). Mix ingredients briefly before serving. Serve as a dipping sauce or over sushi, eat and enjoy.

Side Note: If you bought all these ingredients new then the mayonnaise will probably be the first ingredient to expire so, this sauce should stay good up till that point just be sure to keep it refrigerated. Also, all mayonnaise brands are not created equal in flavor that's why I suggest using Hellman's for this. I also feel in my personal opinion that no matter how big a batch of this sauce you make all you really need is 1 tsp of the toasted sesame oil (the oil seems to help break down the mayonnaise into more of a sauce/liquid consistency and adds a very slight mild smokey flavor) but you can choose to add in more if you want although it's actually a bit optional of an ingredient to some people that make spicy mayo.

Spicy Asian Mushroom Rice Soup - Recipe

Looking for a simple salty spicy Asian inspired broth soup to help warm you up and clear up your sinus's this winter? Then this soup I created may be the one for you. Having had a few ingredients lying around my pantry I attempted to throw this together. Anyway... I had no clue what to call this soup but it was edible so, let me know what you think :)

1 Can - Straw Mushrooms

1 Can - Chicken Broth

1/2 Cup - Water, cold

1/4 Cup - Jasmine rice, uncooked

1 Capful (around 2 tbsp) - Soy Sauce (Kikkoman light)

1/4 tbsp - Cilantro, dried (or fresh)

Dash - White Pepper, ground

1/2 tbsp - Sugar, white

1/4 tsp - Chinese Five Spice

1/4 tbsp - Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Add all the ingredients into a pot on a low to medium heat setting stirring occasionally; it should eventually start to boil. Cook until the rice is done/soft. Serve hot in a bowl with a spoon, eat and enjoy!

Side Note: I could also see adding in some sliced carrot and onion for a bit more sustenance. You can also adjust the heat of this dish with the Sriracha, I personally don't like my food overly spicy. You could also add or substitute the rice for some noodles, and maybe even add in some thin pork slices.

Grasshopper Protein Shake

If you ever wanted a protein shake that left you feeling cool and refreshed after a workout, then this Grasshopper Protein Shake I came up with is the one for you!

1 cup - Milk
1/4 tsp - Mint Extract
1 scoop - Muscle Milk Light, Vanilla
2 tbsp - Carnation Instant Breakfast, Rich Milk Chocolate
1 cup - Ice, crushed
4 drops - Food Coloring, green *Optional*

Combine ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth, serve in a glass (garnish with a sprig of mint if you'd like), drink and enjoy!

Side Note: If you don't have the Carnation Instant Breakfast in Rich Milk Chocolate you could probably substitute it for Nestle Nesquik in Chocolate to get the same taste.

Cislo's Secret Frosting - Recipe

This was a super secret frosting recipe by a lady named Mrs. Cislo who made amazing wedding cakes and such for everyone. Since her passing a few of her recipes have recently surfaced from members in my family. So, I decided to share what once was a super secret recipe with everyone on my blog, so shh.. and Happy Holidays everyone ;)

Ingredients
2 lb - Confectioners Sugar
1 cup - Crisco Shortening
1/4 tsp - Almond Extract
1 tsp - Pure Vanilla Extract
2/3 Cup - Milk, lukewarm
dash - Salt

Beat ingredients together until very fluffy.

If a little dry, add a touch more milk.

If coloring, gel paste coloring works best.

Periwinkle colored frosting

To get this frosting color above I actually ended up finding that for me food dye coloring worked best. To get this periwinkle color I used 3 drops of blue and 2 drops of red food coloring, you'll probably have to repeat that combination of food coloring about 6 or 7 times to achieve this hue.

Yields: I'd say this recipe makes around 2-3 containers worth of your typical sized store bought frosting containers.

Side Note & Review: Don't be alarmed if it seems like you have too much sugar and not enough milk at first, the sugar will begin to melt down with the other ingredients as you mix it. The amount/size will become half, if not less, than the original size it was before mixing. Also, this frosting is super sweet, and I think next time I'll add another 2 tbsp of milk to combat possible dryness, and probably exclude the almond extract. Be sure to use this frosting immediately (do not refrigerate) and it may not work that good for pipping designs (bad experience, heh). This frosting does harden/crisp a bit so I'm not sure it'd be ideal for inner layers of a cake.

Simple Pumpkin Pie - Recipe

This year my mom decided to buy Libby's "Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix" which is a bit different then what I was using previously but it doesn't require you to add in the sugar and it uses more pie mix than evaporated milk. It also says it contains spices, not sure what all that entails but below is the recipe I put together with this, enjoy :)

Ingredients
2 Cans (12 fl oz each) - Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix
1 1/4 Cup (10 fl oz) - Carnation Evaporated Milk
4 Large - Eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp - Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp - Pumpkin Pie Spice (add more/less if desired)

Other

2 Frozen Traditional Size - Pre-Made Pie Crusts

1 Container - Whip Cream (Optional)
1 Box - Aluminum Foil

Using an electric mixer combine the pumpkin pie mix, evaporated milk and eggs in a large bowl. Cover the edges of the pie tins with the foil to protect the crust edges from burning. Pour the mix into the pie shells. Tap down the pies a bit to help release any possible air bubbles in the pie. Bake in a preheated 425F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F; bake 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean (because I had both pies in the oven at once I ended up having to cook them an additional 15-20 minutes). Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

----Additions----

I ended up further changing the ingredients a tad on both of my pies however, the ingredients above were in both pies from the start (although I used 4 'jumbo' sized eggs not 'large' ones this time). After I filled up one pie tin I added in some dots of Hershey chocolate syrup on top and ran a knife through the dots to create a marbled effect (I would've done bigger dots but I was low on syrup). Before I poured the batter into my 2nd pie I added in a 1/2 tbsp of ground cinnamon because apparently my mom felt we needed more in it this year (IDK why she waited this long to complain, lol) so, now we'll see which pie ranked supreme this year. I did have some batter leftover after making these 2 pies so, I'll figure out what to make with that another day ;) I do feel that using an electric mixer may be the secret to keeping the top of the pie from cracking while baking because it helps to mesh together the consistency of the pie mix without allowing the ingredients to separate really. Also, I feel like a lot of people probably don't use chocolate for a marbled pumpkin pie because the syrup is denser then the pie mix which can make the pie look more sunken-in at the chocolate parts... but that won't stop me from devouring the chocolaty monster, haha!

*Update* After having tried both the pies I made... overall they were both edible and ok, my cousin wanting to keep the pies all to himself too, hahah. Personally, I wasn't a fan of the Hershey Syrup I added into the one pie although my mom liked it best, and people felt their was a bit too much cinnamon in the other pie. So personally I'd prefer the original recipe and maybe 1/4 tbsp of ground cinnamon added to this 2-pie recipe to satisfy my mom :P Oh well, always next year to get it right!

Easy Pumpkin Pie - Recipe

My mom and I made some reallyyyy good pumpkin pies a few years back and we altered it slightly along the way of us creating and learning how to make an awesomely perfect pumpkin pie and it's really simple too! This recipe I'm posting makes 2 pies.

Pie Mix

1 Can - Libby's Pumpkin

1 Tbsp - Pumpkin Pie Spice (add more if desired)

2 Cans - Evaporated Milk
2 Cups - White Sugar
1 Tbsp - Vanilla Extract

4 Large - Eggs, beaten

Other

2 Frozen Traditional Size - Pre-Made Pie Crusts

1 Container - Whip Cream (Optional)
1 Box - Aluminum Foil

Combine the 'Pie Mix' ingredients in a large bowl and mix by hand until the ingredients are completely blended together. Place your pre-made pie crust on top of a sheet of some aluminum foil and bring up the outside edges of the foil to cover over the pie crust edges (this will keep your pie crust from burning on the outside). Pour your mix evenly into both pre-made pie crusts, and tap the pan down a few times to help the mixture settle and release any air bubbles. Place the pie on the top center rack of your pre-heated oven (important so that your pies cook faster and get a nice baked color in the center). Pies may take longer to bake than the Libby Pumpkin directions state (as mine did). Once cooked, let cool and then place in the fridge. Serve a slice of pie on a plate with some whip cream on top, eat and enjoy ;)

*As a side note I had no problem freezing these pies (the pies stayed intact with the crust once thawed out). Also, if you have pumpkin pie batter leftover from the 2 pies you can make a few pumpkin pie cupcakes on the side (or maybe mix it with some Bisquick for a pumpkin pancake recipe). It's also very important to whip or beat the eggs thoroughly before adding it to the mix (otherwise it will leave odd whited areas on your finished pie).

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If you'd like to make your own whip cream then here's a quick recipe...

Whip Cream
1/2 Cup - Heavy Cream
1/2 Tsp - Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp - Powdered Sugar

Beat all the ingredients in a bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe

In my first attempt to try and make my own chip dip I seriously ended up making what tasted and smelled much like Hamburger Helper. While this still came out tasty in all its greasy goodness it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but now I'll never have to buy Hamburger Helper in a box again (unless to be cheap, hah) ;P

Ingredients
1 lb - Ground Chuck Beef, thawed
1 Can (14.5 oz) - tomatoes, diced and drained (no salt added variety)
1 Small - White Onion, Diced
1/4 Cup - Chunky Salsa (I used Pace in Medium)
1/2 Block (8 oz) - Velveeta Cheese
Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, and Cilantro to season as needed.

Cook beef and break apart with a spatula on medium heat in a non-stick skillet until brown, season with some salt and pepper. Add in the Onion, season with some Chili Powder, and cook until onion turns slightly transparent. Add in the tomatoes, season with some Cilantro(you can use fresh or dried, I used dried) and cook until warm. Add in the cheese and salsa, continue cooking while constantly stirring until the cheese has completely melted. Remove from heat and let cool to thicken. You can serve this with cooked pasta noodles, white rice, burrito filling, or even tortilla chips. Eat and Enjoy!

*If you wanted to cut corners with ingredients you could probably use more salsa and omit the tomatoes and onion (so long as your salsa still contains both of those).

Adult Shirley Temple - Drink Recipe

I was up late during "Franken-storm" Sandy and happened to stumble across a few adult beverages in my pantry to thus invent my own drink (maybe this recipe has already been done before but if so I didn't find it online). It turned out to taste similar to that of a Shirley Temple (minus the hint of citrus because I can't consume that stuff) although... an adult version! A sweet pinkish colored drink, perfect for breast cancer awareness month, a girls night in (like mine!), or even Valentine's Day.

Ingredients
Schweppes, Tonic Water
Smirnoff, Whipped Cream Vodka
Rose's, Grenadine
Ice cubes

Start by adding a few ice cubes into a martini glass, then pour in the tonic water almost to the top of the glass, add in about an ounce of vodka, and next add a splash of grenadine. Not shakin' or stirred ;) Drink responsibly and enjoy!

Creamed Tuna on Toast - Recipe

Having asked a friend what his favorite thing to eat was (mind you he eats everything!) he told me it was "creamed tuna on toast" (which for him ranked before Prime Rib). I've made tuna salad plenty of times but I had never heard of this before so... I decided to try it out, and I hope you enjoy this recipe I made (I do believe it could almost be comparable to 'biscuits and gravy')! Their are many variations and substitutes for this recipe so, you can definitely alter it to your personal liking but this is how I liked it (after a few failed blunders and alterations, heh).

Ingredients
1 tbsp - Salted Butter
2 tbsp - All Purpose Flour 
1 cup - Milk 
1 can - Tuna (or salmon), canned (drained)
1/2 tbsp - Old Bay seasoning
2 to 4 slices - Toast (Biscuits, Fettuccine Noodles, or White Rice)

How to
In a small pot or skillet on medium-low heat add in your milk and butter, stir until the butter melts completely. Add in your flour, Old Bay seasoning, and continuing stirring until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth. Stir in the tuna, cook until hot. Turn off the heat, remove pan from burner, let sit for about 5 minutes to cool, stir before serving. Serve on-top toast, eat and enjoy!

*You could even stir in around 1/4 cup frozen peas when adding in your milk if you'd like. If you're wondering what type of bread to use for your toast this recipe is typically 'white bread' I believe, but I think it may also be good on some 'sour dough bread'.

Easy Eggless Eggnog Protein Shake

I've never made the traditional eggnog before but this recipe pretty much tasted all the same me! I also found that Pumpkin Pie Spice can be an okay alternative to Nutmeg. Regardless of spice it is definitely the rum that makes it taste like eggnog so, enjoy :)

1 cup - Milk
1 cup - Ice, Crushed
1 scoop - Muscle Milk light protein powder, Vanilla
1/4 tsp - Nutmeg, Ground
1/2 tsp - Imitation Rum Extract

Combine ingredients in a blender on a high speed for about 2 minutes. Serve in a glass, drink and enjoy the holiday goodness ;D

Quick and Easy - Frozen Piñata Colada Recipe

This is a shake/smoothie type recipe that I have been working on recently so, I decided to share it :) I feel like you could easily add and alter this fairly basic Piñata Colada recipe that I came up with, and of course add some rum for a Piña Colada version.

2 cups - Milk
1 20oz-can - Crushed Pineapple w/ Syrup
3 cups - Ice, Crushed
1/2 tsp - Imitation Coconut Extract
1/2 tsp - Nutmeg, Ground

Add ingredients into a blender for about 2 minutes on a high setting. Serve in a glass (traditionally with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry). Drink and enjoy!

This recipe yields 4 (16oz) glasses.