Avocado Deviled Eggs

Hello again!

This time we've got a collaborative effort on the inspiration and execution of this recipe. The BF and I have been keeping a list of things to make and trying to get one crossed off now and again between everything else. So this last time we made Avocado Deviled Eggs. I love deviled eggs, and so does the BF, though we have our differences (I am not a pickle juice fan), and we both love avocado, so it seemed like a no-brainer. Also, healthier! Let's go!

Here's the arsenal- simple, and tweak according to your tastes!!

Here's the filling in my mini food processor.- for more eggs you'll need a bigger one, a mixer, or do batches! But the mini one sure is cute!

Alright, here are the eggs almost done- filling and whites, just waiting!

Avocado Deviled Eggs
-6 eggs, hard-boiled
-1 avocado
-1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
-2 teaspoons good mustard
-salt
-pepper
-paprika
-optional: lime juice, pickle juice, other spices, etc.- make it how you like it!)
Peel your hard-boiled eggs, cut in half lengthwise, and separate the yolks.
To the yolks add your avocado, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper to taste, and anything else you’re putting in the filling.
Use a masher, blender, or food processor to make your filling mostly smooth.
Pipe or spoon (both techniques are in the pictures- to pipe, put your filling in a ziplock and snip the corner, or use a pastry bag) your filling into the waiting egg whites, sprinkle with paprika, and you’re done! Enjoy!

You can either spoon or pipe the filling into the whites- my eggs had no lime juice or any acid, and I spooned them, while the piped ones are by the BF and are a little more zesty- make it your own!

Savor it!
love, rue

Jalapeño Poppers

Hey everyone, this post is written by me, but all the work was done by the BF, so all credit to him for the idea and execution, start to finish!

So we were at the store and saw some frozen jalapeño poppers, but figured they were awfully expensive, so why not make his own? We already had cream cheese for stuffing, so we bought some jalapeños and bread for crumbs and below is the result!

Most of your ingredients- simple!

Your halved jalapeños and homemade breadcrumbs.

The stuffed jalapeños!

And here's your dredging setup, post-chilling.

Jalapeño Poppers
-jalapeños
-cream cheese, flavored, mixed, or otherwise, for filling
-breadcrumbs or bread for breadcrumbs (toast, then pulse in food processor)
-flour
-egg
-oil
Halve the jalapeños and de-seed and de-vein to your preference.
Fill with your choice of cream cheese based filling. Chill.
Put egg in one bowl, well beaten, flour in a second bowl, and bread crumbs in a third.
Dredge the stuffed jalapeños in egg, flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.
Heat your skillet over medium heat. Place your jalapeños, however many will fit without crowding at a time, in the pan and fry until browned nicely.
Place jalapeños on a baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 5-7 minutes.
Serve with jam or your choice of sauce!
(p.s. next time the BF says he will try baking the jalapeños before stuffing so you don’t need to bake at the end for them to be tender.)

Frying up the poppers- just don't let them go past brown to burnt!

And the finished product- enjoy!!

Savor it!
love, rue (and BF)

Cookie Butter Popcorn

Hi again everyone!

This stuff is delish. "Like crack" delicious. And, it's super easy to make- what did you expect? This is based on the Peanut Butter Popcorn recipe I blogged a long time ago, I just tweaked it slightly and it's incredible. And I literally just had the very dangerous idea of drizzling chocolate on it or throwing in some mini chocolate chips- danger danger! Let's go!

Your ingredients: popcorn, sugar, honey/corn syrup, cookie butter, vanilla, and salt.

After melting your sugar, honey, and corn syrup together, add your cookie butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.

Pour over your popcorn and toss/mix/coat very gently but thoroughly and here's your finished product- yumm!

Cookie Butter Popcorn
-1/2 cup popcorn kernels, popped (air popper, in a pot- just no toppings)
-1/3 cup white sugar
-1/2 cup honey & corn syrup, adjust ratios to your taste
-1/2 cup cookie butter (I used Biscoff brand)
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 teaspoon salt, or to your taste
Put sugar, honey, and corn syrup in a metal pot (not non-stick!) and stir over medium heat until melted together fully.
Pull off of heat and quickly add cookie butter, vanilla, and salt- stir well.
Pour mixture over your popcorn in one very large bowl or two large bowls- it’s good to have room to maneuver here.
Mix the popcorn and the cookie butter topping well, but very gently- I like to use two forks.
Store airtight, and enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Caramels- in general!

Hey there everyone!

This post won't be about sharing a specific recipe, but more of a process, as most caramels are made similarly. These are special caramels, denoted as "Carmels" in the family cookbook it's handwritten in- this is a very protected recipe from my boyfriend's family. But even if you don't make them with exactly the same ratios or ingredients, this post will probably (hopefully!) give you more confidence to get out that heavy-bottomed pot and candy thermometer and give it a whirl- this was my first time making caramels alone- I've watched before, but never done it, and these turned out just about perfect for a first try, so give yourself that chance!

Most caramels are made with a mix of sugars, dairy, butter, corn syrup, and flavoring agent(s)- in this case, good vanilla and a healthy sprinkling of sea salt across the top.

Our dairy(s) (milk and heavy cream), sugars, butter, corn syrup, flavorings, and a heavy bottomed pot with a good candy thermometer.

Add all to the pot except your butter and flavoring agent(s).

Stir constantly over medium heat until it starts to come to a boil, then...

Add in your cubed butter, and stir well until all melted and combined.

Turn heat higher and stir frequently- the boiling will start out like this, with thin, smaller bubbles.

Then over several minutes of stirring and watching, the mixture will darken, and the bubbles get little bigger and more substantial- thicker, too.

And here's the caramels right when I pulled them off the stove, before pouring in my vanilla- with eating caramels people mostly prefer finishing temperatures between 239-244 F. Then take off the heat, stir in your flavor, then pour into a well buttered pan- very well buttered!!

And here's what they look like, just poured out and sprinkled with salt.

Om nom nom, am I right? So give it a shot and make your own caramels- it's surprisingly easy, and completely worth it!

Though I'm not at liberty to disclose this particular recipe, I'd just try to find one that doesn't have too many ingredients or steps beyond what I've showed you here, at least to start with, then make it your own once you've got a handle on things!

Savor it!
love, rue

Homemade Ginger Ale

Hey everyone,

This post must give all proper credit to the true maker of this beverage- the BF. I like ginger, even love it, but not in the levels of true ginger beers and ales. My sister and the BF have always liked super "spicy" ginger things- and with this, you can make it as strong (or not) as you want.

The BF used Alton Brown's Ginger Ale recipe as a starting point, and the modifications he made were- he used way more ginger, you definitely need to use a little more yeast, or better yet, find a friend who home brews or something and go ahead and actually carbonate it- the recipe with just the yeast the way Alton Brown has it will make a little fizz, but it will not be truly carbonated like we think of in our sodas today.

Arsenal- pot, bottle with filtered water, ginger, sugar, yeast. (and a funnel is pretty helpful too!)

Make your ginger syrup first (The BF has been making syrup and using it for various drink concoctions- take things into your own hands!!).

Your finished ginger syrup.

Strain the ginger out of the syrup, or not, depending on your preference (Alton says to always strain, but BF likes it both ways, now often straining half of it out and leaving half in there), then add it to your filtered water.

Then add in the yeast, and throw that cap on (tight!).

And here you have it- a homemade glass of ginger ale- spicy and refreshing!

Savor it!
love, rue

Caramel Filled Cookie Cups

Hey there everyone,

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you're in the tradition of celebrating it! Here's a super simple recipe that could turn into all kinds of creative and wow-worthy holiday desserts- fill these with whip cream, no-bake cheesecake filling, fruit, chocolate, the list goes on!! Like last week, these start with my favorite cookie base (from my Perfected Chocolate Chip Cookies). And, please, it goes without saying they're just delicious all by themselves! Let's go!

Your cookie base, chocolate chips, and caramels.

And here's a picture of how I did the process, basically.

Ending up with this beautiful tray! Half have chocolate chips, half are sprinkled with sea salt.

And here's what they look like right out of the oven- just brown around the edges, and puffy in the middle.

Let them cool, and they'll fall in a little, leaving you with a little cookie cup to fill with whatever you like (or nothing at all)!

Caramel Filled Cookie Cups
-1 cup (2 sticks) butter)
-3/4 cup white sugar
-1 cup brown sugar
-2 eggs
-1 tablespoon vanilla
-1/4 cup caramel sauce
-3 3/4 cups flour
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-24 (approx.) small pieces of caramel.
-optional: mini chocolate chips, sea salt
Grease a mini-muffin tin.
Cream butter and sugars. Stir in eggs, vanilla, and caramel sauce.
Add flour, salt, and baking soda and stir well.
Using a cookie scoop or spoon, get medium sized balls, form around the caramel bits, and place in your mini-muffin tin. Sprinkle with chocolate chips or salt (or other) if you desire.
Bake at 350 F for about 8-10 minutes, until just starting to brown, or 11-12 if you like your cookies a little crispy.

Your finished product- easy to store, and easy to eat!! Enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Mint Chocolate Cookie Bark

Hey there!

This recipe is super easy and perfect for the middle of summer- no baking involved! It's a bark recipe, so you can probably imagine where I might be going already, but let me just throw this idea out your way and see how you like it, or if you have any of your own ideas on how to add to this or make it better (I'm thinking a peanut butter chocolate version next time...). Let's go!

Your very simple arsenal- sandwich cookies, pretzels, nuts, M&Ms, chocolate chips, and salt.

Mix together your sandwich cookies, pretzels, M&Ms, and nuts on a greased or paper-lined baking sheet.

Melt your chocolate in small intervals until smooth and very liquidy.

Pour and smooth the chocolate over the other ingredients, then crack salt over it, if using.

Here's your bark after chilling in the fridge for a few hours- fully hardened.

Now break into basically whatever size pieces you'd like to eat, and enjoy!

Mint Chocolate Cookie Bark
-12 (or so) mint sandwich cookies (like Oreos), crushed/cut up
-1 cup broken pretzels, or chocolate covered pretzels
-1/2 cup mint M&Ms
-1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I used almonds - yum!)
-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet & milk chocolate — use what you like!)
-roughly ground sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Lay the cookies, pretzels, M&Ms, and nuts out on a greased or wax-paper (or parchment) lined cookie pan.
Meanwhile, melt your chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave until nice and liquidy.
Pour/smooth chocolate over the pan full of bark ingredients while still very melted- I let my chocolate cool a few seconds too long before pouring and so mine isn’t super smooth.
Crack your sea salt over the top, if you desire.
Place pan in the refrigerator until hardened.
Break into about two-bite-size pieces, and enjoy this easy and delish treat!
Store in the refrigerator, in an airtight container.

And here's your finished bark- ready to be eaten or given away to someone who deserves it- or both!

Savor it!
love, rue

Easy Float

Hey there!

This recipe is courtesy of my idea and the BF's execution of it. It's more of an idea than a recipe, so make it your own with whatever flavors of soda or creamer you'd like. I like to use cream soda best, but you can make this any way you like! Get creative.

Your arsenal- soda, milk, and creamer.

This is about the amount used in this cup, so you can kind of tell the ratios from there- start with a few tablespoons of each, and adjust to taste.

Then top off with your soda!

And yum, a delicious float without having to have ice cream!

Easy Float
-Soda of your choice
-Flavored creamer of your choice
-Milk (you do not have to use this, but we wanted to keep it on the creamier side but make it a little healthier than adding a ton of creamer!)
For one serving, mix 1/4 cup each milk and creamer (important to mix these so it doesn't curdle with the soda!) in your cup, then add 1 1/4 cups soda. Add ice. Enjoy!


Savor it!
love, rue

Traditional Potato Salad

Hey there everyone!

This recipe is thanks to my helping out for the 4th- I'm not really an eater of traditional potato salad, so I probably would not have brought you a recipe otherwise, but I was assured by all present that it was really good. Let me show you- super simple.

Here's your arsenal! Pretty simple, and colorful!

Chop potatoes and eggs, then mash roughly.

Add in your chopped veggies and mix well. (I forgot the pickles and added them later- just fine!)

Here are your seasonings and binder- change ratios to your taste.

Add your mayo and then your seasonings and mix well.

And finally, I added in the chopped pickled I forgot about earlier.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished salad- it's pretty similar to the above, just mixed and with paprika sprinkled on top. People gobbled it right up before I could think of it!


Traditional Potato Salad
-Potatoes, boiled
-Eggs, hard boiled and peeled
-Red onion, chopped
-Green onion, chopped
-Celery, chopped
-Radish, chopped
-Sweet pickles, chopped (or relish, whichever you prefer)
-Mayonnaise
-Pickle Juice
-Dry mustard
-Salt & Pepper
-Paprika
Chop potatoes and eggs once cool then mash roughly.
Mix in all of the other ingredients- using your own ratios and amounts to make it however you like it- don’t like something, don’t use it, and use more or less of ingredients depending on what you like. This is a really easy recipe to play around with the amounts of- just start slow with the mayo because that is almost impossible to fix.
Chill. Sprinkle with paprika to serve.

Savor it!
love, rue