Crockpot Sausage and Peppers

Hi friends! Before anyone says anything, yes, I know this is Thanksgiving week, but no...

No, I do not have a turkey dish for you.

No, I do not have Thanksgiving sides for you.

No, I do not have anything related to pumpkin for you.

But what I do happen to have is some sausage and peppers.  Eat it.  It's good for you.

I mean....I don't even know what to tell you about this.  I've been developing a love of sweet peppers over the past few months. Working in Philadelphia all the time is wearing me down! I've always loved sausage, so when I saw this recipe, I was all over it. Wait, I get to use my crockpot too? I'm done.

So um, by the way, I popped some avocado on top of this because I maybe forgot to throw in the cheese.  WHAT?!?!? Maybe Philly hasn't gotten their hooks in me just yet.  I threw this sausage and pepper mix on top of some egg noodles, but I wouldn't be mad if you chose to toast some buns and get your sandwich on.

Sriracha Hummus

 

I have been waiting for-e-vahhh to make this hummus!!  

Since I moved to a new apartment back in April, my old grocery store is not as easily accessible as it once was.  I've been craving hummus for a while and I kept searching in various stores for tahini, a key ingredient. After 6 months, I finally spotted some, so I immediately set to work on my next hummus variation.

On another note, did you hear about how the U.S. narrowly averted a sriracha shortage?  Seriously, the Huy Fong plant in California, which makes sriracha, almost shut down.  Things still aren't 100% sorted out, but until they are, you have no reason not to indulge in this spicy hummus.  It only takes (about) 2 tablespoons of your sriracha reserves, so you can make several batches before needing to repurchase more hot sauce.  See, I'm looking out for you.  Now go forth and enjoy!

Bailey's Brownies

I want to have a heart-to-heart with you about Bailey's.

You see, the holidays are upon us.  Starbucks says that they are.  Don't worry about that little Thanksgiving thing in between now and then.  Focus.

We need to start trimming trees, decking the halls, and adding Bailey's to every darn drink we pour. But let's not limit ourselves.  I want to eat it too.  Is that strange?  No.  No, it is not.  Don't look at me that way.  This is how I make friends.  I put booze in a bunch of desserts and go forth into the world.  Ok, that's not completely true.  It's close though.

Can we add brownies to that list of desserts?  Yes.  Yes, we can.  Because we are adults and we do what we want!

Beer Caramelized Mushroom & Onion Tart

 

I want to eat all the mushroom and onion things!  This tart allows me to do just that.  I used to be really into tarts, and by being "really into tarts", that means that I used to make them a whole lot more than I do now.  I really enjoyed that they were so easy to whip and so I could have a quick and tasty meal.  In the past week, I have had numerous work obligations, a surprise conference to attend, a 24-hour trip down to Baltimore and back, and an emergency stop to the dentist to check out a filling.  So, all I really want is a hot freaking lunch to get me through each day.

Enter Sid from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking.  I was assigned Sid's blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club, and it was pretty difficult to choose which recipe I wanted to make.  However, after I saw the mushroom and caramelized onion tart, I was sold.  In fact, I was so excited that I decided to pour beer in the pan of veggies as well.  Sorry, but...beer.  Hope you don't mind, Sid!

Oh, and there's goat cheese involved in this business as well.  You're welcome.

Banana Speculoos Microwave Brownie

I can't be the only person obsessed with the Starbucks chocolate smoothie, right? ... 

OK, I'm pretty sure 90% of the people reading this have no idea what I'm talking about.  Let me drop some knowledge: Starbucks makes protein shake smoothies!  The next time you go there, check out the menu and you'll find it.  It's pretty much overshadowed by any and every holiday/seasonal/espresso drink, but it's there.  (Speaking of holiday drinks, I got my gingerbread latte yesterday in my very first red Starbucks cup of the season!  It was initially a weird experience since I picked up my drink right next to a display offering coffee grounds in the flavor "Thanksgiving".  I was confused for a second and then realized that pop culture is now celebrating Christmas a month before Thanksgiving and two months before the actual Christmas day, which is sort of aggravating to me but...I'm digressing...)  Chocolate Smoothie.

This smoothie happens to be a chocolate banana protein shake (20g protein!).  I discovered this by accident one day when I was bored and scrolling through the Starbucks app on my phone.  Over the past year or two, I've become a consumer of protein shakes before, during, and/or after a workout, so finding this shake was exciting for me!  I admit that at first I didn't love the taste of it.  My taste buds were expecting a pretty sweet milkshake instead of a slightly sweetened and (relatively) good-for-you smoothie, but eventually I came to love it.

The other day I was looking for a quick snack to whip up and I came across this recipe for a Banana Nutella Microwave Brownie.  Right away, it reminded me of the Starbucks smoothie!  Alright, it's definitely not the same thing, but the flavors are sort of similar.

Then I realized I didn't have any Nutella in my pantry.  However, I do have crushed cookies in the form of Speculoos hanging around!  I picked that up instead and got to work.

Do the dang thing!