Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Muffins

We went blueberry picking on Saturday and we thought that this muffin recipe would be a good way to use them up! You obviously don't have to pick your own blueberries for this recipe, but it's a good idea.
We also added some sparkling white sugar to the tops of all our muffins right before they went in the oven to add a shine and a little crunch! You can do this if you want!
Let's hear the recipe now!

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup fat free milk + 1/8 cup fat free milk
• 1/2 cup ricotta
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• A few pinches sparkling white sugar (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in lemon peel.
4. In a small bowl, beat lemon juice, egg, milk, ricotta, butter and vanilla until smooth. Slowly mix wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Gently fold in blueberries.
5. Spoon into muffin cups (add sparkling white sugar now if desired) and bake 20-25 minutes or until done throughout. Enjoy!

Click here for the recipe source!

Mexican Salad

Today I will be giving you a side dish recipe that is good with Mexican food, like tacos for example!
But I guess you could make it a larger portion and make it a main dish! It's your preference, really!

Anyways, on with the recipe!

Mexican Salad

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

• Lime juice from one lime
• Some cumin (to taste)
• Ranch dressing

For the salad:

• Romaine lettuce
• Chopped corn
• Grape tomatoes
• Red onion (we omitted)
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Tortilla chips

Instructions:

For the dressing:

1. Put some ranch into a bowl. Then, squirt the lime juice into the bowl as well. Then, add as much cumin as you want! 
2. You should test your dressing to decide if it needs any more of something. Once it tastes good, your set to go!

For the salad:

1. Chop up the lettuce, tomatoes and onion. Place them all into a bowl.
2. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese into the bowl mixture too, along with come corn.
3. Now for the fun part! Crunch up your tortilla chips and add them to the bowl too!
4. Then you can add your dressing and mix the salad around. And you're all done!

Kale Chips

Hey!

Welcome back to Cooking with Ally!

Today I will be giving you a healthy recipe. I love eating these and, they are a very good snack! Thank you so much Ellie, for helping me make these for this post!

To me, it tastes a little like popcorn. So if you like popcorn and/or healthy eating, stay tuned!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• Kale (any amount)
• A drizzle or two of olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• Special/extra seasoning (if desired)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
2. Rip or cut up some chip-sized kale. Place them on a tinfoil lined cookie sheet.
3. Drizzle the olive oil onto your kale. Sprinkle salt and extra seasoning (if desired) onto your kale.
4. Toss the kale, oil and seasonings around in the cookie sheet.
5. Put your kale in the oven and let it name for 10-15 minutes, checking on it every so often.
6. Once crispy, take out of the oven. Let cool down for a few minutes and you're done!

Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Today I will be teaching you how to make a delicious balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing!

My mom makes this all the time and it's delicious!

It's super easy to make and it takes hardly any time!

So let's get onto the recipe!

Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 garlic clove, crushed or minced

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl measure honey, mustard, salt, pepper and crushed garlic. Whisk to combine.

2. Add balsamic vinegar and stir. Gradually add oil, whisking to incorporate. Stir until fully emulsified.

3. Store in a jar with a lid. Keep in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Click here to get to the recipe source!

French Bread Pizza

Today I will be teaching you how to make French bread pizza!
Before we start, I want you to remember that this is pizza so you can add whatever ingredients you want to it!
Also, if you want Hawaiian pizza (or just pineapple on your pizza), then you can use this very easy-to-use pineapple corer/slicer! Thank you Aunt Christine for giving this to us! It's amazing!
Click here for the pineapple corer/slicer!

Alright, now time to make the pizzas!

French Bread Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of French bread
• 1-2 cups of spaghetti sauce (with or without meat)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
• Your favorite pizza toppings!

Instructions:

1. Slice french bread in half, lengthwise.
2. Spread each half evenly with spaghetti/pizza sauce. 
3. Top with mozzarella cheese.
4. Add your favorite pizza toppings.
5. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning, if desired.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
7. Allow to cool (and for cheese to "set"), then slice, serve, and enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs

I have a delicious recipe to share with you for Swedish meatballs! These must be good, because I'm not all that crazy over meatballs, but I am obsessed with these!

Before I give you the recipe, I need to tell you: We adapted the recipe.
This means we made a change! In the normal recipe, it calls for onions. Well, we don't put those in and it still tastes amazing! So in the recipe below, I won't list it but if you go to the source, you'll see it in the list of ingredients.
Oh! And one more thing:
THANK YOU ELLIE FOR THE HELP, I'M GIVING YOU CREDIT! :)
Now, let's get to the recipe!

Swedish Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/2 cup Panko (Japanese-style breadcrumb)
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the gravy:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups beef broth
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently for about 2-3 minutes
2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, allspice and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
4. To make the gravy, melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thicker, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Stir meatballs in and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
6. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired  

Click here for the recipe source!

Peach Mango Smoothie

My mom created this delicious peach mango smoothie herself and we wanted to teach you how to make it as well!
Smoothies are really good, healthy snacks to have so I hope you enjoy!
Now to the recipe!

Peach Mango Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• One handful of diced frozen mango
• One handful of sliced frozen peaches
• 1 cup of peach nectar, chilled
• 1 container (about 6 ounces) low-fat peach yogurt
• 1 tablespoon frozen lemonade concentrate
• 1/2 cup club soda (fizzy water), chilled (we made our own using a soda stream machine!)

Instructions: 

1. In a blender, combine the mangos, peaches, peach nectar, yogurt, and lemonade concentrate.
2. Process for 30 seconds, or until smooth and creamy
3. Stir in club soda and serve!

Chocolate Mug Cake

Hello! Welcome back to my blog, Cooking with Ally! Today I will give you a mug cake recipe! :) It's a great recipe to make when you have a craving for something sweet but don't want to make a whole bunch. It's just enough for one person or two smaller portions to share.

Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar (you can add 1 tbsp. more to make it sweeter)
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup + 1 tbsp. milk
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. hazelnut chocolate spread (aka... NUTELLA!!)

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
2. Whisk in the milk and vegetable oil until all ingredients are combined and batter has no clumps.
3. Pour batter into a microwave-safe mug. You want enough head space for the cake to rise without pouring over (14-ounce mug is recommended).
4. Add 1 tbsp. of hazelnut chocolate spread in the middle of the batter. Just plop it in the middle, you don’t need to push it down or sink it into the batter.
5. Place a paper towel into the microwave and set the mug on top (this is just to any catch batter if your mug cake overflows).
6. Microwave mug cake for about 70 seconds on high (ALL MICROWAVES ARE DIFFERENT SO YOU MAY USE LESS OR MORE TIME).
7. Carefully remove from microwave and enjoy!
   (If you want, you can top your mug cake with other things! We just use ice cream and whipped cream for ours.)
   
   

Source: Click here to see mug cake source!

Chocolate Thingies

Hello! Thanks for stopping by my blog! As you all probably know, yesterday was Valentine's Day. I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! We went to a friend's house and we were in charge of bringing dessert! We went a little chocolate crazy! We made lots of chocolate thingies! (Watch video below to understand what I mean!)

Wasn't that funny? Now, lets get to the part you've all been waiting for!
The recipes!

We made chocolate covered strawberries and pretzel rods. We used a homemade chocolate sauce that hardens when chilled! Our "secret" trick is to use good, quality ingredients. Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• About a 1/4 pound of chocolate (we used Trader Joe's Pound Plus Belgium Milk Chocolate Bar)
• About 1/2 Tbsp of coconut oil (we used Trader Joe's coconut oil)

Instructions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
2. Combine ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.
3. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
4. Stir.
5. Continue microwaving in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until chocolate is completely melted.
6. Dip strawberries and pretzels (or whatever your heart desires) into the chocolate sauce.
7. Place chocolate thingies on wax paper lined cookie sheet.
8. Chill in fridge to firm up chocolate.
9. If desired, drizzle with melted colored candy melts, like we did, then chill again.

Finished Chocolate Thingies!

Chocolate Dipping Sauce

See? Quality ingredients make a big difference!