Super Bowl Appetizer: Beach Street Shrimp Skewers
Looking for easy and delicious appetizer ideas for your Super Bowl party? It’s so easy to turn your Dream Dinner meals into appetizers for the big game. Instead of spending hours prepping food in the kitchen, you’ll be able to join the party and enjoy time with family and friends.
To make Beach Street Shrimp Skewers:
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Cook the shrimp and sauce as directed.
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Skewer the shrimp.
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Serve warm with chunks of crusty bread.
Create Your Own Hot Cocoa Bar
Inject a little extra holiday fun into your day by creating a simple DIY hot chocolate bar. This is perfect for kids (or adults) at a holiday party or even just to make your kids’ days a little sweeter while they’re home from school. We set up ours in the TV room so we could enjoy a cup of hot cocoa while watching our favorite Christmas movie.
Thanksgiving Week Meal Plan
When you’re busy planning your family’s Thanksgiving gathering, the last thing on your mind are all the dinners in between. We’ve got a week’s worth of easy dinners all planned out so you don’t have to! With crockpot meals and dinners that go straight from your freezer to the oven, you can spend less time worrying about what’s for dinner and more time enjoying this season of thankfulness.
Be sure to follow our Fall Favorites board on Pinterest for even more fall recipes and Thanksgiving decor ideas!
Recipe Remix: Sesame Ginger Salmon Pasta Salad
Have a potluck coming up and need an easy dish to share? Something that is healthy and flavorful, but doesn’t take too much work… Well here is a new twist on an old favorite. You can easily turn your Sesame Ginger Salmon into an Asian-inspired pasta salad everyone will be raving about.
#30DaysofDinner Meal Plan: Week One
We all know the month of September can be hectic. Kids are heading back to school. Fall sports and after-school activities are starting up. While getting into the routine of it all after the slow months of summer, it’s easy to feel like each member of the family is going in a different direction.
The 30 Day Dinner Challenge gives you the opportunity to focus on spending time as a family around the dinner table during this busy season.
To help you through the #30DaysofDinner, we’ll be sharing a new meal plan here each week so you never run out of ideas. Make sure to follow our #30DaysofDinner board on Pinterest to get even more recipes for easy dinners, delicious sides, and even a special dessert or two!
Monday:
Take advantage of a day off from work and school by fixing Texas Roadhouse Burgers with Seasoned Steak Fries from August’s menu. Serve with a fresh side salad for a meal fit for a celebration!
Tuesday:
Try something new by fixing the Chicken in Herbed Mustard Sauce Recipe from the Dream Dinners cookbook.
Cinnamon Apple Cake Recipe
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup canola oil*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup nonfat egg substitute*
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Spray one 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, salt, ginger and half of the cinnamon.
- Transfer 1 ½ cups of this mixture to a small bowl and add the remaining cinnamon to it. Stir until incorporated. Set aside for the topping.
- Add the baking soda, baking powder, apples, buttermilk, and egg substitute to the remaining flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the reserved topping over the apple mixture.
- Bake for 1 ½ hours or until the cake is set and the topping is golden brown.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- *To reduce the amount of oil without sacrificing the cake’s moistness, replace half of the oil with applesauce. If you would like to use real eggs, ¼ cup nonfat liquid egg product is equal to 1 egg. Just crack the egg and whip until smooth, then use like the liquid product (just remember, there are 5 grams of fat per egg).
Cajun Dirty Rice Recipe
In honor of National Rice Month, we’re sharing this authentic Cajun Dirty Rice recipe, which comes from a cook in New Orleans. This would be the perfect dish to serve alongside our Carne Asada Steak Tacos.
- ½ cups uncooked long grain white rice
- 4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
- ½ pound sausages, cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup yellow onions, diced
- ½ cup celery, diced
- ½ cup green bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup red pepper pesto
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Cook the rice according to the package directions and cool in the refrigerator.
- Place the remaining ingredients in a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag and mix in the cooled rice.
- Toss the bag to coat the rice.
- Place the contents in a sprayed baking dish and cover tightly.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 1 hour or until the liquid is fully absorbed and the rice is hot and fluffy.
August is National Peach Month
It’s August, which means it’s not only mid-peach-season, but it’s also National Peach Month – time to head to the local farmers’ market or grocery store to pick out the perfect juicy peaches! Since peaches only develop flavor and sweetness on the tree, make sure to pick ones that yield slightly to pressure. Then, use your ripe peaches to make our Fresh Peach Sorbet!
- 1 pound peaches, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup simple syrup*
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
- *You can buy simple syrup at your local grocery store or make it yourself by combining 1 cup water and 2 cups sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce the heat and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature.
- Combine the peaches, syrup, lime juice, and mint in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium speed until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into a 6-8 cup plastic container. Seal tightly.
- The sorbet can be placed in the freezer in the plastic container.
- Serve frozen.
- Alternatively, pour the contents into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipes for Leftover Hard Boiled Eggs
Dream Dinners has been noted as a great idea for busy moms in Real Simple magazine, and they know that you are likely going to need some ideas on what to do with all those hard boiled eggs after the your big Easter Egg hunt.
Layered Strawberry Gelatin Salad Recipe
This light, refreshing crowd-pleaser is not only delicious but also colorful on a buffet or the dinner table. This salad can’t be frozen, but it can be prepared 2 days ahead.
- 1 18-ounce box Strawberry gelatin (Jell-O)
- 2 10-ounce boxes Frozen strawberries
- 1 8-ounce can Crushed pineapple, drained
- 2 ripe Bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup Nonfat sour cream
- Bring 2 cups water to a boil and add 1 package of Jell-O
- Add the frozen strawberries, pineapple and bananas
- Put half of the mixture in a 9×13-inch baking dish
- Chill in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes (leave the other half of the mixture out on the counter)
- Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and spread with sour cream
- Pour the remaining mixture over the sour cream
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill for 8 to 12 hours
- Remove the plastic wrap and serve
