Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and it’s making me think about how fast these past few months have flown by. I mean, March seems like it was ten years ago, but July?? I swear it was just July fourth, like, yesterday. Since Thanksgiving is sneaking up on us faster than you can say “green bean casserole” I’ve decided to help you out in compiling a list of recipes that are bound to be a hit. I’m sure you have your ride or die recipes that your family makes every year, for us, it’s the stuffing and sweet potato casserole, but maybe this year you want to try something new out for those Friendsgiving festivities or smaller scale Thanksgiving dinners you’re having this year — I, for one, am going to miss my great aunt’s cranberry sauce. So good.

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You can thank me later, or just say you’re thankful for this blog when you’re going around the table saying what you’re thankful for. Word of mouth advertising is what I’m going for here. Kidding…. kind of.

I’ve categorized the links based on the type of dish it is, but if you need me to point you in the direction of something specific, don’t hesitate to leave a comment! I’m no chef or recipe master so they’re all links to outside sources. Sharing the love! Some recipes might be classic Thanksgiving dishes and some might be a little different spin on Thanksgiving foods. Thanksgiving is all about appeasing the masses and staying away from politics, right? Right! Also, please note, I tried to list everything that seemed do-able for me. And I’m not a chef. I burn all pans and most foods, but these items all looked like something even I could manage. That being said, I’ve only shared sides and desserts. Turkey is something I just know I would never be able to manage alone.

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SIDES

• Wild Mushroom Risotto

• Kale Salad with Apples and Pumpkin Seeds

• Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

• Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Squash

• Cranberry + Brie Bites

• Classic Deviled Eggs

• Mashed Potatoes

• Mac & Cheese

• Another Mac & Cheese (easy)

• Green Bean Casserole

• Brown Butter Stuffing

• Sweet Potato Bake

• Corn Bread Biscuits

• Sweet Potato Casserole (could be dessert)

• Cranberry Sauce

• Roasted Baby Carrots

• Vegan Biscuits

• Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

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DESSERTS

• Classic Fudgy Brownies

• Pecan Pie Brownies

• Cinamon Swirl Bread (definitely on the more difficult side in my opinion)

• Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

• Pumpkin Bread

• Pumpkin Pie

• Cranberry Orange Buns

• Chess Pie

• No-Bake Brownie Bites

• Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

• Cookie Dough Bites (vegan optional)

• Apple Cider Bundt Cake

• Cinamon Roll Bread

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DRINKS

• Apple Cider Sangria

• Cucumber Cooler

• 5-ingredient Sangria

• Thanksgiving Margarita

• Caramel Apple Cider Mimosa

• Pumpkin Pie Martini

• Blood Orange Champagne Punch

Whew! That should at least cover a few of your bases. I’m not sure what I’ll be cooking this year, but I’m sure I’ll use this post as a toolkit if I need a few recipes handy. If you’re more in charge of the table scape and place settings than the actual cooking (aka me) I’ve linked a few cute items that I’m inspired by below.

That’s all for now! Stay tuned for Thanksgiving outfit ideas coming soon!
Thanks for reading!
xo
Chloe

Energy Bites

So, before I get into the real post, I just want to mention that a ton of people found out about my blog at school. It seemed like all of a sudden people were mentioning that they liked my blog or had seen my blog, and it was kind of weird at first. It’s not that I didn’t want people at school to know that I have an “internet life,” it’s just that it felt kind of separate. I’m not any different on my blog than I am in real life, but I do think of my blogging self as a whole different part of me. Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you have a hobby or extracurricular activity that you’re passionate about, don’t worry if people find out about it. It’s who you are and it’s a part of you, regardless of what other people think about it. And, if you happen to be from school and you’re reading this… lemme know (;Ok, sorry, moving on to the real post now...

One of my friends from school brought some peanut butter balls to swim practice and she let me have one. Not only was it absolutely amazingly tasty, but it was the perfect snack to have right before a workout. She told me that she found the recipe on Pinterest so I did some digging and found it myself. I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand so I kind of changed it around a little bit and I happened to really like the way they turned out! Here’s what I did, but if you want the real recipe to make these energy bites, click here.

Ingredients:

1 cup of dry oatmeal (old-fashioned oats) 3/4 peanut butter (I tried almond butter, but it wasn’t sticky enough) 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/3 cup honey 2 table spoons chia seeds 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pour everything in a bowl and mix it together. I found that using my hands to mix was much easer than using a spoon or whisk. 2. Put the mixed bowl into the fridge for at least half an hour 3. Roll into balls about 1” in diameter (or however big/small you want them)

Seriously, that’s it. These energy bites are so simple to make and so easy too! If you make them be sure to post a picture on Instagram or Twitter and tag us so I can see!

xox, Chloe

Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Hack: Taste Test

It's that time of year again: leaves are falling, sweaters are being pulled out of hiding, a fire or two has already been lit, and we are craving a Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte (or PSL, as it's affectionately known). But hearing how it's mostly syrup and has a whopping calorie count had us ready to make our own in our brand new Keurig 2.0 we were recently sent by the sweet Keurig folks. But finding a zillion Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe ideas already out there, Chloe and I got smart and decided to put those recipes to our (ahem) expert and very subjective PSL taste test. And the smell of them cooking even lured brother/son out to help us - yes, we had fun!

We scored each recipe on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest, for ease, cost, availability of ingredients, healthiness. The category for taste comparison to Starbuck's PSL was out of 10 since taste is the most important factor, after all. Once we devised our scoring and gathered our ingredients, we settled in for a hard day's work of sipping lattés... just for you. #WeLoveBlogging  Chloe tasted and tasted and tasted some more!

52 Kitchen Adventures SCORE = 19 ease: 5 cost: 4 ingredients: 3 healthiness: 3 taste: 4 Thick, a little chunky, and frothy. Would be better with whipped cream, but the flavor is perfection. Beware, pumpkin sludge might be at the bottom of your cup... a little gross.

The Kitchn SCORE= 21 ease: 4 cost: 2 ingredients: 2 healthiness: 3 taste: 10 We wish the directions were more specific, but the result was beyond amazing. The tastes reminds me of marshmallows on top of a pumpin pie and I would drink this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Eating Bird Food SCORE= 17 ease: 4 cost: 3 ingredients: 2 healthiness: 5 taste: 3 Too bitter but thinness was on point. The flavor is just a little too sharp for me.

The Original Starbucks PSL  SCORE=17 ease: 4 cost: 0 ingredients: 5 healthiness: 0 taste: 8 I know, weird that the original is only an 8. But it is what it is. The original sort of tastes like drinking a hot pumpkin smoothie to me, and now that I've made some at home, I've learned that I like being able to tweak my PSL how I want it.

And the winner was: The Kitchn Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe, and to be honest, it looks like I can save tons of calories and $$ this fall. Thanks to our Keurig 2.0, we can easily make the recipe for 1 or for 10 with the new pod system. Guess whose house is going to be smelling like a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte this fall? My brother is definitely happy!

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Avocado Toast Recipe

I definitely wouldn’t consider myself  “trendy” in fashion, but when it comes to food that’s a whole different story. I like trendy food. It’s always fun and most of the time it tastes good and that’s all I can ask for when it comes to what I eat. When I was in New York City the hottest food was (is?) avocado toast. It was on every menu and popped up on my Instagram feed more times than I can count. My cousins and I decided to make it one weekend and I swear we ate so much of it that we weren’t hungry until the next day. It was that good. Actually, it was that amazing. Delicious, impeccable, flawless, etc. Avocado toast is a little bit of heaven spread on a piece of bread.

And here’s the perfect avocado toast recipe:

• Slice two avocados and mash them in a bowl (we liked ours a little chunky but mash until you like the consistency).
• Immediately add lime juice to your mashed ‘cado. This makes it taste amazing and keeps it from turning brown and gross.
• Add salt, pepper, and red chili flakes to taste.
• Toast a piece of bread (we used our gorgeous, fast, and no more "knife to get the bread out" Magimix toaster) -- I <3 my toaster. Seriously.)
• Spread the ‘cado mixture on a piece of toast and add more chili flakes to the top

And there ya have it. Five simple steps to make the best toast ever.

Life is better with clear toasters. I mean seriously, how cool is this Magimix toaster?!

Let us know if you recreate this avocado toast recipe, and we’d love to see your pictures! Tag us on social media (@popcosmo)! xox Chloe

Chocolate Bark Recipe

I have this problem where I want to be healthy when it comes to food, but then I see chocolate and I eat it. It’s like my brain doesn’t work with me. But who am I kidding, chocolate is worth it. And this chocolate bark recipe? Yeah, it’s more than worth it. My brother and I always cook when we are bored and we decided to create our own chocolate bark combinations earlier this week after seeing some drool worthy combinations in the chocolate aisle of our grocery store. We had some crazy ideas in mind (think seaweed) but we decided to keep the combinations rather simple. And they’re all beyond amazing I might add.Here are the combinations we went for, but you can seriously add anything you want. That’s the beauty of this recipe. -Croissant Crumbs (try saying that in a French accent) -Peanuts and Banana Chips (Chocolate Chimp) -Popcorn (kettle corn would also be amazing) -Banana and Coconut (a tropical sweet) -Potato Chips (the perfect salty + sweet combo)

Here’s what you do. It’s painfully easy.

1. Melt a whole bunch of chocolate chips. We melted ours over a pot of boiling water so that we could make sure they didn't burn.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and then pour your melted chocolate onto the baking sheet.
3. Evenly spread all your chocolate.
4. Add toppings as desired. We placed ours in strips but you can create any pattern you want.
5. Stick your chocolate in the fridge until it’s hard.
6. EAT. (the best part)

I’d say the whole process takes about 30 minutes (not including the chocolate drying in the fridge.) It’s easy and delicious. A killer combo in my book.

If you make chocolate bark then we want to see! Tag us in any pictures that you post (@popcosmo).

xox, Chloe

Apple, Brie, and Arugula Toast

I’m obsessed with cheese. It’s starting to become a problem.  When I order food at an Italian restaurant I always ask for parmesan cheese with a side of pasta. I don’t order “chips and queso” I order “queso and chips.” The first aisle I walk down in Costco is the cheese aisle because it’s simply the best. Embarrassingly enough, I sprinkle a little cheese on everything I eat; watermelon and feta do taste amazing together, I swear. Ever since I discovered brie though, I’ve realized that no other cheese compares. It’s creamy, it’s flavorful, and it tastes good for breakfast, snacks, lunch, appetizers and dinner. It’s just the perfect cheese. My mouth is literally watering as I type about it.

A few years ago I discovered the apple + brie combo and I can honestly say that it’s the best food combo to ever be invented. It’s better than chips and salsa, milkshakes and french fries, and cream cheese and lox. No exaggeration. Then, just recently, I realized that slapping the apple and brie onto a perfectly toasted piece of bread and adding a few pieces of arugula would be the best of the best. Apple, brie, and arugula toast is amazing. It is, it really is. I gobbled up the piece of toast pictured below like a caveman who walked the entire Bering Land Bridge without eating (that's probably impossible, but it made for a good simile).

So if you’re feeling a little hungry, you just want to make an amazing piece of toast, you want to show off your gourmet lunch to your friends at school, or you want to impress a family member with your mad cooking skills then stop reading this (after you comment, that is) and go do it. I promise you won’t regret it. Actually, you probably will regret it because you will want to make an entire loaf of bread’s worth. But it’s totally worth it. I'm not exaggerating when I say that apple, brie, and arugula toast is the best of the best.

All you have to do is slice an apple, slice some brie, and place a little bit (or a lot a bit, depending on your taste buds) of arugula on a perfectly toasted piece of bread. It's that simple. Dangerously simple as I like to say.

How sick is this clear Magimix toaster (c/o) that we used? I swear it makes the perfect golden brown piece of toast. Every. Darn. Time. And you can see through it. Plus (yeah there are more perks...) the toast pops up high enough that you don't have to worry about burnt finger tips.

If you do make this toast then be sure to post a picture of it and tag us (@popcosmo)!! We really want to see your creations!!

xox Chloe