Recipes laced with memories taste the best! Snowdrops are Rachel’s favorite holiday cookie, not just because they are so light and delicious, but because with each sweet bite the memory of her sweet Nana comes flooding to her mind. Rachel’s Nana made these snowdrop cookies every holiday, so she was excited to keep the tradition going with her own family. But, Rachel and her family’s gluten and dairy free diet threw in a few baking challenges. She found it almost impossible to find dairy-free mini chocolate chips, but finally discovered an allergy friendly supplier called Enjoy Life.

Rachel doesn’t claim to be an expert baker, but she writes that these meringue cookies are foolproof! Even readers of Rachel’s Recipe Box give testament to this simple recipe raving, “I’ve never made meringue before, and these turned out great!”

Not only are these cookies extremely tasty but are gfcf, wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, corn, tree nut, peanut, fish, and shellfish free! With the seemingly increasing number of food allergies and sensitivities these snowdrops would be the perfect treat to bring to your kids’ holiday classroom party or an office party!

What’s better than a cookie or even a slice of cake? How about a cookie-like cake! Is that even possible? You ask. Well, your mouth will certainly believe it. George describes his Portuguese Almond Tart this way, he also adds that it’s caramelized, crunchy, and nutty. That sounds like the ideal description of a dessert to me!

In A Cooking Life, George talks about visiting Portugal, where he savored a variety of delicious foods, including those prepared by Chef Angela of the Quinta da Bacalhôa. It’s at this lovely historic estate that George tried the Portuguese Almond Tart, a dessert so delectable it was worth remembering and replicating back at home. I’d say the best souvenirs are those you can enjoy time and time again, and a recipe is just that, especially this one!

The flavors this tart has to offer are classic, easily some of the best. For instance, you really can’t go wrong with vanilla. Pure vanilla is what brings the cake to life. The deliciously sweet almond topping adds texture and elegance to the tart, making this a dessert that tastes as good as it looks!

What’s for dinner?! Chicken! What did you have this weekend? Chicken! What’s on sale at the grocery store that you had to stock up on? Chicken! If you’re like Kathy from All Food Considered, then you’ve probably had your fair share of chicken :). Just because you might be getting tired of having your favorite white meat baked or even fried, that doesn’t mean you have to dismiss it altogether. There are other ways to prepare and enjoy it.

Think of a marinade you haven’t tried! Better yet, make up your own! Last year around Cinco de Mayo, Kathy had to think fast. She was going to be hosting a get large together, so she decided to put chicken on the menu. Of course, she wanted to create a dish that her guests would savor and, as she said, she didn’t want to serve plain ol’ chicken, so she spiced it up a bit. Maybe we should say she spiked it up :)!

Kathy created a mouthwatering marinade for the chicken using Tequila, chili powder, garlic, lime. The great thing about marinades like these is that they do most of the hard work! You can cover the chicken in the marinade, store it in a plastic bag, and let the juices sink in while it refrigerates! Then, all you have to worry about are the sides. Kathy decided to serve fresh grilled veggies, the perfect complement to her far-from-ordinary and definitely tasty chicken!

These days, polenta isn’t just a savory dish of plain ol’ boiled cornmeal. It’s a versatile ingredient that can easily become a savory side or even the key ingredient in a dessert. That’s right, a dessert! Unlike other savory sides, polenta can be combined with flour to create a flavorful base for a sweet cake.

Chocolat says, in her blog Cooking in Rome, that the delicious Polenta Cake I’ve been talking about can also be called ‘Amorpolenta’. Here, amor means just what you think it might: love! It’s the special ingredient that really makes this cake a special one.

Though the polenta is the star ingredient in this cake, there are others that should be given credit for their tasty performance :). For instance, how about that whole cup of chopped almonds? Those two tablespoons of rum will also have your taste testers trying to figure out what the secret ingredient is! This cake is so delicious, you can finish it off with powdered sugar, it doesn’t need any fancy frosting :).

Sala isn’t afraid to experiment with her pasta! She believes that it is wrong to limit pasta to Italian cooking. She loves pasta with mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, chili and cilantro - Indian style, and has even had a pasta dessert at a friend’s house! A light dessert pasta made with sugar and coconut! (She admits that the sweet pasta wasn’t exactly good, but that’s just between us!) Through all of her experiences Sala has found that pasta is such a versatile ingredient, and has only been encouraged to keep experimenting.

One of Sala’s favorite pasta dishes is her Thai Green Curry Pasta. She loves enjoying this pasta on a rainy, cold weekend curled up with a steaming bowl watching movies. Sounds like a great winter weekend to me!

This Thai pasta is packed full of flavor and spice. The sweetness of the coconut milk and peanut butter is perfectly balanced by the spiciness of the chili paste and freshness of the onions, garlic, mushrooms, cilantro, carrots and ginger.

Sala’s Veggie Belly is full of great pasta dishes and other fabulous recipes!

Ice cream is one of those classic desserts that’s welcomed in all kinds of cones and dessert bowls across America. Where there’s a party, there’s ice cream. Having a bad day? Serve yourself a couple of heaping scoops of ice cream. Need a sweet and comforting dessert to serve your family? Bring out the ice cream! Ice cream: It sure does seem to be the perfect solution to every dilemma!

But what if you’re faced with this dilemma: You’ve suddenly developed an insatiable craving for the frozen treat. You run to the freezer, but there isn’t a carton or even a pint of the good stuff in site? Oh, and let’s just say your car broke down, too (which means you’ll need ice cream even more!), so a quick grocery run isn’t going to happen. Then, as if on cue, you suddenly remember that dusty ol’ ice cream maker buried in the closet. It’s a good thing you came across Helen’s Rosewater and Strawberry Ice Cream recipe that’s sure to set everything right.

This creamy dessert will bring a smile to your face; I couldn’t help but smile when I came across it on Helen’s blog Haddock in the Kitchen. The ingredient that sets her strawberry ice cream apart from the ones you’ll find at the ice cream parlor is the rose water! It’s one of Helen’s favorite ingredients, and we agree that it’s quite a good one; it tastes spectacular in Helen’s Rosewater and Strawberry Ice Cream!

Picking up a few salmon filets when grocery shopping might seem like a great idea. But it turns into a not so great one when something comes up and you don’t get a chance to make that wonderful salmon meal for dinner. The poor salmon gets forgotten about…until you open up your refrigerator a few days later and the unpleasant scent of old fish meets your nose; it’s a stench that even frightens the lonely box of baking soda hiding behind the gallon of milk.

Thankfully, Erin from The Apron Caper has a recipe that you’ll be glad you came across before purchasing that lovely fish with the pink interior packed full of Omega-3 fatty acids. She whipped up some salmon cakes using canned salmon! If you’re worried about using canned salmon, you can take Erin’s word for it when she says “It really is an awesome product!”.

Preparing Erin’s Salmon Cakes is just as easy as making a hamburger patty, and even easier than preparing a whole hamburger. She mixes the salmon with a few flavorful veggies, forms them, then fries them. Don’t have any buns or even lettuce to go with that salmon patty? No worries, Erin serves her healthy Salmon Cakes atop fanned cucumber slices; this not only makes the patties look more than presentable, but also tasty — the perfect description of tonight’s dinner or tomorrow’s appetizer!

There is just something about strawberry cake that makes me smile. With it’s pretty pink color and light, fluffy texture I have deemed it a “happy food.”

When Tina first came across this recipe it was dry and flat…. not a very happy cake. After giving it a much needed face lift she converted this once orange-flavored Weight Watchers cake into a beautiful strawberry dessert. With her addition of strawberry soda and vegetable oil she gave this cake its much needed moistness and volume. You may think that with the addition of strawberry soda this dessert would be way too sweet, but Tina tells us that it is just the opposite, and that the cool whip frosting compliments the lightness of the cake perfectly.

This strawberry cake comes together quickly, but disappears even faster! Tina says that she made this cake one day and the next it was gone! Bring some smiles into your kitchen with this pretty pink cake! Be sure to stop by Mommy’s Kitchen for more delicious recipes and good southern dishes!

Making a cake isn’t always as easy as baking up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, it’s a bit more involved. For instance, some cookies don’t even call for leaveners, so you don’t even have to worry about how much to add. Of course, this isn’t the case with all cookies, but one thing’s for sure, cookies bake up a lot faster than cakes.

If baking is new to you, how do you know how long to bake the cake for? Well, if you’re just starting out, I suggest following Sherra’s example. Pick a recipe you trust and make your own version of it! Sherra from Our Taste of Life adapted the Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping that Rita of Gifts from the Kitchen whipped up. Inspired by this recipe, Sherra made a scrumptious Cinnamon Cake with Pili Nut for her family.

The pili nuts add a nice nutty flavor while the few teaspoons of cinnamon give the cake a lovely aroma that’s sure to get you drooling over this cake, even while it’s baking. This cake is so tasty, it doesn’t even need frosting!

It’s frrrreeeezing outside. You’re bundled up, your shoes and socks are all wet, but at least you didn’t forget your umbrella at work. It’s almost Winter! Okay, so maybe it isn’t like this where you are. Maybe you’re still having to crank up the AC in the middle of the day, and maybe the leaves have gone from green to dead, instead of some beautiful Fall shade of orange and red. Wherever you are, I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy Supriya’s Broccoli and Cheddar Soup.

Those of us experiencing the bitter Winter’s cold in the middle of Fall will definitely look forward to taking off our rain or snow boots and unwinding with a hot bowl of Broccoli and Cheddar Soup. And those of you cranking up the AC? Lower the temp just a bit more, and soon enough you’ll be craving a comforting bowl of this classic soup too!

If you’re in the mood for a filling dinner that cooks up in under an hour, you’ll definitely be glad you came across Supriya’s vegetarian Broccoli and Cheddar Soup. In her blog Ode 2 Food, Supriya talks about disproving myths about vegetarian food. Well, she’s certainly disproved any myths with her Broccoli and Cheddar soup!