Ethiopian Hummus (Buticha)

It’s the 10^th of the month which means it’s time to take a culinary journey around the world with the Eat The World RecipeChallenge!

This month takes us to Ethiopia!  Surprisingly, this is not the first time I’ve researched Ethiopian food – I also took a peek when I read Marcus Samuelsson’s memoir for Cook the Books Club a number of years ago (though I ultimately decided on a French recipe that time, since he is also a classically trained French chef).

So I was excited to revisit Ethiopian food and actually make it this time.  The challenge: from what I saw, Ethiopian food is very spicy (read: not kid friendly) and commonly uses the Ethiopian spice blend, Berbere (which is not available in my area).  I found a couple recipes for a homemade approximation of berbere, but I was still worried about the spice level (plus authenticity is thrown out the window).

So I kept searching and eventually came across bitucha, which is basically an Ethiopian version of hummus!  What makes this version of hummus different than others I’ve seen is the addition of mustard!

Many of the recipes I looked at simply listed “mustard” – which made the wonder – seed? Ground? Yellow? Dijon? What?!?!?

One recipe of the many called for Dijon mustard.   I took my knowledge of berbere (spicy!) and applied that to my buticha, opting for spicy brown mustard here.

Vegan Superfood Breakfast Cookies

Today’s recipe challenge ended up being rather fortuitous.  You see, one of my co-workers asked me to recreate her favorite bakery breakfast cookies.  Just as I was working on developing that recipe, I saw challenge to create a vegan recipe for January! 

The recipe that caught my eye as I was researching was already vegan (and gluten-free!) so that’s what I made!

Homemade Vanilla Syrup & Caramel Macchiato

Brrr!  How’s the weather where you are?

It is frigid where I am plus, I got a Nespresso for Christmas, so it’s the perfect time to settle in with a cup of coffee and a great book.

And by cup of coffee, I mean it’s time to start making fancy coffees at home!!!  Hooray!

I decided to start with my coffee shop favorite – a caramel macchiato!  To make that, I needed vanilla syrup.  And because of coldness, that was definitely not happening, so I made my own and then made my macchiato!

The vanilla syrup is perfect!  It packs a vanilla punch with an amazing depth of flavor because of the brown sugar.

Extra Creamy Stovetop Mac & Cheese With Hot Dogs

I have a gust blogger today, my son, Dude!

He used to blog a couple time per year here, but lately, with all his activities it has been harder for him to help out with the cooking (or he makes recipes he's already blogged).  But over Christmas break, he had the time and motivation to try something a little new!

Here's Dude:


I wanted to cook this recipe because I originally wanted to cook the Clementine-Soy Glazed Chicken Breasts, but we forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer last night, so we took it out right away in the morning, but by the time it was time to cook dinner, it was still frozen solid. So I had to find a new recipe to cook. My mom requested boxed mac and cheese, but  we didn’t have any boxed mac and cheese, so I requested homemade mac. My mom told me how to find it on her blog. I found the recipe, than noted that we still had two hot dogs left from the night before, so I came up with mixing the hot dogs into the mac and cheese. Then I started cooking.

Extra Creamy Stovetop Mac & Cheese With Hot Dogs

What you need:

2 ¾ cups lowfat milk

¼ cup water

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp butter

2 cups uncooked pasta, I used mini elbow macaroni

1 cup shredded Cheddar jack  cheese

½ tsp freshly ground pepper

2 hot dogs,  each cut into 5 pieces

What to do:

Put the milk, water, garlic powder, and butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Bring just below a boil. Stir in the pasta and reduce heat to low.

Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pasta is tender and much of the milk had been absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Note: if all of the milk has been absorbed, stir in an additional ¼ cup before adding the cheeses.

Stir in the shredded cheese.  Stir until the cheese is melted. Stir in the hot dogs.  Add pepper, to taste. Then, enjoy!    Serves 4.

Most Underrated Recipes of 2018

This is my second favorite countdown day!  It's technically "wild card" day, but a year or two ago, I started sharing the most underrated recipes of the year.  

Why didn't these recipes take off??

Well, some were right before the craziness of the holidays (quite a few, actually), and the rest, well, who knows?  I was posting pretty inconsistently there for awhile (thanks to grad school), but here's to 2019!

Groundhog Day Donuts

How cute are these??  And easy!  I made these for the kids, but really, who wouldn't love a little groundhog?


Chicken Scallopini with Marsala Sauce

It doesn't look like much but it sure was delicious!  Plus, this was Spud's creation!


Multigrain Bread

Are you a bread baker?  I sure am, I love this one for sandwiches, Plus is makes an amazing French Toast!


Steak Kebabs

Who doesn't love a great steak kebab in the summertime?  This is my absolutely favorite Kebab marinade!

Pikachu Pizza (Pizza-chu)

Ok, I get why this one didn't take off...not everyone is as in to Pokemon as my family!  But seriously, how cute is Spud's Pokemon card to go along with his vision of this pizza??

Dairy-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ugh, so fantastic!  I never dreamt that dairy free oatmeal raisin cookies could be as delicious as my grandma's full of dairy version, but here we are!  You definitely need to give these a try!

MultiGrain Gingerbread Pancakes

Ahh!  How cute are these?  But they aren't just for the kids!  Make them round for the adults and you have a winning recipe!

Saffron Rice Pilaf & Chicken

AMAZING!  This recipe pushed me right outside my comfort zone in a great way.  If you've never cooked with saffron, you need to change that - stat!


Candy Cane Bark

Easy, pretty, no bake?  What's not to love?



Candy Cane Cake

So pretty & easy!  You definitely need to make this!


Twisted Christmas Tree Cinnamon Rolls

How gorgeous are these?  ugh!  You definitely need to make these next Christmas!


Want to participate?  Join the fun here at a Fantastical Sharing of Recipes!

Most Popular Recipes of 2018

This is always my favorite countdown post!  The best of the best!

There were some great ones this year folks, here they are!

Beer Brats with Caramelized Onions

Oh my goodness!  These are the best and they are perfect for summer, especially for the 4th of July!

Green Beans Gratinéed with Cheese Sauce (Haricots Verts Gratinés, à la Mornay)

Ah, Julia Child!  This recipe certainly does not disappoint!

Spinach Salad with Gyro Turkey Meatballs

I love salads of any kind and readers do too!  This is a fun, healthy twist on a gyro!

Hash Brown Waffles with Bacon & Eggs

Such a fun twist on waffles!  Have you ever put hash browns in the waffle iron?  Results are to die for and highly recommended!

Vanilla Bean Mocha Biscotti

A delicious afternoon treat!  Perfect with a cup of coffee!

Beef Stew Pot Pie with Homemade Puff Pastry Topping 

Would you look at those layers?  And it's every bit as tasty as it is stunning to look at!

Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes

Ok, readers loved this recipe - probably because they're pretty to look at, but this recipe needs just a bit of work because the cupcakes were a tad dry!


Texas Trash Party Mix

My favorite!!!!  This is the most addicting party mix!  And I love it!


Baked Pork Chops & Scalloped Potatoes

Yum!  This is a perfect one dish meal!  Just add a salad and you're all set!


Ham & Swiss Stuffed Piglet Buns

How adorable are these?  And the best part?  This post even got retweeted by the author!


Want to participate?  Join the fun here at a Fantastical Sharing of Recipes!

Best Crockpot/Slow Cooker Recipes of 2018

Oh boy, here we go again!

Every year when we get to "best crock pot" I do a search and realize that I've hardly used my crock pot.  Then I vow to use it more often and either make the old standbys time and time again or just don't use it at all!

You'd think that being in grad school and working would've made me finally appreciate the crock pot, but...no...not so much.

So here are the two new crock pot recipes I made last year, with hopes (yet again) of making a few more next year!

Slow Cooker Cuban Ropa Viejo

This flavorful beef dish was the first in a series taking bloggers around the world to experience new flavors!  It was a hit with the family (even if they did pick out the olives!)

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Rhubarb BBQ Sauce

I was playing with flavors here, imagining the tart summer flavors of rhubarb into a tangy BBQ sauce for the winter - and it was a home run!

Want to participate?  Join the fun here at a Fantastical Sharing of Recipes!