Jolene's Recipe Journal

Mudslides are a go-to cocktail around here.  We always have the ingredients on hand and they're very easy to make.

Gingerbread comes in many forms, and we love them all. Today we’re sharing some of our favorite gingerbread recipes, from cookies and muffins to waffles and donuts. These are perfect for holiday baking or anytime you want a little spice in your kitchen.

Today is the final day of #ChristmasCookies Week and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have! My last recipe is another new one for me, tassies.  I've made cookie cups before but these Caramel Tassies from Taste of Home were my first try at a cream cheese based dough.

Pinwheel cookies have been on my to-try list forever.  They look absolutely gorgeous on cookie trays with that characteristic swirl. I found these Cherry Pinwheels on the Taste of Home website and changed them up a bit due to nut allergies in my family. 

Today starts Christmas Cookies Week and I'm really excited to be bringing you three new to the blog recipes! It's a bit of a challenge to get into the spirit when it's 70 degrees and sunny in New England but some festive music and some gingerbread flavored coffee and I was ready to go!

These Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins are a quick and easy muffin recipe, made with Greek yogurt and tender apples, perfect for school lunches or weekend treats. The buttery crumb topping adds just the right amount of sweetness, making these a family favorite! When I asked my guys what they wanted for this Muffin Monday my son requested cinnamon and my husband wanted apple.  I searched the Taste of Home site and found Michelle O's Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins. 

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili is an easy chili recipe that combines tender sweet potatoes, black beans, seasoned tomatoes, and spices for a bowl of chili that is both satisfying and full of flavor.

I'm in full on comfort food mode now that the temps have dropped. Soup, chili and stew are being added back to the menu and I'm excited to give some new sides a try.  

I picked up some beautiful delicata squash at a local farm and I knew that I wanted to roast and stuff it. I started out by trimming the ends off the squash which gives it a nice flat base.  I sliced them in half longways and removed the seeds.

Fall isn’t complete without the sweet, spicy aroma of freshly baked apple cider donuts. These soft, tender donuts are infused with rich cider flavor and coated in a perfectly spiced sugar mixture, bringing the orchard right into your kitchen.

These Pumpkin Spice Coffee Shakes blend pumpkin, coffee, and vanilla ice cream into a smooth, spiced drink that is full of fall flavor. Enjoy it for breakfast, an afternoon boost, or a simple dessert.

If there's one thing that's always a hit around here it's something that contains chocolate chips. Since I am signed up for the Taste of Home Bakeable newsletter I got an early heads up that the challenge for October was going to  be Chocolate Chip Blondies.

September is National Honey Month so for Muffin Monday I chose Honey Oat Muffins from Taste of Home.

This Apple Nutmeg Coffee Cake features tender baked apples and a hint of nutmeg, finished with a sweet coffee glaze that soaks into every bite. 

It’s the final day of Fall Flavors Week, and today I’m sharing my Ginger Apple Pear Crisp recipe . This easy fall dessert combines the tartness of Granny Smith apples with sweet Bartlett pears, all topped with a brown sugar and oat crumble that’s perfectly crisp and golden.

This Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal is made in the slow cooker with pumpkin puree, warm spices, and steel cut oats for an easy fall breakfast.

Cider Baked Squash is a simple fall side dish featuring roasted acorn squash slices glazed with apple cider and warm spices. It’s easy to prepare and perfect for dinners or holiday meals.

Soft pumpkin zucchini chocolate chip muffins made with garden-fresh zucchini and warm spices, perfect for breakfast or snacks.

   August 24th is National Waffle Day! We've got quite a few family favorite recipes but I wanted to give something new a try and I found this recipe on the Blendtec website. Both the batter and the berry infused buttercream are made in the blend, which makes it super easy.  

  One of the things my husband was most excited about when we bought our new home back in 2016 was having the space to plant blackberry bushes.  We moved here in the fall and he spend all winter researching the best variety, type of soil and bed set up. 

I'm wrapping up #FarmersMarketWeek with one of my favorite veggies, green beans.  It's also one of the few veggies my guys will eat without complaint, so we eat a lot of them.  I found Marian P's recipe on the Taste of Home site and it looked absolutely so colorful and delicious.

Farmers Market Week continues with a super simple but super delicious Balsamic Cucumber Salad. I found Blair L's recipe on Tasteofhome.com and it was perfect to use up some beautiful cucumbers I picked up at the market. 

Of all the events I participate in, Farmer's Market is definitely one of my favorites.  It's just so easy to be inspired by all of the awesome things you can find there! I came home with a big bag full of goodies including some zucchini.

July has been a crazy month and one of the things that has been keeping me busy is the garden. The blueberries are having a great year and we've been enjoying them a variety of ways, pancakes, waffles, and muffins. 

Looking for new grilling recipes to try this summer? From appetizers to dessert here are some great ideas to up your grill game!

I'm going savory for this month's Muffin Monday! I snagged some breakfast sausage on sale and got bored eating them as is so I went searching on the Taste of Home site for ways to use them and I found Lisa D's Sausage Pancake Muffins.

Have you ever had fried ice cream?  It's one of my favorite desserts to order when we visit our local Mexican food chain and I've even made it at home before. 

The #DairyMonth celebration continues today and so does my pesto fixation!  It's one of my new favorite ingredients and today's recipe is Liz B's Pesto Buttermilk Dressing from Taste of Home.

June is National Dairy Month and this week some foodie friends and I will be sharing lots of recipes to celebrate. I'm kicking things off with one of my favorite cool treats, popsicles!

I'm wrapping up #BrunchWeek with an item that love to eat but rarely make, scones.  I'm not sure why I don't make them at home, they're really easy.  I found Jacqueline H's recipe for lemon blueberry drop scones on the Taste of Home site but it's strawberry season here so I used those. 

I hope you're enjoying #BrunchWeek so far, I know I am! I am a huge fan of iced coffee, I drink it pretty much year round.  I didn't think there would be a way to improve on it, but then I found this Tipsy Iced Coffee on the Taste of Home site.

Welcome to #BrunchWeek! We've been shifting our weekend schedules more in the last year and that's pushed our first meal of the day sort of out of the breakfast time period and more into a brunch one. I've been testing out some recipes and one of my favorites is this Chicken Pesto Pasta.

Did you know that #NationalDonutDay was established in 1938 to celebrate the brave women of the Salvation Army who served up fried treats to soldiers during World War I? The holiday is celebrated the first Friday of June each year so today I'm sharing our top 10 most popular donut recipes.

This month is just flying by but I'm excited to be joining the #MuffinMonday bakers again! I had a grocery pickup list mishap and ended up with two containers of sour cream so went searching on the Taste of Home site for recipes and found these Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Chicken is a go to protein around here. It's something all three of us eat and luckily there are lots of ways to prepare it. One of the easiest ways to get a meal on the table is to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

What an awesome #BBQWeek this has been! I'm wrapping things up with one of my favorite portable desserts, whoopie pies! I found this Lemon Blueberry version on the Taste of Home website.

For day 4 of #BBQWeek I'm sharing one of our favorite summertime thirst quenchers, Iced Strawberry Tea.  I found this recipe on the Taste of Home site but have adapted it to our tastes.

We're halfway through #BBQWeek and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am! Today I'm sharing Grilled Buttermilk Chicken, a recipe I found on the Taste of Home website.

It's day two of #BBQWeek and today I'm serving up a sensational side dish, Pesto Pasta & Potatoes! My grill has a side burner but if yours doesn't you can definitely cook this one indoors.

Welcome to the third annual #BBQWeek hosted by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures . We are excited to have 15 bloggers sharing over 50 recipes this week as we head toward grilling season. I've got five new recipes coming your way this week!

  Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and today I'm revisiting an old favorite, Frozen Lemon Berry Margaritas. I found Julie H's recipe in Taste of Home magazine years ago and have slowly adapted it to our liking. 

  April 26th is National Pretzel Day! It was really hard to narrow down a recipe to make because I love pretzels in all their forms, soft, twisted, rods, sticks, rolls, nuggets. After some deliberation, I picked Jackie R's Loaded Up Pretzel Cookies from Taste of Home.

  Who's ready for Muffin Monday?  For this month I'm sharing some delicious Streusel Strawberry Muffins from Taste of Home.

When Dunkin came out with their new menu offering of Hummus Toast I was practically in the car before the commercial had ended.  It was delicious, but I try really hard to limit my drive through spending to things that I can't or won't make at home, and I knew this was something I could. 

  Today is National Garlic Day and I went all in with this recipe for skillet potatoes from Anita O. that I found on the Taste of Home website.  There are 12 whole cloves of garlic in this recipe! 

Roasting brings out the flavor in so many things but tomatoes are one of my favorites and it's so very simple to do!

  This month's Taste of Home Bakeable challenge is carrot cake. One of the suggestions given were Leanne G 's Carrot Cake Pancakes. We're big fans of pancakes and I had everything on hand. 

Today is National Coffee Cake Day and to celebrate I made Heather O's Berry Topped Coffee Cake from Taste of Home. It's not berry season here so had to rely on the grocery store offerings and I ended up with huge blueberries and strawberries.

Spring is in the air and the local farms have started advertising their wares.  Some of the first things that are available are spring greens.  I snapped up some baby spinach and then searched out a recipe on the Taste of Home site to use it. 

March is a tough weather month here in New England.  We'll get a few nice days but overall we're stuck sitting watching other places flowers start to bloom and farmers markets open up.  I combat that this buy baking lots of colorful, flavorful treats like Suzeanne L's Pineapple Upside Down Muffins.

  For my final post of Spring Sweets Week, I made Key Lime Icebox Cake. This was my first time ever making one and it definitely will not be the last!

I hope you are enjoying Spring Sweets Week as much as I am! I kicked things off with Blood Orange Shortbread Cookies and for my second recipe I'm sharing Lemon Funfetti Baked Donuts.

Welcome to #SpringSweetsWeek 2022 hosted by Heather from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks !   Flowers are starting to bloom, the weather is getting warmer, and we're celebrating with spring sweets and a fun giveaway!  

  One of my favorite things about being a blogger is getting to work with products and companies that are new to me.  Melissa's Produce sent us an amazing selection for Spring Sweets Week and one of the items was a bag of Key limes. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I've got some Irish in my family background but even if you don't, everyone's Irish today!  I was looking for something fun to share and I found Rebecca L's Creamy Irish coffee on the Taste of Home website. 

  These Sweet Potato Biscuits with Honey & Thyme are soft and fluffy, perfect for brunch, holiday breakfasts, or as a side to soups and stews. Serve warm with honey-thyme butter and strawberry jalapeño jam for a sweet-and-savory kick.  

I am a huge fan of overnight oats. I've got several varieties that I rotate through depending on the season.  I had some leftover crushed pineapple and cherries from another recipe and I couldn't get the idea of a pineapple upside down version out of my head.

When I was younger, martinis seemed like such a cool, sophisticated drink. When I was old enough to actually order one the traditional version just wasn't my thing.  I ran across Clara M's Coffee & Cream Martini on the Taste of Home site and it had my name all over it.

These Maple Glazed Green Beans are a sweet and savory weeknight side dish, with tender green beans tossed in crispy bacon, caramelized onions, dried cranberries, and a touch of maple syrup.

  We were on a staycation last week and we enjoyed a few cocktails during that time.  This was my favorite out of the lot, Salted Caramel Baileys Milkshakes.

  The 70s brought us some interesting fashion trends, questionable music and the McDonald's Shamrock shake. I've read that the original shake was lemon lime flavored, but I only ever remember the mint version.

I'm changing things up a bit for this month's #MuffinMonday and sharing a savory muffin. I was bored with our regular sides for pasta so I went searching the Taste of Home site and found Cyndee P's Italian Herb Muffins.

Continuing my quest to replicate some of our restaurant favorites at home I tried my hand at Chinese Scallion Pancakes from Taste of Home. Though they're made from just a few simple ingredients, the method seemed a bit daunting to me. 

    Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which begins the day after the Epiphany and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. Since Lent is a time for fasting, Fat Tuesday was that last hurrah. Some foodie friends and I are sharing dishes today that are inspired by New Orleans favorites, and I made Bananas Foster Bread. 

One of the ways we've tried to reduce our spending is by doing a lot less eating out. One of the things I really miss is Chinese food, so I've been looking for recipes to make at home.  I found Darlene B's Crispy Orange Chicken on the Taste of Home site. 

Easy breaded pork tenderloin chops that cook quickly and stay juicy. Perfect for a weeknight dinner.

  As most of you probably know, there's a big event coming up this weekend. No, I'm not talking about football, I'm talking about #NationalTortelliniDay! February 13th is also #NationalItalianFoodDay as well. 

Meatloaf is a tough sell around here.  A lot of the things that classically go into making a delicious meatloaf are things that my guys just don't like. I found Zac and Paige's recipe on the Taste of Home site and decided to see if it would pass muster with them.

The big game is just around the corner and I'm sharing a fun appetizer that will make everyone cheer! We are huge toasted ravioli fans so when I ran across this Fried Tortellini on the Taste of Home site I knew that it would be a big hit here.  Angela L's recipe uses prosciutto ricotta tortellini, but all I could get my hands on were three cheese tortellini, so that's what I went with.

  Things have been crazy around here and I somehow managed to order 2 boxes of frozen garlic bread on my grocery pickup.  I searched the Taste of Home site for ideas and the Garlic Toast Pizzas seemed like a great way to serve them up. 

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and we've got some great treat ideas to help you share the love! 

Another month has flown by and it's Muffin Monday again! This month's recipe is brought to you in part by my husband who buys variety packs of oatmeal but doesn't like one flavor that's in it. They were stacking up in the cabinet so I went searching the Taste of Home site for a way to use them up. 

If there's one thing that's always a hit around here it's cupcakes. They're fun to make and there are so many different variations! I had some buttermilk left over from making biscuits so I searched the Taste of Home site and found fellow Granite Stater Ellen M's Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes. 

Chocolate Week continues and today I'm sharing Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls. I found Rita L's recipe on the Taste of Home website and it's helped me to make another step forward in conquering my fear of yeast baking. I made no changes to the recipe but I can share a few tips in the actual process that I used.

It's Chocolate Week! Today through the 28th some foodie friends and I will be celebrating all things chocolate.  First up, I made fellow Taste of Home Community Cook Susan G's Chocolate Caramels. Candy making can seem intimidating, but the two most important things are a good thermometer and a block of uninterrupted time. 

I'm always on the lookout for easy, economical family pleasing recipes.  These Lil Cheddar Meat Loaves from Taste of Home are a perfect example of that. 

January is National Oatmeal Month and today I'm celebrating all things oats with some of my foodie friends! I am a huge fan of oats in all forms, baked, overnight, in cookies, and this week I tried out these Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes from Taste of Home. 

I know, I hear you saying it, "Sweet potatoes for BREAKFAST?" I thought it too when I saw the recipe on the Taste of Home site.  But sweet potatoes are filling, loaded with Vitamin A and other vitamins and minerals. 

  This month's Taste of Home Bakeable Challenge was Fran T's Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits.  We are huge biscuit fans but I rarely make them from scratch.  Once I saw how easy this recipe was I decided to give it a try. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer to bring the ingredients together.

Finally getting back into the swing of things after a crazy few weeks and I'm trying tons of new recipes that I can't wait to share with you all!  I bought some blueberries for another recipe and had some left over but I didn't want to do more baking. I searched the Taste of Home site and found Kim F's Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothies. 

Since I already came up with a version of Dunkin Donuts new Egg White & Veggie Omelet Bites for myself, I decided to make the other variety that they are offering, Bacon & Cheddar, for my husband.

Dunkin’ discontinued their Egg White and Veggie Omelet Bites in February 2025, but you can still make them at home with this easy copycat recipe.