Donuts2Crumpets - A food blog with quick, easy & delicious recipes.

I am so excited to have an herb garden this year!!  Shout out to the hubby for putting together a small raised garden to make it super easy for me to take care of - I have parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage and mint coming out of my ears, but I absolutely LOVE fresh herbs and have been looking for ways to use them in my recipes as much as possible.  One of my favorite things to do with herbs is throw them together to make this easy restaurant style bread dipping oil, just like you find at many of your favorite Italian restaurants.  Rich, flavorful extra virgin olive oil and slightly sweet, dark balsamic vinegar are poured over a ton of herbs and garlic.  The simplicity of dipping hot crusty bread in this herbaceous mixture is both satisfying and comforting. If you don't have fresh herbs on hand you can absolutely use dried herbs - I've included measurements for both below.  Depending on what you have on hand you can also do a combination - part fresh, part dried - i

  Just in time for your July 4th Celebration I'm sharing a festive red white & blue version of my Saltine Cracker Toffee.  Did you know that English toffee is even better when you add a layer of salty crackers!  This quick and easy treat is a family favorite during ALL the holidays.  It is so easy to make and soooooooo delicious that you will want to make it for all of the celebrations and get togethers throughout the year.  I always issue a warning with this stuff - don't sit with a plate of this in front of the TV.  The salty and sweet combination makes it extremely addictive and that plate will be gone before you realize it!   A couple of tips: Use real butter for this recipe - sometimes it's ok to substitute margarine in recipes, but this is not one of those times- you need real butter to get that delicious toffee perfection. Feel free to switch up the chocolate chips - I have done white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips and my favorite, dark chocolate chi

Wondering what to cook for dinner tonight?  It's Meatless Monday and I'm sharing a fast, easy comforting dinner that will work for Mondays or ANY weeknight you are short on time.  This cheese tortellini with sun-dried tomatoes and chopped spinach Alfredo is creamy, tangy and incredibly delicious.  I used a variation on my classic Alfredo recipe for this sauce, (because it's utter perfection), but then added in some extra flavor by boosting the garlic and throwing in sundried tomatoes and spinach - I like to cut up the sundried tomatoes and spinach super small for fussy palates at this house, but if you like it more chunky, feel free to chop them a little larger.   If you ARE wanting some meat with this dish, try adding in 2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken when you add in the the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach - we love it with this addition too and using a rotisserie chicken means not only is it inexpensive, but all the work is already done for you!  Serve this dish up wit

I am addicted to bread.  Any kind of bread - especially when it is fresh out of the oven warm bread slathered with butter.  It's the ultimate comfort food and quite possibly my love language.  One of my favorite things to eat at Cheesecake Factory is the brown bread that they bring to your table while you are waiting for your meal.  Honestly, I could just sit and eat the bread and then go home, it's that good.  It reminds me of squaw bread that I had growing up - has kind of a molassesy, malty flavor - so delicious.  (They have a similar bread at Outback too.) Well now I can eat a very close replica of that fabulous bread any time I want here in the comfort of my own home with this copycat brown bread recipe and guess what?  So can you!  Slightly sweet, with a hint of molasses flavor, and sprinkled with oats, this is my new favorite bread to make.  This recipe makes 4 small loaves, but you could shape it in to rolls instead if you wanted.  (If you do that reduce the baking time

  Is there anything better than a citrusy no-bake creamy dessert to beat the heat of the summer?  This no bake quick and easy key lime, (or lemon), pie has been my hubbies VERY favorite dessert ever since we got married!  (I feel like I say that a lot - he does love his desserts.)  But this one is so much so his favorite, that he requested it again for Fathers Day today and when I pulled it up out of the deep archives of this blog - well let's just say I definitely knew it needed and deserved a refresh with some new pictures. This pie is fantastic with lime OR lemon.  You can easily replace the lime juice and lime zest with lemon juice and lemon zest for a different flavor!  You can also use graham cracker instead of ginger snaps for the crust - we love the spice of the gingersnaps with the citrusy creamy filling, but again - pick your preference.  You really can't go wrong. You will notice that I list  key lime juice in the recipe- if you can't find fresh key limes, you c

I am a savory breakfast lover.  Give me the choice between a sweet pastry and bacon and eggs and I'm always going to take the savory, salty option.  One of our families favorite savory breakfast/brunches for weekend mornings is this super simple breakfast hash!  It's simple because it uses a shortcut bag of southern style hashbrowns found in the freezer section, so there is no peeling or chopping potatoes - don't you love recipes like that?!?!  You cut down on the work, but not on the taste!   This hash has sausage, potatoes and cheese - you could totally scramble some eggs and throw it in right at the end, but my favorite way to serve this is with a poached or fried egg with a runny yolk on the top.  That way when you cut in to that egg, you get all that goodness running through the hash.  It's pure heaven.  I like to use the cubed hashbrowns for this recipe, but you could substitute shredded in a pinch. Ingredients: 1lb Jimmy dean sausage, (We like the maple) 1/2 cup

The quickest, easiest dinner you can throw together on a night that you are short on time or energy are these fantastic French Bread Pizzas!  You know what I love about pizza night?  Everyone can make their own creation exactly how they want it and it's FUN to do it together.  You know what I like especially about French Bread pizza?  You don't even have to make the dough and you get a perfect crust that is crisp and golden on the outside and soft on the inside - literally perfection with no effort!   My favorite bread to use for these are the $1 French loaves out of Walmart.  They fresh bake them every day - you can get them plain, with sesame seeds, with herbs or with everything bagel and ONE DOLLAR PER LOAF!  I use these all the time to make garlic bread or serve with any meal.  You can throw them in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 350 and they will taste like you just baked them yourself!  Seriously - my best-loved, most inexpensive time saver.  The most important part of this

My hubby is a huge bean fan.  When our favorite Mexican restaurant asks if he wants black or pinto beans his answer is always "both please," so I have spent a lot of time over the years trying to replicate some restaurant quality tasting black beans here at home for him.  This is our favorite black bean recipe.  It is super easy because it starts with canned beans, so there is no long wait or fuss as they soak.  The combination of quite a few spices in these beans is what makes them so yummy.  If you don't have mushroom powder, don't fret - you can still make them - the mushroom powder, (I use Umami seasoning from Trader Joes), just adds an extra earthiness but they are still fantastic without it. I love to make these on fajita night with my easy sheet pan chipotle chicken fajitas and some rice, tortillas and all the toppings.  It's an easy, flavorful meal that everyone in the family loves because they can customize their plates with what they want!  Give these a

Need a meal that comes together lightening fast but still tastes amazing?  Look no further than these easy sheet pan chipotle chicken fajitas!  After just a little chopping prep you can have chicken and fajita veggies in to the oven and cooked to perfection in just about 20 minutes!  Serve these babies up simply with some flour tortillas - or add rice and beans to take it to the next level.  With sour cream, cheese, salsa and some fresh limes on the table, your family is going to love fajita night!   Ingredients:  2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenders, sliced thinly Red, yellow and orange peppers, sliced 1 large onion, sliced 3 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp dried cilantro 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper Instructions: Preheat the oven to 425.  Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray. Slice your chicken, peppers and onions into thin strips and scatter them on your baking sheet.  Dri

If the thought of using yeast has been scary to you in the past, this is the perfect bread recipe to start with!!  30 minute rise English Muffin Bread is practically no fail.   I'm a big fan of crusty bread and loooooove toasted English muffins with all their nooks and crannies to catch the melting butter.  What I don't love is all the fuss of making them in to individual little rounds!  So the thought of just throwing the bubbly dough in to loaf pans and making bread that could be sliced and toasted really appealed to me.   This bread takes just a few minutes to throw together and then rises nice and fast, (just one 30 minute rise), so there isn't a huge wait before getting it in the oven.  The hardest part of making this bread is waiting for it to cool before eating it - but the longer you wait the better it will be.  This is beautiful bread for grilled cheese, or panini's because it crisps up beautifully on a griddle.  However, let's not forget how much we love t

My newest massive cookie creation includes a combination of a sweet chocolate dough studded with caramel pieces, pecans and chocolate chips to make a massive turtle cookie!  These are fantastic - my daughter swears they are the best ones yet - (props to her for buying and UNWRAPPING all the caramels for me.) Cut up caramels work better than caramel bits for these, (I cut each Kraft caramel in to 4 pieces, but you can totally do a little smaller if you want), you will get little puddles of gooey caramel when you use them.  I tried using the little round caramel bits in a test run - they barely melted and the ones on the top charred a little - though honestly they still tasted good, they were not the same - the little puddles from the cut up caramels were definitely the best!   These are deliciously decadent, fun to share and way bigger than they need to be, so anyone who gets one of these will find them to be a real treat.  Any leftovers can be heated for 20-25 seconds in the microwave

A beautiful, fast and easy dessert to throw together - this almond ricotta cake is light, moist, and completely addictive!  The sugared almonds on the top give it a fantastic crunch and the ricotta makes the batter light and fluffy.  I like to add a cup of coconut in mine, but if you are not a coconut fan, you can totally leave the coconut out and the cake is still absolutely divine, the coconut just gives it that added texture and flavor that just keeps you coming back for more.  Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar 15oz ricotta, whole milk 1 tsp almond extract 2 eggs 1-3/4 cup AP flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup almonds, chopped finely 1 cup coconut, (optional) Topping: 1/4 cup almonds 2 Tbsp sugar Powdered sugar for dusting Instructions: Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9 inch spring-form pan with non stick cooking spray and lightly flour - (I use the spray that already has the flour in it - it works perfectly!)  Line the bottom of the pan wit

One of the most popular recipes on this blog are my Massive Chocolate Chip Cookies  that weigh in at about 4.5oz per cookie!  I have made and delivered literally hundreds of these cookies to friends, neighbors and co-workers - my husband delivers them wrapped in cellophane bags and tied with ribbons to his physical therapy patients at the long term facilities he works at - and everyone absolutely raves about them.  I'm not going to lie, they are pretty awesome - stuffed with chocolate with the perfect crunch on the outside and a soft, slightly gooey center - so it only made sense that I put together a cute Cadbury mini egg version of this fabulous cookie for Easter.   The key to these cookies is that you add the right amount of flour - I have always measured my flour for this specific recipe as 2 packed cups and 3/4 cup spooned flour and they come out perfect every time, however, for those who like a very specific weight - you will want 17 oz flour - or 482 grams.  Additionally, yo

Need a fast and easy treat to give as a gift or serve guests?  You are going to love these easy, fudgy salted chocolate peanut clusters!  I love homemade chocolates, but I'm not a huge fan of having to use a candy thermometer or having to stand at the stove stirring and watching carefully for ages.  These little clusters of happiness come together in just minutes - chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, some vanilla and peanuts are the only ingredients you need, (though I do recommend the flaked Malden salt to finish them off with.)  They are beautiful to look at and even more delicious to taste. Ingredients: 2 cups chocolate chips 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups peanuts, (salted) Maldon sea salt flakes, (optional but the BEST) Instructions: In a non-stick large saucepan, add the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk and melt over medium heat until it's smooth.   Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, then stir in the peanuts.   Scoop the mixture