Just a fair warning before we dive into this recipe…this is not a “feel good” or “kid friendly” cup of hot chocolate!

The vinegar makes the chocolate taste intense and adds so much depth of flavor. Rich and deep like dessert.

I really enjoyed it poured over creamy vanilla ice cream. The sweetness and creaminess cut through the dark chocolate. If you don’t have vanilla ice I would add a good amount of whipped cream and maybe even a dusting of powdered sugar.

Ready for the recipe?

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4oz of dark chocolate

• 3/4 cup whole milk

• 1/4 cup cream

• salt

• 1-2 Tbsp sugar

• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

• vanilla ice cream

• chocolate shavings (optional but fun)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix all ingredients (except ice cream) together in a small pot.

2. Stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted, and mix is slightly thickened.

3. Scoop ice cream into a mug and pour the hot chocolate on top. Add chocolate shavings or a dusting of powdered sugar for a beautiful and sweet touch!

The post Balsamic Hot Chocolate appeared first on ChelsEats.

Ireland is one of the most beautiful places on this earth! Greenery everywhere and rolling hills. The stormy sea and ocean walks are everything! But my favorite thing about Ireland is the people! They are the happiest people! They sing and dance and laugh and laugh and laugh! I just love it! Don’t we all just love happy people?!?

I have Irish ancestry on both my mom and my dads side. My moms mother was born and raised in Northern Ireland. And she is truly the salt of the earth. Just the kindest soul you have ever met. And her accent is the cutest! My mom was born in London, England but spent some of her younger years growing up in Ireland. The stories she tells about fairies and leprechauns are absolute fairy tales! She had the most magical childhood!

Food in Ireland is very simple and from the land. The climate is perfect for growing potatoes, cabbage, root vegetables, apples, and berries. My mom used to pick blackberries from the brambles by the bucketful!

This recipe highlights just how simple Irish food is but you’ll also notice how incredibly delicious it is. The base of leeks and garlic is so aromatic. Now add the bacon (plus bacon fat) and you’ve got such a flavorful dish!

Recipe:

1 leek, cleaned and sliced

2 cloves of garlic chopped 

6-8 oz (5-6 strips) of uncured bacon chopped into 1 inch pieces 

2 pounds of Yukon gold potatoes (4-5 large potatoes), par boiled and diced into 1 inch cubes

1/2 a head of cabbage chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Wash potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Add potatoes to the water and reduce to medium heat. Par boil the potatoes for 10 minutes. Once the potatoes have boiled for 10 minutes, pour them into a colander and run cold water over them. 

In a large and hot cast iron skillet or frying pan, add the chopped bacon.  Allow it to cook over medium heat until fully cooked through. While it’s cooking, add the leek and garlic. Allow the leek and garlic to begin sautéing in the bacon fat. 

Dice the par boiled and cooled potatoes into cubes and add to the skillet. Mix well and let them begin to brown. After 2-3 minutes add the chopped cabbage and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and let it cook together for another few minutes. 

Remove from heat and serve. This recipes yields 4 servings.

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This Irish Wedge Salad is my absolute favorite way to eat cabbage. It is lemony and garlicky with a creamy tahini sauce to balance the acidity. It’s got a little crunch from the pistachios. I find it to be practically perfect in every way!

I remember my first St. Patrick’s Day after I was married. I had a six week old baby and I was probably walking around the grocery store dazed and sleep deprived. For some reason I bought a large green cabbage and took it home so that I could make my little family something fun to eat for St. Patrick’s Day.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I had no idea what to do with this large green cabbage! Roasting it in the oven seemed like the only logical way to eat it. And over the years I developed a little sauce that goes on before it gets roasted and then a tahini sauce that gets drizzled over the top when it’s plated.

It might be super embarrassing for me to admit this, but I have actually eaten an entire head of cabbage when it is prepared this way. It’s probably not a healthy amount of cabbage for one person to consume in a day! but I find that when I prepare cabbage this way I just don’t want to stop eating it. There are worse problems in life than wanting to eat pounds of cabbage in one sitting, aren’t there??

Each year around St. Patrick’s Day I think of some dazed and sleep deprived new mother buying a head of cabbage and getting home and realizing that she has no idea what to do with it. I am here to help that sleep deprived mother!!

Recipe:

• 1 head of crisp green cabbage
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• Red pepper flakes (optional)

For the dressing:

• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat you oven to 425 degrees

Begin by washing and drying and cutting your cabbage into 8 wedges. The core can be removed at this point, or it can remain attached to help hold the wedges together.

Make a marinade by combining the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and red pepper flakes.

Arrange the wedges on a baking sheet and brush (or pour carefully) a small amount of the marinade on each wedge of cabbage. You should not have any marinade left over.

Place your baking sheet in the oven and roast for 18-20 minutes. You’ll notice some browning and a little bit of charring. If your wedges aren’t browned and don’t have a small amount of char, roast for just a few minutes longer. Some cabbages are larger than others and they might take a minute or two longer.

When the cabbage wedges have been removed from the oven and are cooling, make this simple tahini dressing. Combine the tahini, fresh lemon juice, water, olive oil, salt, and garlic in a small bowl and mix until you have a creamy salad dressing consistency. You can thin it out with a little more lemon juice or water.

Now it’s time to plate and eat! Yay! Plate two wedges on each plate and drizzle with your creamy tahini dressing. Add a handful of chopped pistachios to the top of your salad for yummy green crunch.

This recipe serves four people 2 wedges each. Do yourself a favor and double the recipe. I guarantee that you’ll eat more of this than you think!

The post Irish Wedge Salad appeared first on ChelsEats.

This pistachio cake is delightful and the frosting is light and airy. This will become a quick family favorite dessert!

So many family members in my extended family have birthdays in March! It literally feels like every other day for the entire month we are celebrating somebody’s birthday. And aren’t we all looking for fun green foods to eat in March?

This cake is super simple and quick to throw together and baking it in a Bundt pan makes it look so fancy. I love taking a box cake mix and doctoring it up.

The frosting could not be more simple and I guarantee that you will want to bathe in it! You might think I’m joking, but I assure you, that I am very serious. In fact, the last time I made this cake, my 18 month old baby boy really did bathe in it!! It was a huge mess, but I have never seen a happier child.

I learned to make this frosting from my sister-in-law who makes this frosting every year for her daughters birthday. Gotta give her credit for the genius frosting!!

I love hiding a chocolate gold coin in the cooked and cooled cake before frosting. The person who finds the gold coin is our lucky little leprechaun for the night and wins a special prize.

Recipe for the cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 box instant pistachio pudding (4oz)
3 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup Sprite or 7up soda
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons chopped raw pistachio nuts to decorate the top of the cake (optional)

Recipe for the frosting:
1 box instant pistachio pudding (4oz)
1 1/2 cups cold whole milk
8 oz package of cool whip (extra creamy)

Preheat oven to 350°
In a large mixing bowl, add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well with a hand mixer.

Once it’s mixed well and there are no clumps of dry cake mix or pudding, pour into a well greased and floured Bundt cake pan. Bake at 350° for 30-34 minutes.

You can use a 9×13 greased baking dish instead if you prefer. Bake for 350° for 25 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool for 15-30 minutes before attempting to free the cake from the Bundt pan. Turn cake onto a plate and slowly move the pan off of the cake.

For the frosting, make the pistachio pudding according to package directions, but use only 1 1/2 cups of milk. Let the pudding sit for 5 minutes to thicken up. Once it’s thick, add the cool whip and mix together until no white lumps of cool whip remain.

If you are going to add a chocolate gold coin, make sure your cake has cooled completely, then slide your coin inside. Then frost over the cake.

Frost the cake with as much frosting as desired. There is enough frosting to frost the entire Bundt cake or you can choose to frost just the top of the cake. I like to sprinkle about 2 tbsps of chopped raw pistachio nuts on the top of the cake.

If you have left over frosting, I like to serve it the next day with some Nilla Wafers (I call them gold coins).

The post 🍀Pistachio Surprise Cake🍀 appeared first on ChelsEats.

It’s the kind of recipe that everyone will ask you for.

It’s the kind of recipe that you’ll make over and over this season.

It’s the kind of recipe that adults and kids go crazy for.

You excited yet??

This recipe calls for 2 cups of Gruyere cheese. Let’s talk about that for a minute. When I say Gruyere, I mean the real deal. Made in Switzerland.If it’s made in Wisconsin, we don’t want it in this recipe.

Why?? Because we need the deep and rich flavors that can only be found in imported cheese. Trust me. Why use Gruyere? Because it’s the best cheese! But seriously, it’s known as the best cheese for baking because it’s flavors are so rich but it also doesn’t overpower other ingredients.

I find the best price on imported Gruyere at Trader Joe’s or Costco.

Here’s the recipe:

• 2 cups grated gruyere cheese
• 1 cup softened cream cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise 
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped green onion
• Mix well so there are no lumps of cream cheese.  Scoop the dip into a hollowed-out pumpkin and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Serve with crackers and fruit. 

I pre bake my pumpkin for about 20 minutes so it’s easier to scoop out the seeds and then I fill it with the cheese dip and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes.

I love serving this dip charcuterie style with a variety of crackers, seasonal fruits, and even lightly steamed veggies.

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this dip! It sure is a winner in our house!!

The post Best Baked Cheese Dip of Your Life! appeared first on ChelsEats.

Ever wonder where to find the best pumpkin muffin? Look no further! These really are the best!!

I worked so hard on these soft, moist, and perfectly pumpkin spiced muffins! These are the perfect November treat and it’s worth every dirty dish that you’ll create as you make it!  

Here’s the recipe:
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
Mix all dry ingredients together. 

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 – 15oz can pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk 
Mix all wet ingredients together. Then mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Do not over mix. Fill each muffin liner almost full.

Now make the crumb topping. 
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
6 Tbsp butter, melted
Use a fork to mix the melted butter in until crumb form. Spoon crumbs over each muffin. 

Bake at 350° for 24 minutes. Makes 12 very large muffins. 

Let muffins sit for 10 minutes once they are done baking. After 10 minutes drizzle a small amount of Trader Joe’s Maple Butter over each muffin or make your own Maple Icing by combining a cup of powdered sugar + 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup + 1 Tbsp milk. 

Let me know if you make these! I had a blast testing out recipes and finally settling on the perfect pumpkin muffin! 

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I’m super excited to share one of my favorite pesto recipes with you. It’s full of bold flavors and it’s a gorgeous green color, so it’s just perfect for this time of year. 

Pea and Basil Pesto:
1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
1 cup loosely packed basil
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan (omit the cheese for a dairy free version) 
1/4 extra virgin olive oil**
2 cloves of raw garlic (use 1 clove or omit if sensitive to garlic)
Salt + white pepper to taste

**One of the things I love the most about this recipe is that it doesn’t require a ton of oil. The moisture in the peas + a few tablespoons of olive oil is usually enough. Start with 2 Tbsp and go from there. 

Serve over freshly cooked pasta with grated Parmesan and a little bread to soak up all that pesto! This recipe makes enough to coat one 12-16oz package of cooked pasta. 

The post Pea and Basil Pesto appeared first on ChelsEats.

I was talking to my mom recently about dishes that her mother made for her while living in Ireland, and she told me she remembers eating Bubble and Squeak. This dish gets it name from the sounds that come from your pot as you cook all the ingredients together. They bubble and squeak until perfectly cooked together!

Here’s what you need:
1 onion
4-6 potatoes, russet or Yukon gold works best in this dish. 
1/2 cup – 1 cup corned beef
4 strips of uncooked bacon
1/3-1/2 a head of cabbage

Dice onion and bacon and get them browning in a large frying pan. Dice your potatoes into medium sized cubes. Add to your pan to get them browning on the outside and soft on the inside. If your potatoes are small, use 6. If they are larger, 4 should be sufficient. Stir often to keep browning those potato cubes. 

Add chopped up or shredded corned beef and cabbage. In an authentic Bubble and Squeak dish, you are usually adding leftovers to the pot so your corned beef and cabbage would already be cooked. Add some salt + pepper to taste. 

Let all the ingredients bubble and squeak in your pan! When potatoes are browned and soft, remove from heat. This dish would be great with a little side of brown mustard. But I tried it all on its own and loved it! The bacon is just so necessary in this dish to give so much flavor and it won’t quite “bubble” without the bacon fat. 

I love taking pictures of colorful and bright meals, so I was a little disappointed when this finished dish looked a little dull and lacking in fun colors. But what it lacks in vibrancy it makes up for in taste! It is comfort food to the max. Give this warm and hearty dish a try! 

The post Bubble & Squeak! appeared first on ChelsEats.

This papaya bowl is inspired by my favorite breakfast from @sunriseshack on the island of Oahu. 

It sounds a little off the wall at first (papaya+peanut butter) but it just works! 

It’s also super simple to put together! Totally easy and super scrumptious! That’s my kind of breakfast!

Here’s how to assemble this beautiful breakfast papaya:

• Halve and clean the seeds out of a Hawaiian papaya.
• Fill the inside of the pineapple with peanut or almond butter. I prefer it with peanut butter.
• Now add a layer of granola to the peanut butter.
• Sliced bananas, blueberries, pomegranate, coconut flakes, and chia seeds make excellent toppings for your breakfast bowl.
• Top with a drizzle of honey and it’s practically perfect in every way.

Did you travel somewhere this week or are you like us and trying to find a little “spring break” from home?? 

*I highly recommend that you search for a papaya from Hawaii. I have found mine at Harmon’s and Trader Joe’s. I’ve tried this breakfast with a larger papaya from Mexico and it’s just not the same!

The post Papaya Bowl appeared first on ChelsEats.

Here’s what you’ll need:
• Everything Bagel
• Gruyere Cheese 
• Organic Egg
• Avocado
• Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon 
*Found all these ingredients at @traderjoes

Here’s the recipe:

Let’s get to the good stuff first.

• You are going to start by pan frying 3-4 strips of bacon. It’s your sandwich, so cook it how you like best, but I recommend letting it crisp up. You’ll appreciate the crispness once it’s all stacked in the gooey grilled cheese. 
• Once it’s crispy, remove bacon from your pan and set aside on a paper towel. 
• Now, let’s put that bacon fat to good use! Cut the everything bagel in half and place each half down in your pan. You are going to lightly toast the inside first, then flip over and let’s get the outside of the bagel warm and toasty. Remove the bagel top once both the sides of it are toasted and set it aside.
• Now for the fun part! Add 2-3 ounces of sliced Gruyere to the bottom half of the bagel while still over medium heat. Cover with a pan lid or just a little tinfoil to help that cheese get nice and melty. 
• While the cheese is melting, keep using that bacon fat and crack an egg in the pan and fry it for about 1 minute on each side. Don’t overcook your egg. You’ll appreciate the runny yolk! While your egg fries, slice up 1/2 an avocado. 
• Now start to assemble this glorious sandwich. Take that ooey gooey gruyered bagel bottom and begin stacking the fried egg, bacon, avocado slices, and bagel top. Voila!! Enjoy right away for ultimate yumminess!!

Not going to lie, this was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had! Cooking everything in the bacon fat is definitely not the healthy way to go but it is the delicious way to go! 

Let me know what you think of this ultimate grilled cheese/breakfast sammy! 

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