I love a good play on words, so the fact that Paul Greene stars in this movie, eating hot green peppers is perfect! In “Love in the Clouds” On Hallmark Channel, on many occasions Paul’s character is eating hot green peppers on pretty much everything! I went a more subdued route, as I can’t eat anything spicy! So to stick with the flavors of New Mexico, where this movie takes place, I made a delicious, Southwest style stuffed (sweet) green pepper!

Ingredients:

-4 large green bell peppers

-1 box Mexican rice

-1/2 lb ground beef

-1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

-1/2 teaspoon chili powder

-1 teaspoon onion powder

-1 teaspoon garlic powder

-Salt and pepper

-1/2 cup tomato sauce

-1 can black beans

-1 package shredded Mexican cheese

-Salsa for garnish

Directions:

Start by cooking the Mexican rice according to box directions. While that is simmering, rinse and hollow out the bell peppers. Set aside.

Add ground beef to hot pan and add all the spices. Once it is browned, add the tomato sauce. Let is simmer while stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened up.

Stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheese and let it melt in. Set aside.

Once the rice is done cooking, you can start layering the inside of the peppers.

Start with a layer of beef, followed by rice, beans, then cheese. Press each layer down with a spoon to make space for more. Repeat the layers until you reach the top. Make sure the top layer is cheese. Drizzle top with a bit of olive oil.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes until the peppers are a bit shriveled up and cheese is browned on top. You can garnish with salsa before serving. Enjoy!

Off to the races! It was hats galore on the Hallmark Channel movie “Hats off to Love”! I have always loved hats since I was little, and seeing all the unique and beautiful hats in this movie was so much fun! The Kentucky Derby is not only known for their highly anticipated horse races, but the beautiful attire worn by the guests. Especially the elaborate hats! I made these very easy and adorable hats to celebrate all the spectacular hats seen throughout this movie!

Ingredients:

-Sugar Cookies (Store bought or homemade)

-Large marshmallows

-Candy melts (color of your choice)

-Frosting

-Candy flowers

-Decorative sprinkles of choice (I used candy pearls)

Directions:

Place (fully baked) sugar cookies on a tray lined with a silicone mat. Melt a bit of the candy melts and place a small dot in the middle of cookie.

Cut marshmallow in half and place one half on the dollop in the middle. Let it set in the fridge until it is securely on the cookie.

Melt the rest of the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl. Make sure it is large enough to dip the full cookie in.

The candy melts should be melted in 30 second increments, stirring in between.

Take cookies with marshmallow out of the fridge. Place cookie upside down with marshmallow facing down, into the melted candy melts. Place pearl sprinkles and candy flowers wherever you like. Set aside to harden.

Once it hardens, use white frosting in a piping bag to pipe a border around the covered marshmallow in the middle of the hat, and a more embellished border around the outer edge of the hat. Let harden before serving. Enjoy!

“Journey To You” on Hallmark Channel starring Erin Cahill and Erik Valdez inspired this dish! This was a beautiful story of a group of people on a pilgrimage through the Camino de Santiago. Every member in the group found meaning in their journey as they all found a piece of themselves they were searching for. I loved how they became such a close group of friends, sharing stories, aspirations, and many delicious meals together! One of which, was Paella, where they all worked together to make! Here is my toned down, easy version of a family style Paella!

Ingredients:

-Olive oil for sautéing

-1 cup uncooked Arborio rice

-1 onion (chopped)

-3 cloves garlic (minced)

-1/2 red bell pepper (chopped)

-12 shrimp

-2 Andouille sausages

-1/2 cup tomato sauce

-1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

-2 1/2 cups chicken broth

-Parsley for garnish

-Salt and pepper

Directions:

Start by sautéing the dry rice in olive oil for a few minutes just to toast them up. Remove from heat and place aside.

Add more olive oil to the skillet and saute chopped onions and peppers. Once the onions are translucent, add garlic and thinly sliced sausage. Cook and stir for a few minutes.

Add tomato sauce and paprika.

Let tomato sauce dissipate a bit, then add chicken stock. Let it come to a boil and add toasted rice.

Add shrimp. Give it a good stir and cover with lid. Stir occasionally and simmer for about 20 minutes until rice and shrimp are cooked through.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!

The “Hearts Around The Table” 4 movie series on Hallmark Channel was such a wonderful series! The last installment of the four movies was “Kiki’s Fourth Ingredient”, where Kiki’s character is the caterer for her sister’s upcoming wedding. So many delicious recipes in this movie, but the very first scene got me inspired right away as Kiki delivers a large batch of her famous chocolate zucchini muffins to a cafe. I loved the idea of chocolate and zucchini together, but also added my own ingredient, avocado! These muffins are decadent without too much guilt!

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups flour

-1/4 cup cocoa powder

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-3/4 teaspoon baking soda

-1 avocado mashed

-1/3 cup applesauce

-1 egg

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-2/3 cup milk (can substitute with non dairy)

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-1 large zucchini grated

Directions:

In a large bowl, mash avocado. Add milk, vanilla, applesauce and egg. Whisk together.

Next add the dry ingredients: Flour, baking powder, baking soda and brown sugar. Mix well.

Peel zucchini, then grate it completely into batter and stir it in. Pour into muffin liners and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Enjoy!

To all my “When Calls The Heart” fans out there, this is in honor of little Jack! That cute little guy had to play quite the serious role this season, and he did a great job! We are all so happy to see his character thriving, so this is for you little Jack! Unlike most Mac and cheese recipes, this one has three varieties of “Jack” cheese, and topped with cheesy biscuits, which is definitely an item that is frequently consumed at the Cafe in Hope Valley.

Ingredients:

-2 cups of macaroni (any shape)

-2 cups milk

-2 tablespoons salted butter

-3 tablespoons flour

-salt and pepper

-1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

-1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

-1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese

-1 box cheese biscuit mix (I like the Red Lobster brand).

-Extra 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice for biscuits

Directions:

Start by cooking the noodles and pour into a 9X13 baking dish.

In a medium sized pot, melt butter. Then add flour and create a paste.

Very slowly add the milk while whisking until you get a thicker consistency.

Lower the heat, and add the three cups of shredded cheese variations. Stir until melted. Add salt and pepper.

Pour and stir into cooked noodles in the baking dish. Let sit a few minutes.

Make cheesy biscuits according to box directions.

Pour small dollops of milk in some open pockets of the Mac and cheese, then dollop biscuit dough all over the top. Cover with more shredded cheese of your choice.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until the biscuits are fully cooked on top. Let cool a bit before serving, Enjoy!

Inspired by the first installment of “Hearts Around the Table: Jenna’s First Love”, this banana bread has it all! Angie, played by Mindy Cohn, has a heart of gold and has taken in foster children for many years. She has continued her tradition of Sunday Supper with her now grown foster kids, and you could feel the love around the table! One of the things Angie is known for is her banana bread that she used to make for the bake sales at school. I came up with my version of a cozy, heart warming banana bread that feels like a big warm hug, including browned butter, chocolate and peanut butter!

Ingredients:

-1 stick unsalted butter (melted and browned)

-3 ripe bananas

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-3 eggs

-2 cups flour

-1 cup brown sugar

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-1/4 cup peanut butter

-1 cup mix of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips

Directions:

Start by melting the sick of butter and stir continuously until it starts to brown. Take off heat and pour in separate heat safe bowl right away to prevent burning. Let it sit and cool while preparing the other ingredients.

In another bowl, mash bananas. Add eggs, vanilla and cooled browned butter. Stir well, then add flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.

Once it is all combined, stir in the mix of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Pour half the batter in a greased loaf pan. Swirl peanut butter in the center with a toothpick. Then add the remaining batter. Add more of the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips on top before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. Enjoy!

We are continuing our month of royal recipes to celebrate the royal movies on Hallmark Channel all month long! If you’re wondering what Coronation Chicken salad is, it was created and served for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. So that makes it a royal dish! Of course, I put my own spin on this recipe, which includes using a rotisserie chicken to make it a bit easier.

Ingredients:

-Rotisserie chicken

-2 shallots

-2 1/2 teaspoons cumin

-4 tablespoons apricot jam

-1/2 cup mayonnaise

-1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

-Squeeze of lemon juice

-Red grapes

-Chopped almonds

-Chopped walnuts

Directions:

Chop and saute shallots in olive oil, add mustard powder, and cumin. Sauté until translucent. Add apricot jam until it melts in. Take off the heat.

Slice grapes in half and add those in, along with the chopped almonds and walnuts.

Add lemon juice and mayonnaise. Stir until all combined. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

As the wave of royal movies approaches on Hallmark Channel, I decided to pay homage to several royal dishes. Starting with Yorkshire pudding! I had to add a little flare of lemon to jazz them up a bit, and oh my am I glad I did! I loved watching these rise and puff up in the oven like a science experiment. The key to getting the height is to make sure you have hot oil on the bottom of each muffin tin BEFORE pouring the batter in. It makes a world of difference!

Ingredients:

-4 eggs

-1 1/2 cup milk

-1 1/4 cup flour

-pinch of flaky sea salt

-lemon zest

-olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk flour and salt together. Create a well in the center and add the eggs. Slowly whisk the eggs into the flour to fully combine into a paste.

Add milk and whisk until smooth and thin. Grate in the lemon zest from one whole lemon. Pour into a bowl or cup with a spout. Set aside.

Using a muffin tin or popover tin, pour a very thin layer of olive oil on the bottom of each muffin well. Place in hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the oil starts to pop.

Carefully remove from oven and quickly pour batter into each well about 3/4 of the way full. Batter should sizzle when it hits the oil. Place in oven immediately and bake for about 20 minutes. DO NOT open oven until baking is done. You will see tall, puffy, browned tops and there should be a hole in the center of each one. That is when you know they are done.

I like to open the oven, turn it off and let the sit with the open door for a few minutes before taking them out. Let them cool before removing from tins. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. I personally like to squeeze a bit of lemon juice on as well just before eating. Enjoy!

As the “Hannah Swenen Mysteries” continue on Hallmark Mysteries, the next installment “Reality Bites” brought some new treats to the bakery! There was a heavy blueberry theme in this one. The movie opened with Hannah making a blueberry pie, we also saw a blueberry cheesecake, and then there were Hannah’s famous blueberry muffins that no one can resist! Well, Victor Webster’s character “Chad” does resist all of the treats, because he doesn’t have a sweet tooth. However, I think over time, she’ll change that!

Ingredients:

FOR CRUMBLE:

-1/2 cup flour

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-lemon zest

-1/4 cup melted butter

-dried blueberries

FOR MUFFINS:

-2/3 cups buttermilk

-1/3 cup melted butter

-One egg

-Juice of one lemon

-Lemon zest

-1 1/2 cups flour

-1/4 cup sugar

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-Pinch of sea salt flakes

-2/3 cups frozen and thawed blueberries

Directions:

Start with the crumble because it needs time to set up in the fridge while you assemble the muffin ingredients.

In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, melted butter and dried blueberries. Mix together and place in refrigerator.

For the muffins, in a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon juice, melted butter, lemon zest and egg.

Next, add flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt flakes.

Before adding the blueberries, make sure they are thawed out and the juice is drained from them. Then gently fold them into the muffin batter. Do not over mix!

Scoop one scoopful of batter into prepared muffin tin. Take crumble out of the fridge and use a fork to crumble it up. Sprinkle on top of each muffin before baking.

Top off with a few more dried blueberries and lemon zest. Then bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Enjoy!