This sweet bread is inspired by Great American Family movie “A Dash of Christmas.”  Character Megan (played by Laura Osnes) is given a baking lesson by Aaron (Christopher Russell) and they make this amazing looking Christmas bread that I just had to make! This festive recipe has all the flavors of Christmas you love! A bit reminiscent of a fruitcake (but better), this is a beautiful bread full of dried cranberries, cherries and golden raisins. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 stick cold, unsalted butter
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup of medley (golden raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries)
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. Almond extract
• Lemon zest
• 2 eggs

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a separate small bowl, cut the cold butter, and with clean hands, incorporate it into the mix. Stir in ricotta cheese, then all other ingredients.

Gently knead dough on floured surface until it loses a bit of stickiness. Place on a silicone baking mat or non-stick baking sheet and create an oval shape. I like to lightly score the top with a pattern. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes until golden and fully baked in the center. Once cooled, top with powdered sugar!

“Destined at Christmas 2” was the perfect sequel to last year’s “Destined at Christmas” on Great American Family! Cinnamon rolls play an important part in this movie when Theo misplaces Kim’s engagement ring and it ends up in a batch of cinnamon rolls!

Ingredients:

-refrigerated pizza dough

-creamer

For filling:

-1 cup brown sugar

-2.5 tablespoons cinnamon

-one stick salted butter, softened

-5 tablespoons pumpkin butter

For cream cheese frosting:

-8 oz cream cheese frosting

-1/4 cup salted butter

-2 cups powdered sugar

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

-edible sparkle

Directions

Roll out your dough. In a bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and softened butter. Spread all over top of rolled out dough.

Dollop pumpkin butter all over the top of the cinnamon mixture and gently spread.

Next, tightly roll dough into a log and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice log into cinnamon roll slices and place each one facing up in a greased cake pan. Cover with dish towel and let sit for 20 minutes.

Fill about half and inch of creamer onto the bottom of the pan. Bake for 35 minutes or so until cooked through.

Spread frosting on top while warm and sprinkle with edible shimmer.

This pancake recipe is inspired by a scene in the Great American Family movie “One Perfect Match.” Lucy and Finn visit the winery that Finn’s family owns, and while doing so, his mother whips up a batch of her famous pancakes. She claims that her secret ingredients are honey and vanilla, so that sparked the beginning of this recipe! In addition to these ingredients, this is the time of year for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. The combination of apples dipped in honey represents a sweet new year, and so I added apples!

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups flour

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon salt

– 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

– 1 small package of freeze dried cinnamon apples

-2 Tablespoons honey

-1 1/2 cups milk

-2 eggs

-1 teaspoon vailla

-2 Tablespoons avocado oil

Directions:

First mix all dry ingredients up until the apples (save those for the end).

Next, add all wet ingredients. Whisk well until the lumps are smooth. Break up the freeze dried apples and gently stir those in. 

On a hot skillet, scoop batter to the desired size of pancake you want. Once done, top with more honey and enjoy!

These ribs are good for any night of the week with the warm fall flavors of apples, shallots and pumpkin ale! This recipe was inspired by the Hallmark Channel movie “Fourth Down and Love”. Football player “Mike” (Ryan Paevey) broke his ribs during a football game and while healing, found love with Erin (Pascale Hutton)! So of course, I had to make ribs, but with an Autumn twist!

Ingredients:

– 1 slab of ribs

– 2 apples

– 2 shallots

– 2 bottles pumpkin ale

-thyme

-salt and pepper

– garlic powder

-carrots

– 1/2 large onion

– pinch of sugar

Directions:

The day before cooking, marinate the ribs in one bottle of pumpkin ale overnight in a covered container.

The next day, peel and chop shallots and apples. Saute in butter until softened. Add entire bottle of pumpkin ale and set on low heat, stirring occasionally. This will eventually create a compote as the beer will totally dissipate. Add a pinch of sugar to cut some of the acidity of the beer. 

On a lined baking sheet, place ribs in the center and surround with chopped carrots and onion. Sprinkle with thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Top with more of the beer marinade. Cook at 375 degrees for 30-40 min. Top with apple chutney. Enjoy!

This recipe was inspired by the Great American Family movie “10 Steps to Love”, which took place around an apple orchard.  There was an apple ice cream featured in the movie as well which I thought would be the most perfect transition from Summer to Fall as we are having warm days with cooler nights.

Ingredients for ice cream base: 

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup white sugar

-pinch of salt

-2 cups heavy cream

-1 cup milk

-1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for apples

• 8 apples peeled and cubed
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Make sure to freeze the bowl to the ice cream maker overnight first (It has liquid inside it).  

In a large mixing bowl, mix milk , salt, brown sugar and white sugar with a whisk or whisk attachment until all the sugar has been dissolved. Next, add in the heavy cream and vanilla. Refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel and dice all your apples. In a large saucepan, melt some unsalted butter. Add apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.  Stir and cover with a lid on low/medium heat until soft and slightly golden. Stir occasionally so they don’t  burn, as caramelization will occur.

Spread evenly on a lined baking sheet and cool apples completely in fridge or freezer. 

Next,  remove the ice cream base the has been resting in the refrigerator and poor into frozen ice cream maker bowl. Let it mix for 20 minutes, scraping the sides occasionally. Once it has become creamy, you can add the apples that have been cooling. 

Place in freezer for another 2 hours in a covered container before serving. Tastes great with caramel!!

This recipe is inspired by two wedding themed movies on “Great American Family”. “Wedding Cake Dreams” and “Dream Wedding”. In “Wedding Cake Dreams”, the main character Carrie, made a vanilla cake with strawberries for her sister’s wedding cake, which inspired the initial recipe. I tweaked it with some yummy surprises to make it your DREAM CAKE!

Ingredients:

For cake:

-White cake mix

-1 box cheesecake pudding mix

-3 eggs

-1 cup water

-1/2 cup oil

-1 teaspoon almond extract

-1 package freeze dried strawberries

For Frosting:

-1/2 cup unsalted butter

-1 1/2 teaspoons strawberry extract

– 3/4 cup sour cream

– pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two- 9″ round cake pans with non stick spray and cover in a dusting of flour. 

Mix ALL ingredients for cake and evenly pour into both cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.  Let cool completely.

For frosting, beat butter until smooth. Add sour cream, strawberry extract and salt. Beat until smooth.

Once your cakes are cooled, place one on a platter and spread some of the frosting on top. Cover in a layer of freeze dried strawberries. Cover with second layer of cake and spread the rest of the frosting on top letting it drip down the sides naturally. Take remaining freeze dried strawberries, put them in a ziplock baggie and pound them with a mallet to create fine crumbs. Sprinkle those generously on top. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Christmas in July S’mores pie. As seen on “Great American Community”! This recipe is in honor of Camp Christmas in July, a fundraising campaign with ‘Christmas is not Cancelled’ created by Jen Lilley from your favorite Christmas movies! This campaign raises money for children in foster care. To learn more, go to Christmasisnotcancelled.com .

Recipe for “Christmas in July S’mores pie”

-1 premade graham cracker pie crust in tin

-1 8.5 ounce jar marshmallow fluff

-1 8 oz. brick cream cheese

-1 packet peppermint hot cocoa mix

-1-2 sleeves graham crackers

-1 Hershey chocolate bar

-1 small package Andes mint chocolates

-5 large marshmallows

-1 one can “Redi whip” whipping cream

Directions:

Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Then mix cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, and peppermint hot cocoa in a bowl until totally combined.

Spread half of that mixture into the graham cracker pie crust.

Create a layer of graham crackers on top of fluff mixture, making sure to cover as many gaps as possible.

Spread remaining fluff mixture on top. Then in a Ziploc bag, crush about five graham crackers into crumbs. Then sprinkle them all over the top of the pie.

Melt Hershey bar in microwave until completely melted. Set aside.

Using your whipping cream can, create dollops all around the border of the pie.

Cut your large marshmallows in half and place about an inch apart around the border of the pie.

Then, with a spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate bar all over the top. Chop up your Andes mint chocolates and sprinkle around the border as well. Add some Christmas sprinkles if you like! Enjoy! 

Make sure to refrigerate immediately until serving. Or you may freeze and just set it out for 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

The Hallmark Channel movie “Love in Zion National Park- A National Park Romance” was a fun adventure through Zion National Park where the main focus was to find a lost relic of the Anasazi Tribe. During this quest, we are introduced to a delicious Native American dish, “Three Sisters Soup”. It caught my eye as a healthy and hearty soup with the three main ingredients being corn, squash and beans. I also made some corn bread to accompany it, and it was a great complement!

Ingredients:

-1 carton low sodium chicken broth

-2 small zucchini squash

-2 small zucchini

-1/2 pound small red potatoes

-2 small cans fire roasted tomatoes (juice included)

-1 bag frozen corn

-2 cups frozen black eyed peas

-1 bag frozen chopped onion

-2 cloves of garlic

-1 teaspoon cumin

-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute onions in olive oil or butter.

Peel and dice zucchini squash and zucchini. Dice potatoes, mince garlic. 

Add garlic to the pan to brown a bit right before adding chicken broth. Add chicken broth, and ALL other ingredients to the pot. Simmer for one hour or until all veggies are soft enough to poke through with a fork. Make some corn bread on the side to dip!

Inspired by “Dream Moms” on Hallmark Channel

One of the main characters, played by Tamera Mowry-Housley, had a sweet argument with her husband about her famous peach cobbler and I was instantly inspired to make some! I have been making a cherry cobbler for years that is always a huge hit, so I reimagined that recipe into something new. And did I mention it is insanely easy to make?

Ingredients:

-2 cans of sliced peaches in fruit juice 

-2 cup chopped pecans

-1 box butter pecan cake mix (do not make the cake)

-1 stick unsalted butter

Directions:

Pour both cans of peaches (juice included) into a 9 by 13 baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle one cup of pecans on top.

Next, pour entire contents of cake mix on top of that and spread evenly so there aren’t any peaches showing. 

Sprinkle the second cup of pecans on top of that. Next, cut the entire stick of butter into tabs and cover the entire top. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Let it sit for 10 minutes, it will be hot! Top with ice cream and enjoy!

Inspired by “A Taste of Portugal” on Hallmark Channel

This movie was a culinary tour of Portugal! During a tour of a local market, the pasteis de nata was a highlight that I just had to make! It’s reminds me of a little creme’ brûlée wrapped in a buttery pastry.

Ingredients:

-frozen puff pastry

-Custard filling

-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

-1 1/4 cups milk 

-1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

 -2/3 cup water

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-6 large egg yolks whisked

-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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Directions: 

In a small bowl, separate your egg yolks and egg whites. Only use the yolks. Whisk them up.

In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the milk with the flour (save the remaining 1 cup of milk for later). Set aside.

In a small sauce pot, heat up milk and pour into flour mixture.

In another small sauce pot, heat sugar and water until it comes to a boil. Slowly pour into flour mixture and stir for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and cinnamon.

Slowly stir in egg yolks and whisk briskly. Strain through a sieve and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In the meantime. Make sure your pastry dough is brought to room temperature so that it’s pliable. Open up the sheets of dough and cut into large squares. 

Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray and create a cup out of each square of dough. You may need to stretch it into the shape of the muffin tin. 

Pour about 3/4 cup of chilled filling into each cup. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until dough is golden and filling is no longer liquid. Let them cool for 25 minutes before removing from tin. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!