Blondies

I love brownies and soon will most likely post a recipe of one. But in the meantime, I decided to share this blondie recipe. This recipe is perfect if you're in the mood for something chocolaty but you're out of dark or milk chocolate, and, of course, for all the white chocolate lovers out there! 

The recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

                                                                                                                   

Easy Homemade Peach Lemonade

Summer is coming soon and this calls, of course for summer recipes! My first summer recipe on the blog will be this wonderful homemade peach lemonade. What can be better than a nice, cool, sweet drink to enjoy on a hot summer afternoon? Better yet, it's homemade: no store bought lemonade can beat that, since there's no added unhealthy ingredients! A little note: you can also be make it with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. The recipe was adapted from a wonderful blog Divas Can Cook.

                                                                                                                                           

Banana Waffles

I have another very easy recipe to share with you - banana waffles! I love regular waffles too, but this time I decided to try something new and added bananas. Ah, so good! I won't say much about waffles since everybody knows what a great breakfast/brunch they make. The best thing about them is that they're very quick to make and you can top them with pretty much everything you desire: chocolate sauce, maple syrup, crushed nuts, vanilla cream, ice cream, fresh berries, etc. The recipe was adapted from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.

                                                                                                                                                    

Nutella Easter Tarts

Each year I bake the traditional Easter Kulich and dye eggs. But this year I thought it would be a great idea to also make these yummy and fun Easter tarts with Nutella filling and raspberry frosting. I made them, we all loved them, so here I am sharing the recipe with you! The recipe was adapted from Kinuskikissa.

I wish you all happy Easter!

                                                                                                                                                               

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

If you have some bananas lying around and no clue what to do with them, I have a perfect recipe for you! Banana bread. I (and my family) fell in love with this dessert years ago, and I just realized that I still haven't shared it here on the blog. It's so simple to make, you don't even need to use an electric mixer. And needless to say that it tastes amazing! Keep in my mind that the bananas have to be quite ripe, that way your banana bread will turn out more moist and flavorful.

The recipe was adapted Smitten Kitchen. If you're like me and you like bananas in desserts, you can also check out my recipes of Banana Muffins and Banoffee Pie (no-bake). 

                                                                                                                                                          

Cheese and Garlic Ham Rolls

I decided to share another classic appetizer recipe of mine. Whenever we have some event in our family that calls for a big dinner party, I make these cheese and garlic ham rolls. The best thing about this recipe is that it's very quick, cheap and easy to make! You can also modify the filling to your liking, for example by adding some parsley or chives.

 

Sandwich Cake

In Finland sandwich cakes are very popular and they're usually served on some special occasions or events. It's probably because this savory dish is very delicious, goes well with a great deal of other foods, and serves as a beautiful decoration on the table. 

I made my cake with smoked turkey but there are endless variations of the fillings that you can make for this cake. For example, fish, vegetable, ham, and chicken all work really well also. The recipe was adapted from here.

Condensed Milk Chocolate Cake

My family loves this chocolate cake with condensed milk! I've been baking it for over 20 years now. It's not complicated at all to make and it's very tasty. In my opinion it resembles the famous Austrian Sachertorte a little, they're both very chocolaty. I have to admit that this cake is not very light, but when it tastes so heavenly, what does it matter :)

The recipe was adapted from here. 

Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Last weekend I decided to try out this very easy and quick recipe of a pineapple upside-down cake. It turned out delicious, and very nice looking as well!

The recipe was adapted from Pirkka.

Seasoned Rice with Chicken

This is my version of the Uzbek plov dish. The main difference is the fact that I use chicken instead of lamb. Also, I've simplified the recipe quite a bit. Actually, I came up with this version of the recipe a long time ago: between a full-time job and two small children, I barely had any time left to cook during the day, so I needed a recipe that would be rather simple and most importantly quick to prepare, and the prepared food would last us for a couple of days. My kids are all grown up now and my life is not that hectic anymore, but this dish still remains a favorite in our family.

Raspberry Smoothie

Yesterday I discovered this great smoothie recipe! It's fresh, light and most importantly healthy! I used orange juice as a base, but it can be easily replaced with milk or coconut cream. Pineapple juice works great as well; it adds a nice tropical taste to the smoothie.