Party Foods – Page 3 – The Inspired Parent

Red Cabbage & Apple Slaw

It’s been a spring salad week at our house — that always seems to happen this time of year — the fresh, crisp ingredients come out and we start moving away from soups & stews and eating a bit on the lighter side.

This simple slaw-style salad is quite the dazzler — vibrant red cabbage paired with green apples & julienned orange zest and it definitely has the wow factor on your plate. Super tasty, too!

Enjoy!

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(Un)Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Stuffed cabbage rolls are great, but making them always seems so time-consuming. After trying several different cabbage casserole recipes over the years, they all had the same issues…either lacking in flavor, were too water-logged, or just plain boring. We wanted a casserole that was full of flavor, not overly watery/wet, easy to assemble, on the healthier side and would reheat well for lunch or dinner the next day.

We came up with a combination that hits all of our requirements and it’s now a family favorite.

Super easy, reheats beautifully in the oven or microwave - definitely a family favorite! — Reheats beautifully in the oven or microwave – you can easily heat up a portion in a skillet over low heat (put a few teaspoons of water in the pan & cover for a few minutes).

It’s super easy and we’ll often make it ahead of time during the weekend and then pop it in the oven after work on Monday for a fabulous dinner (*bonus* — not having many dishes to clean on a busy night).

Hope you love it as much as we do!

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Our Favorite Chocolate Cupcakes

I like to bake, but the true baker in our house is my husband. Most of the baked items I post will be his creations (just wait ’til Christmas cookie season…his cookies are not only tasty, but absolutely gorgeous)! He’s quite the purist when it comes to ingredients and when we bake and things are typically always from scratch, but several years ago I picked up a copy of The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn and found a chocolate cake recipe that we both love.

We've made this for all sorts of occasions…the version you'll see here were made for our daughter's Frozen-themed birthday party. — We’ve made these cupcakes for all sorts of occasions…the version you’ll see here was made for our daughter’s Frozen-themed birthday party.

Many chocolate cakes that we’ve had over the years are either too dry or not nearly chocolatey enough. This cake is light and fluffy with a fantastic chocolate flavor and is wonderful with or without frosting. They also freeze quite well (unfrosted) — the texture becomes a bit more dense after they’ve been frozen, but they are great to keep on hand in the freezer for those days that you need a bit of a chocolate fix (without eating a whole cake).

The batter is beautifully glossy with a silky texture that gets quite thick after mixing it for two minutes. — The batter is beautifully glossy with a silky texture that gets quite thick after mixing it.

We made our favorite frosting, added a drop or two of food coloring to get the "Frozen" shade. The birthday girl was on sprinkle duty and she also added the blue candies on top. Such a fun way to get the little ones to help in the kitchen! — We made our favorite frosting, added a drop or two of food coloring to get the correct “Frozen” shade. The birthday girl was on sprinkle duty and she also added the blue candies on top. Such a fun way to get the little ones to help in the kitchen!

Hope you give these a try — they’re a great treat!

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Easy Homemade Salsa

This is about as simple & yummy as it gets. It’s also a great base recipe for you to use to create your own versions. One simple change-up is adding other types of peppers. For a chunkier salsa, add a second small can of diced tomatoes and more chopped onion at the end after you remove the salsa from the blender. Of course, if you have fresh tomatoes in your summer garden, go ahead and use those for the freshest salsa ever!

Serve with your favorite chips and it is excellent on eggs, too.

Ingredients:

One 28 oz. can of tomatoes (we like Muir Glen)

1/2 large white onion, roughly chopped

1/4 c. fresh cilantro leaves

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 tsp. salt + more to taste

1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin + more to taste

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Juice from one lime

1 jalapeño pepper (optional)

Garnish:

1/4 large white onion, finely chopped

1/4 c. cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

In a blender, add all of the ingredients (jalapeño, optional).
Pulse quickly. If you want a thicker salsa, pulse few times, if you want a smooth salsa, pulse a few more times.
Taste. Depending on the sweetness of the tomatoes, you may need to add a little more salt & cumin.
Pour into a decorative bowl.
Garnish with the finely chopped onion & extra cilantro.