Laura Grenier

Serano Chocolate Cake
A classic chocolate sponge cake is the base of this Greek tourta. The mousse-like filling and frosting makes it special: it’s made with bittersweet chocolate, Italian meringue, and whipped cream. You’ll need a stand mixer for this recipe.

Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees C).

A 9-inch cake pan should be greased and floured or lined with parchment paper.

Flour and cocoa powder should be combined by sifting and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add the eggs and 3/4 cup sugar.

Beat for three minutes, or until very thick.

Carefully incorporate the flour mixture by folding with a spatula.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan carefully, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Before removing the cake to completely cool on a wire rack, let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Vegan Tofu “Eggs”
The texture of crumbled firm tofu is similar to that of scrambled eggs, and when combined with nutritional yeast, spices, and plant-based milk, it makes for an easy and satisfying vegan breakfast.

Cooking spray made of olive oil should be liberally used when heating a skillet.

Use your hands to break up the tofu block before adding it; cook for 4 minutes.

Add the turmeric, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the nutritional yeast.

Cook for about a minute, breaking tofu apart with a spatula to achieve the desired consistency after the seasonings have been incorporated.

Add the almond milk and stir, then let it sit for two minutes to absorb.

Serve warm after seasoning with salt and pepper.

Chocolate Banana Brownies
Family-friendly banana bread brownies are made using this delectable dessert recipe, which combines ripe bananas with slowly melted dark chocolate.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Grease a deep baking pan.

Melt chocolate and butter in top of a double boiler over simmering water stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching.

Mix eggs and vanilla extract together in a large bowl; mash bananas into egg mixture until well mixed.

Combine flour sugar cocoa powder and baking powder in a separate bowl.

Mix chocolate mixture into the banana mixture; add flour mixture and stir until smooth.

Pour mixture into the greased baking pan.

Bake in preheated oven until top is dry and edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan about 60 minutes.

Rhubarb Cream Pie Martini
This martini contains all the mouthwatering flavors of rhubarb cream pie: it’s creamy, slightly tart, and sweet.

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs.

Martini glass rims should be wetted with water and then dipped into the crumb mixture to coat.

In a cocktail shaker, combine ice, vodka, half-and-half, and rhubarb simple syrup.

Shake vigorously for 20 seconds or until the outside of the shaker is very cold.

Serve immediately after straining into the martini glass.

Vietnamese Beef and Red Cabbage Bowl
This quick Vietnamese beef salad is served family-style in a large bowl of red cabbage and combines fresh mint, cilantro, and Fresno chile.

On a flat work surface, cut the cabbage in half.

To create a bowl, remove the majority of the interior leaves and half of the core.

Slice thinly the other half.

Slice half of the red onion thinly and finely chop the other half.

In a big skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil on medium.

Add the minced onion to the beef.

Salt and Fresno chile paprika.

Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up the beef until it is browned and crumbly.

Garden Meatloaf
To add flavor without adding additional work, prepared salsa is used in a simple meatloaf.

Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees C).

Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

Bread crumbs, salsa, ground chuck, onion, brown sugar, and egg should be lightly combined in a bowl before being spooned into the baking dish.

When the meatloaf is thoroughly cooked and the top is browned, bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes.

A center-inserted instant-read thermometer should register at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees C)

Poppy Seed Salad
Make a poppy seed dressing in your blender and use it to dress a salad of lettuce, mandarin oranges, green onions, and almonds.

In a sizable mixing bowl, combine the lettuce, oranges, green onions, and almonds.

In a blender, combine the mustard, salt, vinegar, and sugar.

While blending, drizzle oil into the dressing.

Blend the dressing continuously until it emulsifies.

Poppy seeds should be added and quickly mixed in.

Dress the salad with the dressing, then toss to combine.

The Best Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal raisin cookies that are chewy and flavorful. For a different flavor, you can also use 1/2 cup of wheat germ in place of some of the oatmeal.

Combine the eggs, raisins, and vanilla in a small bowl.

For one hour, cover and chill.

Set oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees C).

White sugar, brown sugar, and butter are creamed together in a medium bowl.

The flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda should be combined in a separate bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir until they are all incorporated.

The egg and raisin mixture should be added next, followed by the pecans and rolled oats.

The dough will be hard.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet that hasn’t been prepared.

Rhubarb Cheesecake Squares
In these simple baked bars, a homemade oat-based crust is topped with a sweet and sour rhubarb cheesecake filling.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour oats brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Cut in butter until coarse and crumbly.

Press into the bottom of the prepared pan to form a crust reserving about 1/3 cup for topping.

Mix cream cheese sugar eggs vanilla extract vanilla butter and nut flavoring and cinnamon together in a bowl until smooth.

Stir in rhubarb.

Pour filling on top of crust.

Sprinkle with the reserved crumble.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Quick Crescent Taco Pie
All of the taco fixings are layered between triangles of crescent roll dough and pressed into a 10-inch pie pan. The ground meat, sour cream, and cheese are placed after the corn chips. The pie is then covered in a final layer of corn chips. It is baked until golden, then sliced and served with avocado slices and shredded lettuce.

Ground chuck should be browned in a big frying pan.

Take the oil out.

Olives and seasoning mixture are stirred in.

5 minutes of simmering.

Crepe dough should be divided into 8 triangles.

Place triangles in a 10-inch pie pan without grease, pressing them down to create a crust.

1 cup of corn chips should be scattered over the crust’s base.

Place meat mixture on top of the corn chips and crust.

After dousing the meat mixture with sour cream, sprinkle cheese on top.

On top, scatter the remaining corn chips.

When the crust is golden brown, bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).