recipe Archives - Sunshine and Holly

Easy Valentine’s Day Candy Charcuterie Board

By sunshineandholly on January 29, 2021

Since we’re stuck at home this year, I wanted to do something special for my family for Valentine’s Day. I keep seeing yummy candy boards all over Pinterest, so I decided to try to make us an easy Valentine’s Day candy charcuterie board to share. Plus we just got a brand new cheese board and I’ve been taking advantage of any excuse to use it lately. My kids are all about make-your-own and choose-your-own type of meals (taco night/make your own pizza night/etc). And I knew if I pulled out a huge charcuterie board full of candy and sweets – they were going to flip! Here’s how I made it:

Easy Valentine’s Day Candy Charcuterie Board

First I browsed Target.com to see all of the different types of Valentine’s Day candy and sweets they had available. I tried to keep the colors simple (reds and pinks) and also tried to pick things with different shapes and sizes. And I couldn’t resist adding a cute heart table runner to my cart!

I placed a drive-up order and headed over to Target to pick up our goodies. Later that afternoon while the kids were playing outside, I got out all the things I had bought. Starting with the larger items, I placed things around the board, moving them around until I was happy with how it looked. Then I threw a clean dish towel over the whole thing and waited to surprise the kids after dinner! Unfortunately, Maddie (my sneaky child) ended up peaking under the towel while I was cooking. Such a stinker! So I didn’t get to surprise the kids like I wanted to, but they still loved it!

Here’s a link to our charcuterie board. It’s amazing and I’m so glad we bought it!

How is your family celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?

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The Perfect Recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara

By sunshineandholly on June 24, 2020

The Perfect Recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara is one of my husband’s favorite things to eat. In fact, when we were in Italy he ate it almost every day! It’s creamy and salty and gooey and meaty and comes together fairly quickly. It’s also made of mostly pantry ingredients, so it’s easy to throw together when you’re not sure what to make for dinner. We’ve made a lot of versions over the years, but I think we’ve finally figured out the perfect recipe for spaghetti carbonara.

We like to use pancetta (our grocery store usually has pre-chopped pancetta near the hummus and Boar’s Head sliced meats) but you can also use bacon. I typically throw in some peas too so we can have a vegetable. Asparagus is another tasty option!

The trickiest part of the dish is not scrambling the eggs when you add them to the hot pasta. But if you temper them first and make sure to continuously stir the pasta when you add the eggs, you’ll end up with a creamy sauce instead of chunky scrambled eggs. But honestly, even if the eggs do scramble a little bit, the pasta is still delicious!

What’s your favorite pasta dish?

Click here for the recipe!

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Quick and Easy Christmas Appetizer – Hummus with Tomato and Cucumber Salad

By sunshineandholly on November 21, 2019

Quick and Easy Christmas Appetizer - Hummus Dip with Tomato and Cucumber Salad | sunshineandholly.com

Looking for a quick and easy appetizer to serve at a holiday gathering this year?

Quick and Easy Christmas Appetizer – Hummus with Tomato and Cucumber Salad

This recipe is so simple and takes minutes to throw together. I love how festive the colors are – it’s perfect for Christmas with all the red and green! I also love that it’s a light dish. So many meals this time of year are hearty and heavy, so it’s nice to have something light and fresh.

Click here for the recipe!

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Pumpkin Shaped Deviled Eggs

By sunshineandholly on November 1, 2019

How was your Halloween? Ours was lots of fun, despite the cold weather. It was freezing last night! When we went trick-or-treating, the hubs and I brought warm Glühwein in to-go coffee mugs. It helped me keep warm from the inside out. #yum The kids had a blast going from house to house and ended up with a pretty good haul of candy. Don’t worry – I’ve already taken my “mom-tax.” (I gave you life, you give me your Reese’s!) We ended the night at our neighbor’s house. They serve a chili dinner each Halloween for a few of us, and it’s always so nice to not have to worry about cooking on Halloween. I wanted to bring a fun treat to share, so I whipped up a batch of these pumpkin shaped deviled eggs. There are lots of different recipes for these on Pinterest, but I kept mine simple. A few drops of red and yellow food coloring made the filling the perfect orange pumpkin color! They were a big hit and we didn’t bring any leftovers home. Click here for the recipe!

Witch, mermaid, and firefighter!

And don’t forget Superman!

Scary!

I found the Glühwein at Aldi! We usually have it when we go to Disney World at the Germany Pavillion in Epcot.

Click here for the recipe!

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Pumpkin Shaped Deviled Eggs

Looking for more fun Halloween themed foods? Check out our spooky face lasagna and my jack-o-lantern pumpkin pie!

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Super Quick and Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Parfaits

By sunshineandholly on September 10, 2019

Now that both kids are back in school, I’ve been brainstorming all the quick and easy make-ahead breakfast options. I love having something already prepped that I can serve in the morning when we’re rushing around. (Still on the hunt for a tasty overnight oats recipe that my kids will actually eat. They’ve never really liked oatmeal…) But they do love yogurt! Graham especially loves the fruit and yogurt parfaits from McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A, so I tried whipping up something similar at home. It was a big hit! Now my kids are obsessed with these super quick and easy make-ahead breakfast parfaits.

You can use any type of fruit your kids like for these parfaits, as long as it lasts in the fridge after it’s been cut. I used strawberries this time. You’ll also need some yogurt, sugar, granola, and small containers – like Ball mason jars!

Start by cutting the fruit into small pieces, and then sprinkle on a couple of teaspoons of sugar and stir. Grab a jar and layer in the yogurt and fruit. Pop on a top and store in the fridge until the next morning. For breakfast, your kids can sprinkle on some granola and dig in! You can also add dried fruit to the parfaits along with with the granola – raisins, apricots, or shredded coconut all sound yummy. We may also try drizzling some maple syrup on top. Or, for a really yummy treat, I may top a few with some chocolate chips or sprinkles. My kids love variety, so I know we’ll be switching things up at our house!

So yummy! PS – I have so many mason jars, but can never seem to find a full set of the same size when I need them!

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Super Quick and Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Parfaits

Looking for school lunch ideas? Click here for 4 nut and dairy-free lunch options!

Do your kids love fruit and yogurt parfaits?

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