Chewy No-Bake Oatmeal Bars

Recently I've been so obsessed with all things oatmeal. Okay, not even recently. It's been a long time since I do not want all that unhealthy store-bought stuff anymore. That's just because  I can make myself much more delicious treats at home which are healthy. That means I can eat tons of them without feeling guilty.

So this time I made no-bake sweet bars with quick oats and coconut oil. I'm so happy that I discovered coconut oil, really. It's just perfect for making raw fudge and bars like these. I chose quick oats because I wanted my texture to be more fudge-like and chewy. And of course, I never forget to add some dried cranberries to my oatmeal or granola bars. Although there are so many possible variations which I'd love to try!

Chewy No-Bake Oatmeal Bars

2 cups quick oats
2 tbsp ground almonds
4 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
100g dried cranberries, chopped
50ml coconut oil
6 tbsp honey

1) Grind 1 cup of oats and mix with almonds, coconut and remaining oats. Mix in dried cranberries.

2) In a small saucepan over low heat, melt honey and coconut oil. Pour into the oat mixture and mix well.

3) Press into a 10x20cm loaf pan and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Cut into squares. Enjoy!!

Recipe by collecting memories

Oven Fries

Potatoes has always been one of my favourite meals, no matter how I prepare them. Honestly, I usually like them simply fried in a skillet and simply seasoned with my favourite herbs. But when I realize how much oil I need to use if I want them tender, crispy and not burned... Luckily, I discovered a new favourite way to prepare potatoes. Bake them in the oven! It needs only 1 teaspoon of oil and the result is soft on the inside potatoes with amazingly crispy edges. I enjoy them as a snack, they're great as a side dish, but if you serve them with one of the dips (links below), they're out of this world. Well, simplicity sometimes wins!

Oven Fries

4 medium potatoes, peeled
1 heaping tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp chilli paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp oil

1) Preheat oven to 200 deg. C.

2) Peel the potatoes and cut into even sticks. Place them in a bowl and add in the oil. Toss to coat.

3) In a  small bowl, combine together the spices. Sprinkle over the fries and toss again to make sure that all the sides are coated.

4) Place on a parchment paper and bake for 20-30 minutes. Turn them over halfway through baking time. (I forgot to do that). The baking time depends on the size of your fries so do check by taking one piece and tasting if it's fully baked.

Serve with tomato sauce, garlic dill dip, french onion dip or just eat them plain straight from the oven.

Yellow Butter Cupcakes

Imagine a soft, moist and buttery cupcake with a fluffy chocolate frosting on top. Yes. These cupcakes are exactly like that. I like the fact that these have a strong butter flavour so it's important that you use a really good quality butter. And don't use low fat ingredients here. Speaking about the frosting, it seems like there's nothing special about it. And really, it's super simple. No heavy cream or chocolate is needed here. That means, you probably already have all the ingredients at home. Despite the simple ingredients, it's surprisingly good! But there's one important condition! Do beat the frosting with a mixer as long as you can. That's how it becomes so fluffy and bubbly. Believe me, it's worth the effort.

Recipe found here.

For the cupcakes:

125g/1 cup all-purpose flour
62g/½ cup cake flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup sugar
56g/¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
60g/¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
2 tbsp oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
80ml/1/3 cup  milk, room temperature

1) Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line 15 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, sift together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar and mix until evenly blended.

3) Add softened butter and beat on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-low and continue to beat until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs, about 2 minutes.

4) In another bowl, whisk together egg, yolk, sour cream, oil and vanilla. Add it to the flour mixture and beat on low speed until moistened, about 20 seconds.

5) Gradually add milk and then beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Do not over-mix.

6) Spoon the batter into lined muffin cups, filling them no more than halfway full. Bake until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:  
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
56g/1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp milk, depending on the consistency you want
1 1/4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1) Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. 

2) Add a small amount of milk to reach desired spreading consistency. Add cocoa powder and beat well. (The more you beat the more fluffy frosting you get) 

3) Spread over the cooled cupcakes.

Mozzarella Sticks with French Onion Dip

I don't know how many times I found myself staring at mozzarella stick pictures on the internet. They look so good with all that melty cheese and crispy bread crumbs around it. I can't tell you how happy I am that I finally made them myself! For some reason, it often takes so much time for me when I decide to make something yummy that I've been craving for a long time.

Enough about these mozzarella sticks. You probably already know that they are amazing.

But this French onion dip...

This is MORE than amazing. Basically it seems like a simple dip. But these c a r a m e l i z e d onions change everything. It adds sweetness to a sour/salty dip. Actually I think that onions make every meal taste much better, they are my favourite ingredient. Especially when they are caramelized.

I hope you're already checking if you have all the ingredients and are preparing to make this right now. If you're too lazy to make mozzarella sticks, do make this dip because it's so good with everything. Really, so good.

Mozzarella Sticks

12 sticks of mozzarella string cheese
1/2 cup flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 - 2 cups bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika flakes
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano*
oil for frying

*You may use/omit any seasoning you like. For example, I also like it with dried basil.
**The amount of the ingredients may vary here: it depends how much you flour the sticks or how much bread crumbs stick to your cheese so be ready to add some more ingredients if needed.


1) Place flour in a small dish. In another bowl, combine together eggs and milk. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs with garlic powder, sweet smoked paprika flakes, pepper and oregano. Cut mozzarella sticks into halves.

2) Roll a half of mozzarella in flour, dip into egg-milk mixture, and roll in bread crumb mixture. Press crumbs in place so mozzarella stick is fully coated. Continue with remaining pieces. Place coated mozzarella sticks on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

3) Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Remove frozen mozzarella sticks and fry a few pieces at a time. Fry about 30 seconds - 1 minute (depending on the heat), turning sticks until they are golden brown, and drain on paper towels. Continue with remaining sticks. Serve with french onion dip. Avocado-garlic dip and garlic-dill dip is also fine!! Eat these while hot!

French Onion Dip
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
200g sour cream
2 tbsp mayonnaise
large pinch salt
large pinch white pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin

1) Place onions and oil into a small saucepan and cook until onions are dark brown color, stiring occasionaly.

2) Drain any liquid off the onions and let cool completely. Combine onions with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add salt to taste.

Spinach, Ricotta and Pesto stuffed Jumbo Shells

Pasta. Mozzarella. Ricotta. Spinach. Garlic. Pesto.

Sounds good.

But when these ingredients come together, it doesn't only sound good, it tastes amazing.

These jumbo shells were out of this world. I mean it. When I tasted them, I was almost crying. I couldn't believe how well they turned out! The filling was so creamy and so, so good. It rarely happens when I don't know what could be improved in a dish. And this time it happened! Really, they were perfect. And I ate 8 shells at once. I felt a bit guilty because one serving is 4 shells. As always.

Spinach, Ricotta and Pesto stuffed Jumbo Shells

200g jumbo pasta shells
250g ricotta
100g spinach, chopped
200g mozzarella, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp pesto sauce
1/3 tsp salt
pinch white pepper
2 cups pasta sauce*

*I used half homemade half Heinz.

1)  Preheat oven to 180 deg. C.

2) Boil pasta shells to al dente. Pour on cold water and coat with a dash of olive oil so they don't stick together.

3) In a medium bowl, combine together ricotta, spinach, 150g mozzarella, egg, garlic, dried oregano, pesto, salt and white pepper. Set aside.

4) Coat the bottom of your baking dish with 1 cup of pasta sauce.

5) Fill pasta shells with the filling and place them into the baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

6) Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes.