Dessert | Gotta Eat, Can't Cook

Archive for the ‘Dessert’ Category

February 15th, 2024

Blog, Dessert

Comments Off

Easy-to-Make, Explosively Flavorful Chocolate Pudding

Explosively flavorful fresh chocolate pudding – with added chocolate chips (absolutely add them!): It’s far better than anything you can buy in a store and about as close to chocolate heaven as you can get – and still be on this Earth.

Here are the needed ingredients – all real, nothing fake.

2 tips regarding this recipe – or any pudding recipe:

1. Cook using low-medium heat and stir the pot often making sure to scrape the pot bottom surface to keep the milk, as it warms, and cooking pudding from sticking to the pot, which both keeps the pudding from burning and makes cleaning the pot a lot easier.

2. Although they’re optional, I like adding rich dark chocolate chips to the pudding for an added punch of chocolate flavor and like adding those chocolate chips after the pudding has cooled to just warmer than room temperature so that they also add comfortably chewy texture to the pudding.

Click this link or any picture on this page for picture book directions that show how to make this fresh chocolate pudding – and enjoy!

November 20th, 2023

Blog, Cooking Technique, Dessert, Poultry, Thanksgiving Dinner, Vegetables

Comments Off

Stress-Free Picture Book Thanksgiving Dinner Help

Thanksgiving: my favorite holiday. All that’s expected is a fully flavorful meal with good friends and family. Great – unless you’re the host and are stressed about how to put that meal together.

Breathe easy – no problem!

To make any of the standard Thanksgiving dishes you see above – and more – as stress-free as possible, just click any picture on this page or this link to the Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook Thanksgiving Help page for step-by-step picture directions that will show how how to make any of the standard Thanksgiving dishes you see above – and more – as easily and stress-free as possible.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 28th, 2022

Blog, Dessert, Nuts, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Snacks, Special Recipes

Comments Off

How to Roast Chestnuts in a Conventional Oven or Toaster Oven

Just seeing fresh chestnuts in the store at this time of year, which is a little tough where I now live in Hickory, NC, with one brilliant exception – more about that very soon – brings back vivid memories: from seeing and smelling them roast, or burn, on New York City sidewalks on bone cold winter nights to my dad roasting them in an electric pan and all of us cracking them open parked in front of a blazing fire in the living room when I was a much younger kid than I am now.

Roasting chestnuts is very easy, especially in a toaster oven, and well worth the flavor payoff. Here are some quick tips.

1. Select fresh chestnuts that are both heavier in weight and firm to the touch, not spongy. Also, give the chestnuts a quick look for small circular holes in their shell as any holes you find are a sure sign that pests have entered the nut.

2. Before roasting chestnuts, make sure to give them a good cross cut on both the top and bottom of the nut that penetrates the shell and thin membrane inside, as shown below. Making those cuts allows steam to escape as the chestnuts roast. Not making those cuts will allow trapped steam to build up inside the shell to the point of explosion – great, loud sound but annoying mess to clean up, which I DO know from experience.

3. Here is all you need to roast chestnuts either in a toaster oven (more energy efficient) or conventional oven.

Click this link or any picture on this page for complete picture book directions – and enjoy!

March 4th, 2022

Blog, Cycling Food, Dessert, Fitness Food, Nutrition, Nuts, Running Food

Comments Off

Banana Nut Butter Power Bar Picture Book Recipe

These potently flavorful, easy to make banana nut butter power bars work great for dessert or as an on-the-go sport power bar. As you see in the picture above, I prefer making them in the toaster oven for ease and speed, though the picture book directions linked to this post also show how to bake them in a standard kitchen oven.

Regarding the ingredients shown above and below, I know it looks like a lot – but don’t panic. The spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg) along with vanilla extract are the cornerstones of the full flavor of these bars. If you don’t have some of those spices, just use a little more of what you do have. You can also use juice (apple cider works great) instead of coffee and substitute ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, and whole grain cereal with any other ground similar type of ingredient, like ground nuts or your favorite cereal. The bottom line: imagination and available ingredients are your only limits.

Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete, easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book recipe.

November 21st, 2021

Blog, Dessert, Special Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner

Comments Off

Thanksgiving Apple, Pumpkin and Apple-Pumpkin Pie Picture Book Recipes

The best of Thanksgiving pie flavors – and freedom of choice

As I’ve mentioned here before – and you probably know yourself – pie is the most popular Thanksgiving dessert. But, you might ask, what kind of pie should I make for my Thanksgiving dinner?

Freedom of choice is key. Here are 3 fully flavorful pies that work great as traditional Thanksgiving desserts: Quick & Easy Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie Made with Fresh Pumpkin and Apple-Pumpkin Pie.

Fresh & Easy Apple Pie: Fresh, crisp apples, the fruit flavor of fall, are the key to this recipe that’s fully flavorful and easy to make. Just click this link or the picture below for a complete picture book recipe.

Pumpkin Pie Made with Fresh Pumpkin: Yes, the fresh pumpkin adds flavor and texture to the finished pie, but you can always substitute canned pumpkin for fresh pumpkin if you’re short on time or for “please get me out of the kitchen NOW!” convenience sake. Click this link or the picture below for a complete picture book recipe.

Pumpkin Pie Made with Fresh Pumpkin (that can be substituted with canned pumpkin)

Apple-Pumpkin Pie: This recipe, which you can get by clicking this link or the picture below, makes for a full-on fall flavor powerhouse that combines the rich flavors of apple and pumpkin pie and is just as easy to make as either of those pies on their own.

Apple Pumpkin Pie is an explosion of flavor that combines everything you love in both apple and pumpkin pie on their own

November 19th, 2021

Blog, Dessert, Special Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner

Comments Off

Picture Book Recipes For Flavor Packed Homemade Pie Crust Variations

These two recipes are designed to inspire your imagination to meet your taste

There’s a line you might’ve heard: “You can improvise with cooking, but you have to stick to the recipe with baking”. I’m not a fan of sticking to the letter of recipes and very quickly learned that you can improvise with baking, at least somewhat, especially when it comes to making pie crust.

Last post showed how to make a quick and easy pie crust from scratch, which tastes way better than any pre-made store bought pie shell. This post provides two recipes that are intended to inspire your imagination. Sure, both recipes work fine as is, but the best thing about preparing anything to eat is making it just the way you want to suit your personal taste.

The first recipe for Banana Nut Pie Crust, which you can get by clicking this link or the picture directly below, uses banana both to add flavor and replace the need for oil or butter in the pie crust dough.

The second recipe, Fully Flavorful Nut, Quinoa and Flaxseed Pie Crust, which you can get by clicking this link or the picture below, shows how to use a variety of optional ingredients to pump up flavor across the board.

Next post: picture book recipes showing how to make Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie and Apple-Pumpkin Pie

November 18th, 2021

Blog, Dessert, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner

Comments Off

Quick and Easy Pie Crust From Scratch Picture Book Directions

Making your own pie crust from scratch is quick, easy and far more flavorful than store-bought pie shells

Pie is the most popular Thanksgiving dessert, and you know the deal here: flavor rules! I’ve never been a big baker, but years ago I made my first pie crust from scratch that was both incredibly easy to do and was nothing like the pre-made pie shells you get at the store that are really just flavorless containers for a much more flavorful filling.

Here are the ingredients you need to make a quick and easy pie crust from scratch.

Click this link or any picture above for a complete step-by-step picture book recipe. you can also click this link or the picture below for a link to the Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook “Thanksgiving Help” page with easy to follow helpful step-by-step picture book Thanksgiving dinner planning and cooking tips.

Next post: 2 full-on flavorful pie crust variations.

November 8th, 2021

Blog, Breakfast, Dessert, Special Recipes

Comments Off

Fresh Whipped Cream Picture Book Recipe

What doesn’t go great with fresh whipped cream? I often have the vat-sized measuring cup you see below in the fridge good to go whenever I need it: in coffee, on pancakes, French toast or with fresh fruit – and it’s incredibly easy to make!

The secret to whipping cream as quickly as possible is using cold ingredients: fresh heavy whipped cream straight from the refrigerator and, if you have time, even using a freezer-chilled mixing bowl or measuring cup, as shown below.

Here are the only 3 ingredients and pieces of kitchen equipment you need.

Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete step-by-step picture book recipe.

September 13th, 2021

Blog, Cycling Food, Dessert, Fitness Food, Running Food

Comments Off

Fresh Banana-Mango Ice Cream Picture Book Recipe

Last post showed how to make very quick & easy – and fully flavorful – simple banana ice cream made with only bananas, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. This recipe takes that banana ice cream from simple to exciting by adding fresh mango, coconut flakes, raisins – and even rum-soaked raisins (they go GREAT with this!). Of course, like any recipe you see here, the added ingredients I just mentioned, though they work terrifically well together, are just suggestions. You can substitute mango with pineapple, blueberries, or strawberries. You can use any kind of dried fruit and add chocolate chips or chocolate powder – and much more. So, use your imagination to make your full-on banana ice cream the way you want to suit your taste and dietary needs.

Here are the ingredients I use (yep, rum raisins in the jar).

Click any picture on this page for a complete, easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book recipe.

August 23rd, 2021

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Anti-inflammatory Recipes, Blog, Cycling Food, Dessert, Fitness Food

Comments Off

Fully Flavorful Banana Ice Cream Picture Book Directions

This easy-to-make, fully flavorful banana ice cream is made with only the 3 ingredients shown below: bananas, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon – no cream or sugar at all. Best of all, with those 3 simple ingredients as a base, you can use your imagination to take flavor as far as you want to go. I’ll show you some examples over the next couple posts.

The only kicker: you’ll need a sturdy food processor, as shown below, to make this recipe. If you don’t have one, either click this link for mash and freeze banana ice cream, which doesn’t require a food processor, or borrow a food processor from a friend or relative and make enough banana ice cream to share with them.