By; Hailey Spielman

With the holidays coming up, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to spice up your cookbook. Maybe you want to try something new, or last year’s dinner food wasn’t what you wanted it to be. Either way you can make this year better than the last with trying some of these new recipes, and bringing them to your table. 

1. Roasted Brussels sprouts

-Trim and chop the brussel sprouts; Get rid of any brown and dry spots on the stem, chop the larger pieces in half and leave the smaller one whole

–Season the sprouts; Add in olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Move them to parchment-lined baking sheets and lay them with the cut sides face down.

-Time to bake; Move the sheet pan to a 425-degree oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and golden brown on the edges. Enjoy!

2. Stuffed Acorn Squash 

-Split the squashes in halves and scoop out the seeds from the squash. Place the halves on the baking sheet and drizzle olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper. Cook at 425- degrees, roast cut side up for 40 minutes or until tender. 

-While the squash is roasting, cut the tempeh into ½ inch cubes, place in a steamer basket, and set over a pot filled with 1 inch of water. Once the water simmers, cover the pot and steam for 10 minutes. Remove and drain any excess water and use your hands to crumble the tempeh.

Ingredients needed for the filling; 

• Onion and garlic
• Sage and rosemary
• Apple cider vinegar 
• Tamari
• Walnuts
• Dried Cranberries
• Salt and pepper 

-Heat up olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and several grinds of black pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until they are soft. Stir in the crumbled tempeh, garlic, walnuts, tamari, apple cider vinegar, rosemary and sage. Cook for 2-3 minutes, adding ¼ cup of water as the pan starts to get dry. Stir in the cranberries and season to taste. Scoop the filling into the roasted acorn squash halves and garnish with the parsley and pomegranate. 

3. One-Pan Oven Mac and Cheese

-Ingredients Needed;

• 8 ounce package fontina cheese
• 8 ounce package sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups uncooked macaroni
• 1 ½ cups half-and-half
• ¼ cup shredded white cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup milk
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

-Preheat the oven to 350-degrees

-Place the blocks of fontina and sharp cheddar cheese in the center of a 9-inch square baking dish. Pour the pasta into the dish, spreading evenly around the cheese. Pour half-and-half directly over the pasta, stir until evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, top with shredded white cheddar and mozzarella cheese, spread evenly. 

-Bake for 25 minutes. Pull the dish out of the oven, stir in milk and mix until the noodles, cheese, and sauce are evenly coated. Return to the oven and bake until golden and bubbly, around 25 more minutes.

-Enjoy!

4. White Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies

Ingredients;

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

-Preheat the oven to 325-degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt then set aside. 

-In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the brown sugar, sugar, and cooled, melted butter. Mix well, for about 1 minute.

-Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla then mix for 1 more minute. Scrape down the sides and mix again. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

-Fold in the cranberries, walnuts, and white chocolate chips. Roll out cookies into balls using 2 tablespoons of dough for each, place 2 inches apart on parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the try halfway through cook time.

-Let cool for 15 minutes. 

-Enjoy!

Seeing some new recipes, there’s nothing wrong with changing up dinner every once in a while. It could become a dish that’s your new fan favorite, so try some out! Although, most importantly, make sure you have a great holiday season this year.