Creating amazing food one recipe at a time,
and making your favorites even better!
Welcome to Prep My Recipe!
I am a multicultural Southern California native with a lifelong passion for all cuisines. A retired corporate executive, now loving life as a recipe developer and food blogger.
Micheline
Prep My Recipe is a food blog featuring California-style recipes, step-by-step instructions for how to make delicious food and drinks, printable recipe cards, helpful recipe videos and tips & tricks, as well as recommended products for all budgets. Blog pages also spotlight “Pimp My Recipe” ideas for how to customize each recipe for a variety of dietary preferences. Please go to the Recipes menu at the top of this website to browse all categories and access all recipes.
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Quick Calabacitas Con Queso
Quick Calabacitas Con Queso is a quick and easy variation of an authentic Mexican side dish recipe. Zucchini squash is sautéed with garlic and spices, then simmered with tomatoes and diced chiles, and topped with jalapeno jack cheese. This cheesy & spicy side dish can be made mild or spicy (or vegan) according to your preference. My 5 ingredient recipe is keto friendly, quick to make, and can be served as a side dish or vegetarian main dish.
Cranberry Martini
This festive Cranberry Martini is an elegant cocktail to serve during the holidays. Made with my Cranberry Simple Syrup, this delicious and sophisticated 3 ingredient cocktail gets dressed up with a garnish of sugared cranberries. It’s not overly sweet and has just the right amount of cranberry tang. The perfect apéritif for the holiday season!
Cranberry Goat Cheese Log
This Cranberry Goat Cheese Log is great for entertaining! It has become my favorite appetizer to serve during the holiday season. Made with my Cranberry Topping, this goat cheese log has the perfect balance of sweetness, tartness, and tanginess. This quick and easy appetizer is delicious on crackers or freshly made crostini. To make it extra easy for entertaining, this recipe can be made in advance.
Cranberry Simple Syrup & Topping
This sweet and slightly tart recipe for Cranberry Simple Syrup & Topping makes two recipes with one single effort! The cranberry topping is actually a byproduct of simple syrup, both of which can be used in a number of different food and drink recipes. Using only two ingredients, it’s hard to go wrong with this recipe. It’s so yummy, that you will be looking for even more ways to use it!
Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail (non-alcoholic)
Festive and refreshing, this non-alcoholic Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail is a delicious drink for the holiday season. Ginger beer and cranberry juice are combined with fresh lime juice, club soda, and my Cranberry Simple Syrup, to make this delicious holiday mocktail. This drink is not overly gingery or overly juicy, and has just the right balance of flavors. For an extra special presentation, serve in a traditional copper mug (or a rocks glass), and garnish with cranberries and fresh mint.
Classic Caprese Skewers
Classic Caprese Skewers are the easiest holiday appetizer ever! Simple ingredients like bite-sized mozzarella balls (Ciliegine), cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil are skewered, seasoned, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a balsamic glaze. These small bites of goodness are both tasty and quick to assemble, and a nice break from the heavy and rich appetizers served during the holidays. The “one-bite” size, fresh flavors, and festive colors, make these the perfect Christmas appetizer. And, they are keto friendly!
Holiday Persimmon Cookies
These Holiday Persimmon Cookies are pillowy soft and delightfully sweet. From the first bite, these seasonal cookies burst in your mouth with flavor! Full of fresh persimmon, wonderful spices, nuts, and cranberries, then finished with a simple orange glaze. A perfectly delicious holiday cookie!
Spiced Persimmon Bread
This flavorful Spiced Persimmon Bread is moist and delicious. The pulp from Hachiya persimmons gives this tasty quick bread added sweetness and moisture. The texture is similar to banana bread, making this a wonderful breakfast treat or snack. For some added indulgence, spread on some of my Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter on a slice of warm persimmon bread!
Ina’s Roasted Rosemary Cashews
Ina’s Roasted Rosemary Cashews have the perfect trio of salty, sweet & spicy flavor that envelops each cashew to create a delicious and crunchy bite. This 5 ingredients recipe makes a wonderful nibble to serve before dinner with holiday cocktails, or as an anytime snack. These roasted cashews have just enough spiciness to make them interesting without overwhelming a delicate palate. Trust me when I say that these nuts are incredibly addictive!
Baked Figs with Goat Cheese
Baked Figs with Goat Cheese is an easy but impressive appetizer that your guests will love. This 5 ingredient recipe is quick to prepare and can be made ahead of time, making this a great choice for holiday entertaining. Fresh figs are stuffed with honey goat cheese, fresh sage, and walnuts, then warmed in the oven. Finished with a drizzle of honey, these figs are best served warm as a scrumptious and festive holiday appetizer.
Honey Fig Jam
This Honey Fig Jam is delicious on so many things! Spread it on some breakfast toast, or top a slice of warm quick bread. Need a quick holiday appetizer? Use it as a base for a sweet and savory crostini. This quick and easy small batch jam recipe uses no refined sugar or pectin, and requires no canning! Can easily be made vegan.
Quick Honey Simple Syrup
This Quick Honey Simple Syrup is delicious in cocktails, or drizzled on yogurt, pancakes, or waffles. Using only 2 ingredients, this easy recipe for simple syrup takes only minutes to prepare. It’s a great make ahead recipe when you are entertaining, and is especially wonderful in my Cider In The Rye Cocktail! This simple syrup dissolves easily in both cold or hot drinks, and adds a special flavor to lemonade or iced tea.
Cider In The Rye Cocktail
This chilled Cider In The Rye Cocktail is filled with warm spices and autumn flavors, making it the perfect holiday cocktail. Spiced apple cider, rye whiskey, lemon, and my Quick Honey Simple Syrup are combined to create a delicious and festive drink for the holidays (or any time of year). Straight rye whiskey balances the sweetness from the honey and cider, resulting in a well balanced aperitif with subtle sweetness. Garnished with a cinnamon sugar rim and apple, this cocktail is definitely autumn in a glass!
Pumpkin Ravioli with Walnut Sage Butter
It’s incredible that such a simple recipe can be so delicious! This Pumpkin Ravioli with Walnut Sage Butter recipe has sophisticated flavors, but uses only 5 ingredients and is so easy to make. The combination of fresh honey roasted pumpkin ravioli, along with butter, fresh sage, toasted walnuts, and a touch of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, give this vegetarian dish a rich and luscious taste. On the table within 20 to 30 minutes, it’s easy enough for a weeknight meal, but can also be served as an elegant dinner for two.
Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes
These Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes are light, fluffy, and so full of pure pumpkin and spices. Pumpkin purée gives these fall flavored flapjacks a moist and tender texture, and a secret ingredient makes them extra fluffy. Drizzle some pure maple syrup and a scoop of my heavenly Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter as the ultimate toppings for these delicious griddle cakes! Make this fall recipe any time of year, but it feels extra festive during autumn. This recipe can also be made gluten free and dairy free!
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter
This Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter is absolutely heavenly, and pairs beautifully as a topping for my Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes. This variation of brown sugar butter also tastes amazing on buttermilk pancakes, waffles, and oatmeal. This easy 4 ingredient brown sugar butter recipe has just the right amount of cinnamon, and is whipped to creamy perfection! All it takes is 10 minutes to make this smooth & creamy spread, and you’ll have a specialty butter for breakfast or brunch that all your friends and family will remember! This recipe can also be made keto friendly.
Savory Butternut Squash Soup
Savory Butternut Squash Soup is a lovely and warming start to any meal. This beautiful soup is smooth and silky, and has more complex flavors than traditional butternut squash soup recipes. Savory ingredients, like fresh herbs, fresh ginger, and a touch of curry powder elevate this soup into something extra special. It’s a great starter for a holiday meal, but this one pot recipe is easy enough for any family dinner. A wonderful recipe for autumn when butternut squash is in season.
Praline Pumpkin Spice Smoothie
Thick, creamy, and delicious, this Praline Pumpkin Spice Smoothie will give you that fall feeling any time of year. A few simple ingredients, including pure pumpkin purée, pumpkin spice, and praline maple syrup, give this healthy smoothie recipe a wonderful color and flavor. This easy pumpkin smoothie recipe is very quick to prepare. Add a scoop of protein powder to make it a protein packed, on-the-go breakfast!
Colorful Cruciferous Vegetables
These Colorful Cruciferous Vegetables will be the jewel of any dinner table. This medley of fall vegetables shine beautifully in both color and taste. Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, and red beets are tossed and roasted separately to retain their own unique flavor. Thyme leaves, orange zest, and blood orange olive oil add special freshness and zing to these tasty veggies. A great side dish for the holiday season, or any family dinner.
Black Sangria
This Black Sangria is both rich in color and in flavor! My fruity sangria recipe is made with bold red wine, brandy, agave nectar, pure juice, and enhanced with deeply colored fruit. For the perfect Halloween cocktail, just add a spooky cocktail pick as a fun garnish. But this sangria is so good, you’ll want to make it anytime of year!