I’ve Made This Tofu 3x This Week.

Sometimes eaten in a frenzy as a finger food at 5pm, but usually tossed on top of a creamy kale caesar salad like you see here – it’s bar food meets wholesome food.

This buffalo tofu is way too easy. Just criminal.

Zero batters and breading, zero cutting boards to wash. Just a two ingredient hot sauce + butter combo and a quick air fry or bake for the crispy tofu base.

You can throw this tofu into a wrap or bowl, but lately what has really been floating my boat is just a big ol’ pile of this saucy tofu on top of a Caesar salad. My faves:

• The bagged Caesar from Trader Joe’s
• The store-bought vegan Caesar dressing from Trader Joe’s (it’s in the refrigerated section)
• This avocado kale caesar

The buffalo sauce is too spicy for my girls, so I leave a few pieces for them without the sauce to dip in ranch or ketchup. And they love it.

I made last tonight for dinner and I thought, I need to tell you to double this – we have a family of 4, with two being little kids who don’t eat a ton, and there are ZERO pieces left over between all of us. I honestly think even just me and Bjork could finish the whole block of tofu between the two of us.

It’s easy and it’s delicious. I hope you love it!

And if buffalo is your thing, these buffalo chicken burgers with whipped feta are amazing – and so are these buffalo cauliflower tacos with avocado crema. DANG. So good.

Olive oil mashed potatoes are the easiest, most delicious side dish you can serve with almost everything! Fluffy, creamy, luxurious, and so delicious (especially if you take my advice and add roasted garlic)!

Really, these mashed potatoes made with olive oil are so good. They are easy enough for your average weeknight dinner, but delicious enough for special occasions and holidays. I’ve even served these next to my Thanksgiving turkey!

Unlike my classic mashed potatoes, these are dairy-free, butter-free, and you won’t miss any of it! The olive oil adds incredible flavor and richness. Then, roasted garlic adds even more flavor and luxury! This one is a keeper!

Key Ingredients

• Potatoes: The secret to the creamiest, most delicious mashed potatoes is to use the right potatoes. Thin-skinned yellow potatoes like Yukon Gold are the best potatoes for this recipe. Russet potatoes are fine for mashed potatoes, but you will have a less creamy mash.
• Olive Oil: We use 1/4 cup of olive oil in this recipe so that you will taste it. Use an olive oil you already love. I go for something more fruity and less bitter.
• Garlic: I love mashing roasted garlic into these olive oil mashed potatoes. It adds a sweet, roasty flavor that works well with the olive oil. Roasted garlic takes 40 minutes, so if you are short on time, I’ve included a shortcut in the recipe below for cooking the garlic with the potatoes instead.
• Salt and Pepper: Use salt when cooking your potatoes, and then season the mash to taste.

The trick to these potatoes is to save some of the cooking water (from cooking the potatoes). Then, as you mash the potatoes with the olive oil and roasted garlic, add the reserved liquid to reach your desired consistency. Add a splash for the thicker consistency you see in our photos, or more for a more swoopy mash.

Garlic Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes

• PREP
  5mins
  
• COOK
  55mins
  
• TOTAL
  1hr
  

Olive oil makes mashed potatoes extra easy and incredibly delicious! These dairy-free mashed potatoes are incredible (especially when you add roasted garlic). I’ve included how to roast garlic, which takes 40 minutes. If you do not have 40 minutes to spare, see my tip for a garlic shortcut below the recipe.

6 Servings

You Will Need

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks, peeling is optional

1 whole head of garlic

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1Roast the garlic: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Cut a square of parchment paper or foil large enough to wrap the garlic head.

2Remove loose outer skin from the garlic head, but leave enough for the head to stay intact. Then, cut 1/4-inch off the top of the garlic head (opposite the root end) to expose the cloves. Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3Wrap the garlic, creating a sealed packet. (Secure parchment packets with kitchen twine.) Then, bake for 40 to 70 minutes until cloves are light brown and soft.

4Cook the potatoes: About 10 minutes before the garlic is finished in the oven, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the potatoes, and place them back into the pot.

5Make mashed potatoes: Squeeze the roasted garlic into the pot with drained potatoes, add the 1/4 cup of olive oil, and then mash well. Stir in 1/4 cup of olive oil and then thin out the potatoes with some of the reserved cooking liquid. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary, then serve.

Adam and Joanne’s Tips

• What to serve them with: We love these olive oil mashed potatoes beside many of our main dishes. Some favorites include this roasted chicken, our roasted turkey (hello, Thanksgiving), these easy skillet pork chops, and simple poached salmon (so good!).
• Storing: Homemade mashed potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To freeze them, let them cool completely, then place them in a freezer-safe, airtight container.
• Garlic shortcut: Roasting adds so much flavor, but for a quick shortcut, peel the garlic cloves and add them to the potatoes when they cook. The garlic will soften and become mashable.
• Make the roasted garlic ahead of time: Roasted garlic lasts a few days in an airtight container in the fridge. To extend its shelf life, remove the roasted garlic cloves, add them to a clean food storage container, and cover with olive oil. Store the garlic and olive oil in the refrigerator for up to two weeks (you can also use the oil). You can freeze the roasted garlic as whole cloves, mashed into a puree, or covered in olive oil. The frozen garlic should last up to 3 months.
• Reheating: To reheat mashed potatoes, do so in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat. Consider adding an extra splash of water or milk (dairy or non-dairy) before reheating to prevent them from drying out.
  
• The nutrition facts below are estimates.

Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1/6 of the recipe
/
Calories
250
/
Total Fat
11.9g
/
Saturated Fat
1.7g
/
Cholesterol
0mg
/
Sodium
87.2mg
/
Carbohydrate
33.9g
/
Dietary Fiber
3.7g
/
Total Sugars
1.5g
/
Protein
4.5g

AUTHOR:

Joanne Gallagher

We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? To inspire you to get in the kitchen and confidently cook fresh and flavorful meals.More About Us

Previous Post: Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

These rocky road chocolate cookie bars are loaded with chocolate chips and nuts and stippled with marshmallows. They are decadent and delicious!

You won’t even believe how delicious they are if they’re stored in the refrigerator and eaten chilled. YUM!

One-Bowl Chocolate Cookie Dough

The classic Rocky Road flavor lineup consists of: chocolate + nuts + marshmallows. And while we usually see these flavors appear in ice cream (hello, delicious), the flavors translate wonderfully well to these cookie bars, also.

The beauty of these delightful rocky road chocolate cookie bars is that the cookie dough is a one-bowl recipe and can be mixed together by hand. Say it with me: HALLELUJAH.

Marshmallow Stippling: It’s a Thing

Now, here’s the fun part.

After the chocolate cookie dough is spread evenly in a 9X13-inch pan, the mini marshmallows are sprinkled evenly on top.

Instead of baking like this, you’re going to take your cute little fingers and lightly press the marshmallows into the cookie dough. Kind of like how you might stipple the top of focaccia bread to make little indentations.

Why are we doing this? Stippling the marshmallows into the cookie dough allows them to form gooey pockets throughout the cookie dough as well as on top. Otherwise, the marshmallows form a heavy marshmallow crust on top while baking making the bars hard and messy to cut and eliminating the tasty marshmallow effect throughout the cookie dough.

Alternately, stirring the marshmallows into the actual cookie dough batter is difficult and ends up overworking the cookie dough, which makes the baked bars less soft and chewy. TRUST ME, I TESTED THESE BARS ALL.THE.WAYS. Stippling the marshmallows is the way to go. And it’s fun. 🤓

Optimal Cutting Tips For These Gooey Bars

It can be hard to judge the doneness of chocolate cookie bars/dark-colored cookie batters, but for this recipe, err on the side of under baking just slightly, otherwise the bars may be dry.

A few clues to know if the bars are done or not:

• the marshmallows should just be starting to turn golden
• the edges will be lightly puffed and set, but the middle, when pressed with a finger, should have a little bit of “give” and softness

For optimal cutting and serving, I highly recommend letting the bars cool completely and then chilling the bars for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. This will help the knife slice more cleanly through the marshmallows.

If you want to try them warm, just pop in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds OR abandon all worries about how the bars look and dive into them while they are still warm from the oven.

A Really Delicious Cookie Bar

And despite all that talk of serving them warm and gooey, my favorite way to eat these rocky road chocolate cookie bars is cold straight from the fridge.

The marshmallows stay soft and chewy and the rich chocolate of the bars is intensified. They are amazing! Like: obsessively opening the fridge 50 times a day to break off another corner of a bar stuffed in a ziploc bag until you realize you’ve almost eaten the whole bag kind of amazing. Consider yourself warned. 😉

So, yeah, serve them warm with or without ice cream, room temperature on a pretty serving tray, or chilled and hidden for your taste buds only. Any way you eat these delightful bars is the right way!

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Rocky Road Chocolate Cookie Bars

Yield: 15 servings (9X13-inch pan)

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 22 minutes mins

Total Time: 47 minutes mins

• 10 tablespoons (141 g) salted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• ¾ cup (159 g) packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large (100 g out of shell) eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (12 g) cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup (84 g) chopped pecans or walnuts
• 2 ½ cups (142 g) mini marshmallows (half of a 10-ounce bag)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and 1 1/4 cups (213 g/7.5 oz) of the chocolate chips. Microwave for 45-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth (don’t over heat).

• Add the brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine well.

• Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir until just combined and no dry streaks remain.

• Add the pecans and remaining 3/4 cup chocolate chips (128 g/4.5 oz). Stir until evenly combined.

• Press the mixture into the prepared pan and immediately (while the dough is soft) sprinkle the marshmallows over the top. Push the marshmallows lightly into the dough with your fingers (kind of like stippling the top of focaccia bread).

• Bake for 22 to 24 minutes until the marshmallows are lightly golden, the edges are set and the middle is puffed (don’t over bake – if you aren’t sure if the bars are done, err on the side of under baking slightly).

• Let the bars cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve. These are delicious at room temperature, slightly warm, or chilled.

Author: Mel

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Method: Bake, Oven

Serving: 1 bar, Calories: 354kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 45mg, Sodium: 240mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 31g

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe