Lauren Gaskill Inspires

Curried Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Ketchup

February 8, 2016 • 45 Comments

These Curried Baked Sweet Potato Fries are ready to eat in less than one hour and paired with a chipotle ketchup that will have you dunking them faster than you can eat them!

What was the best thing you ate during the Super Bowl last night? Cheese dip? Wings? Cookies shaped like footballs? For me, it was a tie between my friends Kathy and Kaitlin’s chili and these baked sweet potato fries. If you’re thinking … hmmm, I bet the fries would taste good in the chili — you’re right! After eating a few handfuls of fries and ketchup by themselves, I decided to put the fries and a dollop of the chipotle ketchup into the chili. Call me crazy but man, oh man, was it good.

Shoutout to my man Peyton Manning for winning yet another Super Bowl. Even though you left the Colts long ago, I’ve never stopped cheering for you. I realize I might make some enemies here by saying this but WAY. TO. GO. BRONCOS!!

I’m sharing these fries with you post-Super Bowl because, even though I ate them for the big game, I think this is one of those recipes you can make and eat any day of the week. You can enjoy them with burgers, chili, soup, sandwiches, salads, or whatever else you like to eat with fries. Even though there is curry in the recipe I think they would go great with just about anything — especially if that thing already involves chipotle peppers, like the ketchup in this recipe.

Let’s take a minute to talk about the ketchup. LIKE WHOA. Talk about total flavor bomb! I might never eat regular ketchup again.Read More

Raspberry Ice Cream Cake with Brownie Crust {Gluten Free}

February 4, 2016 • 43 Comments

This Raspberry Ice Cream Cake with Brownie Crust is dairy-free and made with full-fat coconut milk and raspberries. It’s truly the ultimate, good-for-you dessert and perfect for Valentine’s Day!

What makes your heart beat a little faster? Is it a kiss from your sweetie? A night all to yourself? A vacation sunrise? A warm bubble bath? The sound of dinner cooking on the stove? The promise of dessert after a not-so-sweet day? If you’re like me, all of the above makes your heart race with happiness. Particularly when it comes to the last one — dessert.

If you know me well you know I have an insatiable sweet tooth. I’ve tamed it to a point where I stick to mostly naturally sweetened desserts and dark chocolate, but Lord knows I can’t go a day without either.

I have a saying, “life’s too short to be rude,” and I also believe life’s too short not to enjoy dessert, especially if it’s made with wholesome ingredients, like this Raspberry Ice Cream Cake. I’m not going to lie … I was a little nervous about how this was going to turn out. I’ve never made an ice cream cake before, let alone a dairy-free ice cream cake. But I challenged myself to make this along with Monday’s Beet Pesto Heart Pizza for Valentine’s Day this year, and I’m so glad I did.

My favorite part about this cake is by far the brownie crust. As if you needed another reason to enjoy brownies … imagine enjoying them with a pile of coconut raspberry goodness sitting on top. I know, I’m drooling too. 🙂Read More

Valentine's Day Heart Pizza with Beet Pesto, Spinach + Goat Cheese

February 1, 2016 • 28 Comments

This beautiful heart pizza will have you falling head over heels … for beets and your sweetheart.

My attitude toward Valentine’s Day has changed over the seven years Mr. Making Life Sweet and I have been together. Our first celebration was full of teenage emotion and anticipation. We got together to exchange gifts at Dairy Queen (where we first met each other) and I’ll never forget his first Valentine’s gift to me: a 3-foot tall card, flowers and lots of chocolate.

The enormous card had a pair of monkeys on the front and it read, “I love hanging with you.” This was before we’d reached the actual “I love YOU” stage, but I was giddy as any girl could be. Since that monkey card, we’ve had years where we didn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day and years where we did. But now that we are married the holiday has taken on a new importance. You see, when you are married you would think you have all the time in the world to spend with your husband. But the truth is, life and obligations are still real and time is not as abundant as you would like it to be.

That’s why this year I’m going all out for Valentine’s Day, and it starts with this Beet Pesto, Spinach, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese pizza — all in the shape of a heart! I first came across this recipe for beet pesto through my friend Julia over at The Roasted Root. It was one of those things I bookmarked but never tried.

I remembered the recipe when I got the idea to make a heart pizza earlier this year. I knew the beet pesto would provide the color and taste I wanted for a pizza like this, so I went and located the recipe again. If you’re wondering why I’m suddenly eating cheese again (I went gluten and dairy free about nine months ago for health-related reasons), it’s because my doctor encouraged me to take another stab at reintroducing cheese into my diet. The way she described it, there might be one type of cheese that doesn’t irritate my system. For example, it may turn out that soft cheese is OK while hard cheese is not and vice versa.

We’ll see how it goes (I’m rooting for being able to eat soft cheeses again … hello goat!!!) and I’ll keep you posted. For now, I’m going to keep shoving my face with the last slice of this amazingly delicious pizza. Who’s with me?

Roasted Red Pepper Lentil Soup

January 28, 2016 • 20 Comments

This Lentil Soup recipe is the ultimate feel-good soup and is packed with homemade roasted red peppers, carrots, onions and Sriracha for a little kick!

It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve only been living in Des Moines for a little more than two months now.

Last weekend, we headed to Minneapolis for the first time since we moved back in November 2015. Mr. Making Life Sweet had job training from Monday-Friday, with a holiday work party as the bookend of a long week on Friday night. I joined him on Thursday because I had my first consultation with a jaw surgeon regarding next steps/options for my degenerated jaws. I thought it would be awkward returning to the city that truly was our first love, our first home, our first community of adult life. But for whatever reason, it was the opposite of weird. Instead of feeling remorseful or lamenting over no longer living in MPLS, we spent our first trip back reminiscing, relaxing and relishing in the wonders of the city.

We ate at our favorite restaurants, shopped at our favorite malls, visited a few of our favorite spots … but most importantly, I got to see a few of my most precious friends, including the lovely Stephanie of Girl Versus Dough. We met at one of the city’s best cafes, French Meadow, and talked about life, love, loss, fears, adventure, hopes, dreams and plans over omelettes and lattes. Like many of the meet-ups I had with friends during our first trip back, I was so thankful for the time we could spend together. Moving away is difficult, but it makes friendships even more treasured.

One of the things I miss about living in a city full of friends is having people over for dinner all the time. Since we’ve lived in Des Moines, we’ve had people over twice. This is something I hope and have faith will change as the weather gets warmer and we start to meet more people. You can take a community and a house away from a hostess, but that doesn’t make her any less of one! At my core I love to serve others, and being a hostess and sharing food is one of my favorite things to do.Read More

Hot Chocolate Baked French Toast with Peanut Butter Glaze

January 25, 2016 • 49 Comments

Confession: I may or may not have eaten this Hot Chocolate Baked French Toast all by myself.

Mr. Making Life Sweet was traveling alllll last week for work, so let’s just say he missed out big time. I was planning to save him some but then before I knew it eight slices were gone. At this point, I figured I might as well finish the dish off. Whoops! Sorry, not sorry, hubby.

As a lover of all things baked, I’ve always liked french toast. My go-to recipe is for Quick-and-Easy Cinnamon French Toast (with cherries on top, of course). It’s perfect for any day of the week because it takes less than 10 minutes to make! This Hot Chocolate Baked French Toast with Peanut Butter Glaze is a different story. It’s not hard to make but it does take a bit longer since it has to bake in the oven. AKA definitely a weekend breakfast or brunch recipe.

Part of the reason why I couldn’t stop myself from eating this decadent, rich and delicious dish is the peanut butter glaze. You think eating a spoonful of peanut butter is good? Try a spoonful of peanut butter glaze. I know, I know, I’m totally being self-indulgent here, but everyone’s gotta indulge every now and then.

I tend to like thicker glazes, so if you’re wondering why the glaze looks thick in the pictures, it’s because it is! 😉 If you like a thinner glaze, feel free to add more milk when mixing it until you’re satisfied with the thickness.

I enjoyed this french toast with a steaming hot mocha, but if you’ve got an insatiable sweet tooth, I’d say this would be great with a cup of hot chocolate too. Truth: God, love, wine and chocolate makes everything better — in that order.Read More

Avocado Chicken Salad with Grapefruit, Coconut + Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

January 21, 2016 • 4 Comments

This Avocado Chicken Salad is the ultimate power salad — bright, nutrient-packed and flavorful!

I’m probably going to kick myself for mentioning this to you guys, but I had an odd nickname in elementary school. Any guesses out there? I’ll track down the Powerball winners and convince them to give you one million dollars if you guess correctly … Because let’s be real, I certainly don’t have millions just sitting around. Haha.

OK, now that you have an idea in your head I’ll tell you what my nickname was: Thy Salad Muncher. (Jessika B. if you are reading this and would care to explain in the comments section where this came from, be my guest!) I actually don’t remember why I was given this nickname. I just know when I was cleaning the other week, I found tons of handwritten, pen pal letters in storage from elementary school, addressed to me, “Thy Salad Muncher.” Whatever the reason behind this eclectic reason, my hunch is it had something to do with the fact that I. LOVE. SALAD.Read More

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