February 2021 Better Homes & Gardens Recipes

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies

With a ruffle of chocolate whipped cream and a piped chocolate heart, these mini pies from author Yossy Arefi, are ready for their closeup. To create the edible hearts, spoon melted chocolate into a resealable bag and snip off a corner. Pipe hearts onto waxed paper and let set. Place on pies just before serving.

Grapefruit and White Chocolate Cookies

A dip of creamy white chocolate balances the bite of grapefruit (both juice and zest) in Arefi's cutout cookies. We added a sprinkle of pink decorating sugar while the chocolate was still wet for a little sparkle on the heart-shape sweet.

Sour Cream Donut Holes with Raspberry Sugar and Glaze

For her airy donut holes, Arefi fries hunks of dough then tops them, still warm, in one of two finishers: a dusting of powdered sugar blushing pink with pulverized dried raspberries or a glaze of berries cooked down on the stove top. Make one for a monochromatic look for your donut recipe, or divide your batch in half, make both, and see which is your favorite.

Buy It: Freeze-Dried Raspberries ($4, Target)

Strawberry-Cardamom Turnovers

"My Strawberry-Cardamom Turnovers are so much simpler to make than they look, thanks to a package of store-bought puff pastry," Arefi says. A stove top strawberry jam spiked with a dash of ground cardamom fills the pastries and flavors the vibrant pink glaze. The jam recipe makes a bit more than you'll need for the turnovers, but it's wonderful on toast too.

Carne Asada Burrito Bowl

"Growing up in Texas, tacos and burritos are life," says author Kevin Curry. But a heavy, high-calorie burrito isn't always what we're after when a craving strikes. That's where this meal in a bowl comes in. To lighten up things without leaving you hungry, Curry ditches the tortilla but keeps the rice. Extra veggies ramp up the fiber and antioxidants in every bite. Curry tops the bowl with sizzling marinated flank steak, a lean cut he loves for being "impossible to overcook."

Ramen Noodle Salad

Want to indulge in a bowl of noodles but think you should stick to a salad? What you're after is a noodle salad, emphasis on salad. Curry doubles up on veggies and limits the noodles (chickpea or wheat for their nutrition and nutty flavors) to half of a suggested serving size. Take your pick of his dressings to finish the salad: a soy-ginger vinaigrette or spicy peanut sauce (made with powdered peanut butter to cut fat).

Buy It: PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter ($5, Target)

Tahini, Grain, and Veggie Bowl

If grain bowls are a mainstay of your menu plan, take a hint from Curry and play with the components to stave off boredom. "Sometimes I have to remind myself there are other nutritious and wonderful whole grains out there," he says. For example, in place of his default brown rice, farro is the foundation of this plant-centric bowl. Curry uses tahini when he wants bold umami taste in a small dose. That's a cooking tip that can be applied to all kinds of recipes.

Veggie Banh Mi Pizza

For this meat-free take on the Vietnamese sandwich, culinary entrepreneur Gaby Dalkin drizzles honey vinaigrette over the baked pizza crust then piles on pickled carrots and red onion, Persian cucumbers, red Fresno peppers, and cilantro so each slice is full of stomach-satisfying fiber.

Roasted Garlic-Goat Cheese Pizza

"No one says you can't heap greens on a delicious, chewy crust and call it a salad," Dalkin says. This mozzarella and goat cheese pizza starts with a roasted garlic mash spread over the crust followed by basil vinaigrette and two types of cheese before being baked and topped with fresh basil.

Buy It: Nordic Ware Pizza Stone Set ($11, Target)

Gaby's Homemade Pizza Dough

Dalkin loves an extra-thin but chewy crust. To get a just-right texture she uses two types of flour: 00 flour (superfine with less gluten) and all-purpose. If you don't have or can't find 00 flour, use entirely all-purpose instead.

Buy It: Antimo Caputo Flour Double Zero 00 ($10, Amazon)

Pesto Pasta with Charred Radicchio

You probably have everything you need to make author Sheela Prakash's homemade pesto for this Mediterranean-inspired pasta, even if you're out of basil. Almost any combo of herbs or leafy greens, nuts, and cheese works. The rich sauce offsets radicchio's natural bite.

Shawarma-Spiced Halloumi and Vegetables

Halloumi, a semihard goat and/or sheep milk cheese, is distinct from other cheeses because it doesn't completely melt. Roast it with warming spices and vegetables—almost anything goes, here Prakash used sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and onion—and the cheesy squares soften but hold their shape, which means you're left with creamy chunks to spear your fork into.

Flank Steak Tagliata with Arugula and Parmesan

Serving a small portion of lean steak over a bed of arugula is an affordable, healthful way to enjoy red meat in a Mediterranean style of eating. This fresh, peppery salad Prakash created stretches a pound or two of flank steak to feed more mouths and ups the nutrients.

Spicy Broccoli Rabe and Chickpea Skillet

Humble beans and greens take on new life with the addition of blistered, crispy chickpeas in Prakash's surprisingly high-in-protein (16 grams) vegan dinner (skip the optional cheese garnish to keep this recipe vegan). Broccoli rabe is inherently bitter, but splashes of acidic wine and lemon juice tame its bite. If you can't find rabe, sub in Swiss chard or kale.

Cacio e Pepe Farinata

Throughout northwestern Italy, street vendors make and sell this super-simple pancake based on chickpea flour (with the nutty flavor to prove it). Prakash's snack takes its inspiration from peppery cacio e pepe (aka cheese and pepper pasta), complete with a dusting of Parmesan.

Broiled Swordfish with Fennel-Caper Slaw

The classic cabbage in mayo dressing is only one interpretation of slaw. Here, Prakash uses shaved fennel, capers, lemon juice, and mint for a zippy—albeit unconventional—version that's a crunchy complement to broiled swordfish steaks.

Slow Cooker Vanilla Yogurt

Before you have to add yogurt to the shopping list, set aside a bit of that almost-empty container to use as a starter for an at-home batch of yogurt. It takes about 30 minutes of prep, then your trusty slow cooker does the heating. Store your homemade yogurt in the fridge for up to two weeks of healthy snacking/breakfast/desserts.

Buy It: Crock-Pot Cook & Carry Slow Cooker ($50, Target)