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Apple Cider Mule

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Signature cocktail anyone?  This apple cider mule will no doubt be our signature drink this Thanksgiving.  How cute does this look garnished with the thyme sprig and apple slice too? If you want to skip the booze you can easily turn this into a virgin cocktail by using non-alcoholic ginger beer and skipping the vodka.

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Apple Cider Mule
 
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Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 2 oz good quality vodka
  • 2 oz sparkling apple cider
  • ½ C ginger beer
  • ½ tsp freshly grated ginger
Option garnishes - sliced apple, thyme sprig, cinnamon stick
Instructions
  1. Using a cocktail shaker add vodka, apple cider, ginger beer and ice (either crushed or cubed). Shake vigorously and pour over ice, use a copper mule mug if available. Garnish with sliced apple, thyme sprig or cinnamon stick.

Cashew Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice

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If there is such a thing as the cashew chicken jackpot then I think we hit it! Even better you don’t have to drive to pick it up, you can skip the take-out and actually  make this at home, from scratch, with ingredients you probably have sitting around right now.  Our kiddos even give this dish their stamp of approval, cauliflower rice and all!

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If you have yet to substitute grain rice with cauliflower rice it’s about time you try it out starting with this coconut cauliflower rice. We’re aware it’s all the rage right now and slightly weird at the same time but hey….all the more reason to give it a try.  It’s one of those trendy foods that actually tastes good and is good for you so double score! If you don’t feel like taking the extra step to pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor no worries, most grocery stores are hip enough to know that we are all busy so they actually sell cauliflower already riced and ready to go.

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What are you waiting for? You really need to add this to your meal list….sorry, we just get really excited about good food that’s also good for you.  Winner winner it’s cashew chicken for dinner!

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Cashew Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 lb organic chicken cutlets, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
  • 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 C broccoli florets
  • 1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips (yellow, orange or red)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • ½ C chicken broth
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with ¼ C warm water
  • 1 C unsalted, raw cashews
  • ½ C chopped water chesnuts
  • 3 C cauliflower rice (Add cauliflower florets to a food processor and pulse until it's the consistency of rice. You can also purchased pre-made cauliflower rice in the produce section of most grocery stores)
  • ¼ C light coconut milk
For the Sauce:
  • ¼ C low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
  • ¼ C unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
Instructions
  1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, season with a pinch of kosher salt. Brown each side for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and place chicken on a paper towel lined plate.
  2. In a small bowl add soy sauce, hoisin, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger and garlic. Mix with a spoon.
  3. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, broccoli and bell pepper and sautee for 6-8 minutes. Add ½ C chicken broth and allow to cook for another minute. Add soy sauce mixture, cornstarch/water, cashews and water chesnuts. Mix together and reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes until sauce thickens.
  4. While dish is cooking, heat another sautee pan over medium high heat. Add cauliflower rice and coconut milk and cook for 3-5 minutes.
  5. Distribute coconut cauliflower rice evenly in low bowls. Add cashew chicken over the top and serve.

Autumn Salad

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I’m so happy we are bringing you this bomb Autumn salad because not only is it beautiful to look at, it tastes pretty darn amazing too.  It’s like a really ridiculously good looking person that is also super nice and smart and you kinda want to hate them because they have it all going on but you just have to love them because they are awesome….same situation with this salad.  It’s also a great excuse to use one of our favorite kitchen gadgets, an immersion blender, because what is salad dressing without an immersion blender?  If you don’t have one of these bad boys you need to go get yourself one STAT….total game changer!
immersionblender

Stephanie Heymann Photography

I’m also slightly obsessed with this perfect drizzle picture…pretty impressive, right? Let me just make you swoon for a second….roasted sweet potatoes, tangy granny smith apples, toasted walnuts, fresh pomegranate seeds and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better throw in some horseradish cheddar for the touchdown.  Oh, and drizzle this creamy balsamic over the top.  Holla!

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Stephanie Heymann Photography

This can be all yours too, just follow the recipe below and you got yourself one gorgeous autumn salad, which by the way is totally acceptable to eat all year round…not just in the autumn. I bet you already knew that though!

saladtoss

Stephanie Heymann Photography

 

 

Autumn Salad
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 8 C arugula
  • ½ C sweet potatoes, chopped into ½ inch cubes
  • 1 tsp good quality olive oil
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • ⅓ C walnuts, toasted
  • ½ C horseradish cheddar, chopped into ½ inch cubes
  • ¼ C fresh pomegranate seeds
  • ½ granny smith (green) apple, sliced thin
For the Creamy Balsamic Dressing:
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp 0% greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
Instructions
For the Salad:
  1. Preheat oven to 425. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place on a parchment lined pan and roast for 20-25 minutes, allow to cool.
  2. In a large salad bowl add arugula, walnuts, horseradish cheddar, pomegranate seeds and sliced apples. Toss with creamy balsamic dressing, see below.
For The Creamy Balsamic Dressing:
  1. Using a food processor, blender, or immersion blender - add all ingredients except olive oil and process until smooth, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue to process until incorporated. Store remaining dressing in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream

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What’s better than a roasted Bosch pear?? Oh, I know!! A roasted Bosch pear with vanilla bean ice cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.  It looks like a labor intensive dessert but it’s really super simple.  Prep the pears for roasting by peeling the pears and covering them with this yummy maple cinnamon mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes and the pears will turn from this…

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to this.  Soft and sweet with a bunch of syrup left over to pour in the bowl with the ice cream.

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In full disclosure I bought ice cream the day before I was prepping to roast my pears.  When I went to put my beautifully roasted pears with my ice cream I opened the container and this is all that was left.  My kids got into the ice cream and left this little sad spoonful for my pears.  Such a buzz kill, but that’s a day in the life of kids.  We were out the night before so my kids easily convinced their babysitter that it was perfectly fine to eat almost all of the ice cream.  Oh well, you get the idea with this pitiful little half scoop.  Next time I’m locking the freezer!!

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Maple Cinnamon Roasted Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream
 
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Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 4 Bosch pears
  • ½ lemon
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil
  • ½ C pure maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • small pinch kosher salt
  • vanilla ice cream
  • ground nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler and cut in half lengthwise. Use a melon scooper to scoop out the core. Rub all sides of the pear with the half lemon and place in a large casserole dish cored side up.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt coconut oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Heat until melted and sugar is dissolved - about 3 minutes.
  3. Spoon the syrup over the pears and bake 30 minutes. Turn the oven to broil for the last 1-2 minutes, careful not to burn.
  4. Serve the pears with vanilla ice cream, a spoonful of syrup and a dash of nutmeg over the top.

Zoodle Salad with Purple Cauliflower, Kale and Avocado

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This purple cauliflower was almost too pretty to cut, but too bad…we cut her up anyways! Lucky for us because this zoodle bowl was epic, and thanks to the purple cauliflower it was extra gorgeous.  We used our standby (standby because it’s so awesome we love to put it on everything) lemon vinaigrette and our favorite spiralized zoodles.  If you are new to veggie noodles or zucchini noodles check out the Spiralizer How To video under our video section, we will show you everything you need to know about spiralizing veggies.  We kept this salad uncomplicated, but there was absolutely nothing else it needed.  Crispy kale, perfectly ripe avocado, caramelized roasted purple cauliflower tossed with sautéed zoodles and our insanely good lemon vinaigrette.

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Obviously purple cauliflower isn’t a must, the taste is the same as regular white cauliflower.  The purple will just make everything prettier, so if you see the purple grab it so you can have a pretty bite just like this!

purplezoodle

Cold Zoodle Salad with Purple Cailiflower, Kale and Avocado with Lemon Vinagrette
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 2 medium zuchinnis, spiralized into "zoodles".
  • 1 purple cauliflower, cut into florets - can substitute white caulflower or brocolli
  • 2 C packed lacinato kale (dino kale) or other kale variety, can also substitute for spinach
  • 1 avocado cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp good quality olive oil
  • S & P
For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
  • 1 shallot chopped
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • ¼ C olive oil
  • kosher salt to taste
Good Thyme Tip - If you want a creamier texture to the vinagrette, add 1 Tbsp of 0% plain Greek yogurt.
Instructions
For the Salad:
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper. Place cauliflower florets on roasting pan, drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and toss to coat. Spread florets evenly on roasting pan and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the florets begin to turn golden brown.
  2. While the cauliflower is roasting heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tsp olive oil. Add spiralized zoodles and kale and sautee for 3-5 minutes until zoodles become tender and kale begins to break down and wilt. Remove from heat and place in a bowl to cool.
For Lemon Vinaigrette:
  1. Add first 4 ingredients of the vinagrette to a blender, or use an immersion hand blender. Slowly pour in the olive oil while continuing to blend. Season with salt to taste.
  2. Remove cauliflower from oven and let cool. Add cauliflower to bowl with the zoodles and kale. Toss with desired amount of lemon vinagrette and season with S & P to taste. Dish into bowls and top evenly with chopped avocado.
  3. Store excess lemon vinagrette in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Good Thyme Tip - This salad allows for a lot of substitutions. Feel free to add any of your favorite roasted vegetables or protien such as grilled chicken. Get creative and make it your own!

Vanilla Cashew Yogurt

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Looking for an alternative to yogurt or Greek yogurt?  This vanilla cashew yogurt hits the mark, it’s protein packed and low in sugar and it’s the perfect option for those of you out there that are dairy-free.

The most important thing with this recipe is to soak the cashews in water overnight, once that is done it only takes 5 minutes until you are in cashew yogurt heaven. This is as addicting and delicious as it looks, I kept going back for just one more bite and before I knew it somehow it suddenly disappeared. I hate it when that happens! It’s amazing mixed with fresh berries, topped with granola or of course on it’s own. Whether you are dairy-free or not, it’s definitely something that you need in your life. Let us know what you think!

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Vanilla Cashew Yogurt
 
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Serves: 1¼ Cups
Ingredients
  • 1 C raw, unsalted cashews - (soaked in water for 8 hours or overnight. Discard water before using in recipe)
  • 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ⅓ C cinnamon applesauce - can also use plain
  • ⅓ C unsweetened cashew or almond milk
  • 2 Tbsp good quality pure maple syrup
  • ½ tap vanilla
  • pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a blender. Stop and scrape down sides as you go. Blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Good Thyme Tip - This yogurt is great over fresh fruit or anything you would normally serve with yogurt. Use additional cashew milk to thin out to desired consistency.
**Adapted from Dreena Burton at Plant-Powered Kitchen

Chile Lime Chicken

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Looking for an easy but crazy flavorful grilled chicken? Look no further, we’ve got you covered!  This chile lime chicken is ridiculously simple to make but it’s packed with flavor.  Aside from the usual suspects like organic chicken breasts and olive oil, you also need fresh cilantro, limes, honey and the secret ingredient comes in this little shaker from Trader Joe’s.

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This chile lime seasoning blend is one of our go to mixed spices.  If you can’t find this at your local TJ’s, it’s just a mixture of salt, chili powders and lime juice so you can improvise with some chili, cayenne, salt and extra lime juice and you should be able to get by with that to achieve the same flavor. In a freezer bag add the chicken breasts with a few shakes of the chile lime blend and marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.  Grill and serve, it’s that easy. Pair this with our GTK Elote as a side and you are covered. Weeknight dinner made simple, weekends too!

chilelimechicken

 

 

Chile Lime Chicken
 
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Serves: 4 - 610
Ingredients
  • 4 organic skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 C loosely packed cilantro, chopped + more for serving
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 - 4 shakes TJ's Chile Lime seasoning blend + more for serving
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
  1. In a large ziploc freezer bag add chicken, honey, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and chile lime seasoning. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat BBQ and grill chicken approx 5 minutes per side until cooked through. Plate chicken with 1-2 more shakes of chile lime seasoning, chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

Sweet and Spicy Candied Nuts

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Let’s face it, it’s really not a party unless someone brings the nuts! Stop me, I’m on a roll! Ha. I mean, really though, nuts are like an easy entertaining staple right? You go to the grocery store and buy a bag of mixed nuts, toss em in a bowl and there you go! Well, okay, you can do that but we are going to share a little secret with you that is a total nut game changer. Yes, there really is a thing called a nut game changer. This simple recipe will take those boring ‘ol nuts to a whole new level. There is just something about this sweet and spicy combination that makes it darn near impossible to stop eating them once you start. But I’m sure that won’t scare you away. Next time you are going to entertain, make these nuts and just see what happens. I suggest you make a double batch though because they will go fast!

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Sweet and Spicy Candied Pecans

Sweet and Spicy Candied Nuts
 
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Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 C pecans
  • 1 C raw, unsalted cashews
  • ¼ C dried cranberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine maple syrup and next three ingredients. Stir to combine. Add pecans and cashews and stir until the nut mixture is fully coated.
  2. On a parchment lined pan, spead nuts evenly. Bake for 5 minutes. Using fork, stir to coat with melted mixture. Continue baking about 7-8 more minutes until nuts are golden and bubbling. Allow to cool and mix in dried cranberries.
  3. Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple Glaze

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Hello fluffy, puffy, pumpkin, chocolate, sweet deliciousness! These little morsels are gonna rock your world! We are totally jumping on the “all things pumpkin” right now but we kind of have to, right? I mean, it’s fall and fall just screams PUMPKIN!  We are all in and we are sure that you are going to thank us after you make these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. The inspiration for these treats goes back many years. The original recipe was distributed by a friend after a holiday party because everyone (including me) was freaking out and just had to have it. Well, needless to say, they were loaded with a ton of butter, sugar and other overly indulgent ingredients so we gave them a GTK makeover. Our version was created to lighten them up a bit but to ensure we did not compromise the delicious flavor…which we happen to believe is a perfectly logical reason to eat more!! Right? Bring these to your next holiday party or event and you will be the star of the show!! Oh, and make extra because they will go fast!
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Stephanie Heymann Photography

The maple glaze is literally “the icing on the cake” (or cookie) here! This part takes this cookie to the next level. It’s really so easy to make and totally worth it!

pumpkincookies

Stephanie Heymann Photography

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple Glaze
 
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Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
For the Maple Glaze:
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened nut milk (almond or cashew)
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ - ¾ cup powdered sugar (depending on consistency when mixing)
Instructions
  1. Pre heat oven to 375 °
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil, sugar, egg, vanilla and pumpkin puree using either a large whisk or mixer
  3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
  4. Slowly add dry mixture into wet mixture until well combined
  5. Fold in chocolate chips
  6. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes
For the Maple Glaze:
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, nut milk and brown sugar
  2. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat
  3. Using whisk, mix in powdered sugar until a light caramel color and lumps are gone
  4. Use a spoon to drizzle maple mixture over cookies

Sausage, White Bean & Kale Soup with Parmesan Crisps

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The ultimate comfort soup in this bowl right here.  This is the soup that I begin to think about mid-summer when I’m so over the desert heat and I’m ready to throw on my sweats and cozy up.  Unfortunately, summers last forever in AZ so I have to wait a ridiculously long time until I can truly justify making this soup.  It’s finally fall…and still 95 degrees but I’ve waited long enough, so bring on everything soup and roasted veggies! This is the first hot soup I made this season and let me tell you, it was sooo worth the wait!! It’s your lucky day because now you can make it too.

The most important trick to adding a massive amount of flavor to this soup is to include some leftover parmesan or romano cheese rind, you only need about 2 inches of the rind.  The flavor the rind brings to the broth is unreal.  This is a great trick with other broth based soups as well, the rind adds a new dimension and layer that you will never skip again.

This soup is hearty and earthy and all things that you crave about fall. The parmesan crisp takes all of 5 minutes in the oven, I wouldn’t advise skipping this either.  Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?  Yep, it seems like I might have a slight cheese obsession!  Aside from the cheese, this bowl is filled with kale, sweet Italian chicken sausage and white beans.  You will be so happy you added this soup to your recipe collection, it’s a keeper for sure.

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Sausage, White Bean & Kale Soup with Parmesan Crisps
 
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Serves: 6-8 bowls
Ingredients
  • 1 lb sweet Italian chicken sausage
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 rib celery with leaves, chopped
  • 1 tsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp herbs de provence
  • 5 C chopped dino kale
  • 1 C dry white wine
  • 1 qt (32 oz) low sodium chicken broth
  • cheese rind (parmesan or romano) - cut off part of the rind - approx 2 inches
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp ground pepper
  • 15 oz can white beans, rinsed and drained (cannellini or great northern)
For the Parmesan Crisps:
  • 1 C grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cut each sausage down the middle and remove casings (outer skin of sausage) discard casings, dump sausage into pot. Break up sausage with a spatula as it cooks - approximately 15 minutes. Remove sausage and set aside. Add olive oil, after olive oil heats add onions and celery. Sautee for approximately 8 minutes until softened. Throw the sausage back in and add garlic, thyme, herbs de provence and kale and cook for 2 minutes until kale begins to wilt. Add white wine and cook until liquid reduces by half. Add chicken broth, cheese rind and S&P and bring to a simmer, continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, add beans and discard cheese rind. Serve with parmesan crisps.
For the Parmesan Crisps:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cheese into approximately 6 round piles, evenly spread out and flattened. Bake in oven for approximately 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool before serving.