Apple Crisp

I ate an apple every morning for breakfast during my senior year. I appled myself out and ever since then, I don't really eat them. However, this pregnancy, I find myself wanting to eat apples again. And since the apple season is upon us, I'm going to kick off the season with some apple crisp. I get my new oven today (long story, it's on my other blog if you want to read it), so I'll post a picture as soon as I make it. I am going to experiment substituting some of the sugar with brown sugar for a more caramely flavor. I'll let you know how it works.

*I used 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and I loved it!

Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced (or diced) apples

¼ cup orange juice or 3 Tbs. lemon juice

1 cup sugar

¾ cup flour

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

½ cup butter

Mound apples in a buttered pie dish, sprinkle with orange juice. Combine sugar, flour, spices and dash salt; cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is crisp. Serve warm with cream (not whipped) or vanilla ice cream. Serve 6.

Sharon's Potato Salad

With Fall coming on and all the reasons to make potato salad cooling down, I thought I'd post my favorite one. While I love my mom's, I love my mother-in-law's more (don't tell my mom ;)

Now, before I get a bunch of comments (wait, has that ever happened?), there are no quantities, you'll have to decided how much of each you want. Just eyeball it. Usually I do one potato (and you always do the same amount of eggs as potatoes) per person. But, sometimes not.

Sharon's Potato Salad

White Rose or Russet potatoes (rose are a bit firmer, but I like the earthier flavor of the Russets)

Boiled eggs (same amount as potatoes)

Radishes

Green onions

Celery

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Dab ketchup

Salt and Pepper

Boil eggs and potatoes; let cool and peel and chop (I actually peel the potatoes before I boil them, even though you're not "supposed" to). Chop remaining ingredients into bite sizes pieces. Add mayonnaise and mustard and a dab of ketchup and mix until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Chill.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I'm telling you, over the years, Brian has taken things that I just DON'T like and has made them delicious!! He modified this recipe from Emeril Lagasse and it's fantastic, I think I ate at least 3 servings throughout the evening. I couldn't help it (well, I probably could, but didn't)! It has quite a bit of garlic, but I'm a garlic lover and I thought it was a PERFECT amount!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes-Brian's Version

1 head roasted garlic
2 lbs. potatoes, skinned and diced
1/2-2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup or so of heavy cream
salt and pepper

How to roast garlic:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the garlic on a pie pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender and golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Squeeze or remove the garlic cloves from the head and place in a small bowl. Using a fork, mash the garlic until smooth.

Potatoes:
Place the potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and drain. Place the potatoes back in the pot and return to the heat. Stir the potatoes, constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes to dehydrate the potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the heat. Add the garlic and butter. Using a hand-held masher, mash the butter and garlic into the potatoes. Add enough cream until desired texture is achieved. Add salt and pepper.

These are so good, that I'm eating some for breakfast. He also made a modified recipe of Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, which were equally as good. I'll post that recipe later.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

I'm not a big banana bread fan, it's okay, I'll have a piece here and there. I had some bananas that needed to be used and I didn't feel like normal banana bread, nor did I want to make banana cream pie (which I actually really like). So, I thought I'd try pumpkin banana bread. It's pretty darn good. I got the recipe off the Libby site, the people that make the canned pumpkin.

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 medium) very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Combine pumpkin, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, bananas and vegetable oil in large mixer bowl; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture; stir in nuts. Spoon into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love this soup! I just had a big bowl tonight (even thought it was like 115 today). It is a cream soup, and not a broth soup, which is great in my book!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cubed, cooked chicken breast
1 Tbs. chicken bullion (I actually just use about a cup of chicken broth)
Chopped onion, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and celery (I don't like celery, so I never add it)
Corn
Cooked rice (opt.)
8 oz. velveeta
1 can evaporated milk
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2-1 can rotel (I use original, which has the perfect amount of heat for me)
grated cheese (usually Monterey Jack)

Pretty much, you just want to mix it all together (and anything else that sounds good), add some water, and simmer until the veggies are tender. I fry up some flour tortillas, cut them into strips and serve them on top of the soup (actually, I personally put them on the bottom of my soup bowl, then ladle on the soup). Enjoy!

Warm Chocolate Pudding Cakes with Caramel Sauce

So, I don't like chocolate. Except for this cake! Brian made it a couple of weeks ago and it is THE BEST chocolate cake I've ever had! He got the recipe from Everyday Foods on PBS. It's really not hard at all. The most time consuming is making the caramel sauce and that takes under ten minutes. Mmm, it is so worth it!

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more, room temperature, for ramekins

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for ramekins

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

caramel Sauce for serving

whipped cream, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter four 6-ounce ramekins, then coat lightly with sugar, tapping out excess. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate. Microwave until melted, about 1 minute; stir until smooth. (Or melt mixture in a heatproof bowl set over, not in, a pan of simmering water.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, yolks, flour, and salt; add chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Fill each ramekin three-quarters full with batter; place on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate 15 minutes.
3. Bake until center of a cake is soft but not wet when pressed, 27 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve cakes warm, topped with caramel and whipped cream.

Caramel Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup sugar over medium-high until melted and brown at edges, 3 minutes. With a heat-resistant spatula, pull melted sugar toward center until all sugar is melted and caramel is deep amber in color, 3 minutes more.
2. Immediately whisk in 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (take care as mixture is extremely hot and will bubble).
3. Whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream.
4. Pour into a heatproof container and let cool. (To store, refrigerate, up to 3 weeks.)

If you've made toffee before, making caramel is pretty much the same. Brian burned the first two batches, then I took over and made perfection ;) You don't want to make it dark, since sugar burns VERY quickly. If making the sauce is too intimidating, you can always use store bought caramel, it's still good!

Make Your Own Rice Bowls

This is my latest brainstorm on fast, healthy meals. And everyone gets to make it how they like.

Start with cooked rice - hot or room-temperature (I made brown rice).

Fill your bowl about half full, or scoop a good-sized amount on a plate.

Set out bowls containing various ingredients and let everyone put what they want on it. The beauty of this is that you can just use what you have at the time and it only takes minutes to get everything on the table. Some suggestions:

Cooked meat - beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, bacon, whatever. Save leftovers from another meal so you don't have to cook it that night.
Shredded cheese
Soy sauce
Sweet Chili sauce
Italian salad dressing (one of my son's LOVES it)
Avocado
Matchstick carrots, cooked or raw
Angel hair cabbage, cooked
Zucchini - grated or cubed, cooked
Sweet peppers
Jalapenos or serrano, diced small
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Cream cheese (sounds weird but it was great)
Sushi grade fish (like tuna or salmon)
Sushi ginger (oh, I love that stuff)
Mushrooms - cooked
Kale - diced into teeny, tiny pieces
Peas - cooked
Steamed asparagus
Green beans
Nuts - crushed, peanuts, almonds or cashews work best
Cilantro

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Honey Lime Enchiladas
from Sisters Cafe

1.5 lbs pork or chicken, cooked and shredded
Sauce:
1/3 c honey
1/4 c lime juice
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce
equal parts mixed together of:
mozzarella cheese, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
flour tortillas

Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes. Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray. (I usually use one 9x13 and one 9x9 but it may vary with how thick you stuff your enchiladas - okay now it's me, Heather, not the original writer of the recipe; I used one 9x13 pan and ran out of chicken.) Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish. Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top - don't be stingy! Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy.

One of my children is an avowed enchilada hater and he ate a whole one. The 3-yr-old who "hated it because it wasn't brownies" ate half a one. Everyone said they really liked it even though it was a little too spicy (mainly because my husband bought 'medium' green enchilada sauce instead of 'mild'.)

Summer Tortellini Salad

This recipe comes from Sisters' Cafe. I didn't have all of the ingredients and it still turned out great. I used half of the double pack of tortellini from Sam's Club. It seems to me like it was more than just 9 oz. Oh well, you can judge it.

Summer Tortellini Salad

Submitted by Amy ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Printable Recipe

1 pkg. (9 oz.) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini(You can also use dry tortellini. Barilla has a yummy four cheese and Costco has really good tortellini as well)
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I use the equivalent of baby carrots instead)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley (or 4 tsp. dried parsley if you don't have fresh...fresh is always best of course, but dried works fine too)
1/2 cup home-made or you're very, very favorite ranch dressing (I tend to skimp a bit on this measurement but 1/2 a cup isn't too much, just trying to be healthy:)
Parmesan Cheese - to taste

*Option - I have added left over Rotissere chicken to this and really liked it

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water. Place tortellini in a large colander and set aside. Meanwhile, slice zucchini. chop carrot(s). Cut tomatoes in half and slice green onions. Snip parsley, if using fresh. Add vegetables to tortellini. Poursalad dressing over salad. Grate parmesan cheese oversalad. cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 6 servings

Creamy chicken taquitos

Tonight we tried a recipe from the blog: Our Best Bites. It was really good. I didn't follow the recipe exactly and it still turned out great. My corn tortilla taquitos weren't as pretty as her flour ones but the taste was still great.

www.ourbestbites.com/2009/05/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos.html

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Recipe by OurBestBites.com


1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray


Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.