Shredded Apple Pork

Our pressure cooker is temporarily out of commission , but luckily my parents have one that they are lending us while they are off on vacation.  They also gave us some of their leftover apple juice that they didn't want to leave in the fridge, so I decided to find something interesting to do with it tonight.  What I came up with was shredded apple pork.

3 lb pork butt
1 honeycrisp apple
1.5 yellow onion
equal parts apple juice and gingerale
3 tbsp powdered ginger
approx 1/4 cup (loose) brown sugar
a few tbsp of maple syrup (dark)
chili powder
3 garlic cloves

I mixed all the ingredients except the pork to taste, added the pork, and then ran high pressure for 90 minutes.  After, I shredded the pork, pulling out the fatty bits, and strained out the the apples and onion and mixed them with the pork.  A taste test confirmed that it was as delicious as it smelled! The maple syrup we have is very strong, so the flavor came through wonderfully.  Not sure how we will eat this tomorrow, but no matter what we decide, it will be good!

Spiced Pumpkin Bisque

I got this recipe from Midwest Living, and I had to try it thanks to my obsession with all things pumpkin in the fall.   I'm not going to copy the whole thing here, as it is presented nicely on their website, complete with nutritional values.

Midwest Living Spiced Pumpkin Bisque Recipe

It is not what we expected in terms of spicy.  It is pepper spicy (note the Cayenne) rather than the typical nutmeg and cinnamon based spice that goes with pumpkin.  It was, however, delicious, especially with some french bread toasted up with some garlic olive oil, and shredded chicken we had from the freezer mixed in.  After mixing in the chicken, it became more of a stew than a bisque, but was more filling than the soup alone. 

The creme fraiche, however, is worth a describing here.  When reading this recipe in the magazine, I was a little confused, as part of the process is basically a fermentation with buttermilk.  However, it says that it can be done in a matter of an hour, whereas we needed to leave ours on the counter for almost 24 before it became the consistency that we wanted.  

It was DELICIOUS! I was prepared to be unimpressed by this, and to think it was not worth the effort, but it was like everything we loved about sour cream, but richer and creamier.  Yumm!!!

Pumpkin Bars

I was searching for a great pumpkin bar recipe, and found one here, at Visions of Sugar Plum.  Her blog has good recipes, and she's pretty funny!  I made this with my own frosting concoction and brought it to work to share on Halloween.  Everyone loved them, and I brought home an empty pan!


2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

 2 teaspoons baking powder
 1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin puree
 4 large eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan with cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, granulated sugar and pumpkin until creamy - about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs until well combined - about 2-3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Scrape and smooth batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely on a wire rack.

The frosting I whipped up included powdered sugar, a little splash of heavy cream, and butter.  A delicious experiment! I created to taste, until it had a light buttercream flavor.

Smokey Tomato Bisque

We have been on a major soup kick lately, and one of my favorite things is to toast up some delicious bread to dip into my soup!  So the bread for this dinner came first, and then I dug around to see what we could do.  I found this bbq sausage in the freezer, and decided to make some tomato soup to go with it.



I mixed together a can of Tomato Basil coup with a can of Tomato Bisque.  To it, I added some chili powder (spice island of course!), a sprinkling of ancho powder, some granulated garlic, some of the Harissa - a red pepper paste- my husband had made a few days before (recipe to come), and a little salt.  We topped it with some shaved Gruyere cheese, which added to the smokey flavor.   A little blurp of sour creme on top was the perfect addition!

Cider

Since our anniversary comes on our favorite fall holiday of the year, we decided to forgo the champagne for some other celebratory beverage.  We opened the hard cider that my parents put in our anniversary basket of goodies, and toasted with our sparkly wedding glasses.   Happy 2nd Anniversary, husband of mine!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

We have been obsessed with shredded chicken the past few months, and have many baggies full in the freezer.  After buying what smelled like the greatest pineapple ever at the grocery store, we decided that it would be a perfect compliment to the bbq chicken in the freezer on a pizza.

We used a powdered pizza dough mix from the Italian section in the grocery store, cooking the crust for awhile before adding toppings.  For the sauce, I mixed together Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce with some Tuscan balsamic vinegar that came from a specialty oil store (it was slightly sweet with some Italian spice).  

We cut the pineapple into chunks, and topped the pizza with that plus the chicken and some sauted red onion, and finally mozarella. 

Simple, but fantastically delicious!! 

Baked Apple Donuts

I loved the baked pumpkin donuts that I had made, especially kicked up with some extra clove, so I wanted to try apple.  I used this recipe, and while they were delicious, they were much more like a delicious muffin textured apple flavored biscuit than a donut. They have their place, and froze up well, but I will go back to the drawing board for a new apple donut recipe to make my own.

Thanks to Homemade and Wholesome for the recipe! 

1 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c brown sugar

4 tbsp cold buttre

1 egg

1 apple peeled and shredded

1/2 c milk

Blend dry ingredients, and then cut in the cold butter while it is cold. In another bowl, whisk 1 egg, and then add in the apple and milk.  Mix all the ingredients together, and then bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

Cauliflower Pizza Bites (a diet miracle!)

I pinned these on pinterest and then chased down the recipe, subsequently making my own modifications for max deliciousness. They have approx. 8 calories each, which goes up only slightly with the addition of the delicious turkey pepperoni slice on the top!


1 head cauliflower (cut off the core)
1/4 c egg whites
1 c cottage cheese
1/8 c parmesean
Granulated garlic (to taste)
Turkey pepperoni



I cut the cauliflower into pieces and then put it in the food processor, until it crumbled to a course powder.  Then, I stirfried it in a skillet, adding in the garlic and a PAM, until translucent.  After mixing with the rest of the ingredients, I scooped it into a mini muffin tin and pressed it down with a spoon, sprinkling some parmesean on top and pressing in a turkey pepperoni on each.    I make a double batch, and in between some of the liquids came out of the mixture in the bowl so I had to mix it all together and let it sit for a minute before making the second batch.

The pizza bites were baked for 25-30 minutes or until the bottoms turned almost black and they were pretty dry.  Even blackened they tasted perfect. Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing.

We keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge.  They are best warmed up in the oven, but are still pretty good microwaved.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts (turned muffin)

This delicious breakfast treat came from the King Arthur Flour folks.

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp pie spice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix until smooth, and then add 1 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour.
Cook for 15 minutes if using a donut pan, or about 25 if regular sized muffin pans.  Coat with cinnamoned sugar when still warm.

I made some adjustments, and instead of using pie spice, mixed cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger in with the dough.  I also made some quick glaze (powdered sugar with a little vanilla and water) for over the top.  I tried both mini and regular size muffins, and think I prefer the mini, as the more crisp outside is at a better ratio to the cake inside, more like how a donut would be.  We don't own a donut pan, and I don't think I should, or I would be tempted to make these often!!

Butternut Squash Soup

I don't remember where I first got this recipe to give them credit but I've made it so often and made my own adjustments to the point that I pretty much wing it now!

Cook up your butternut squash the best way you know how.  I line deep baking dishes with foil, put cut squash cut side down.  Cook until softened enough to scrape out!


I generally use approx a 2:1 ratio of squash to chicken stock, so if I end p with about 6 cups of squash once I scrape it out, I'll use 3 or 4 cups of broth.  I put the two together in a large pot and cook a little longer, so the squash takes up some of the broth.

Then, I puree the two (broth and squash) together in a blender. Careful in this step, if it is still hot, steam bubbles with cause the soup to "pop" in the blender, allow the air to escape! If it is still too much like a baby food consistency, add more broth.

I pour everything back in the pot, and add my spices.  I like a LOT of ginger, a good helping of nutmeg, a little salt and pepper, and a tiny bit of chili powder (Spice Islands, of course!) Obviously these can be adjusted to taste.

What makes this soup so rich and delicious is the last step, adding in heavy cream.  I usually use about 1/4 of a cup, and get out the immersion blender to whip it in.  (and look at the neat design it makes!)


This soup freezes well, we make a lot of it so we can defrost and have it throughout the winter!  It's delicious with crusty bread or as an appetizer, and even with the cream added, the soup is very low in calories.

Recently we also discovered that if you mix in shredded chicken and Harissa (a spicy peppery paste my husband made... recipe coming soon) or some other spicy sauce, it is not only amazingly tasty, but turns this appetizer or side dish into a whole meal in itself!

Herbed and Cornmeal Flatbread

I love bread. It's a bit of an obsession to find good bread, so making it and having in the house is a treat, as I could normally polish off all that we have in a single day.  My mother found me this recipe, and after hanging onto it for several months, finally got around to trying it, with great success!

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup corn meal (stone ground)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp greek yogurt
1/4 tsp herbs
canola oil

I upped the quantity of herbs because I like lots of flavor! I actually used a little baggie full of Italian herbs made for dipping olive oil, which worked great, but any mix you prefer would be delicious.

1.  Mix dry ingredients in food processor, then add yogurt until mixture forms a ball (it really does do this!)
2.  Chill for at least an hour (up to 1 day) in the refridgerator
3.  Divide dough into 8 pieces.  Easiest is to cut like a pie and then re-roll if you want round bread.  I just flattened out the triangles for ours.
4.  Heat well seasoned cast iron skillet and add canola oil
5.  Cook 2 minutes on each side, and keep warm in the oven. They get nice and browned.

You can see the results here, served up with some beef stew, broiled potatoes, and zucchini.  Without considering the canola oil, these come out to about 170 calories each (for 1/8 the recipe)

Moroccan Chicken and Autumn Vegetables

These are more additions from Paula Wolfert's cookbook!  They went together very well, especially with the addition of the tomato jam.



Moroccan Chicken
2 garlic cloves
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch powdered saffron
1/4 tsp fine ground black pepper
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup hot water

1.  Pound garlic with salt, then blend in ginger, saffron, and pepper
2.  Gradually stir in oil and water as if making mayo
3.  in flame proof skillet, toss chicken with the garlic mixture and cook over low heat for 5 minutes

4. Add:
1/2 cup grated oion
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup corriander
2 1/2 cups water to cover


5.  Bring to biol and reduce to med-low.  Cook covered for 1 hour.


We had to make some substitutions, based on spices available, and used tumeric instead of saffron.  We also used dried cilantro which did not have quite the right flavor, so also included fresh ground cumin seed, more ginger, cumin, and fresh ground pepper.


Roasted Autumn Vegetables in the style of Corfu
1 1/2 lb ripe tomatoes
1 1/2 lb peeled potatoes (cut into 6 wedges)
1 lb yellow or red onion (cut into 6 wedges)
1 lb zucchini (trimmed, cut into chunks)
2 ribs celery
2 tsp fine chopped garlic
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp dill
1 tsp mint or marjorum
1/4 cup fruity olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400  and oil a large baking dish
2.  Spread 1/2 tomatoes on bottom, scatter vegetables on top, and layer with the rest of tomatoes
3.  Sprinkle with garlic salt, pepper, and herbs, and drizzle olive oil over the top
4.  Bake 30 minutes, stir to redistribute the vegetables, and bake another 30-40 minutes

We were not as precise in the sizes of the vegetables we cut, and we had no celery.  We did add peter pan squash, though, which has a mild zucchini like taste, and it was a great addition.  Delicious!

Spicy Eggplant and Tomato Salad/Jam

My husband is obsessed with books and recently got Paula Wolfert's World of Food in the mail.  I sat down and marked a bunch of recipes to work through, but with the farmstand season still in full swing, decided to start out with recipes that would use the lovely eggplants and other veggies in my produce drawer.

This seems like more of a jam to me, and indeed we had it on crusty bread, and it was pleasant change from our obsession with fresh bruschetta!

2lb eggplant
course salt
olive oil
1 lb tomato (peeled and seeded or 2 cans chopped tomatoes)
pinch sugar
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Remove top and bottom of each eggplant, and strip 3-4 narrow stripes off of skin.  Cut into 1/2 inch slices, salt, and leave to drain for at least an hour

2.  Heat oil in seasoned black skillet.  Fry egg plant until golden brown on each side and drain on paper towel.  Save oil to resuse

3.  Return 3 Tbsp oil to skillet and reheat.  Add tomatoes and salt, and fry them (medium for 5 minutes).  Add the sugar if too acidic

4. Mash eggplant with garlic and spices.  Add to skillet with tomatoes and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.  Continue turning in pan to help moisture evaporate.

5.  When thick, remove from heat and fold in lemon juice.  Keep well covered and refridgerate... serve at room temp.

Maple Pepper Pork

When we go to Missouri or Indiana, we always make a stop at the Amish stores that have the bulk spices.  They are amazing, and so much cheaper than the regular grocery store.  The prices and selection have made cooking so much fun, because we have a fairly well stocked spice cabinet that I can experiment with anytime!

One gem that we found at one of these stores was maple pepper rub.  We an only assume that it started with a base of maple powder  (dehydrated maple syrup: for purchase on Amazon) and had black pepper and other spices added.  We got an applewood smoked pork tenderloin, rubbed it all up with the seasoning, and cooked it pretty low and slow in the oven.   When it was almost done, I drizzled some of our maple syrup over the top (very unprocessed, so great strong flavor) for some additional flavor.

I cooked up some apples and sweet onions together in a pan with a little seasoning to top the pork with when it was ready.  We served it up with some mushroom risotto (frozen kind from Trader Joe's) and sweet corn for a delicious meal!

Frozen Greek Yogurt & Apple Granola Dessert: Accidental Awesomeness

I was dying for frozen yogurt, not even good ice cream would do.  Don't ask me why, it just has a different zip  to it!  So we busted out the Kitchenaid Ice Cream attachment (a super sized thank you to my family, it's awesome!) and got to work.

 I looked at several recipes but the main ingredients seemed to just include the yogurt, something to sweeten it, and whatever the heck else you wanted.  So in this case we used plain greek yogurt mixed with a  little splenda, a couple tablespoons of honey, vanilla extract, and some cinnamon plus (from pampered chef, great mix).  Fabulous!


Here's where the accidental awesomeness came in.  With the flavors we had chosen, it was just screaming for something to be put on, like pie.  But alas, no pie available.  So I cut up one of our precious ($$$$) honeycrisp apples, and put half each into our little pots (forget their name).  Then I topped them with some ginger snap granola we had from the organic section at Hyvee, some of the almost-raw maple syrup in our cabinet, a sprinkling of brown sugar, and a little butter.

OH MY WORD.  The gingersnap granola got soft and amazing and then crisped and carmelized right on top... the apples were tart and sweet.  With the not-too-sweet frozen yogurt on top, it was one of the best apple desserts I've ever eaten.  Not the prettiest, but oh so very tasty.  We will be stocking this granola regularly for after dinner emergencies from here on, I think!

Cilantro and Lime Corn "Salad"

While the corn crop was a bit of a failure this year, the Marai sweet corn was delicious through much of the season! And if you know me, you know I'm obsessed with corn.  So when I got a nice batch of ears, I decided to freeze some of it.  I followed directions from the folks at the farm where I got the corn from, blanching it for 5 or 10 minutes, cooling it down, cutting it off the cob, and then freezing it with as little air as possible.

We don't have an ice maker, so yes, there are shoes floating in my corn bowl!



But for some, I kept it out to use as is.  This is so simple, but one of the most delicious size dishes for summer taco type food, and we even used it on some nachos!




Corn off the cob
a little butter
cilantro (dried)
chili powder (Spice Islands is the only way to go in this house! It's the best, Cooks Illustrated even says so!)
Lime juice

Yes, I'm being vague, just add all a little at a time until you love the flavor! Yum!

(corn's under there, just a bit hard to see!)

Cloud Bread Failure

This recipe sounded too good to be true when I found it online, in several places... bread that was as pretty as a delicious golden hamburger bun, and as healthy as can be.  So I thought I would try it.  So here it goes...

3 eggs, separated
3 Tbsp whole milk cottage cheese or 3 Tbsp cream cheese
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1g splenda

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2.  Separate eggs... you must have NO yolk in the whites
3.  Mix together yolk, cheese, and sweetener
4.  Add cream of tartar to whites and beat on high until fluffy with high peaks (but don't beat too long of course)
5. Fold egg yolk mix into whites, attempting not to decrease the fluff
6. Spray cookie sheet with Pam
7. Scoop mix onto cookie sheet into 10 rounds, 3/4'' thick, 4-5 inches across
8.  Cook around half an hour until browned.  Cool on cutting board
9.  After cool, seal in ziplock over night to soften


Ok, so, apparently I'm not great at whipping egg whites, first issue.  And then gently folding yolks back into them, problem 2.  Nonetheless, got these cooked up, put them into the ziplock bag and left them over night.  They tasted like kind of a moist meringue cookie... a little custardy... and just... weird with the cream of tartar I could taste.  But we thought, all right, maybe we can put stuff on them?  Well, apparently the recipe was missing the step of "put them in the fridge" and they turned from weird to AWFUL really quickly.  I know, duh, eggs and dairy and whatnot, but hey, it's bread, I didn't think.

In any case, I'd rather save up my calories and have some real gosh dang bread than deal with this mess again.  So mark one down in the book for failure!

Stuffed Peppers

This recipe is really more of an assembly, which I note mainly because it came from my Grandmother, who is a self proclaimed non-cooker.  My mom made these when the three of us were having a gal's getaway this summer, and I've made them a few times since then with yummy results!

Mom made these with green peppers, and I loved it, and thought we'd love it even more at home with red pepper... but not so! Though red peppers are normally my preference, with the flavors of the beef and tomato sauce, the distinct flavor of the green pepper stands up much better.

6 peppers
1 package rice quick rice (I used garlic whole grain medley that you can microwave in the bag)
sweet onions
garlic
parmesean cheese
1lb lean beef
(I also added mushrooms to ours)

1.  Cut guts out and blanch peppers.  If you are neat about it, you can cut the tops off, save them, and then put back on for cooking to keep stuffing from blackening on top!

2.  Cook other ingredients except beef and set aside

3.  Cooke beef, and the mix with other  veggies and rice

4.  Stuff peppers and top with cheese

5.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes (covered with foil for the last 10 to prevent charring)

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

This recipe came from heatherhomeade.com (as did the lovely picture).  I didn't get to take a snapshot of my own as I made them before running out the door on our way to Michigan for a week long camping adventure, where we were meeting up with a friend I was gifting them to, if we did not eat them all before getting there.  A few were missing from the bag, but most survived the trip! :D


1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1.Preheat oven to 350 and line a sheet with parchment

2. Cream butter and sugar by hand until fluffy

3.  Add egg, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla, and beat until combined

4.  Mix for 30 more seconds

5. Add dry ingredients to wet until just combined

6.  Drop by rounded Tbsp onto sheet (roll in powdered sugar first if desired)

7.  Bake 10 minutes until bottoms brown and tops lose the shine.  Let rest a few minute before moving to cooling rack.

Only minor modification I made was to add more lemon zest and a little more lemon juice to kick up the flavor.  They turned out really really delicious!!

Zucchini Pancakes

This recipe came from Madam Barefoot Contessa.  She's not my favorite "teacher" in the cooking show arena, but I do love a lot of her recipes! These turned out really tasty. 

(not my picture, credit to suppersmiths.com, but they did look like this!)

2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 pound)
2 tablespoons grated red onion
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
6 to 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Unsalted butter and vegetable oil
Directions


Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

1. Grate the zucchini into a bowl using the large grating side of a box grater. Immediately stir in the onion and eggs. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and pepper. (If the batter gets too thin from the liquid in the zucchini, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.)

2. Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan.

3. Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place the pancakes on a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry the pancakes until all the batter is used. 

4. The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Serve hot. 

After about 30 min the pancakes will start to get a little soggy, but we found that we still loved the flavor.  We even had some left over, and to reheat, cooked them up in a skillet, breaking up the pancake to crisp up and brown all the parts.  Made the texture a little different, but as a leftover, I liked it better! Will definitely make these again. 

Low Cal Pancakes

 I found a few recipes for these, and kind of combined them together to get the best out of all of them.

1 cup cottage cheese (drain excess liquid a little)
1 cup rolled oats
6 egg whites
1 Tbsp splenda
Cinnamon, vanilla, and spices to taste

Drop 1/4 cup servings onto a hot griddle.  Roughly 180 calories per serving of 3 pancakes. Thinned out a bit would make delicious crepes!

The topping in the picture was made with strawberries sauteed in a pan with a little maple syrup , cinnamon, and other spices.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I LOVE strawberry freezer jam.  It might even be my favorite food.  Right up there with homemade chocolate covered strawberries! This is a pretty straightforward recipe, direct from the Ball company, but it can't be beat for ease and deliciousness, with not too many calories! I make double batches, but this recipe can be cut in half.

Ball Freezer Jam: 
8 cups Mashed berries
3.5 cups Sugar (I use Splenda)
10 Tbsp pectin (No cook, Ball Freezer Jam pectin, specifically! Look at the label!)


Driscoll's brand strawberries are the best to use for freezer jam because they are ripened before they are sold, so you don't have to pick through, and they are consistently sweet.  I also like to add a little bit of lemon zest, as I think it helps the taste of the Splenda blend in, and adds a little zip.  I've also made it with 1/2 and 1/2 frozen rhubarb that was defrosted and drained.  Has good flavor, but I still like the classic the best!

With this recipe, the calorie count ends up being a little under 10 calories per tablespoon... none to shabby!

Sweet Almond Biscuits

Sweet Almond Biscuits
recipe from Debbie Uhrig @ Silver Dollar City, MO (culinary school)


4c all purpose flour
8 tsp baking powder
1/2 c almond flour or almond meal
1 tsp salt
1 c b utter
1/2 c milk
1 c buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp almond extract
2/3 c toasted chopped almonds

1. Sift dry ingredients and cut in butter until crumbly.  This works best with extremely cold butter.

2.  Mi eggs and milk; add extract

3.  Add chopped roasted almonds

4.  Roll dough and cut with biscuit cutter (I got a new one, first time using... fun!)

5. Bake at 450 for 10-14 minutes

I used fine chopped almonds for almond meal vs flour, almond milk, and unsweetened butter.  In the future, I would use regular milk and sweetened butter as these were not as sweet as the ones we had tasted.  I also forgot to toast the almond, oops!  Also might have chopped the butter too small, turns out the bigger the butter "chunks" the flakier they are.  In any case, they were delicious! You can also start with this basic recipe for a biscuit and add berries, etc, for scones.

Almond Milk Ice Cream

We love our ice cream attachment for the Kitchen Aid, but making ice cream with a lot of cream does not help my allergies (to dairy) or my waistline! So we were looking for a lower calorie alternative, and found a solution that solved both problems on this website:
Bay Area Bites Vegan Ice Cream

I modified the recipe a bit, and used :

1 1/2 cups chocolate almond milk
a few tablespoons of cream
2 tablespoons splenda
2 bananas

It was wonderful!  Stayed pretty creamy and not real firm for a long time, which was actually perfect on slices of chocolate chip coffee cake that we had.   It froze up quite a lot more overnight, though, to the point it was hard to get out of the container, but was perfect after about ten minutes out on the counter.  Chocolate and banana are so yummy!

The webiste also has a recipe for strawberry, which is up next on my recipe list !

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Last weekend, we tried a new recipe for some tasty, hearty oatmeal.   It's a modification of recipes I've seen before, mainly in that we used steel cut, quick cooking Irish Oatmeal.

It really was more of an assembly than any fancy cooking, but I followed the directions on the can for the oatmeal, except substituted almond milk.  Then I mixed in the canned pumpkin and seasoned with clove, cinnamon, & nutmeg, and a little brown sugar.

After cooking it all up, I poured a tiny bit of real maple syrup over the top and sprinkled on a few pumpkin seeds.   These my husband weren't fond of, but I liked the little bit of crunch, so might be a serve on the side thing next time.

A Date at the Winery

Acquaviva Winery is one of our favorite places to go for a weekend date.  It's a pleasant drive out there, and it is both beautiful and casual at the same time... the decor and building are gorgeous with marble and fancy decor, but lots of folks are in there in casual jeans, etc, during the day.

Melanzane alla Griglia salad is our  normal starter,  and even if you are not a veggie person, it is FANtastic.  The balsamic drizzle is a perfect compliment to the roasted veggies and goat cheese.  After that, their brick oven pizza is our go-to dish.  We like it rather plain, or with mushrooms.  It sounds gross, but the first time we had the sauce we both decided it had a hint of cheetos flavor, not exactly sure why, but again, it's delicious!

The desserts, ohhhh the desserts.  This is my personal love.  I don't even remember what it's called, but there's this luscious creamy vanilla in the middle, and dark chocolate gelato surrounding it with chopped hazlenuts pressed in to cocoa powder on the outside.   This time we finished it off with a little thing of espresso and lemon peel.

As it is a winery, we do actually love their wines, too!  The 2007 Frontenac is our favorite red, as it is somewhat tannic with yummy berry flavor.  We actually have become a fan of some of the whites, too!  The Briana is delightfully refreshing and sweet in particular. 

Great place, check it out!   Acquaviva Winery

Car Bomb Cupcakes

As St. Patty's day roles around, I thought it would be fun to try to make some Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.  I got the recipe from this blog :  Brown Eyed Baker, and have copied it here.

I followed the recipe precisely!  Except the first time around I left out the baking soda!  Drat! So we had some chocolatey flavored hockey pucks, and I started again.  Second time around, they were delicious and pretty! 

A few firsts for me with this recipe, in using Guinness for anything other than just lovingly drinking it,  making ganache, and using frosting tips!  

For the Cupcakes:


1 cup Guinness stout

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoons salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup sour cream


For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 teaspoons Irish whiskey


For the Baileys Frosting:

2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream


1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.


2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.


3. To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.


4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.


5. To Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.


6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

Spicy Cheese Enchiladas

We love chicken and peppers quite a lot, so when we had some leftover spicy cheese soup from the Meat Shack and leftover shredded chicken from my beer chicken extravaganza with the pressure cooker, we decided to put the two together.

I cooked up some peppers and onions, which were delightfully colorful, along with some garlic and lime juice.  Then, just rolled up some chicken and pepper mixture in flour tortillas and poured the soup on top!  It wasn't quite coated enough for my taste, so I mixed a little tomato sausce and salsa together and dumped that over the top as well, and then sprinkled on queso fresco.

Baked up the whole pan, and they turned out delicioso!