A Taste for your Buds

One of our family friends, Bette, graciously shared her apple recipe.  Bette brought this cake to a family event and my husband eyed it and after his first bite he just couldn’t stop eating it.  I don’t make this cake often because Gary will eat it nonstop by himself!!

This is one of the easiest apple cake recipes that you are ever going to make!  The only ingredient that you probably don’t have in the pantry is the apples. And you only need two cups of apples, which is equivalent to approximately 2 medium apples.  I like using a combination of apples such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Pippin when I make it.

You don’t need any special tools to make this cake, just a baking pan, bowl, rubber spatula, knife, cutting board, whisk and measuring spoons & cups.   And of course a plate and fork to eat it!!

Did I tell you that this cake is yummy when eaten morning, noon or night?!  Make this easy cake today!!  Nom nom…

Ingredients

2 Cups peeled diced apples

1 Cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 Cup salad oil

1 egg

1 Cup Flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 Cup chopped walnuts

 

Mix all ingredients until very well-blended.  Pour into 9 X 9 inch baking pan.  Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serve hot or cold.

 

Faro is my new favorite grain.  The texture of Faro reminds me of brown rice but it’s more filling and it’s really a wheat product.   It has a nutty and distinctive flavor with a chewy texture.  Additionally, it has a high fiber and protein content.  It’s rich in magnesium and B vitamins (especially B3, or niacin).   These are only some of the health benefits that Faro provides. You have to give this recipe a try!!

So, I have made this Faro recipe twice and each time I served it to my family it was the main course along with a green salad.  Today I made it with a Caesar salad to complete the meal.   You can make this salad ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of days.  

The beauty of this salad is you can make it your own by using the vegetables that you like.  Give Faro a try & enjoy this recipe!

 Ingredients

One cup Faro

2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (I used homemade chicken stock)

2 cups of cooked chicken breast chopped into cubes (you can use rotisserie)

2-3 carrots

1/2 cup of fresh peas

1/4 cup of snap peas trimmed and sliced on a diagonally in half

1/4 cup red onion chopped fine

1/4 cup feta cheese (optional–picture was taken before adding feta)

Dressing

2 TB olive oil

1 TB white wine vinegar

Dry or Fresh Dill to taste (I used dry)

Kosher salt and pepper

Notes: 

• Two parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar.  I like my salads a little bit on the vinegar side.
• Feel free to interchange vegetables.  For instance,  use sliced asparagus trimmed & diagonally cut into 11/2 inch lengths instead of carrots.
• You can add artichoke hearts
• Cook off an extra large chicken breast in the oven the night before and make this recipe the next day!

Cook Faro in chicken broth covered until tender about 20 minutes.  Drain any extra liquid and transfer into a large bowl.  Then place faro in refrigerator to cool slightly.  Meanwhile, cook vegetables in salted water in another pot of boiling water until crisp-tender for about 2-3 minutes and then transfer to ice water to stop the cooking process.

Add chicken, onion and vegetables to the faro.  

Whisk oil, vinegar, dill, and salt & pepper to make dressing and toss into salad then add Feta Cheese and mix to combine.

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

Happy New Year!!  Did you make your New Years’ resolutions?  Are you dieting, exercising, cooking more at home??

 

If you are like me, you are cooking more at home!!  And this recipe fits the bill for both being healthy, tasty, easy to make at home and undamaging to your diet.  I make a similar salad with orzo but thought to replace the orzo with quinoa, which is healthier, provides protein, is low fat and gluten free, and the benefits go on and on…. 

 

One of the other beauties of this salad is that you can interchange the ingredients.  If you prefer kalamata olives, use them instead.  If you want to add marinated artichoke hearts go right ahead!   Want it to be a vegan version? Then don’t add Feta cheese.  You can even serve this salad as a main course with crusty bread.  In our case, I served it with sautéed fish. 

 

I hope you try this recipe out! 

 

Happy Healthy New Year & Happy Cooking!

1 cup quinoa rinsed

2 cups water or broth (I used homemade chicken broth)

1/2 cup cubed cucumber

1/2 cup black olives sliced in half

1/4 cup red onion diced small

1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 cup Feta

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt and Pepper

Prepare quinoa as directed on package in broth or water.  Let quinoa cool down or refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Add all ingredients and season with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

 

 

 

 

I never knew how easy it is to make bark for gift giving until this year!!!  I have wanted to make bark for such a long time and this year I gave it a try.  I made a batch of:

1. Classic peppermint bark
2. A movie bark with milk chocolate base with Cracker Jack, pretzels, peanuts, chocolate covered raisins
3. A semi-sweet chocolate base with pretzels, peanuts, and Cracker Jack topped with a drizzle of melted white chocolate.

The back of the Nestle white chocolate morsels package suggested I use shortening when melting the chips.  So, I bought a package of the Crisco shortening sticks.  This was a tough purchase for me because I never use shortening and just knew it would be wasted in my pantry.  Thankfully through an Internet search, I learned that canola or vegetable oil is a suitable substitution.  I had a suspicion that this would be the case and should have gone with my instinct of not buying the shortening.  I still have the receipt and returned it.  Yikes, grocery stores don’t like consumers like me .

There are so many bark recipes on the Internet to choose from—it’s a field day out there!!  I am providing the recipes that I used.  By the way some of the toppings on the Movie Bark and Drizzled Bark do fall off the bark but make for great snacking.

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Peppermint Bark (from Family Circle, Dec 2012)

2 bags (12 oz each) white chocolate chips*

1 cup peppermint candies unwrapped and then crushed

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Note:  *Not included in the recipe: 2 TB canola or vegetable oil added to chips when microwaving, which provides a nice smooth consistency.  I also added 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract after melting the chocolate.

• Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil, coated with nonstick cooking spray. 
• Place chips in a large glass bowl.  Microwave at 60% for 1 minute.  Stir and repeat until smooth then add peppermint extract.
• Fold half the crushed candies into melted chocolate. 
• Pour onto the prepared pan, spreading with a metal spatula almost to the edge of the pan.  Sprinkle top with remaining crushed candies.  Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.  Break apart into bite sized pieces.

 

Movie Night Bark, Redbook Magazine not sure about date of issue

12 oz milk chocolate chopped

1/2 cup mini pretzels, chopped

1/2 cup Cracker Jack mix, Poppycock, or caramel popcorn

1/2 cup salted peanuts

1/2 cup chocolate covered raisins (halve if large)

Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper.  Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute.  Remove from microwave and stir.  Heat 15 to 30 minutes more and stir until smooth.  Pour chocolate onto prepared baking sheet and spread into a 1/4 inch rectangle using a metal spatula.  Sprinkle with pretzels, Cracker Jack mix, peanuts, and chocolate covered raisins.  Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.  Peel off foil and break bark into pieces.  It will keep for about a month in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Semi-sweet bark with melted White chocolate (my version)

16 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels with 1 TB canola oil

1/2 cup mini pretzels, chopped

1/2 cup Cracker Jack mix, Poppycock, or caramel popcorn

1/2 cup salted peanuts

1/2 cup white chocolate morsels with 1/2 TB canola oil

Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper.  Melt the semisweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute.  Remove from microwave and stir.  Heat 15 to 30 minutes more and stir until smooth.  Pour chocolate onto prepared baking sheet and spread into a ¼-inch rectangle using a metal spatula.  Sprinkle with pretzels, Cracker Jack mix, and peanuts.  Then melt the white chocolate morsels in microwave and drizzle on the bark.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.  Peel off foil and break bark into pieces.  It will keep for about a month in an airtight container in refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday while at the gym, I had no idea what to make for dinner!  You see Gary had a board meeting and Miranda had dinner plans with friends.  My first inclination was to head to the nearest sushi bar.  But, of course, that would be after my workout at the gym.   And, I was not in the mood for sushi – now that’s a switch!

So before working out on my cardio machine I perused the available magazines.  Hmmm, a current issue of Sunset Magazine and an outdated Oprah one were on the rack.  So I took both of the magazines and found a recipe for pumpkin with apples pancakes in Sunset November issue by Ruth Miller, Eugene, OR.  It was not any pumpkin pancake recipe but an easy one that included all the fixins that I had on hand.

The recipe looked perfect!  I like any recipe with fall apples and pumpkin puree.  And it just happened that I went a little apple crazy when I went to the Farmers Market last weekend.  In fact, I had two bags of apples that needed to be used up.  So I whipped up the recipe with pending excitement of hot pancakes! 

 Nothing like getting the first hot pancake off the griddle and enjoying it for dinner with no interruptions!!

Give these a try!!

Ingredients

 

1 large egg

1 cup each flour and milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

I added a teaspoon of vanilla to the batter (this is my only addition to the recipe)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I used fresh – about a pinch)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped

about 2 tablespoons butter, divided

maple syrup

 

Instructions 

1. Mix together all ingredients except butter and syrup in a medium bowl.
2. Melt 2 teaspoons butter in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat.  Spoon batter by 1/3 cup portions into pan, making 3 or 4 pancakes at a time.  Cook turning once, until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.  Continue making pancakes with remaining batter, adding more butter to pan for each batch. 
3. Serve with syrup and more butter if you like.

 

 

 

 

Who says that “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche”?  Well that’s not the case in our house.   My man is a Real man and he eats quiche!  Make this for your man and the softer side of him will come out.   Ok maybe that’s just pushing the envelope a bit but I promise he will like eating it and that’s a guarantee.

This is one of the easiest, no fuss recipes that you will ever make!!  It’s my go to recipe when I am stumped thinking about what to make for dinner.  You can also make it ahead in the morning and bake it in the evening.  It’s good for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner.  You can serve it with a side of fruit or salad.  The options are endless.

You can even switch out ingredients. If you don’t like bacon, keep it out. If you like ham, add it in. If you want to add chives, go for it!  Best of all, most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry.  

Ingredients

1-cup grated Swiss or gruyere cheese

1 cup sour cream (I use light)

6-8 slices of bacon

3 eggs slightly beaten

1 cup chopped onion

½ teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

Crust:  Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (I use light)  Remove rolls from tube.  Lightly spray quiche pan with cooking spray.  Place the rolls on the pan to cover.

Fry the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of bacon fat or olive oil if not using bacon until crisp and just turning golden.  Set aside to cool.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and pour into the crust.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a butter knife come out clean.  Let stand for 5 min. before cutting.

Notes:

1. Prepare bacon in the oven on a rack at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until crisp
2. Make two (bake both) ahead and freeze one for another day.  When ready to serve, thaw and microwave each serving slice.

Miranda absolutely loves my Roasted Cherry Tomato with Garlic Over Pasta with Pine Nuts recipe. I’ve made this dish this summer more than I care to admit! A few weeks ago I picked another large bowl of cherry tomatoes and I asked her if she was sick of the dish yet? Her reply – really are you going to make this again?! Enough Said!! Time to change my plan and that’s when I decided that oven-roasted tomatoes would be the next best alternative.

Early on my tomatoes were taking forever to turn red. I thought for sure that my plants were all duds! In fact I took a picture of one single perfect red cherry amongst green ones!

Fortunately, my plants supplied us with a nice abundance of tomatoes during the summer season.

Here’s the recipe.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees
cherry tomatoes –I had enough to fit a baking pan
2-3 large garlic cloves smashed
1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Cut cherry tomatoes in half, smash garlic cloves and slightly chop and put in a bowl. Add olive oil and generously season with salt and some cracked pepper.

Place tomatoes slice cut up on parchment paper on a baking pan.

Roast at 250 degree until shriveled. Let cool and transfer into a container. Can be kept at room temperature.

They are a great snack or a nice addition to recipes.