Thank goodness for easy recipes like this for weeknights! I found this one on Ashley's blog, The Mommy Games. It's so simple, I'm not even going to repost it, so click on the link and thank me for such an easy peasy meal later!
Showing posts with label seasonal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seasonal. Show all posts
Friday, February 8, 2013
Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Thank goodness for easy recipes like this for weeknights! I found this one on Ashley's blog, The Mommy Games. It's so simple, I'm not even going to repost it, so click on the link and thank me for such an easy peasy meal later!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Boneless Cran-Apple Pork Chops
Every Friday night is pizza night here at the Canister. This past Friday night, we changed that tradition. Instead of throwing away $15 on a pizza that we would eat Friday night for dinner, Saturday and Sunday for lunch, we decided we would actually cook. GASP! This is a big step toward our goal of saving a little more money each week. Now that we have a house, little expenses keep creeping up and surprising us. Last week it was a blown light bulb, the week before, the garage door stopped opening, and so on and so on. Thankfully, that last one happened after we already freed our cars from the garage. As a result of this, I've found that I spend more time in line at Home Depot than I do in the kitchen! Anyway, since we had some free time Friday night, I thought it would be a perfect night to cook. Enter: the best pork chops I've had in a really long time.
Boneless Cran-Apple Pork Chops
Kitchen Canister original
Ingredients
4 boneless pork chops, fat trimmed
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried sage
1/2 cup water
1/4 of a sweet spanish onion, cut into slices
Directions
Combine all ingredients except water and onions into a large bowl. Pour water over top and stir so each pork chop is coated with marinade. Let chops soak for 15 minutes Coat a pan with olive oil and heat until smoking. Add onions and let carmelize. When pork chops are done marinading, add to pan with onions. Cook each pork chop 3 minutes per side, or until desired doneness. Serve with jasmine rice and broccoli. Top with onions.
Servings: 4
Chef's Notes
These pork chops were so delicious. The spiciness of the chili powder balanced the sweetness of the apple and cranberry juices perfectly. By adding the pork chops to the same pan as the onions, the onions absorbed some of the pork marinade and came out super sweet. Overall, this was a very tasy meal.
Boneless Cran-Apple Pork Chops
Kitchen Canister original
Ingredients
4 boneless pork chops, fat trimmed
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried sage
1/2 cup water
1/4 of a sweet spanish onion, cut into slices
Directions
Combine all ingredients except water and onions into a large bowl. Pour water over top and stir so each pork chop is coated with marinade. Let chops soak for 15 minutes Coat a pan with olive oil and heat until smoking. Add onions and let carmelize. When pork chops are done marinading, add to pan with onions. Cook each pork chop 3 minutes per side, or until desired doneness. Serve with jasmine rice and broccoli. Top with onions.
Servings: 4
Chef's Notes
These pork chops were so delicious. The spiciness of the chili powder balanced the sweetness of the apple and cranberry juices perfectly. By adding the pork chops to the same pan as the onions, the onions absorbed some of the pork marinade and came out super sweet. Overall, this was a very tasy meal.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Warm Apple Cake
I made this cake on Thanksgiving and it was a real hit. Though the name of it is Warm Apple Cake, I served it room temperature. Keeping something warm while traveling and then eating a big turkey dinner is not an easy feat. I also hate reheating something that is supposed to be made warm. The taste just isn't the same. I once tried to reheat a pecan pie, and it ended up runny. It still tasted great, but the presentation just wasn't there.
So, while this cake wasn't served as intended, it was still delicious, and it really had staying power. We were eating it well into the next week. That's the thing about Thanksgiving meals. You're so full after the big meal, there's no room for all of those delicious desserts! I ended up eating only a small piece of this cake on Thanksgiving, as did the rest of my family. That left us with almost the whole cake leftover, which was fine with us! I will never turn down a delicious dessert that I can eat 3 or 4 more times after dinner every night.
Warm Apple Cake
taken from 101 Easy Entertaining Recipes, by Gooseberry Patch
Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose flour (I used half AP, half whole wheat)
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 egg, beaten
2 c. apples, cored, peeled and grated
1/2 c. chopped walnuts, divided
Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees Farenheit. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together egg, apples, and 1/4 cup nuts; add to flour mixture. Spread in a greased 8"x8" baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick tests clean. Top with remaining nuts and serve warm.
Servings: 9
Chef's Notes
The recipe in the book also recomended that the cake be topped with a caramel sauce. I didn't have the time or the means to make this on Thanksgiving morning, so I skipped it. It would probably taste great, though. Instead, we topped it with whipped cream and when I had it later in the week, I served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
When I first started to make this cake, I had some reservations. The batter seemed really sticky and wasn't really settling into the pan. I thought maybe I used too much flour, but after some shaking of the pan, the batter ended up covering it.
I used 4 fuji apples for this recipe and it was just sweet enough. I don't have a grater, so instead of grating the apples up, I chopped them into small pieces in my food processor. Having some chunks of apple in the cake was really a nice touch. I'm glad I didn't have the grater.
So, while this cake wasn't served as intended, it was still delicious, and it really had staying power. We were eating it well into the next week. That's the thing about Thanksgiving meals. You're so full after the big meal, there's no room for all of those delicious desserts! I ended up eating only a small piece of this cake on Thanksgiving, as did the rest of my family. That left us with almost the whole cake leftover, which was fine with us! I will never turn down a delicious dessert that I can eat 3 or 4 more times after dinner every night.
Warm Apple Cake
taken from 101 Easy Entertaining Recipes, by Gooseberry Patch
Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose flour (I used half AP, half whole wheat)
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 egg, beaten
2 c. apples, cored, peeled and grated
1/2 c. chopped walnuts, divided
Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees Farenheit. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together egg, apples, and 1/4 cup nuts; add to flour mixture. Spread in a greased 8"x8" baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick tests clean. Top with remaining nuts and serve warm.
Servings: 9
Chef's Notes
The recipe in the book also recomended that the cake be topped with a caramel sauce. I didn't have the time or the means to make this on Thanksgiving morning, so I skipped it. It would probably taste great, though. Instead, we topped it with whipped cream and when I had it later in the week, I served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
When I first started to make this cake, I had some reservations. The batter seemed really sticky and wasn't really settling into the pan. I thought maybe I used too much flour, but after some shaking of the pan, the batter ended up covering it.
I used 4 fuji apples for this recipe and it was just sweet enough. I don't have a grater, so instead of grating the apples up, I chopped them into small pieces in my food processor. Having some chunks of apple in the cake was really a nice touch. I'm glad I didn't have the grater.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Butternut Squash and Corn Soup
That crisp fall weather has finally hit us here in NJ and you know what that means: it's time for all those lovely comforting fall foods like squash, apples, roast turkey and of course, soups! Nothing warms a person through and through like a good bowl of soup. Today I was in the mood for just that, so I turned to my trusty friend Tyler Florence for a good soup featuring a favorite fall vegetable, butternut squash.
I just discovered how tasty butternut squash is last year, thanks to this blog. I was looking for a new "fall-ish" recipe and stumbled on a great and simple recipe for pan fried butternut squash. It was heavenly. Butternut squash - where have you been all my life??!!
A few weeks ago, we rekindled our relationship while out at dinner. A local restaurant was serving their version of butternut squash soup and I tried it. It was really good. So good that it's kind of been on my mind ever since. So today is the day I tried out a squash soup on my own - with the help of my favorite food network chef of course!
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
adapted from Tyler Florence of Food Network
Ingredients
2 (2 pound) butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
Vegetable oil
1/4 pound amaretti cookies I couldn't find these in my supermarket so I nixed them. I served it with those crostini breads that you buy for bruschetta
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 bunch fresh sage
1 onion, sliced thin
1 11oz can of white shoe-peg corn
1 clove garlic
splash of heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock, either homemade or store-bought -use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian
Pinch of grated nutmeg - I couldn't find nutmeg at the store either so I used cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish with vegetable oil. Place squash cut side up in prepared dish. Pierce each squash half several times with toothpick or skewer. Bake until squash is tender, about 45 minutes.
While the squash is cooking, use a handheld mixer with the chopping attachment to pulse the cookies until roughly chopped. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring the olive oil up to almost smoking. Quickly cook the sage leaves until crisp. Remove and reserve the sage, and saute the sliced onion and garlic. When the squash is done cooking, using a large spoon, scrape squash into the pot; discard peel. Add 3 1/2 cups chicken stock and nutmeg and puree until smooth, add additional stock to reach desired consistency. The video for the recipe shows Tyler adding a splash of cream to his soup at the end, so I did the same, even though the printed recipe doesn't call for it. After pureeing the squash and onions, I added the corn. Stir soup over medium heat until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with crushed amaretti; garnish with sage leaves.
Recipe Notes
As noted above, I added corn to this recipe to give it a little extra "something". I also added garlic when I sauteed the onions. Some of the reviews on food network's website said the soup was lacking a little, but I thought it tasted great! It probably would have tasted even better if I wasn't in such a rush to finish it up and remembered to add the cinnamon at the end!
The only thing I wished I had for this recipe was an emulsion blender. After combining the squash, onions, garlic and broth, I had to scoop it out into my regular blender to puree. That was a real pain, since the blender could not hold the entire contents of the stock pot. I ended up blending two batches and then combining them to reheat. Well, Christmas is coming soon, right? Maybe Santa will put an emulsion blender under the tree!!
I just discovered how tasty butternut squash is last year, thanks to this blog. I was looking for a new "fall-ish" recipe and stumbled on a great and simple recipe for pan fried butternut squash. It was heavenly. Butternut squash - where have you been all my life??!!
A few weeks ago, we rekindled our relationship while out at dinner. A local restaurant was serving their version of butternut squash soup and I tried it. It was really good. So good that it's kind of been on my mind ever since. So today is the day I tried out a squash soup on my own - with the help of my favorite food network chef of course!
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
adapted from Tyler Florence of Food Network
Ingredients
2 (2 pound) butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
1/4 pound amaretti cookies
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 bunch fresh sage
1 onion, sliced thin
1 11oz can of white shoe-peg corn
1 clove garlic
splash of heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock, either homemade or store-bought -use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian
Pinch of grated nutmeg - I couldn't find nutmeg at the store either so I used cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish with vegetable oil. Place squash cut side up in prepared dish. Pierce each squash half several times with toothpick or skewer. Bake until squash is tender, about 45 minutes.
While the squash is cooking, use a handheld mixer with the chopping attachment to pulse the cookies until roughly chopped. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring the olive oil up to almost smoking. Quickly cook the sage leaves until crisp. Remove and reserve the sage, and saute the sliced onion and garlic. When the squash is done cooking, using a large spoon, scrape squash into the pot; discard peel. Add 3 1/2 cups chicken stock and nutmeg and puree until smooth, add additional stock to reach desired consistency. The video for the recipe shows Tyler adding a splash of cream to his soup at the end, so I did the same, even though the printed recipe doesn't call for it. After pureeing the squash and onions, I added the corn. Stir soup over medium heat until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with crushed amaretti; garnish with sage leaves.
Recipe Notes
As noted above, I added corn to this recipe to give it a little extra "something". I also added garlic when I sauteed the onions. Some of the reviews on food network's website said the soup was lacking a little, but I thought it tasted great! It probably would have tasted even better if I wasn't in such a rush to finish it up and remembered to add the cinnamon at the end!
The only thing I wished I had for this recipe was an emulsion blender. After combining the squash, onions, garlic and broth, I had to scoop it out into my regular blender to puree. That was a real pain, since the blender could not hold the entire contents of the stock pot. I ended up blending two batches and then combining them to reheat. Well, Christmas is coming soon, right? Maybe Santa will put an emulsion blender under the tree!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Super Easy Fruit Salad
This weekend we went to a Fourth of July BBQ at a friends house. There were going to be a lot of people there so I volunteered to bring a couple things. Since I'm trying to stay healthy, I went for a fruit salad and an orzo salad. Here is the recipe for a super easy fruit salad that was a real hit.
Super Easy Fruit Salad
Ingredients
1 lb bing cherries
1 box blueberries
1 lb green seedless grapes
Directions
Slice the grapes and cherries in half, and throw out the cherry pits. Add blueberries and mix. Serve either in a large mixing bowl, or portion into dessert dishes and top with whipped cream.
Note: Halving the cherries and grapes makes it look like this dish actually required effort. I will also say that everyone was very happy to have cherries without the work of getting rid of the pits! This also doubled as a delicious breakfast the next day.
Super Easy Fruit Salad
Ingredients
1 lb bing cherries
1 box blueberries
1 lb green seedless grapes
Directions
Slice the grapes and cherries in half, and throw out the cherry pits. Add blueberries and mix. Serve either in a large mixing bowl, or portion into dessert dishes and top with whipped cream.
Note: Halving the cherries and grapes makes it look like this dish actually required effort. I will also say that everyone was very happy to have cherries without the work of getting rid of the pits! This also doubled as a delicious breakfast the next day.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Happy First Day of Spring
Well, it is now Spring, and that means a whole host of exciting vegetables are available to us at their freshest, including my favorite, asparagus. I did a quick search on the web and found the following list of the Top 10 Spring Vegetables over at Mark's Daily Apple.
Top 10 Spring Vegetables - Mark's Daily Apple
I hope you all enjoy your first Spring day! As for New Jersey, it is supposed to be a little chilly (upper 40's), but I'll take that over snow any day!
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