German Apple Pancakes

 

Oh my goodness!  This is so yummy it deserves two photos!  This is the best thing I've made in ages!  So simple but so special...this is amazing for overnight guests or for Christmas morning...it is a delicious and classic hearty breakfast with lots of options on fruit and toppings!

 

You'll need:

 

6 Apples, peeled and cored -I used Red Delicious

 

4 Tbl Butter

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 sup white sugar

4 eggs

1/4 cup cinnamon sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

 

Heat a 10 inch cast iron skillet on medium high and melt butter then add apples and cinnamon sugar.

Cook apples on medium high heat until they are al' dente.  You want them cooked but no soft.

 

Remove skillet of apples from heat and add the mixture of flour, milk, salt, eggs, brown and white sugar (well blended) over the top of the bed of apples.  Make sure your apples form a solid base before adding your batter over the top.

 

Bake in the oven at 375* for 12 -  15 minutes.  The center should be set and golden brown.

 

Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  You can also top this with maple syrup if you're especially sweet!  Serve warm right from the skillet! 

 

I've seen this recipe with just the pancake recipe baked in the oven then add strawberries and blue   berries about 10  minutes before the pancake are done.  I love the baked apples so that's what I chose.

You do what fruits suit you and enjoy!!!

Cranberry Walnut Pinwheels

This is our first  Thanksgiving in our new home.  I'm hosting a full out Thanksgiving dinner for the family and I want to do something unexpected.  This recipe pulled together the traditional cranberry requirement but with an unexpected twist!  This takes just 15 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to bake - what more could I ask for!

You'll need:
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 refrigerated pie crusts
2 TBL melted butter
1 whole egg
2 TBL water
honey

Preheat your oven to 350*.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the cranberries, walnuts, sugars and zest into a mixing bowl and combine well. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crusts and roll into two squares.  Brush the crusts with melted butter.  Spread the cranberry mixture evenly on top of the crusts.  Roll each pie crust pinching the edges to seal.  Combine the egg and water and beat well then brush each roll with the egg wash.  *Carefully cut each roll into slices 1 1/2 inches wide.  Place on a baking sheet cut side up 1 inch apart.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Place pinwheels on a cooling rack and spread with a teaspoon of honey.  Let cool and store in an air tight container.

*If you have trouble cutting the rolls, place them in the freezer for 10 minutes and then cut them.

I don't recommend using home made pie crusts as this can easily get too crumbly and difficult to keep in a pinwheel formation.

Tuscan Chicken Pasta

 

 

 

Tuscan Chicken Pasta

It can't stay summer forever and I am craving some dinners that aren't off the grill.  This creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta has the most amazing, creamy sauce. It’s loaded with flavor, super quick and easy. A restaurant quality dish on the table in under 30 minutes.

You'll need:

 

1 pound penne pasta

1 tablespoon butter

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts

1 medium onion diced

1 bell pepper diced

8.5 ounce jar sundried tomatoes in oil, drained

5 cloves garlic finely minced

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (or oregano)

¾ cup chicken broth

1 ½ cup cream or half and half

1 cup parmesan cheese

 6 ounce bag of baby spinach  roughly chopped

Red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste

 

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, add  the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and toss with butter.

 

For quicker, more even cooking, slightly flatten breasts with a kitchen mallet. If they are very thick, slice them in half horizontally before flattening.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat a skillet over high heat with the oil from the sun dried tomatoes.  When oil is hot, put chicken breasts in pan and cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan.  Let chicken cool for a few minutes, then slice and set aside.

 

With the oil remaining in the pan, cook the chopped onions until softened. Add the bell pepper and cook until almost softened then add the garlic, sundried tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Stir, and cook for about 1 minute.

 

Deglaze pan with broth, scraping bottom to release any bits sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add cream and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 2 minutes. Add parmesan and cook until melted.  When cheese is melted turn off the heat and stir in baby spinach.  Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Combine pasta, chicken, and sauce and serve with a hearty slice of buttery bread.

 

Peach Upside Down Mini Cakes

This is the simplest thing in the world to make and you probably have the ingredients in your kitchen right now.  This is perfect for a summer breakfast or even as a light dessert.  I'm serving it at Concert on the Lawn in a couple of weeks!  This is super portable and easy to pack!  I hope ya'll enjoy them as much as we did!


You'll need:

1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon (90gr) unsalted butter, softened

6 teaspoons light brown sugar

3 peaches

1 ½ cups (190gr) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup (130gr) sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup (120ml) buttermilk

 

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177° C). Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

 

Divide 1 tablespoon of butter equally into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of brown sugar into each muffin cup.

 

Slice 1-2 peaches into thin slices. Put about 3 slices into the bottom of each muffin pan.

Cut the remaining peaches into small cubes. You should get about 1 cup of cubed peaches. Set aside.

 

To make the batter, in a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat the remaining 1/3 cup of butter and sugar together until creamy.  Add egg and vanilla extract and beat for another 2-3 minutes, or until well combined. The mixture should be fluffy and white.

 

Add half of the flour mixture into the batter, beat for 1 minute. Stir in the buttermilk and beat for another minute.  Add the remaining flour mixture and beat just until combined.  Fold in the cubed peaches.

 

Divide the batter into 12 muffin pan cups. I like to use an ice cream scooper.

 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

 

Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes. Place the wire rack over the muffin pan and carefully turn the pan upside down to remove the cakes. Cool completely before serving.

 

This is delicious on it's own or you can sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with vanilla ice cream!  They will come back for seconds, I promise!

Red White and Blue Salad

It's hot ya'll and this is moving weekend for me!  I'm so excited to have a new kitchen but I haven't picked out new cookware yet!  This recipe is good for making something refreshing and delicious in 10 minutes without heating up your house and almost zero clean up! 


You'll need:

1 small seedless watermelon - cubed

1 pound blueberries

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1tablespoon mint leaves chopped (If you love mint, use more)

1 lime juiced

Instructions:

Cube watermelon and drain well.  Rinse and drain blueberries.  Toss together.  Add feta cheese and sprinkle with mint.  Top with the juice of 1 lime.  Best served fresh.

There was an option for making a different dressing so I'll share this but I haven't tried it.

Dressing:
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Lawn Mower Salad

I saw the name of this recipe and I HAD to make it for ya'll!  With all the summer cookouts on the way, this is the perfect side dish!  It's easy to customize this to you own likes.  It can be made ahead of time and serves 8-10 for a single batch.  This is very economical and it takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish!

You'll need:
12 oz broccoli slaw mix (veggies only)
3/4 c shredded carrots
3/4 c sliced red cabbage
1 c chopped salted cashews
1 c sunflower seeds
1 c dried crasions
2 pkgs chicken flavored ramen noodles
1/2 c granulated white sugar
1/2 c oil (canola, vegetable, olive - whatever you have on hand)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
1/4 c soy sauce

Mix the slaw carrots, cabbage, cashews, crasions and sunflower seeds and set aside.

Crush ramen noodles - remove the seasoning packet.

In a separate bowl, mix oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and the season packets from the ramen noodles.

Mix the veggies with the dressing. 

If you want to add the ramen noodles at this point, you will have softer noodles at serving.  If you prefer the crunch of the lightly marinated noodles, add them about an hour prior to serving this dish.  I do half at the initial mix and half just before serving.

Refrigerate this at least an hour up to overnight. 

This is such a colorful and tasty dish!  I'm sure it will compliment anything you are serving!

Bake a big batch and enjoy!

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

 

 

It's mid Spring and Mother's day is almost here.  This time of year makes me remember my Mama and what a wonderful cook she was.  She loved to bake and Daddy loved something sweet after supper so she always had something on hand to keep him happy!

I took a fancy to this buttermilk cake recipe as Mama always had buttermilk on hand.  I would never drink that stuff but is does a good job in the bakery so I decided that this would be my May recipe.

It turns out that I made my decision in my heart but not in my head (nor in my cabinets).  The original recipe for this cake makes a strong caution on being exact with measurements when baking.  That's more or less true.  I'm hoping that it's less true today as I don't seem to have moved a single measuring device to the summer tiny house I'm living in!  I did remember to look for my spring form pan before we left for church.  It didn't make the move either so I treated myself to  new one (should have looked for measuring cups too but that didn't happen)....

I measured all these ingredients with my heart and my eyeballs!

You'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  1 tsp baking powder
  1/4 tsp salt
  1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  1 cup white granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  2 jumbo eggs or 3 large eggs
  1/4 cup sour cream
  1/4 cup buttermilk
  14 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and slicedInstructions

Preheat oven to 350*

Lightly spray a 9 or 10 inch spring  form pan then whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

 

Cream the soft butter and sugar together in a stand mixer for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl a couple of times.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the vanilla.

 

Stir the sour cream and buttermilk together, and then add the flour to the mixing bowl alternately with the wet, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until combined, but don't over mix.

 

Fold in the berries and turn into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top. Sprinkle the surface of the cake liberally with white sugar.  No I cheated here and went all independent by tossing the sliced berries in a little flour before I added them to the batter.  I always do that in muffins to keep the fruit from sinking to the bottom so I figured the same theory would work with a cake too.  Let's just say this step is optional! :)

 

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake no longer jiggles in the center and the top is golden and slightly crackled. The exact cooking time will depend on the pan size you use. You can insert a toothpick in the center to test.

 

Let cool briefly, and then unlatch the spring and remove the outer ring. I like to run a spreading knife along the edge first to loosen any parts of the cake that are sticking to the pan. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

 

This is delicious with coffee in the morning or makes a nice brunch plate too.  After dinner, you could serve this warm a-la-mode' and I bet you'd eat every bite. 

 

Change to blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or even sliced fresh peaches if you want.

 

Make something nice for your Mama this spring!  I bet she'd just love this!

Spring Pea Pasta with Ricotta and Herbs

 

 

 

Spring is in the air and Easter is just around the corner.  We all want to take a dish to Sunday dinner that is full of flavor but just a little bit different that what you've always done.  This is a one pot wonder that fills the bill quite nicely.  Thirty minutes from start to serve with the comfort of  pasta and the zest of fresh herbs!

 

You'll need:

 

2 tbsp. Chives, freshly chopped

1/2 cup Flat-leaf parsley, firmly packed fresh leaves

2  tbsp. Tarragon, fresh

8 oz. penne pasta

1/4 cup Kosher salt

2 tbsp. salted butter

1 cup Ricotta cheese

2 (8oz) pkgs Sugar snap peas, trimmed and strings removed

1 (13-oz.) pkg. Peas, frozen sweet

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a stockpot over high. Add 1/4 cup salt; return to a boil. Add pasta; boil, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Stir in sugar snap peas, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in sweet peas, and cook 1 minute. Drain pasta mixture, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.

 

Return pasta mixture to pot. Add ricotta, parsley, butter, chives, tarragon, and reserved cooking water; stir to coat. Serve immediately.  Voila, that's all it!

 

This would be great for a meatless Monday meal.  Just add a tossed salad and you have a light but filling meal

Coffee Balls

All my life, I've loved the smell of coffee but hated the taste!  I've tried several times and in several flavors but never quite hit it off with java.  That is - until two weeks ago!  Portland Coffee Company beckoned to me and I fell totally in love with chocolate crème, white chocolate mocha and
kara-mocha. 

This heavenly brew has brought me to a custom thermal mug to keep it hot and I limit myself to one a day!

While watching a recent BBQ pit masters show - a featured dessert was Coffee Balls!  I knew the moment I saw it that I MUST find the recipe - and I did find it!  I hope you enjoy this deliciously sweet chocolate coffee bundle of heaven!

You'll Need:

2 cups finely crushed shortbread cookies
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee or instant espresso powder
5 Tablespoons brewed espresso or strong coffee
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

When I say crush your cookies, I mean pulverize them!  No lumps!  Lumps are the enemy of a well rolled coffee ball. 

Mix crushed cookies, powdered sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and instant coffee with the brewed espresso.  This should be just enough moisture to bring your ingredients together into a sticky concoction.  Roll into 1 1/4 inch balls and place on wax paper.  Toss each ball lightly in the remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar then leave balls on the counter for an hour to let them dry.

If you're super sweet, toss the balls in powdered sugar again before storing them in an air tight container.  This simple no bake recipe yields about 2 dozen coffee balls.  Plenty to enjoy and share with your friends and family!

These are super yummy and best served with a cup of your favorite cup of Joe or a big cold glass of milk! 

Pop them in a cute cookie tin and take them to your next gathering, book review or even a meeting at work.  You'll win a friend, I promise!

Chocolate Valentine Parfaits

February is a month of  love for our family.  We have so many special occasions to celebrate!  Wedding Anniversaries, Birthdays and Valentine's Day!  This is a super easy but DELISH way to celebrate.  It just takes a little layering and creativity!  This came out so pretty you may want to make one for each of you or two love birds can share this!

 

You'll need:

• 1 recipe of your favorite brownies prepared as you usually do (see notes for addition of Kahlua)
• 1 pint Coffee Ice Cream
• 1 large box Chocolate Mousse
• 3 cups of milk
• Whipped Topping
• Chocolate Shavings

For the ganache:

• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• ⅔ cup heavy cream less 2 tbsp for Kahlua, see notes
• 1 tbsp butter

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees .
2. In a large bowl combine the brownie ingredients. Oil, water, Kahlua, egg and brownie mix. (see notes)
3. Pour the batter into an 8 inch sprayed baking pan and bake for 40 minutes.
4. When the brownie comes out poke all over with a toothpick and pour 1 tbsp over top to soak in. This is optional.
5. Prepare the ganache by placing all the ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat. Whisk until smooth then cool to room temperature.
6. Prepare mousse according to package directions.
7. Layer your glass with 1 scoop ice cream, top with brownie and let sit in the freezer for 10 minutes at a 45* angle. 
8. Remove and top with ganache, return to freezer at the angle for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove and add 2 tbsp chocolate mousse.  Top with whipped cream and garnish with shaved chocolate curls.

NOTES

1. My brownie mix is Ghirardelli. It calls for ⅓ cup water, ⅓ cup oil and 1 egg. Instead of using all ⅓ water I placed 2 tbsp of Kahlua in the ⅓ measuring cup and then topped it off with water.
2. You can also poke holes in the brownie with a toothpick when it comes out of the oven and pour another 1 tbsp of Kahlua over top to soak in.

Pasta Fagioli Soup

Never in my life would I have thought of using spaghetti sauce in soup but this intrigued me and man was it a HIT!  Just a handful of ingredients and very economical!  15 minutes of prep time then 6 hours in the crockpot.  That's it!  This recipe is very close to a soup served in a wildly popular Italian restaurant chain.  I took a few short cuts and they paid off big time!  I can't wait to make this again!

You'll need:
1 pound extra lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 cup onion flakes
1 cup chopped carrots
½ cup chopped celery
1 can (14 to 15 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
1 can (14 to 15 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 to 15 ounces) white beans, rinsed and drained
4 -6 cups beef broth
1 jar (24  ounces) tomato-basil marinara or pasta sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons oregano
¾ teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1-1/4 cups dry pasta (Small shells work well), cooked separately according to the package directions.
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, optional for serving
Grated Parmesan, optional for serving

DIRECTIONS:

Stir together the cooked and drained ground beef, onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, beans, broth, pasta sauce, oregano, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a 6 to 7-quart slow cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 7 hours, or until the vegetables are as tender as you like them.
When ready to serve, stir the cooked pasta into the soup.
Taste the soup and adjust the salt and herbs to suit your tastes.
Serve with grated  Parmesan and a sprinkling of fresh parsley if desired.

This is easily made in the morning before work or even popped into the crockpot at lunch for dinner at 6:00 p.m.  The cheese really sets the final note for this soup.  Serve with oyster crackers, saltines or a buttered baguette.  It's warm, wonderful and super easy!  Ya'll enjoy!!!