December 5, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Apple Cake

4 pink lady apples
2 eggs
⅓ cup light brown sugar
zest of 1 lemon grated
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour sifted
1/3 cup almond milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, cardamom and ginger
Powdered Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9inch spring cake pan and set aside.

Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Beat the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla and salt until thick and creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, and milk, and beat until well combined. Add in the cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. Stir together.

Add two thirds of the apples to the batter and mix. Pour the batter into the spring pan. Arrange the apple slices over the batter ad sprinkle with a little brown sugar (about 1 tbsp).

Bake for 35 minutes or until set. Dust with powdered sugar before serving and enjoy.

November 30, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Baked Banana Oatmeal

Baked Banana Oatmeal

4 cups Old Fashioned Oats
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups almond milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Mix oats through ginger, making sure to mix bananas in well. The smaller chunks of banana the better. Pour batter into the baking pan and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes in preheated oven.

November 25, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Herb Biscuits

I needed to use up some buttermilk and found this recipe. These are wonderful with dinner.

Herb Biscuits

8.75oz all purpose flour (about 2 1/2cups)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 tbsp cold butter
2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup buttermilk

Heat the oven to 450°F. Mix all dry ingredients together. Add in 7 tbsp butter in small bits. Reserve 1 tbsp on the stick of butter to brush onto the tops of the biscuits once baked. Carefully break up the butter with your hands or a pastry cutter into the flour. Add in the buttermilk and mix until dough comes together. If the dough is too dry, add in a little more buttermilk (teaspoons at a time).

Turn out dough onto a silpat and knead about three times. Form into about 16 – 20 biscuits using a biscuit cutter. Place biscuits onto a silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

When finished baking, brush with reserved tablespoon of butter and serve.

November 20, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Chicken Yakatori

1 lb Chicken Tenders and/or Chicken Thighs

1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup mirin or Japanese Wine
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
3/4 teaspoon (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 green onion, chopped
1 1-inch-piece peeled ginger (1/4 ounce), sliced

In a sauce pan, add all ingredients together minus the chicken. Bring to a simmer, set aside until the coals are ready.

Skewer the chicken and brush with sauce while grilling.

November 15, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I made these from my favorite Cooking Light Magazine recently. So I don’t f
orget about them, I want them on my blog so I can find them again.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

2 sweet potatoes
1 (2 inch) piece of ginger
3 tbsp half & half
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 egg whites
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Poke and wrap sweet potatoes in plastic wrap. Microwave for 10 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle.

Grate the 2 inch piece of ginger into a cheese cloth in a bowl. Squeeze ginger until juice comes out and discard of the solids.

Cut the sweet potatoes in half and scrape out the insides. Combine with the ginger juice, half & half, butter, 1/2 tsp salt and nutmeg. Mix together well until whipped look. Add mixture back into potatoes.

Heat an oven to 400°F. Put stuffed potatoes into the oven to warm up while you make the meringue.

Whip 2 egg whites, cream of tarter and 1/8 tsp salt until foamy. Slowly add powdered sugar, 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.

Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and spoon on the meringue evenly over the potatoes. Bake again for 7 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.

November 10, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Apple Celery Salad

Paul made dinner recently and had this salad as a starter. It was delicious. I will definitely be making this again.

Apple Celery Salad

4 large celery stalks, peeled, sliced ¼ inch thick on a diagonal

4 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced on a steep diagonal

2 medium pink lady apples; halved, cored, cut into ¼-inch-thick wedges

1 Fresno pepper, very thinly sliced into rings, seeds removed (optional)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper – to taste

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped, divided

½ cup parsley leaves, divided

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Soak the celery and green onions in ice water for 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels then transfer to a large bowl.

Halve and core the apples and cut into 1/4 inch wedges. Chop a red pepper and toss with the apples, celery and green onions. Pour the lemon juice over salad and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice, if needed. Add half of the peanuts, half of the parsley, and olive oil; toss to combine. Top with remaining peanuts and parsley. Chill until cold before serving, about 15 minutes.

November 5, 2018
by Ashley
Comments Off on Baked Salmon Balls

Baked Salmon Balls

Baked Salmon Balls

1/2 pound salmon, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp parsley or cilantro

Mix everything together. Prep a baking sheet with a silpat and create about 20 balls.
Bake at 350°F for 15 – 18 minutes. Serve with lemon.

October 30, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

We spent many days this summer treating our kids to ice cream. One of their favorites was cookie dough. I decided to give it a try at home with my New Zealand Ice Cream Recipe.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Whip the cream, milk and vanilla together until thickened (about 5 minutes). In a separate bowl, combine all of the ingredients (except for the chocolate chips) for the cookie dough and stir together. Add in the chocolate chips and stir once more. Set in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes to harden up. Roll or break into tiny balls and toss into the whipped ice cream mixture. Fold together. Add into a freezer safe bowl, cover and freeze! This will be ready to enjoy about 24 hours later.

October 15, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Panna Cotta

An easy dessert to make. Perfect to make if you have a few hours to let cool in the fridge!

Panna Cotta

1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin (about 1 1/2 tsp)
1 tablespoon hot water
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup half and half
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Bloom gelatin in a small dish with the tablespoon of water. Whisk together and let sit while you mix the cream, half and half, sugar and vanilla in a small sauce pan. Heat cream mixture until small bubbles form on the outside of the pan, just before it boils. Whisk in the bloomed gelatin and whisk together. Pour into four ramekins and let sit on the counter for about 20 minutes before putting into the refrigerator. Let cool until set. I make mine the night before we are going to serve.

September 30, 2018
by Ashley
0 comments

Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder with Peaches

We love pork shoulders, so here is the new recipe I tried recently. We had a lot of leftovers. The leftover meat I used to make enchiladas with the homemade recipe I also have on this blog.

Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder with Peaches
1 4lb Pork Shoulder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup water
1 tsp orrington chicken stock
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup molasses
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 peach, peeled and chopped
2 tsp white sugar
1/2 red onion, sliced on the vertical
6 garlic cloves, sliced

4 carrots, chopped in large bites
1 onion, cut in half
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp water

In a large high sided saute pan, heat up a little olive oil. While heating, sprinkle the pork shoulder with the paprika, salt and pepper. Brown the pork shoulder in the pan on all sides and then transfer to the slow cooker. Next, combine the water and the next 4 ingredients through the soy sauce. Pour into the saute pan, scraping any bits of pork shoulder left. Add in the peach and white sugar and stir for 1 minute. Pour over the pork shoulder. Cover the top of the pork shoulder with the onion slices, and garlic cloves. Put the top on the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours. At 4-6 hours in, I added carrots and an onion to serve with the meat. This is optional. Cook another hour.

Once meat is able to shred easily, pull out the shoulder to a dish. Pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. In a separate dish, add in the cornstarch and water and whisk together. Carefully add this to the pan drippings and let sauce thicken.

I served this over polenta with chives and kale chips. The kids loved it.