Candied Almonds

We got some candied almonds last year at Christmas time and when it started getting close this year i decided we needed to have more so I made my own.

3c almonds
 3/4 c sugar
 1 1/2T cinnamon
 1/4 t salt
 1/4t dutch processed baking cocoa
 1/4 c water

 Combine all ingredients except almonds in a large skillet, turn on heat to med-hi heat. Add almonds and stir til it starts to crystilize (about 10minutes), cool on wax paper or a cookie sheet.

Brussel sprout salad

I never once had brussel sprouts when I was growing up. Honestly I was afraid to try them as an adult. I mean really who do you know that raves about brussel sprouts? We'll these brussel sprouts are great! How could they not be fantastic, they are cooked with BACON!  I've made these too many times to count this past year. We'll eat them with eggs at breakfast or as a side dish at dinner. They even reheat well.

Brussel Sprout Salad

-3 slices of bacon
-1lb brussel sprouts, cored and shredded
-red onion, sliced thin, about 1/4 cup worth
-sea salt and pepper

Slice bacon into bite size pieces and place in a large skillet. Cook on med-hi heat for a minute or two then add the sliced up brussel sprouts and onion. sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
Cover and stir occasionally until the sprouts are tender but still nicely green, 5-10 minutes. Squirt a bit of lemon juice on top just before serving.

Optional toppings add a handful of toasted almonds or parmesan cheese.

Peach Cobbler

Another Autumn favorite. I just love cinnamon, the smell, the flavor, it's just so good.

Peach mix:
Drain 1 large can of peaches and put in a 6 cup pyrex rectangle (reserve 1cup of juice)
In a sauce pan combine your 1 cup peach juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a dash of cloves
a dash of nutmeg
Bring to boil and slowly pour in cornstarch mix (2T cornstarch mixed with about 1/4 cup Cold water)
Cook for 2-3 minutes until it thickens a bit. Pour over the peaches.

Crust:
either use a can of refrigerated buscuit dough or
mix together 1-1/4 cup flour,
2T sugar
1-1/2tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Cut in 1/4 cup softened margarine
Stir in 1 beaten egg and 1/4 cup milk

Knead on a floured counter top until it isn't sticking any more. Roll it out to the size of your pan and put on top of the peaches.

Bake at 400'  for 15-20 minutes

Lasagna

This is my favorite way to have lasagna. It freezes well and even with the two of us we are happy to eat the leftovers for lunches.

1/2lb browned 80/20 ground beef
14.5 oz can diced garlic and onion tomatoes
4oz tomato sauce (or other veggie puree like squash)
season to taste (these amounts are just guesses)
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t salt
1/2t pepper
1/2t onion powder
1t oregano
2t parsley
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
approximately 2 cups cheddar cheese and 2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb cottage cheese, small curd


Brown 1lb of hamburger  letting half of it cool and store in the fridge for another dinner.
Mix 1/2lb browned ground beef with diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings.
pour a little of the tomato mixture on the bottom of a 2.75qt glass Pyrex rectangle. Layer on 3 or 4 uncooked noodles, breaking to make them fit. Scoop on a nice even layer on cottage cheese then a layer of the beef tomato sauce then the cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Continue to layer like this until you have three layers of noodles topped with sauce and cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 90 minutes at 350'
Remove the foil and broil for about 2 minutes to get the top cheese lightly browned.
Allow it to cool for 10 -15 minutes if you want it to stay in a nice pretty stack when you try and put it on your plate.

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin cookies are a must have for fall. Here is my go to recipe that never disappoints.


Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1tsp milk
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup chocolate chips



Bake at 375 for 10 minutes
They will not look 'done' but I promise they are, just let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before using that spatula to get them off.

Crepes

So super easy. My husband was mad that it took like 3 years of living together before I made them. We had them fairly regularly growing up so it just seemed like a normal to me but he was amazed. Couple things to know about making crepes; 1)make them in a glass bowl it just turns out better but don't ask me why 2)if you mix it up and let it just sit in the fridge 12-24 hours it honestly tastes better when you cook them, again I'm not sure why but it truly makes a difference.

Crepes
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup water
2 tbsp oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla

whisk everything together in a glass bowl and cover/put a lid on it, leave it in the fridge overnight and make them in the morning. Get out that small 6" pan that comes in all pan sets and spray or melt a little butter over medium heat. Pour in 1/4cup of the mixture and tip/roll the pan around so that you have a nice super thin layer. leave it on the heat for a minute or two just until it cooks enough to slide around the pan when you shake it. Now pretend you are a skilled short order cook and use your wrist to flip the crepe into the air to turn it (spatulas just don't work well trust me) You'll get good at this after making the dozen you'll devour, each hot off the grill rolled up with just a bit of butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar...or jam, or fruit and whip cream.
So yummy.

Lime cooler cookies

I love lime...and lemon, this works equally well with lemon. I especially like making them in the winter time. They are like little buttery citrus cookies.

Cookie Dough
2 cups butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 c cornstarch
2 T lime zest (i use the small holes of a cheese grater, only get the colored stuff if you get too deep into the white it starts to get bitter)
sugar

Lime Glaze
1 c powdered sugar
2 T lime juice

Beat everything up together. Shape dough into 3/4 in balls, place 2" apart on the cookie sheet. Press bottom of glass into dough then dip into sugar, press balls to 1/4" thick.
Bake 10 minutes at 325'F
cool completely (30 minutes)

Mix together powdered sugar and lime juice into a not too smooth glaze. spread glaze over cookies. Allow the glaze to firm up and you can stack the cookies together.
Makes 6 dozen cookies.

Fruit Salad with honey lime chia seed dressing

You can really use any fruit that you like but here's what I did.
about 4 cups diced fruit - 1 small granny smith apple, strawberries, pineapple, purple grapes
1/2 of a large lime juiced
1 big scoop honey (about 1-1/2 Tbsp i'd say)
1 Tbsp chia seeds

Dice up your fruit into nice little chunks and put in a bowl. In another bowl stir up the lime juice, honey and chia seeds, pour over fruit and toss together. You have no idea what you are missing, this is the BEST fruit salad dressing and so healthy!

Chia seeds are loaded with Omega-3 as well as a fair amount of omega-6 and since it's a seed obviously it has tons of fiber. (FYI: 1oz of chia seeds is about 2 Tbsp) I love to put chia seeds in my smoothies and I have a fantastic recipe for raspberry "jam" that takes 5 minutes to make and has no added pectin. Check it out here

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

adapted from  http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/08/buffalo-chicken-grilled-cheese-sandwich.html

This shit is awesome! Seriously, talk about amping up a grilled cheese sandwich!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken, warm
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon mayo 
• 1 tablespoon carrot, grated
• 1 tablespoon green or red or white onion, diced
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, room temperature, grated
• 2 slices bread
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

Directions

1. Mix the chicken, hot sauce, mayo, carrot, and onion in a small bowl.
2. Butter the outside of each slice of bread, sprinkle half of the cheeses on the inside of one slice of bread, top with the buffalo chicken salad, the remaining cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
4. Add the sandwich and grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Banana muffins

Yay muffins! My girl likes to call the chocolate ones happy birthday cakes :) I love that muffins are already portioned and take half as long to cook as a loaf of banana bread. So here are the two versions that I made recently.

Chocolate, Banana  Muffins:

 

• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed up
• 2 cups of flour
• 1/4+ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt   
• cream butter and sugar then add eggs, vanilla, and bananas, mix well. Then mix in the remaining ingredients. Optional you can stir in some chocolate chips (regular or white) for some extra umph. 
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. bake 18-20 minutes. makes 1 dozen

Banana nut muffins 

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. bake 18-20 minutes. 

Makes 1 dozen

Lunchlady peanut butter bars

I've been really into treats that dont require baking lately for a few reasons. First after I mix everything together I dont have to wait for it to cook, second takes less time and attention, if the potrions aren exact I dont have to worry about flat cookies. AND as an added bonus I wont have to turn the oven on when I make them this summer. If you dont already know I've never been a big peanut fan. I ate jam sandwiches Not pb&j. But I do like snickers and reeses and I did enjoy the pb bars back in elementary school, I guess I just need some chocolate with my nuts.

 Peanut butter bars Cruch up 1pk of graham crackers into crumbs
Stir in 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick),
 1 cup natural peanut butter
 1 cup powdered sugar
 When its all combined press into a foil lined 8" square pan
 Melt 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips (or shave off an equal amount of a dark chocolate brick) Add 1 tsp oil (i used coconut oil) to make the chocolate a bit smoother.
 Then spread ontop of your bars. Let the cool in the fridge then cut into pieces.

Chocolate Sugar Plums

I always like to try classic recipes and traditional food from all over the world, its always interesting to see how different societies eat. whether its a classic Italian dish or a forgotten American treat, this is the latter.
Did you know a "plum" used to mean any dried fruit? And that sugar plums don't even have sugar in them. I didn't either until I decided to make some. (Wiki it I promise it's true) So really they are made with chopped up dried fruit and nuts, add a little honey for added sweetness. when I first tried one I was like "ehh theyre okay" but after 10 minutes I was like "i need another". They are kinda rich like truffles, you only eat a couple at a time. I didnt think I liked thhem much at first but now I know im going to be making them again, and I probably wont wait til the holidays come around again. I may play with it a little by rolling them in powdered sugar or cocoa powder but I really liked the coconut.

 3.3 oz dried dates (about 15)
3.3 oz prunes
1 cup whole roasted almomds
1 T honey
 1/2 cup cocoa powder
3T orange juice or water (give or take)
1/2 t cinnamon,
1/4t all spice,
1t orange zest (optional)

 Pulse almonds in blender a few times to chop them up. Dice your dried fruit as small as you can (or have patience for) add everything together and mix/puree till everything comes together in a sticky mass. Side note if you have a food procrssor use that it will work the best, my blender started smoking cuz it was working so hard so I scooped mine out and stirred it together more. Then wet your hands and roll into small tablespoon size balls, roll in coconut and place on a cookie sheet. Youll want to wet your hands after ever two or three balls or so. Let them firm up in the fridge for an hour and store in an airtight container.
Makes about 30 balls.