It's another What's for Dinner Wednesday where dessert is on the menu! As I shared last week, we received a baby food maker as a gift. So, even though it'll be a while before I use it regularly, I wanted to try it out. Here's my take on apple sauce...made in the baby food maker but fit for any adult!
Ingredients: 1 apple (cored and split in at least 8 pieces), water, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
Steam the apple slices according to baby food steamer directions (or using a steamer and saucepan on the stove top):
Drain the water from the steamer (or transfer to a small food processor), add cinnamon, and puree until the apple sauce reaches the desired consistency. Enjoy!
It's another edition of What's for Dinner Wednesday, and tonight I have another recipe from the kitchen of Mrs. Luke- fruity grilled cheese.
Ingredients: cheese to taste (we used American, but she assures me Cheddar's better), 2 slices of bread, 2 tablespoons blueberry jam, 2 tablespoons softened butter.
Butter each slice of bread on a single side, and place buttered sides together (in order to assemble without getting butter everywhere). Spread the jam on the top non-buttered bread side, then layer the cheese on top.
Remove the bottom piece of bread and place buttered side up on top of the sandwich. Put the sandwich in a small sauce pan over med heat. Cook, flipping once, until cheese is melted and outsides are golden brown (about 8 minutes). Enjoy!
What's for Dinner Wednesday is another dessert this week. Today I'll be showing you how to create a Galette...so simple and elegant, I don't know that I'll ever make a pie again!
Ingredients: 1 pie crust, 2 tablespoons of butter, 2-3 cans of sliced fruit (I used pears), 1/4 cup brown sugar.
Place the dough on an lightly greased cookie sheet. Slice the fruit and arrange on the crust in a spiral-like pattern, starting about 2 inches from the outer edge. Fold the crust over the first layer of fruit, sprinkle with brown sugar, and dot with butter:
Bake at 350 until the crust is brown (approximately 35 minutes). Enjoy with a nice scoop of ice cream!
What's for Dinner this Wednesday is another original recipe that reminds me of fall but really makes a tasty dinner any time of year- Fall Harvest Pasta.
Ingredients: 4 oz chicken breast, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 an apple, 1/2 cup of grapes, 1/4 cup of pecans, 1 Tbs olive oil (not pictured), pasta.
Dice the chicken, fruit, and nuts, then saute in olive oil with all the spices on med-high heat until the chicken is cooked and the fruit is soft (15-20 minutes).
Serve over your favorite pasta (Note: I would recommend a thicker noodle than angel-hair), and enjoy!
Over the past week, we've had several conversations with various folks about diets. The main thing I don't like about diets is the serious lack of desert that actually accompanies them, which reminds me of the summer before my freshman year of high school. I was pushing 150 lbs (at about 5' tall), so I decided that I needed to lose some weight. It was fairly easy for me at the time to cut out most of the fat I had been eating...except when it came to sweets. With that in mind, my mother showed me this recipe. I lost about 30 pounds that summer, and to this day this fake shake is my favorite shake to make for myself because I don't feel guilty drinking it.
Ingredients: ~1.5 cups milk (Mr. Poe and I have compromised at 1%, use Skim for less fat), 0.5 cup fruit, 2-4 Tbs sugar or substitute (not shown)
Slice the fruit into smaller pieces (approximately 1 inch chunks) and place in the blender. Pour in milk until it reaches the 2 cup mark on the side of your blender. Add sugar or substitute, then place the lid on the blender. Turn the blender on high for approximately 45 seconds, until the mixture is homogenized, frothy, and almost doubled in size (comes up to about the 3.5 cup mark when the blender is stopped).
Pour into chilled glasses and serve (makes 2). It tastes just like a milkshake, and the frothy texture is reminiscent of the real thing!
If you prefer chocolate: replace the fruit and sugar with 2 Tbs of chocolate syrup, and increase the amount of milk used to approximately 2 cups.
If you prefer vanilla: replace the fruit and sugar with 1 Tbs vanilla, and increase the amount of milk used to approximately 2 cups.
What are your favorite diet recipes?
Hello again! I'd like to share with you our first tomato:
It's the biggest one I've ever grown! Inside, it was a little more mealy than I would like, but I'm not sure there is anything I can do about that. Since harvesting this one, we've picked 2 more. Fifteen remain on the bushes, and several new tomato and pepper blossoms have popped up. It's going to be a tasty summer!
For any other gardeners out there, how are your gardens growing?
