Baked Cinnamon Apples

A warm, sweet baked apple dish is the perfect ending to any meal. This recipe helps keep it light.

Ingredients:
4 baking apples (I use golden delicious)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
4 teaspoons margarine
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
1. Remove core from apples and place upright in baking dish.
2. Place two tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon margarine and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon in the center of each apple.
3. Pour water into baking dish to 1/4 inch depth.
4. Bake at 375° F for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.

10 minute apple sauce

Alton Brown sure knew what he was doing by this!  MY KIDS LOVE IT!

Ingredients:

3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
3 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
In a sealable microwave-safe container, combine apples with all other ingredients. Close lid, leaving one corner of lid open to allow steam to escape. Microwave on high for 10 minutes.

Using a hand blender or potato masher, blend to desired consistency. Serve hot immediately or chill for later use

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad


Ingredients
8 slices bacon
2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
1 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
2. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, cheese, bacon and onion.
3. Prepare the dressing in a small bowl by whisking together the red wine vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Combine dressing with salad. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Baked Mac and Cheese

Baked Macaroni and Cheese


Ingredients:
8 oz elbow macaroni
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 ¼ cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, separated {i like to change it up some and add some asiago, parmesan, or mozzerella cheeses to the mix as well}
1/4 cup cauliflower puree
1/4 cup carrott puree
½ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook to al dente. Drain and set aside.
3. While the macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour to form a paste and cook for 1 minute.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk milk into flour mixture and slowly bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and stir in 2 cups of the cheddar cheese. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is smooth.
5. Stir in spices and vegetable purees.
6. Combine macaroni to cheese sauce.
7. Spray 13X9 baking pan with cooking spray. Poor Mac and cheese into pan.
8. Sprinkle additional cheese over the top. Cover with foil.
9. Bake in preheated oven until hot and bubbly (about 35- 40 minutes).

Rosemary-Onion Potatoes

What a yummy Side dish to go with all the yummy grilled food we have been sharing!

Ingredients:
6 medium baking potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (2 pounds)

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
1. Heat 1 inch water (salted if desired) to boiling in saucepan.
2. Add potatoes to boiling water. Cook 5 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are crisp-tender; drain.
3. Heat grill to medium heat.
4. Mix onion, oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add potatoes; toss to coat. Wrap potato mixture in large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
5. Cover and grill 4 to 5 inches from heat about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

Asian Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1/4 C wasabi flavored mayonnaise 

1/4 C low fat plain yogurt 

4 C chopped cooked chicken 

2 ribs celery, sliced 

1 pkg (6 oz) asian salad greens 

1 C seedless red grapes, halved

1/2 C chopped toasted walnuts 

Directions:

1. Stir together mayonnaise and yogurt, and add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add chicken and celery, and toss to coat.
3. Arrange greens on 4 plates. Top with chicken salad. Scatter grapes and walnuts over all.

Apple Cornbread

Ingredients:
2 cups white cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 2/3 cups milk
3 apples, pared, cored, sliced

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the milk and beat thoroughly.
3. Add the apples and mix.
4. Pour into well-buttered pan and bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 min

A Healthier Version of Cornbread

Cornbread

Less egg, less sugar, and less butter- you can't go wrong.

Ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup 1% fat buttermilk
1 cup whole egg
1/4 cup tub margarine

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and egg. Beat lightly.
4. Slowly add buttermilk and egg mixture to dry ingredients.
5. Add margarine and mix by hand or mixer for 1 minute.
6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in an 8-by 8-inch, greased baking dish. Cool, cut into 10 squares
Recipe from Babyfit.com

Stuffed Portabellas

My semi homemade version of an up-scale recipe! This makes for a yummy main dish, or an appetizer for a party, one that will blow thier socks off!


Ingredients:
8 large, cleaned portabellas
1 box (prepared by box directions) pork flavored stove top stuffing
1 package of spicy ground italian sausage, cooked and drained

Sauce:
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth,
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
a sprinkle of sage
a sprinkle of rosemary

Directions:
1. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.
2. lay mushrooms upside down. In a small bowl mix together the sausage and stove top stuffing. Fill the mushroom tops with mixture
3. in a small pot mix all the sauce ingredients together and bring to a boil.
4. Turn down heat to medium and simmer for 12-15 minutes until reduced to about 3/4's.
5. Bake the mushroom tops for 15-20 minutes or until piping hot, and liquid statrs to form under caps.
6. Drizzle tops with sauce, and serve! These are delish!!! Hope you enjoy!

~Mommy of 6 <3

Terriaki, well, umm, EVERYTHING!

Have you ever gone to a Chinese restraunt, feel in love with the terriaki sauce, but could never find that sauce again... Yep, I have been there!  So I tried and tried to recreate my favorite, and Presto, I have done it!!!  I love this sauce on chicken, or tossed in some noodles with veggies!

Terriaki Sauce
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1-2 Tablespoons Honey

2 Tablespoons cornstrach
1/2 cup cold water

Directions:
1. Mix the top 7 ingredients in a small bowl, and begin to heat.
2. Mix cornstarch and the 1/4 cup water together in a cup and dissolve.  Add to sauce in pan.
3. Heat until sauce thickens to desired thickness. 
4. Add water to thin if it gets to thick.

For yummy terriaki noodles
1.  boil and rinse linguine noodles (I break them into thirds before putting them in to boil so that they are smaller in size).
2. I use the wide shred and shred a large carrot or a handful of baby carrots and add the carrots and frozen peas (I microwave to cook, then use half the package) to the noodles. 
3. add sauce and toss together to coat.

For Terriaki Chicken:
1. Cut Chicken breast into bite size pieces, and dredge though egg then through seasoned flour to coat.
2.  Fry on medium heat in about 2 Tablespoons of oil until golden.  Cover a plate with paper towels and let fried chicken rest for about 5 minutes. 
3.  Make sauce and toss over chicken.  Serve while warm!

~ Enjoy, Mommy of 6 <3

Pesto Roasted Cauliflower

Pesto Roasted Cauliflower


Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower
1 teaspoon of EVOO (extra virgin Olive oil)
3 TBSP of pesto
1 clove crushed garlic (more or less to your taste)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
pinch of salt and pinch of pepper



Direction:
1. Clean and slice cauliflower, I sliced mine crosswise to make slabs, I think I like bite sized pieces personally work better for coating the cauliflower

2. Drizzle oil in the bottom of a baking pan

3. Use a piece of cauliflower to slide around the pan and spread the oil

4. Place the cauliflower in mixing bowl

5. Drop half the pesto on top squeeze on the lemon juice and stir it up

6. Add the rest of the pesto trying to coat the cauliflower evenly

7. Lay the pieces in the oiled baking pan

8. Sprinkle with the pinch of salt

9. Roast at 350˚ for 35-40 minutes or until done to your liking


Original recipe from "Hey, Whats for dinner mom?" blog
~Enjoy~
 <3 Mommy of 6

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup pumpkin purée*

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup  chopped walnuts

* To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.
3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.
Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.

Baked Pumpkin

Here is a yummy side, but then again I love anything pumpkin, so maybe I am biased!



Baked Pumpkin

Ingredients:
1 sm. pumpkin
2 Tablespoon apple cider
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 Tablespoon. honey
2 Tablespoon melted butter

Directions:
1. Wash pumpkin well and place on a pie pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin 3 to 4 inch diameters. Scoop out pulp and seeds.
2. Mix together the honey, cider and melted butter. Baste the mixture over the flesh of the pumpkin.
3.  Replace top, return to oven and bake 30 to 40 minutes more, basting occasionally.
4. Cut into wedges and serve with leftover basting mixture.

Note: For an equally yummy variation, try tossing in some macintosh apple slices that have been washed, peeled, cored, and sliced.  Or you can also try squash and sweet potatoes mixed in with it!

Pumpkin fritters

Pumpkin Fritters

Imgredients:

 1 cup pumpkin puree

 1 egg, lightly beaten

 1 cup all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon baking powder

 1 teaspoon curry powder

 1 teaspoon salt

 4 cups vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, flour, baking powder, curry powder, and salt. Mix until smooth.
2. Heat oil in a deep saucepan to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Drop batter by spoonfuls into hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, and serve immediately

Snails on the side

These are quick and easy to make, and the kids LOVE them!!!

Bread Stick Snails

1 tube (11 oz.) refrigerated breadsticks

1/4 cup purchased basil pesto

Coarsely shredded carrots

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll dough and separate at perforations into strips. Spread strips with pesto and roll up into a coil, leaving a curved end, so it looks like the head of the snail. Secure with a toothpick. Place upright on a baking sheet.

2. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden. To serve, use the tip of a sharp knife to poke holes for antennae; insert two carrot slivers. Refrigerate for up to 2 days; reheat at 350°F. Makes 12.

Recipe and pics from Parents.com
 
Hope your kiddos enjoy....
The Mommy of 6 <3

Warm Garlic pull-aparts

Cheesy Garlic Pull Aparts

3 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 12 ounce can Pillsbury Golden Layers Biscuits

1 cup mozzarella cheese, part skim milk

                 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated                       

We love to serve these as appetizers...  Serve with Warm pizza sauce and watch them dissappear.
1.Heat oven to 425.
2. Melt butter in small bowl. Stir garlic, parsley and garlic powder into butter. Pour butter mixture into a pie pan.
3. Cut biscuits into 4 sections each (or as many as you like). Place in pan. Toss buiscuits with garlic butter mixture, and both cheeses.  Top with a few sprinkles of the cheese.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes until biscuits are cooked through.
5. Invert upside down onto a plate. (I take a knife around the edges of pan to release stuck on cheese before inverting to plate.). Serve with warm pizza sauce.

Recipe hosted on Pillsbury, originally found on Jennas Random Thought and Recipes
 
<3 Enjoy,
Mommy of 6

Garlic Fries

Original Recipe came from Cooking Light Magazine, I got it from my sister.  Our family has really enjoyed it, hope yours do to!

Garlic Fries

4 teaspoons canola oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 pounds peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons butter

8 garlic cloves, minced (about 5 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag, tossing to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning after 20 minutes.
3. Place butter and garlic in a large nonstick skillet, and cook over low heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add potatoes, parsley, and Parmesan cheese to pan; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.
The Mommy of 6 <3