We were given a generous amount of apples from a local orchard this week and while we will be able to store a lot of them to eat through the winter, there are a whole lot that I need to process now.  I have been looking for recipes online and these are the following I'm going to give a try this week.

From Brown Eyed Baker I thought this apple crisp looked pretty fun!  I love baking things in my skillet!

I'm excited to make a few things in my crock pot and this applesauce recipe from how does she? looks pretty painless.  My older boys could probably even do it.

Like this blogger, apple butter reminds me of my Grandma. I haven't had apple butter to this day that I like as much as hers.  But, she is no longer with us and hasn't been for a long time, so I am going to give this simple crockpot recipe a try.

I don't have all the supplies (specifically this Victorio Food Strainer) for this applesauce canning tutorial but I am pinning it in pinterest for future use.  If you have all the supplies it is a great tutorial on how to can applesauce.  Make It. Do it. did a great job putting it together.  It's very simple and easy to follow and makes me feel like I might be able to can someday!

I tried this Apple Sharlotka recipe out on Friday from Smitten Kitchen.  It is a quick recipe to throw together and although it's a "cake" recipe it's heavy on fruit and has a bit of a custard flavor to it. I loved it!! I will definitely be adding it to my apple baking recipes for future use!

We are also going to use our juicer to make some fresh apple juice.  The boys have been asking me every day since the apples arrived.  So, that's on the list too!

I would love to hear about any of your favorite recipes.

Wish me luck, that's a big list for me!  I'll let you know how it goes.

Beer Potato Soup

One of the local restaurants in town, Atomic Ale Brewpub, is known for their potato soup.  Hayden took me there on one of our first dates after moving here.  They make their soup with their own locally brewed beer, red potatoes, bacon and some other yummy goodness, of which I don't know.  I haven't had a potato soup recipe that I really love and wanted to make my own.  But, this is now our "family" potato soup.  Hayden loves it, and that's enough reason for me!  I wouldn't say it's the "same" as Atomic Ale's...it is a little different, but it's pretty darn good!



Ingredients:

1 large onion (i use sweet, but you could use a yellow or white if that's all you have)
1/2 stick butter
1 qt. chicken broth
12 oz. (or 1 and a half packages of cream cheese)
1 bottle or can of beer - (the first time I used a white wheat and tonight I used a Heffeweizen and both were great!)
1/2 a bunch of Flat leaf/Italian Parsley chopped roughly
1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan
About 7-8 red potatoes
1 pound bacon, cooked and chopped.

Toppings:
Grated sharp cheddar for garnish
Pepper and/or crushed red pepper

How to:

Heat your butter in a pot or dutch oven over med-high heat

While that is melting, dice your onion and then add to the melted butter.
Let cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are soft.

While your onions cook, cut up your potatoes.  I quartered mine and then sliced them really thin.  They cook faster and are a nice size for eating.

After sauteing the onions for 5 minutes, add the beer and let cook for about 8-10 minutes.  Stir a few times.

Add the quart of chicken broth and your potatoes, put your lid on, turn the heat down to med./med. low and let cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done.  

Add the cream cheese and turn the heat down to low and let the cream cheese melt into the soup.  I let this go for about 20-25 minutes, stirring it occasionally. Don't worry if it looks chunky and separated, it will eventually dissolve into the soup and make it super creamy.  After all the cream cheese is dissolved, add the Parmesan, bacon and the parsley. 

Voila! 

Garnish with sharp cheddar, lots of fresh pepper and crushed red pepper (if you like a little heat) and enjoy!

This is also really good accompanied by focaccia.

Yellow Curry and Ground beef Soup

I modified a recipe I found today in order to use the ingredients I had on hand.  I modified it  A LOT!  I think I would refer to it as more of an inspiration than a guide at this point.

I'll try to add a pic or two when I heat it up tomorrow.  Although, come to think of it, curry soup isn't usually all that pretty!  But, it's always nice to have a picture of what you're about to cook.

Ingredients:

1 Med or Large Yellow Onion, Diced (I used a Mayan sweet)
1 stick of butter
1 Bell pepper diced (whichever color you like, we used orange)
1/3 c. flour
1 can of coconut milk
1 can (from the coconut milk) full of half and half or whole milk
1 - 1 1/2 lbs. of browned ground beef ( i was using leftovers here)
2 T. Yellow Curry
1 qt of beef broth

Jasmine Rice
Cooked according to instructions.  We doubled the recipe and had enough for dinner.

*Optional stir-ins:  cilantro, crushed red pepper, and coconut milk

Instructions:

Heat 1/2 the stick of butter over med-high heat in a 6 qt or larger pan.  (I used my dutch oven.)
Add the diced onion and cook until onions are translucent,
Add the rest of the butter and then the diced pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until pepper begins to soften.

Add the curry and the  flour, stirring quickly to mix throughout.

Reduce heat to medium and add the beef broth.
Cover and let cook for 5 minutes to thicken.

Uncover and add the ground beef, coconut milk, half and half and season with salt and pepper.  Taste it and make sure your salt is right.  I had to add salt once we had it in bowls to get it right.  Cover again and let simmer for about 10 minutes and thicken. 

Optional add-ins: Crushed red pepper (we just serve on the side), cilantro (adds a nice fresh flavor) and I hear coconut milk drizzled on top is good too. 

We served this by scooping a small mound of rice in the middle of our bowls and topped it with the soup.  The rice definitely stretches the soup.

*You could easily make this vegetarian by switching to a vegetable broth, and adding more veggies.  The original recipe had a granny smith apple in it!

*Vegan - make above changes plus use coconut oil or olive oil instead of butter and substitute all coconut milk in place of the half and half.

I can't wait to have this again for lunch tomorrow.

Enjoy!

so bad, yet so good

Baked oatmeal
(not so healthy)

3 c. Oatmeal (rolled, but not quick)
1 c. Heavy cream
2 eggs
1/2-1 cup half and half or whole milk
1/3 stick of butter cold and cubed
Salt
Cinnamon
Maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375
Bake time: approximately 40 min.

Put oats in a smallish baking dish
Beat the eggs together with the cream

Combine egg mixture, butter and oats and stir together starting with 1/2 c of half and half and add as needed to get all the oats in liquid. Sprinkle the combo with cinnamon and a little bit of salt.

Bake until oats are browned and crunchy on top.

Drizzle with maple syrup and a little bit of half and half.

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my favorite pancake recipe

for a good portion of my life, i really disliked pancakes.  my dad would occasionally make swedish pancakes and i loved those because they were so sweet and had such a nice texture to them. but, when it came to regular pancakes i would only eat them if they were drowning with fruit sauce and whipping cream. 

when we had children, i began a hunt for a pancake that i wanted to eat.  i had occasionally eaten some whole wheat packaged pancake mix made by Krusteaz without complaint....but, I still didn't have a love for pancakes.  this changed 2 years ago, when i came across this recipe.  i have issues with texture, and that was my problem with pancakes.  this pancake changed that, i think it's the addition of the corn meal.  or maybe my taste buds have just deadened evolved as i've gotten older.   

like many recipes, i've modified it many times to make it work for us.  so i am sharing the modified version here. 

i had a friend over this weekend and we tripled the recipe and fed 3 adults and 8 children with it.

Preheat oven (if you are going to make them all first and then serve them at once) to keep cooked pancakes warm.

Multi grain Pancakes

1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup quick-cooking (or not) oats
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 T. sugar or agave
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 T. black strap molasses
2 c. milk, soy milk, rice milk (i've used all 3 and a combo of all 3 and it works)
    if i'm wanting to stretch this a little i'll use a little more liquid and make nice thin pancakes

Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just blended.

Cook on a preheated, greased skillet for about 2 minutes a side (or until lightly browned)

bacon and eggs with spinach cream sauce

we have fairly recently reduced the amount of carbohydrates we are consuming.  we've been trying to be intentional about only eating complex carbs and eating whole foods.  i modified this recipe to fit that description and it's become one of my favorites.  the only thing that would make it better is if i had access to raw cream instead of using the highly pasteurized kind that i buy at the store.  hayden devours these!  so do half of my boys.

here are the ingredients:

1 dozen cage free eggs
organic heavy cream (i used about half of this container)
1 pkg. of preservative free bacon (about 12-16 oz. or 12 slices if you're buying bulk)
organic baby spinach (i used half of the box here)
fresh ground pepper
salt

(you can interchange other versions of these ingredients, this is just what i had on hand, but i've used, non-organic, bacon with preservatives, etc...)

a muffin pan

preheat oven to 400

spray or grease your muffin pan before starting

cook your bacon on medium until it's about halfway done (sorry for the shadow on the pic)

while that is cooking, put half of the pint of cream (or all if you're doubling) into a saucepan on medium-low heat.  put about half of the package of spinach in the saucepan with it.  don't worry it will wilt and shrink down, it should be nearly falling out of the saucepan. 

heat until the spinach is wilted and looks like this

drain your bacon on a paper towel and then take each piece and break it in half and criss cross it in the bottom of one section of the muffin tin, like so, repeating until all bacon is used:

next crack an egg carefully over each crisscross of bacon.  try not to break the yolk.  if you do, don't fret, just leave it, but try not to break it!  i forgot to take a pic of that step.  after finishing all the eggs spoon the cream sauce over each egg and bacon combo. that will look like this.

crack your salt and pepper on it and put in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until the whites are cooked through and the yolk looks firm. 

when these are done, run a knife around the edge of each one and pop it out of the tin.  this isn't always the prettiest, but it tastes so good, it doesn't really matter. 

i have made variations of these before with the following:

diced cooked potatoes, grilled peppers, topped with an egg and some cheese (no cream sauce)

chopped ham with a basil and cream sauce

prosciutto would be amazing in these....there is a lot of possibilities!

Making Toddy

Several of you out there have asked me how I make my Toddy, so here are my directions.  I'm sure there is a way to do this without the actually Toddy maker, the part that I think would be the hardest would be filtering it thoroughly.

What is "toddy"? Simply. Cold brewed coffee.  It is smooth, non-acidic, inexpensive and super handy to have around!

I own a Filtron Cold Brew System 
These are the parts

This is how I do it with that system.


I buy one pound of Starbucks Shade Grown Mexican and have it ground coarse for french press.

I put the filter in the bottom of my Toddy maker, like this.

Then I put the plug in the bottom.

Then I empty the whole pound of coffee into the large container.

Imagine that full of a pound of coffee.  Then I put this white holey thing on top of the grinds (the ones in your imagination).
Top that with the smaller of the two black containers.

You can really faintly see the lines on the inside of that smaller container.  You can brew this by 3/4 of a pound or a whole pound at a time.  The higher line is for a whole pound.  You have to put your finger over the hole in the smaller black container, fill it with water to the line and then set it on top of the bigger black container (like above).  I usually cover the top with a plate just so nothing crawls or flies into the water because that would be super gross.

No you just let it sit overnight or up to 16 hours or so.  After that, I pull the plug on the bottom over a carafe and let it drain into the carafe for about an hour. 

This makes a coffee concentrate that lasts 4-6 weeks in the fridge or (i think) 3 weeks non refrigerated.  I just recently read that you can rebrew the grounds with half the amount of water to get a second go out of it.  Some people might think that's gross.  I just tried it and it has a slightly different taste, but it's frugal and not disgusting, so I'm doing it.

Now I just pour about 2 ounces of this stuff into a glass, add a little cold water, (i usually drink iced americanos) half and half to the color I like it at and then top it with ice.  But, I just made this for a friend who is visiting and she wanted it hot.  So, I boiled some water on the stove and made it that way, so it's like brewed coffee.  You could also use it latte style and froth milk, or just add milk to it to make it iced.  I love this stuff.  It's great to have on hand.  I've even really started substituting my trip to Starbucks or one of the local coffee shops I love so much!  It's pretty economical, considering a pound of coffee is about $11 and i can drink off of one of these for about 2 weeks!

Please comment if you need more answers! 

quick and easy banana bread recipe



banana bread on left, snacking cake on right and my iced toddy*...

because that's how I'm eating this right now.



















Makes 2 loaves or maybe a 9x13 (maybe more) of "snacking" squares (which cook faster!)

Oven temperature: 350

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (or salted if that's all you have, and just beat the tar out of it if it's not at room temp and it will soften :) )
3/4 c. brown sugar (not packed)
3/4 c. sugar (or today I used xylitol and it tasted good)
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (i think regular ww flour would work great too)
1 1/2. t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. salt (i use kosher)
2 t. vanilla
6-8 small super ripe bananas

Preheat oven, grease baking dish(es)

Mash bananas in their own bowl.

Cream butter and sugars until well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time mixing well after each one. Combine flour with salt and baking soda.  I really don't like dirtying extra dishes, so I add one of these to each cup of flour.  (i.e. scoop a cup of flour put the b. soda on top, repeat with the next cup of flour and salt) and then add into the creamed butter/sugar mixture, one cup at a time.  (I'm sure that someone that bakes more than me could tell me the benefits of sifting all of those together, but so far things are tasting okay, so I'm doing okay without that information, for now.)  Next add the bananas and vanilla and mix until combined, don't overdo it here! 

Pour into chosen containers and toss (carefully) into the heated 350 degree oven.

Okay, so here's where I'm not always the best at paying attention!  I did one loaf and one 8x8 cake pan with this.  I set the timer for 40 minutes and checked the cake pan sooner because it was thinner.  It was done right around the 40 minute mark but then the bread took at least another 10-15 minutes.  But, it seems like these things vary from oven to oven.  So, just keep an eye on it and when a toothpick comes out clean, it's done!  I let it cool for a few minutes, run a knife around the edges and turn out to finish cooling....although, around here it doesn't usually get a chance to cool completely without being slathered with butter and devoured.

I love fall.  And, even though this isn't necessarily a fall recipe, fall makes me want to bake.

*I've had a lot of people ask me how to make "toddy" so I'll be doing a post on that this week as well.  I just have to get myself to Starbucks to buy some beans!

coconut scone/biscuit recipe

So, here it is.  Coconut Scones made with wholesome ingredients and lots of yummy, and good for you coconut.  It would probably have a stronger coconut flavor if it were made with white flour, but I can't bring myself to use white flour anymore unless I'm making french bread.  I wish it were made with fresh ground flour, and someday, it will be.  But, that day is not today, neither is this month, or year for that matter.  When I do make it that way, (and I will) I will definitely post about it here.  In the mean time.  I hope you enjoy these. 

One more thing.  I don't usually bake.  I'm not very good at it.  I don't have the patience natural baking ability for all the fun of precise measurements and all that.  But, I do try to occasionally bake something for my family.  I found a scone recipe this week and then completely undid all the things about it I didn't like, and substituted and experimented until it worked for me.  My favorite thing about this recipe is that it is all done in the mixer, (which wasn't on the original recipe) and it's in the oven in under 15 minutes.  Which makes it really feasible when the boys are running mad around the house while I hole up in the kitchen.  The destruction is minimal in 15 minutes, AND when the prospect of scones is in sight.

Coconut scones

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white would work too)
1/3 c. Brown sugar or sucanat
1 T. Baking powder
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 c. Coconut oil )
1 c. Unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1/2 c. Chilled coconut milk (I have substituted yogurt/cow's or rice milk mixture and it works too)
1 1/2 t. Vanilla extract
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 375

Add flour, sugar, shredded coconut, baking powder and salt to your mixer bowl and stir on low with paddle attachment.

Cream dry ingredients with the coconut oil.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg with coconut milk to blend. Slowly add coconut milk/egg mixture to dry ingredients with mixer on low until moist clumps form. You can add more milk if it's dry. Drop by 1/4 cupfulls onto rimmed baking sheet. Bake about 14-18 minutes. Start checking around 14 though. You want them light brown and cooked through.


Makes about 13

*Since the coconut milk was a new addition to this recipe for me, I had to think of a use for that left over milk.  So, if you're wanting to sweeten up your scone a little make a glaze out of the coconut milk and some powdered sugar.  Sorry, I don't know how much of each, I just know that those 2 things combined with a little vanilla = yummy goodness

I also had some chipped coconut on hand so I sprinkled that on top this time too. 

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"mexican" soup

I used to call this chicken tortilla soup, but I don't actually put tortillas in it, so I'm changing the name to the very creative:

Mexican Soup

WARNING: If you are type Aish, this "recipe" will probably drive you crazy.  Don't blame me, this is how I cook.  You can make a list of ingredients as you read it.  You should always read a recipe all the way through before you make it anyway! :)

I pretty much make this all year long and I've had a lot of friends ask me for the recipe.  I'm not quick to give it out though, because it's always changing and hard to write down.  It's easy, and I make variations of it all the time. 

This is how I did it this time:

The chicken
I chopped an onion and some whole garlic cloves and put them in a skillet with chicken tenderloins and butter on medium heat (but you can use whatever you want for that (oil, spray, etc...but, butter makes it all taste quite delicious)  But, in the past, I've also just thrown those same ingredients in a baking dish, drizzled with oil and baked at 375 until done while I do the rest of the soup. 

The veggies: While that was cooking, I diced up a couple bell peppers and some  yummy fresh heirloom tomatoes that someone gave us from their garden. (about 3 large ones) I threw those and some frozen corn (maybe a cup and a half) into a large baking pan and put them under the pre-heated (oh yeah, preheat your broiler) broiler until everything was a little charred and the tomatoes were nice and watery. (I've added potatoes to this in the past before too, and that's also yummy)

 If I don't have fresh tomatoes to roast, then I would normally use a can or two in their place.  And, sometimes I don't put any peppers in it at all, it's really flexible.  Oh and I suppose you could also use canned corn (although I don't think I would roast that) if that's all you have.  While this beautiful creation roasts, your chicken should be about done. I usually use the spatula that I was stirring the garlic and onion and chicken with and cut the chicken up a little with it.

Broth: At this point, you will add a box of this (sometimes I add two or more if I have a big group) Imagine creamy chicken soup.  This stuff is delicious.  It is a great universal creamy soup that works as a base for a lot of soups.  AND, as a bonus, for some reason, Grocery Outlet always seems to have this on hand for about $1.49 a box...so I usually stock up on it in the winter when I'm making lots of soup.  It has great flavor, and it's organic.  But, then again, I've also used chicken broth in it's place, it just ends up a little thinner and I like a creamy soup.  So, if you don't want it thin you can always add milk/half and half/cream, whatever you have on hand.

I then add about 2 cans of black beans (or a few cups of cooked dried beans).  I have also been known to add pinto, kidney, white beans, refried beans...pretty much any bean except garbanzo works in here. 

That will look pretty ugly after you add the beans to it, but don't lose heart, it gets better.  After adding that I also add a few spices.  These would be better fresh, but sometimes all I have is dried.  So, a hefty tablespoon of dried oregano, a big handful of fresh chopped cilantro, pepper, and a big pinch of coriander.  Also, if I didn't have any fresh garlic I would add some dried at this point.  Now, keep an eye on those veggies under the broiler.  Once those are finished, add them to the soup.  I had to transfer everything to a bigger stockpot.  You will have to do the same :)

All combined I let it cook for a couple minutes so everything is about the same temp and then it's done....well, almost.  You need to have toppings for this soup.  I highly recommend and always add fresh lime juice to this.  Sometimes I put it in when the soup is done and sometimes I just put quartered limes on the table. 

We usually top this with a variety of the following:

Lime juice

Cilantro

Sour cream/plain greek yogurt works too

Crushed red pepper flakes

Crushed tortilla chips or cooked corn tortilla strips (yum)

I wish I would've taken a pic of how full the pot was beforehand.  My boys usually devour this and they each had at least 2 bowls. 

Enjoy!