APPLE SEASON
Autumn has arrived and with it comes Apple Season. Apples are good just to eat out of hand but they are also delicious in many different kinds of recipes starting Caramel Apples and Apple Sauce and then going on to numerous baked goods.
In preparation for using Apples in baked goods it is best to pick Apples that are not quite ripe and have few or no bruises. (Bruised areas can be cut out but if an Apple is extremely bruised it is best not to use it. Even though the skin is most likely to be removed, I still like to wash before peeling. Wash them in cold water and place in a colander so the excess water will drip out. Then dry your Apples before peeling them. Before peeling the Apples have a large bowl of cold water ready and add the juice of one lemon to the water. This will help prevent browning of the peeled Apple. After the skin is removed, cut the Apples in half and remove the cores. Return each Apple to the Water as the cores are removed. Next, depending on the intended use of the Apple either quarter or slice them. Suggestions are below.
APPLE SECTIONING SUGGESTION:
BAKED APPLES – cored and left whole
PIES – Peeled, cored and then sliced into Eighths
TURNOVERS – Peeled, cored and then sliced into Eighths
APPLE SAUCE – Peeled, cored and shredded
COOKIES – Peeled, cored and shredded
You can find many Apple Recipes right here at Sylveeeskitchen.com. Below you will find the links to these recipes.
A SUMMER PASTA MEAL
Most of us think of Pasta as a Fall and Winter Dish. as something to warm up the body. But Pasta can also be thought of and used a Spring and Summer Dish that can be lightweight and not overly filling. There is Macaroni Salad, Spring or Summer Pasta Salads and of course cooked Pasta Dishes. Now most of us probably think of cooked Pasta Dishes as something that is heavy and filling but that doesn’t have to be the case.
Think of lightweight thin noodles such as Linguini or Tagliatelli. I found a great Tagliatelli at of all places, TJ Max. This pasta came straight from Italy produced by an old Family Company. There was enough in the package to probably feed at least 8 people, even those with big appetites. Since I was only cooking for two of us, I used about 6 nests of the Tagliatelli.
Summer is when the best Tomatoes are produced and taste great when only slightly cooked (and of course raw for salads) Our Tomato Plants started producing early this year (probably because I planted them early (taking a chance on little or no frost) so for this dish I did use fresh Tomatoes straight from our Garden along with Green and Red Basil. The purchase products were Garlic, Onion and the Olive Oil
The Pasta was cooked in lightly salted boiling water while I made the Tomato mixture. One of the nice things about making your pasta this way is that the Tomato mixture needs very little cooking so it is like eating tomatoes fresh from the garden. You can make this dish from start to finish in about 30 minutes.
Serve with a Green Salad and Crusty Bread (if desired) and have freshly shredded Parmesan on the side.
Small portions of this dish can also be served as a first course to a more complex meal such as fish or meat.
Try this recipe as is or add your own touches as desired.
http://www.sylveeeskitchen.com/recipes/dinner/tagliatella-with-fresh-garden-tomatoes-and-basil/
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Thanksgiving Countdown
If you are doing the Thanksgiving Dinner at your home or even if you are invited elsewhere you may need some help in finding recipes to complete your tasks. If you type Thanksgiving into the Search Box you will come up with many recipes. Listed below are some of the recipes you will find.
Curried Fruit Stuffing is one of my favorites. It provides a nice flavorful twist to traditional stuffing recipes. (Sorry, no photo of the stuffing but the link will provide the recipe and photos of some of the ingredients.
Roasted Asparagus can be made with Green, White or Purple Asparagus or a medley of each. The taste will be pretty much the same no matter which color you used.
The above links will all take you to the same article – in which you may find more recipes for ‘After Thanksgiving’ to use up the leftover Turkey.
Categories: Dinner Ideas, Holiday Ideas, Holiday Meals, Holiday Tidbits, Leftovers Tags: family dinner, holiday recipes, Potatoes, Thanksgiving, Vegetables
Culinary Makeover #21 – Trickle Down Leftover Recycling (Burger Buns from Cheesy Cauliflower)
In my previous post I mentioned that I was going to try and use up all the food in my freezer and/or refrigerator. I have made pretty good progress but have not got around to posting it. This post will be sort of fun because as the title suggests, it is a ‘trickle-down’ recycle or in other words, recycling the recycled. Now, it is not really like it sounds. The main ingredients are recycled only once and the twice recycled is just sort of using the leftovers as you will see when you read the rest of the post.
My husband Everett, loves Mac and Cheese. I sometimes make it but he wants it so often, that I tried resorting to purchasing small portions of it from Trader Joe’s and/or Bob Evans Mac and Cheese from the local market. While these are fairly good products, the Mac and Cheese that I make is so much better that I decided to make a large portion of it – having it for dinner one night and then packaging the rest in lunch size container and freezing it for use when needed. I made so much sauce that there was actually some leftover. You can put a lot of Cheese Sauce in the Macaroni but only so much!
So, the first recycled product was Cauliflower made with the leftover Cheese Sauce. Cauliflower is good for you but taste wise, just so so. But I couldn’t resist the pretty heads that had at our local Farmer’s Market so of course I purchased one.
Before I continue with the recycling portion of this post listed below are the nutritional benefits of cauliflower.
Calories per serving 25
Fiber 3 grams
Vitamin C 77% of the RDI
Vitamin K 20% of the RDI
Vitaming B6 11%
Folate 14%
Pantothenic Acid 7%
Potassium 9%
Manganese 8%
Magnesuim 4%
Phosphorus 4%
So, as you can see whether or not you specifically love or don’t love cauliflower, it is beneficial to eat it. So, with this in mind I did cook the Cauliflower by separating the segments and washing it thoroughly and then cooking it in the microwave. Vegetables are about the only thing that I will cook in the microwave and cauliflower cooks up in a manner of a few minutes. When we were ready to eat dinner, I just put the covered dish of cauliflower into the microwave for about 2-3 minutes depending on the quantity and your microwave. Then I removed it from the microwave and topped it with the leftover Cheese Sauce from the Mac and Cheese. Voila! Cauliflower with a Cheesy Sauce tastes quite good.
But we are only two people who can eat just so much cauliflower at one time and since I don’t like using leftovers without doing something to change them I did do something quite unusual to recycle the Cheesy Cauliflower and this was to make Hamburger Buns! Yes! Hamburger Buns made from Cauliflower. Now, these are not Buns for people who want gluten-free bread products as there is definitely wheat flour in these buns.
Here is the procedure for making the Buns! (Or go to recipes (bread) for more concise directions.
- I had approximately 1 cup of Cheesy Cauliflower segments left over which I pulverized in the Food Processor.
Cheesy Cauliflower
Cauliflower in Processor Workbowl
- I added 1 cup of warm water to the pulverized Cheesy Cauliflower along with 1 tablespoon of Active Dry Yeast and 1 Tbsp. of Sugar.
Yeast and Sugar Added
- Next I added 2 cups All-Purpose Flour to the mixture and ran the processor just long enough to mix the ingredients together.
2 cups Flour Added
- Once the foregoing ingredients were well-blended I changed the chopping blade to the dough blade and added more Flour to the mixture as needed. I ended up adding an additional 2 cups of flour so that there 4 cups used altogether.
Dough Blade
- I ran all the ingredients together for one minute and then transferred the dough to a greased and floured bowl and covered it with plastic wrap.
Dough in bowl Rising
- Once the Dough had doubled in size (approximately 1 hour depending on the warmth of the room) I punched the Dough down and formed it into buns.
- I shaped the buns two different ways:
- a. I rolled out the Dough and cut circle with a large round cutter.
Dough Rolled and Cut
- b. I then kneaded the scraps together and divided them into segments which I rolled into balls and then flattened them.
- c. The second method yielded small buns which would be ideal for children or those with small appetites.. For those with large appetites, the first method would be more appropriate.
Cauliflower Buns Formed
- The shaped buns were placed on greased baking sheets which had been sprinkled with cornmeal and then covered. Once the buns had risen to double their size, I placed them in a cold oven and turned the heat on to 375 degrees. Placing the buns in a cold oven gives them a little more raising time and gives a lighter product.
Baked Buns
Buns in Oven Baking
- Baking time was approximately 20 minutes or until they are nicely browned on top and on the bottom as well. You can lift one up with a metal spatula to check the bottom.
We used the buns for Burgers and had quite a few leftover for other sandwiches as well. We used the larger buns for Steak and Mushroom Sandwiches the following night. Nope – not leftover Steak although there was some leftover from this dinner for lunch the following day.
Burger on Cauliflower Bun
Categories: Baking, Bread, Cheese, Cooking for Everyone, Cooking for Kids, Culinary Makeovers, Dairy, Dinner Ideas, Family Fun, Leftovers, Main, One Dish Meals Tags: baking, Cheese, family dinner, Leftovers
HAVE APPLES? MAKE APPLE KUCHEN
One way to use up some of your Apples (if you have too many) is to make Apple Kuchen. Kuchen is a great breakfast item or dressed up with whipped cream or Ice Cream, it makes a great dessert for any meal. Kuchen is simple to make and delicious to eat. You will find the recipe by using the link above. Just click on Apple Kuchen and you will be taken to the recipe. Continue here and you will see some step by step photos to help you with your baking.
The Dough is simple to make and can easily be made by hand in a medium-size mixing bowl. When making the Kuchen divide the Dough in half and either roll out half (on floured surface – as the recipe says) or just press half the Dough into your greased baking dish. (8 x 8 or 9 x 9 is best)
Kuchen Dough pressed into Baking Dish
Peel and slice your Apples (don’t worry if they start to turn a little brown – this will disappear when baked)
You can either toss the Apples with the Cinnamon and Sugar in a separate bowl or just arrange the Apples on the Dough and then sprinkle with the Cinnamon and Sugar. Either way will work.
Apples on Dough
Cinnamon and Sugar Added
Next, either roll out the remaining Dough or just scoop dabs and place on top of the Apples. ( didn’t have quite enough dough to roll out so I scooped the Dough with a #60 Scoop or you can just used a spoon) I lightly pressed the dabs of dough onto the Apples. This method worked quite fine.
Bake for the time stated in the recipe at 350 degrees. Kuchen is best served warm and is quite good with Vanilla Sauce as stated in the recipe. I reheated the Kuchen the next morning with some Cheddar on top and we ate it for breakfast. Kuchen can also be served with whipped Cream and/or Vanilla Ice Cream.
Baked Kuchen
Served with Melted Cheddar
Either way you serve it, it will be delicious!
THANKSGIVING FAVORITES – DISHES TO CREATE FOR YOUR FAMILY DINNER
Here we are in November and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. If you haven’t planned your complete Thanksgiving Dinner Menu yet here are some suggestions. For the Stuffing, your Side Dishes, Desserts and leftovers for the days following Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is on the horizon and many families will be busy preparing food and enjoying it with their loved ones. If you love to cook and even if you don’t but are going to be cooking listed below are the links to some delicious recipes that you may enjoy for your Thanksgiving Meal. Take a look at them and then try out one or two or three or all. When you do, please let me know how you, your family and friends enjoyed them.
CURRIED FRUIT STUFFING – a little different twist on Thanksgiving Stuffing – the Curry and Fruit give your stuffing additional flavor in a delicious way. This recipe uses Traditional Stuffing Ingredients with the addition of Apple, Apricots and Golden Raisins or whatever you wish to use plus Curry Powder. It is delicious and quite tasty with the addition of the fruit.
Juilienned Apples
Dried Apricots
Golden Raisins
GOLDEN SQUASH JUBILEE – is a simple Vegetable Dish made with only 4 ingredients:
2 lbs. Banana Squash – shredded
1 cup dried Apricots – chopped
½ Cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
¼ cup Butter
This dish can be cooked in the Microwave or baked in the Oven.
CREAMED SPINACH – Spinach is one of my favorite Vegetables and this version is delicious, even for non-Spinach lovers. It is also versatile and can be turned into a Creamed Spinach Soup just by adding some Vegetable Stock and a little more Cream or Milk. A great recipe for Thanksgiving and the days beyond.
Creamed Spinach
MASHED POTATOES – be sure to use Russet Potatoes, the baking variety. (you need to use a Potato that will crumble when baked so that they will mash easily) DO NOT USE WAXY POTATOES as they will not mash properly.
Mashed Potatoes
Green Asparagus
TURKEY FRITTATA – this is a great dish to use with most any kind of leftover – it is an omelet made with Onions, Potatoes, Tomatoes and Cheese as well as the leftover Turkey. A Frittata is good for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.
TURKEY CROQUETTES – these are made with leftover Turkey, Onions and a smattering of other Vegetables – they are breaded and then fried and served with Remoulade Sauce.
TURKEY POT PIE – made with leftover Turkey, Vegetables and a Rough Puff Pastry or purchased Puff Pastry if you prefer. Great for leftover Turkey, Chicken or whatever else you have. Serve with a Salad and you have a complete meal.
So, here we have a variety of recipes, some of which you can use for your Thanksgiving Dinner and beyond with the leftovers.
Categories: Culinary Makeovers, Dinner Ideas, Holiday Ideas, Holiday Meals, Leftovers, Main Tags: family dinner, Fruit, holiday recipes, Leftovers, Potatoes, Thanksgiving, turkey, Vegetables
OVER THE TOP HALLOWEEN SPOOKY BROWNIES
Here is a recipe that is fun to make and delicious to eat and is good for any time of the year – especially for all Chocolate Lovers. This is a multi-layered Brownie that is composed of a layer of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, a layer of Oreos, a layer of Fudge Brownies and interspersed with Caramel Corn and Mini-Marshmallows. When I made this recipe I used Oreo Thins but soon found out that the White ‘Stuff’ Icing in the middle wasn’t thick enough to show up in the ‘Over the Top Brownies’ when they were cut so we switched to Double Stuff Brownies.
Here is what you will need to make this delectable Chocolate Treat:
1 batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
16 Double Stuff Oreos
1 Batch of Fudge Brownies
Caramel Corn*
Mini-Marshmallows*
DIRECTIONS:
- Make your Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and spread on the bottom of a greased 9 x 9 x 2 Inch Baking Pan. (Deeper is fine too)
Chocolate-Chip-Cookie Dough-in-Pan
2. Layer the Oreos evenly over the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Oreos Added
3. Scatter some Candy Corn over the Cookies. (optional)
Candy Corn on top of Oreos
4. Next make the Fudge Brownie Batter and spread over the Oreos.
Brownie layer with Marshmallows on top
5. The photo above shows the Mini-Marshmallows scattered over the Brownie Batter. Before I baked it I had a change of heart and mixed the Marshmallows into the Brownie mixture so they wouldn’t burn. My student who made this same recipe with me on Saturday decided to put the Candy Corn and the Marshmallows on top during the last 5 minutes of baking. While this gives a nice browned Marshmallow finish, she did not scatter the marshmallows over the whole dish. Doing so would have given the whole thing a much nicer appearance.
Mayas Version
Cut Brownies with Oreo Thins
Categories: Baking, Cookies, Cooking for Kids, Dessert Ideas, Family Fun, Halloween, Main, Private Cooking Lessons Tags:
Pumpkin Drop Cookies
One quick and easy baked good for the week of Halloween is Pumpkin Cookies. These are a drop cookie and easy to whip up, bake and serve. All you need in addition to the usual baking ingredients is a small can of pumpkin. Anyone who can read, follow safety procedures and be able to reach the counter can easily make these cookies.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Pumpkin Puree 1 cup Butter, softened
3 cups All-Purpose Flour 2 cups Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Salt ½ tbsp. Vanilla
2 tsps. Baking Powder 2 Eggs
1 tsp. ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground Cloves 1 cup Seedless Raisins (optional)
¼ tsp. ground Ginger
DIRECTIONS:
- Adjust the oven racks to the 2nd and 4th positions and preheat to 375 degrees.
- Combine the Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Cinnamon and Cloves in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the Butter with the Brown Sugar.
- Beat in the Vanilla and Eggs until very well mixed.
- Add the Flour mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Stir in the Pumpkin Puree and the Raisins.
- Drop by the tablespoon (or use a # 60 food scoop) to shape the Cookies.
- Place them on a greased cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.
- Bake the Cookies for 20-25 minutes or until a deep golden brown.
- When the Cookies are done, place the pans on cooling racks; when the Cookies are cool, use a spatula to remove them from the pan.
- Store in an airtight container.
Categories: Baking, Cookies, Cooking for Everyone, Halloween, Main Tags: baking, Cookie Recipes, cooking with children, kids cooking
PHANTOM PUMPKIN MILKSHAKES
What would be a better beverage for Halloween than a Pumpkin Milkshake! Add the Adjective, Phantom to make it the absolute perfect beverage for a Halloween Party or even a Halloween Birthday Party. There certainly are people who have been born on Halloween. This Milkshake is easy to prepare, even with the Pumpkin. Just used canned Pumpkin and Vanilla Ice Cream. Better yet, if Pumpkin Ice Cream is available at your Supermarket or Ice Cream use that or use both for double the flavor. You can use Pumpkin Pie Spice or a Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and Cloves in a combination that fits your taste buds.
The recipe is below: Try it and see for yourself how much like Pumpkin Pie it tastes!
INGREDIENTS: EQUIPMENT:
1 Pint Pumpkin Ice Cream Ice Cream Scoop
2 cups Milk Liquid Measuring Cup
½ cup Orange Juice* Blender
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
Whipped Cream Large Cups
Nutmeg
Black Licorice Sticks for Straws or just Stirrers
DIRECTIONS:
- Scoop the Ice Cream into blender jar.
- Measure the Milk, Pumpkin Pie Spice, and Orange Juice and add to Ice Cream in blender jar.
- Put the cover on the blender jar, making sure it fits snugly; turn blender on to HIGH SPEED and run until the Ice Cream, and Orange Juice are blended together with the Milk.
- Pour into cups, top with Whipped Cream, sprinkle with Nutmeg and serve with Licorice Straws.
YIELD – 4 Servings
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PUMPKIN FRUIT MUFFINS
Today’s Pumpkin Recipe is for Muffins. The Recipe I have posted uses Cranberries as the additional fruit. However, the photo I have posted is for Pumpkin Muffins with diced fresh Peaches and Golden Raisins. The Pumpkin/Cranberry Muffin is perfect for Thanksgiving whereas the Pumpkin/Raisin Muffin is ideal for Halloween or anytime of the year as well. I used canned Pumpkin for the Muffins but whenever I make Pumpkin Pie, I much prefer to use a fresh Pumpkin. Granted, using fresh Pumpkins is kind of a pain in the neck but well worth it. When I post the Pumpkin Pie segment I will show the procedure for cleaning and baking a fresh pumpkin. You cannot use the same pumpkins as used for Jack O’ Lanterns but instead use a Pie Pumpkin. They are small, more meaty and more tasty and easier to work with.
Sugar Pie Pumpkins
The Pumpkin Muffins are great for Breakfast or for a Snack. For a little enhancement top with a Cream Cheese Frosting. Probably the ‘healthiest’ type of frosting in that it contains Cream Cheese – a milk product. Of course, it also contains Butter but if you are worried about the fat content you can always use less butter than the recipe calls for.
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