Apple Pie

Did you know you can freeze your apple pie , so all that you have to do on Thanksgiving is pull it out and bake it? Pretty awesome,  I think. This saves hassle around Thanksgiving. 

Ingredients :

8 McIntosh Apples,  peeled and sliced.
4 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Dash of ginger
Dash of cloves
Pie crust for a top and bottom

Directions:

1. In a pie plate , place bottom crust. I just use Jiffy pie crust mix, it has a good flavor and is cheaper than Pillsbury.
2. In a large bowl put in apples, sugar,  flour,  and spices,  coat evenly.
3. Place apples into pie , top with remaining pie crust, and seal edges

Now if you choose to freeze the pie, wrap the pie in 4 layers of syran wrap , to ensure that the pie crust doesn't absorb any odors from the freezer. It should be good for a few months.

When you bake the pie, unwrap it and put it in a preheated oven, if you let it thaw the crust will get soggy. 

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Pumpkin gnocchi with tomato basil cream sauce.

Much like how my Wednesdays are reserved for  breakfast for dinner, when Fall hits, my Sundays are set for  some sort of pasta dinner. Since it is still Pumpkin Week for me,  why not some pumpkin gnocchi?

Ingredients:

Gnocchi:

2 Cups flour ( or more)
3 Eggs
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Tsp salt
Dash nutmeg


Tomato Basil Cream Sauce:


1 lb Chicken, sliced thin
3 Cups Milk
1/2 Stick butter
1/2  Large can diced tomatoes
1/3 Brick Cream Cheese
3 Tablespoons dried Basil
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tbsp flour
3 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 Tsp Oregano
1 Cup spinach

Directions:

1. Mix gnocchi until it  forms a ball,  let rest in  fridge for 30 minutes.  Roll into (4)   long ropes that are about 1/2"  in thickness, make impressions with fork all the way  down,  cut every 1/2" with a knife, you may  need to use more flour for this.

2.  In a large saucepan on medium heat,  melt butter, and cook chicken , removed chicken but leave the juice and butter.

3. Add flour into saucepan, whisk in 1 cup of milk, once it becomes thick, add cream cheese and basil.

4.  Add tomatoes to sauce, along with everything else except the garlic and spinach.  whisk carefully.

5. In a large pot of boiling water, place in gnocchi, boil for 10 minutes,  scoop out with a slotted spoon, and into saucepan.

6.  Add garlic, chicken, and spinach, stir  carefully until everything is hot.


You may sprinkle some Parmesan on top, but I left it out.  It would also make a good bread dip!

Bagels

Well it is officially Autumn, and everyone loves a good hot breakfast.  Bagels are a good start.

Ingredients:

Bagels - 

1/4 Cup sourdough starter
3 3/4 Cups Flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tsp  Active Dry  Yeast
1/2 Tsp sugar
1/4 cup slightly warm water

1 Egg, beaten.
Extra water.

Toppings:
Cheddar cheese
garlic powder
onion powder
chia seeds
*several other toppings can be used*



Directions:

1. In a  small bowl, take the yeast, the sugar, and add the water. Allow the yeast to proof to ensure it is good to use - About 15 minutes

2. In a large bowl, put in the flour, salt, and the sourdough starter, add the proofed yeast when it is ready. Add enough water to  just form a ball. . Knead for 10 minutes or longer.

 If you don't have a sourdough starter,  you can do a couple things:

•  Take 1/4 cup of flour, 1/8 tsp yeast (proofed), 1/4 tsp  sugar ( proofed with the yeast) ,  1/4 cup slightly warm water (with the yeast)   and allow it to sit in a covered container for 24 hours on the counter.
•  Use wheat, or Rye flour
• Have an extra  mix in of some sort: either onion/garlic  or if you're making a sweet bagel, use cinnamon, or vanilla and a few tablespoons of sugar. 

3.  Let rise for an hour.

4. Punch down the dough. Bam.

5.  Knead the dough  a few more times on a floured surface.  Form a log and cut into 12 even disks.

6. Roll each slice into a  ball,  then carefully poke a  hole in the middle with your finger, and slowly turn and make the hole bigger,  forming the shape of a bagel.  Place on  cookie sheet, cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. During this time you should  preheat your oven to 400° , and fill a large pot with water.

7. Bring water to a boil, carefully set bagels in one at a time, flip after one minute, boil for another minute, and place onto cookie sheet.

8. Brush egg onto bagels,  sprinkle toppings except cheese. 

9. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

10. If using cheese, sprinkle on at the end and broil for 3 to 5 minutes.  

11. Allow bagels to cool for a few minutes,  covered in syran wrap.

Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken

I have made jalepeno chicken a few times.  The first time I just put diced jalapeno in with some cream cheese, it was okay, but nothing to really brag about - the cream was okay, but it didn't bring an abundance of flavor, and I was left with the gently spicy bits of Jalapeno.  The other night I was really craving some chicken and jalapenos, and made my own version that is much more flavorful.

Ingredients: 

Two large chicken breasts that have been butterflied.

filling:

2 jalapeños,  diced small

1 tsp dry ranch mix

1 cup shredded cheddar

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp garlic

2 tsp bbq sauce

Mix together,  spread on the inside of both pieces of chicken. Close the chicken. 

 

Topping:

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp ranch

12 saltines,  finely crushed

4 tbsp shredded cheddar

Paprika

seasoned salt

2 tbsp butter,  sliced thin

Rub the ranch on the top of the chicken, sprinkle cheese on top, cover with saltines and add seasoning,  top with the thin pats of butter. 

Place in a covered dish, cook at 400° for 20 minutes.  

Peppermint Mudslide.

The Mudslide is a classic drink dating back to the 50's, hands down it is my favorite. You can   do it the traditional way, but it leaves so many  options  with it's simple ingredients.  This is one of my many versions. It would be good for holidays, but I like to enjoy it whenever.

Ingredients:
1 shot Bailey's Irish Cream
1 shot Kahlua Peppermint Mocha
1 shot Smirnoff Whipped Cream Vodka
1 cup  Almond Breeze  almond coconut milk
ice
Whipped cream*
Chocolate Syrup*

Directions:  
Take all ingredients and  pour over ice into a  glass, stir carefully.  
You may also blend all of the ingredients in a blender

Top with  whipped cream, and a little syrup if you so choose.

Garlic Naan Bread.

I have a few recipes for flatbread, this one does not require yeast.  Whatever is left over from  dinner, my kids will steal out of the oven and have for breakfast.


Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Garlic (minced)
3 Tablespoons Sour Cream ( or yogurt)
2 Tablespoons Ghee ( softened butter also works)
3/4 cup Water
oil for frying
extra flour for rolling

Directions:
Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl, slowly incorporate water so it won't get too sticky, until it  forms a ball.  Cut the ball into  6 -8 pieces , forming into smaller dough balls. On a floured surface, roll each dough ball until it is about 1/4" thick. In a large skillet (preferably cast iron) put in enough oil to have it about 1/4" deep, put on medium heat to the frying point, you can test this buy putting a very small sprinkle of flour in the pan ( you can just rub your fingers together when you're rolling the dough)  place Naan in one at a time, and turn when the bubbles have browned, set aside on a pan, and keep in a warmed oven.

Cheese Dip

Okay so this isn't even close to healthy, but you can  make it healthier with fresh ingredients if you so choose.

It's delicious,  easy, and cheesy.

Ingredients: 
1 lb Great Value Easy Melt Cheese
1  Can Hormel Chilli with beans
1  Can kidney  beans, drained
1 cup of your favorite salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning.

You can microwave this, or  cook on the stove top.

Either way, you melt the cheese first, and proceed to  add remaining ingredients. Serve with chips.

Tomato Basil Chicken

                                                             Tomato Basil Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Large chicken breast, or two normal sized chicken breasts, sliced thin.
Fistful of grape tomatoes, quartered.
6 Cloves garlic, chopped.
1 - 2 Tablespoon basil.
2 Tablespoons oil.
1 Tsp Italian seasoning
1 Cup spinach.
1 Jar pasta sauce.
1/4 brick cream cheese.
Dash of sugar
Linguine, cooked and drained.


Directions:
In a pan heat oil on medium ,once it's heated, cook the chicken, then add spices, add tomatoes and spinach and cook until hot, add sauce, and add cream cheese until well incorporated in the sauce, stir in sugar. Add the noodles to the sauce and toss until everything is well incorporated. 

Serves  6

I moved!

 Sorry for the 3+ month hiatus!   

 My family, and I moved to Oklahoma, and I am trying to make the best of it.



- Katie

Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots

I've never made jello shots until now, but since it was new years I decided it was time haha.. and these were DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mix:

2 boxes of strawberry jello
1 small bottle of clear tequila
Limes
Sugar

Add 1 c. boiling water to jello mix
Stir until dissolved, 1-2 min
Add 1 c. cold tequila
Add to small cups and/or hollowed out strawberries
Chill in fridge until set

Strawberries:

Hollow out strawberries VERY carefully with a tsp or a melon baller.. and then cut tip off bottom of berry, just enough so they will stand up. Trust me this take awhile.. and make sure you buy the biggest strawberries you can find because there is no way I could have done this with small berries haha.

Sprinkle sugar on top of cups & add lime slice















Dip tops of strawberries in water & then dip in sugar
Add slice of lime

HAPPY 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blueberry Oatmeal

1/2 cup oats
1 c. water
1/4 c. frozen blueberries
1-2 tsp sugar or brown sugar
2 tbsp sliced almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Bring water to boil
Add blueberries to water
Once boiling, add oats & spices
Cook 5-10 min until water absorbed 
Top with sugar and almonds

:)
It comes out SO BLUE/PURPLE. 

Wild West Chicken with Avocado Ranch Dip

This recipe is a combo of a few different recipes put together and inspired from Longhorn Steak House. :) My mom works at Longhorn so any chance I can get I ask her to bring home the famous Wild West Shrimp they have. They serve this with ranch dip. Another appetizer they have there is the firecracker chicken wraps, which they serve with avocado ranch dip. So that's where I got the dip idea from. 

Soooo one night Kt gave me the idea of wild west chicken instead of the shrimp. I looked up a few different recipes and then put this together :) I wanted to bake the chicken instead of frying it, and I wanted to do almond crust instead of regular breadcrumb crust. I decided to make baked almond chicken bites... with side of avocado ranch dip. I used the spices from the Longhorn recipe, and the only other thing I changed was I used yogurt ranch recipe instead of using pre-made ranch :D

Chicken:

1lb+ chicken

1 c. almond meal

1/2 c. breadcrumbs

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp seasoned salt 

1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Mix all dry ingredients from above in a bowl

Put 1 egg, beaten in a separate bowl

Cut chicken into small bite size pieces

Dip chicken in egg, then into dry mix

Place chicken on baking sheet or oiled dish

Bake 20-25min

Meanwhile, simmer the sauce on stovetop

Sauce: 

1/2 c. peppercinis

1/4 c. cherry peppers

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt (instead of longhorn's "prairie dust")

Once chicken in done, remove from oven and top with the sauce

Avocado Ranch Dip:

3/4 c. yogurt

2 tsp hidden valley ranch mix

1 avocado

3/4 tsp tabasco sauce

3/4 tsp cumin

S+P

Blend in food processor 

(Prepare dip ahead of time, before cooking chicken & refrigerate)

And enjoy! :)

Servings: about 4