Breakfast, Snack, Dessert, doesn't matter!

I made this tonight to take to work on Tuesday for a meeting. I just had to sneak a taste though so I ate one of the end pieces that was a little darker than the rest.

Oh my gosh this has a great flavor and is so tasty. I can't wait to have everyone taste this on Tuesday.

Honey-Spice Cake

1 spray cooking spray
1 1/2 cups AP Flour (I used 1 cup AP and 1/2 cup wheat)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. allspice (I didn't have any so I used nutmeg)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 T canola oil
1/2 cup honey, dark (I didn't want to use all of our really good honey from the local farm so I cut it with half of the Agave Nectar we had left in the pantry)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. lemon zest (I omitted this - I didn't plan on making this today so I had no lemons)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Set aside.
In another bowl beat the eggs with an electirc mixer, add sugar, oil and honey. Beat until combined and pale yellow. Stir in applesauce and lemon zest.
Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the egg mixture using electric mixer. Mix until combined.
Spoon batter into pan and sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cook in pan for 15-20 minutes and then remove and cool on wire rack.

12 Servings.

Apple-licious

So my neighbor came by the other night and told me about this recipe. So I went with what I remembered her telling me. Then one of the blogs I like - retro-foods.com had the same recipe like 2 days later.

This was so easy, so good, and really something everyone could eat and enjoy.

Baked Apple Pie Pork Chops

4-6 pork chops

1 can apple pie filling

Favorite sage dressing (6oz box)
Brown pork chops. Put pie filling in bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Arrange pork chops on top of pie filling. Put dressing on top of chops. Bake at 325 for 1 hour (or until done) , uncovered.

So I mixed things up a bit cause I didn't print the recipe out to make it.

So here's what I did.

I put the can of pie filling at the bottom of a baking dish. Then I topped with raw boneless cut up lean pork pieces that were defrosted. Then I topped with the stuffing. I pursed 1 cup of water over the top and kinda mushed everything around. Then I covered and baked on 350 for about 30-40 minutes.

This was so good!!!

That's a Spicy Shrimp

Not really - but this is such a delicious and flavorful meal. We've made this a ton of times in the past 5 years since we got this cookbook. It's quick, it's easy, it's healthy and yummy!







Shrimp Vindaloo



1 T olive oil

2 onions chopped

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1 1/2 lbs. plum tomatoes chopped

2 T sugar

1 T minced fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 lbs. medium shrimp peeled and deveined

3/4 tsp. salt



Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in oil, add onion, lemon juice, curry, cumin and cayenne. Cook stirring until onions are soft. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, ginger, garlic. Cook until tomatoes are softened. AAdd the shrimp and cook until done. Stir in salt and serve. We serve this with rice.



This is from an old WW cookbook that we have - take out tonight. SO GOOD!

You must try this.

Another Tasty Canadian Chip

So we tried another bag of tasty Canadian treats Friday Night.

We stopped in the Humpty Dumpty Factory on PEI to see if they did tours and they didn't but they gave us some free bags of chips for our effort. The BBQ ones Hubs ate on his own and loved them. These we had to try together.

They are MUCH better than a Cheeto. They are made with corn instead of flour and because of that they taste like a cross between a Frito and Dorito. But the cheese is real cheddar cheese instead of fake crap. They are by far the best chip I've eaten aside from those darned Gravy Chips!

Canada Katie, you must bring us some of these when you come to visit next - along with some Curly Wurlies, some Smarties, Gravy Chips, Smoky Bacon Chips...

I wonder why I'm fat??

A dinner straight from the garden

The other night I didn't get anything out for supper - which is unusal for me.

After work, the hubs and I ended up in the veggie garden doing some harvesting. From there I came in the house with some of the most wonderful things - fabulous fresh dill, basil, roma tomatoes. How could I not make something using all of this??

As the hubs sgtarted picking the dill off the stems to dry in the oven for the winter, I poured through some cookbooks to determine what I could make and I came across this in one of my favorite cookbooks that sadly doesn't get enough use in my house.

This is seriously the Tuna Noodle Casserole for Adults and WOW, you have to make this it's incredible! And so easy!

From the Food and Wine Quick From Scratch Cook Book
Spaghetti with Mackerel and Pine Nuts
1/4 cup golden raisins (omitted)
2 T hot water
3/4 pound spaghetti (I used egg noodles)
7 T olive oil (I used like 1 T instead based with my changes below)
1 lb. mackerel fillets (I used a can of solid white in water tuna fish instead)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 small onion chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup chooped fresh dill

1. Put the raisins in the hot water in a small bowl and leave until the water is absorbed. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until just done and then drain.

2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat 1 T oil over moderate heat. Sprinkle the mackerel with salt and pepper. Cook the fish until just done. Remove the fish and then wipe out the pan. When the fish is cool enough to handle and discard the skin and flake the fish. (I drained and rinsed the tuna and just set aside here and didn't add until near the end since it doesn't have to cook)

3. In the same pan, heat 1 T oil and add the onion and cook, stirring until starting to soften. Add the pine nuts and cook until they start turning brown. Add the raisins, fish and additional salt and pepper. Cook until heated. Toss with pasta and extra 5 T of oil. Top with fresh dill.

I served this with fresh roma tomatoes from the garden, fresh basil, pepper and olive oil.

This has quickly become a make again meal in our house. I'm so glad I found this recipe!

OOO I almost forgot the beans you see on the side of the plate, also from the garden!!!

Tastes Good and Aids in Digestion...

A while ago, Hubs went to the GI for his stomach again.. He's been doing well with it, having a regimine of his perscription and a dose of Mineral Oil at night.

In order to get him off the mineral oil, the doc. gave him this recipe for homemade grains with all sorts of good for you digestive things to help keep things moving and going. I made the first batch a while back and it lasted for quite some time and was pretyt good but could use some more flavor.

So for this 2nd batch hubs wanted a little variety.

I found a recipe for a Peanut Butter Granola... although ours turned out less granola-y and more museli - just like our first batch and how the doc. prefers hubs eat it.

This recipe is wonderful - I mean delicious! You should totally try it and it makes a TON. Great with milk for breakfast, some dried fruit for a snack, in yogurt, on top of baked fruit or ice cream.

I put my alterations in brackets.

6 T oil (I used natural sesame oil, which the doctor asked adam to eat - not the Asian kind)
1 C peanut butter (creamy)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
7 cups quick oats (I got the ones from whole foods in the bulk section - it was very cheap that way!)
raisins (we left these out - add them as we eat it.)
(I also added 7 T of raw sesame seeds and about 8 T of sunflower seeds out of the shell - again these are per what the doc. requested in the origonal recipe)

Instructions
Over low heat melt together the oil and peanut butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and pour over the oats and mix well.

Spread onto a large lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes and stir once or twice. cook until lightly toasted.

Let cool and set in a canister or tupperware container.

The PB flavor is not too sweet or powerful but just perfect.

I don't remember the blog I found this off of, but if it was you, please let me know.

Sure it's a pretty picture....

But, and there is always a but, RUN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

Unless you are a die hard vegetarian or vegan, or you totally dig off the wall meals, RUN!

It is a rarity I make things for dinner that we both don't like...but this was one that will live forever. And 24 hours later we're both still reeling from the effects of this meal.

The concept was really good - and I think a different veggie selection to go along with the butternut squash would have been really good - or even using black beans with it with the squash would have been way better.

But hey - it was a pretty picture huh?

I will post the recipe for those of you die hard veggie eaters that may want to try this or those of you that want to play around with this recipe to improve upon it. I know I'll play around with it more, again removing the more ruffage type veggies.

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas
From WW Simply Bueno Cook Book

1 large acorn squash peeled, seeded and diced (we used a butternut squash from our garden - what a disappointment!)
2 large parsnips peeled and cut into slices
12 brussel sprouts, thinly sliced and pulled into shreds
2 T chili powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne
8 8 inch fat free whole wheat tortillas
4 T low fat shredded cheese
1 cup prepared enchilada sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. place the squash and parsnip in a baking dish and coat with cooking spray. Roast for 40 minutes stirring on occassion. Let cool for 5 minutes
3. Reduce the oven temp to 350. Add the brussel sprouts and seasonings. Toss to combine.
4. Lay the tortillas on the work surface and place 1/4 cup of the mixture in each tortilla. Add 1/2 T of cheese, wrap and roll and place seam side down in the baking dish. Top with the enchilada sauce and bake for 20 minutes.

WW information - 2 enchiladas is 1 serving. 8 points per serving.

No Tasty Pic. But You MUST Make These!

These were incredible chicken sandwhiches. Quicky easy meal. You just have to remember to start it the night before to marinade the chicken breasts fully.

This came from Taste of Home.

Honey Citrus Chicken Sandwiches

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves - 4 oz. each
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
2 T vegetable oil
1 T mustard (I used dijon)
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
6 slices cheese
6 rolls
6 thin tomato slices
6 red onion slices
lettuce

Flatten chicken breasts and set aside. In a large resealable plastic bag combine the first 7 ingredients. Add the chicken and seal bag and turn to coat. Let marinade in the fridge over night.

Drain, discard marinade. Grill oncovered over medium-low heat turning occassionally for 10-12 minutes or until juices run clear. If desired top with cheese, and let it melt a bit.
Top with goodies and enjoy.

I just used American Cheese but we wanted to use goat cheese. I omitted red onion. I also only made this for two people with two chicken breasts, but I used the full marinade.

Mousstitso

I love Pastitso and Moussaka.

We had a pile of reat tomatoes from our garden and an eggplant to use as well. I also had some ground beef out for supper.

I totally made this up as I went along and HOLY COW this turned out incredible.

I decided with the ingredients I had I would combine these two favroite dishes of mine and wing it.

I think I like this name and will stick with it.

Mousstitso

1/2 pound penne pasta cooked.

1 lb. ground beef browned and drained of fat.

1 medium to large eggplant sliced with the skin on in rounds

diced tomatoes - either fresh or canned

salt

pepper

nutmeg

Bechamel Sauce

Directions

1. boil pasta and drain. set aside.

2. brown the ground beef and drain. set aside.

3. slice eggplant and layer in a colader with salt and let sit, tossing occassionally until the eggplant softens. this will help remoe some of the bitter flavor.

4. dice tomatoes

5. In a large bowl mix the ground beef and tomatoes- season with salt, pepper, and a little bit of nutmeg.

6. in a large baking dish, spray with pam. Put one layer of eggplant down, and then the pasta. Add a layer of meat. Add another layer of eggplant, more meat.

7. Prepare sauce - you will need a triple recipe. Melt 6 T of butter on low. Add in 6 T of flour. Then add in 3 cups of warmed milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Simmer until just thick. Pour over the top of the casserole. You may want to take a spoon and shift ingredients a bit to ensure sauce goes all the way to the bottom.

8. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

DELICIOUS - we both raved about this meal for days!