Tasty Tuesday - Honey Glazed Pork and Apple Kabobs

This was one of my many made-up recipes. I had something in mind and thought, why not try it? I love experimental cooking, and have found myself doing quite a bit of it recently. This recipe was SUPER easy, and my husband LOVED it. My husband isn't a picky eater, and he's not one to throw out compliments for a meal. He just eats food and thanks the cook. :) Easy to please, but it's nice to get a bit more feed back on a meal. :)

I think this was the first time ever I've gotten such a response from my husband. He took one bite of the kabob, closed his eyes, and sighed a satisfied, "Mmmmm." To top it off, he asked me to do another batch of just the apples, and that's what he and the girls had for dessert. So this was definitely a winning recipe with him!

I think it would probably taste good with some red or vidalia onions on the kabobs as well, but I didn't have any. So here's the recipe. (And my portions may seem small. We try to cut back on the amount of meat in a meal to cut on cost.) But make as much as you like!


Honey Glazed Pork and Apple Kabobs

Glaze:
1/2 honey
1/4 cup brown sugar

Kabob:
1 lb pork loin steaks cut into square pieces
1-2 apples cut in large cubes

Directions:
1. Melt honey and brown sugar in microwave for 20 seconds. Continue in 5-10 second increments until mostly liquified. Stir together and put in ziploc bag.
2. Place meat and apples in ziploc bag with glaze and zip shut. Mix around to get everything well coated. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
3. Put meat and apples on kabobs.
4. Grill and serve.

Tasty Tuesday - Black and White Cheesecake Bars

These were amazing! I've had this recipe sitting in my recipe binder for a few years, but due to my daughter's allergies I either didn't have the ingredients on hand, or chose not to make it since she couldn't have any. But since dairy is no longer a concern, I thought I would give it a try. Oh, boy was this yummy! Thankfully, I have a few more weeks to balance out the weight gained from this dessert before my next prenatal appointment. :)

Black n' White Cheesecake Bars

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 12 crackers crushed)
  
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a double boiler or microwave, melt chocolate chips and butter, stirring occasionally. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs. Set aside 1/4 cup for topping. Press the remaining crumbs into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in milk, egg and vanilla. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Bake at 325 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or until completely chilled. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

By the way, if I were to ever write a recipe that used sweetened condensed, I would short the recipe by a few ounces so I could guiltlessly enjoy eating spoonfuls of the milk without concern that I was going to mess up the recipe. Mmmmm...I just love sweetened condensed milk!

After being refrigerated, the crust is very hard. You may want to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before cutting in.

I just realized that I failed to get a picture of the finished product. :/

Tasty Tuesday - Blueberry Apple Crisp

I think this would probably go down in a top ten of family favorites for my family. We inhale this dish, and could happily have it a few times a week--not that we do, because then our blueberries wouldn't last very long.

It's very quick and easy to put together, and is rather healthy. It calls for a very small amount of sugar, and if you really want, that could even be lessened. I haven't actually tried not using any sugar, but you probably could.

The recipe is originally written to be made in individual custard cups, but I make mine in a 9x13 (or this time, in what I think might be an 8x10--not sure, it's just a little smaller). As a result, I quadruple the topping from the original recipe. I will type out the recipe the way I make it.

Blueberry Apple Crisp

2 1/2 c blueberries
2 1/2 c apples, peeled and chopped

1 c flour, divided
1/2 c brown sugar (note, if you actually quadruple the original, this would be 3/4c)
3/4 c uncooked oats (note, if you actually quadruple the original, this would be 1/3c)
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
6 T softened butter (or margarine)

1. Combine fruit in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 T of the flour.
2. Spread the fruit into a 9" x 13" baking dish.
(Note, if your blueberries are frozen, you will not want to use a stone, as they will make your stoneware cold and will possible cause it to shatter once placed in the hot oven.)

3. Combine remaining flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and resembles course meal.
4. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and oats.
5. Sprinkle mixture over fruit.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.
7. Let stand 10 minutes.
Another note, sometimes the topping may come out more dry and crumbly than you would like. If you don't notice this until it is done baking, you can melt about 1 T of butter in the microwave and then sprinkle it over the topping and place back in the over for about 5 minutes. I've had to do this a few times. I guess my conversion isn't quite accurate. :)

This makes an excellent dessert, breakfast, or snack. It is delicious topped with a good vanilla ice cream or even whipped topping.

Tasty Tuesday - Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins (mix)

ALL summer long I've been wanting to share some of the delicious blueberry recipes that my family enjoys, but as I recently explained, blogging fell to the bottom of my priority list this summer. So, now I will try to catch up on some of the tasty recipes I've been wanting to share!

My oldest and I LOVE all things bread. My husband and second really don't care for bread-type items. In my attempt to make our foods healthier I started making bread items with whole wheat flour and/or oats.

I was unable to take pictures of each step of this process as my camera was out of commission for nearly a month. But this is a simple recipe, and I use it as a make-ahead meal of sorts. I make my own muffin mix with this. Since my daughter is allergic to eggs, I use a powdered egg substitute in the mix, but I will include directions for doing this with a real egg instead. These muffins come out very moist, and usually don't last a whole day around here!

I grab one mixing bowl and 4 containers (I think they may be 3c containers, but it doesn't say on the bottom). I mix up one batch in the mixing bowl and then put the ingredients for four other batches in each of the four containers.

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

Dry Mix

• 1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 t Ener-G egg replacer

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 T warm water
  
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup blueberries, rinsed and drained

Note: In place of the water and egg replacer you can use just one egg.
Note: I usually use closer to two cups of berries. :)
Note: I often use 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 all-purpose--it does make the muffins more dense.

Directions

1. Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, egg replacer, and salt.
   
2. Mix in milk, water, and oil; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in blueberries. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
   

And apparently there are still issues with my camera. Anyway, I label the container with instructions for what needs mixed, what temp to bake, and how long.

Tasty Tuesday - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are mine and Emma's favorite! I absolutely love pumpkin, and since my second pregnancy, I've also learned to love chocolate. Naturally, I altered the recipe, and you can view the original recipe here. I'm including the nuts on the recipe, but I've never actually made the cookies with the nuts. I might try it sometime, but for cost purposes (and DH's preferences) I haven't tried it yet.


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c canned pumpkin
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 egg (replacer ) --Ener-G works, but I usually just add an extra 1/4c pumpkin

1 c AP flour
1 c WW flour
2 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t almond milk
1 T vanilla extract

1-2 c chocolate chips (I usually do closer to 1.5 just to make the chips last longer)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)


1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg replacer.
2. In a separate bowl combine flour, powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Dissolve soda with milk and add to flour mixture. (I usually mess this step up and put the soda in the dry mix and add the milk to the wet. ...oops. Doesn't seem to make a big difference!)
4. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
5. Add vanilla, chips, and nuts.
6. Drop by spoonful on greased (or paper lined) cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for approximately 10 mintues.


Note: Either my oven is off, or the time on the recipe is off. I'm voting for my oven since I have to adjust the cooking time on nearly everything I make. I bumped my oven temp up and these still took longer than 10 minutes.

These are a soft cookie, so be careful not to over bake!


I feel the need to note somewhere, and here as good a place as any, that I am definitely not a photographer! No matter what camera I have or how hard I try, I can not take a decent picture. But whether the picture looks good or not, these cookies are awesome!

Tasty Tuesday - Make Ahead Meals - Chicken

I almost always buy my meat at Sam's, because no matter what, that's usually the cheapest way to go. At the beginning of this month I got boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.77/lb. I bought two packages as close to $10 as possible.
Before I get started on the chicken, I pull out a dozen or so freezer bags and date them. I then make my own home-made Chicken Teriyaki Sauce, my own BBQ sauce (still tweaking that recipe), and I have made my own Italian dressing. I also stock the Kraft dressings (or whatever brand) when I can get them for almost free. I buy the ones that are good for marinades (and of course dairy-free).

BBQ Sauce

I pre-wash my chicken, in preparation to be frozen. We prefer chicken tenders to a whole breast (it cooks up faster, and usually more tender), so I cut the breast into two or three strips, depending on the size of the breast. I then place 5-6 tenders in each bag. (Two each for my husband and me, and one for each of the girls.)

Then I add some of marinade to each bag. I now have several ready-to-bake (or grill) chicken meals! If I forget to thaw the meat in the morning, then I just put it in a glass dish close to dinner time, pop it in the oven, and preheat it with the oven. I usually set it to 400 degrees, and it's ready in about 25 minutes. Just enough time to make some rice to go with it! However, we prefer it on the grill, so that is usually how we will cook it up. Either way, it's nice to have it all ready to go, rather than trying to figure out, "How should I fix this tonight?"

This last time I also breaded up some chicken, par froze it on a baking sheet, and then bagged it up. These came out great!


I also did this with pork chops. We just buy the assorted pork chops at Sam's, and my husband loves them on the grill! It's actually the only way he'll eat them! They taste really good with the teriyaki marinade. Yum!

Tasty Tuesday - Recipe Calculator

I've been trying to create one of these for a while now. My husband could have done it (since it's a big part of what he does for a living!), but he just hasn't had the time to sit down and mess with it. But, Richelle over at The Coupon Clipper has created an awesome recipe calculator! I've already spent most of nap time customizing to my items and prices, and have even figured out a few recipe costs! It cost me $.50 to make pizza crust, and my granola bars came to a whoppin' $4.03! A bit more than I would have thought, but considering this feeds us for two days, and we live off of it for those two days, that's not bad! And it's healthy!

Here's a link-up to Richelle's guest post over at Money Saving Mom. I hope I'm not the only one who will enjoy this resourceful tool!

Tasty Tuesday -Oatmeal Granola Bars

Today's recipe is one that was passed on to me by a Facebook friend. My daughter LOVES granola, but I have yet to find the perfect recipe. However, this one, after some tweaking, is pretty good. But it's more cake-like than you're average granola bar. (I prefer bars to crumbled granola.) I make a pan of this and leave it out on the counter and we snack off of it for a day or two til it's gone!

oatmeal granola bars

4.5 cups of oats (regular not quick)
1 cup whole wheat flour (my friend recommends white whole wheat from king arthur)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coconut oil
3/4- 1 cup honey - depends how sweet you want it
1/2 cup pumpkin
then add chocolate chips, nuts, cranberries, whatever you want. About 1-1.5 cups.

Mix all together the dry ingredients, add the wet, then add your add-ins. The batter will be thick.
Pat into a large bar pan or regular cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 25mins.

NOTE: I have used canola oil because I haven't purchased coconut oil yet.

You can use 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup oil if you want a peanut flavor.

The original recipe calls for 2 eggs, but I use pumpkin instead. 1/2 cup of any fruit or vegetable puree will work. Or Ener-G egg replacer.

The recipe calls for a 9x13 pan, but I didn't like how thick the bars were.

Tasty Tuesday

I searched long and hard for a good chicken pot pie recipe that didn't call for some type of cream soup, since cream soups are dairy. This recipe is pretty much amazing! The original recipe calls for mushrooms, and although I'm a HUGE mushroom fan, I did not think they went well with this pot pie. I also added some green veggies into the recipe just for some color. :) I confess that half of the time I end up using a frozen veggie blend and then adding my own potatoes. It just depends on what I have and how much time I have. The other night I made this using left over turkey from Thanksgiving, and it was really good.

Chicken Pot Pie

Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup lard

6 tablespoons cold water

Filling
1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups cooked chicken, chopped

2 carrot, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup frozen green beans or peas

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in lard until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll one ball out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place bottom crust in pie plate. Roll out top crust and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)
3. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and onion. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. In a separate pan, saute mushrooms in 3 tablespoons of butter, then stir into saucepan. Stir in chicken, carrot, celery and potatoes. Mix well and pour into bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown, and filling is bubbly.

NOTE: I just make my crust at the time I'm making the meal, rather than keeping in the fridge over night. Having it cold makes it a little easier to roll, but you can just put it in the fridge while you're chopping your veggies and mixing everything up.

I have done a few variations on this recipe. The other night I had not potatoes, so I just did two cups of chicken broth instead of three, so that the filling wasn't too runny.

MAKE AHEAD: This is one of my staple, make-ahead meals. I will make up a double batch of this at the beginning of the month. Somehow, this ends up easily making three pies. I split the filling into three quart-sized freezer bags, and put it in the freezer. My husband likes the crust only on top, so on the day I'm ready to serve, I make my crust. I put the frozen mix in the pan (the ziploc bags will easily rip down the side so you can get the block out) and pre-heat the mix with the oven. Once it is thawed, I lay the crust over top and bake per instructions. If you want a crust on the top and bottom, you can thaw the mix in the fridge during the day.

This meal is one of the easiest ways to get my three-year-old to eat veggies without hiding them in a meal!

Tasty Tuesday

I LOVE to be in my kitchen....well, until it's time to clean it up! I love to cook and bake, and I'm more of an experimental cook/baker. I take recipes as suggestions, and rarely do I follow a recipe exactly as it is written.

My friend, Brandi, over at Raising Arrows will periodically have a segment called "Tasty Tuesday." It just like the sound of having an alliterated title, so I decided to carry it over with my recipe posts...though I won't allow this to restrict me to only posting recipes on Tuesdays!

Today I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes that I discovered, and my family enjoyed, this past winter. I have a daughter with multiple food allergies, so most recipes I post will have been adjusted to suit her needs. When applicable, I will include a link to the original recipe.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon almond milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (may be omitted if using vanilla-flavored milk)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, and vegetable oil. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Note: The original recipe calls for 1 cup pumpkin and one egg. I use an extra 1/4 c pumpkin in place of the egg. You can use 1/4 c of any pureed fruit or veggie. You can also use a marketed egg replacer. My preference is Ener-G egg replacer.

We inhaled these cookies! I would usually make a triple batch and put some up in the freezer, but they still didn't last very long!