Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

I have begun doing preschool curriculum at home with Braydon.  Some days we do an activity, one day we might take a fun trip and other days we might have a cooking day based off of the letter we are learning.  Since we have begun with A, we learned about apples and apple trees so we thought it would be fun to make our own applesauce.

To begin- peel, core and slice about 8 apples and place them in a large pot along with a few strips of orange or lemon peel, 3-4 tbsp lemon juice, some cinnamon sticks, 1/4 c brown sugar, 1/4 c white sugar, a dash of nutmeg and 1 c water.

Mix together, cover your pot and bring to a boil.  Once bubbling, lower to a simmer and allow to cook for about 25 minutes until the apples have softened and form an applesauce texture. 

Be sure to remove the peels and cinnamon sticks before serving.

 Let cool and enjoy!  We had a warm bowl with our lunch to finish our day of A!

Bacon Cream Cheese Wrapped Chicken Breast over Buttermilk Alfredo Linguine

Bacon Cream Cheese Wrapped Chicken Breast over Buttermilk Alfredo Linguine

Today was a low key afternoon and I was so grateful for it.  Our little family has had quite a few changes in schedules and activities in the last month so it was nice to have our whole family home early in the afternoon after school.  While my hubby played some games and read books with our boys I had the opportunity to prepare a dinner that I might not have, if it weren't for a little alone time in the kitchen.

One thing lead to the next as I rummaged through my pantry and fridge for ingredients I needed to use up and this is what I came up with!  It was a huge hit and it has made the list of Can you please make again soon?  As a Mom, I consider that a success.

Bacon Cream Cheese Wrapped Chicken Breast: 

So, to get started-defrost 3 chicken breasts and place in a prepared baking pan.  In a bowl combine 8 ounces of fat free or low-fat cream cheese, 1 cup of finely chopped onion, a few dashes of cayenne pepper, a heaping tsp of minced garlic and a dash of pepper.  Stir together until combined, but not too much to cause the cream cheese to soften and lose solidity. 

At this time preheat your oven to 400*.  Take a chicken breast- spoon and smooth the cream cheese mixture over the chicken breast.  Place enough on to evenly distribute the mixture amongst the chicken you have prepared.  Once the cream cheese mixture has been placed on the chicken, wrap 4-5 slices of turkey bacon around the chicken breast with the seam underneath to secure the bacon's placement and set in the pan.  Continue this process with each piece of chicken.

I had a few tbsp of cream cheese mixture remaining that I placed around the wrapped chicken before baking and I let it cook for 45 minutes at 400*.  In the last few moments you can also set the oven to broil and crisp the bacon if that is your preference.

Buttermilk Alfredo Linguine:

While the chicken baked, I boiled a package of linguine noodles.  

While the noodles were cooking, I prepared my sauce.   Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a saucepan and stir in 2 tsp of flour.  Once incorporated, whisk in 1/2 c of milk with 1 c of buttermilk.  Continue to stir in 1 dash of nutmeg, 1 tsp of minced garlic and 1 tsp of pepper.  Then add 1 c of parmesan cheese, continue to stir until the sauce begins to thicken.  Add the cooked noodles to the sauce.

Serve the buttermilk alfredo linguine with the bacon cream cheese chicken on top- finish with a pinch of parsley and enjoy!

Homemade Toaster Pastries

Homemade Toaster Pastries

I made sugar cookies with the boys this morning and before I got started I doubled my ingredients to make these pastries after- the recipe below is a single batch.

In a bowl add 3 1/2 c flour, 2 tbsp baking powder, 2 eggs, 1 c butter, 1 tbsp vanilla and one can of 14 oz sweetened condensed milk.  Beat until the dough forms and chill in between baking batches.

I used a mold, but if you don't have one, cut out rectangle shapes in your dough after it has been rolled out.  On one rectangle place a tbsp of jelly and then top with another dough rectangle.  Press the edges closed to seal.  Repeat until all your dough is used and bake for 18 min at 350 degrees.  I topped with sanding sugars before baking as well.  

Other fillings that would be great are peanut butter, nutella or lemon curd!

Let cool and enjoy as a breakfast on the go, a yummy snack or dessert.

The Tried and True Sugar Cookie Recipe

The BEST Sugar Cookie Recipe!

The boys asked if we could make super hero cookies, so we used our impressions in our cookie dough and they were thrilled!!

I have used quite a few recipes for homemade sugar cookies, and this is my favorite.

In a bowl add 3 1/2 c flour, 2 tbsp baking powder, 2 eggs, 1 c butter, 1 tbsp vanilla and one can of 14 oz sweetened condensed milk.  Beat until the dough forms and chill between batches to keep firm.

We rolled our dough out, designed each cookie to look different with captions and characters and baked for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Braydon always loves to watch the goodies bake!

Let cool and enjoy!

Pizza Ebelskivers

Pizza Ebelskivers

I begin by making a traditional pancake batter.  In a bowl mix together 1 c of flour, 1 c of milk, 1 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of oil, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 egg.  Take your ebelskiver pan and coat it well with oil.  If you are in search of a great pan, I have a nonstick ebelskiver pan and turning tools from Williams-Sonoma and I love them.  I highly recommend the turning tools, but toothpicks can also be used.

Once the pan has warmed up, fill each bowl with 1/2 tbsp of batter.

I made the ebelskiver batter from our breakfast recipe and added some Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute to give it a more seasoned flavor, as opposed to a sweet one.  I followed the same routine for breakfast ebelskivers, but instead I prepared a tomato base sauce and sliced string cheese for my fillings.

In my ebelskiver pan I placed the batter and then a dollop of the sauce ...

then I placed a piece of the cheese on top of the sauce ...

and topped it all with another layer of the batter.  I completed this process until all my ingredients were used.  We used a marinara sauce for dipping as well.  If you missed the thorough steps to making ebelskivers, check out the ebelskiver blog ... if you are up to date with it all, enjoy this new take on the ebelskiver as an appetizer or light dinner- which was a perfect finger food, especially for our boys!

Lemon, Sesame and Ginger Chicken with Edamame and Asian Noodles

Lemon, Sesame and Ginger Chicken with Edamame and Asian Noodles

I love cooking with my wok- the high heat and quick cooking is great for nights when I don't want to leave my oven on for an hour.  I have made this meal a few times now and it has become a favorite amongst the boys.  Any time we can all sit around the table and enjoy the same meal, it is a success!

To get started, slice 2 chicken breasts into small cubes.  While doing so, place about 1/4 c of oil in your wok with 1 1/2 tbsp of minced garlic.  Keep in mind that the high heat and the oil will burn you if you aren't careful- just as a precaution I cover my wok with a splatter shield to minimize the popping oil.  Carefully added the cubed chicken to the wok with 2 tsp of ginger.  Once the chicken begins to cook through, start boiling water on your stove to cook your noodles.  I prefer Udon noodles as they are very similar to linguine noodles- but Japanese ...  I didn't have them on hand, so I boiled fusilli noodles and it worked just the same.

At this point the chicken shouldn't be raw anymore.  I poured a lemon, ginger and sesame marinade over the top of the chicken and allowed it to caramelize and glaze over.  Creating this marinade is fine as well- combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, oil, ginger, lemon juice and sesame seeds.  The sauce will bubble and boil- stir occasionally to season all sides of the chicken well.  

When the noodles are done boiling, remove them to drain and add about 8 ounces of cooked edamame to the chicken in the wok.  Continue to stir to incorporate all the flavors to the edamame as well as the chicken.  Let cook for 5 more minutes in the wok and remove all the chicken and edamame and set aside.

This is when I make my noodles, it takes only a few moments.  Re-season the wok with another heaping tbsp of minced garlic, 1/2 c diced onions, 1/4 c rice vinegar, 1/4 c soy sauce and a few dashes of Togarashi seasoning.  This seasoning is found in most Japanese markets and makes these dishes taste so authentic- it consists of sesame, ginger, orange peel, red pepper and chili pepper.  

Once the wok has been seasoned with these contents, add the noodles to the wok and mix well to ensure all the noodles are evenly coated with your sauce.  If you are looking to make edamame by itself in the wok- this same marinade used to season the wok is great for that as well.

Serve and enjoy!

Leek Chicken Stock with Noodles and Bagel Garlic Bread

Leek Chicken Stock with Noodles

Bagel Garlic Bread

For the past 8 months our family has done everything on a very strategic budget- pretty simple: if you don't have the cash to buy the item, don't buy it!  That being said, I shop once a month- yes only once, and when the groceries are up, they are up!  I obviously don't have my family go hungry, but creativity and planning is huge.  I make a little extra for the hubby's lunch the next day and the final week of the month, I often feel like I am on those cooking shows that have the mystery baskets that you have to create meals from- I honestly love the challenge and my hubby and kids typically enjoy those meals the best!

Well, today I woke with a sore throat and thought to make chicken soup, regardless of the fact that it is July in Southern California- comfort food is still comfort food when you don't feel well!  This week is our families final week of groceries before going shopping again and I didn't have a lot of the ingredients I would use to typically make my chicken noodle soup, so instead I made this version tonight, adapting to what I did have-

Boil a pot of water for your noodles, in another pot heat 64 ounces of chicken stock (enough so that this meal turns into the hubby's lunch for tomorrow as well), and in a fry pan heat the pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil.  I had 2 cups of chopped leak that I browned in my fry pan, I then added 3 tbsp minced garlic, sprinkled in 2 tbsp parsley and 1/2 tbsp thyme.  I added a bit of red pepper as well as black pepper to season.  Once all these flavors were incorporated I chopped a chicken breast into bite size cubes and added it to the fry pan as well.  Once all cooked I added this to my boiling chicken stock.  At this time my noodles were finishing as well- drain and also add to the stock.  I finished the soup with 1/3 c of lemon juice and mixed all together.  I lowered my heat to get started on my other part of the meal.

It is always nice to have a side of bread with soup- but as stated, my options were limited as we were closing in our month's groceries.  I had 2 plain bagels left so I slice them in half and each in half again.  I placed them on a cookie sheet and drizzled olive oil over the tops and added garlic powder, parmesan and parsley.  I baked these for 5 minutes at 350 degrees and then turned my oven to broil for 3 minutes to make the tops crispy. 

Serve your soup and bread and enjoy!