Toast With Cream Cheese and Fruit

Here's one more after school snack that I wanted to include. This was also from the Martha Stewart Everyday food magazine. Again, it's my photo of the magazine page, so the quality is poor. However, you can still see what it looks like. I hardly ever buy cream cheese, but when I do, Kelli takes full advantage of it. This is her favorite.

Toast With Cream Cheese and Fruit

Whole-grain bread is nutritious and high in fiber; and luckily, it's also delicious.
Serves 2
1. In a toaster oven or under the broiler, lightly toast 2 slices whole-grain bread on both sides.
2. Layer 1 Tablespoon cream-cheese spread on each piece of toast and top with 2 teaspoons Strawberry jam and two or three slices banana.

Peanut Butter Apple Rings

These are so simple and so fun to snack on. Another great after school snack. This was found in one of the Martha Stewart Everyday food magazines. I searched for a photo of it, but couldn't find it. So, this is a picture of the magazine page that I have here at the house. Now you know why the quality isn't that great, but you get the idea of what they look like.

Peanut Butter Apple Rings

Core 1 apple. Cut a thin slice off top and bottom, and discard. Slice apple crosswise into 3 thick rings. Dividing evenly, spread one side of the rings with peanut butter, and a total of 1/4 cup topping (such as granola, cereal, toasted coconut, or anything else you can think of), and pat on gently.

Banana-Nutmeg Smoothie

Kelli likes to make these smoothies for an after school snack. It's nice to have a variety of options for an after school snack, and this is on the list. We found it at Marthastewart.com. Just click on the title and it will take you there.

Banana-Nutmeg Smoothie
Ingredients
Serves 4

3 bananas, ripe but firm, broken into pieces
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup ice cubes
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
In a blender, combine bananas, broken into pieces, with milk, and puree until smooth.
Add to the fruit mixture yogurt, ice cubes, and nutmeg, and blend until the ice is finely crushed and the drink is frothy. Serve immediately.

Creamy Fruit Dip

 

This dip get's gobbled up quickly and goes great with an assorted mix of fruits. I am a huge believer in having fresh fruit all alone, it's such a treat already. But, occasionally I like to dip it in this for some smooth, creamy, awesomeness. It yields about 3 1/2 cups, so this is great for parties or big groups.

Creamy Fruit Dip

Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
Assorted fresh fruit

Directions
In a bowl of an electric mixer(for optimum creaminess), mix cream cheese and brown sugar till well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients one at a time and mixing well between each. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
This makes about 3 1/2 cups.

S'more's Granola Bars

I'm having a really hard time so far this new year eating healthy. These just don't help! However, they were a good treat that my family enjoyed. Tomorrow's a new day, right? Click on the title, and you'll see the original post off of sophistimom's blog.

S’mores Granola Bars
5 cups rolled oats or rolled mixed grains (I used a 5 grain mix from a health food store)
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper so that it comes up on the sides.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, condensed milk, honey, salt, butter, cinnamon, and 1 cup of chocolate chips. With wet hands, press the mixture into the prepared pan(Really press it so it holds together). Bake for 18 minutes on the center rack of the oven. Remove from oven, sprinkle on marshmallows, and place on the upper rack of oven, and bake for 5 minutes more to toast the marshmallows. Allow to cool completely.

3. Melt the remaining cup of chocolate chips in the microwave in 20-30 second intervals, and drizzle over the top of the granola bars.

Cornbread-The best cornbread you've ever had!

It's hard for me to believe, but the picture is actually of cornbread pudding, only this is exactly what this recipe looks like when made! It's so moist it's like a sweet cornbread cake instead of all the other recipes I've tried in the past. I like cornbread, but I've never LOVED it until NOW. It holds together so well, and doesn't crumble to pieces. The title will take you to sophistamom where I found the picture, but I found the recipe out of Crystal Godfrey's Cook book, called I Can't Believe It's Food Storage. This is her website, where she's got great videos and tips for using your foodstorage every day. http://everydayfoodstorage.net/

Cornbread
The best cornbread you've ever had!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk(3 Tablespoons dry milk powder + 1 cup water + 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice; mix and let stand for 5 minutes)
1 cup yellow cornmeal(I used white)
1 cup flour(any combination of whole-wheat and all-purpose) I just used white this time.
2/3 cup sugar
2 medium eggs(2 Tablespoons dry egg powder + 1/4 cup water)
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt butter; add to sugar and stir well. Add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk and soda and stir into egg mixture. Add cornmeal, flour and salt; stir until just blended. Pour into a greased 8-inch square pan. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until bread begins to pull away from sides of pan. Serve hot with butter and honey(or not, it's still good!). Note: For glass pan, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Recipe may be doubled; use 9x13-inch pan and increase baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.

French Bread

 

I've made tons of bread, and this my friends, in my opinion, is the BEST dough. Personally I think ALL dough should feel this way, it is so smooth. Since this recipe makes three loaves, I would just share with a friend, or adjust the recipe. I make mine earlier in the day, so before dinner is served, slice the loaf length-wise, spread garlic butter, and wrap it in foil. Stick it in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes to warm through. Then stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp it up.

French Bread

Yield: 3 loaves


1 T butter
1 T salt
2 T sugar
1 C boiling water
1 C cold water
1/3 C lukewarm water
1 T yeast (active dry)
5 - 6 C white all purpose flour
1 egg


Place the 1 C hot water in the microwave until it boils.

Dissolve the yeast into the warm water in a small bowl.

Mix the salt, butter, and sugar in the bottom of your mixer with a fork, until it resembles crumbs.

Pour the boiling water over the butter mixture, stir till butter is melted.

Pour the cold water over the mixture.

Pour the warm water and yeast into the mixer, and combine.

Add the flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of your mixer, using the dough hook.

Mix dough on high for 8 minutes.

Let dough rise in the mixer for about 20 minutes.

Separate the dough into three parts and place on a large cookie sheet, sprayed with cooking spray or you could use butter. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes.

Spread the dough out on counter, dusted with flour. Keep spreading or rolling till it resembles large pizza dough.

Roll the dough up like you would when making cinnamon rolls.

Fold the ends over and layer them on top of each other(So fold it in thirds).

Turn the loaf so the seam side is down. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough.

Beat the egg till well beaten, it should look light and bubbly.

Cut three diagonal slits in the top of each loaf with a buttered, sharp, knife. Using a basting brush, baste the egg over each loaf, making sure to get in slits as well.

Place loaves in a warm place and let rise for about 15 minutes.

While loaves are rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown and crusty.

Turn the oven down to 350. Bake for another 10 minutes. Enjoy.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

The title will take you to Emeril's recipe at the foodnetwork, but this picture I found at http://meandmypinkmixer.blogspot.com/2011/01/peanut-butter-granola-bars.html. This is what they look like, only she has Organic Koala Crisp cereal in hers(not a bad idea). Brandon usually stays clear of Peanut Butter, but he tried these and he really liked them. These I'll be making again, and I might add some mini chocolate chips for something fun next time.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
1/4 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds (can find these in the bulk section)
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup(I used Real Maple Syrup)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter(I used Adam's Peanut Butter)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 by 8-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a small saucepan melt butter with honey over low heat, stirring.

In a large bowl stir together oats, almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon and salt. Pour butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until combined well.

On a large baking sheet, spread the granola evenly in a thin layer. Bake, stirring every 5 minutes to keep from sticking or burning, until golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes. (Do not overcook; the granola will crisp more when cooled.)

Cool the granola in the pan on top of the stove and stir in the raisins. When the granola is completely cooled, place in a large bowl.

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup(maple syrup), and peanut butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is at a boil. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the granola, stirring to coat well. Cool slightly and press into the prepared baking dish and let cool completely and harden. Cut the mixture into ten 1 1/4-inch bars and serve at room temperature. (The bars may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)

(Joys) Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you click on the title, it will take you to myrecipes.com where I found the picture. My sister-in-law, Joy passed this recipe on to me a while ago. I made these again last weekend for Kelli's Sunday School class at church, and most of the extra ones(except the ones that we ate), went to Brandon's Home Teaching families. This is another great recipe. I like to add about 1/2 cup to 1 cup more flour for a more fuller cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag chocolate chips

Stir together the butter and sugars till well combined, add eggs and vanilla and stir, till combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda and salt. Add to the sugar mixture, then stir in chocolate chips.

Bake @ 375 for 8-12 minutes.

Boneless Pork Chops with Apple Cider Glaze

 

These Pork Chops will be so juicy and tender, if you remember to cover and let them sit for about 10 minutes before cutting into them. This gives the pork's juices time to redistribute throughout the meat. If they are cut immediately after cooking, the juices will run out with the first cut. This is a perfect opportunity to practice some patience. :) These chops are GREAT served with Apple Stuffing and a side salad.

Boneless Pork Chops with Apple Cider Glaze

4 boneless pork chops
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Apple Cider Glaze

1/2 cup apple cider(apple juice works here too)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Apple Cider Spread(optional)
1/2 cup apple butter(ingredients: apples and apple juice concentrate)
1/4 cup apple cider
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1. Prepare Apple Cider Glaze: In a small saucepan, bring to a boil the apple cider and red pepper flakes; boil till reduced to about half. Add Dijon mustard and mix well. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
2. Prepare Apple Cider Spread: In a small saucepan, bring to a boil the apple butter, apple cider and red pepper flakes; boil till reduced to about half. Add Dijon mustard and mix well. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
3. Rub pork chops with olive oil. Season pork chops with salt, pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes.
4. Heat a large saucepan on medium-low to medium heat. Add some Apple Cider Glaze to bottom of pan and add Pork Chops. Cook till nice and browned, about 7 minutes each side, basting pork chops with Apple Cider Glaze while cooking. Baste one final time as you take them out of the pan. Let sit, covered, about 10 minutes to let the juices redistribute, then top with Apple Cider Sauce if you like(I want it on EVERY bite) before serving.
Makes 4 servings.