Early Autumn Stew

Finished Stew

My mom used to make stew when I was a kid and honestly, that must have been one of my least favorite meals.  I can remember the wonderful smell filling the house and me, in my room, imagining something really good for dinner.  When it was finally ready, I would run to the kitchen with anticipation, only to be disappointed at those chuncks of carrots, potatoes, celery and onion staring at me from the pot.  Ugh!  How I hated all those vegetables and that beefy soup.

Now that I am an adult, I'm still not a fan of stew. Not beef stew anyway.  I am however, in love with this recipe for hearty and delicious Early Autumn Stew made with pork, carrots, celery, onion and accented with the sweetness of apples and cranberries.  Oh this is the perfect meal on those chilly autumn nights.

We usually go apple picking every year and this is a great way to use all those apples that we bring home.  We didn't go this year but I still managed to get in a pot of stew.  My kids love it and it seems to be a big hit with all who have tried it.

This recipe was taken from Rachel Ray who cooked it on her show a few years back and I've been making it every year since.



Cubed Pork and flour

Dredge pork in flour seasoned with paprika

Sear pork in olive oil until browned and remove from pot

Add vegetables, apples and herbs and allspice to pot after meat is removed

Fresh thyme and bay leaf

Cook vegetables until tender

Deglaze the pan with apple cider then add chicken stock.

Simmer for 10 minutes

EARLY AUTUMN STEW

Ingredients

• 2 pork tenderloins, silver skin removed (you can have a butcher do this for you) and cut into 2-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), divided
• 1 large Spanish onion, cut into 2-inch dice
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch dice
• 4 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch dice
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 4 McIntosh apples, peeled or unpeeled and cut into 2-inch dice
• 2 pinches allspice
• 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups cloudy apple cider
• 3-4 cups chicken stock (depending on how thick you like your stew)
• 1 loaf crusty bread

Serves 6

Preparation

Pre-heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat with two tablespoons of EVOO, about two turns of the pan.

Place the pieces of tenderloin onto a sheet tray and season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss with flour until well-coated.
Once ripples appear in the oil and it starts to very lightly smoke, add the pork to the pot and sear it until well-browned on all sides, 7-8 minutes (lots of brown bits will remain on the bottom of the pot). Remove the meat to a platter and reserve.

Add the remaining two tablespoons of EVOO to the pot along with the onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf and thyme, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the vegetables until they begin to tenderize, about 6-8 minutes then add in the apples, allspice and cranberries, and cook until the vegetables are quite tender, 3-5 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the cider, scraping up the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add in the chicken stock and toss the pork back into the hot tub. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pull out the bay leaf and thyme sprigs from the pot and discard them.
To serve, line the bottom of six bowls with chunks of bread. Ladle the stew on top of the bread and enjoy!

BANANA STRAWBERRY NUT BREAD

Fall is here and I've been waiting for a chance to turn my oven on and start baking but with this heatwave we've been having in Southern California, it's been a game of patience.  Today was finally cool enough where I could turn on the oven without needing to turn on the air conditioner.

As I was homeschooling my son, my mind was wandering as to what to bake.  I ran through the ingredients we had on hand and remembered we had raspberries and bananas.  Since I like both, I decided to try a banana raspberry bread.  I found my recipe for banana nut bread and figured I could toss some raspberries in and it wouldn't hurt.

Unfortunately, I didn't have as many raspberries as I thought but did have strawberries so I decided to substitute with those.  I added chopped walnuts because after all, what's banana bread without walnuts.  You could also use pecans instead of walnuts which would taste just as good.

I love how moist this bread is.  Not too sweet but oh so good!

BANANA STRAWBERRY NUT BREAD

2 Cups Flour
3/4 Cups Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
3 ripe bananas (mashed really well)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries (hulled and finely chopped)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts 

Heat oven to 350º.  Grease or spray two bread loaf pans.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix well.  In another bowl, combine mashed bananas, milk, egg and vanilla extract.  Add the strawberries and walnuts and mix well.  Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and gently fold together.  (You don't want to mix too much or the bread will come out dense and dry)  Divide the batter into the loaf pans and bake for 1 hour.  Let cool and enjoy!!

 

Apple Fries

Tori's Apple Fries

We don't live too far from Legoland in Carlsbad, CA but it's not someplace we frequent.  When we do go, however, we love to stop at Granny's Apple Fries.  This is a small food court in the park.  I remember the first time we went to Legoland.  We saw people eating these treats and couldn't wait to try them.  They were so good!  Each time we go back, I say I'm going to try to duplicate them but forget.

A couple weeks ago, during Sunday Football, I decided to try to make some.  They were so good and got gobbled up as soon as I put them out.  The dipping sauce is a little different since the original is made with cream cheese and my husband can't eat that.  I instead used, whipping cream which is just as good!

Apple Fries

Granny Smith Apples
Cornstarch
Vegetable Oil
Cinnamon
Granulated Sugar

Dipping Sauce

Whipping Cream (or Cool Whip)
Vanilla
Pumpkin Pie Spice

Peel and Core the apples.  Slice into french fry sticks.  Coat with cornstarch and shake off excess.  Heat oil to 375º and carefully put the fries in oil to fry.  Fry until just golden and drain on paper towels.  Coat fries with cinnamon sugar.

Combine whipping cream, vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice.  mix and serve with fries. 

Granny's Apple Fries

Tori's Puffy Tacos

I am so excited about his recipe!  My family loves to eat at Arturo's Puffy Taco's in Whitter, CA.  They have got the best tacos I have ever tasted.   We don't live too close but whenever we're in the area, we stop and enjoy the great food!  Each time we go, I'm baffled as to how they make their taco shells.  They aren't your ordinary hard shells.  They are corn, fried but oh so soft and "puffy!"

I have tried different things at home but could never come close, until now!  I experimented a couple days ago and was excited to create my own version of a puffy shell.  I was experimenting with corn tortillas that were already made, which was my mistake.  These shells need to be made with fresh pressed masa or dough that's made with corn flour.  Because the masa is uncooked, they are very delicate and time consuming to make.  More so than the regular fried taco shells. 

In my case, I filled the shells with chorizo and potatoes and topped them with lettuce, onion, cheese, sour cream and salsa.  

I am so glad that I can now make my puffy tacos at home when I get the hankering for some but will continue to visit Arturo's Puffy Taco's whenever I'm in the area.

Prepare masa as directed on Masa Harina package

Roll masa into golf ball size balls

.

Use a tortilla press to press the dough into a round flat disc

When using the press, I like to use a damp tea towel instead of plastic or wax paper

Carefully place dough in hot oil.  About 375º

Using 2 spatulas, carefully fold over one side.  (Let it fry up for about a minute before folding)

Drain shells on paper towels

Fill and top with your favorite taco ingredients. 

Last Christmas I decided to delve into the world of jelly making. I didn't have a clue but wanted to learn since I love jelly and biscuits. I wanted something different than the boring selection at the grocery store but didn't want to pay the prices being charged for the specialty jellies so I decided, why not make my own!

What pushed me to finally try it was my niece. For Christmas, we pick names in our family and the gift we give must be homemade. I picked my niece and on her wish list was jellies.

Blackberries happened to be on sale and I bought a bunch. I ended up with about 12 jars of blackberry jelly. It was good but I wanted something a little more special so I searched the web looking for ideas. I came across this site that mentioned Raspberry Jalapeno Jelly. That was it! I wanted to immediately try it. I made a batch and loved the taste. I vowed that next time, I would add a little more jalapeno since the kick needed to be a little stronger.

I have been waiting all this time for raspberries to go on sale but they haven't....until now. I finally got my chance to make my jelly. I went out this morning and bought 6 baskets of raspberries. We have jalapenos growing in our yard and I used those.

I can't wait until I crack open a jar and slather it over my homemade biscuits. I also like to pour it over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers for snacking.

.

 

 

 












Important to clean and sterilize jars, rings and lids.  I wash and dry the jars in hot soapy water, then sterilize them in boiling water.

Wash 5 cups of raspberries.  I used about 10 small jalapenos (our plant produces small chile's), or if they are large jalapenos, try starting with 5.  I placed them in a food chopper until they were tiny, tiny pieces and added the vein and seeds of 3 of them.  I also used about 4 cups of sugar and 1 pouch of the pectin powder.

While the jars and lids are sterilizing, I poured 1 cup apple cider vinegar into a large stockpot and let it heat up then added the raspberries, stirring until they started to break apart.  I then added the jalapenos making sure to add a little at a time so as not to overpower the raspberries.  I stirred it all together and then added the pectin.  Once it's all stirred together, I tested a small amount on a spoon to check the heat from the jalapeno.  This is where I add more jalapenos if I want it hotter.  If you add too much in the beginning, you're stuck with spicy jelly.  The last thing is the sugar.  Add and stir until dissolved and well mixed. 

Carefully take the jars out of the hot water and place near the raspberry pot.  I use a wide mouth funnel to fill the jars with the jelly mixture, leaving about 1/4" at the top.  Once all the jars are filled, wipe the rim of the jars with a damp paper towel to remove any jelly that is there. 

Place the seal on the jar and close with ring making sure not to close too tight.  Place jars back in the hot water, making sure the jars are covered in water and bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.  Carefully remove the jars from the water bath and let cool.  The seals should pop to ensure they are sealed properly.

If you don't hear them pop, just press down on the top.  If they give in the center, they are not sealed properly. You will need to reseal.  http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/531272  Once they are done and cool, just open a jar and enjoy!

Tori's Spring Rolls

I just discovered the world of spring rolls.  I've had and love egg rolls but never the clear rice paper wrapped spring rolls.  Until about a month ago when I saw my daughter's boyfriend eating some and they looked so good.

Our local Ralph's has a deli and they have a section where they sell sushi and spring rolls.  There is someone behind the counter making them fresh daily and as I reached for my normal cucumber and avocado roll, I saw the package of vegetable spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce and decided to try it.  I was hooked!

Craving these would normally dip into my budget but I decided to learn how to make them myself.  There's an Asian market that just opened around the corner and I decided to buy the rice paper wrappers.  I looked up a couple recipes and decided to give it a try.

I took red cabbage, green lettuce, cucumber, carrots, alfalfa sprouts and cilantro and used that as the stuffing, using my kitchen aid shredding cones to shred the cabbage and carrots.

The rice paper comes in a package and is firm and has a texture to it.  It almost looks like a round sheet of hard plastic.  Don't worry though.  Just fill a pie dish with warm water and place a sheet of the rice paper in the dish for a couple of minutes, turning to moisten thoroughly.  The textured design should disappear and the round should be very thin.  Be careful because they can tear easily.

Once the texture is gone and the paper is super thin and pliable, I laid it on a piece of paper towel to remove the excess water.  Remove from the paper towel, lay it on a plate and fill with your ingredients of choice and roll, tucking in the sides as you go.   The paper will seem a little sticky but that's normal.

For the peanut sauce, I experimented with smooth peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, warm water and sugar (dissolve the sugar in the water) and grated fresh ginger.

Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas

This is a recipe I made that is so refreshing when it's hot.  No cooking, except for the tostada shells, or you could purchase them already done although they aren't nearly as good as homemade.

For this recipe I used:

Large cooked and deveined shrimp
green onion
cilantro
avocado - cut into small squares
tomato - inside and seeds removed
lemon juice
lime juice
cucumber - remove seeds and cut into small squares
jalapeno chili - about 2 or 3 depending how hot you want it
salt
garlic powder
onion powder

I didn't give measurements because it depends how much you want to make.  I used a 32 oz. bag of large shrimp.  Remove the tails and cut into bite size pieces.  Chop 5 green onion stems, cilantro, tomato, cucumber, avocado and jalapeno and add to the shrimp.  Squeeze the juice of 2 lemons and 2 limes into mixture.  Add more if needed.  Add 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. onion powder and salt to taste.  Mix and let sit in refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Meanwhile if you want the homemade tostada shells, heat cooking oil in a frying pan until heated to 350º or until the handle of a wooden spoon inserted in the oil shows bubbles around it.  Make sure your oil is not smoking or it will burn the shells.  Add a corn tortilla watching it to make sure it doesn't burn.  Let tortilla cook in the oil about 1-2 minutes then carefully turn it over.  Continue to cook the shell until it is just golden and crisp.  Drain on paper towels.

Serve with rice and enjoy!

Easy Lasagna

This lasagna is so easy and fast to make and taste great!  What I love about this is I assembled it at night and then baked it the next day.  It was Delish!!

1 small onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 package mild Italian Sausage (remove casing)
3 Italian zuchinni (cut into rounds)
1 jar spaghetti sauce any kind
1 egg
32 oz. Ricotta Cheese
8 oz. Mozzerella Cheese (grated)
1 pkg. Lasagna Noodles
Olive Oil

Mix the ricotta cheese with 1 egg and set aside. Grate the mozzerella cheese and set aside. Cut the zuchinni into rounds and set aside.

In a skillet pour 2 TBS. olive oil and add the chopped onion and garlic.  Saute until transparent in color making sure the garlic doesn't burn.  Add the Italian sausage and crumble with the back of a wooden spoon.  Cook until sausage is brown and add the jar of spaghetti sauce and 1/2 jar water.  Simmer over low heat and remove when hot. 

In a 9 x 13 inch pan, begin by spooning some of the sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan.  Next add a layer of lasagna noodles (uncooked) to cover the bottom of the pan and follow with a layer of ricotta cheese, mozzerella cheese, zuchinni rounds, meat and noodles. Repeat with the above layers and finish with ricotta cheese, zuchinni, meat and mozzerella.

At this point, you can either bake and eat or cover and refrigerate until next day. 

Bake at 350º for 1 hour. Let cool about 15 minutes and serve. Great with salad and garlic bread!




At this point I covered and refrigerated before baking

After baking

Oven-Baked French Toast

What a great breakfast this morning!  Another fast and easy recipe and very economical.  This receipe is taken from the Pampered Chef Stoneware Sensations Cookbook.  I will post the receipe, based on what I used, without the refrences to the Pampered Chef products needed.  This breakfast cost me less than $10 and fed my family of 6. 

Recipe for Oven-Baked French Toast

1 loaf French Bread ---$1.49
6 eggs --- ($1.00 - they were 1.99 per dozen and I used half)
1-1/2 cups milk
3 TBS. granulated sugar (for egg mixture)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar
Strawberries about 12 ---($1.00 - I paid $2.99 for 2 lbs. and I used about 1/3 of pkg.)
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. lemon juice
3-4 TBS. granulated sugar (for strawberry topping)

Spray 9 x 13" casserole baker with vegetable oil.  Using a serrated knife, cut the ends off the bread and cut loaf into 1-inch-thick slices (10-16 slices depending on the size of the loaf) and arrange closely in a single layer in prepared pan.  In a bowl, beat the eggs and add in milk, 3 TBS. granulated sugar, vanilla, salt and cinnamon; mix together and pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.


The slices in greased pan

Pour egg mixture over and at this point, cover and refrigerate

(At this point, I left it overnight in the refrigerator and set my oven for delay start for the morning)

Preheat oven to 400ºF.  Bake uncovered, 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven.  Top with strawberry topping and powdered sugar, or you can sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with fresh strawberries.

While the french toast was baking, I cooked the bacon and strawberry topping.  For topping, wash and slice strawberries.  I placed them in a small saucepan with 3-4 TBS. granulated sugar and 1/4 cup orange juice.  I let the strawberries break up and release their juices.  I cooked until they looked syrupy and poured that over the hot french toast and sprinked powdered sugar over that. 



Slice strawberries small for easy cooking



Sliced strawberries, sugar and orange juice



French toast out of the oven and ready for topping



Ready to serve

Ready to eat

Serve with bacon.  I used a pound of bacon that I paid $2.99 for.  Add this to the cost of the ingredients for the french toast and it cost about $8-9 to make.

Tip for the Day!

Sometimes I need just a little cheese grated but hate to bring out the large metal grater.  I don't like to cut the cheese in slices because it doesn't melt quick and even. 

I've discovered that when you want a small amount of grated cheese in a hurry, you can use a lemon zester.  This is the perfect tool and the cheese comes out in thin strips for easy distribution and melting.

I used the zester in my previous post "On the Go Breakfast" and you can see the picture of what the cheese looks like after being "zested."

On The Go Breakfast!

When we want breakfast quick but we don't have time to really get things out and cook, I like to make this easy, fast, microwavable egg and cheese burrito.

There are only 4 ingredients and no pans or no mess to clean up.  Just grab a small microwavable container with lid, spray with cooking spray really well, break open an egg or two and scramble with a fork.  Place the lid on top, (if lid doesn't have a vent built in, lay the lid on top of container without sealing so egg doesn't explode) and start microwaving at 30 second intervals, checking to see doneness of egg.  When egg is almost done, remove from microwave and break up the egg and add some shredded cheese.  Place back into microwave (without lid) and put the flour tortilla on top of the container and microwave for 20 seconds or until tortilla is hot and softened.

If bacon is desired, you can cook the bacon in the microwave before the egg is cooked.  Just put a couple slices onto a microwave safe plate covered with paper towels to absorb the grease.  Microwave 1 minute per slice.  When done, remove from microwave and cook the egg.

That's it. Remove from microwave, fill tortilla and roll into burrito and you have breakfast in just a few minutes.  So easy and with no clean-up!