Apple Sauce:

Cook 4 diced apples, a cup of water, 1 tbsp butter, 1/4  c white sugar, 1/4 c brown sugar, heavy dash of cinnamon, dash of salt, squeeze of lemon  for about 25 min. let cool a bit, put half through a blender, mix back together and DONE! I served it with grilled pork chop (rubbed with thyme, sage, rosemary, garlic, pepper, and salt) and sauteed spinach.

Apple Chips

Slice apples very thin and remove seeds. Soak in water, lemon juice and simple syrup ( I went very light on the sugar in attempts to keep it healthy) for a few hours. Drain the water and pat the chips dry. Place on a baking sheet (on parchment paper or foil – lightly oiled so they don’t stick). Cook on 200 for an hour.

Apple Pie

This was Di’s love child: a basic homemade pie crust, apple filling via Apple Pie by Grandma Ople, and a bacon lattice. Make sure to partially fry the bacon ahead of time, pat dry and add to the pie in the last 20 minutes of baking.

Apple Crisp

I didn’t really follow a recipe here, but peeled and diced 2 apples placed in the bottom of a small pan. Mixed tbs brown sugar, tbs flour, 3 tbs oats, 1.5 tbs melted butter and poured on top of apples. cooked for 25 minutes. I am trying to make this healthier and think I’ll cut down even further on the brown sugar and butter next time.

Steak and Gnocchi

I posted the recipe a few months ago – Gnocchi w/ pear and blue cheese

BBQ Pork

Slow cook a pork shoulder rubbed in chili powder, garlic pepper and brown sugar for 8-10 hours.
Pull apart, add BBQ sauce, server mashed potatoes.

Pad Thai

saute a yellow onion and diced chicken
add a big helping of minced garlic
a big splash of fish sauce, red whine vinegar, a scoop of sugar, crushed red pepper, ground peanuts
move to the side of the pan, add 3 eggs, scramble
add green onions, bean sprouts (optional), rice noodles (cooked), more sauce if needed
squeeze of lime
once all cooked serve with a sprinkle of ground peanuts, green onions and more lime juice

Huevos Rancheros

warm flour tortilla
sharp cheddar cheese
fried egg
black beans
homemade salsa (garden fresh tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, splash of olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper)
slice avocado
hot sauce

Pork and Pineapple Salsa Tacos
I forgot to take a pic

Grill pork chunks rubbed in chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, garlic powder, slice after finished
Pineapple salsa (dice pineapple, red onion, avocado, cumin, chili powder)
serve in a tortilla with a little hot sauce

Ice Cream

Every birthday week should have lots of ice cream!

This savory and rich gnocchi dish goes great with steak (a semi sweet and spicey rub accents the flavors well).

Ingredients:

• bag of frozen gnocchi
• 1 pear (or a little less) minced
• splash of white wine
• tbs of butter
• 1.5 cups of light cream
• cup of blue cheese crumbles
• handful of Romano
• salt

Process:

• bring a pot of water to boil, add gnocchi, cook ~8 minutes (or time on the bag), rinse with cold water
• in a saute pan melt the butter
• add the minced pear, let cook until soft
• add a splash of white wine, let cook for a min
• add cream, blue cheese and romano (start with a little less of each)
• let it come up to a simmer, stirring regularly
• add any additional cream or cheese to make the consistency correct
• generously add some salt, taste and adjust as needed
• in a pot mix gnocchi and sauce

I have made this a bunch of times and never really paid attention to the measurements, so you may need to try it a few times to perfect it.

Ingredients:
~ 1.5 lbs of chicken
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1 medium size yellow onion
1 bag of baby spinach
6 red bliss potatoes
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 tbs sour cream
big splash of milk
a lot of Franks Red Hot sauce

Process:
* slow cook the chicken breasts in a little chicken broth with garlic, salt, and pepper
* once cooked (~5 hours depending on the slow cooker) pull the chicken apart and add lots of Franks Red Hot (enough so its all covered but not soupy)
* for the mashed pot: cut, boil, and mash the 6 red bliss potatoes (with the skin on). Mix in milk, sour cream, a bit of butter, salt and pepper. After they are completely mashed mix in the blue cheese crumbles.
* for the veggies: saute the onions and carrots until tender then add the spinach a little at a time.

* assembly: spread pulled chicken across the bottom of a pan (i used a 9*13 brownie pan), then add the veggies, and the potatoes.
* put in the over at 350 for about 30 mins.
* we served with salad and a little extra cheese on the side.

What I’ll keep in mind for the next time:
* the ratio of chicken to veggies and potatoes is important (I used 2lbs of chicken it was a little too much)
* I was afraid I was adding too much blue cheese, but it wasn’t enough, don’t fear the cheese!

Our Plan:

Turkey burgers stuffed with a hot and sweet cheese mixture

Attacking the Ancho Chili

A few hours before starting boil water, throw in the chilis and let them steep. Once they are saturated, you can easily remove the stems and break them apart.

Making the hot and sweet cheese

Caramelize onions in butter and add the chopped up anchos half way through the process, once both are soft add in the honey. Keep over heat and add the goat cheese. Mix all together making sure to break apart all chunks of goat cheese. Once mixed let cool and then run through a processor (or in our case a magic bullet).

Burger Meat

In a large bowl mix ground turkey, cooked and crumbed turkey bacon, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

Assembly

Take a small amount of burger mixture, form into what looks like a small burger and  make a divot in the middle, add the cheese mixture and place on a plate. Now take a second small amount of burger meat, form into a small round burger and place on top of the another. Make sure the sides are closed together and top with salt and pepper.

Cooking

On the grill or in a grill pan carefully place burgers on hot surface, cook for a few mintutes without moving.  Turn and then a few minutes later flip. I finished in the oven but that won’t always be necessary.

Serving

We served with sweet potato fries in a honey ginger glaze and with a cold dogfish raison d’etre.

How was it?

Great! Such a great balance of sweet and hot. the sweet hits you first and then the hot sneaks up on you.

Voting

Cast your vote for us today!!!

Cheese Filling

1 large ancho chili

1/2 medium yellow onion

5 oz goat cheese

3 tbs honey

Burger Meat

1 lb turkey meat

5 strips of turkey bacon

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbs olive oil

salt, pepper

The Plan: Tequila marinated steak over a corn, tomato, avocado salad, topped with an avocado sauce

The Process:

Marinade:

sliced about 2.75 lbs of boneless chuck eye steak in half horizontally

marinade ingredients: handful of cilantro, 3 garlic cloves, 1 jalapeno, 3 limes, a cup of tequila, oil, and sea salt

throwing it all together

let it sit for about 4 hours

Corn, Tomato  and Avocado salad:

3 cans of corn,  4 tomatos, 1 red onion, and 2 jalepenos

1 tbs chili power, salt, pepper, and a splash of oil

mix in 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

rolling the lime after microwaving for 10 seconds

add the juice of 1 lime into the mix

let sit and then right before serving dice and add 2 avocados to the salad

Steak:

drain most of the marinade out of the container and generously rub the steaks with chili powder

place the steak on a nice hot grill and cook

Avocado Sauce:

save the good stuff from the bottom of the marinade container

add to a small sauce pan along with a tsp of hot sauce and a shot of tequila

add a diced avocado and mash up

add tbs of butter and keep mashing

1/4 cup of light cream and more mixing and we’re done!

The final product:

corn, tomato, avocado salad; steak; a sprinkle of sea salt; avocado sauce;and some fresh cilantro

How was it?

Amazing! The steak was flavorful, the salad cool and spicy at the same time, and the sauce had a smooth kick. It was a crowd pleaser but a little too spicy for my mom, which was a bummer since it was her day.

The battle is live on Foodie Fights, please cast your vote for us!

The plan: wasabi pea coated chicken over sweet potatoes.

Getting it done:

Pea Crust

Bake frozen peas for about 3 hours at 200.

Add wasabi powder, vinegar, salt and pepper and let sit.

Ground the peas in a coffee grinder.

added some panko bread crumbs, so its about 2/3 peas, 1/3 bread crumbs. Set aside

Sweet Potatoes

Peel and slice the sweet potatoes

Add minced ginger, honey, salt, pepper, and vinegar.

Bake the slices for about 30 minutes at 400.

The Sauce

Minced shallot, minced ginger, wasabi, white wine, and a splash of vinegar. Reduce.

Add cream, soy sauce and then LOTS of butter, (nice picture right?) put into two bowls.

The Chicken

Chicken dipped in the sauce, then coated in the peas and breadcrumbs.

Pan fry the chicken and finish in the oven.

Plate with potatoes, a layer of a little butter sauce, and chicken.

How was it?

At first I gave it a harsh review, but as I think back on it, I really enjoyed it. We both think it needs a little more wasabi kick. We’ll have to give it another try and see what happens.

Inspiration / Helper recipes

Wasabi Peas
Wasabi Ginger Butter Sauce
Baked Sweet Potatoes