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Friday Recipe Exchange: Spicy to Sweet
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JefferyW’s Carnitas
No rhyme or reason for tonight’s recipes. A hodgepodge of culinary treats. Nothing pithy to say, so lots of photos instead.
Pictured above, Pulled Pork, sweet and spicy barbecue or spicy carnitas (at top), recipes here.
Dinner menu this week is full of fresh spring flavors, Herbed Linguine and Apple Salad, menu and recipes are here.
JeffreyW brings us three sweet treats. Blueberry Banana Bread with Sugared Pecans, pictured above and recipe here.
He changes it up a bit with his Raspberry Banana Bread, click here.
And finally, one of my faves, he whips up a batch of Creme Fraiche, above and instructions here.
For the pet lovers, there is a Bixby video…how do you move 160 lbs of Great Dane…well… video is here. And a cute photo of him crashed out on the couch here.
What’s cookin’ for your weekend? Anyone planning on breakfast in bed/fancy dinner for the mothers in their lives? If you’re looking for breakfast recipes, click here.
Tonight’s featured recipe comes from a friend of mine. He is always experimenting in the kitchen and coming up with delicious dinners. Good are the friends who feed you.
This can also be made in a slow-cooker.
Carne en su Jugo
- ½ lb bacon, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1 lb sirloin steak, sliced thin and then cut in 1-inc pieces (pork works well, too)
- 1 can (28oz) tomatillos
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- salt
- 2 can pinto beans
- sour cream for garnish
- shredded cheese
- chopped onions for garnish
- fresh lime juice for garnish
- Brown the bacon in a large dutch oven. Add the beef and cook until brown (leave the bacon grease in the pot).
- Blend the tomatillos in your food processor and strain well to remove the seeds. Add about a cup of the tomatillo liquid back into the food processor and blend with the cilantro, and garlic.
- Add the tomatillo/cilantro/garlic sauce and the rest of the strained tomatillo liquid to the beef and bacon. Add salt to taste.
- Stir in pinto beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender, about 1 hour.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with pico de gallo (recipe below), fresh lime, sour cream.
- Serve corn or flour tortillas on the side.
Pico de Gallo
- chopped onion
- chopped tomato
- chopped cilantro
- splash of lime
Mix together 20 to 30 minutes or more before meal.
That’s it for this week. Happy Mother’s Day to my mom and all the moms out there. Have a great weekend – TaMara
Dinner Menu: Spring Flavors
Lots of fresh spring flavors in this dinner menu, which is what I need after a long cold week.
On the board tonight:
- Herbed Fettuccini
- Apple Salad
- Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt
Herbed Fettuccini
- 9 oz fresh fettuccine
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 5 green onions, thinly sliced
- 4 oz fresh spinach, torn
- ¼ cup snipped fresh parsley
- 2 tsp dried basil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 oz fresh parmesan, grated or goat cheese (chevre)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
- 6 oz artichokes hearts (opt)
2 large saucepans, large serving bowl
Cook pasta according to pkg. directions. Next bring broth to boiling in second saucepan. Add green onion and spinach. Reduce heat, cook and stir for 2 to 4 minutes or until spinach is slightly wilted. Add parsley, herbs, salt & pepper; mix well. Remove from heat; cover and set aside. Drain cooked pasta and remove to serving dish, cover and keep warm
In saucepan combine cheese, milk, and butter. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Add pasta; toss to coat. Remove from heat. Add vegetable mixture, hazelnuts, opt artichokes, half of the tomato to the pasta mixture; toss gently to mix, heat until warm through. Transfer back to a serving bowl, garnish with remaining tomato.
Apple Salad
- 16 oz spring greens, washed
- 2 Granny Smith apples
- 2 Fuji (or other sweet red) apples
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 oz toasted slivered almonds
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
serving bowl
Layer greens in bowl. Core and cut apples into large chunks. Layer over greens, add raisins and nuts. Mix together vinegar, oil, salt & pepper. Drizzle over salad, toss, then crumble feta over the top.
Note: If you can’t find toasted almonds, heat a skillet, add almonds and stir constantly until they are lightly toasted.
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Copyright What’s 4 Dinner Solutions Cookbook: Spring Edition
Apple-Raisin-Walnut Crisp
I love fruit crisps. They are quick and easy to make and with all the good ingredients I feel less guilty about the sweet treat. This one kicks up traditional apple crisp a notch.
Apple-Raisin-Walnut Crisp
- 3 Granny Smith apples, cored & sliced (peeling opt)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- 1 cup flour
8×8 glass baking dish, lightly greased, small mixing bowl
Place apples, cinnamon, raisins, nuts and ¼ cup sugar in baking dish, mix well.
In mixing bowl, cream butter and remaining sugar, add flour and oats, mix until crumbly. Crumble over the apple mixture.
Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes until top is golden brown. Let cool.
Alternately you can use this cast iron skillet method for making the crisp.
Friday Recipe Exchange: Caramel Apple Crisp and a Splash of Bourbon
Another week when I rarely saw my kitchen. This is actually how I began my recipe quest years ago. I love food, love to cook, but between work, travel, pets and crazy hobbies, complicated, time consuming recipes had little appeal for me. I had a few tricks up my sleeve to make cooking fit my schedule and while I was married I had fun expanding my repertoire. After my divorce, I noticed a lot of my friends were too busy or too intimidated to cook, so I started creating quick and simple dinner menus for them…which turned into a little business that then morphed into this blog.
My only rules – a short list of fresh ingredients that were quick to cook. I searched out recipes I could adapt to fit those requirements without losing flavor. So that’s how we got here to the recipe exchanges. Tonight it’s about apples. I have a drawer full of them right now. Mostly I’m content to slice one up and eat it (after sharing half with Bixby, who still favors apples over almost any other treat). Eventually I’ll start to bake with them and when I do, tonight’s featured recipe will be my first dessert.
Other ideas include:
Bourbon Baked Apple Crisp (pictured above), click here for the recipe.
JeffreyW’s Cinnamon Apple Syrup, recipe and photos here, or his Praline Apple Bread, here
Butternut Apple Soup, recipe here.
And the dinner menu this week, which includes Herbed Fettucini and a Sliced Apple Salad (photo below and click here for menu and recipes).
If you want a chuckle, here are two recipes where I did not follow my own advice and will never do again: Apple Butter and Dried Apples – quick and easy they were not. What’s cooking for you this weekend? Doing any fun fall activities like apple picking or a corn maze? Don’t forget share your favorite fall recipes, apple or otherwise.
For tonight’s featured recipe, I wondered what would happen if I added caramels to my favorite apple crisp. It was amazing. Great flavor without being too sweet. I reduced the sugar to adjust for the caramels. Since I began making fruit crisps in my cast iron skillets, it’s the only way I prepare them, but if you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, you can transfer the cooked apple mixture to a glass baking dish, add topping and bake that way.
Cast Iron Caramel Apple Crisp
- 2 lbs apples – mix of sweet and tart (about 3 apples)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- dash of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to taste
- 10 caramels, unwrapped
- 2 tbsps of cream
Topping:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- 1 cup flour
10 inch cast iron skillet and small mixing bowl
Core and cut apples into small pieces (about 1/2 inch). Peeling is optional, but with this method the peels cook nice and soft, so it isn’t necessary and I think they add great flavor.
Melt butter in skillet, add apples and sugar, stir until apples are well coated. Cover and cook on medium heat until apple mixture is soft and caramelized, stirring occasionally. About 20-30 minutes.
While the apples are cooking, melt the caramels and cream over medium heat, stirring until smooth. If you spray the pan with cooking oil before melting caramels, cleanup is easier. Pour over apples just before adding crumble mixture.
In mixing bowl, stir together butter, sugar, flour and oats, mix until crumbly. Crumble over the apple mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, just until top is crispy golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes and serve warm.
What makes this so good is that because the apples are cooked on the stovetop, you can use a much higher heat in the oven and get a good, crisp top without drying the whole mixture out or under cooking the apples. Really, this is one of the best apple crisps I’ve made.
That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend – TaMara
Christmas Eve Recipes: Cranberry Chutney
Cranberry Chutney
- 12 oz bag fresh or frozen whole cranberries
- 3 crisp red apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1-inch thick
- ground ginger to taste
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar*
- 1 cup water
Combine ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until softened, reduced and thickened, about 30 minutes. Cool fully before serving.
*I started with a full cup of sugar and it was much too sweet, so I added another 6 oz of cranberries to bring the tartness back. So I reduced the sugar in the recipe to 3/4 cup. If it’s too tart, you can always add more sugar. Because not everyone has 5 bags of frozen cranberries in their freezer to adjust with if there is too much sugar.😉
For the entire Christmas Eve menu, click here.
Dinner Menu: Kid Friendly Chili-Mac
JeffreyW’s Cornbread Muffins. His recipe: I always use the recipe on the round box that Quaker yellow corn meal comes in as a base, these also have cheddar cheese, minced fresh jalapeno, and a thinly sliced green onion, white part and all. A half recipe yielded 4 muffins. I used 1 whole egg in the half recipe, and about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.
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Sorry I have been absent of late. Work has been busy and the deadline of another project I’m working on is looming, so I’ve barely seen my kitchen. Not to mention it’s fall in Colorado and I want to be outdoors whenever possible.
I doubt there will be a Bixby update this week, but he is doing well and growing daily, though he still has not caught up to his ears or his feet. Standing on his back legs he is 53 inches.
This menu tonight is from my Kid-Friendly series. I loved chili-mac as a kid and it’s still one of those quick comfort foods I make when it needs to be easy and tasty.
- Chili-Mac
- Corn Muffins
- Raw Vegetable Tray
- Apples
Chili-Mac
- 12 oz elbow macaroni
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ onion, diced
- ½ green pepper diced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 15 oz can kidney beans
- 1 tsp to 2 tbsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 2 qt. saucepan, skillet
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. While macaroni is cooking, heat oil in skillet, sauté onions & peppers. Add hamburger, brown & crumble. Add hamburger, tomatoes, beans, chili powder & salt to drained macaroni. Stir, let simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
Corn Muffins
( you can’t beat those 33¢ Jiffy mixes, but this is a good muffin recipe)
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 1 egg (well beaten)
- 8 oz can creamed corn
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
muffin pan, paper muffin cups
Mix dry ingredients, make well in the center, add egg, corn, milk & oil. Stir until just moistened, don’t over mix. Add paper muffin cups to pan, fill each 2/3 full. Bake at 425° for 15-20 minutes.
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Friday Recipe Exchange: Apples, Bourbon and Caramel
We have a city apple orchard. I’ve cycled by it for years, didn’t give it much thought except to wonder what the city did with them every year. This year I found out. Seems the weather has created a bumper crop so the city put out a reminder that these apples were there for everyone, they were pesticide free and please, please, please come pick some because there were so many they were breaking branches.
Photo from City of Longmont
We headed over and picked a few last weekend and I decided that apples would make the perfect topic for tonight’s recipe exchange. I’ve got some old favorites and some old favorites with a new twist, including tonight’s featured recipe, Caramel Apple Crisp, pictured at top.
Let’s start with one that is perfect around this time of year when mini chocolates abound, Baked Snicker Apples, recipe here.
mouth-watering is the only way to describe, Mrs. J’s Famous Apple Pie, click here.
I have bourbon, I have apples, seems I need to make some Bourbon Baked Apples, recipe here.
Totally not apple related, the weekly menu this week was Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, recipes and shopping list here.
What’s on your menu? Now that the weekend means autumn is official, what are some of your favorite fall recipes?
For tonight’s featured recipe, I wondered what would happen if I added caramels to my favorite apple crisp. It was amazing. Great flavor without being too sweet. I reduced the sugars to adjust for the caramels. I’ll do this one again:
Cast Iron Caramel Apple Crisp
- 2 lbs apples – mix of sweet and tart (about 3 apples)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- dash of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to taste
- 10 caramels, unwrapped
- 2 tbsps of cream
Topping:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- 1 cup flour
10 inch cast iron skillet and small mixing bowl
Core and cut apples into small pieces (about 1/2 inch). Peeling is optional, but with this method the peels cook nice and soft, so it isn’t necessary.
Melt butter in skillet, add apples and sugar, stir until apples are well coated. Cover and cook on medium heat until apple mixture is soft and caramelized, stirring occasionally. About 20-30 minutes.
While the apples are cooking, melt the caramels and cream over medium heat, stirring until smooth. If you spray the pan with cooking oil before melting caramels, cleanup is easier. Pour over apples just before adding crumble mixture.
In mixing bowl, stir together butter, sugar, flour and oats, mix until crumbly. Crumble over the apple mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, just until top is crispy golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes and serve warm.
What makes this so good is that because the apples are cooked on the stovetop, you can use a much higher heat in the oven and get a good, crisp top without drying the whole mixture out or under cooking the apples. Really, this is one of the best apple crisps I’ve made.
Alternately, if you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, you can transfer the cooked apple mixture to a glass baking dish, add topping and bake that way.
No Bixby Diary this week, I’ll make up for it next week. Until then….TaMara
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Bourbon Baked Apple Crisp
Wandering around the web today, someone posted a recipe for Bourbon Baked Apples. Hmmm, I have bourbon. I have apples. Guess I need to bake some Bourbon Apples, stuffed with oatmeal crumble.
Bourbon Baked Apple Crisp
- 4 large favorite apple
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- dash of salt
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup bourbon (depending on taste – you can substitute more cider if you prefer)
- vanilla ice cream
In a bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon. Add softened butter and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. You want it to be crumbly.
Cut the top off the apple, enough to use as a lid. Scoop out core and seeds, being careful not to pierce the bottom of the apple. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired and then stuff with the oats mixture, packing it in and covering out to the edges of the apple. Place the top of the apple back on and press down.
Place apples in a large baking dish. Pour apple cider and bourbon in the bottom of the pan. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until skin is soft and wrinkled and flesh is soft. During the baking period, baste every 10 minutes with the cider/bourbon mix.
Serve immediately with ice cream.
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Full Dinner Menu: Black Bean Soup
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Mouthwatering Photo by JeffreyW
Believe it or not, they are forecasting snow by the end of the week. From 90 to snow in 4 days. Fall in Colorado. If it does snow it will be quick and brief I’m sure, then back to warm days and fall leaves. But cool weather means soup to me, so that is what I chose for this week’s menu.
This is a recipe from a restaurant in Ouray, CO that was in an old bank. They gave it to me 20 years ago on my honeymoon and I make it all the time. This was my first experience at having to change a recipe meant for 60 into one for 6-8. It’s spicy, so ease up on the cumin and chili powder if needed, you can always add more during the last 30 minutes if needed.
On the board tonight:
- Spicy Black Bean Soup
- French Bread
- Red Grape Salad
- Apple wedges & Cheese
Black Bean Soup
- 4-14 oz cans black beans
- 2 tsp to 1 tbsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp crushed garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp to 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 3 cubes beef bouillon
- 1 tsp to 2 tsp cumin
- 3 carrots, shredded
- ½ onion, minced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 green pepper, minced
- ½ cup dry red wine (opt)
- 1 lb chopped smoked sausage
- 12 cups water
Slow-cooker
Add all ingredients to slow-cooker and cook according to directions (usually 8-10 hours on low). Just before serving, take a potato masher or hand blender and blend/mash slightly to thicken
Red Grape Salad
- ½ head red leaf lettuce, torn
- 3 cups seedless red grapes, halved
- 1 pear, peeled, cored and cubed
- 4 oz shredded carrots
- Poppy Seed dressing
Serving bowl
Toss ingredients together, chill and serve
Shopping List:
- 4-14 oz cans black beans
- 4 -6 carrots or equivalent shredded carrots
- ½ onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 green pepper
- 4 oz dry red wine (opt)
- 1 lb smoked sausage
- ½ head red leaf lettuce
- 3 cups seedless red grapes
- 1 pear
- Poppy Seed dressing
- French Bread
- Apple wedges & Cheese
Also: salt, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, chili powder, beef bouillon, cumin, pepper
Originally posted December 2009
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Pannekoeken
The show on the Food Network that I enjoy the most is the one hosted by the spiky haired fellow named Guy Fieri – Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I have the dvr set to record all the shows and we watch them during meals. All of the recipes are quick and easy although some of the sauces and seasoning recipes can be quite involved.
We saw this dish put together the other day and thought it looked pretty good. It took some Google-Fu to find the recipe, the chef mentioned the name of it on the show but I never could really make out what he said despite several rewinds.
I garnished this one with powdered sugar and a glop of creme fraiche, whipped cream or ice cream would work well. I can readily imagine variations on this theme using different fruits. I’m thinking peaches would be great using the same seasonings, berries should work but I’d have to give that some thought. Mrs J nominates fresh pears.
Hah! glad I found this Youtube before I hit publish. It would seem correct that the name refers to the basic batter so a better title to this post would be Apple Pannekoeken.
