Strawberry Bread

Since strawberries were on sale I needed to do something with the abundance of them that I had! We ate some straight out of the package, I covered a few in sugar and let them sit before eating, we had the strawberry cheesecake, and then the rest of them went to this! I had Book Club last night and this yummy bread is what I took to share.

The recipe comes from my sister Krystal and her family. Anytime I've been to a shower (wedding or baby) given by her side of the family they make this bread. I guess I should clarify that she is technically my sister in law, but I hate saying that. She is my sister, my one and only!

Okay, back to the bread. So they make this yummy bread and a really yummy spread to go with it. I didn't make the spread this time, but I'm including the recipe for it because I know how yummy it is! The recipe also calls for frozen strawberries and I used fresh. This is a perfect spring dessert, breakfast, snack, whatever you want it to be!
Strawberry Bread

Source: Krystal and her family

3 C flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

2 C sugar

2 10 oz packages or frozen strawberries (thawed and sliced) OR 2 C fresh strawberries chopped

1 1/4 C vegetable oil

4 eggs, well beaten

1 C chopped pecans (I left this out)

Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Create a well in the center. Add all the wet ingredients and stir with a spoon. Don't use a mixer! When it's all mixed together, pour into 2 greased loaf pans or 1 bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes.

For the spread

1/2 C strawberry juice (from the frozen strawberries)

8 oz cream cheese

Mix together in a blender until smooth and creamy.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

For Christmas my husband gave me springform pans. He also gave me a new deep skillet, a new beater blade for my mixer, a cake decorating plate and some cake decorating tools. Before you question why my husband is giving me kitchen stuff, this is not 1950, blah, blah, blah....I wanted this stuff! I LOVE being in the kitchen and he knows it. And there is a large part of me that likes the roles that men and women had in the 50s. Don't get me wrong, I know there are a lot of things that I have as a liberty as a woman because of what other women have done, but I like the idea of staying home in the kitchen making my husband happy. Call me crazy.

SO, I have these new springform pans that I haven't used yet and strawberries were on sale at the grocery store. Strawberry cheesecake was the first thing that sprung to mind! Then I remembered my abundance of Girl Scout cookies in the freezer and decided to make the crust using the shortbread cookies. This cake was absolutely delicious and beautiful!

If you've never made a cheesecake, don't be afraid! They are actually very easy to make and really impress people!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Crust

1/2 C finely crushed shortbread cookies

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temp.

1/4 C sugar

1/2 C all-purpose flour

Cream together the butter and sugar on high speed. Add the flour and cookie crumbs. Mix well. Place in the bottom of 9" springform pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Let cool.

Cheesecake

4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temp.

1 1/3 C sugar

2 T flour

2 T heavy cream

4 eggs, beaten

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp. vanilla

1 C strawberries, pureed

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and heavy cream. Add eggs. Beat on low until combined. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour 2 1/2 C of the batter into a separate bowl and set aside.

With the remaining mixture, add 3/4 of the strawberry puree. Mix well. Pour on top of the crust and bake for 35 minutes.

Carefully pour the remaining cheesecake mixture on top of the strawberry mixture. Drop spots of the remaining strawberry puree on top. With a butter knife, carefully create a swirl pattern on top of the cheesecake. Bake for 50 more minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight.

Bacon Pineapple Bites

So, what can I say? It's been a while! I have been cooking, but I've been really busy! Most of the stuff we've had lately has been repeats. Sorry I've been absent. I got a new job teaching 3rd grade and that consumes most of my time! I do get home in time to cook dinner thankfully. Charlie has also been begging for healthy food lately too. I find healthy food boring. One day I will have an exciting healthy recipe to share! In the mean time, we have these....

I hosted Book Club a couple weeks ago and made this yummy appetizer and black and white brownies (YUM). You make these the same way you make the sausage ones, but instead use pineapple! They reminded me of Hawaiian pizza. I would definitely make these again.


Bacon Pineapple Bites


1 fresh pineapple, cored and cut into chunks
1 lb. bacon
1 C brown sugar


Cut the bacon slices in half so they are shorter. Dredge in the sugar and wrap around the pineapple. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes and serve. So easy, so yummy!

Sweet and Sour Pork Kebabs

Finally a recipe from my new healthy cookbook that we love! Too bad it has to be grilled and that limits how often we will have it. :) This recipe was easy, delicious, and worth the few calories that were in it!

Here's the nutrition breakdown:

"Calories, fat, and cholesterol were reduced by..."
Reducing the amount of oil in the marinade
Using a leaner cut of pork, and less of it
Add bell peppers to compensate for less meat

Calories before...550
after...201

Fat (g) before...26
after...5

Sweet and Sour Pork Kebabs
Source: More Healthy Homestyle Cooking

Marinade and Pork
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T dark sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 32 1'' chunks

Sauce
1/4 C ketchup
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T sugar
2 tsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp. dark sesame oil

Kebabs
2 bell peppers (red or green), cut into 32 1'' pieces
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks

In a large bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, red pepper, and salt. Stir in the pork. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours.

In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Soak 8 10" bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes (to prevent burning). Thread a bell pepper, followed by a pineapple chunk and a pork chunk onto a skewer. Repeat 4 times on each skewer.

Grill over medium-hot coals. Turn the kebabs 3-4 times while cooking. Drizzle the marinade over the kebabs one minute before finished. Serve immediately.

Pineapple Upside Down (Cup)Cake

So in our movement to eat healthier I told Charlie I had to find a cookbook with healthy recipes that I would be excited about making. I've tried searching the web for recipes and I just end up frustrated. So I did some searching on Amazon and came up with this...
We went to Barnes and Noble and I looked through it to see if I thought it was worth it. I think I will LOVE this cookbook! It's great because the whole beginning of the book is about how to cook healthy with recipes you already have. Simple swatches in a recipe can make it healthy without losing the test. Now you may say that I didn't need a book to tell me that, but I do! She explains how you can't always substitute and keep the flavor. She gives tips on what substitutions work with what kinds of recipes. Like in this recipe, you don't want to replace all the flour with whole wheat for taste purposes. So you replace some. I really do love this book! Every recipe she has tells you what she did to make it healthier and breaks down the calorie points before the healthy switches and after.

For example, in this recipe she "reduced calories and fat by:"

• Using light butter in place of regular
• Replacing the oil with applesauce
• Using low-fat buttermilk instead of whole milk
• Using egg whites instead of whole eggs

Calories before...207
after...152

Fat g before...8
after...1

(per serving)

Too bad my favorite part of this thing is the top...the part with all the brown sugar and butter . :) These were not my favorite. Charlie liked them once he ate a couple, but it definitely wasn't love at first bite. I sent some to my brother's house...no word from them. And we gave some to friends who said they liked it, but I'm not sure if I believe them!

I think I'm just not used to "healthy eating." The tops were great, but the bottoms were too dry. Not moist like pineapple upside down cake should be! This was disappointing! I'm hoping the other recipes in this book are better!

Pineapple Upside Down (Cup)cakes
Source: More Healthy Homestyle Cooking

1/4 C packed brown sugar
2 T light butter, melted
6 maraschino cherries, halved
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
1 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C whole-wheat flour
2/3 C sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2/3 C 2% buttermilk
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 400. Lightly coat a muffin tin with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and butter. Divide evenly in muffin tin. Place one half of a cherry, cut side up, in the center of each muffin cup. Divide the pineapple evenly among muffin cups. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ginger. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

In another bowl, combine milk, applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla. Pour into the flour well and stir until moistened.

Hummingbird Cake

I love hummingbird cake! My first experience with it was at the Table Talk Cafe in Wilmington. If you live in Wilmington you HAVE to visit The Salt Shaker bookstore and connected to it, the Table Talk Cafe. They are both owned by 2 sisters that I used to go to church with. I love both of these places and miss them now that we're not in Wilmington! The cafe has delicious desserts!


So for my birthday, I decided to make myself a hummingbird cake. If you've never had hummingbird cake it's similar to a carrot cake, but without the carrots! I originally wanted hummingbird cake as my wedding cake, but then sampled the delicious cake we had and changed my mind. ANYWAYS! This cake is delicious, but very sweet. It was WAY too much for the two of us! Be sure to have someone to share it with!



Hummingbird Cake
Source: The Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking


Cake (3 layers)
3 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 C sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 C vegetable oil
1/2 C buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (8 oz) can crushed pinapple, not drained
1 C chopped pecans
2 C mashed ripe bananas (5 or 6 bananas)
1 C coconut


Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the eggs, oil, and buttermilk, stirring until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do NOT beat! Stir in the vanilla, pineapple, pecans, bananas, and coconut. Pour the batter into 3 greased and floured 9" round pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes. Cool in pans 15 minutes and then cool completely on wire racks.


Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 C butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz package of confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C chopped pecans


In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Gradually add the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and stir in the pecans.

Tangerine Pie

Okay, so this was a new one to me! Last night Charlie wanted me to make a pie. This is interesting because he's usually fussing at me because of the amount of sweets and baked goods we keep in the house! Unfortunately, I didn't have any filling for pies. So, Charlie suggested we use the tangerines we had in abundance. We googled it and I made pie! This pie sounds strange, but it's similar to a lemon meringue.

This was a great use of our tangerines. We had a ton! Charlie's mom gave us a ton of fruit from the Farmer's Market. I made apple pie with the apples, fresh squeezed juice with the oranges, and tangerine pie! Tangerine Pie
Adapted from Noble Tangerine

1 prepared pie crust
¼ C cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1/3 C sugar
4 egg yolks
Juice of one lime
1 ½ C tangerine juice
1 cup whipped cream
3 oz butter (6 T)
Zest from one tangerine

Topping
1 C whipped cream

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add juice and mix well. Place over moderate heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and boils, 10-12 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the egg yolks all at once and whisk until blended. Bring back to a boil and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add the butter and tangerine zest. Cool to near room temperature, and fold in whipped cream. Pour into pie dish. Top with whipped cream.

Apple Pie and Pie Crust

I learned to make this pie when I was a nanny in college. I got some great recipes from that family! This is a great and easy pie crust recipe. And the apple part is so simple...not many ingredients at all! You could change the fruit and keep everything else the same too!

Pie Crust
Source: Theresa Kramer

2 C sifted all purpose flour
4 T cold water (ice cold)
1 tsp. salt
3/4 C butter

Cut flour and salt in bowl. Sift. Cut in 2/3 C butter until fine. Cut in remaining butter. Sprinkle water 1 T at a time over mixture. Mix thoroughly with fork into a dough consistency. Makes 2 crusts (one top and one bottom).

Apple Pie

Peel and slice about 6 apples. Place in pie crust. Add 1 C sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon over top. Top with remaining crust and seal edges. Brush crust with egg wash (1 egg and 1 T water mixed together) and sprinkle with sugar. Pierce the top of the pie a few times to let the steam out. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or 350 for 45 minutes.

Lemonade

I bought a bag of lemons to make those lemon cookies. So I had 4 lemons left over. Charlie asked sarcastically if I was going to make lemonade with them. He didn't think I could actually do it! So I proved him wrong and he was more than happy with the result! This recipe only makes a half gallon, so double if you want more!


Lemonade
Source: Simply Recipes


1 cup sugar
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 cup lemon juice (took 4 lemons)
3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from the lemons.

Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes.

Lemon Sandwich Cookies

I held a cookie exchange for friends a few weeks ago and this was my cookie! I chose this recipe because it reminded me of the Girl Scout cookies. Remember the lemon sandwich cookies they used to have? So yummy! These cookies were better the second day because they soften up. The cookie part is basically a lemon shortbread. I tried to make things easier on myself and instead of rolling out the dough and cutting it into circles, I rolled it into a log and sliced the cookies. They definitely weren't perfectly shaped and I'm sure they would have been much prettier if I had done what Martha said, but it still worked! I also skipped (i.e. forgot) a step. The sprinkling with sugar. They were still good though!

Lemon Sandwich Cookies

Source: Martha Stewart

Cookies

16 T (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 C confectioners' sugar
1 T finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1/2 tsp salt
2 C all-purpose flour

2 T granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and salt until combined. With mixer on low, add flour (dough will still be stiff); finish mixing with a wooden spoon.

Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, pat into a disk about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour (and up to 3 days).

Unwrap dough; place on a lightly floured piece of parchment or waxed paper. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough about 1/8 inch thick (if dough cracks, let it warm up slightly).

Cut out cookies with a 1 1/2-inch round cutter (reroll scraps once, chilling of too soft). Place 1 inch apart on two baking sheets; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until barely beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Filling

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 T finely grated lemon zest

1 to 1 1/2 C confectioners' sugar

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and zest until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup confectioners' sugar, mixing until smooth. Mix in remaining sugar as necessary to create a firm but spreadable filling.

Form sandwiches: Place about 1 teaspoon filling between two cookies, sugared sides facing out; squeeze gently.

Banana Pudding Trifle

I've had this recipe saved for quite some time. This recipe is delicious! We love the peanut butter-banana flavor. If you don't like peanut butter, just substitute the cookies for either vanilla wafers OR those yummy Vienna finger cookies. They would be delicious too!

Banana Pudding Trifle
Source: Southern Living

4 (3.5 oz) packages of vanilla pudding
2 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. sour cream
6 C milk
1 package Nutter Butter cookies, broken into thirds
5 ripe bananas, sliced
Whip Cream, about 2 C

Mix pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Let set for 5 minutes. Add sour cream and mix well. If not really cold, keep in fridge until really cold! Place half of pudding mix in the bottom of trifle bowl. Layer with half of banana slices and cookies. Pour the remaining pudding on top. Layer again with banana and cookies. Top with whipped cream and garnish with remaining cookies and banana. Keep in fridge overnight before serving.

Cinnamon Baked Apples

My grandma makes this all the time! They are so delicious! They just fall apart in your mouth. YUM!


Cinnamon Baked Apples
Source: MawMaw


Sliced apples
Cinnamon Candies (the soft, chewy kind)
Brown sugar


Place your apples in a baking dish. Sprinkle candy over top, as much as you can stand! Sprinkle brown sugar to coat. Bake at 35o for about 30-45 minutes.

Apple Snack Cake

I didn't have the ingredients to make this the way I was supposed to...SO I improvised. The cake was really moist and I'm sure it would be better the original way, more cake like. It was still delicious!



Apple Snack Cake
adapted from: The Way the Cookie Crumbles


2 apples, cut into cubes
1 C apple cider
1½ C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
⅔ C sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
1 C unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten
½ tsp table salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick spray.


Bring apples and cider to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; cook until liquid evaporates and mixture appears dry, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, whisk flour and baking soda in medium bowl to combine; set aside. In second medium bowl, whisk sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Measure 2 tablespoons sugar-spice mixture into small bowl and set aside for topping.


In food processor, process cooled dried-apple mixture and applesauce until smooth, 20 to 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl as needed; set aside. Whisk egg and salt in large bowl to combine. Add sugar-spice mixture and whisk continuously until well combined and light colored, about 20 seconds. Add butter in three additions, whisking after each. Add applesauce mixture and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients; using rubber spatula, fold gently until just combined and even moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula. Sprinkle reserved 2 tablespoons sugar-spice mixture evenly over batter. Bake until wooden skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Run knife along cake edges without parchment to release. Remove cake pan by lifting parchment overhand and transfer to cutting board. Cut cake and serve.

Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce

I printed off this recipe in July and just got around to making it. Charlie was not a fan of this, which is sad because I LOVED this!!! The only thing I would do differently is pouring the sauce over the apples. The chicken was amazing and I think I would have loved the apples just as much if they weren't covered in the Honey Mustard Sauce. Don't let Charlie's opinion of this dish hinder you from making it. And if you do...invite me over!

Just a thought, a bet this would make really good pork chops! Maybe I'll try again...

Sorry there's no picture. I started a new job last week and taking a picture didn't even register! Charlie's out of town this week, so I won't be cooking. Then I have my wisdom teeth out. This will probably be the last post until sometime in November. I have a ton of pumpkin recipes up my sleeve...stay tuned!

Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce
Source: Simply Recipes

1/2 C apple cider
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Salt and pepper
1 T honey
1 T mustard
2 T seasoned dry breadcrumbs
4 chicken breasts
1 T olive oil
2 small unpeeled apples, cored and sliced
1/2 C chicken broth

Whisk cider, cornstarch, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Lightly coat chicken in breadcrumbs.

In a large skillet, heat oil and add the chicken. Cook over medium heat until golden brown on one side. Turn chicken and add the apple slices. Brown the other side of the chicken.

Add chicken broth, cover and simmer about 15 minutes.

With slotted spoon, remove chicken and apples. Whisk cider mixture and then add to skillet. Cover over high heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and bubbly. Spoon over chicken (and maybe apples). YUM!

Baked Aloha Chicken

When I was on my desperate search for healthy recipes a few weeks ago, my friend Julie came to the rescue and sent this recipe. I just got around to making it. Julie met her husband around the same time Charlie and I met and got married the day after us. Her and her husband are much healthier than Charlie and I. They do things like marathons together. Shh...don't tell Charlie...he might get some crazy idea in his head! :)

I made a similar recipe to this one in the crock pot and it was horrible! We barely touched our dinner and then threw it away it was so bad! So I was a little afraid to try this one, but it was very tasty! Also, I didn't have an oven proof skillet. So I transferred the chicken to a baking dish and it worked just fine.

Baked Aloha Chicken

Source: Julie Morgan and 1,000 Gluten Free Recipes

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

salt and pepper

2 T olive oil

8 oz. crushed pineapple

1/2 C dry white wine

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried

1/2 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon or 1/4 tsp. dried

Preheat oven to 375. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. In a 10" ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together the remaining ingredients. Pour oven the chicken. Cover and bake for 45 minute. Uncover and turn chicken. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Thanks Julie!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Yum, yum, yum! I came across this recipe on Annie's Eats. I was debating whether to make this pound cake recipe or my MawMaw's. I went with this one because it has the butter. Butter makes everything better. My grandma's calls for shortening. I felt this was a truer pound cake. Turns out this is the same recipe my mom used for her wedding cake. Get this...she made her own! My mom, with some help from her sisters and a friend, made her own wedding cake... from scratch, without a Kitchenaid mixer. I know a lot of people make their own, but hers was gorgeous! I wish I could find a picture to post for you. It looked so professional. When we got married the thought of making my own cake made me cry. So $350 later I had a beautiful and delicious cake and some time on my hand. Maybe we should have tried it.

Okay, so do you know the history of the pound cake? It's not called a pound cake because you gain a few pounds. Although, you probably will! It's because a traditional pound cake called for a pound of butter, sugar, and flour. Also, most cakes call for some sort of leavener...like baking soda. Pound cake does not. Pound cake gets it's rise from all the air in the batter. So get ready to beat!

I made one loaf and 24 mini bundt cakes with extra batter left over!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Source: my mom and Annie's Eats

1 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temp.

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

3 C sugar

6 large eggs, room temp.

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

3 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter and flour your pan. Combine the butter and cream cheese together with a mixer on medium speed. Add the sugar, cream together on high for at least 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl when needed. Mix in vanilla and almond. Add in the flour and salt and mix together.

Pour the batter evenly into the pan. Smooth out the top of the batter. Bake until golden brown. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Cooking times...

Bundt cake: 75 minutes

Mini Bundt cakes: 18 minutes

Loaf Cake: 60 minutes

For the sauce...

This was so easy and so yummy! I bet it would be even better in the peak of strawberry season. I had to look up what coulis even meant. According to Wikipedia, it's a fruit or vegetable made into a sauce by pureeing and straining. I don't have a fine sieve, so I skipped that step. It was still delicious!

Strawberry Coulis

2 C strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 C water

3 T sugar

1 T fresh lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Puree until smooth and then strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the strawberry seeds. Cover and refrigerate. Serve cold.

Apple Butter Pork Loin

Charlie's back on his we need to eat healthy thing. This is hard for me! I spent forever last week looking for healthy recipes that I thought sounded good and only came up with a few! I'm not sure that this recipe is actually healthy. The site claimed it was, but who knows. Either way it was yummy! We bought a huge jar of apple butter on our Honeymoon at the Mast General Store. If you ever go to Boone you should go to Mast. It really is a cool store! Our apartment smelled delicious between the apple and cinnamon. I'm so ready for fall!

Apple Butter Pork Loin

Source: All Recipes

1 Pork Loin (mine was 3 lbs)

seasoning salt

2 C apple juice

1/2 C apple butter

1/4 C brown sugar

2 T water

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350°. Season the pork loin with seasoning salt. Place in a 9x13 baking dish or small roasting pan. Pour apple juice over the pork and cover.

Bake for 1 hour. While the pork is roasting, mix together the apple butter, brown sugar, water, cinnamon and cloves. After one hour, remove from oven and spread the mixture over the top.

Continue to bake until pork is done (165°). You need to cook 1/2 hour per pound of meat.

Roasted Orange and Thyme Chicken Thighs

The first time I make a meal from a recipe I stick to exactly what the recipe says. Unless of course we're talking about garlic and then I go crazy. So I made this yummy meal for family last night. Charlie wondered why we were having chicken thighs. I never buy thighs, it's usually breasts, but that's what the recipe said so that's what I did! You could make this with any kind of chicken you want. Although, I will say our thighs were very juicy and just fell apart. I miss having skin on my chicken too. Some people think it's gross, but it's so yummy...and yes, I know so bad for you.

This did not have a strong orange flavor like I expected. I didn't use any extra sauce on my plate, but everyone at the table who did said you could taste the orange in the extra sauce.

Roasted Orange and Thyme Chicken

10 chicken thighs
olive oil
salt
pepper

3 T olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
3 C orange juice
2 tsp thyme, dried
1/4 C maple syrup
2 T soy sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375°. Place chicken in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat 3 T of olive oil in a small sauce pan and saute onions. Once onions are sauteed, cook chicken in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, add OJ and thyme to the onions and bring to boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, until reduce to about 1/2 cup. Stir occasionally. Add syrup, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Boil for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

After chicken has cooked for 20 minutes, brush with generous amount of sauce. Return to oven and cook for another 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.

Lemon Squares

Okay, so three dessert posts in one day. I know what you're thinking...but I promise we didn't eat these all ourselves! I baked them all for a party we went to! So, happy birthday Andy...sorry Charlie ruined the surprise :)

Lemon Squares

Source: Food and Family, Spring 07

20 vanilla wafers, crushed

1/2 C flour + 2 T

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C cold butter

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1 T grated lemon peel

1/4 C fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8" square baking pan with foil. Combine wafer crumbs, 1/2 C flour, and brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes.

While baking, beat cream cheese, and sugar with mixer on medium speed. Add eggs and 2 T flour. Mix well. Blend in lemon peel, lemon juice, and baking powder. Pour over baked crust.

Bake 25-28 minutes. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into squares.

Black Forest Mousse

I got a trifle bowl as a wedding present. It is beautiful! I know some of you are thinking, how can a glass bowl be beautiful...but it is! So thank you Shelley for knowing how important some things are...like owning a trifle bowl. :) I love the way dessert looks layered in this bowl, or any trifle bowl for that matter. This is beautiful and oh so yummy. And VERY EASY! :) Some of my friends have complained that my recipes are too in depth to make. They just don't have the time or energy. That's fair, I mean most of you have kids or a job, or both! I doubled the original recipe for this to make it look pretty in my bowl. I wouldn't want to make an ugly trifle! So I'm going to post the doubled recipe. Just note that you can half it if needed. Although, it's so yummy, you will want to make a double recipe!

*I used Double Stuffed Oreos. We never buy cookies, so if I was to have extras I wanted the good stuff. This made it a little hard to crush because of all the filling. If you don't mind the regular ones (is that a sin?) then you should probably use those. Also, if you half the recipe you will need 16 Oreos. I know, 16 is not half of 26, but trust me.

Black Forest Mousse

Source: Food and Family, Winter 06

2 pkg (4 servings each) Chocolate Pudding mix

3 C cold milk

2 tubs (8 oz each) whipped topping, thawed

26 Oreos, crushed, divided

2 cans Cherry Pie filling

Mix pudding mix with milk. Stir using wire whisk. Add 2 cups of whipped topping. Add 20 crushed Oreos to pudding mix.

Layer half the pudding on the bottom of the trifle bowl. Spread half the remaining whipped topping. Top with one can of cherry filling. Repeat with the remaining pudding, whipped topping, and pie filling. Sprinkle the remaining 6 cookie crumbs on top.

YUM!