Accidental Applesauce

Every year, for Thanksgiving, I bake an apple pie. For Jason. He loves apple pie and since I am a nice mom, I make it for him once a year, on Thanksgiving.

Well this year I blew it. I overcooked the apples (enough for two pies!) and had to make them into applesauce. It turned out to be the best applesauce I've ever had! Really! And I already liked applesauce.

And, yes, I did buy more apples and I still made apple pie. And it was delicious.



ACCIDENTAL APPLESAUCE

I don't really like Granny Smith apples, which are traditionally used in apple pies (I'm sure this is because they are too sour to just eat them). So I use several different kinds of apples in my pies—these are the ones I chose this year:

8 honeycrisp apples
4 Granny Smith apples
4 Jonagold apples
4 Braeburn apples

You also need:

2 Tbsp. lemon juice
about 1 cup water
sugar, to taste (I probably used 3/4 to 1 cup)

Peel, core and slice all the apples. This takes forever!
Put them into a great, big pot and toss with the lemon juice.
Add the water.
Cover the pot and put it on the stove, over low heat.
Go to your sister's house (or a friend's house) and forget all about the apples for about an hour. When the lightbulb goes on, call your kids and shriek into the phone, "Turn off the stove! Yes, the burner where the apples are."
Hurry home; check out the apples. Are they too mushy to use in a pie? Good.
Use your magic wand to blend it all into applesauce.
Stir in sugar, to taste.
Put the applesauce into smaller containers and refrigerate.
Eat it before it grows mold (within a week or so).

Makes about 3 quarts of really delicious applesauce!

Zucchini Casserole

Have you ever grown a zucchini plant? They are prolific, to say the least. I mean, we only have one plant and it's already produced a zillion pounds of zucchini. Well, OK. We've only had three so far. Three really big zucchinis in about a week. But fortunately zucchini is yummy, and it's versatile too . . . zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini cake, zucchini cookies, grilled zucchini, zucchini pickles, zucchini pie . . .
(How many times can you use the word "zucchini" in one paragraph?)

But the one we eat the most often is zucchini casserole. I first had it at a family reunion when I was about 10, and I loved it. Actually, at age 10 I'm surprised I even tasted it. But since I did, and since I liked it even then, you know it must be good.

ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

1 box stuffing mix (like Stove-Top Stuffing)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3 cups julienned zucchini
1 carrot, grated
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Melt 3/4 of the butter. Mix the melted butter with 3/4 of the stuffing mix in a 9-inch square baking pan. In a separate, small bowl, mix the remaining butter and stuffing mix together; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix zucchini, carrot, onion, cheese, cream of chicken soup and sour cream together. Spoon the zucchini mixture over the stuffing that's in the pan.
Sprinkle the remaining stuffing mix over the top.
Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes.
Serve hot and yummy! :-)

Pineapple, Cucumber and Mint Salad

I tried this new recipe just last night. On the first reading, I thought it sounded pretty good so I put it on this weeks' menu. When I looked at it again (yesterday afternoon--just before dinner time) I thought it sounded a little weird, although it might be good. But I was committed--I'd already bought all the ingredients--so I made it.
And . . .

Yummy! It is unusual, but very good. :-)

PINEAPPLE, CUCUMBER AND MINT SALAD

1 cup fresh pineapple, coarsely chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fish sauce (I used oyster sauce)
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Toss all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Garlic Chicken and Parslied Potatoes

Last night was our ward's Relief Society birthday social. The menu was fantastic, and received rave reviews.

The Garlic Chicken was excellent! A dish of tender chicken breasts, subtly seasoned with herbs, and served with a sauce that’s a garlic-lover’s dream. This recipe will fill your home—and maybe your neighbor’s—with an irresistible aroma. As a matter of fact, a friend came over to my house yesterday the afternoon to deliver some potatoes for the dinner, and she said as soon as she opened her car door she could smell the good things cooking inside the house.

Don't let the amount of garlic deter you. This dish really is superb! [If you don't believe me, you can ask Marian. ;-) ]

CHICKEN WITH GARLIC SAUCE

2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. sage
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 (6-oz.) boneless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. olive oil
20 garlic cloves, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. soft butter mixed with 1 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. Italian parsley (optional—for garnish)

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine flour, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour. Heat 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large sauté pan set on medium-high heat until sizzling, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a baking dish.
Add the remaining olive oil to the sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat until sizzling, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and onion and cook until the onion softens and the garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Pour the wine into the saute pan and cook until reduced by half. Add the chicken stock and boil until reduced by half, about 7-8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter-flour mixture, stirring until it has melted completely. Return the pan to the heat and boil for a minute, until the sauce thickens.
Spoon sauce over chicken breasts, and bake for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken topped with sauce and garnish with Italian parsley.

And the perfect compliment to this savory chicken dish is the subtle flavor of Parslied Potatoes. These yummy potatoes take less than an hour to make, from start to finish, and they go good with just about anything!

PARSLIED POTATOES

3 lbs. small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into about 1-inch cubes (think potato salad)
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
black pepper, freshly ground
dash paprika (optional)
1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped parsley

Absolutely dice the potatoes before you cook them! (This way the skins won't shred off while you are trying to chop them up.)
Put the potato cubes into a large pot; put in the bouillon cubes and add water to cover it all (about 7 cups water). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender. [Check them after 10 minutes, and then about every 5 minutes or so after that until they are done.] Scoop out 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid; set it aside.
Drain the potatoes in a colander. Put the butter, reserved cooking liquid, salt, dash pepper and paprika into the cooking pot. Stir until the butter is melted, then return the potatoes to the pot. Add the parsley and toss gently until potatoes are covered with the other ingredients.
Serve and enjoy . . . with anything!

Coming up next . . . the fabulous dessert-bar recipes!

Crunch Salad

Our friend, Jill Rushton, brought this yummy salad to our Christmas party this year. It's really tasty, and way easy to make.

CRUNCH SALAD

1 pkg Rce-a-Roni fried rice
1 small green onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery, chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 can turkey or chicken, drained
enough mayonnaise to make moist
1 can rice noodles [These are in the oriental section of the grocery store. They are just chow mein noodles, but instead of the big ones that come in the bags, these noodles are smaller and come in a can.]

I think it would also be good with a handful of toasted, sliced almonds, and maybe a couple Tablespoons of finely diced red bell peppers.


Cook the Rice-a-Roni as directed on package. Toss rice with all remaining ingredients except for the noodles. Put in fridge to chill. Mix noodles in just before serving.

Artichoke-Rice Salad

This salad was introduced to me by my friend Scerinda. She brought it over one night when we invited her family to dinner. It did not appeal to me much; it didn't sound disgusting, but it didn't appeal either. But Scerinda loves it, and she has pretty good taste, and of course I had to try it--to be polite. Wow! It is really delicious!

I think it would be excellent with some 51-60 count shrimp in it, so I'm including that as an (optional) part of the recipe. But it truly is fabulous just as it is. (Well, it may be a little better without the olives; I'm not an olive lover.)

By the way, this recipe makes a lot. If you're not taking it to a party, you may want to cut it in half. :-)

SCERINDA'S ARTICHOKE-RICE SALAD

2 cups raw rice
4 chicken bouillon cubes
3 cups warm water
2 jars (4 oz. each) marinated artichoke hearts
20 stuffed green olives, sliced
8 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. chopped green pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 to 1 lb. [ ?? this amount is just a guess] of 51-60 count green shrimp, peeled, cooked and cooled (optional)

Place rice in a strainer and rinse thoroughly under running cold water about 2 minutes. In a heavy saucepan, dissolve the bouillon cubes in 3 cups warm water. Add rice and bring to a full boil, uncovered, over high heat. Stir; cover with a tight-fitting lid and turn to low. Steam for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Put cooked rice in a bowl and let it cool slightly. Drain artichoke hearts, reserving marinade from one jar. Nice artichoke hearts and add to rice with olives, onions and green pepper. Add shrimp, if using. Combine mayonnaise, reserved marinade and curry powder and stir into rice mixture. Chill thoroughly. Can be made a day ahead.

Fabulous!

Gazpacho

I first tried out Gazpacho on my honeymoon. NO, it's not anything kinky! What kind of a blog do you think this is?

Gazpacho is a Spanish, cold tomato soup. I learned about it in 7th-grade Spanish class; but I really did not try it until I was at a nice restaurant, on my honeymoon. It is delicious! And it's the perfect recipe for this time of year when the ripe tomatoes are abundant!

Unfortunately it is one of those recipes where I don't really have exact measurements of the ingredients. But you'll figure it out. ;-)

GAZPACHO

*3-6 slices of French bread [shouldn't it be Spanish bread?]
*2-3 lbs. ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
*1 red onion, peeled and diced
*1-2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
*1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced or 1 mild chili pepper, diced or a combination of bell pepper and a mild chili
olive oil
red wine vinegar, to taste [well really the whole recipe is "to taste"]
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic, to taste (optional)

[The honeymoon gazpacho also had some medium-size shrimp in it. Mmmmm!]

* Don't forget--these are not exact amounts; you just make this soup to taste!

Remove and discard the crusts form the bread; tear bread into chunks. Place the bread pieces into a large bowl and soak in water--just enough to make the bread a little soggy, but without leaving it in standing water. [I know, this sounds weird. Just trust me.] Add tomatoes, onion, cucumber and peppers. Puree in blender until homogenous--or use your magic wand [hand-blender--every kitchen should have one!]. Drizzle mixture with olive oil and add vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic to taste; stir well. Chill until ready to serve.

This makes a nice, cool appetizer or side-dish. It is very pretty with some of the diced veggies and a sprig of parsley or cilantro for garnish. :)

Oven "Fried" . . .

In keeping with my goal to drop 35 pounds (actually it's 30 now!) I have a tip for breaded, fried foods. You know, like onion rings or fried zucchini, or fried fish; the stuff that tastes sooooo good, and is soooooo fatty! I've tried breading and baking stuff before, only to get a soggy mess. But this really works and tastes great too. Although you may want to wait for cooler weather before you try it—you do need to use a very high temperature oven.

BREADED, "FRIED" . . . ANYTHING!

4 slices white bread, torn into 1-inch pieces*
1 Tbsp. butter, melted*
salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour*
2 large eggs*
1 Tbsp. light mayonnaise*
seasonings of choice, to taste
chicken or fish or zucchini or mushrooms or onion rings or . . .

*You may need more of these things, depending on how much "anything" you're cooking—this amount works for about four 4 to 5-ounce pieces of chicken.

Prepare ahead of time: Pulse bread, butter, salt and pepper in food processor to make medium crumbs. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Crumbs should be brown and dry. Set aside until ready to use.

Prepare (slice, dice—whatever, and pat dry) your veggies, chicken or fish. [You can also do "fried" mozarella this way, but you have to freeze the cheese sticks first and then work fast when you're breading them. Also I don't know that this qualifies as a low-cal food. But it is healthier than plain old deep-fried mozarella!]

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put the flour into a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, mix together the eggs, mayonnaise and your choice of seasonings. [I find that "Season-All" is great for this stuff.] Put the bread crumbs into another shallow bowl.
Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Dredge your fish, chicken or veggies in the flour. Dip the floury food into the egg mixture. Coat the eggy mess in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs onto the food, and then place on the prepared cookie sheet.

Turn oven heat down to 425 degrees. Place cookie sheet in oven. Bake fish about 20 to 25 minutes, turning once halfway through. Bake large chicken pieces about 40 minutes, turning a couple times during cooking. [Smaller, boneless chicken pieces will work better and don't have to cook as long.] Cook veggies about 10 to 15 minutes, turning over once.

Serve hot. Yummy!!

Loralee's Salsa Fresca

Oooo! This is a good one! I make "garden-fresh" salsa all year round because Bruce loves it; well, we all do. In fact, I think I created this recipe in the winter when there were no fresh tomatoes around. (Store-bought tomatoes hardly qualify as fresh; they are so tasteless!) So while all the peppers and onions are fresh I actually make this salsa with canned tomatoes. Of course you can, and I do, make it with fresh tomatoes from my garden in the summer. Well, you can make it with fresh tomatoes from your garden. But if you live close by I'd give you some of mine.

Mmmmm! Can't beat that!

LORALEE'S SALSA FRESCA

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes (I like petite-diced)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
about 1/3 of a large poblano--or maybe it's called a pasilla?--pepper, finely chopped (these are the ones that look like very dark green, slightly flattened bell peppers)
1/2 to 1 serrano pepper, finely chopped (how hot do you like it?)
cilantro to taste, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 to 1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
a squeeze of lime juice (optional)

WARNING! The seeds and inside parts of a chili pepper are the hot parts--lots of yummy oils in there. Do not let the insides of the chili peppers get on your hands--especially if you use contact lenses. I did this once. When you remove the lenses--even if it's hours later--you will regret it! Use plastic gloves when chopping hot peppers (or be very, very careful).

This is sooooo much easier to prepare if you have a food processor--just throw the fresh vegetables in and process until you are happy with the size of the veggie pieces. Then add all the processed veggies to the tomatoes, mix in the spices and lime juice and you've got a delicious treat. But you certainly can chop everything by hand with a good knife--that's how I did it for years!

If you are using a knife, here's how to prepare the serrano pepper:
Remember, these little finger-sized chilies are very hot! For a little less heat, remove the seeds before chopping the pepper up (cut off the top end and use a small paring knife to scrape the seeds out). You can add a little bit at a time and taste the salsa, so you can get the "picante" just right. (But I usually just toss in about half a pepper, seeds and all!) The poblano/pasilla is hot too, but it won't kill you. Just chop your 1/3-size piece from the bottom end and you won't even touch the seeds.

Drain a little of the juice from the canned tomatoes, if desired. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips, on tacos, on burritos, on anything at all; or just eat it like a cold soup like Bruce does sometimes.

Excelente!

Sesame Noodles

These noodles make a nice side-dish for your Chinese dinner. They also make a great lunch for the kids! (But they eat a lot--I have to triple-triple the recipe for my family!) Don't limit yourself to the veggies listed; try broccoli, or celery or bell peppers--whatever you like!

SESAME NOODLES

2 pkg. Ramen noodles, your favorite flavor
3 - 3 1/2 cups water
1 large handful fresh bean sprouts (don't use canned, they're yucky!)
1 small carrot, grated
vegetable oil
sesame oil
soy sauce
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Place Ramen noodles in a medium saucepan; sprinkle the contents of the seasoning packets over the noodles. Cover the noodles with water and bring to a boil. Let cook for 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit for about 2 minutes (they should be cooked, but not super-soft). Drain the noodles, reserving about 1/4 cup broth.

In a large frying-pan or wok, heat some vegetable oil (about 1 Tbsp.). Add bean sprouts and carrots (and any other veggies you like) to oil and stir-fry. Add about 1 Tbsp. sesame oil to veggies, then add drained Ramen noodles. Drizzle a little sesame oil over the noodles; dash with soy sauce to taste, and stir-fry until noodles and veggies are coated evenly. Add a little more sesame oil as necessary to keep the noodles from sticking together. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.

Yummy, easy and inexpensive!