Apple-Stuffed Tenderloin

Tyler has been exploring pork tenderloin recipes in recent months and this was last night’s dinner.  It was less labor intensive than I imagined it would be and so delicious!  It may not look very attractive, but believe me, it was good!

Apple-Stuffed Tenderloin with Praline Mustard Sauce (from Southern Living)

Ingredients

1/4  cup  raisins (we used craisins as we had them on hand)

1/3  cup  bourbon or apple juice

2  (3/4- to 1-pound) pork tenderloins

1  medium-size cooking apple, thinly sliced (we used granny smith)

1  medium onion, thinly sliced

2  to 3 garlic cloves, halved

1  tablespoon  chopped fresh rosemary

1/4  cup  maple syrup

2  tablespoons  dark brown sugar

2  tablespoons  prepared mustard

Preparation

Combine raisins and bourbon in a bowl; let stand 1 hour.

Cut tenderloins lengthwise down center, cutting to but not through bottom. Alternate apple and onion slices down center of each tenderloin. Top slices evenly with raisins, garlic, and rosemary.

Close tenderloins over filling, and tie at 1-inch intervals. Place on sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Stir together syrup, sugar, and mustard; brush half of mixture over tenderloins. Close foil, and fold to seal. Place in a 13- x 9-inch pan.

Bake at 325° for 25 minutes. Open foil, and brush with remaining syrup mixture. Close foil, and bake 20 to 25 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion reaches 160°.

Beef Stew with Red Wine

Tyler found this recipe online that made use of many of the leftover ingredients we had from the bolognese the other night (needed to use up that red wine since we don’t really like to drink it).  This stew took just over an hour to make and was delicious!  Next time we will definitely add potatoes though!

Red wine beef stew (adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds stew beef

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 to 2 medium carrots, sliced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups beef broth

1 cup dry red wine, such as Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary, or a dash of crumbled dried rosemary

1 jar (15 ounces) small onions, or 10 to 16 ounces frozen small onions, thawed

Preparation:

Trim stew beef and cut in small bite-size pieces. Put in a food storage bag with the flour, onion powder, and seasoned salt; toss to coat well.

Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven; add beef to hot oil and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the onion and celery; continue cooking, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add carrots, garlic, broth, wine, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add drained or thawed onions. Continue cooking for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until beef is tender. Serve with biscuits or hot cooked noodles

Vegetarian Bolognese

Yeah that is Tyler’s portion, not mine I am swamped with schoolwork now that the end of the semester is in sight (2 days, yikes!)  Tyler planned the meals, did the shopping, and the cooking this week.  It is rare we cook with red wine, but this was worth the extra trip to the liquor store (stupid Kansas not selling wine in grocery stores!)  We both thought this was an excellent vegetarian meal!

Vegetarian Bolognese (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1/4  cup  dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/4 ounce)

1  tablespoon  olive oil

1 1/2  cups  finely chopped onion

1/2  cup  finely chopped carrot

1/2  cup  finely chopped celery

1  (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, finely chopped

1/2  cup  dry red wine

1/4  cup  warm water

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

1  (28-ounce) can organic crushed tomatoes with basil, undrained

1  (2-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind

12  ounces  uncooked whole-wheat penne (tube-shaped pasta)

1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Place dried mushrooms in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and mushrooms; sauté 10 minutes. Add wine; simmer 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add 1/4 cup warm water and next 4 ingredients (through cheese rind) to onion mixture. Stir in ground porcini. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes. Keep warm. Remove rind; discard.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Place 1 cup of pasta in each of 6 bowls. Top each portion with 3/4 cup sauce and about 1 tablespoon cheese.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Well nothing says fall like pumpkin, and while Christmas season is gearing up, I thought I had time for one more “fall-ish” dessert.  tyler’s family is coming over for dinner tonight and we are having chili, potato soup, cornbread, and pumpkin cupcakes for dessert.  A million thanks to Bridget who did a comparison of 3 different pumpkin cupcake recipes to find the best one!

I topped these cupcakes with this cream cheese frosting and some of my homemade sugared pecans.

Pumpkin Cupcakes (adapted from David Leite via Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans

1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar

⅓ cup granulated sugar

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

½ cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla

1¼ cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line cupcake pans with 24 liners.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt,

and pepper into a medium bowl.

3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate

adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until

smooth. Divide the batter equally between the cups. (They’ll be about ¾ full.) Rap the filled pans

once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the

center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Macaroons

I grew up eating chocolate macaroons, and until last month had never tried a regular macaroon.  I tried one in San Francisco and WOW, it was fantastic!  I do love coconut after all!  So for a quick and easy dessert to take to Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt’s, I decided to whip up a batch.  These are so easy to make and they taste yummy, although next time I will cut back on the almond extract as it seemed to be very potent.  I wasn’t sure how well received they would be but many of my aunts and uncles seemed to like them, so it seems they are a winner!  I drizzled a few with chocolate (leftover mini Hersheys bars from Halloween!)

Macaroons (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
-In large mixing bowl, combine coconut, sweetened condensed milk and extracts; mix well.

-Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto aluminum foil-lined and generously greased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Immediately remove from baking sheets. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Au Gratin

Tyler bookmarked this recipe in this month’s Cooking Light and I was skeptical, but it won me over!  I don’t usually eat sweet potatoes or squash because they are so….sweet.  However, drench them in swiss cheese and I’m a big fan!  This recipe took some time to pull together, but it was worth the wait!

Sweet Potato and Butternut Gratin (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

2  tablespoons  butter

1  ounce  pancetta, chopped

1/4  cup  chopped shallots

2  garlic cloves, minced

1.38  ounces  all-purpose flour, divided (about 5 tablespoons)

1  teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme

2  cups  2% reduced-fat milk

3/4  cup  (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper

1  pound  baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

8  ounces  sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

8  ounces  butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

Cooking spray

1/3  cup  (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; cook 1 minute. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Weigh or lightly spoon 1.1 ounces (about 1/4 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in thyme. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; cook over medium heat until slightly thick (about 3 minutes), stirring constantly. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts. Stir in salt and peppers. Remove from heat.

3. Cook baking potato in boiling water 4 minutes or until almost tender; remove with a slotted spoon. Cook sweet potato in boiling water 4 minutes or until almost tender; remove with a slotted spoon. Cook butternut squash in boiling water 4 minutes or until almost tender; drain. Sprinkle vegetables evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Arrange potatoes and squash in alternating layers in a broiler-safe 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; spoon sauce over potato mixture. Top with Gruyère. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes.

4. Preheat broiler. Broil 3 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Homemade Apple Pie…filling

Okay so the filling is homemade, but I long ago gave up on making my own pie crusts, why get myself all frustrated and pissed off when I don’t have to?  Maybe I’ll have it figured out by the time I’m a grandma!  This is Tyler’s second favorite pie (blueberry is his most favorite) and I use his mom’s recipe, which is pretty basic but very delicious!  I took some pictures of the different steps for once to share with you.

not so secret ingredient

I am horrible at peeling whole apples, so I use my apple slicer to slice them into wedges and then peel them from there, fast and *almost* foolproof.

toss in the dry ingredients

lalalalala stir it up….

begin the assembling process!  Butter on top of the apples, don’t forget to do this before you add the top crust (I almost always forget!)

time to up the cute factor, courtesy of Pampered Chef!

lookin good…

whoops, probably should of put the apple cut outs closer to the center…

brushed the top with a bit of milk

ready for baking!  I have this nifty Pampered Chef crust guard I use, it lines up well with my deep dish Pampered Chef pie plate

The finished product, hot and fresh from the oven!

Homemade Apple Pie (family recipe)

Ingredients:

2 nine inch pie crusts
6 cups peeled and sliced granny smith apples
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup flour
dash of salt
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon
2 T butter

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.  Combine apples, and all ingredients except for the butter in a large bowl, stir until apples are coated.
3.  Place first pie crust in the bottom of the pie plate
4.  Add filling.
5.  Cut butter into small piece and sprinkle across the top of the filling.
6.  Place top crust and seal edges.
7.  Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees.
8.  Let cool, then eat!  (with ice cream unless you are a weirdo like my husband!)

sweet potato curry

This dish was a bit too spicy for my taste buds, but Tyler loved it!  It is from the most recent issue of Cooking Light and it’s an interesting use for sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry (from Cooking Light)

 

Ingredients

2  teaspoons  curry powder

1  teaspoon  ground coriander

1  teaspoon  ground turmeric

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  black pepper

1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper

1  bay leaf

1 1/2  teaspoons  olive oil

1 1/2  pounds  skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2  cups  vertically sliced onion

1 1/2  teaspoons  minced peeled fresh ginger

2  garlic cloves, minced

1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato

3/4  cup  canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2  cup  frozen green peas

1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high; return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add peas; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf.

 

 

Sugar Cookie Frosting

I absolutely love this sugar cookie recipe, made it for the first time last Christmas and it’s a keeper.  However I’ve been having trouble finding a frosting recipe that

1) contains no shortening or margarine or corn syrup, ingredients I hate using.
2) dries well enough that you can stack the cookies after they are frosted
and
3) tastes good!

So I explored allrecipes.com, which I love because you can sort by highest rating, and found this recipe, with lots of positive reviews and none of the dreaded “bad” ingredients.  Just butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla.  This frosting takes minutes to whip up (as long as the butter has softened) and tastes fabulous.  Perfect for these fun fall cookies I took to class tonight!  I’ll be using this recipe again on Christmas cookies.

Decorator Frosting (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and milk until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and food coloring. Spread on or between cookies.

San Francisco: The Cheesy

Well this was deserving of a post all its own!  On our last day in SF we had lunch at Slanted Door and then walked around the Ferry Building, which was not nearly as crowded as it had been on Saturday morning.  We decided to indulge in some bread, cheese, and sweets for our last dinner, and we went from stall to stall until we found what we were looking for.

For bread we picked up two baguettes, one sourdough and one sweet (although they really tasted about the same!) from Acme Bread.  They only take cash, good thing we still had some on us!

Next we headed to Cowgirl Creamery, which we could actually get into on Sunday as opposed to Saturday when it was swarmed with shoppers.  Ya’ll, this place was heaven.  We took a number and waited a couple of minutes for them to call it.  While we waited we picked up a half round of Humboldt Fog cheese, which I’d heard nothing but raves about from my cheese-loving friends.  When it was our turn, we told them what kind of bread we had and he started cutting samples of cheeses he thought would go best with it. We tried a few but in the end, we agreed that Midnight Moon, another much firmer goat cheese, was just what we were looking for.

The Humboldt Fog

The Midnight Moon

The feast.  Yes we ate it in our hotel room on top of a dismantled paper bag, using nothing but our hands and one plastic spoon to form the perfect bites of bread and cheese.