A Healthy Dessert

 This healthy, two ingredient dessert was a childhood favorite of mine. It is simple to make. It tastes wonderful. Yes, and kids are sure to like it.  

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 small banana cut into slices.  You may substitute any fruit you like, just cut them into bite sized pieces. 

1 skippy peanut butter squeeze tube.  Or your favorite brand of peanut butter. You can even substitute with almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter.

1 dessert plate 

1 knife

I like to peel my Banana from the bottom, not the top stem. This makes it easier to peel. After peeling the banana. Cut the banana in slices. Arrange the banana slices on the plate. Squeeze a small dollop of peanut butter on each banana piece. Grab your fork and enjoy your dessert. 

This recipe is vegan. Can be made nut free. Is a very satisfying snack. It’s like eating candy, but healthier this serves O.N.E. adult or two children. Tell me what you think. 

This is an off-the-cuff blog tonight. So the plate is not very clean. It’s covered with peanut butter, but darn it was good. As you can see the dollops don’t have to be perfect., Yes, I do have the skills to make it very pretty. In a previous life, I taught cake decorating and was a professional cake decorator. However, I did not feel like making a pastry bag or finding a pastry tip to make them very pretty, I just wanted a quick bedtime snack. 

Single Serving Sugar Free Apple Pie

 I have been.craving holiday foods just because it is fall. I really wanted to go out and get a slice of apple pie today. So going out to get a fat and sugar laden piece of pie is out of the question right now. So here is my elegant solution.  

Sugar Free Apple Pie

Serves 1.

1 apple cored and cut into chunks

cinnamon 

30 grams or 1 ounce of the nut of your choice. If you have a nut allergy skip this ingredient. 

In a microwave safe bowl toss the apple chunks and the amount of cinnamon desired.  For a hardier taste I like more cinnamon.  Sprinkle with nuts.  Microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Rotate a 1/4 of a turn and microwave for 2 minutes more.  

I know some people put cheese on their apple pie, so place the cheese on when you take it out of the microwave oven..

Please enjoy.  

Thank You Brandy

 Brandy was one of our favorite aides for Eric. Yesterday she reached out and asked for a favorite family recipe.   Then John goes it’s cold now, we should have that for dinner tomorrow night.  So I got up early to head to the store as early as possible.  Yes, I wore my Kn95 mask and the store was not crowded.  So here is the minestrone soup recipe.  It’s quick and easy.  

I used to make it more with stew beef when the kids were younger   Now that I am on a very low fat diet I use skinless, boneless, chicken breast meat. I have my butcher cut it up in cubes for me about 1/2 square. Both are tasty options   

Minestrone Soup

1 4.5 quart LeCreuset soup pot 

1 package Manischewitz Minestrone Soup Mix

1.5 pounds of diced chicken breast or stew beef

1 large sweet onion diced

1 bunch of celery cleaned and sliced 

1 pound of carrots peeled and sliced 

5 cups of water

2 Tablespoons olive oil 

1/2 teaspoon of salt and white pepper 

1 pound frozen mixed vegetables 

Sauté meat, salt and pepper in the olive oil until the meat is no longer red or pink.  15 to 20 minutes stirring every few minutes.  Add the onion and continue to sauté until tender and translucent.  Add celery and carrots mix in and cook until softened about 5 minutes.  

Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Add the soup mix. Bring to a boil again.  Lower the temperature to a slow simmer and cook 45 minutes stirring often.  

About 15 minutes before the basic soup is done remove the frozen vegetables from the freezer.  Add the mixed vegetables to the soup once the 45 minute timer goes off.  Stir in well. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes more until the frozen vegetables are cooked.  You may add other vegetables too.  Just don’t over fill your pot. 

Serve with warm dinner rolls.  It is better the second night. This makes about 4 quarts of soup.  Yes you may freeze the leftover soup in individual containers and freeze.  

Easy Tri Tip Roast

Teri has requested that I share my tri-tip roast recipe.  It is a very easy 5 ingredient recipe. It takes less than 5 minutes to put together and only 35 minutes to cook.

1 Tri-tip Roast
Salt and pepper
1 sweet onion sliced thin
1/2 c water
Cooking Spray

Pre heat the oven to 425f

Use cooking spray to spray the bottom and sides of your. Le Creuset roasting pan. Place roast in the bottom of the pan. Salt and pepper lightly.  Cover with the sliced onions.  Pour the water on the side of the roast being careful not to wash the salt and pepper off the top of the meat.   Cover and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and wrap in heavy duty foil for 15 minutes to the the roast finish cooking and rest. Slice and serve.

Add vegetables and a starch for a complete meal.

Salsa Chicken

Salsa Chicken is a recipie that is fast, easy and gluten free. I will have some more gluten free dishes on the blog as I create them for my wonderful sister in law Marla.  They will all be fast and easy to put together. Many will be semi homemade with pre-made ingredients. Perfect for the cook with active children or newer cooks.  This is an easy recipie to bring the younger cooks into the kitchen to help with. 

For those of you who do not live in the United States the following conversions will be helpful. These are exact conversions,  C= F-32.00/1.8) Since I do not cook in celius just get them as close as possible to your own oven.  

350f is equal to 176.67c

325f is equal to 162.78c

185f is equal to 85c

 16 ounces or 1 pound is equal to 0.45 kilograms

Ingredients

1 pound of chicken ( more or less depending on your needs. )

Salt and white pepper

1 cup of salsa, pre made is fine. 

Spray your favorite casserole dish with non stick cooking spray. The clean up crew likes this.   Add the chicken.  Lightly salt and pepper. I use white pepper because it has a milder taste.  Evenly cover the chicken with the salsa. Bake at 350f for 50 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal tempature of 185f. If you are using a glass casserole dish set the oven to 325f and bake for 1 hour or until the chicken reaches 185f.   

I will be serving this with gluten free corn  tortillas, refrained beans and vegetables. You can also add olives for good luck, this is a south of the boarder tradition.

Vegan Corn Chowder

As promised here is a brand new recipe to end the year. On top of having a wonderful texture and taste it can be one of your higher fiber soups for the coming year. With only 5 ingredients it is also very quick to put together. You will also note that it is slightly different from the Corn Chowder recipe of January 20,2011.  It does not include the carrots or celery, i.e. the marpoix mix. So here goes.

Vegan Corn Chowder

1- 32 ounce carton of Imagine Creamy Sweet Corn Soup

1 very large onion or 2 smaller onions peeled and coarsely chopped, about 2 cups

2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Large Russet Potatoes peeled and coarsely diced between 2 to 3 cups

1 pound of frozen sweet white corn

In your LeCreuset 4 quart soup pot, heat olive oil over a low heat. Add the onions and saute over medium heat until translucent. Add the diced potatoes and saute until they start to stick to the pan. Add the Imagine Sweet Corn Soup and the frozen corn. Cook over a medium low heat for at least 1 hour stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. The soup is done when the potatoes are tender. 

This should make between 4 to 8 servings depending on the size of your bowls. 

Cranberry Chicken

Lets face it, it has been quite a while since I posted a new recipe. This one is a new family favorite. It has only 5 ingredients. Takes less than 5 minutes to put together. As a bonus it has 4 servings. It also tastes good cold.

Cranberry Chicken

2 Large chicken breasts, skinless and boneless about 1 pound

1 cup of cranberry sauce, I use the chunky kind

1/2 cup of water

a pinch of salt and pepper

4 quart LeCreuset Cast iron pot with lid or something of a similar weight.

Spray the inside of of your LeCruset 4 quart soup pot with Pam. Who ever is washing the pot can thank me later. Wash the chicken and place in the pot. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover the chicken breasts with all the cranberry sauce, you will have a nice thick layer. Add the water to the bottom of the pan. Cover and place the pot in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. The chicken will not come out dry. The chicken will also be very pink on the outside when cooked. 

Let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes in the covered pot before slicing. Slice into medallions no thicker then 1/2 inch and arrange on 4 plates. It is also good to have a little extra cranberry sauce on the table in case anyone wants a little more cranberry sauce on the chicken.

I hope that you enjoy this quick and easy recipe as much as we do. 

Chicken Chili

It has been a while since I posted a recipe. We are trying to cut down on red meat so I have been working on chicken dishes. Here is a new on that has been husband approved.

Chicken Chili

2 large chicken breasts - skinned , boned and rinsed
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 pound frozen sweet white corn
2-15 ounces cans of diced tomatoes - do not drain this will be the liquid for the chili
1 - 15 ounce can or Red kidney Beans drained and rinsed
1 large sweet onion diced
salt
pepper
1tablespoon of your favorite chili powder. I use The Spice Hunter Salt Free Chili powder Blend

Optional

1 - 15 ounces can of black olives

In a 4 quart cover pot. I use my red soup pot. Add the olive oil and chicken. Salt and pepper as desired, I like to keep it on the light side. Cook the chicken on medium low for 15 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the onions. Cook the onions until translucent. while the onions are cooking cut the chicken in to bite size pieces. Put the chicken and the remaining ingredients into the pan. Cook covered on medium low for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

While that is cooking make your corn bread.

This recipe serves 5 as a main course.

The Friday Pattern -Wash Cloths and Beyond

This was the most wanted pattern by new knitters on Friday.

The pattern is for a wash cloth for new knitters this is a perfect pattern to leap off from. Use the needle size recommended by your yarn of choice. I like Lilly "Sugar and Cream" or Lion Brand cotton for dish cloths, but feel free to use any cotton you like.

Cast on 2

Row 1 knit one (K1), yarn over (YO), knit one (k1)

Row 2 knit one (K1), yarn over (YO), knit (K) till the end of the row.

Repeat row 2 till your wash cloth measures 10 inches up the diagonal side.

Row 3 knit 1 (k1), knit 2 together (k2tog), knit (K) till the end of the row.

When you have 2 stitches left on the needle bind off (BO).

Weave in the ends.


The abbreviations in the brackets are like the ones you would see in a typical knitting pattern. The pattern would look like this in in a typical book.

CO2

Row 1 K1, yo, K1

Row 2 K1, yo, K till the end of the row

Repeat row 2 till the diagonal measure is 10"

Row 3 K1, k2tog, k till the end of the row.

repeat row 3 till you have 2 stitches left on the needle.

BO and weave in ends

The thing I like about this basic pattern is that it can be grown into different projects by just adding a little more knitting. I like to use cable needles when knitting blankets, the weight is distributed more evenly and does not get as heavy as if knit on straight needles.

For a preemie blanket knit till the diagonal is 20-26 inches long. I would use a soft washable yarn with NO metal threads in it. The nurses in the NICU's generally do not like wool because it tends to felt when washed and is not quite suitable for their smaller charges.

For a full term baby blanket knit till the diagonal is 36". Use any yarn you like. If it is meant to be a show only blanket the yarn does not matter, if however, you want a usable blanket make sure that the yarn is machine wash and dry able.

To make different size blankets make 9 (3 blocks by 3 blocks)to 30 (5 blocks across by 6 blocks long) wash cloth size squares and sew them together. This is a good way to use left over yarn. Once the squares are sewn together a a small crochet trim to bring the project together.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment with your e-mail and I will answer to the best of my ability. Have fun knitting and see where the yarn will take you.

Have a wonderful day.

Another Red Pot Recipe

Eric is home sick today, he pick up heaven only knows what at that giant perti dish called school. So in honor of Eric being sick I will give you a very easy red pot recipe. By the way this is what my husband is getting for dinner tonight.

Brisket

1 Brisket
1 package of Lipton's onion soup mix
4 cups of water
non stick cooking spray.

Spray the red pot with non-stick cooking spray. Add the brisket and 4 cups of water. Sprinkle the onion soup over the brisket. Place in the oven and cook at 350 degrees for 3 to 4 hours.

Serve on soft rolls with a salad or vegetable sticks for a complete meal.

The only problem I have every encountered with this recipe is that the meat gets so tender that it is almost impossible to slice sometimes, and we just have to scoop the meat out of the pan.

Please let me know how you like the brisket.

I am sorry to say that there is no vegan or vegetarian alternatives to this recipe.

Please have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

My Red Pot Soup Recipe

You may have noticed that I put a large Le Creuset pot in my Amazon favorites box. So I will give you an easy recipe to go along with it.

1 to 2 pounds of stew meat or chicken cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1 package of Streits dry soup mix any flavor
1 pound of frozen mixed vegetables
any vegetables just hang around in the fridge, diced in 1'' cubes

In the Le Creuset pot add the olive oil and meat, season with salt and pepper. Brown meat till well browned and no pink showing.

Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. skim the pot of any crud that bubbles to the top. Add the large bag with the main ingredients and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. Add the seasoning bag and simmer for 15 more minutes.

Add the frozen mixed vegetables and any other handy vegetables and simmer about 1 hour more. I usually pile the vegetables to with in a 1/2 inch of the top and cover. At this point I stir about every 10 to 15 minutes and then after an hour put the pot on low check the broth level and stirring every 10 to 15 minutes.

I like to cook this soup for 2 to 4 hours, the more time it has on low the better.

For the Vegan option just leave the meat and the olive oil out.

This soup taste even better reheated.

Please try this and enjoy.