Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Posted on by aurorameyer


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Life with a newborn (now technically an infant!) was hectic before I went back to work. Now, it’s even more of a whirlwind and I started looking for shortcuts for many meals, especially breakfast. Since my usual dairy laden cereal and breakfast bar are now out due to baby A’s milk protein issues. Enter my favorite kitchen appliance (aside from the food processor): the crockpot.

With some steel cut oats, the applesauce I made and froze this fall and a few other ingredients I had an easy breakfast that I didn’t have to think about! Even better, it was automatically dairy free!

Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup steel cut oats
  • 1 apple chopped
  • 2 cups applesauce I used this one!
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • Your favorite non-stick spray

Instructions
 

  • Spray the crockpot with non-stick spray. Add the apple sauce.
  • Add the oatmeal.
  • Add the apples.
  • Add the water and cinnamon and sugar.
  • Stir to combine. Just make sure the oats are all in contact with the liquid.
  • Cover and cook on low for at least 7 hours.
  • I accidentally cooked mine for 9 and it turned out fine. This is what it looked like when I woke up.
  • Spoon into bowls and enjoy!

Notes

Optional: If you are using plain applesauce, plan to add some cinnamon. You can also sweeten with honey or white sugar if you prefer. You can also add nutmeg.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion:
Delicious, easy and filling. I can’t wait to try more overnight breakfast options especially as baby A grows! It also reheats well if you have leftovers.

C’s Baklava

Posted on by aurorameyer

 

I always thought baklava was too complex to try at home. Then C found this amazing recipe in The Complete Middle East Cook Book and not only proved me wrong, but it was hands down the best baklava I’ve ever had.

C's Baklava

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Ingredients
  

Base

  • 20 in sheets fillo pastry dough look for itthe freezer section!
  • 3/4 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 2 cups finely chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup finely chopped almonds
  • 1/4 cup sugar –
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Syrup Ingredients:

  • 1 cups and 1/2sugar
  • 1 cups and 1/2water
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • thinly peeled lemon rind (in a pinch we've left this out, but it does make a difference!)
  • piece smallof cinnamon bark we used a small cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • If your walnuts and almonds are whole, or not ground pretty fine, throw them in the food processor.
  • Mix the nuts, sugar and spices together in a bowl.
  • Butter the sides and bottom of a large baking dish.
  • Place one sheet of the fillo dough on the bottom of the baking dish and brush with melted butter. Repeat eight times.
  • Spread some of the nut mixture over the buttered fillo dough. Top with another sheet of fillo dough.
  • Butter that sheet.
  • Top with a second sheet of fillo dough.
  • Butter that sheet. ]
  • Spread the remaining nut mixture over butter fillo dough.
  • Top with the remaining nine sheets of fillo dough, making sure to butter each sheet. Brush the top with butter and using a sharp knife, cut a diamond shape and sprinkle with water to prevent the top layers from curling.
  • Bake on the center shelf for 30 minutes.
  • Then move up one shelf and cook for another 30 minutes. You'll want to keep an eye on it, if the top browns too quickly, cover with foil.
  • While the baklava is cooking, make the syrup. Note: we've discovered the longer the syrup sits, the better it is. We've even canned it for later.
  • Place the sugar, water and honey in a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
  • Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
  • Be careful! This boils quickly and the last thing you want is for the mixture to boil over. Manage your heat and let boil for 15 minutes. We found stirring continuously helps prevent boil overs.
  • Strain and let cool.
  • When the baklava is done baking, spoon the syrup over the pastry. Leave it alone for several hours (this step is the hardest, but I promise it is worth it).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion: This recipe takes more than the  hour of baking time and makes at least 30 pieces. You might want to cut them small, unlike some treats this is best in small, completely satisfying quantities.

Tyler Florence’s Roasted Sweet Potato Banana Puree

Posted on by aurorameyer

As promised, now that Thanksgiving is over and we have had a chance to do a post-mortem on what worked and what didn’t, I’ll be sharing the recipes that made the cut. First, is this delicious take on sweet potato casserole.

C found this recipe on the Fabulousfoodshow.com and has perfected it in the last year.  We kept it warm in a crock pot while other dishes took up precious oven and burner space.

Tyler Florence's Roasted Sweet Potato Banana Puree

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Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 6 medium sweet potatoes scrubbed
  • 6 medium bananas
  • 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 cups and 1/2heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest fresh is best!
  • 2 bay leaves
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Topping Ingredients:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and put them on a roasting pan.
  • On another roasting pan prick bananas and lay out in a single layer.
  • Roast sweet potatoes for 45 minutes until very soft and roast bananas for 25 minutes. (If you are in a huge hurry, you can boil the sweet potatoes, but do not try boiling the bananas!)
  • Remove both pans from the oven and allow to cool slightly.  
  • In a small sauce pot heat cream with bay leaf until reduced by half, then keep warm until ready to puree potatoes and bananas. 
  • When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into the bowl of a food processor (A blender will work, but only if the potatoes are cool).
  • Add peeled bananas. Season with salt, add butter, cream (make sure you took the bay leaves out!), cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and puree until smooth (or if you like it a little chunky, a little chunky).
  • Pour into an oven-proof dish. 
  • Make the topping by combining flour, cold butter and brown sugar in the food processor and pulse until you have the texture of coarse bread crumbs.
  • Sprinkle on top of the puree and place under the broiler until golden brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion:
I really love this dish. This year we actually forgot the topping and it was still just as wonderful! You can make it a couple of days (no more than 2!) ahead of your holiday meal and keep it refrigerated. Then reheat in a crock pot like we did or in the oven. If you are keeping it in the crock pot, sprinkle each serving with the topping and use a brûlée torch to make it golden brown and crispy.

Indian at home: Chicken Vindaloo

Posted on by aurorameyer
Indian at home: Chicken Vindaloo by Dispatches from the Castle
Indian at home.

Sadly, our town is lacking in good Indian cuisine. Which means, this fall J and I have decided to figure out how to make it at home. We’ll tackle naan soon, especially since we discovered how easy the main dishes can be. We tried Chicken Vindaloo from our new favorite site rasamalaysia.com. The directions were easy to follow, easier than finding all the ingredients! With a few modifications, we had a meal that rivaled any local Indian restaurant.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut up into 8 pieces and skin removed (We used about 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts because that’s what we had on hand)
1 onion, chopped (we used a large yellow onion)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 tsp each Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons oil (we used olive)

Spice Blend:
1/2 cup vinegar (white)
4-5 dried red Chile peppers (we used dried, whole red chilis)
4 cloves (we used ground)
8 garlic cloves, skin removed (we used minced about 2 tablespoons)
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Add vinegar and soak all the ingredients needed for the spice blend for 15-20 minutes. Then blend these into a fine paste using a blender. (we used the food processor and with the added vinegar, this turned very runny. Next time, we’ll remove the spices from the vinegar and then re-add it at the end). Add the spice mixture paste to the chicken and toss well to evenly coat all the chicken pieces. Let the chicken marinate for 4 to 6 hours. In a large wok heat the oil on medium heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stirring often. Add the chopped onions, tomato paste, salt and pepper to the chicken. Give everything a good stir. Finally add 1/2 cup of water (we omitted this step since it was already pretty runny), cover the lid of the skillet and lower the heat to low. Let the chicken simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes or till well done and the oil start to ooze from the curry. If you prefer little thinner gravy add water as need and let it simmer for another 4 to 5 minutes before serving. Like the original author, we prefer the gravy to be thick and sticking to the meat pieces. Serve immediately over basmati rice.

My Opinion:
The sauce was a little runny for our tastes and it wasn’t quite as spicy as we like our vindaloo. Next time, we’ll use the spice blend as a run without the vinegar and add it at the end.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Posted on by aurorameyer
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Jamaican Jerk Chicken

I’ll admit I was skeptical about this recipe. But after one bite, I wasn’t skeptical at all. It was deliciously flavorful and less labor intensive than we thought it would be. Warning: it’s pretty filling.

Ingredients:
1 tb Ground allspice
1 tb Dried thyme
1 1/2 ts Cayenne pepper
1 1/2 ts Black Pepper freshly ground
1 1/2 ts Ground sage
3/4 ts Ground nutmeg
3/4 ts Ground cinnamon
2 tb Salt
2 tb Garlic powder
1 tb Sugar
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c Soy sauce
3/4 c White vinegar
1/2 c Orange juice
Juice of 1 lime
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, Seeded and finely chopped (if you can’t find this, feel free to use a habanero)
1 c white onion Chopped
3 Green onions finely chopped
4 6-oz Chicken breasts Trimmed of fat, up to 8-oz each

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the allspice, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sage, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, garlic powder and sugar. With a wire whisk, slowly add olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice and lime  juice. Add the Scotch bonnet pepper (we used habaneros since we couldn’t find Scotch Bonnet), onion and green onions and mix well. Reserve about a cup or so of the marinade to use later. Add the chicken breasts, cover and marinate for at least an hour, but the longer the better! Remove the breasts from the marinade and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. If you prefer a sear, turn on the broiler and broil each side first for a few minutes and then bake. Or if you prefer, fire up the grill and cook for 6 minutes on each side or until fully cooked. While grilling or baking, baste with the left over marinade. Heat the rest of the leftover marinade and serve on the side for dipping (we just did this on the stove). If you prefer more intense flavors, feel free to double the spices.

My opinion:
Even without doubling the spices, this was plenty hot. It was the right combination of sweet and spicy and the chicken was very moist. We will try this on the grill next time! The rice and slaw will be in another post. I”m having trouble locating the original recipes to link back to at the moment.