Apple Bread Pudding

Apple Bread Pudding

We have a lot of apples at our house, and bread that I need to get rid of. I'm trying to find some more creative ways to use them, and last week I found a recipe for apple bread pudding, that turned out all right for us. I'm not a huge fan of bread pudding, so I can't give a very good opinion, but my husband really enjoyed it (and ate most of it). You can find the recipe here. I of course add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves instead of just the cinnamon. I also added a little more apple than the recipe called for, and it turned out fine. The sauce that goes with it separated for me, but the taste was good. I would probably opt for some vanilla ice cream as a topping if I make it again.

Baked Oatmeal

Baked oatmeal topped with a little cream

My dear friend Crystal over at Serving God and Family has been making this baked oatmeal for a while, and I've been drooling every time she talked about it. She finally posted the link to the recipe, and I was all too happy to try it. I'd never had baked oatmeal before, but it's really quite something. It's not mushy oatmeal, but crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I think it's meant to be served with milk, more like a cereal. You can find the recipe here at All Recipes.

I modified the recipe a bit because I wanted to make honey almond baked oatmeal. I didn't have any eggs, so I used about 1/4 Cup homemade applesauce mixed with about 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. I substituted about 1/8 Cup honey for some of the brown sugar (though I would increase it for more of a honey flavor next time). In addition to the cinnamon, I also added ginger, nutmeg and a pinch of cloves (I put these four spices in any sweet thing I can). To give it a nice crunch I added about 1/3 Cup chopped almonds (I think I would also increase this next time). I omitted the dried cranberries as well.

Pan Grilled Chicken with Apple-Onion Sautee

Pan Grilled Chicken with Apple-Onion Sautee

Served with herb & butter rice

Tonight's recipe is the result of a last minute meal fix. Ken tried a "roasted chicken breast with marmalade recipe" and needless to say, the recipe was a disaster. After nearly losing lunch from tasting some of it, to the smoke alarms going off, I feel pretty accomplished for pulling a success out of the hat tonight.

2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/5 Onion, diced small
2 Apples, diced
1/2-1C Apple juice

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder to taste. Cook in a lightly oiled skilled until golden on both sides and cooked through. In a bigger pot, cook onions in a little olive oil until translucent, add a little salt, pepper, and garlic (I used powder, but would entertain the real thing next time). Add chopped apples and sautee for a few minutes, then add apple juice. Increase heat to high and let the liquid reduce by half. Add chicken breasts on top and reduce heat to medium/medium high. I started stirring the apples around the chicken so the chicken would absorb a good amount of the flavor. Cook down until the liquid is gone, apples are soft and starting to caramelize.
We served ours with herb & butter boxed rice, and it was fantastic. I'll definitely be making it again, intentionally next time. :)

Ken's Pancakes

Ken's Pancakes

Ken makes the most interesting pancakes I've ever had. He doesn't put any leavening agent in them like other pancakes, so they are thinner (like a crepe) and more dense than your average pancake. My favorite thing is that they are slightly sweet and buttery- I like to eat them plain, as well as with toppings.

11.5oz Flour (A little more than 2C)
2.5oz Granulated Sugar (Between 1/3C and 2/3C
2C Milk
2 Large Eggs

Sift flour, add sugar. Add wet ingredients and stir until well incorporated. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Preheat skillet on medium heat (level 5 on our stove). Melt a little butter to cover the pan. Add 2/3C batter for large pancakes and 1/3C for smaller pancakes. Before flipping, add a little butter around the edges of the pancake. You'll know it's ready to turn when the edges turn slightly tan. It takes about a minute for the first side and less than a minute for the second. Pancakes should be slightly golden- pay attention, they burn quickly.
Serve warm plain or with desired toppings- we add butter and syrup or butter with cinnamon and sugar. They also work well with fillings. Enjoy!

Bagel Chips and Dip

Onion Bagel Chips with Garlic Dill Sour Cream Dip

Ken and I decided to try making bagel chips last night with some leftover onion bagels we had. These chips are great for snacking on or taking to parties. After they're baked, they keep really well in a resealable plastic bag. To make them:

Bagel of your choice (we used onion, and found that one bagel, sliced, fit on one sheet pan)
Butter

Slice bagel in 1/4" rounds, butter and place on sheet pan. Bake at 325F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from sheet pan. Makes 20-24 chips, depending on the size of your bagel.

Dip:
Sour Cream
1-2tsp Garlic Powder
1-2tsp Dill

Stir a few tablespoons of sour cream in a small dish with garlic and dill. You can add the spices to taste, this amount makes enough for one or two bagel's worth of chips.

Citrus Garlic Ginger Chicken

Due to popular request, I have decided to post my "citrus garlic ginger chicken" recipe- yep, it's a mouthful! This is one of those recipes where you just kind of have to figure out how much of everything suits you. I don't measure, so these are rough estimates. Feel free to change the amounts to taste.

What you will need:
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Quart-size plastic storage/freezer bags
5 Cups Orange Juice (approximately)
3-4 Tbsp Garlic, finely chopped or minced
3-4 Tbsp Ginger, finely chopped or minced
Salt
Pepper
Steamed Rice for plating

Put each chicken breast in it's own plastic bag (I use the quart size) and pour enough orange juice to cover the breast. Add 1 Tbsp Garlic and 1 Tbsp Ginger to each bag. Let marinate in the fridge for an hour or two (or overnight if you want). Heat a skillet on medium with a little vegetable or olive oil. Place marinated chicken breasts in skillet (don't pour any marinade in). Lightly salt and pepper each side of chicken. Cook chicken for 7-10 minutes, then turn over, add remaining Garlic and Ginger, and cook for additional 7-10 minutes. Towards the end of cooking, pour in 1/2-3/4 Cup Orange juice and let it reduce to a thick liquid. Remove chicken from pan and let rest on cutting board while you add a little more orange juice to the sauce. It will be thin. Slice chicken and serve over steamed rice. Drizzle sauce over top. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Chip Muffins

This sweet treat comes from my friend Crystal at Serving God and Family. She has the best recipe for Chocolate Chip Muffins, and when I made them the entire process only took me 30 minutes- perfect if you're doing some last minute entertaining. The ingredients are simple, and I just used a bowl and spatula to mix everything, so no mixer clean up! They are great warm with a glass of milk. :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar (regular sugar)
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 Cups Milk
1/4 Cups Oil
1 Egg
1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips (can use milk or semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 400°F
Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until blended. Add in chocolate chips. Pour into greased or lined cupcake tins, fill 3/4 of the way. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.