The Sweet Kitchen: Salted Caramel Blondies- a healthier version

 Salted Caramel is my new obsession. I love salted caramel coffee syrup in my coffee of course sugar free. I bought some salted caramel sugar on vacation to try, and I thought this would be a good way to try it. I made a healthier version using sugar alternatives and white whole wheat flour. They are good like this but would of course be so much better with all the full sugar and white flour. If you decide to try it the normal way let me know what you think? This is basically the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe with some additions and made into blondies instead of individual cookies. I think I will need to try these the regular way another time to see how they compare. 

The ingredients:

2 1/4 C white whole wheat flour (or all purpose)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 C (2 sticks) butter softened

3/4 C granulated sugar (I used 1/2C truvia sugar blend)

3/4 C brown sugar (I used 3/4 C coconut sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla powder by extract had expired)

2 large eggs

2 C salted caramel Lillys baking chips 

1 pump of salted caramel syrup

sprinkle of salted caramel sugar

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.

Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large bowl until creamy.

Add in eggs 1 at a time and beat in between, then add the pump of salted caramel syrup and combine well. 

Gradually beat in flour mixture. 

Stir in baking chips.

Spray 9x13 pan with spray and spread batter into pan and spread until even. 

Sprinkle the top with the salted caramel sugar.

Bake for approximately 20-23 minutes until golden brown. 

 Cool then cut into bars. 

Apey's Kitchen original recipes: Mexican Street Corn Breakfast Casserole and Street Corn Verde Chicken Enchiladas

 I have been inspired lately by some street corn recipes I have had and thought I would try my hand at a street corn twist to a couple recipes. 

Mexican Street Corn Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

8 eggs

Milk

Crumbled Bacon

Can of Green Chiles

Frozen corn

1/3 C mayo

1/2 C shredded pepperjack cheese

1/4 cilantro or cilantro chili chutney

1 tsp garlic powder

Lime juice

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray casserole pan. 

Warm corn and place in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the eggs, bacon, cheese baking powder, and milk. 

In casserole dish, layer bacon, then corn mixture and bake for 10 minutes. 

In separate bowl, scramble eggs with milk adding some seasonings. I used black lime, garlic, and paprika. 

Pour egg mixture over the corn and bacon. 

Bake in the oven until eggs are set between 30-45 minutes. Set aside to cool and set.

Street Corn Verde Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

8 flour tortillas

rotisserie chicken shredded

frozen corn heated

8oz cream cheese

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of black lime

Pinch of taco seasoning

Pinch of smoked paprika

18 oz green enchilada sauce

Salsa Verde

sliced or diced jalapenos

2 C shredded pepper jack cheese divided

Optional: cilantro or cilantro chili chutney and jalapeno ranchero sauce

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray casserole dish. Spread 1 C of the enchilada sauce in the bottom.

In medium bowl combine the chicken, softened cream cheese, corn, seasonings, jalapenos, corn, and 1 C of the pepperjack cheese.

Fill each tortilla with 1/2 C of the chicken mixture. Roll and place seam down in the baking dish and repeat until all tortillas used and pan full. 

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle remaining cheese over top. 

Bake uncovered in preheated over for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese browned. 

Garnish with sour cream, salsa, cilantro, guacamole, tomatoes, or black olives. 

It was fun experimenting with the flavors and both turned out pretty good. A couple things I would do differently is use a different cheese like Cotija, and on the enchiladas I didn't have enough of the enchilada sauce. It really does need the 18oz to make it really well. It still works and is tasty but would be better with more of the sauce. 

I used low carb tortillas, so this is not too bad on the carbs even though there is corn it is not a whole lot per serving. Plus, it has a lot of protein. 

The Soup Kitchen: Three Sisters Stew

 In the Native American culture there are the three sisters, which are beans, corn, and squash. This is due to the symbiotic relationship they have when being grown together. Three sisters stew combines hominy, beans, and squash with lean bison traditionally. This recipe is from Lee Garman, the executive chef of Owamni, a Minneapolis restaurant started by Sean Sherman. It is a Native American restaurant that focuses on purchasing from indigenous food producers locally and nationally. They avoid wheat flour, cane sugar, and dairy. This is due to the fact that they were brought in by outside influences. The flavors are traditionally rounded out by lean bison, sweet onions, and garlic. The three sisters companion planting originated in North America 3000 years ago. They support each other by providing nutrients for each to thrive. 

I loved hominy growing up so I was excited to try this stew. I also tried to stay as close to the recipe as I could with what the Native Americans would have used. Some changes or additions I made were using ground beefalo instead of bison, using butter instead of duck fat, and adding some chipotle pepper powder. I also used frozen butternut squash instead of fresh. 

The ingredients:

1lb butternut squash

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp kosher salt divided, plus more for taste

1lb bison ribeye cut into cubes

2 TBSP vegetable oil

2 TBSP duck fat

2 medium yellow onions sliced (3 C)

1 TBSP minced garlic

water as needed

8 C beef stock divided

2 cans hominy drained and rinsed

2 cans of black beans drained and rinsed

The recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place squash cut side up on foil lined baking sheet. Rub cut sides with maple syrup and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Roast in preheated oven until tender approx. 40-50 minutes. 

2. Sprinkle bison with 1 tsp of salt. Heat oil in large pot, add bison and cook until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove bison, reserving drippings in pot, add duck fat, onions, and garlic, scraping the bottom to dissolve any browned bits. Cook onion mixture over medium-high heat stirring frequently until very softened and caramelized. Add water 2-4 TBSP at a time as needed to deglaze and prevent browned bits from burning. 

3. Scoop roasted squash flesh into a blender, and discard the skins, add the onion mixture and 4 C of the stock. Process until smooth about 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

4. Return squash mixture to the pot, add bison, remaining 4 C stock, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to simmer over medium. Reduce heat to medium low, partially cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until bison is fork tender about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Add additional water 1/2 C to 1 C at a time as needed to keep bison submerged adjust heat as needed to maintain a simmer. 

5. Stir in hominy and black beans into pot, cook uncovered and stirring occasionally, until heated through, adjusting consistency with water as needed and seasoning to taste with salt, if desired. 

Note: I made this in the crockpot with ground beefalo which has a much faster cook time, so I cooked the meat with some onion then added to crockpot and added all the other ingredients and cooked on low for 5 hours. Mine was not super thick. I also made some cornbread to go with this. Next time I might add the cornbread in the soup to thicken it up a bit. If you are not a fan of hominy you may not like this stew. I can definitely taste the hominy more than the other things it seems. 

Recipe from foodandwine.com

The Sweet Kitchen: Healthy Spicy Apple Crisp

 With fall comes all things apples, and the markets have apples galore to choose from for you cooking and baking desires. If you are like me and love a good fruit crisp but need to watch what you eat this recipe is great. This recipe has the addition of warming spices to make it very comforting. Be prepared this is not a runny fruit crisp which threw me a bit, but it tastes very good. 

For the topping:

3/4 C old fashioned oats

1/4 C whole wheat flour

1 tsp group cinnamon

2 TBSP maple syrup

1.5 TBSP butter

For the filling:

6 C diced red apples

2 TBSP cornstarch

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp Chai seasoning or (1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cardamom, 1/8 tsp ground clove)

The recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat 8" pan with nonstick spray.

Prepare the streusel topping. Whisk together the oats, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the maple syrup and butter melted. Stir until fully incorporated. 

Prepare the filling. Toss the apples with the cornstarch and spices until completely coated. 

Transfer the filling to the baking dish and gently press down with a spatula. Sprinkle evenly with the topping and break up any clumped pieces. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until apples are fork tender. 

Cool completely to room temperature then refrigerate for 3 hours before serving to allow the juices to fully thicken. (I may have not let it refrigerate long enough)

The Italian Kitchen: Spicy Florentine Boursin Pasta for two.

 

Awhile back I made a feta pasta with cherry tomatoes and mentioned I wanted to make a version with Boursin cheese as well. Today is that day and I have to say I prefer the Boursin cheese version. It's sweeter because the tanginess of the feta overwhelmed the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes, but the Boursin does not. This is a very easy recipe to throw together on a weeknight. This version would serve at least two you can double the recipe for more. I was surprised how different this tasted all due to the type of cheese. 

The ingredients:

Garlic and Herb Boursin cheese 1 block

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

drizzle of olive oil (apprx 2 TBSP)

black pepper sprinkled all over

pasta of choice (I used cavatappi)

1-1.5 tsp garlic or garlic powder

1 TBSP Calabrian pepper paste or spicy pepper paste from Italy

some chopped spinach (I used frozen but fresh would work as well)

The recipe:

In a small casserole dish spread the tomatoes and drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Make a well in the middle for the Boursin cheese and drizzle some olive oil on top with the pepper. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 

While that bakes, cook your pasta until al dente. 

Once the tomatoes and Boursin are done remove from the oven and squash the tomatoes until the juices are released and combine with the cheese. You will have chunks of the tomato skins left. Add the pepper paste, garlic, and spinach and mix to combine. 

Once the pasta is done cooking toss in the sauce or add pasta to a bowl and top with the sauce, whichever you prefer. 

Note: if doubling the recipe use a 9x13 casserole dish and you will want 2-3 pints of cherry tomatoes and 2 blocks of Boursin cheese. 

Some special ingredients I used:

I used a spicy Calabrian pesto infused olive oil, this would be great with regular olive oil, or a basil infused one as well. 

I used the spicy pepper paste I have been adding to most of my pasta dishes it is not super spicy but adds a bit of spice. 

The Soup Kitchen: Chicken Curry with Brown Rice

I was inspired by the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Curry in a Hurry but adjusted for the slow cooker and of course changed some things up. 

The Ingredients:

2 Tbsp salted butter

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 medium onion diced

1 bag frozen carrots and peas

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 can coconut milk

4 C chicken broth

2 Tbsp honey

salt

Pepper

1 rotisserie chicken meat

1/4 c cilantro

2 dashes of Sriracha

1 small lime juiced

1 C brown rice

Red pepper flakes and cilantro to garnish

The Recipe:

I sautéed the butter, seasonings, and veggies for a couple minutes then added all the other ingredients and cooked on HI for 3 hours. 

Garnish with red pepper flakes and cilantro.