First and Foremost HAPPY NEW YEAR! We are so looking forward to 2017! Secondly, if you are looking for a salad you can eat with a spoon, look no further. Roasted Squash and Quinoa Salad will fill you up while keeping your New Year’s resolutions intact! Read on for the recipe and for my resolutions…maybe you can help hold me to them!…
Roasted Pear and Apple Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
I love winter food. Short ribs and mashed potatoes. Pastas and soups. My dutch oven works overtime putting out delicious comfort foods. But despite a temperature today of -21 (I am sadly not exaggerating about that one), I just craved salad. But it had to be a hearty one. One with a tangy dressing. A salad like Roasted Pear and Apple Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette.…
Apple French Toast Bake
We just celebrated my very favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. I don’t know about you, but for me it wasn’t just the Thanksgiving dinner, but also all of the other meals that made the weekend so special. I hosted the Thanksgiving holiday at my cabin, and that meant that I also needed breakfast for a crowd. Apple French Toast Bake is one I’ve been making for a few years, and is both adult and kid approved. And the very best thing about it? Not only is it foolproof, but you make it ahead of time!…
Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake Ice Cream
The world needs a treat right now. Every last one of us needs 10 minutes of time away from the media firestorm to indulge in a decadent treat. Something that just tastes good. 10 minutes of pure happiness without regret. You know-treat yo self! I recommend this Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake Ice Cream. All of the flavors of autumn, the decadence of a special treat, and 100% homemade. Who says it has to be summer to make ice cream? This ice cream may just bring peace!…
Salted Caramel Apple Tart
I think I’ve previously mentioned my trip to the Apple House, where I bought too many apples (Is too many apples even a thing?). Although I made this fabulous Autumn Apple Crisp, which my family devoured, I also wanted to make something a bit more elegant. I’ve been on a tart kick lately-Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Tart, Raspberry Cream Cheese Tart, and I’ve found them not only easy to make, but also visually pleasing. Since I had just made Salted Caramel Sauce, and had so many apples, it seemed like a match made in heaven to create this Salted Caramel Apple Tart!…
Autumn Apple Crisp
Despite the lingering warm weather, it is definitely fall here in Minnesota. The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school and the apple orchards are in full swing. On a beautiful fall Monday morning I went to the Apple House where the University of Minnesota sells apples from its orchards. Of course I bought many too bags of apples for my family to eat-and then needed a plan. My kids knew exactly what they wanted me to do with the extra apples. It was unanimous! Autumn Apple Crisp!…
Good (Food) Reads
Another week, another batch of Good Food Reads for ya’ll. This week’s picks are focused on fall salads, comfort foods, and sweet treats for all. I’m particularly excited to get back into soup season and plan to make the 5 ingredient Sweet Potato Chili later this week – that is, if it’s not still 80 degrees. Otherwise, I’ll be sticking with salads. And apples, apples, apples! (PS: If you haven’t yet gotten your first taste of honeycrisps this fall, run to your nearest grocery store! They are fantastic this year.)
First on my list of must make recipes is this gorgeous Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Stilton (Cooking Light). I am always looking for ways to up my salad game and I love that this one takes advantage of the beautiful bounty of apples we have right now.
Another fall favorite, this recipe for Cinnamon Apple Cake (Cooking Light), was first published in 1997 but continues to be a favorite.
Cooking Light really hit it out of the park this week – I want to make so many things right now! I’m loving this article on Everything You Need To Know About Quick Pickling (Cooking Light). Do you do any pickling? I’ve never really tried but can’t wait to get it a shot.
Salted Caramel Pots de Creme (Goodhousekeeping). Because sometimes you just really need dessert. And not the healthy kind, either.
Easy Chicken Nuggets via Weelicious, for the kiddos in your life. Fancy them up with a little honey mustard and everyone can enjoy in this easy, family friendly recipe!
Speaking of dessert, these Espresso Brownie Sandwich Cookies (Broma Bakery) look amazing and would be a great weekend dessert.
One of my favorite things about cooler temps is that I can really up my soup and chili intake. In my house, we probably have chili once a week in the fall and winter. I’m anxious to see if this 5 Ingredient Sweet Potato Turkey Chili (Pinch of Yum) makes it into the husband and kid approved rotation.
Another salad that would be perfect for bringing to work: Kale & Quinoa Salad with Dates, Almonds, and Citrus Dressing (The Kitchn). Yum.
Turkey Vegetable Ragu (The Baker Chick). I love that this ragu seems so versatile. I’m thinking it will be great with pasta, zoodles, or maybe even with stuffed peppers!
Grilled Blue Cheese with Honey and Walnut Pesto (Molly Yeh). I just can’t even describe how much I want one of these sandwiches right now. I’ve been sticking to pasteurized cheeses this pregnancy and am excited about some gorgeous, double cream, raw blue cheese in my future!
Well friends, that’s it for this week’s Good Food Reads. I hope you found some kitchen inspiration. As always, we love to hear from you, so send us your links, things you want to try, or your kitchen successes!
A Fabulous Winter Salad
Recently, I was asked to bring a salad for a dinner at a friend’s house. The morning of the event, I still did not know what I was going to bring. To me, salad is a summer-ish food and despite my deep love for all things salad, I just had a mental block. While looking for a good option I stumbled upon Melissa D’Arabian’s Pomegranate, Squash and Apple salad from her cookbook Supermarket Healthy. (To be honest, I stumbled upon two of her fabulous salads, but the other salad is a topic for another post!) …