Pumpkin Maple Tart

We're on a roll!  The first tart was polished off in less than a week so tried a festive fall one, a pumpkin maple tart that is also sweetened with banana. 

Ok so technically it's not a "tart" considering the definition of Tart, according to Dictionary.com,  is the following:

-noun
1. a small pie filled with cooked fruit or other sweetened preparation, usually having no top crust.
2. a covered pie containing fruit or the like.
3. Slang . a prostitute or promiscuous woman.
 
.....but we didn't know what else to name it and it is in a tart pan so we're going with it.

My daughter helped me with every aspect of this desert so this is a great one to make if you have a 2 year old!

Pumpkin Maple Tart

(**Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nut, Soy Free)

Serves 8

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Dry:

2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats

1/4 Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Earth Balance

Wet:

4 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1 mashed ripe banana

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup organic dried fruits, such as cranberries, figs, apricots and raisins, diced

Honey, Agave or Maple syrup for drizzling (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.  Add the wet to the dry and mix thoroughly. Spray tart pan with cooking spray and press crust evenly over bottom with a fork.

3. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until top is just beginning to brown. Cool and slice. Top with agave, honey or maple syrup if desired.

**Please note that when I state “allergy free” this is my attempt at gluten, egg, dairy, soy, peanut and cod fish free which are the allergies my daughter has. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian.

Black Forest Ham and Goat Cheese Sandwich on Tuscan Roasted Garlic Bread

I'm in a quest for a new blog look, starting with the photo.  My goal was to be able to take photos of my Black Forest ham sandwich and sweet potato, apple salad with apple cider vinaigrette on the dock (recipe to be posted later), but since I had my daughter and a friend with me all I managed to get was a shot of my wine glass.

Earlier in the day I shot this hibiscus in my front yard as well.

Then I got a shot of my birds of paradise.

I'm undecided on the photos. I'll keep on trying!

Luckily I did get a shot of the sandwich before we headed out.

The sandwich came out really well.  I splurged on some Tuscan Roasted Garlic organic artisan bread and the tomato was so fresh and juicy.  I loved the combo of the ham and creamy goat cheese together.

Black Forest Ham and Goat Cheese Sandwich on Tuscan Roasted Garlic Bread

Printable Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 slices of nice crusty bread of choice, I used Tuscan Roasted Garlic Bread

6 slices of Black Forest ham

4 Tbsp herbed goat cheese, softened

1 Tbsp coarse ground mustard

1 cup loosely packed arugula

4 tomato slices

Directions

1. Spray one side of each of the slices of bread and broil until lightly toasted on the outside and soft on the inside.  Spread the mustard on two of the halves and the goat cheese on the other two halves.

2. Layer a slice with mustard, 3 slices ham, half arugula, 2 slices tomato and one of the goat cheese bread slices.  Do the same with the second sandwich.  Slice each sandwich in half and enjoy!

Food Find: Garden Lites Zucchini Soufflé

 

Good news.  I have a food find to share with you all! 

Now that I've been learning more about the farming industry through Food Inc and especially The Omnivore's Dilemma I am a little embarrassed about some of my past food finds that have some really processed ingredients.  But in my defense, back then, all I did was look at nutrition info and not ingredients and I was really focused on weight loss.

Anyhoo.  For some reason this garden lites Zucchini Soufflé caught my eye in the frozen section.

And this is what got me at first...the ingredient list.

Zucchini, Potatoes, Egg Whites, Whole Eggs, Onions, Brown Sugar, Rice Flour, Sea Salt, Salt and Spices.

That is IT!

Now it doesn't say organic but I love the fact that I can read and understand each and every ingredient.

The second thing was the taste and the fill-me-up ability.  When I first took it out of the packaging I thought, well THAT looks more like a snack than lunch, but it was really filling.  And though the top gets pretty crunchy when microwaving at work the taste is a good balance of veggie/egg/onion flavor.

Now look at the nutrition info....

Cals 140

Fat 1.5g

Sat Fat 0g

Chol 20g

Sodium 320mg

Total Carb 24g

Dietary Fiber 3g

Sugars 5g

Protein 7g

2 points on Weight Watchers!

I have also tried the Roasted Vegetable (least fav) and the spinach (like it equally as much).

***Tip: If you are bringing this to work for lunch, bake it in the morning while you are getting ready so you only have to microwave it for a minute or so to heat it up.  It still tastes fine in the micro but doesn't come out that pretty.

Sautéed Chicken with Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

Finally I'm posting the recipe I made while I was camping. 

The original recipe for the aioli came from Kalyn's Kitchen and recently I had gotten a shipment of the new flavored mayo samples from Kraft.  The hot and spicy one sounded like a perfect one to try. 

It came out great...like a creamy buffalo wing sauce.  Believe it or not it also made a great dip for sushi instead of shrimp sauce!

I'm just warning you that this sauce comes out in hypercolor but it's delish.  The spiciness is cut by the creamy mayo.  Mmmm..... 

Sautéed Chicken with Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Aioli and Eggplant

Altered from this Kayln's Kitchen recipe
Serves 3

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients

Aioli:

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Aioli

1 jar roasted red peppers (8 oz.)

2 Tbsp garlic minced garlic

1/4 cup Kraft Hot and Spicy Mayo

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Chicken and Eggplant:

3 chicken breasts

Poultry seasoning such as Montreal

1 eggplant diced

1/8 cup white wine

Coarse salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder to taste

Olive oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Dry the diced red peppers as much as possible, squeezing the liquid out on several layers of paper towels.** Add the peppers and the remaining aioli ingredients to a food processor, blender or Magic Bullet and blend on high speed until mixture is creamy.

2. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.  Add the onion and cook five minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Season the chicken breast on both sides with poultry seasoning and spray with cooking spray.  Move the onions to the side of the pan and add the chicken.  Cook on first side for about six minutes, until it begins to brown.

4. Turn chicken breasts and add the eggplant.  Season eggplant with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Cook on the second side for about six to seven minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

5. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside to rest, leaving eggplant in the skillet to continue cooking.  Add a dash of white wine to the pan, about 1/8 cup, stir to deglaze, scraping the brown bits on the bottom.  Cook an additional 6 to 10 minutes or until the eggplant begins to brown.

**Note:

The paper towels keep the aioli from becoming too liquidy

Shrimp, Kale and Spinach with Couscous, Feta and Toasted Pine Nuts

Whenever I have some shrimp and kale I end up making my recipe for sautéed shrimp, kale and feta with toasted pine nuts. I know I should branch out but every time I eat it I wish a made a double batch; however, just to keep things fresh and new I changed it up a bit.  This time I added spinach and couscous to soak up the wine and onion broth.

I like adding couscous as it is high in fiber and protein, about 6 grams and 7 grams respectively, and it adds a nice nutty flavor and a texture similar to bulgur wheat.  Couscous is a type of semolina wheat...I think of it like little mini pastas.  Another plus is that it cooks super fast.  Just five minutes in boiling water!

Shrimp, Kale and Spinach with Couscous, Feta and Toasted Pine Nuts

Printable Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

2/3 cup whole wheat couscous (2 servings) cooked to package directions
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
Greek dressing, to cover shrimp
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
2-3 Tbsp chicken broth or water
2 tsp minced garlic
1 bunch of fresh kale, washed, destemmed and chopped
Dash of semi-dry white wine
4 cups baby spinach
Handful of toasted pine nuts
1 tsp red wine vinegar
4 Tbsp feta cheese
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Place the shrimp in a medium bowl and pour Greek or Italian dressing over, toss to coat.

2. Spray a large, straight sided skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.

3. Add the onions and cook until soft, about five minutes. Add chicken broth or water as needed to keep onions from sticking. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.

4. Place the shrimp in the pan and cook for about a minute until first side begins to turn pink. Turn to second side and top with kale. Cover and cook an additional two minutes.

5. Pour a dash of white wine to the pan and stir to combine shrimp and kale mixture. Cook two more minutes.

6. Remove pan from heat and stir spinach.  Gently mix to wilt.  Add in couscous, handful of toasted pine nuts and 1 tsp red wine vinegar.

7. Top each serving with 1 Tbsp feta cheese.

Honey, Balsamic and Fresh Fig Tart (Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Nut Free)

I had some figs that were just asking me to bake them in my new tart pan so I said ok.  I figured why not make it **allergy free so I can share it with my little muffin?

After much searching I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, something all natural that had a good balance of taste and nutrition, so I created my own.

I have to admit when it first came out it needed something.  I drizzled some more honey over the top.  Ah yes.  That was it.

Here's the evidence that it came out well.  I ate my whole serving plus a half.  Notice that little sliver above and then compare to the hole below.  Doesn't fit does it?  I had to give it the old fork taste test.  And then another taste.  Ok and one more.

Honey, Balsamic and Fresh Fig Tart

Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Nut Free***

Printable Recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats 
1/4 Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour 
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Earth Balance
4 Tbsp local honey 
3 Tbsp applesauce

Topping
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
12 oz fresh figs, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.


2. Mix the crust ingredients in a medium bowl.  Spray tart pan with cooking spray and press crust evenly over bottom with a fork.


3. Rinse the bowl and whisk the honey and balsamic.  Add sliced figs and gently toss.  Layer figs over crust in any pattern you like.  Pour any additional balsamic mixture over top.


4. Bake 20 minutes.  Cool and slice.  Top with additional honey if desired.

**Please note that when I state “allergy free” this is my attempt at gluten, egg, dairy, soy, peanut and cod fish free which are the allergies my daughter has. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian.

Tips: 

#1 Local honey is great for allergies!

#2 If you don't have allergies and don't have the special ingredients just sub what you have!

Instead of gluten free rolled oats just use old fashioned

Instead of gluten free baking flour just use whole wheat or all purpose
Instead of Earth Balance use butter

Crooked River State Park, GA

Here's a quick recap of my camping trip.

Daisy, Mom and Dad's new rescue pup

First wine.  Inexpensive chard.  Refreshing!

(I think the name was what got me.)

A campground view.  This used to be a road!

A little cupcake by the fire.

Taking time to stop and smell the flowers.

A day at Fernandina.

And the next night's wine.  Thanks Courtney!

Cooking that delicious dinner of chicken thighs, roasted red pepper aioli and caramelized eggplant with white wine.  Mmmm...

Notice how well the bright sauce goes with the Sesame Street plates and the garishly colored camping table cloth.  Ok so this isn't the best photo of such an amazing dish but look at what I had to work with here.  Don't worry, I'm doing a redo of this dish and promise to get a better photo.

The next day we hit an army and navy surplus store (my dad is an ex-Marine).  Here we encountered Bruiser, the very fluffy, very large and very sweet Newfoundland.  My little one even got to take a ride!

Our last day was spent at the most beautiful park in St. Marys, GA.

Genetically Modified Salmon. Join the discussion!

Have you heard the news about the FDA considering approval of the sale of genetically modified salmon for human consumption?  As if not labeling genetically modified plants isn't enough, they are even debating on whether to label the salmon! 

How do you feel about genetically modified foods? 

As you may know, my daughter is allergic to pretty much everything and my local natural food store, Native Sun, was so helpful with helping me find foods that my daughter could eat.  While discussing the emergence of allergies with one of their food researchers, in regards to soy in particular, I mentioned that I don't remember any children I knew having food allergies such as soy.  I was told that the soy allergies really began to emerge in direct correlation with the genetically modified soy products hitting the market. 

It's a scary thought.  By not allowing a label we aren't even given the choice to choose for ourselves.  They leave it up to us to do our research and seek out the products that have no GMOs.  Most people don't even think to do that.  We Americans are busy after all! 

I'm going to contact the FDA and give them my two cents.  Who knows, if enough of us tell them what we think they might listen!

Contact info from the FDA website.
  
Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
or by telephone:
1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332)—main FDA Phone Number (for general inquiries)

Another great way to take action is at Food and Water Watch.

Eggplant with Caramelized Balsamic Reduction and White Wine

Hi all!  I'm back from camping in one piece.  We had a great time and I took tons of photos that I have yet to download as I'm in the process of changing over computers.  Hubby got me a new one for my birthday!  So bear with me in the process of trying to find all my software disks etc.

A co-worker recently brought some fresh eggplant in to work and said her father in law grows them on his back porch and had so many he was going to throw them away! 

The horror! 

 I waited a goodly amount of time to make sure there would be no other takers for these little purple beauties and then I nabbed the whole bunch.  I came up with this recipe on a whim the other night and have been eating some each day.  The reduced balsamic almost becomes a thick sauce and it's so good I pretty much lick the plate after it's gone.

I'm almost embarrassed to call this a recipe.

It's got only three ingredients (not including salt and pepper) but aren't those the best kind of recipes? 

Eggplant with Caramelized Balsamic Reduction

and White Wine

Printable Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Chinese eggplants, stem trimmed, cut in half lengthwise

Coarse salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, to taste

1/3 cup good quality balsamic vinegar

Splash of semi-dry white wine

Directions

1. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.

2. Season both sides of the eggplant with salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste.

3.  Add the eggplant to the pan, cut side up.  Cook for 5-6 minutes.

4.  Flip eggplant and pour in balsamic vinegar and splash of wine.  Cook until balsamic vinegar reduces and cut side of eggplant beging to caramelize, about 6 minutes.

Gone Camping

Today is my "Friday"!  My daughter and I (the hubby isn't a big camper) are off on another camping adventure through Sunday so I hope to bring you some fun photos upon my return.  Everyone have an amazing remainder of week and weekend!

XOXO
Dawn

Hotdish

Before I launch into the Hotdish post can I just say how gorgeous it was out this morning?  It was 60 degrees so I decided to eat my breakfast of a shitake mushroom omelet and piping hot coffee on the back porch.  My 2-yr-old daughter woke up and joined me and she and I sat out there and listened to the birds.  When we heard our resident owl hoot we both had to chime in with loud "WHO WHO"s.  Just thought you would like to know.

I hope you all got to enjoy the morning weather too!  Do you have a good morning breakfast story?

Eating Well had a whole article on Hotdish which is sort of a casserole where you just dump all the ingredients in.  I tried out their Beef, Broccoli and Potato Hotdish and this one, however, had quite a bit of prep work as it didn't use the standard cream of whatever soup that is typically used.  The sauce was made from some low-fat milk, cornstarch, cheese and a bit of spice.  

The dish was a bit labor intensive and it needed something....I just can't figure out what.  Hubby, on the other hand really dug this dish.  I tapped into his meat n' potatoes side and went in for seconds.

Has anyone else tried this? What did you think?

Eating Well's Butternut and Barley Pilaf Even Better!

I hope y'all aren't sick of barley cause I'm still on the barley kick!  Now with the fall recipes coming out I am all excited and cooked up some of Eating Well's Butternut and Barley Pilaf on Sunday to eat this week and added an extra two full cups of butternut just cause I love it.  I also added a full cup of flat leaf parsley and some cannellinis to make it a meal. 

Tip:  Buy a large butternut squash and freeze the leftovers in 2 cup portions to be ready in a snap later!

Eating Well's Butternut and Barley Pilaf Even Better!
Dawn's Version

Ingredients


2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 14 oz can reduced sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1 3/4 cups water
1 cup pearl barley
4 cups cubed peeled butternut squash, (3/4-inch cubes)
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups cannellini beans
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions


1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add broth, water, barley and squash; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the barley and squash are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 45 minutes.

3. Stir in beans, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper gently. 

Super Easy Pizza Night!

Monday is here again and back to work but looking forward to this coming weekend already.  I've got another camping trip planned for this coming Thursday so I'm excited! 

This past weekend we didn't have much planned and sometimes I just don't feel like messing with dinner so I pull a Sandra Lee and use so premade ingredients (like a Kashi Pizza) and some fresh ingredients (like fresh organic tomatoes and baby spinach) to create a meal.

Here is an idea if you are having one of those nights.

Fresh Salad and Kashi Mediterranean Pizza

Simple ingredients in whatever amount you like!

Kashi Mediterranean Pizza

Slivers of Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)

Romaine lettuce

Baby spinach

Fresh tomato, sliced

Herbed goat cheese

Sundried tomato, diced

Coarse ground salt, fresh ground pepper, to taste

Annie's Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Directions

1. Cook the pizza to package directions and top with a few slivers of good quality Parm or Romano.

2. Layer desired amount of lettuce, spinach, tomato slices, goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper and pour a bit of dressing.

Dear Samantha

Dear Samantha at Flavorator,

     I saw your comment on my blog recently and went to check yours out.  I especially love the Eggs Baked in Tomatoes with Sweet Potato Chili Fries but for some reason I can't view your blog at work and I can't make a comment!  Maybe a work around might be to add a contact email?   Hopefully it's just me and not a problem with the site but I just wanted to let you know just in case because I'd love to check out more of your recipes!  I can't think of another way to get in touch so please let me know if you see this post.  

Love,
Your Friend Dawn

Green Tip for Storing Extra Beans

Happy Saturday All.  My most favorite day of the week.  I have a tip for ya!

Clean out an old jar and it makes a pretty and green container to store your beans in!

Have a great weekend and talk to you soon!

An Evening in the Life of a Food Blogger

This is the story of an evening in the life of a food blogger.  (The previous part of the day is skipped for the benefit of the reader as it involves driving, spreadsheets, body pump, more spreadsheets and more driving.)

Fast forward to 5:30ish PM.  Said food blogger returns from work to begin dinner and decides to make a round two recipe of Sweet Potato Quesadillas.  

Mama Foodie gets her whole wheat tortilla with mostly sweet potato and a little cheese. 

Papa Foodie gets two white tortillas, lots of cheese and chicken. 

**Baby Foodie gets gluten, casein, egg free tapioca bread with a smidge of Earth Balance, vegan rice cheese and some hidden puree of sweet potato and left over veggies and diced chicken.

Notice all three quesadillas laid out and ready to go.

Mama Foodie sets up her BPA or blogging photography apparatus (a very technical term) consisting of light, white foam boards, card table with melted top and old place mat.

Mama Foodie quickly sets her quesadilla down when Baby Foodie comes over to "help".  The entire BPA collapses inward on the whole wheat quesadilla.  Mama quickly dug through the wreckage for survivors.

The aftermath of squished plain non-fat Greek yogurt.  Tsk, tsk.  Not a pretty sight.

Somehow Mama Foodie was able to pull of one shot before the destruction began while using most of body to block Baby from pulling tripod over.

The money shot.

Sweet Potato, Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas

Serves 1

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole wheat tortilla, I used La Tortilla Factory Multigrain

2 Tbsp Mexican blend shredded cheese, I used Organic Valley

1/4 to 1/3 cup sweet potato and chicken mixture from Chicken and Veggie Pressure Cooker Stew recipe

Coarse ground salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Spray a medium non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.

2.  Top one side of tortilla with cheese and sweet potato mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper then fold tortilla in half.

3.  Place in hot skillet and cook four minutes, turning half way.

4. Cool and slice into three wedges.  Serve with sour cream or plain non-fat Greek yogurt.

**See the above allergy free option.

*****Please note that when I state “allergy free” this is my attempt at gluten, egg, dairy, soy, peanut and cod fish free which are the allergies my daughter has. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian.

The New (Old) Thing

The New (Old) Thing

The pressure cooker. It's a steel or aluminum pot that has a locking lid with a gasket inside and a little jiggler on the top to regulate how much pressure is inside. The meats, veggies, beans….whatever, are placed inside with some liquid and the top is locked in place. High heat creates steam under pressure which cooks the food super fast. The consistency tends to be similar to that of foods cooked in a slow cooker. (At least in my experience)

My nana cooked with it on almost a weekly basis so of course it was an item I never thought twice about getting.  It had been tucked away for quite a while until I saw a Cooking Light article about using the pressure cooker.  For my first dish I decided to use our old family recipe.  Here it is....ready? 

Throw chicken and whatever veggies you have into the pot with some Italian dressing and broth.   

Ok so I did try and fancy it up a little but it came out pretty much the same, like a stew.  I loved it but my hubby doesn't like that stew consistency so he gave it a "pretty good" but not stellar.  It would be great over some whole grain pasta or rice.

The pros:

It's super fast.

Easy to use.

One pot dinner.

The cons:

It can be a bit scary to use.

You can't look at and fuss over the food. 
(I tend to be a fusser)

I did photograph the exciting event so here goes......

Pressure cooker building steam and cooking.

  

 Done cooking and releasing steam.

See?  There.  That wasn't so scary was it?

Danielski Family Pressure Cooker Stew

(No jokes about my Polish maiden name...my mom's maiden name was Sendrowski so there was no escaping it.)

Serves 5

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (All ingredients are organic.)

5 chicken legs, skin removed
1/4 cup Italian dressing (I actually used Annie's Organic Roasted Garlic)
1 cup chicken broth
1 onion, rough chopped
1 sweet potato, chopped into large chunks (did not peel)
Handful baby carrots
4 cups broccoli and cauliflower
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp thyme
Coarse ground salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese shavings (optional)

Directions

1. Marinate chicken legs in dressing overnight.

2. Spray pressure cooker with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.  Add chicken legs and brown, 2 minutes per side.  Pour in broth.  Add all vegetables.  Sprinkle with poultry seasoning and thyme.  Season with salt and pepper.  Close the lid and hang onto your hiney.

3.  Heat pressure cooker over high heat until top starts jiggling.  About 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and cook additional 7 minutes.  Remove from heat for 5 minutes or until jiggling stops and pressure is reduced.  Open the top, taste (be sure to blow on it so you don't sear off the roof of your mouth) and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

4. Serve with some parmesan cheese shavings if desired.