Apple Squares

Most criminally delicious use of fruit...since Kali's peach upside down cake, that is. ;) This is my take on a recipe from allrecipes.com. I doubled the apples from their recipe (and I think I might go crazy and quadruple the apples next time), replaced walnuts with pecans, and added only half the cinnamon sugar. Here's my variation:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 1/2 white sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup apple, chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp white sugar (for topping)
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon (for topping)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x9 pan. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Blend in the mixture of dry ingredients until just combine, then add apples and pecans. Spread mixture evenly in greased pan. Combine the remaining cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the top.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes until bars spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

I may or may not have had these for breakfast this morning. Okay, I did. And they were delicious! I also think these would we awesome with whole wheat.

Peach Crisp

We decided to make a crisp with the fresh peaches we got from Atle this fall. The plan had been to dutch oven it, but we ended up making it at home so I used my sweet new ramekins. I tried a new recipe from Anne Burell of the Food Network. Such an awesome crisp recipe! I'm planning on trying it with apples soon.

For the filling:

• 5 large ripe peaches, pitted and cut into chunks
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• Pinch kosher salt

For the topping:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pea sized pieces
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water
• Special equipment: 6 (6-ounce) ramekins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the filling:

Toss the peaches in a large bowl with the zest and lemon juice. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Divide the filling evenly between the ramekins.

For the topping:

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor except the water. Pulse until combined, this will take about 30 seconds. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture is clumpy but crumbly.

Top each ramekin with the topping. Be sure to loosely sprinkle the topping and not pack it down. The idea is to look very crumbly and craggy.

Place the ramekins on a sheet tray and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the filling is hot and bubbly and the topping, brown and crispy.

* I used pecans instead of almonds and left the raisins out. So good!

Pineapple (or Other Fruit) Skillet Upside-Down Cake

By popular demand, here it is, from Rick Bayless' "Mexican Everday" cookbook.

So YUMMY!

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 1/2 cups pineapple, or berries, or peaches, or apples, or nectarines, or... you get the picture
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or soured milk) or plain yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*. Melt butter in a 10" skillet with an ovenproof handle, preferrably non-stick, over a medium heat. Swirl it around until it turns nut-brown then pour into a medium bowl. Without wiping the pan out, sprinkle the brown sugar into the skillet and top with a fruit layer.

In a bowl, mix together the flours, salt, soda and baking powder. Mix the white sugar in with the browned butter. Add the egg and mix; then add buttermilk/yogurt and mix. Pour into the dry indregients and whisk together.

Pour batter over the fruit. Put skillet in oven and bake 35 minutes or until cate is golden brown and springy to the touch. Remove and cool 10 minutes.

Put a plate over skillet, and using oven mitts, flip them over together in one quick movement. Remove the skillet and serve cake!

Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole

This yummy casserole is from my latest issue of Cuisine at Home. It's supposed to be for two, but it could have easily fed three or four. It's so yummy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 lb tomatillos, peeled and quartered
• 2 Tbsp minced jalapeño
• 4 corn tortillas (6 inch)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack
• 1/2 cup shredded Manchego*
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
• 1/2 cup minced bell pepper
• Fresh cilantro leaves, torn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 2 shallow casserole dishes** with nonstick spray.

Boil water, broth, onion, and garlic for the chicken in a sauté pan over high heat. Season chicken with oregano, salt, and pepper; place in boiling liquid. Cover pan, reduce to medium-low heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken to plate to cool.

Add tomatillos and jalapeños to broth mixture; return to a boil over high and reduce to 1 cup, about 7 minutes. Mash tomatillos with a spoon or potato masher.

Shred chicken with two forks once cool enough to handle. Stir chicken back into tomatillo mixture, then remove from heat.

Brush tortillas with oil and toast in oven until crisp, 5 minutes.

Combine cheeses in bowl and sprinkle a thin layer into each prepared dish. Top cheese layer with a tortilla, divide chicken mixture evenly between dishes. Continue layering with remaining cheese and tortillas, ending with cheese on top. Scatter bell peppers over cheese.

Bake casseroles until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Garnish each casserole with cilantro.

*I couldn't find Manchego, so I used an extra ounce of Monterey Jack and Queso Fresco.

**I don't have individual casserole dishes, so I just put the whole thing in my small Corningware casserole dish and it worked great.

Marion Cunningham's buttermilk pancakes

This recipe has become our favorite when we make pancakes, which is quite frequently. I'm not sure what makes them so good, since it's very similiar to other recipes, but it works for us! The author says it doesn't work well to multiply the recipe, but you can double a batch and have it still turn out.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. butter or oil for the pan

Directions:

1. Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Crack egg into the center and pour the buttermilk over the top of the egg.
2. With a fork or whisk, stir until it forms a lumpy batter and all flour is absorbed. Pour in melted butter and stir until buttter is just dispersed. DO NOT OVERMIX.
3. Spread 1 Tbsp. butter/oil on the griddle. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter on to form pancakes. Turn when bubbles form on the top. Brown the other side.
4. Eat!

No buttermilk? Just add a Tbsp of vinegar to a measuring cup, then pour in milk until it reaches 1 cup mark. Stir, let sit a few minutes, then proceed as normal. :)

Creamy Corn Soup with Chicken and Poblano Chile

This is from a cookbook by Rick Bayless called "Mexican Everyday". I needed more uses for our garden produce and this is a great one for fresh corn from the garden. The roasted chile pepper just seems perfect for New Mexico too.

Ingredients:

• 1 large poblano chile
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
• 1 small white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 cups corn kernels cut from the cob (takes about 5 ears)
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 quart milk
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breats cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• salt
• about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Roast the pepper over open flame or 4 inches below the broiler until blackened and blistered all over.
2. Heat oil in pan. Add onion and garlic and cook until golden. Put into blender or food processor.
3. Add corn, cornstarch, 1 1/2 cup milk to the blender too. Process to a smooth puree. (You can strain the puree through a mesh strainer for a smoother soup). Return puree to pan.
4. When chile is cool enough, peel off the blackened skin. Pull off stem and seed pods. Cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Add to the pan.
5. Add chicken to the puree and additional 2 1/2 cups milk. Simmer until chicken is cooked. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and add the cilantro as a garnish. Serve!

A few variations the author suggests are replacing the chicken with ham; or zucchini or asparagus for a vegetarian meal. Or add shrimp, crab, bacon, etc.

Chicken Salad

Ben and I are busily packing to get ready to go up to the office. Here is a recipe I like that we will be eating on the road tomorrow. I included the biscuits in the picture because we will be eating the chicken salad sandwich style. I hope you guys like it!

2 cups diced chicken
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup grapes
1/4 - 1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together. Add ranch a little at a time until moist!