Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Glaze

I buy apples all year long. My oldest daughter loves them so much that her friends give them to her. She eats them all the time. So, I always have them in the house and I really should cook with them more. I tend to only bake with apples in the fall when we have an abundance of them. I guess that trend may just change especially since this recipe.

This week's pick on Project Pastry Queen was by Emily of A Gilt Nutmeg. My family loved them. My husband doesn't like nuts so some loaves were nut free. The original glaze is suppose to have Calvados in it but there were no nips available and I didn't want to have a large bottle when only 1 Tbsp was needed. My family liked the apple juice substitute. I purchased a can of frozen apple juice. I let it defrost in the refrigerator. After opening, I used 1 Tbsp of the concentrate for this recipe and then made a pitcher of apple juice for the kids.

Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Apple Juice Glaze
Bread:
1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups apples, peeled, cored, and diced
Glaze (recipe below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Arrange the nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast for about 7 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Grease 5 (6"x4"x2") mini loaf pans with cooking spray.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
6. Stir the flour mixture into the oil mixture until incorporated.
7. Fold in the apples and pecans.
8. Fill the loaf pans with batter about three quarters of the way to the top.
9. Bake the bread for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.
10. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before moving them onto a cooling rack. 
11. Spoon the glaze over each bread.

Glaze:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp agave syrup
1 Tbsp apple juice concentrate

Directions:

1. Melt the butter, brown sugar, syrup, and apple juice over medium heat.
2. Simmer the mixture for 2 minutes or until it thickens slightly.
3. Spoon the warm glaze over the loaves of bread.
4. Allow the glaze to cool for at least 1 hour.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen.

Did you already know...
-Calvados is an apple brandy.
-It is traditionally drank after dinner.
-There are many different Calvados brands available and they are ranked like cognac.

Fresa Agua Fresca

Several years ago, I had a family portrait done of us. I keep it on the computer as the wallpaper. My youngest son wanted to us the computer but could not connect online. While he waited, he leaned forward to study the photo. He said to me, "Boy, do I look young." I started to laugh and I replied, "Son, you are young." My seven year leans forward and says so kindly, "Alright, boy do you guys look young." Thanks Son!

 As you can guess, I will be having an entertaining weekend with my son and family. Sunday is suppose to be beautiful. Tomorrow, I will visit my wonderful Mom. Then next day, I will be relaxing! (I have to take advantage of this since the only other day I am pampered is my birthday!) I wish you a Happy Mother's Day weekend too! If you are planning to make a meal for your Mom, I highly recommend this drink. If your Mom doesn't like strawberries, you can try maybe blueberries and lemons. If your Mom likes some rum, it would be a nice addition. The kids couldn't get enough of this drink. The pitcher was gone within minutes. I have already said this is a must on our menu for the picnic. 

Fresh Strawberry Water Drink
2 cups water
15 oz. bag of frozen strawberries, unthawed
2 limes
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. In a blender, add the water and strawberries.
2. Process until smooth.
3. Squeeze the juice of the two limes into the strawberry mixture.
4. Add the sugar to the desired sweetness.
5. Blend well and drink!

Recipe adapted from Myrecipes website.

Did you already know....
 -Fresca is the Spanish word for fresh.
-Agua is the Spanish word for water.
- Fresa is the Spanish word for strawberries. It also is a slang word for a preppy person.

She is making faces in the background!

Happy Mother's Day!

Adaptable recipes

Do you ever see a recipe that catches your eye but when you read the ingredients you think maybe not? When I saw the Triple Cheese Bread recipe on the back of the King Arthur flour, I thought this recipe was made for me. Then I read the ingredients and saw cottage cheese. My Mom loves cottage cheese. My sister loves cottage cheese. Even my history professor loved cottage cheese so much that she ate it every day for lunch. Why she would choose to eat the same thing every day was the bigger question? Maybe since you can't change history so why change lunch? I will never know.

As you probably guess, I am not the biggest advocate of cottage cheese. I do like ricotta cheese so I decided to adapt it to my liking. I am really glad I did since this bread was so good. I also needed something quick for supper so I decided to make the rolls into sliders. My husband and son had turkey sliders. They liked it. I prefer ham and cheese. They were good. These rolls would even had been good with roasted vegetable sliders. These rolls would be perfect for a picnic with mom.

Can you see the cheese in the bread?

Seven Cheese Bread
6 oz. warm water
1 package of yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup of five cheese Italian blend


Directions:

1. In a cup, add the water and sugar.
2. Add the yeast and allow to dissolve. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and butter.
4. Add the yeast water and the cheeses.
5. Mix until the dough comes together.
6. Place the dough onto a clean surface that has been dusted with flour.
7. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
8. Whip down the large bowl and spray with cooking spray.
9. Add the dough to the bowl and flip it.
10. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and spray the plastic with cooking spray. Then flip the plastic over so the sprayed side is facing down towards the dough.
11. Allow the dough to rise for about an hour. (I allowed it to rise for 5 hours and it was fine.)
12. Punch the dough down and divide into about 12 pieces. (I made 13 pieces since I didn't want the rolls so big.)
13. Place the dough pieces onto a sprayed cookie sheet.
14. Allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes.
15. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees F.
16. Place the dough into oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the rolls are done. (I didn't want to wait so the oven had only reached 100 degrees F and I cooked the rolls for 25 minutes. They came out perfect and not doughy but I had made 13 rolls.)
17. Serve immediately or allow to cool

 Recipe adapted from a King Arthur bread recipe.

Did you already know...
-The oldest flour company in America is King Arthur.
-The company was formed in 1790 by Henry Wood.
- Henry Wood began the business in Boston by importing flour from Europe.
-Since 1896, King Arthur flour has been domestically grown.

His smile is great!

Pizza Sauce

My husband has been doing a dangerous thing lately. He has been doing some grocery shopping. Since he is hungry, he has been buying the frozen french bread pizzas. So, I caught him eating them. I asked him what he was doing. He claims he was hungry and needed something. Since he is a smart man, he said he knows mine do taste a lot better but I didn't have any in the freezer ready to eat.

To make your own frozen french bread pizza is easy. I take a french bread and cut it close to the edge. I also cut the other side closer to the edge if I'm going to freeze it. The middle section my children eat but you could make croutons. On each inside of the bread, I slather on the pizza sauce and toppings. Then I just wrap it tightly and freeze. I have sometimes cooked the pizza half way through before the cheese becomes bubbly and allow to cool before freezing. When ready to eat, I place it on a baking sheet. I preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and cook the pizza for about 20 minutes or until the pizza is cooked through.

Pizza Sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 (28 oz.) can tomato puree
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf 
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and heat for a minute.
3. Add the remaining ingredients.
4. Cover and bring the sauce to a boil.
5. Uncover and lower the heat to simmer.
6. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence.

Doesn't this look better than store bought?

Did you already know...
-Stouffer's started in 1922 by Abraham and Mahala Stouffer.
-They started with a dairy stand and later opened restaurants.
-In 1950s, they expanded their business to include frozen meals.
-Stouffer's is now owned by Nestle USA with sales over $1 billion.

Pancakes

Alright, Mother's Day is less than a week away. Can you tell I'm a little excited? There are only two days of the whole year that everyone in the household takes care of me. I do not take advantage of these two days. I do not act like a diva and say please provide me with a small bowl of green M&Ms only. I do not go crazy but it is nice to feel appreciated. Now if only it doesn't rain and then the picnic will be fun. 

 I will admit my husband is very sweet and makes me breakfast on Mother's Day. He makes the best french toast. Since I knew we will be having french toast next week, I decided to make some pancakes. I frequently look at The Pastry Queen cookbook. There are so many recipes I want to try that The Project Pastry Queen have posted before I joined. When I saw Mother's Day Pancakes, I had to try them. It does say Mother's Day. 

 This recipe made enough for 5 people with plenty of left over. I made little silver dollars and then froze them. When you want to make them, you just pop them in the toaster oven and toast them. My youngest daughter checks making them. Yes, she liked them that much.

Mother's Day Pancakes
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in a large bowl. 
2. Whisk in the baking soda until combined.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk until incorporated.
4. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla.
5. Heat a frying pan over medium heat.
6. Add a little oil to the pan and wait about 30 seconds.
7. Pour 1/2 cup of the batter into the frying pan.
8. When bubbles form on top of the pancake, flip the pancake over.
9. Cook the pancake until the bottom is golden brown.
10. Serve immediately with maple syrup or sugar.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen.

Did you already know...
-It takes roughly 40 gallons of sap from the maple tree to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.
-It does no permanent damage to a maple tree and only 10 percent of the trees sap is collected per a year.
-The maple syrup tapping season tends to last only 8 to 10 weeks.
Now you know why it is so expensive.