I love love love apple crisp. The tartness of the apples, the oatmeal in the crispy crumble topping, the comfort of the warm spices. So when it comes to apple pie, I want the crisp there too!
This recipe can be done as a pie in a pie crust, or in a buttered baking dish as a true crisp with no bottom crust. It’s great both ways!
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We all love pumpkin bread and muffins, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin spice this and that. But I bet you didn’t realize you can use butternut squash in place of pumpkin to make these delicious fall treats! You can!!
This recipe uses one large roasted butternut squash and makes two small loaves of bread plus ten muffins. The output is moist and just sweet enough to enjoy smeared with butter or cream cheese. I should start out by saying this is not a quick recipe. This is a Sunday afternoon project that is WELL worth the results! I searched and searched for a recipe that incorporates butternut squash into pasta dough to execute this ravioli dish that I had burning in my brain ever since my neighbor dropped off some gorgeous butternut squash. Warm and comforting flavors from the roasted squash and a dash of fresh nutmeg in the dough, soft pillows filled with creamy homemade ricotta (it’s easy and SO much better than store bought I promise!) and spinach, finished in pancetta and sage brown butter. I needed to figure out how to make this but wasn’t sure exactly how to incorporate the squash into the pasta dough. So I just experimented with the proportions and added flour until it was pliable. And it was gorgeous, so I had to share!
This one might become a favorite for any kind of camping you do, whether it’s progressive backcountry camping or just family car camping. It’s light, packed with protein, good carbs and veggies, and tastes amazing. When you’re in the wilderness and you can eat this without actually cooking you’re going to appreciate this meal!
Cous Cous cooks fast and is a great blank canvas for whatever flavors you like. This one can be customized to whatever ingredients you have extra of from making your other meals. I have leftover freeze dried veggies and chicken as well as some sauce packets that will add flavor when cooked.
This next hunt/camp meal is one of my husband’s favorites. It’s PACKED with protein and reminds him of warm and homey tuna casserole. If you’re not a tuna fan you could certainly sub in a packet of canned chicken or add freeze dried chicken or beef right into the pack.
The next hunt/camp meal I am documenting is another very light but complete meal that can be easily packed with you on long hikes or camping when you’re packing everything to your site or taking days of food with you at a time. This one uses dried chow mein noodles I can find right at my local grocery store, freeze dried chicken and vegetables, and a packet of dried Alfredo mix.
Another hunt/camp meal that is a favorite is taco rice. This one is super light and easy to toss in your pack if you want to take it for lunch or if you need something light to pack if you’re camping as you hike and hunt. The other bonus is that this one is pretty customizable depending on what protein you like or have access to since we all love different things in our tacos!
This is the first post in a series I am working on to document the vacuum sealed meals I send with my husband on his annual archery elk hunting trip. These would work great for any backpacker or camper who wants to carry light and nutritionally dense foods that only requires hot water.
So... let’s start with breakfast! This is a quick meal I like to throw together when I have fresh corn and whatever veggies I have on hand. You can certainly use frozen corn too, but during corn season we love the crunch the fresh corn cut off the cob brings to this quick and easy dish.
I am sharing something personal with you all in hopes that it helps someone. A few weeks ago I noticed a mole on my back that I didn’t remember seeing before. As a freckled redhead, sometimes it’s hard to keep track, but this one seemed new. Not scary looking, just a new little brown dot on the back of my shoulder. After a few days of pondering, I called my dermatologist to make an appointment.
Luckily, it’s not too hard to get in to see doctors right now. With Covid, too many people are forgoing regular appointments because we are all trying to stay home and protect our families. But I distinctly remember having this argument in my head before making the appointment, and I knew that with my family history of melanoma, I needed to put my personal health concern above my desire to isolate. I weighed the risks and the little brown dot won. I was nervous to go in. I have been very isolated since mid-March and have only been inside a store twice in almost five months. My husband, who is an essential worker, assured me that the clinics are doing a really good job screening and distancing patients. I knew it was important to take care of myself. It’s like they say on the airplane, “secure your own mask before assisting those around to you.” Sure enough my doctor did not have a record of this mole on my mapped and well-documented records. So she removed it and sent it in for pathology. She called to tell me “they’re not calling it melanoma, but it is HIGHLY irregular, like a pre-melanoma, and they want you to come back to get larger margins to be safe.” Breathe. Scary stuff. Breathe. It’s ok. Breathe. We caught it in time. And yet all the “what-ifs” flood into my buzzing brain. What if I hadn’t noticed this mole on my back? I mean who can even see moles on their back anyways? It was like a fluke moment I caught a glimpse in the mirror and thought “did I always have that?” What if I decided it was too scary to go to the doctor right now? What if I waited until the Covid counts went down, or the vaccine came out, or just put it off until next summer? What if...? The reality is that this not quite yet melanoma could have become very dangerous in a matter of weeks. Melanoma works fast. It’s not dramatic to say that if I had been too scared to go to my doctor, this story could have had a very different and tragic outcome. So I’ll go back in. And they will take another hunk of flesh out to be sure we have solid margins. And I will come home to my sweet family to be Mom. So please, I beg of you, don’t neglect your health because you’re afraid of going to your doctor right now. I work in healthcare. I have read the statistics and I know that the fatalities associated with Covid are not just from Covid, but from delayed and neglected care for other illnesses. And I am hoping that this real-life example will help prompt someone else to go in to see a doctor for necessary care. Listen, reflect, process, share this... and please take care of yourself. Your healthcare is still your number one priority. Do what you need to in order to keep yourself healthy. And for the love of Pete, wear sunscreen. Crispy and crackled on top but fudgy inside, these are a delicious option when you want to be gluten-free or just can’t get your hands on wheat flour!
Quick and easy with limited ingredients, this flavorful pasta dish is not your typical weeknight dinner.
Let’s use this time hunkered down together to connect as families and get back to basics. Here are a few ideas of things you can do together to pass the time and enjoy this quiet time together as a family: Play a board game. Monopoly teaches dice counting, currency adding and subtracting, negotiation, strategy and even simplifies some basic concepts of banking. Scrabble expands the vocabulary. Card games are full of strategy and teach the importance of following a set of rules. It is also important for our kids to become good winners and losers and playing games regularly helps practice this important skill.
A great way to help leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken stretch into a meal, this casserole can be prepped ahead and tossed in the oven when you’re ready.
Meatloaf is a comfort food for so many and this recipe includes several tricks to bring out those home cooked flavors you’ll love. Simple ingredients and easy to pull together, your family is sure to love the Charmed version of this family favorite. What you’ll need:Crunchy fried onion atop bubbly mushroom soup coated green beans mean the holidays to me! So this year when I needed to make a lactose-free version (skipping the Campbell’s soup) I didn’t realize how easy and delicious a mostly homemade version could be. And now I definitely won’t go back! In order to recreate the old favorite, I knew this meant I needed to make a cream of mushroom soup from scratch so I could use lactose-free dairy products. I bought one package of dried porcini mushrooms and one container of fresh shiitakes and got to work. First I chopped the porchinis and doused then in about a cup of hot water to steep.
Quick, healthy and easy, these stuffed poblano peppers are sure to impress and spice up your family dinner routine!
These are quick and easy and yield an abundance of delicious, gooey cookies that hit all the right notes. As a bonus, they’re made with no flour so they’re naturally gluten free!
Every year my family does a “Rib Fest” on Labor Day and we each bring our best ribs to the party. Everyone wins! I love sticky Asian-style ribs and this year mine turned out better than ever before. As my oldest said “Mom, you totally killed it.” 😂
The amazing part is you don’t need a smoker or anything fancy. Hope your family enjoys these as much as mine did! |
Author: KellyI love to cook and care for the people I love! Categories
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November 2020
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