Peach Dutch Baby & Raspberry Sauce

This is a really quick and easy dessert that comes together fast and is an easy cleanup as well. Even when my daughter was under 3 months and super attached to me, I was able to whip this up. She was probably in the Snugli wrapped to me, but that's even more proof of how easy this recipe is!

Raspberry Sauce:
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. water
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 tsp. lemon juice

Dutch Baby Batter:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
4 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. kosher salt (or pinch of table salt)
2-3 peaches, halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch wedges (no need to peel)
Powdered sugar,for dusting


Prepare raspberry sauce: In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in water. Add raspberries and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and berries are softened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Set aside. (Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Simply re-warm before using to top dessert).

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Melt 2 Tbsp. Butter in the microwave and then pour into a blender. Add the eggs, milk, flour, 1 Tbsp. sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend batter until smooth. Let sit in blender, while you prepare the peaches.
Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter and melt. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Add peaches to skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes.
Briefly re-blend the batter, then pour evenly over peaches. Transfer the skillet to the pre-heated oven.
Bake pancake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 18-22 minutes. It will deflate as soon as it’s removed from the oven; that's okay.
Dust pancake generously with powdered sugar. Top with raspberry sauce, then serve immediately right from the skillet.

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

Technically I am not supposed to eat dairy; I don't digest it well. For awhile (before I got pregnant) I was pretty good about not eating dairy, but that didn't stop my love (or cravings) for it. Once I was pregnant I found that I could digest it a lot better, so I was back on the dairy bandwagon. And I love it too much to give it up again. With that said, I try to limit my dairy, and I always look for good recipes that don't have dairy. A lot of vegan recipes fall under that category, but I am not a big fan of the flavor. When I found this recipe I decided to try it out, and it turned out really good.

The recipe is originally from this site: http://www.cookingandme.com/2012/11/vegan-avocado-chocolate-cupcakes-eggless-cakes.html#

And the frosting isn't vegan (or dairy-free!) so you'll have to find another frosting recipe if you want a true vegan cupcake.

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
6 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped avocado (approx. 2 small avocados)
2 cups water
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line or grease 2 cupcake trays and set aside.
2. Chop up the avocado and add to a blender or a food processor.
3. Top off with oil, water, vanilla, vinegar, and sugar.
4. Blend well until the avocados get puréed completely.
5. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt in a bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredients while whisking.
6. Gently whisk together until you see no traces of the dry mixture in the batter.
7. Fill cupcake trays about 3/4 full.
8. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean or with dry crumbs. Tops may crack., but that's okay.
9. Cool completely before icing.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Ingredients:
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:
Beat together all the ingredients until stiff. If the frosting is too dry, add some milk (by the drops) or butter. If it's too runny, add more icing sugar.

Pasta & Veggie Bake

Have you guys seen those Philadelphia Cooking Cremes? I recently got a coupon for one so I bought it and it's been sitting in my fridge. While I was nursing my baby I was reading through my What's Cooking mag that came in the mail today and there were several ads with recipes for these various sauces. One of them was a bake with squash and pasta. I thought to myself, 'I have one of those sauces in my fridge and a bunch of cut up squash from making baby food a few days earlier; maybe I could pull this off!'

So I opened my fridge and pulled out the sauce - a different one from the recipe - but I was not discouraged; I would make my own healthier pasta bake. In fact the only actual ingredients from the recipe I had were squash, a pasta, a sauce, an onion and olive oil. I pulled out the squash, an onion, a zucchini, mushrooms and a red pepper. I was excited.

Have you ever had small amounts of uncooked pasta left sitting in a bag or box? Such small amounts that you can't really cook them for a meal because it's never enough to feed anyone? Well those would come in handy today. My pasta bake had rigatoni, fusilli, and penne.

This recipe is great for cleaning out your fridge and cupboards - that's what I was able to do today.

As I'm typing this I can smell the aroma wafting from the oven and I can't wait to try this out!

INGREDIENTS

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 onion, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 package (227g) of sliced mushrooms
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsp (approx) olive oil
5 cups uncooked short pasta
1 tub Philadelphia Tomato & Basil Cooking Creme
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine the vegetables, paprika and olive oil in a large baking dish or casserole dish, making sure the veggies are coated with the oil and paprika.

Bake 45 minutes or until the squash is tender. Mix the cheeses together and set aside.
Meanwhile cook the pasta in unsalted boiling water. Drain the pasta, saving about 1/2-3/4 cup cooking water. Add the pasta to the veggies as well as the cooking creme, cooking water and half of the cheese mixture. Mix it together. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
Bake for another 20 minutes, until it is heated through, the cheese is melted and the cheese on top has browned.

This will make 6-8 servings.

It turned out really nice. The cheese on top was nicely browned and had a good crunch to it. It was also a very filling dish. It would pair well with a salad for a great dinner! Next time I make it I will definitely put more sauce. As I poured the tub I had a feeling there wasn't enough sauce and I was right; I'd definitely use another half a tub if not another whole one. You can really use any sauce and I think this would turn out great. My husband suggested a nice meaty tomato sauce, which would add some more substance to your dish. I think any jarred sauce or homemade sauce would be great. I personally love creamy sauces and the creaminess adds well to the roasted squash and other veggies. What sauce would you use? If you tried a different sauce, let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

Sunday night pizza

It's been a long tradition in my family to have a big pasta lunch on a Sunday afternoon with the entire family (I mean my Nonna, Nonno, mom, Zias, Zios, etc.). And it isn't just pasta that we're having either: there's always meatballs or fatine, fagioli or eggplant, salad; basically there is a lot of food. So dinner is usually much more laid back and casual: homemade pizza. And by homemade I mean homemade dough, sauce, sausages or cappicolo, and then vegetables from the garden and sometimes even my grandfather's cheese too. Even when the family get togethers aren't everyone, pasta still is the lunch and pizza still is the dinner. The pizza always tastes a little different - depending on who made it: Nonno, Nonna or my mom - but it's always good. Everyone has their preference, but I would never choose one over the other because they really all are amazing!

In trying to learn how to make pizza like my elders, I soon realized that I too had to develop my own way. Mostly because neither my grandparents nor my mom measure while making dough ("It's more about the feeling of the dough..."). Plus they are often making two big trays of pizza that will feed almost 20 people!

I've played around with some different pizza dough recipes (the one below doesn't have to rest all day to rise) and added some of the tricks of the trade I've learned from my family. And I think my pizza always tastes a little different each time too. Today I'm going to share with you my most recent pizza endeavour: one with toppings similar to my family's and one that is my own creation that has become pretty popular with my husband, mom, and others. My grandfather will always choose a pizza with sauce (but not too much) over one without (unless it has anchovies on it!)

PIZZA DOUGH

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

1. In a medium bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Mix / knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth or Saran wrap. Let rest for about an hour.
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 equal rounds. Pat or roll into a round. Grease two pizza pans with a piece of cold butter (this will give a nice golden color to your crust), then olive oil, then dust with coarse cornmeal (this will give a nice crunch). Transfer dough to the pan. Drizzle olive oil on the top and rub it around so the dough is nice and greased. As you prepare your toppings the dough will rise a little bit more.
4. Spread your toppings and bake in a preheated 450F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is nice and golden underneath and the toppings are cooked and delicious looking. Let it rest for a few minutes before cutting into it.

This recipe will make two round pizzas pictured below. The crust is between a thin and thick crust. If you only let it rise for a few minutes, you will probably get one pizza.

The great thing about pizza is you can put whatever you want on it and it will probably still taste amazing. This is a bit more of your common toppings.

TRADITIONAL TOPPINGS: sauce, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, tomatoes, minced garlic, mozzarella

Spread as much pizza sauce as you like on the crust. In a pinch you can use tomato paste thinned out with some water and even some seasonings. Or if you like a chunkier sauce, you can used a can of crushed tomatoes (drained of course; and it won't spread like a normal sauce). If you like garlic you can always take a crushed clove and rub it all over the dough first. If the sauce isn't seasoned, it's always nice to have some oregano and basil sprinkled on the dough. Add the toppings listed above. These are the common toppings used in my family. Red peppers always make an appearance as does my grandfather's cold cuts (prosciutto, cappicolo, salami, dried sausage). Drizzle some more olive oil over top of everything.
Bake the pizza in the oven till it is almost done. Add as much cheese as you like and pop it back in the oven till the cheese is melted and pizza is done. Keep in mind that when you do it this way, the sauce will dry up a little bit as the cheese isn't protecting it as much (although the oil will help a little), but the cheese will stay nice and gooey instead of getting hard and crusty.

My husband loves this pizza - the more sauce the better he always says!

"GREEK" TOPPINGS: My spinach and feta pizza

2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 - 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Feta cheese

Drizzle olive oil on top of the dough and spread it around. Sprinkle dough with salt, pepper, basil, oregano and thyme to your taste. You can also rub a crushed garlic clove after rubbing the oil to enhance the garlic flavor. Spread garlic, onions and spinach on pizza. Drizzle more olive oil over top. This is important so your toppings don't completely dry out. Crumble feta cheese over toppings. Bake in preheated 425F oven for about 15-20 mins until crust is cooked and golden brown and toppings are cooked.

I absolutely love this pizza, and have made it several times for company with good reviews!

Chocolate chip Banana Bread

So tomorrow is the last day of the Mother Goose program I participate in with my little girl. This means it is a potluck as well. The easy answer would be to pick something up at the grocery store, but I remembered kinda late and didn't want to head out after she was sleeping. And tomorrow might be as hectic as today, so after my darling daughter was sound asleep, I decided to do some baking (even though all I wanted to do was crash on the couch!)

I always have some ripened bananas sitting in the freezer, so banana muffins or bread are always an easy go to. I always microwave the frozen bananas to thaw them quickly. And I found that they mash much easier and mix into the batter nicely.

Muffins take longer as you have to put them into the tins and most likely do a couple of rounds, so banana bread was the obvious choice - until I realized that the recipe I normally use has nuts in it and tomorrow's dish has to be nut-free.

So here is the alternative - a new recipe to try that I hope turns out. It's not always a good thing trying something new that you are bringing to a bunch of people you don't know very well. That's why my hubby and I will taste test this and hope I don't have to make a grocery run tomorrow!

INGREDIENTS

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
4 bananas, very ripe, mashed (thawed if you were using frozen!)
2 tablespoons ricotta mixed with 1 tablespoon each milk and lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (more/less to your taste)

DIRECTIONS

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan; set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside. Beat sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.

Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, ricotta mixture, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and chips.

Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for about an 1 hour.

The final product. It took just over an hour to bake fully.

It turned out nice and moist and with good flavor. Let's hope the moms at Mother Goose like it as much as my husband and I did!

Apple crumble Pie

I love apple pie! It is one of my most favorite desserts ever. And I always love a crumble top over the traditional crust top. And while I haven't had much of a chance to bake a pie, let alone even bake, I thought I'd share with you my favorite crumble pie recipe. This recipe is adapted from a book my little sister got for me: Wanda's Pie in the Sky.

CRUST: (double crust pastry)
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed (if you freeze the butter for a bit before, it'll stay colder longer and mAke a really flaky crust)
1/3 cup cold water

Combine the flour, salt, and butter in a large bowl and cut it until it resembles coarse meal and starts to clump together. Sprinkle with the water and let it rest for about 30 seconds. Cut until the dough begins to stick together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and press together into a round. Divide into 2/3 and 1/3 and press into disks. Wrap in plastic and chill for about 30 mins.
If the dough is too hard to roll, let it warm slightly at room temperature. Roll on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8". Cut a circle 1" larger than than the pie plate and transfer to a pie plate.

FILLING:
7 cups apples, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 400F.
In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients except the butter. Turn into the pie plate with the prepared crust. Dot with the butter. Flute the edges of the crust.

CRUMBLE TOP:
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour

Combine all ingredients with a pastry cutter or your hands until it begins to clump.
Cover the filling with the crumble mixture.

If time allows, refrigerate the pie for 30 mins. Bake for 10 mins and then reduce the oven temperature to 350F. Bake for 50-60 mins, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbly.

You can also make individual mini pies that taste just as yummy.  You don't need to make a crust , just put in your filling in individual dishes and top with the crumble mixture. It won't need as long in the oven, maybe around 30 mins. When the top is golden and bubbly, it will be ready.

Pork tenderloin with caramelized onions and apples

Today's dinner was a little rushed and last minute. This recipe comes together pretty fast with manageable prep.

I don't have any sides with recipes for you, but we had cream of broccoli soup. I would also recommend roasted vegetables or scalloped potatoes (recipe to follow at a later date) and even a nice salad.

My recipe was adapted from this one here:

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/pork_tenderloin_with_caramelized_onions_and_apple.php#comments_anchor

Basically I made less, and had to find a substitution for the apple cider and beef stock.

INGREDIENTS:
2 onions
3-4 tbsp extra-virgin olive_oil
1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 pork tenderloin, about 500g
pepper
1.5 cups beef stock (I added about 3/4 of a beef bouillon cube to boiling water and whisked till it dissolved)
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F. Season pork with pepper. In large ovenproof skillet, heat about 1-2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat; brown pork all over. Transfer to oven; roast until juices run clear when pork is pierced, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer to carving board; tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

While pork is cooking, cut onions in half lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise. In large skillet, heat about 2 tbsp of the oil over medium heat; fry onions, stirring often, until tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in apple; cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Dissolve the bouillon cube in boiling water, whisking. Add the sugar and water, allowing the sugar to dissolve. When the pork is done and resting, pour fat from skillet. Add beef-flavored liquid; bring to boil over medium-high heat, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan. Boil until reduced to about half. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tbsp (25 mL) cold water; stir into skillet and cook until thickened.

I added the onion-apple mixture to the pan to slightly reheat then spooned it over the plated, carved pork.

Unfortunately I don't have a picture right now (like I said - dinner was a little rushed and hectic!) but will post something next chance I have to take one!

This pork was nice and easy to prepare, and with my modifications still turned out nice. It had a nice sweet flavor and the pork wasn't dry at all. This is a definite must-try. I will be making this one again!