Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Unsweetened Homemade Applesauce.

by Filed Under: Fruit, Side dish, Snacks, Vegetarian 1 Comment

Today is Tuesday and that means two things… a very early a.m. run with B and a trip to the farmer’s market to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies.  Today is a crisp, gorgeous fall day and I couldn’t resist making some homemade applesauce.  My youngest daughter LOVES applesauce and can’t get enough of homemade version.

If you’ve never made homemade applesauce, it is so easy. You don’t need to add any sugar to it as apples are already sweet enough.  Give this recipe a try – I know you’ll love it as much as we do.

Ingredients:

8 large apples (softer apples are better for applesauce) I  used Winesap today or 12 smaller sized apples – cored, peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces
1.5 cups of water
Cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan add the apples and the water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  After about 5 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and check if the apples are soft enough to mash.  If not, cover and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until you reach the desired “softness”.  You can either you a hand masher or a immersion blender and blend the apples into your sauce.  Add the cinnamon (your preference to how much you like).  I added 1 tablespoon.

Let cool and store in a tupperware container for about 2 weeks.

— Knead to Cook

Oatmeal & almond stuffed baked apples.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Vegetarian 5 Comments

 

It’s fall and that means it’s apple season.  Who doesn’t love this time of year?  I know, I’m a total fall fan.  Crisp air, apples, pumpkins… unlimited recipe ideas!  Tonight I wanted to make something other than a crisp or pie with some apples.  I threw some ingredients together and it already smells heavenly.

Ingredients:

4 medium sized apples of your choice
5 tablespoons of butter, melted
1 cup of oats
4 teaspoons of maple syrup or agave
2 tablespoons of light brown sugar
1/2 cups of nuts, your choice – walnuts, pecans or almonds work beautifully
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a 8×8 or 9×9  baking dish add water to come up the side about 1/2 of an inch.  Set aside.

Slice the top of the apple off and then make a well or bowl by removing the inner part of the apple.  Be sure not to break the outer flesh or the bottom of the apple.  I use my apple corer to do this slowly.  Reserve the apple you remove and chop it up into a coarse texture.  Set aside.

Into a mixing bowl add the butter, oats, syrup, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the apple that you removed earlier.  Mix well.  Spoon the mixture into the hollowed out portion of each apple.  Then gently set the apples into your prepared pan.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove and serve immediately.

— Knead to Cook

Cake Batter Chocolate Frozen Bananas.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian 2 Comments

Okay that title is a mouthful and so are these!  I whipped up a batch for my kids and they were gone faster than a speeding bullet!  Ha!  So easy.  So much fun.  The perfect way to welcome your kids home from a long day at school.   Guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face :)

Ingredients:

12 ounces of chocolate (you can do white, milk or dark)
2 tablespoons of Funfetti cake batter (powder)
Vegetable oil
2 whole bananas, peeled and halved
4 popsicle sticks
Sprinkles

Directions:

Pull out a platter or large plate and cover with parchment or foil.  Set aside.

Over a double boiler, melt your chocolate of choice.  Slowly start to stir the chocolate until melted.  Add the cake batter powder and mix.  At this point, add a small amount of the oil. This will loosen the chocolate up and make it easier for covering the bananas.  Add tiny amounts until you get to the right consistency.  I probably used about a tablespoon or a bit less.

Take your sticks and insert them cautiously into the larger end of the banana.  Then take a spoon and pour the chocolate over the banana.  Coat with sprinkles and set on a parchment lined plate and freeze.  Serve right out of the freezer, nice and cold.

Then step back!  :)

 

— Knead to Cook

Fresh Peach Chobani Protein Smoothie.

by Filed Under: Fruit, Smoothies, Vegetarian 3 Comments

Yesterday we went peach & apple picking.  We got the biggest, juiciest peaches and I knew I wanted to make a refreshing after-school smoothie with them.  The girls loved them!  I combined it with my staple, vanilla Chobani, and some protein powder to make this super protein packed for two kids with a lot of energy.  This would also make a great post-workout smoothie to repair your muscles.

Ingredients:

2 very large peaches, pitted with skin intact
1/2 cup of vanilla Chobani yogurt
6 ice cubes
3/4 cup of almond milk
1 scoop of vanilla designer Whey protein powder

Directions:

Combine everything in your blender/Vitamixer and blend until smooth.  Add additional mix if needed.  Pour into cold glasses and serve.

— Knead to Cook

Baked Apple Chips.

by Filed Under: Fruit, Snacks, Vegetarian 10 Comments

Today is September 3rd.  Summer weather is still lingering but the hopes for the crisp fall air are palpable.  I, myself, cannot wait for the chill in the air, cozy sweaters, jeans and the leaves to dazzle me with their vibrance.  School, for us, starts tomorrow.  The smells of freshly sharpened pencils and the excitement are abound!  Today, we chose to pick apples… my favorites tart green & Honeycrisps.

Once we got home, I promptly pulled out my mandoline and started slicing.  Apple chips were on the brain and the perfect snack to pack in lunches tomorrow.  These are super easy, extraordinarily sweet and tart and promise to bring a smile to your face.

You can customize these how you want them.  I made three versions.  One plain, one with cinnamon and sugar and one with a powdery rub.

Ingredients:

4 apples (I used tart green granny smith type apples), washed and sliced 1/8 of an inch thick – remove seeds
Lemon juice

Rub – 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.

Cinnamon and sugar combination – I used a prepared container of cinnamon and sugar blend.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 215 degrees.  Line 3-4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Drizzle the lemon juice over the top of all of the slices.  This prevents discoloring.

Then if you’re opting to do plain – place the slices in a single layer on your baking sheet.

If you’re topping with cinnamon and sugar – place on the cookie sheet and sprinkle with the mixture.

If you’re using the rub – place the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a shallow bowl.  Mix.  Then place the apple slices in the mixture, dust off and place on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until crisp.  Keep a watchful eye after the one hour mark.  The edges will curl a bit and they will feel crispy or just about there.  Remove and let cool.  Store in a tupperware container for 2-3 days.

 

— Knead to Cook

Grilled peaches topped with vanilla yogurt & smoked honey.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit Leave a Comment

 

 

Many things make me appreciate summer… this is definitely one of them.  Grilled peaches topped with frozen vanilla yogurt and smoked honey.  It’s heavenly.

This recipe is super easy.  Cut the peaches in half and remove the stone.  Place on a hot outdoor or indoor grill (face down) for about 5-7 minutes.  Remove and top with your favorite frozen vanilla yogurt, ice cream or creme fraiche.  Chobani would also be delightful!  Then drizzle with honey (I used smoked) and enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Peach salsa.

by Filed Under: Condiments, Dips, Fruit, Salsas & Guacamole, Side dish, Vegetarian 1 Comment

 

Eating the rainbow just got a whole lot tastier!  This fresh peach salsa is perfect alone with chips or atop chicken, pork or fish.  Tonight, it will sit along a lovely grilled pork tenderloin.

Ingredients:

2 peaches, pitted and chopped
1/4 of a red onion, diced
1/2 jalapeño, diced
1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 handful of cilantro leaves, washed, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon of good quality balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of olive oil

Direction:

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl.  Toss and refrigerate for 2 hours or so to let the flavors meld.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

3 Ingredient (No Bake) Energy Bars.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegetarian 7 Comments

I love energy bars but typically dislike the nutritional information.  These bars are so delicious, no bake (well you do toast the almonds) and with only 3 ingredients.  So why not get energy from real ingredients, no preservatives & something truly healthy?

Ingredients:

1 c of dried, Medjool dates that have been pitted
1 c of raw almonds
1 c of dried, tart cherries

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place the almonds on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes until toasted.

In your food processor, place the pitted Medjool dates that have been pitted and the cherries.  Process until it forms a large, pasty ball.  Remove and set aside.  Then add the cooled almonds to your processor and process until they are finely chopped (avoid over processing into flour).  Your looking for small pieces.  Then add the date/cherry mixture back and blend again until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Line an 8×8 glass square baking pan with parchment or tin foil.  Place the mixture on top.  Then I added a piece of plastic wrap over the top to press it down into one even layer.  I used a small glass to even it all out.  Refrigerate for 45 minutes.  Remove and slice.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Strawberry Shortcake Shish Kabobs with fresh vanilla whipped cream.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Snacks, Valentine's Day 1 Comment

Farmer’s Market today yielded a wonderful bounty of strawberries.  They caught my eye immediately and I couldn’t resist.  Once my daughter saw them… her wheels were spinning and she made some wonderful strawberry shortcake shish kabobs, her favorite!  I got to make the whipped cream :)  Such a wonderful, fun dessert idea.

Ingredients:
2 pints of strawberries, wash and cut the stems off
1 angel food cake, cut up into cubes
Skewers

Directions:

Start with a strawberry and then alternate angel food cake cubes.  Add as many as you like.  You can certainly add other fruit like berries, pineapple, mangoes etc.

Whipped Cream:

Ingredients:
1 c of whipping cream
2 tbl of confectioners’ sugar
1 vanilla bean (seeds on the inside only) or 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Directions:

In your stand mixer, with the whisk attached, pour in the whipping cream and beat.  I typically beat this for about 1 minutes then add the sugar and vanilla.  Beat on medium to high until it takes on a whipped cream consistency.  Serve immediately .

Served on the side as a dip for the shish kabobs.

— Knead to Cook

Low fat Chobani Raspberry Brownies.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian 3 Comments

I admit, I’ve never been a brownie fan but these may convert me!  I wanted to create a moist, lower fat brownie using my favorite ingredient, Chobani & add a bit of freshness to it by tossing in some gorgeous organic raspberries I purchased this morning.  The result is quite surprising.  The chocolate has a deep, rich flavor, almost like a decadent hot chocolate and the tart/sweet blend of the raspberries just makes these totally scrumptious!
Ingredients:

2/3 c of granulated sugar
1/3 c of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (at room temperature)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 egg, room temperature
1/3 c of all purpose flour (unbleached)
1/3 c + 1 tsp of Dutch processed cocoa powder (I used my local favorite – Wilbur)
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 c of non fat Chobani yogurt
1/4 c of fresh, washed and very dry raspberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Preheat for at least 30 minutes.  Spray your glass 8×8 pan with non stick flour baking spray.

In your stand mixer with the paddle attached, blend the sugar and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter until light and fluffy.  Add the extract and the egg.  Blend well.  In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and cinnamon.  Add to the mixer bowl.  Mix until blended.  Then fold in the Chobani yogurt by hand.  Mix well.


Pour half of your brownie mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Add the raspberries on top.  Then add the remaining batter.  Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with only a tiny bit of batter on it and the center of the brownies is more firm (versus giggly).

Remove from the oven and let cool for 40-50 minutes then slice.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar and top with additional berries.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook