On An Apple Roll

 Tis' the season

for some apple treats from Ever Ready.

I saved you the last piece of

Old Fashioned Apple Pie (recipe link below) 

https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2020/09/old-fashioned-apple-pie.html

and used the leftover apples for 

Mixed Greens with Apple Pecan Grape Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

Cook's Notes: Maple Cider Vinaigrette is enough for 4-5 salads.
Salad Ingredients:

• Mixed greens about 6-8 cups to serve 4-5 people (I used a combination of baby spinach leaves and chopped Romaine)
• 1 large Granny Smith apple and 1 Honeycrisp apple, diced
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 cup halved red seedless grapes
• 1 cup candied pecans or toasted pecans
• Optional: ½ cup crumbled blue or feta cheese

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice mix
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Salad Directions:

• Mix greens with apples, grapes, onions, and pecans.

Dressing Directions:

• In a blender add all ingredients and gradually add in olive oil. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate dressing until needed.

UP NEXT: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Northwoods Chicken Wild Rice Salad

A NORTHWOODS CHICKEN WILD RICE SALAD

Cooking Tip: One cup of uncooked wild rice makes about three cups of cooked rice. Cook wild rice in 3-1/2 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt for 45 minutes. Substitute chicken or vegetable broth for water as it adds more flavor. A time-saver is to make the wild rice the day before, let it cool and refrigerate.
Cook's Notes: Northwoods Chicken Wild Rice Salad is a versatile salad with lots of options. Turkey can be substituted for chicken. Use a deli rotisserie chicken as a time saver. If looking for a vegetarian dish add in more wild rice with cooked corkscrew pasta. Dried cranberries can be substituted for dried cherries. Substitute avocado slices for pea pods or sugar snap peas
It's a perfect salad for lunch, brunch, or as an accompaniment to a grilled meal.
The recipe serves 4-6 but ingredients can easily be increased to serve more as well as the dressing. 

Salad Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked wild rice
• 3 cups cooked meat, diced
• 1/2 cup each mini sweet red peppers and celery
• 3/4 cup sweet onions, diced
• 1 cup red grapes, halved
• 1 small package of dried cherries or cranberries
• 2 cups pea pods or sugar snap peas
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds or walnuts

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
• 1 teaspoon each Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce 

Directions:

• Cook wild rice the day before and store it in a plastic container or zip loc bag. Wild rice freezes well and can be used at another time for soups and side dishes.
• Mix dressing in a small bowl with a whisk and set aside.
• Blanch pea pods(bring water to boil, add pea pods, boil 1 minute, drain and then add to ice water for 1 minute, pat dry) slice in half diagonally.
• In a large bowl add all ingredients except dressing and mix well.
• Add dressing to salad ingredients until all is moistened. If more dressing is needed follow the basic recipe above and then add in.
• Chill salad for at least 4 hours and serve over lettuce with tomato slices. 
  
  
  
  
  

Tomato Sausage Onion Puff Pastry Galette

A TASTE OF SUMMER

However, you pronounce it-tis the season for all things tomato.

Tomato Galette with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

Cook's notes: A galette is a savory rustic tart with hand-folded edges often found in French cuisine. This recipe was adapted from BHG Taste Summer Tomato 2016 and serves 4. Omit the sausage to be a vegetarian dish. A prepackaged pie crust can be substituted for puff pastry though baking time will vary. Cook sausage ahead as a time saver.  

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry thawed
• 3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs mixed with 1 tablespoon Italian herbs (use a food processor for this step)
• 1 cup crumbled cooked Italian sausage
• 4 tomato slices or a combination of yellow and red tomatoes halved about 1/3 cup each
• Sea salt
• 1/3 cup each red bell pepper, finely diced, and sweet onions
• 3 tablespoons snipped basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese or crumbled goat cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Egg wash (whisk one egg with 1 teaspoon water) 

Directions:

• Thaw out one sheet of puff pastry. Keep pastry covered so it does not dry out. 
• Slice tomatoes and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle tomatoes with sea salt and let sit for 20 minutes.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix bread crumbs and spices. Set aside. 
• Saute onions and peppers. 
• Gently roll the puff pastry out on a floured piece of wax paper. Transfer crust to parchment paper.

• Place bread crumbs mixed with Italian herbs, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Layer tomatoes, peppers, shallots, and sausage if adding to the galette. Grate Parmesan over the mixture.
• Fold crust over filling, pleating as necessary and leaving some filling exposed in the center. Crumble goat or cheddar cheese over the top.
• Brush on egg wash over exposed crust. Grate more Parmesan cheese over the crust. Place the baking sheet with galette in the freezer while the oven is preheating at 425 degrees. 
• Remove the galette from the freezer and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 18-20 minutes. Last 5 minutes of baking time add in snipped basil leaves.

Let pan with galette cool on a wire rack before cutting with a serrated knife or pastry wheel.

A recipe twist-Tomato Basil Tart

https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2016/08/seasonal-kitchen-whats-fresh-now.html 
Some Other Ever Ready Puff Pastry Ideas 
Mini Blueberry Galette
https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2017/07/mini-blueberry-galatte.html
Cherry and Peach Galette
https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2017/07/diy-project-and-cherry-abd-peach-galette.html     

Lemon Berry Shortcake

 

From Ever Ready a Lemon Berry Shortcake. You get to choose what time of day a slice might add some excitement to your day with a homemade treat. 

Lemon Berry Shortcake

Cook's Notes: The original recipe called for a strawberry raspberry sauce which I thought was not needed as fresh berries are added to the batter. All the cake needs is a light dusting of powdered sugar. It's a moist cake with the addition of buttermilk. Lemon juice and zest add a little zing to the flavor. It's a recipe keeper in my book. The recipe is adapted from Taste of Home Magazine and serves 6-8.

FYI This recipe featured in the photo above was made with 1/2 cup raspberries and 1/2 cup diced strawberries. 
Cake Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup diced fresh strawberries or raspberries or a combination of both fruits

Cake Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch round cake pan.
• In a bowl sift and whisk the first 4 ingredients together.
• In another bowl whisk the egg, buttermilk, melted butter, lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla or almond extract.
• Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in berries. Transfer batter to the pan and evenly smooth out.
• Bake 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes and invert onto a plate.

Pequot Lakes Art Crawl Recap

 
Pequot Lakes is a small classic town in central Minnesota, north of Brainerd. It's in the heart of Paul Bunyan Land and features a unique bobber-shaped water tower marking the community as a popular lake's area destination. They're a community that plans events all year long bringing people together for a variety of experiences. Bean Hole Days in July is one of their most popular events. You'll find the bobber theme throughout the town. 

This past weekend was their First Annual Bobber Art Crawl.  

A variety of authors and artists were available during the day to share and discuss their work with visitors. The following are a sampling from the art crawl.

I enjoyed catching up with two local authors from the recent Northwoods Art and Book Festival in Hackensack. They were selling and signing their books. 

ME Fuller artist and author of  cozy mysteries "Saving the Ghost" and "Blood on the Bridal Wreath."  

Julie Jo Larson, author of travel book "100 Things to Do in Minnesota Northwoods Before You Die."

Mystery/Thriller/Romane writer T. J. Jones had a booth but I overlooked getting his photo on that day.  

He  writes the Slater mysteries; "My Sister's Detective" "My Sister's Fear" "Slater's  Tempest" "Slater's Vendetta" and "Slater's Game." Jones's newest novel is "The Gypsy."

Artist Kathi Mann was set up in front of Timeless Appeal store, a consignment shop that sells home decor and furnishings by local craftsmen and artists. Many of the items found inside are what I call creative repurposed art.

Mann was demonstrating her artistry, repurposing an old ironing board into a welcome sign-perfect for an up north front porch. 

Inside Timeless Appeal, you can find some other pieces of Mann's art on repurposed pieces of wood.  

 

In 2019 Shannon and James Watkins, from Faith Boost, a custom and sign shop in Pequot Lakes, utilized the creative talents of 9 local art students, to implement a new community attraction, photo cutout boards. Local art students painted boards that depicted local area businesses. The boards feature cut-out faces for visitors and tourists to enjoy a photo op moment. The project was developed to promote artistic kids in town, promote businesses and give kids something productive to do. These photo boards are in front of local businesses scattered around the town. Since 2019 more of these photo boards are popping up all over town. Such a fun idea.   

I look forward to next year's art crawl. Pequot Lakes has created another winning community event that brings people together for a fun artistic and literary experience.

Ham and Egg Muffin Cups

TODAY

AND ENJOY EGG AND HAM MUFFIN CUPS  

and the perfect way to start the day.

Cook's Notes: These muffin cups are such a simple concept that can be prepared in 15 minutes. It looks fancy and elevates your standard egg and ham meal to a new level. You can make as many or as few needed. I made two in a standard 6 cup muffin tin. These muffin cups would be perfect for brunch. 

Recipe from BHG Brunch and Breakfast 2021 Publication (available in grocery stores) 

Ingredients: 

• Thin deli ham( I used  Black Forest)
• Large eggs
• Grated cheddar cheese
• Chopped (drained) tomatoes and/or bits of broccoli
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Sprinkle of parsley flakes 
• Optional pesto

 Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tin wells for how many muffin cups you are making. If only making a few spread out in the muffin tin. 
• Gently press a ham slice into each prepared muffin cup, carefully ruffling the edges of the ham when placing it inside. 
• Divide grated cheese among ham lines muffin cups. Inside ham sprinkle with cheese, tomato, and broccoli if using and a very small dollop of pesto if using. 
• Break an egg into each ham-lined muffin cup. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley flakes.   

• Bake for 18 minutes or until whites are completely set and yolks are thickened.
• Let muffin cups stand for 3 minutes and then remove each cup carefully. 

Calories per cup-145 
 Last night's promise of a full and showy moon did not disappoint. 

There was a time-lapse between photos. Just a stunning display. 

 

Piggies in a New Blanket

Weekend Company Coming? Looking for a new breakfast idea? Ever Ready has got you covered. 

Piggies in a New Blanket puts a spin on two of your favorite breakfast items-pancakes and smoked sausages. 

Piggies in a New Blanket

Cook's Notes: This recipe requires only 3 ingredients; pancakes, smoked sausages, and syrup. I just happened to have these small glasses (from a Dollar Tree store several years ago). They are bigger than a shot glass and a perfect serving size. I put syrup in the bottom of the glass) Pancake batter should be on the thinner side so easier to roll. I purchased Beef Smokies Smoked Sausage because they had no MSG, GF and beef was the first in the product line of ingredients. 

Below photo is another way to serve and I opened one so you could see inside. 

Ingredients:

• Pancakes
• Smoked Sausages
• Syrup
• Optional blueberries
• Skewers (3.75 appetizer size)

Directions:

• Place smokies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle syrup over them. Bake for 400 degrees for 8 minutes, turning once.
• Make pancakes. Add sausage in the middle and pierce skewer through the middle to keep the edges of the pancake together.  

  

  Corned Beef Wrap Sandwich

Cook's Notes: A different spin on a traditional Reuben sandwich. Substitute a low-calorie wrap for bread. This sandwich was made with corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut all wrapped in foil heated at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. 

A suggested  Low Carb Wrap for your next sandwich by Mission.  

S9me awesome Back to School lunch box ideas below in the link

https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/fun-lunch-ideas-for-kids/
 

Mini Strawberry Pies

Wednesday's sunrise was stunning!

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It's what the sunflowers do." Helen Keller


Mini Strawberry Pies

Cook's Notes: Muffin tins are so versatile. You can use one to make mini fruit pies. They're an easy dessert to put together using prepared ingredients but still get a homemade taste. Raspberry filling with fresh raspberries is another option for these pies. You can use either a homemade crust or a refrigerated pie crust. Top baked pies with a sprinkle of almonds or a dollop of whipped cream. The recipe makes 6 pies using about a 4 inch wide mouth jar or glass turned upside down to cut out the dough circles.  
Ingredients:

• 2 refrigerated pie crusts
• 1 can Solo Strawberry Cake and Pastry Filling
• 1-1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries
• 1 teaspoon Amaretto or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

• In a bowl mix cake and pastry filling with diced strawberries and extract or Amaretto. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and very lightly grease muffin tin. On 2 sheets of floured wax paper roll the pie dough into a 13-inch round. Cut each pie dough into 3 -4 pie circles using a 4 inch round cutter. Press each dough round into a muffin tin cup, making sure it covers the inside of the cup well, crimping edges to fit in. Prick the rounds all over with a fork. Refrigerate 7 minutes. 
• Bake for 9 minutes or until shells are golden brown. Remove and place on a cooling rack. 
• When shells are cooled, add fruit filling. 
  

Strawberry Mini Pies are the perfect finish for Honey Beef Garlic Lettuce Wraps 

Honey Beef Garlic Lettuce Wraps

Love Lettuce Wraps-perfect for a warm summer evening meal.

Honey Beef Garlic Lettuce Wraps:

Cook's Nores:  

I used sirloin instead of flank steak for a less chewy taste. Serving rice with wraps is a suggested option but I substituted a slaw mixture from a package of Asian Chopped Salad Mix found in produce. The recipe makes 7-8 individual lettuce wraps. I was quite happy our local grocery store carried live lettuce or butter lettuce leaves perfect for the wraps. The wraps were just DELICIOUS!
Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. sirloin
• Butter lettuce leaves
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3/4 cup sweet onion, diced
• 3/4 cup sweet mini red bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
• Dash red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 cups from a package of Asian Chopped Salad Mix (produce section) 

Directions:

• Place the package of steak in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove and slice meat in thin strips across the grain.
• In a bowl whisk soy sauce, honey, Worcestershire, ginger, pepper flakes, orange juice, and cornstarch. Set aside.
• Chop peppers and onions, mince garlic.
• In a frypan heat, sesame oil and add in meat strips, onions, peppers, and garlic. Stir fry until meat is cooked but still a little red. You don't want to overcook the meat. 
• Remove meat, onions peppers, and garlic from the pan and set aside. Wipe pan clean. Add in soy sauce, honey, Worcestershire sauce pepper flakes orange juice, and cornstarch. Cook on low until thickened. Add meat mixture back in and mix well.
• To serve, add 2 cups slaw mix to meat mixture and place a scoopful in lettuce leaves.
• In the chopped salad mixture there are small tortilla strips. I added some to the lettuce wraps on top for an extra crunch.  
  
  
  
  
  Mini Strawberry Pies   
  
  

Double Chocolate Cookies

 

There's nothing better than starting a week with a few freshly baked cookies and a cup of coffee. These cookies have a depth of chocolate made with Droste and white chocolate chips. 

Droste, unsweetened cocoa powder for baking.

Double Chocolate Cookies

Recipe adapted from Food Network July/August 2021 and makes about 18 cookies.
Ingredients: 

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• Optional chopped nuts

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. 
• Beat in the egg and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture at low speed. Stir in the white chocolate chips.
• Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. 
• Arrange balls of dough, about 2 heaping tablespoons each, about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
• Bake until set around the edges, about 10-11 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on the pans, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.