Back to School Lunch!

Happy Back to School! I don’t know about you guys, but it seems earlier and earlier every year. That being said, adults get a little bit of freedom back, and kids get to catch up with old friends. First day of school screams new outfits, summertime tales, fresh notebooks, new teachers, and old haunts.

We came up with a great back to school lunch delicious to kids (it has been child tested) and it is chock full of great things such as broccoli, yam, apple…but it is all snuck in with a twist!

On the menu we have: broccoli cheese whole wheat pasta, yam chips, and cinnamon apple rice krispy treats. Enjoy!

Ingredients will make about 5 servings

Pasta:
1 box whole wheat pasta (we used rotini because it is fun)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large head broccoli
Kosher salt

Yam Chips:
1 large yam
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt

Cinnamon Apple Rice Krispy Treat:
5 Cups Rice Krispy Cereal
5 cups small marshmallows
1 Large green apple
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter + some for greasing
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Bring a large pot of water, and a small pot of water to a boil. In the meantime cut the large head of broccoli into smaller pieces. When large water comes to a boil, pour in pasta. When small water comes to boil, pour in broccoli. In a medium sized pot start melting butter right before pasta is done, cook pasta 9-12 minutes or until slightly al dente. Cook broccoli about 5 minutes or until tender when poked with fork.

Once butter is melted, strain and pour in pasta. Stir pasta so that it gets coated in butter, pour in broccoli and stir more. Pour grated cheese in thirds and stir so that it doesn’t melt in clumps. Sprinkle salt in to your liking.

For the chips I suggest using a mandolin, because they are awesome! Preheat oven to 415 degrees.

Clean outside of yam before slicing. Slice yam relatively thin, not so thin that you can see light through it, but no so thick that they snap in half…they should be able to bend. In a bowl, toss with olive oil.

Lay out on cookie sheets and very lightly sprinkle with salt, they get salty very easily.

Bake about 10 minutes, or until you see little brown spots pop up. Rotate halfway through.

These Rice Krispies don’t hold together as tightly as the old fashioned kid without apple, so we are adding a bit more marshmallow…but who cares, they won’t be around long because they are so quickly devoured!

Before doing anything, make sure to grease bottom and sides of 9”x11” pan.

Start by cubing apple into pretty small pieces about a centimeter cubed. In a small sauce pan melt butter and sugar. When melted pour in apple pieces, stir to coat, then add 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes until apple is soft. Set aside.

In a medium/ large deep sauce pan melt marshmallows while stirring constantly. Add teaspoon of cinnamon and stir for two more minutes. Add in apples and stir in completely. Then add in cereal and stir that in completely.

Using a greased spatula, pour mix into your already greased pan, pushing mix in as tight as possible. Let cool, and then slice!!

This is such a delicious combo, I suggest that adults enjoy it too!

Happy Fourth Apple Cherry Pie!

 

Happy Fourth of July! Fourth of July is about family, BBQ, hot dogs, parades, fireworks, patriotism, beer on front lawns mid-day, walking in the middle of the street, staying out late when you are a kid!

I still have that sense of wonderment and excitement around the Fourth, that feeling that I will be allowed to stay out and walk around by myself with my friends, and gallivant as I please. It is funny that I still get this way when I am a grown (kind of) adult, and I can do as I please! It is still more fun however when you are running to go get the best view for fireworks.

Though my experience growing up by the ocean in beautiful Pacific Palisade California is different from Michael’s in Bethesda Maryland, one thing absolutely holds ours and everyone else’s experiences together is a good old fashion pie!

We were unable to tell which pie is more American; apple or cherry, so we made an apple cherry pie!

Enjoy, and have a wonderful Fourth!

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/4 sticks (18 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk

Filling:
½ lb sweet cherries
4 granny smith apples
1 lemon
1 cup sugar plus a pinch
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and process until it looks like meal. While still processing, pour in ice water in a slow steady stream until it just combines.

Divide batter in two and let chill for 1 hour to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375.

To create the pie filling, pit and halve your cherries, place in a bowl. Core and cut the apples into quarters and then really thin slices. Place in bowl as well, and squeeze the lemon juice over it. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in with the fruit and stir.

To assemble pie spread flour on a flat surface and roll out to about 11 inches wide. Lay on the bottom of your pie pan. Pour your fruit into the pie pan, and dot with butter.

Roll the second dough out and slice into long 1 inch wide pieces. Create a lattice of pie crust by laying one strip down and then another, to create a weaving pattern.

Brush the pie crust with a mix or egg and milk, and sprinkle with sugar.

Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes, then cover the pie with tinfoil, and bake for another 20.

 Finito! Put that pie in the window, but don’t let anyone steal it. Happy 4^th!

 

Potato and Leek Latkes with Apple Chutney! Yay!

What a glorious time of year this is! Today is the second day of Hanukkah and Michael and I celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas so we get to be super festive the whole month. Every year Hanukkah falls on a different date, because it follows the Jewish calendar. Last year Hanukkah and Christmas overlapped, but this year it falls earlier on in the month.

It is a wonderful thing that Michael can teach me his family traditions, and I can teach him mine, and now we can share both together…and twice the amount of awesome food!!

That being said, we are making potato and leek latkes for the holiday with a sweet apple chutney to accompany it. An interesting fact about why latkes are a holiday staple and are loved in the Jewish community (besides being tasty), is that the oil used to fry the latkes is representative of the oil used to provide light miraculously for eight days!

The glorious thing about this dish, whether you call them latkes or potato pancakes, is that they are marvelous year round and are so unbelievably delicious I am hungry just typing this! So enjoy and happy holidays!

Ingredients:

Latkes: 4 medium sized ones

2 large russet potatoes
1 large leek
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup olive oil

Apple Chutney:

3 granny smith apples
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup apple juice
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

We start with making the apple chutney because it is best served at room temperature, so start by peeling and dicing the apple into same sized pieces depending on how large or small you would like your pieces. Melt butter in a sauté pan, and then add apples. Cook until apples soften, then add apple juice and cinnamon and cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from pan, and let sit at room temperature.

To make the latkes, peel the potatoes, and using a cheese grater with the largest size holes grate both of them. Place the shreds of potato into a bowl of water. Now take your leek, cut the end off where it forms a bulb, and then cute where the white starts to turn into green. Next cut in half length wise, take the outer two leaves off, and rinse the stalk under flowing water. Now laying the cut side down, thinly slice the whole leek into small strips.

Take the potato, and place in a strainer and run cold water over until all the foamy starch washes off. Lay a towel out, and place potato on top and ring out as much of the water as you possibly can. Place potatoes back in a large mixing bowl, mix in leeks, salt and the egg (lightly beaten). Be sure to mix thoroughly so all the parts are coated in egg because this is your binder.

In a large sauté pan heat your olive oil until it sizzles when you put a drop of water in it. Take about 3-4 Tablespoons of your latke mix and place in a circle in the pan, using a spatula push down to spread it out evenly. Put as many as you can in the pan, and flips them when one side becomes golden brown. When they are done, they should be golden brown on both sides, take them out and let them sit on a plate with a piece of paper towel on it to absorb excess oil.

When they cool serve with the apple chutney and any other toppings you like! Don’t just make these for the holidays, you can make these year round!

Happy Holidays!

Classic Caramel Apples

Apples have always had a wonderful place in every fall lovers heart. We bob for apples, we make apple pie, we harvest apples, Hell, we even give them to teachers at the beginning of the year. There is absolutely no better way to bring that tradition full circle than covering them in caramel!

These caramel apples are classics, very straight forward, simple, and wonderful!!! Celebrate 6 days of Halloween left, and bite into some caramel apples!

*Be sure to pay attention to the color of your sugar while it caramelizes, too soon it will be albino, too late it will burn.

Ingredients: makes 6

Sticks or whatevs to insert into the apples
 Nonstick cooking spray
 2 cups sugar
 1/2 cup heavy cream
 6 Granny Smith or Red Delicious apples
 1 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and coat with cooking spray, this will prevent the caramel from adhering to everything.

 In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil over high, then reduce to medium-high and simmer, undisturbed, until caramel is golden brown, 8 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully stir in cream (mixture will sputter). And we say sputter we mean it, I practically seared flesh off. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool 5 minutes.

Now make a small slit in top of each apple, and insert your stick 1 inch deep into each slit.

For the finale….dip apples into caramel, swirling to coat. Sprinkle with nuts (if using) and transfer to sheet. If the caramel seems thin, just let it cool, and double dip (we allow it), or allow it to sit in the freezer for a few min to harden the caramel.

Serve up! Yummy!!!

Cinnamon crumble apple muffin

Instead of giving your teacher (or kid’s teacher) an apple, give some crumbled apple muffins. There is a specific smell that comes along with fall cooking, its warm, comforting, a little spicy, and always a savory and sweet sense at the same time. These muffins start to fill your house with a wonderful smell the second you place them in the oven. We wanted to combine an apple pie, with an apple strudel, with a muffin, and we were left with this fabulous thing! So enjoy this recipe, make it for the family, the neighbors, anyone you like, because it is sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face.

*brown sugar is a huge part of this recipe, so pretty much just have a cup of it set aside.

Ingredients:

Muffin:
2 cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup butter (at room temperature)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ¼ tsp vanilla
1 ½ cup chopped apples (we prefer honey crisps, or pink ladies)

Crumbs:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tlb. flour
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tlb butter

Icing:
3 Tlb powdered sugar
2 Tlb milk (give or take)

Start by preheating your oven to 375,  while that heats, grease and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin papers, and fill each one with a spoonful of brown sugar to hold it down and to create a bit of crust by patting down with your finger. Set aside.  

Heat a sauce pan to medium high, and heat your apples and a few spoon fulls of brown sugar until slightly softened. Set aside.

To make the strudel bits on top; in small bowl, mix the 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 Tlb of flour, ¼ tsp of cinnamon, and 1 Tlb of butter. Beat together until it starts to create small balls of sand like looking things. This is where a lot of the tasty is!

Now to make the actual batter ;in a large bowl beat together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. As best as you can take the apples out of the melted sugar and stir in (too much added sugar will cause muffins to be a bit doughy).

In a medium sized bowl mix together your dry mix: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add your dry mix to your wet mix a bit at a time. The mix will seem pretty thick and dry, but when it bakes it will be the perfect consistency, and the apples will moisten the cake as well.

Now using a large spoon fill each muffin cup about ¾ of the way, and then sprinkle with your crumble mix you made in the beginning. Once all are loaded, place in oven, and set for 20 minutes (at the half way point turn the muffins around in the oven).

While the muffins are cooking, make the icing by pouring a little bit of milk at a time into your sugar, until you reach the consistency that you desire.

When muffins are done, remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then drizzle icing on, and eat up! Damn they are good!!!

Back to School Lunchbox!!!

  These days I really have no idea when kids start school. When I was younger it was after labor day, until I got to high school, now it seems that many children start really early. For those of us who remember starting school after labor day, here is a back to school lunch for your kids (or yourself). Every paper bag lunch should consist of a sandwich, chips, some dip, and a little something sweet. Michael was such a cute little boy, and sometimes I still make him PBJ sammies so here is a healthy twist on all the good things that little kids love. Our lunch line up today is:

Peanut Butter Banana and Honey Sandwich
Carrot Chips
Greek Dip
Chocolate Covered Apple Slices

Ingredients:
Peanut Butter Banana and Honey Sandwich:

2 slices 100% whole wheat bread
4 Tlb. organic creamy peanut butter
1 ½ Tlb. orange blossom honey
1 ripe banana

Carrot Chips and Dip:

4 large carrots
2 Tsp. sea salt
2 Tsp. olive oil
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1 cucumber
1 stem dill

Chocolate Covered Apples:

1 granny smith
Chocolate dip mix

 

 

 

 

I honestly am using a microwaveable chocolate mix because it is so easy, quick, and tasty. This lunch is for your kids, and you don’t need to slave over the small things to achieve what you want. That being said core and slice your apple, then following the instructions heat up your chocolate. Dip the slices in the chocolate, place on a wax paper covered plate, and leave in the freezer to harder.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and peal the skin off of the carrots, and then chop into three sections. Using a mandolin, or whatever thin slicer instrument you have, slice the carrots paper thin. In a bowl mix together the carrot, olive oil and sea salt. Lay all the slices out on to two baking sheets (they can touch but not overlap). Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes, at the half way point flip the sheet trays around. Once they are finished, take out and lay on a cooling rack so they can crisp up.

In the meantime make the dip by peeling and very finely dicing half of the cucumber, and dicing up the dill. Mix up the greek yogurt, cucumber, dill, and a pinch of salt.

Now on to the finale, the sandwich, three easy steps. Take the bread, spread the peanut butter, place banana slices, drizzle honey, put top slice on, slice… and eat!!!

This lunch is so simple, delicious, and healthy. Wind down the summer and get ready for the school year, and make your kids this lunch….hey even boyfriends love it!!!