DIY Apple Pie Spice - Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

This might seem like an out of place Fall recipe post, but I just had to share one of my favorite breakfasts this past week. Spring brings a combination of crisp morning weather and warmer afternoons. The floor downstairs are still cold on our toes and slippers add to us being able to venture forth from our carpeted upstairs to face the day.

Once Summer hits, and berries are in season locally, I will be filling my breakfast bowl with fresh berries, granola and yogurt. But, for now, I am still needing a warm and filling breakfast. This Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oat bowl is perfect.

It is also the perfect way to get back into the Daring Cook's monthly challenges. For the month of April, Sawsan from Chef in disguise challenged us to spice things up by making our own spice blends from scratch. Now, I make some of my own spice blends; dry ranch seasoning, taco seasoning, and Italian Seasoning, but there are still several mixes that I buy.

I know right? Why spend the extra money, right?

Well, this was a great nudge in the DIY direction to have me create my own Apple Pie Spice. My kids love this sprinkled over sauteed apples for their pancakes or just by the spoonful.

I have a lot of work to do on my poor neglected herb garden, but I hope to have enough to dry this Summer and Fall so I can make even more of our own mixes.

So this mix is really quite simple. Just whisk it up and store in an airtight container like a small Mason Jar.

Apple Pie Spice

You Will Need:

• 4 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

Whisk together and store in an air tight container.

Like I said, this is such an easy breakfast, yes, steel cut oats take a few minutes to simmer, but while you have that cooking go ahead and simmer some fresh apples with the Apple Pie Spice, brown sugar and a dab of butter.

Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

You Will Need:

• 1 apple, chopped
• 1 tsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. Apple Pie Spice
• 1 Tbsp. boiled cider
• steel cut oats, cooked according to package directions

In a skillet, heat the butter, brown sugar and apple pie spice. Toss with the chopped apples and boiled cider. Simmer gently until apples are tender. Serve over steel cut oats.

Enjoy! 

Daring Cook's Challenge (August) - Fried Green Tomatoes

I have a food bucket list. Now, don't laugh...

There is a whole world of amazing smells, spices and seasonings and I have a list of items I just must try to eat or make sometime in my lifetime. A few years ago at the top of my list was baking and decorating a cake from scratch. That one is crossed off.

I spent a lot of time reading growing up. I was an only child and encouraged to explore my world through books. I remember reading about foods and descriptions of flavors and smells and to this day want to recreate some of them. One such food was fried green tomatoes. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg left it's impression. I may not be Southern, and fried foods are not in my blood, but I wanted to try my hand at these little fried treats.

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

Cornmeal? Now, I have made tortillas, grew up on cornmeal mush, love corn bread, but have never used cornmeal for breading anything.

Right now the tomato plants are bursting with ripe, red fruit... but when this challenge was announced there was an abundance of green tomatoes so it seemed only natural to try the recipe. I can't say I have ever looked twice at a green tomato...

Crunchy like an apple, tart but still a little juicy I wonder who first decided to fry them.

Dancing around and browning in my cast iron skillet they still didn't look like much.

I have tried my share of fried veggies, from regular flour and egg wash to the light tempura coating, but I loved the crunch found on these tomatoes.

Fried Green Tomatoes

You Will Need:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten 
• 1/2 c. milk & spoonful of Greek yogurt (or buttermilk)
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 c. cornmeal
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper 
• 3 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices
• Vegetable oil
• Salt to taste

1. Combine egg, milk and yogurt in a bowl; set aside.
2. Combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.
3. Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 cup flour; dip in egg mixture, then dredge in cornmeal mixture.
4. Preheat a cast-iron skillet with 1/2 inch oil. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.
5. Enjoy!

Not a bad dish, but a good book would have made the experience even better.That is one more dish I can cross off my bucket list. What is on yours?

Daring Cooks July Challenge: Lamb Stew 'en Papillote'

After taking a 'Daring' break for over a year I am back and happy to be stretching my skills and taste buds for a new challenge. Starting back this month there was a great technique I had only heard of, but have never tried.

Have you ever cooked 'en Papillote'?

Pronounced, pah-pee-YOHT, it is French for in parchment. This month's challenge comes from Sarah of All Our Fingers in the Pie. Thank you Sarah for the nudge to try this new and fun way of cooking. It was delicious!

One of my new favorite meats is lamb. When I was searching for inspiration for this challenge meal, I found many things that sounded delicious, but knew I had a winner when I found this Lamb Stew over Couscous. The stew is mostly cooked in a pot and the final melding of flavors occurs en papillote.

I love the colors and spices used in this recipes... cinnamon, coriander, cumin... all healthy and made my kitchen smell amazing!

Now, I won't pretend like I am an expert at folding the parchment. My folds were a mess! But, luckily they were good enough to keep everything inside and finish steaming the meat and veggies.

So here you go,

Lamb Stew with Couscous 'en Papillote'

recipe adapted from Diane Forley at Kitchen Daily News.

You Will Need:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs lamb stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1  can chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 4 carrots, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 zucchini, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup drained chickpeas
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 c. couscous

In a pot or cast iron skillet, heat up the oil and brown the meat in two batches. Then add the onions and let them soften.

Move these to a stock pot and add the spices. Let this warm through. Then add the tomatoes, and stock.

Let this simmer for 35 minutes. Then add the vegetables and chickpeas. Let this simmer for another 15 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the water and butter up to a boil. Add the couscous, turn off the heat and cover for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Prepare parchment packets from 12" x 18" sheets. Place 3/4 c. of couscous into the center of the parchment paper. With a slotted spoon place about 1 cup of stew on top of the couscous. Starting on one end of the packet, fold the parchment paper over to keep it secure. Place on a jelly roll pan to prevent spilling or leaking.

Bake for about 30 minutes and serve the entire packet on the plate. Enjoy!