Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I am going to share with you one of my favorite and EASIEST recipes for the amount of deliciousness involved.  Sweet Potato Fries!  And these are baked so they are actually healthy.

Here are your ingredients:

-Sweet Potatoes

-Olive Oil

-Garlic Powder

-Salt

-Pepper

Yup, that's it.  Now all you gotta do is peel & chop those babies up into whatever fry-shape pleases you (I like to make mine thick like steak fries).  Throw them in a bowl, toss with enough olive oil to lightly coat them, some salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste (I like a lot), and then lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment (you could probably skip this if you don't have any but I like it because it soaks up some of the oil and makes them crispier).  Bake at 450 for about 20 mins or until golden brown.  Let cool a little and enjoy!

Lentil Soup

I am dedicating this recipe to my beautiful friend Lori who is a brand new mama of the most adorable baby boy.  She loved the Kale & White Bean soup and requested I post a recipe for one featuring lentils.  So here it is!  A healthy soup, chock-full of veggies and goodness that makes great leftovers - perfect for a mama on-the-go.

You Will Need:

1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
2 cups dry lentils
8 cups water (or any kind of broth)
1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vinegar (balsamic tastes great!)
ground black pepper
salt

Directions: 

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions, carrots and celery and sautée until onion is tender.  Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil.  Cook for 2 minutes.

*I should note that I am a garlic LOVER so I added 4 cloves instead of 2 and it was delicious.  I also felt like my carrots were a little on the small side so I added an extra one as well as an extra celery stalk.  That's the great thing about soups - you can pretty much throw in whatever you like!

Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve stir in spinach and cook until it wilts.  Stir in vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.

P.S.  I served mine with Trader Joe's Cornbread and it was AMAZING!

The Best Apple Pie

I have an announcement to make.  Sunday night I made my first apple pie.  From scratch.  And it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my whole life.  I'm not kidding.  And that's coming from a non-fruit-dessert-I-prefer-chocolate kind of gal.  I was super nervous going into it because I really didn't want to screw it up and I'd heard pie crusts can be difficult, but the whole thing was actually not that hard at all!  I find any recipe to be a little more stressful the very first time I make it because I haven't got a feel for the timing of things and this usually translates into me frantically tossing things about the kitchen and making a big mess - but after the first run-through I can see that this recipe will be fairly easy and relaxing the next time around.  Not to mention it will impress the apple-bottom jeans off of anyone you happen to invite over.  Seriously, it tastes INCREDIBLE.

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First things first we are going to make the pie crust.

You will need:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, chilled & diced

1/4 cup of ice water

This recipe is enough for one pie crust which would be great for a pumpkin or pecan or some other open-faced pie, but because we are making an apple pie it needs a top - so double it.  I chose to make a lattice-top pie and found that even with doubling this recipe I was running out of dough by the end so when I make it again I will probably triple it.  You may have some dough left over but it's better than not having enough.

If you have a food processor, use it.  I used mine & it turned out great.  If not, a large bowl will be fine along with a pastry blender to cut in the butter (if you don't have this apparently you can use two knives or a fork although I'm not sure exactly how this works.  For some tips on "cutting in butter" check out this blog post).

Directions:

In a large bowl (or food processor) combine flour & salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  (If using food processor press "pulse" button until you reach the desired consistency).  You want to make sure your butter is SUPER cold before this step.  I chopped mine into small-ish pieces and put it in the freezer for a few minutes before adding it to the dry mixture.  The key is to keep the butter from melting so that when you cut it in it stays in tiny hard pieces which will create that delicious flakiness in your pie crust.

Now stir in your ice water (again, keeping everything cold) a tablespoon at a time just until the mixture starts to come together.  Test your dough - when you can form it into a ball without it falling apart it's done.  You may not need all the water, you may need a little extra - this is one of those baking things where you just have to play it by ear.  Now take your dough out and lightly form it into 2 separate balls (this is assuming you doubled the recipe - if not just form it into one & repeat the recipe) wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.  A lot of pie crust recipes ask you to refrigerate the dough for 4 hours or overnight, but I just left mine in there while I prepared the pie filling and it turned out great.  So make it in advance if you want - or just leave it in there until we finish the next part!

Apple Pie Filling

You will need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored & sliced

*Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F

First things first.  You are only going to need 8 apples if your apples are the size of plums.  I went ahead and chopped up 8 giant-sized apples and ended up with a TON left over.  So I would say you are going to need about 5.  I wanted to write the recipe as-is just in case you are one of those people working with mini-apples but, as you can see in the picture below, mine were big. (*note: I didn't use the red apples, they just looked cute in the picture).

Peel them, core them, and slice them into thin (but not paper thin) slices.  Set aside in bowl.

Now at this point I would take my pie dough out of the fridge and prepare the crust, as the next step involves boiling butter and sugar and once it's done you want to be ready to pour it into your pie.

So take one lump of your dough out of the fridge and using a rolling pin roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it's large enough to fit your 9" pie dish.  Place into pie dish and carefully press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides.  Set aside.

Now melt your butter in a saucepan (low to medium heat to avoid burning).  Stir in the flour to form a paste.  Add the water, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla & cinnamon and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature & let simmer.

While this is simmering (on low heat) take your pie crust & fill it with the sliced apples.  The apples will shrink down a bit when cooked so use enough apples to create a bit of a mound.

Now take your butter/sugar mixture and carefully pour it over the apples.  I saved about a third of my butter & sugar mixture and poured it over the finished top-crust so that when it baked it created this crispy, caramelized layer that was DELICIOUS!  But it's up to you - you can use it all now if you like. (If you want to save some make sure you leave it on the stove on a super low heat so it doesn't harden).

Next you will be creating the top crust of your pie.  There are several ways to do this, but I wanted to make a lattice crust for mine so I bought a pastry wheel which is how you get those cute little zig-zaggy edges on your dough strips.  So basically you roll out your 2nd lump of dough (the one that's still waiting in the fridge) on a lightly floured surface until it's fairly thin.  Then you using your pastry cutter you cut it into strips and lay them across the top of your pie.  (I forgot to take a picture of this step so I borrowed one from the Williams Sonoma website).

There are a few ways you can lay the strips.  I watched this YouTube video and followed their instructions. 

When you're done, take the remainder of your butter & sugar mixture and gently pour or brush it over the crust.

Bake for 15 minutes in your preheated oven.  Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-45 minutes until the apples are soft.

Remove from oven, let cool for 10-15 minutes.  Serve & enjoy!

Kale & White Bean Soup

For today's post I thought I would share with you another great, simple recipe that I have been making a lot.  Who doesn't love a big warm bowl of soup as the weather turns colder?  This is one of my favorites because it's SOUP-er (hehe) easy to make, is insanely healthy, and uses that great wonder-vegetable we have been hearing so much about lately... KALE!

*Kale is widely considered to be among the world's most nutritious vegetables – it's high in beta carotene, vitamins K and C and is loaded with antioxidants.

I have been trying to find more ways to incorporate kale into my diet and this soup has a ton of it, is delicious, and always turns out great.  It's also quick to make for those nights when you don't have a lot of time but want to throw together something impressive and healthy.  And for those veggie-friends out there - it's vegan, too!  Enjoy!

Kale & White Bean Soup

You will need:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup diced yellow onion

4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 (32-ounce) box low sodium vegetable broth

4 cups packed chopped kale (remove tough inner stems)

1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained & rinsed

2-3 large carrots, peeled & sliced

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Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add your chopped onions & cook for about 3 minutes.  Then add your chopped garlic and cook for another 2 minutes (make sure you stir as garlic burns easily).  Now add the broth, kale, tomatoes & carrots and put the lid on.  Cook for 5 minutes or until kale is tender.  Add beans & heat thoroughly.  Serve & enjoy!

See how easy that was?  The great thing about soups is that they're also great for using up whatever leftover vegetables you have in your fridge.  For instance, last time I made this I had some green onions that were getting wilty so I chopped them up & in they went!

Also worth mentioning, if you live near a Trader Joe's they now sell pre-washed, pre-trimmed bags of kale for $1.99!  Such a great deal and it makes things super easy.  (*I noticed that some of the pieces of kale still had pretty thick stems attached so I went through and tore off the big ones before I threw them in the pot.  Not sure if this was necessary but I wanted to make sure all of the ones that ended up in my soup were nice and soft).

Also the recipe says to cook for 5 minutes but if you have other things to do (preferably in the kitchen as you should never leave anything on the stove unattended) you can totally put your burner on low & leave this soup simmering for as long as you want! Last time I made a delicious homemade pizza to go alongside it and the soup just simmered away as I chopped & assembled.  All in all a great, healthy, delicious meal that you will definitely make again.

xo!

Most Delicious Lasagna Recipe

With the weekend shortly upon us I figured it was the perfect time for my very first recipe post.  And what better way to celebrate than with one of my most favorite things to make and eat; LASAGNA! Mmm, the cheesy, saucy, noodle-y goodness... I created this recipe by combining various lasagna recipes & making them my own. And if you want to make a vegetarian version, just substitute the meat for either veggie ground or some tasty eggplant. Enjoy! (And then enjoy again because the leftovers taste even better).

My Most Delicious Lasagna

You will need:

1x glass lasagna dish (9"x13")

1x box of lasagna noodles (I used Barilla)

about 1lb. lean ground beef (or ground turkey)

an onion
1x 15oz (425 g.) container of ricotta cheese

a carrot

a zucchini

a broccoli crown

garlic

Bag of fresh spinach

2x jars of marinara/spaghetti sauce (whatever kind you like)

Mozzarella cheese (I used a whole 8oz. bag - aka 2 cups)

Some sharp cheddar if you like (I like old fort because it's tastier).

-basil, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil

(a layer of fresh basil would be awesome!)

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Heat oven to 350.

Boil a giant pot of salted water and cook lasagna noodles (I used 10), following instructions on box. When done, lay them flat & let cool (I add a bit of olive oil to the strainer so they don't stick).

Chop up broccoli top, carrot & the zucchini (I used half) and sautée in pan with some olive oil until not-so-crunchy. Then turn off heat.

Finely chop half an onion (or use the whole thing if it's not massive - whatever you choose) and throw it in a pan with the ground beef & cook.

In a bowl, dump the whole container of ricotta cheese and add whatever spices you like (I like fresh garlic, some basil & oregano & a little salt & pepper). Then add the cooked veggies (wait until they're not steaming hot if you can) and mix it up.

Once the beef is cooked, add a jar of spaghetti sauce & simmer for about 5 minutes (or longer, doesn't matter).

Spray your glass lasagna pan with some cooking spray/olive oil and then cover the bottom with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Then lay down the first 4 noodles, overlapping the edges slightly. Then spread on a nice layer of the ricotta cheese/veg mixture. Then take your fresh (uncooked) spinach and add a layer (this will cook in the oven). Then add a layer of the beef.

Then layer on 3 more noodles and then layer on whatever you have left (mine ended up being a combination of a sparse layer of cheese mix & rest of beef. I think I also added a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce & a sprinkle of cheese - whatever you like). Then layer 3 more noodles.

On top add a thin layer of marinara sauce & then pile on the grated mozzarella to cover the top. Use however much you like. I also added some grated cheddar for flavor and then sprinkled it all with some pepper and oregano.

Cover with foil (make sure it's not resting on the cheese like mine was) and cook for 35 minutes. Then remove the foil & cook for another 10. Let sit on counter for 10 minutes & enjoy!

P.S. I had wanted to add a layer of fresh basil to the 2nd (sparse) layer but the store was out of it. It was delicious anyway but I think this would make it even more delicious. Mmm!