Apple Galette

Ooooh apple galette.  Doesn't that just sound so fancy? I think it does.  I have wanted to make a galette for ages for the sole reason that it sounds fancy.

There is in fact nothing fancy about this dessert.  It is incredibly quick and simple to make.  The most difficult part is peeling and chopping the apples.

I used this recipe from Picky Palate as inspiration.  As usual she over does things a bit by adding Rolos.  That seemed really unnecessary to me so I opted out of them and also used pumpkin pie spice because it's way cooler than just cinnamon.

Sooo here's all you need to do: saute up the apples, butter, sugar, pumpkin pie spice.

Dump it onto a pie crust (how do you like this action shot?!)

Fold up the crust around the edges.

And here she is fresh outta the oven.

Of course this must be eaten warm and topped with a scoop of ice cream.

Weekday Pasta Dinner

You may have noticed a pattern here.  I have an affection for dinners that consist of pasta with veggies mixed in. You can see this here, here, here, here, here, and here (just to name a few). And so we can add another post to that pile!

This was inspired by a Giada recipe that I stumbled upon while trying to find something interesting to make with the ingredients I had on hand at the time.

I sauteed the green beans, tomatoes, garlic and onions in some olive oil.

Cook the pasta, mix it with ricotta, and throw in the veggies.

I have to say I really loved this. In fact I couldn't stop eating it, my fork kept finding its way back into the pot.  It was a perfect fast and tasty weeknight dinner.

Gooey Cookies and Cake Bars

I probably need to stop baking with Oreos, but Picky Palate keeps coming up with delicious looking recipes with Oreos as the star ingredient!  Perhaps she is looking for some sort of Oreo sponsorship, who knows and really who cares?

The original recipe called for double stuffed Oreos, devil's food cake, and chocolate chips.  I wasn't planning on veering too far away from this recipe, but the supermarket had something else in store for me.  After a great many trips to the store to buy Oreos, they finally had the peanut butter kind AND they were on sale. I was elated; I had to get them.  Then on my way to pick up a bag of chocolate chips I discovered a magical new product a bag of peanut butter AND chocolate chips; I had to get these too.

Back at home a great debate began over what cake mix to use.  Devil's food? Red velvet? Strawberry? After a phone call and an in-person interview I went with the strawberry.  I wanted a sort of chocolate covered pb&j feel to these bars.

My little odd selection of flavors.

Fresh outta the oven.

I had to blow that picture up nice and big for you kids.

In the end I cannot say I am in love with these bars.  Don't get me wrong they are damn tasty, but may I say something quite bold?  I think they might be better without the Oreos. Eeeeks! Don't tell Jenny!

Soup Time Already?

We had such a gloomy week this past week; I figured it was time for some soup.  Of course on the day I decided it was time for soup the sun came out and it was 80 degrees, but we'll just look passed that.

The recipe I decided to use was from a 2008 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  I have been sitting on this recipe for 3 years! And naturally when I finally chose to make it I totally changed it and made a whole nother soup entirely.

This is the original recipe broccoli-potato soup with greens.  For my version of this soup I added corn and zucchini and nixed the greens oh and I snuck in some Old Bay because everything is better with Old Bay.

Potatoes and zucchini bubbling away.

In goes the corn and the broccoli. 

Finally the milk and the cheese!

I am very pleased with my additions and the smoked Gouda adds a fantastic flavor to the soup.

It has been decided that this soup will be made on a consistent basis once the real cold weather begins.

Labor Day Burgers

I had an idea for what I wanted to eat on Sunday: a giant gluttonous burger.  After hours of surfing Google images and of course chain restaurant web sites I came up with my plan.

Chiptole rub, Texas toast, pepper jack cheese, fried onions.

Check us out we had vegetables too!

Oh god, I can't even handle looking at this picture.  It conjures up such incredible delicious memories.  Seriously, go out and get yourself some Texas toast right now and use it as your burger bun.  You might also want some wet naps because those Texans aren't shy about using butter.

Ok, I need to end this post because this picture is too distracting for me.

Corn Flake Chicken

Problem: I've had leftover corn flakes, from a dessert I made, sitting in the cabinet for months now because honestly who wants to eat corn flakes?  We generally have about 5 boxes of cereal in house at a time so needless to say corn flakes is never anyone's cereal of choice.

Solution: corn flake chicken!

Here is the corn flake dip station; flour with a little spice rub mixed in, milk, crushed up corn flakes.

Then smush all of the pieces onto one pan so you don't have too much clean up and spray the tops with some cooking oil.

They cooked up so nicely, all crispy and brown.

I roasted some roasted potatoes and onions to go alongside the chicken.

MMmmm I love meals that are all the same color. 

Falafel

Ok let's get something off my chest before I show you what I made for dinner.  I used a falafel mix. Phew it feels good to get that out there.  So that being said there was very little cooking involved in this meal, but it was delicious and pretty so I had to share it.

All I did add water and fry 'em up.

I made a delightful salad to go inside the sandwiches.  It consisted of cucumber, tomato, red onion, parsley, and queso fresco tossed in olive oil and red wine vinegar.  

I also whipped up a quick tzatziki sauce with just some Greek yogurt and grated cucumber.

Stuff it all inside a warm pita..... perfect. 

A Lil' Down Home BBQ

I brought out my inner Paula Deen for this dinner.  Well actually there was no butter in this menu, but you get where I was going with that sentence.  This dinner consisted of pulled pork, green beans, and corn bread.

I used a Jiffy corn bread mix and added corn and cheddar cheese.

I sauteed the green beans and kale in olive oil with garlic and onions and finished them off with a squeeze of lemon, red pepper flakes, and a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese.  This recipe was inspired by a Giada recipe that I didn't have all the ingredients for.

I use a half a pork loin because I'm not one for giant cuts of meat and we have a teeny slow cooker. The pulled pork was cooked in a slow cooker for 8 hours with a can of Pepsi and some bbq sauce.  That's it!

(Yes I am still working on some slider rolls from the hamburger party)

I am going to wait the socially appropriate amount of time before I cook up the other half of that pork loin, but it is going to take every ounce of my being.

I think of this video every time I have cornbread, gets me every time.

Cornbreesha!

Guuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrllll

Love it.