Baked Apples

Oh it's the most wonderful time of the year!! I absolutely love the fall/winter, and cold weather puts me in the mood to bake. We had a crazy ice storm a couple weekends ago and we stayed in for 4 days straight just eating. It was glorious. Because of that small setback, my hubs and I had way too many carbs and fatty comfort food (mac n cheese!) and needed a reprieve from it all. Anyhow, I made these lovely baked apples earlier this week as a weeknight dessert, and it was SO FAST to put together. I started with perfectly sweet honeycrisp apples and cut one in half (1 apple =  2 servings). I cored out the 2 halves to create a little crater for the yummy filling. Now, you can use virtually anything that you want but I used walnuts, dried cranberries*, honey, and brown sugar. Stick 'em in the oven at 350 and bake for like 20 minutes (I took them out a little early so they were mostly soft but still had a bite). Next time I'd probably make them softer so it's easier to cut through with a spoon. No need to let them cool, just dig in! If you don't care about fat and calories, top it off with some fresh whipped cream or ice cream! These are so quick to make and can be made in large quantities at once for a show stopping dessert at your next dinner party. You can experiment with different apples and fillings, based on the season.

*I used dried cranberries in apple juice, which are different than your usual packaged cranberries that have been soaked in sugar syrup. The apple juice is MUCH better, believe me!

What's in it:
-honeycrisp apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, raw wildflower honey, light brown sugar

Flank Steak with Parsnip Puree

Flank steak is a great cut of meat; it's cheap, quick to make, and extremely versatile. I've been protein loading my husband and flank has proven to be a favorite. This was a fast weeknight meal that I threw together in about 30 minutes! I had some parsnips in the fridge that desperately wanted to be cooked. I pureed the parsnip with some oil, S&P, smoked paprika, and garlic. I seared the steak to mid-rare with a rub of cumin, salt, and pepper; and sliced  up some green tomatoes (which I wanted to fry but ate raw because I was hungeeee!) 3 easy steps and voila! Dinner time! You can do it too!

What's in it:
-flank steak, S&P, cumin, parsnip, garlic powder, smoked paprika, green tomato

October Feast

I know I'm literally 2 months behind on this, but fear not, I'm done for the semester and have all the time in the world to cook and update!!! This post is for October's feast, which we actually did in the beginning of November...yeah we break rules. The ingredients were: tomatoes, salmon, and something sticky. Unfortunately, I did not photograph the dessert, and it was done before I could. It was caramel popcorn, and needless to say, my husband loved it....hence no photograph. I gathered a few gorgeous heirloom tomatoes (aren't they just beautiful!!!). I really did not know how to combine such a tart flavor with the delicateness of salmon. I started with the yellow heirloom and made a basil infused puree and went from there. I used a lean salmon from Alaska, and lightly S&P'd it, then topped it with the basil/tomato puree, and baked it. Then I thinly sliced the remaining tomatoes and tossed it in an olive oil/salt/basil mixture to make a light salad. This was definitely an OUT of season meal, but it was quite refreshing! I topped off the salmon with peppery arugula. It was the most out of the box I could think considering my 3 major deadlines that were fast approaching! The puree was a knockout and can be used on a lot of different things.

What's in it:

-salmon, variety heirloom tomatoes, basil, S&P, arugula, EVOO