mom's apple pie

This apple pie recipe is pretty simple, but it is really good. The apples are what makes this pie. My mom always uses Cortland apples. They have a beautiful white flesh and they are so sweet. They hold up well to baking. 

I also use a pre-made pie crust. If you want to make your own, go for it. No one knows that I don't make my own crust. I have to admit, I'm not very good at making pies "pretty".

Preheat oven to 425

6 cups sliced Cortland apples

3 tbsp flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter, cubed

pie crust for bottom and top

• place pie crust in pie pan
• mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon together in a bowl and then dump in a bowl with the sliced apples and mix 
• pour apple mixture into the pie pan and top with butter and crust
• cut whatever design you want into the crust to let the air escape
• cover the edges with tin foil
• bake for 40-50 minutes

must have

This is a microplane grater. You can use it for anything, grating hard cheeses, zesting lemons, limes, oranges, grating whole nutmegs, or garlic. I have the fine grater and I love it. 

chocolate banana smoothie

I have to say that I broke the blender on this one. It wasn't the best blender in the world. So now I get to upgrade! However, Adam wants me to wait until after we move. That's fine with me... for now. No more smoothies for me until August, that's just sad. 

Anyways, if you want a chocolate treat that's pretty good for you, this is it. 

1 1/2 cups almond milk (or a little more depending how thick you want it)

1 1/2 frozen bananas broken up

2 tsp - 1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp peanut butter

5 hershey kisses or a small handful of chocolate chips (optional)

If you use the hershey kisses, I put them in first. I like having little bits of chocolate in mine.

Then the other ingredients and blend until smooth.

Makes 2 servings if you want to share. If Blake's around, I always share with him. 

blueberry smoothie

I drank a lot of these when I was pregnant. Blake loves them too. I originally got the idea from my friend Brook. She has a version of this on her blog: http://brookcancook.blogspot.com/ (if you want to check it out)
Blake has been drinking almond milk for a while now. When he was little, we gave him too much milk and his little bum didn't like it too much. But he really loves milk. It was an easy switch for him. It so good for you and it actually tastes good.

I also started freezing bananas. When they start to get ripe and sweet, you peel them, stick them on a wax paper- lined cookie sheet and into the freezer for about an hour. I then transfer them to a bag and leave them in the freezer.

The recipe is simple:

1 frozen banana, broken or cut up
1 to 1 1/2 cups almond milk (depending how thick you like it)
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 handful of spinach (optional)

Ok, I know that the spinach may put some of you off. But consider this: It is really healthy for you and the best part is, you can't taste it!

Put everything into a blender and blend until smooth. Serves 2 if you want to share.

I usually don't add any sweetener because the bananas are plenty sweet.

crack bacon

It's called crack bacon because it's so good, it's addicting! Not to mention that it so simple! My girlfriends and I took a cooking class in Savannah, at the 700 Cooking School and Chef Darin shared this recipe with us. Do yourself a favor, make it with other people around, so you don't eat it all yourself! The black pepper adds just the right "bite" with the brown sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350
1 lb thick sliced bacon
brown sugar
fresh ground black pepper

Press bacon into the brown sugar

place on parchment-lined cookie sheet and add the fresh ground pepper

bake for 10-15 minutes or until bacon is browned, don't burn the sugar

let cool and place on a plate

enjoy!

We like to put this on cheeseburgers. It goes great with smoked cheddar cheese! 

must have

Fresh ground black pepper. It just has a different taste than regular pepper powder. Most pepper-mills let you adjust how fine or coarse you want it. I usually keep mine on medium.
I keep it filled with McCormick black peppercorns, but you could go fancier if you like.

This is my must have for the week. 

roasted chicken

Let me introduce you to herbes de provence! It is a blend of herbs that they supposedly use in the south of France. It really adds something different and delicious to whatever you are making. I have used it in marinara sauces and on roasted chicken.

I buy a roaster chicken with a pop-up timer. To get that beautiful golden color the secret is butter! Grab about a tablespoon of soft butter in your hand and spread under the skin of the breast all the way to the other side, repeat on the other side. Sprinkle the herbes de provence, a little lavender, salt and pepper and cook at the recommended temperature until the timer pops. Start basting every 15-20 minutes after the first 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

eggplant lasagna

1 eggplant, peeled, sliced and put under the broiler until brown

8 lasagna noodles, cooked a few minutes less than package instructions

16 oz ricotta cheese (part skim or whole) mixed with 1 egg, s&p, parsley, parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese (lots, I don't think there can be too much cheese, but an 8 oz package will probably do)

1 quantity of marinara sauce with spinach (some times I use a jar of Classico tomato and basil sauce)

layering the ingredients

preheat oven to 350

a little bit of sauce on the bottom

noodles (this is a little smaller than 9x13

ricotta cheese mixture

mozzarella

eggplant

sauce

repeat once more, ending with the sauce layer on top (I don't like noodles on top, it dries them out) and parmesan cheese

cook for 30-40 minutes until bubbly

before going into the oven, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on  top

enjoy!

simple guacamole

avocado(s), depending on how many people are eating

garlic clove, pressed (1 per avocado)

salt to taste

lime or lemon juice to prevent browning

• mash and mix avocado's, garlic, lime juice and salt together and enjoy

I used to get all fancy and complicated, adding red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, etc... but honestly this tastes just as good and is so easy! My son and I love it.

these are some awesome muffins!

I was searching for really yummy muffin recipes and I found a recipe that was really good. But in typical Heather fashion, I changed it up and they are better than the original! 

Blueberry (or strawberry) muffins    makes 18

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup almond milk (can use regular)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp almond extract (maybe a splash more if you're feeling frisky)

2 cups fresh blueberries (or chopped fresh strawberries)

• preheat oven to 400 degrees
• line muffin cups with liners
• combine dry ingredients and whisk to mix together
• combine milk, oil and almond extract together, add beaten eggs
• mix together until almost mixed
• fold in berries
• fill muffin cups almost to the top and then put 1 heaping tsp of topping on top
• bake for 20 minutes or until done (be careful not to over bake, muffins will burn) 

crumble top (makes tons... enough for many batches)

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup cubed, cold butter

• smash butter with a fork into the dry ingredients until crumbly.

I have tried using frozen berries. It takes longer to bake. If you thaw them out, it turns the batter blue (or red if using strawberries) so I don't recommend that.

marinara sauce with spinach

I made this marinara to make lasagna. My mother was here and thought that it was so good and wanted the recipe. 

1 onion, fine diced

2 large cloves of garlic, diced

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes (you can use the one with basil added) and about 1/4 cup of water to rinse the can

1 bag of spinach

olive oil

1/2 tsp italian seasoning/basil (or whatever herbs you want)

salt and pepper to taste

parmigiana regiano

• heat oil in a pan on medium heat
• saute onions until a little brown and tender
• add garlic right before adding the spinach 
• add spinach in batches and saute until wilted
• add crushed tomatoes, water, herbs, salt and pepper, and the parmigiana regiano
• when the sauce is bubbling, cover and simmer for 30 minutes
• uncover and cook about 20 minutes more to thicken up the sauce

Serve over pasta, in lasagna, or whatever you would like. Enjoy.