Happle Birthday Crisp!

I made this for a friend's birthday.

He didn't appreciate my title, but he and the rest of the testing group did enjoy the dessert :)


It is very simple to make, and can easily be made as a gluten free version.



1. Grease 13x9 pan.


2. Peel and chop (6) apples and (2) pears.


3. Spread in pan with dried cranberries and chopped walnuts.



4. Mix topping ingredients:

    1 c. packed brown sugar
    1/2 c. flour (or GF baking mix)
    3/4 c. oats
    1/2 c. softened butter
    1 tsp cinnamon
    1/2 tsp nutmeg


5. Sprinkle over fruit.


6. Bake 350 for 50 minutes.


7. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Restaurant-Quality Steak Subs!

I absolutely love steak and cheese subs, and try them at every sub shop, but had to find a way to make them at home so I can have them any time I want.   This is how I do it:

Marinate steak tips in soy sauce with black pepper for at least an hour, shaking the container a couple of times to distribute marinade.

You can also marinade with marsala cooking wine, or a rich brown ale, if you like that sort of thing.


Coat with flour.  Gluten Free baking mix works well also; make sure the soy sauce is GF too.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over med-hi heat.  Saute steak tips 4 minutes each side.



Cover pan loosely and cook until edges are crispy, about 10 minutes.

Serve with sub rolls, mayo, and cheese.


Variations:

- barbecue sauce or steak sauce
- sauteed mushrooms
- onions & peppers.
- toast sub rolls open-faced under broiler 2 minutes

Easy 4-Step Baked Stuffed Shrimp!

 Step 1:
 Remove tails from 2 pounds defrosted shrimp.

 Step 2: 
Spread shrimp in greased baking dish.

Step 3:
Prepare Stuffing - 

 1/4 c. white wine
  1 tsp lemon juice
  4 tbsp melted butter
  1 c. breadcrumbs
  1/2 tsp parsley
  1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients, sprinkle over shrimp.

Step 4:
Bake 30 minutes at 350, until bubbling and golden.


Serves 4.


This recipe is great when I have last-minute dinner guests because I can easily double the amounts with a bigger baking dish.



Variation: try adding mushrooms or chunks of celery with the shrimp.  

sausage and egg burrito

Everybody loves breakfast foods at any time of day, but when pancakes just aren't enough, sausage and eggs will fill you up!

Cook 1 lb pork sausage in skillet.  Drain oil.

Whisk 4 eggs with 2 tbsp milk, salt, pepper.  Pour into cooked sausage; stir until egg is completely cooked.

Add diced ham and chopped peppers before the eggs for a western version.

Serve with hash browns, cheese, burrito wraps, sour cream, taco sauce for wrap sandwiches, or place folded-side-down on a baking sheet, top with cheese, and bake at 325 for 15 minutes for burritos.




 


It doesn't look like much in the photos but is very tasty and is an easy recipe to adjust to accommodate particular preferences, food sensitivities and picky eaters.  And sensitive particular picky food preference eaters. And every other combo you can think of! 

It's Game Time: Turky Bacon Apple Swiss Panini!

It turns out that turkys have TWO breasts.  Since the first one went into a pie, this one is going in paninis!

Underneath all that bacon is a big slab of wild turky.  Wild game meats are often dry, so the bacon is meant to keep it moist.  If you use commercially available turky meat, the bacon just makes it extra yummy :)

In any case, lay the bacon across the meat and roast at 325 for two hours, covered loosely with foil.  Thats it -  just put in the oven and leave it.

When the meat is ready, slice both bacon and turky into thin slices.


Panini can be made in a sandwich press or in a nonstick frying pan.  I have a waffle iron that can have flat grilling plates.

Thick cut "texas toast" style bread works really well - it can tolerate the heat long enough for the whole sandwich to get cooked.

Brush the bread with olive oil, and layer from the bottom up- turky and bacon first, then thin slices of apple, then swiss cheese, and another piece of bread brushed with olive oil.  Putting the apple in the middle prevents it from becoming overcooked before the cheese is melted.

The biggest challenge was holding off the testing group long enough to take a photo!  This combination was highly approved.