Apple Galette

Apple Galette

I had never heard of a galette until a week or two ago, on a British food blog.   It looked delicious (and pretty easy) so I decided to bake one!   Hers was rhubarb, but you can use any fruit you want.  I chose apple just because I had some on hand. =)

I especially liked this because it's basically like pie, but you only have to make one crust, and there's no "fiddely work" making the edges all neat and making sure your top crust doesn't break during transition etc...

Here is the recipe I used: (from Country Living)

I didn't make the butterscotch sauce (since I didn't have any cream on hand), and instead, melted some leftover cream cheese frosting and drizzled it on top - which was quite delicious!
* I also brushed beaten egg on the crust before baking because I wanted it to get really golden.

Eat up!

Citrus Basil Quinoa Salad

It's no secret.  I Love Quinoa.  Hot, cold, for breakfast... you name it.  I'm a huge fan of this "superfood" =)

I just came across this recipe when looking for cool, fresh foods to make for a dinner party... I hope you like it as much as I do! (recipe from detoxinista.com)

* The picture on her site actually had carrots in it, but they weren't in the ingredient list, so I forgot to add them.   I think they would be a good, and colorful addition, though)

Ingredients:

For the Quinoa Salad:

1 1/2 cups dry quinoa
3 cups water
1 cup Orange Basil Dressing (recipe below)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 cucumber, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach
1 red bell pepper, chopped
salt and pepper

For the Orange Basil Dressing:

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

Combine the dry quinoa and water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat, allowing the quinoa to cook for 15 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat, and fluff with a fork.  (I did and would recommend that you allow to cool before adding the dressing and vegetables to keep the spinach from wilting).

To prepare the Orange Basil Dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a blender, and blend until completely smooth and emulsified. Adjust the flavor to taste, if desired.

Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and toss with one cup of the Orange Basil Dressing and all of the chopped vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Serve chilled, or at room temperature.

Twice Baked, Egg-Filled Potatoes

 Filling holes in food with eggs seems to be all the rage now, squash, avocado.. and potatoes.  I think it's brilliant! =)

Directions:

Bake potatoes however you normally do.  I do them in the microwave just because it's quickest.   It takes about 4 minutes (flipped halfway through) to bake two medium sized potatoes.

Preheat oven to 400.

When cool (ideally), cut and scoop out the insides of the potato (making sure you don't break the "walls" of the potato).   Place on greased foil on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle in chopped bacon, cheese, chives - whatever you want.  (Not too much though, there's not a lot of room in there), and top with an egg.   * When I added the egg, I placed the potato in a bowl, so any extra egg white would flow over in there and I could discard it, instead of it making a mess on the baking sheet (this isn't a crucial step, I just wanted mine to be pretty).

 Ready to bake!

Place in oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the eggs are set.   Top with additional cheese, bacon, sour cream, salsa, avocado, etc.

Enjoy!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups!

Peanut Butter Cups

(fitfoodiefinds.com)

The blog where I found this recipe touted them as "Healthier Peanut Butter Cups" because they had no sugar, no gluten and no dairy.    I'll post her recipe, along with my own variations.  You're going to want to go ahead and just double this up to start. =)

Bottom Layer: 

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (I had never used this before, but it's awesome and makes them very creamy - does not leave a coconut taste, though)
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter 
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (can also substitute 3 squares of semi sweet baker's chocolate) melted until smooth
• 8 drops of liquid stevia (or to taste) (I substituted sugar because I didn't have stevia, 3 tsp)

Top Layer:

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup natural smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• optional: unsweetened coconut for topping

Method

Line a mini muffin tray with 12 cupcake liners. Stir all ingredients for the bottom layer together until smooth ( you may have to melt the coconut oil and peanut butter for 20 seconds to get them to mix well) and divide between the wells (each should be about half full). Put the tray in the freezer on a flat surface and freeze until solid (It took mine about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, stir all ingredients together for the top layer until smooth (again, you may have to heat the coconut oil and peanut butter for 20 seconds to get them to mix well) and divide on top of the set chocolate mixture. Return to the freezer and freeze until solid (it took me an additional 10 minutes). Store the treats in the freezer.

Yield: 12 peanut butter cups.

Yum. SO. Yum.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups may never see the inside of my mouth again.