maple syrup

Apple Pie Overnight Oats

October 16, 2017

Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day. Not only does it get my day started off on the right foot, it is also the only meal where it is socially acceptable to eat sweets. (Think about it, muffins are just breakfast cupcakes and pancakes are literally pan cakes!) While I will happily take full advantage of the pancake/waffle section of any brunch menu on the weekends, during the week I do try to be a bit healthier in my breakfast choices while still satisfying my 24/7 sweet tooth.

Which is why I love this new(ish) overnight oat trend! It takes a good ol’ breakfast standby (oatmeal) and turns it into something that could almost be dessert. Or in the case of these apple pie overnight oats, it takes a favorite dessert and turns it into a respectable breakfast.

I should say, a very respectable breakfast. To make these apple pie overnight oats, I didn’t use a single gram of sugar. I did use honey and maple syrup to sweeten it up a tad, but if you are watching your glucose intake, you could cut them out completely.

First, I mixed together the applesauce and the apple pie spice in the bottom of a jar. Then I poured in the milk. In this case, I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can use whichever milk product you prefer. Lastly, I poured in the oats and mixed them in with everything else so that everything was evenly distributed.

I popped the jars into the fridge so that they would be ready for me in the morning!

The oats are delicious on their own. But to really conjure up that apple pie flavor I made an apple topping that is basically just apple pie filling, minus most of the butter and all of the sugar.

The apples on top also added just a bit more sweetness to the oats which really made me feel like I was eating dessert for breakfast. Except unlike the muffins, pancakes, or waffles I have most weekends, this breakfast is actually pretty dang healthy.

One other benefit of overnight oats that I forgot to mention is that you can make a bunch up ahead of time; then, in the morning you can grab your oats and go! I have found that the oats stay good in the fridge for three or four days. So I make up a couple jars on Sunday night, and I have breakfast planned for the rest of the week!

[yumprint-recipe id=’140′]

Maple Pecan Baked Brie

November 18, 2016

Maybe its just me, but whenever I eat brie I feel so fancy and grown up. It’s probably because it’s French; the French are so fancy and grown up. What’s great about baked brie is that just because it’s “fancy” doesn’t mean its complicated to make. This recipe is actually quite easy.

Can you stick a baking sheet in an oven? Can you stir some nuts in a pan? Great! Then you can make this recipe!

To bake the brie, I just popped the unwrapped wheel of cheese on a baking sheet and baked it for about 10 minutes until it was soft. I basically checked the “doneness” by poking the cheese until it felt soft enough. There really isn’t any rhyme or reason to it. I just wanted it to be gooey on the inside.

While the brie was baking, I stirred together some butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, pecans, salt, and pepper. Yes…salt and pepper. You probably weren’t expecting me to add salt and pepper to this distinctly sweet nut topping, but the salt and pepper actually makes all the other flavors in the cheese and pecans really pop. So don’t skip the salt and pepper!

Then once the brie was baked and the pecans were nice and coated in sugar and maple syrup, I poured the pecans right on top of the brie. The warmth of the nuts kept the cheese warm and soft. Even if you make this ahead of time, you can rest assured that the cheese will still be soft and gooey well afterwards.

I made this particular baked brie for book club. Of course, I made it head of time so that I could take some pictures before the girls showed up. But it was still nice and warm, and the cheese just oozed out by the time they arrived. In fact, it was still warm and gooey even afterwards when I was “cleaning up” (or, cleaning the plate by eating the leftover cheese and apples).

I served up the brie with some apple slices and crackers. I personally preferred the apple slices. Not only was it the healthier choice (an apple covered in cheese, nuts, and sugar is of course healthy), but I personally love the combination of cheese and apples. Especially those slightly tart apples with the nice salty brie!

Don’t you think this would be a great appetizer to bring to your Thanksgiving dinner or any of your Christmas parties? The pecans and apples are definitely seasonally appropriate. And brie is always a good decision. The combination of all the flavors makes it a definite crowd pleaser. People will be so impressed by such a fancy appetizer, only you and I will know the truth. 😉

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[amd-yrecipe-recipe:98]

Pecan and Herb Crusted Pork

November 16, 2016

Every so often I get on these kicks where everything I seem to make has the same ingredients. Last month, it just about everything I made had pumpkin. This month, it seems like everything I’ve made has had pecans in it. Well, not just pecans, but maple syrup, too. First it was this cake. Now it’s this pecan and herb crusted pork tenderloin. And it’s not the last pecan recipe you will see this month, either.

I have been trying to come up with some Fall recipes that could also double as a Thanksgiving turkey substitute. I know…no turkey on Thanksgiving is practically un-American. But 1) not everyone likes turkey, and 2) not everyone wants to commit to to making a turkey if they aren’t serving a dozen or more people.

Since my husband and I rarely travel home for Thanksgiving, this pecan and herb crusted pork is something I would make for just the two of us and still feel like we are having a hearty Thanksgiving meal. In fact, the crust itself smells just like Thanksgiving. It has all your those delicious Thanksgiving flavors you’d probably find in your favorite stuffing recipe: sage, thyme, rosemary, pecans….yum, right?

To get the pork nice and flavorful, I first, marinated it in a puree of the herbs, olive oil, garlic, and maple syrup. After the pork had rested overnight, I rolled it in some crushed up pecans. Since the pork was covered in the sticky herb pesto (thank you maple syrup!), the pecans stuck right to it.

Now all that was left was to roast the pork.

I placed the pork loins on a baking sheet and covered them with tin foil so that the pork stayed moist and the pecan crust wouldn’t burn. Since the pork took an hour or so to roast, I decided to use that time to multi-task and roast up a nice side of maple coated brussels sprouts. Why not put maple syrup on everything?

This pork recipe lived up to every expectation. I didn’t even miss the turkey. Sorry, turkey…you’ve been replaced. What I love about the pork is that it stays so much more moist than turkey, and this particular recipe had so much flavor! Sometimes I am disappointed with my Thanksgiving turkey because not only is it dry, but it’s kind of bland. Which is why I make sure to have a bite of stuffing along with every bite of turkey. But this pork is practically coated in all the flavors in stuffing….and….it’s actually pretty healthy!

And if you are like me, that means you can have an extra helping of pie later.

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[amd-yrecipe-recipe:97]

Persimmon and Pomegranate Kale Salad

October 24, 2016

Have y’all every had a persimmon before? I hadn’t until Saturday when I ran across a whole stash of them at Trader Joe’s, on special. If you have seen them, you know they look a little bit like a squat, orange tomato. Which is kind of what I expected them to taste like. But, nope. Not at all. They have a mild, sweet flavor that some have described as how you wish a pumpkin to taste. Whatever that means.

Since I clearly don’t have much exposure with persimmons, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the bag full I picked up at the store. Do I cook with them, bake with them? I had no idea. So I just ended up making a salad.

But what does one put in a salad with persimmons? I certainly had no idea. So I relied on all the other Fall foods I had available, like pomegranate and pumpkin seeds. To balance out all the sweetness, I also added some crispy pancetta, which is a fancier (and Italian) version of bacon bits.

To me, the best part of the whole salad was the dressing. (But, if we are honest. I think the best part of most salads is the dressing.) I made the dressing with some of the rendered fat from the pancetta as the fat in the vinaigrette, and mixed that with a bit of maple syrup and white balsamic vinegar. So essentially, it was dressed with bacon fat and maple syrup. Oh so healthy

Despite the fact that I just threw this salad together as an attempt to use up these persimmons purchased on a whim, it was delightful! The persimmons were sweet, the pomegranates were tart, the pancetta was salty, and the kale was lightly coated in maple vinaigrette. I had only intended to have half the salad for lunch, and save the rest for dinner, but before I knew it, the entire bowl was gone.

That happens more than I would like to admit.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:87]