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FOOD

Heres where I'll be posting daily recipes and new recipes that I try out.

Halloween Fudge

 

 

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 bag Nestle Toll House Halloween Morsels

  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a little more)

  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or a little more)

  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk, divided

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided

  • 24 pieces candy corn (or more if you want smaller fudge pieces.

 

Directions

  • Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

  • Open the bag of Nestle Toll House Halloween Morsels and separate the orange pieces from the semi-sweet ones.Starting with the semi-sweet morsels from the Halloween mix, measure how many were in the separated pile and add enough semi-sweet chocolate chips to make 1 and 1/2 cups total. (You will get about 1 cup from the Nestle package, and will need to add about 1/2 cup extra chocolate chips.)

  • Add the semi-sweet chips to a pan with 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread in prepared pan using an offset spatula (or, if you’re careful, spray your hands with cooking spray and press to fit - be careful the mixture is hot!)

  • Place in the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes before starting the second batch.

  • Measure how many orange chips were in the separated pile and add enough white chocolate chips to make 1 and 1/2 cups total. (You will get about 1 cup from the Nestle package, and will need to add about 1/2 cup extra white chocolate chips.)

  • Add the white chips to a pan with the remaining 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread carefully over semi-sweet layer with an offset spatula. Immediately press candy corn in the top. I did 4 rows of 6. Use more or less depending on the size of your fudge.

  • Chill to harden, slice, and serve at room temperature.

 

 

Grown Up Tater-Tots

 

Serves 2 to 3

 

1 pound small potatoes, like baby Yukon Golds or fingerlings
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Italian parsley, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly scrub the potatoes and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until they are tender enough to pierce with a fork, but not browned. Let the potatoes rest for 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle.

Turn the oven up to 450°F. Using the bottom of a plate, a sturdy rocks glass, or measuring cup, smash the potatoes with firm, downward pressure. Squish each potato to about 3/4-inch thick. They will crack and split, but they should, for the most part, stay in one piece.

Brush or drizzle generously with olive oil, sprinkle with minced garlic, and place back in the oven. Bake until crispy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley, and try not to eat the whole pan by yourself.

Crock-Pot Baked Apples

Prep Time: 15 minutes                             Yield: 6 apples

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes      Serving Size: 1 apple

Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

 

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons trans-fat free margarine or butter

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 6 Gala or Macintosh apples, cored

  • 1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider

  • 2 tablespoons orange liquor (optional)

 

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, walnuts, margarine or butter, and cinnamon. If you don’t want to use walnuts, you could use pecans or go nut-free by substituting with ¼ cup chopped raisins, prunes, or granola! Another great substitution is ¼ cup of rolled quick oats moistened with a tablespoon of water before stuffing the apples.

  • Use a grapefruit spoon that has the sharp edges (or a melon baller or small pairing knife) and core most of the way through, I leave about ½ inch apple left at the bottom. You could remove the skin but I find that it helps to hold the apple together as it bakes - it also adds extra fiber which is always a plus.

  • Fill the apples with the filling and place them in the crock-pot.

  • Pour the apple juice or cider (and the liquor, if using) into the crock-pot, around the apples. If you don’t have apple juice or cider, you can use apple lime juice or apple vinegar (diluted with water and a little sugar).

  • Set the crock-pot on high heat and cook 2½ to 3 hours until the apples are soft and begin to collapse.

  • If you don’t have a crockpot, you can use a 7x11 casserole dish or stock pot. Preheat the oven to 350F and cover the pan with aluminum foil. They’ll take about 45 minutes to one hour. A glass baking dish is also an option, just be sure to lower the heat slightly 5-10 degrees since glass can cause food to burn.

  • If you’re making this recipe for a large crowd, you could do these in the oven in a large disposable roasting pan and just double the recipe. They also taste delish with a scoop of low-fat frozen vanilla yogurt.

  • You can refrigerate these for up to 3 days, but store them in an air-tight container so they don’t pick up odors from the fridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Yield: 10 servings

 

 

Ingredients

Topping

  • 1 3/4 cups crushed graham crackers (from 14 sheets)

  • 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

  • 6 Tbsp salted butter, melted

  •  

  • 3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened (I recommend using Philadelphia)

  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger

  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

  • 2 large eggs

  • 3 large egg yolks

  •  

  • Salted caramel sauce, recipe here or store bought

  • Sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Directions

To prepare filling

  • To prepare crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix together crushed graham crackers and light-brown sugar (being sure to break up any clumps of the brown sugar). Pour in melted butter and mix until mixture is evenly coated. Firmly press mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan coming within about 1-inch of the top edge. Bake in preheated oven for 8-9 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool while preparing filling. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

  • In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together cream cheese, light-brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth, about - 30 seconds. Mix in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add in pumpkin and vanilla and mix on low speed just until combined. Add in whole eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition just until combine, then add in egg yolks and mix just until combine. Lift and tap mixing bowl against the counter several times to release air bubbles from mixture. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust and bake in preheated oven (325 degrees) for 1 hour, then turn oven off and allow cheesecake to rest in oven 25 - 30 minutes (without opening oven door). Remove from oven and allow to cool 15 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and chill 5 hours. Slice and drizzle each serving with salted caramel sauce then top with optional sweetened whipped cream. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

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