So, I’ve been a very bad blogger lately.  I’ve had weddings every weekend for the past month (which is great), but that does not leave much time during the week to experiment with new recipes.  Today my twins asked for grilled cheese.  Now, I love a good grilled cheese as much as the next person, but I just wasn’t feeling it today.  So I scrounged through my cupboards and came up with this quick, throw together pizza and ate half of it myself for lunch.  It was quite delicious.  Try it when you need something in a hurry, you won’t regret it.

Apple, Gorgonzola and Artichoke Pizza

1 Boboli thin pizza crust

1 T olive oil

1 large apple peeled and thinly sliced (I like something tart, but it’s completely up to you)

1 cup Gorgonzola cheese crumbles

1 small can mushrooms

1 can artichoke hearts

1/4 cup pine nuts (candied pecans would be better, but I didn’t have those)

1 T honey

3 t lemon juice

3 t Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place crust on baking sheet.  Spread oil over crust.  Arrange apple slices on crust.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Sprinkle mushrooms, artichoke hearts and pine nuts on next.  Bake for 8-11 minutes.  I cooked mine for 8 and it could have used another 4-5 minutes, but that’s just my oven.  While cooking,  combine honey, lemon juice and mustard and whisk together.  Set aside.  Remove pizza from oven and drizzle with honey mixture.  Cut into wedges and enjoy!  Mmmm….

I had a bunch of extra apples sitting on my counter yesterday and decided to quick throw together an apple pie for my hubby.  I found the following recipe in Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade’s September/October issue and thought I’d give it a try.  This was a very easy recipe, pretty much your typical apple pie recipe.  Enjoy!

Brandied Caramel Apple Pie:

1 refrigerated pie crust

5-8 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 cup plus 2 T flour, divided

2 t ground cinnamon

2 cups caramel sauce

3 T apple brandy

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2/3 cup butter

1 cup instant oats

preheat oven to 375.  fit pie crust into 9″ pie plate, fluting edges.  bake for 4-5 minutes.  cool on a wire rack.  in a large bowl, toss apples with 1/4 cup plus 2 T flour and the cinnamon.

in a saucepan, heat the caramel over medium heat until warm.  remove from heat.  add 1 cup to apple mix and toss gently to coat.  stir brandy into the remaining sauce and reserve for topping pie.  spoon apple mixture into pie crust, layering apples as tightly as possible.

in a medium bowl, combine remaining flour, brown sugar and oats.  using a fork, cut butter into mix and stir until crumbly.  sprinkle over apples, pressing to adhere.

place pie on a baking sheet (to catch drips) and cover loosely with foil.  bake for 30 minutes.  remove foil and bake an additional 35-45 minutes until brown and bubbly.  enjoy!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was perfect for fall.  I used granny smith apples and changed it up just a little.  Instead of a round cake pan, I used a square one.  I also did not put the nuts inside the batter, I sprinkled them over the apples underneath.  We ate this hot out of the oven with a cup of coffee for dessert and it was wonderful!  I also had a piece the next day, but it wasn’t quite as good.  I probably should have zapped it in the microwave to melt the caramel just a little.   To see the recipe, click here.  Enjoy!

I found this salad on Pinterest one day and thought it sounded good.  I love quinoa, black beans, avocado; pretty much everything in this recipe.  I threw this together this past weekend and it was easy to make.  It is also beautiful.  When I tasted it for the first time, I really felt like it was missing something.  I debated even posting this on here, but I’m going to ask that if anyone makes this or has any ideas of something I should add, please let me know!  I feel like it needs something added to the dressing.  And maybe it was just my taste buds this day…Let me know your thoughts!

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans:

1 c. quinoa

1 T. olive oil

1 3/4 c. water

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 avocado, chopped into chunks

handful cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 red onion, diced

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 red pepper, diced

small handful cilantro, diced

1 lime, juiced

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 T. olive oil

salt to taste

Warm olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Once hot, add quinoa and toast for about 2 minutes.  Add water, stir once, cover and simmer with lid on for 20 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, prepare all other ingredients.  Prepare the dressing by combining lime juice, olive oil, cumin and salt.  Whisk aggressively.  Adjust seasoning as needed.

When quinoa has finished cooking, remove from heat and fluff with fork.  Add black beans and toss to warm through.  Let quinoa cool for about 5 minutes and then add all the remaining ingredients, including dressing.  Mix.  Adjust seasoning if needed.  Serve with tortilla chips if desired.

I found this recipe on Pinterest one day.  I saved it to my “Yummy Foods” board and waited for a time to try it out.  My husband does not like chocolate, so to make a 9×13 size pan of these for no reason would be a bad idea, as in bad for my hips but oooohhh so good for my lips 🙂  It tastes a lot like Texas sheet cake, very moist and flat.  Yummy, delicious and very chocolatey!  Enjoy!

Cola Chocolate Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 pan.

Mix:

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium-high heat bring to a boil and stir well:

1 c. butter

1/4 c. baking cocoa powder

1 c. cola

1/2 c. buttermilk

Now take off the heat and add to flour mixture.  Mix well.  Then add:

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Mix well, put in pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Cake is done when toothpick comes out clean.  When cake is almost done, in a saucepan mix:

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. baking cocoa powder

1/2 c. cola

Once this boils, remove and slowly stir in 4 cups of confectioners’ sugar until nice and smooth.  When cake comes out of the oven, pour this warm frosting glaze right on top of the hot cake.  Enjoy!

Along with peach pie, I made a batch of peach freezer jam.  It was a sticky, sweet, sugary mess, but worth it in the end.  I used Certo (liquid pectin) instead of Sure Jell this time and just followed the recipe and directions that came in the package.  Yummy!

Mmmm…nothing like fresh peach pie.  Actually, fresh peaches.  Period.  Peaches are my favorite fruit to buy fresh in season and make as much as I can out of them.  I love peach jam, peach pie, peach tarts and just fresh peaches and sugar.  Unfortunately, they seem to be the messiest for me to deal with.  And all the blanching and peeling makes for a dirty, sticky kitchen when all is said and done.  But mmmmmmm, they sure are awesome!  So I don’t have a recipe for this pie.  I just throw it together every year during peach season.  The crust is just your typical pie crust.  I put the bottom in a pie pan and I roll out the top to make a pretty top.  You could also just put a normal pie top on.

Peach Pie Filling:

about 6 cups diced peaches

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 T. lemon juice

2 T. cinnamon

Mix all together and pour into crust.  Top with top crust.  Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes.  Enjoy!

When I was growing up, my mom would make us grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  These are just like grilled cheese, but with pb & j.  And sometimes, we all just need a yummy comfort food to help us get through the day.  Mmmm….

The Hudsonville Fair is running this week.  I grew up in Byron Center and never really went to the fair.  But once I married my husband, who is from Hudsonville, it became a yearly tradition.  My kids love it and I have to admit, so do I.  We have a routine every year.  We start in the animal barns and work our way through.  This year we saw the chickens, bunnies, goats and everything else.  I don’t think there is anything cuter than baby pygmy goats.  Sooooo cute!  We then walk over to the farm equipment and sit on all the big tires.  I take lots of pictures, always trying to get the “perfect” shot of my three boys together.  Then we work our way over to the food venders.  Obviously, my favorite part.  I love the elephant ears.  We went both Monday and Tuesday this week, and I have enjoyed three ears so far.  I’m hoping we make it out one more time yet.

But this year I get the award for mom of the year.  I not only took my three boys, but the two neighbor boys as well.  So it was me and five boys at the fair.  I know, you’re all jealous 🙂

I found this recipe in Cuisine Tonight Quick & Easy book and changed it up just a little.  It was fairly easy to put together and tasted great!  The rice was easy, with a hint of sweetness to it.  Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Skillet with Coconut Rice:

Slurry Mix:

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. worcestershire sauce

2 T. lemon juice

3 T. brown sugar

2 T. corn starch

combine well and set aside.

Skillet Mix:

4 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into strips

4 T. olive oil

2 cups fresh green beans

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 bulb fresh garlic minced

1 jalapeno, thinly slided

stir fry chicken in 2 T. olive oil until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.  remove to a plate, cover and set aside.  heat 2 T. olive oil in same skillet over high.  add beans, bell peppers, jalapeno and garlic, stir fry for 4 minutes.  re-add the chicken with juices and continue to cook on low.  stir in slurry mix and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.  serve over coconut rice.

Coconut Rice:

2 cups jasmine rice

2 cups water

2 cups coconut milk

bring liquid to boil over high heat, add rice, cover and reduce heat to low.  simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.