Rosemary Maple Mustard Pork Roast

This was something I found on pinterest and it's definitely a keeper! A really great way to make pork, a touch of sweet, a touch of spicy. I could actually just eat the sauce by itself (don't tell, I actually did that). The recipe is for a pork loin, I used tenderloins (that's why the pork in the picture is so small).

Rosemary Maple Mustard Pork Roast

2-2.5 lb pork loin roast
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 c Dijon mustard
1/4 c real maple syrup
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 375*. Line a small roasting pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Place roast in pan and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, maple syrup, and rosemary with more salt and pepper. Rub half the mixture onto the meat. Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 145-150 degrees. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with the rest of the sauce.

from Lauren's Latest

Thanksgiving 2015

We had a good but busy Thanksgiving this year. Whitney was home from college and we all went down to our house at Massanutten with my mom joining us. After enjoying our feast there, on Saturday we went to Pennsylvania to hang out at my dad's with my brother, sister, and their families. It's been a while since I made Thanksgiving dinner since we usually go to my dad's. The last time was a few years ago when Whitney's birthday fell on Thanksgiving and we had a huge crowd here. It was Whitney's birthday again on Thanksgiving and instead of cake as one of the desserts I made her apple crisp. She's missed my home cooking while she's been at college. She says the food is mostly ok but not great.

Our feast included a turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, roasted sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts with bacon, cranberry sauce, cranberry orange relish, and for dessert we had apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and cranberry pie. It was all so good!

our perfectly cooked turkey

the feast

my apron, made by Sarah

my plate of yum

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

I made this the other day because I had some leftover buttermilk from something else I made. I can't believe I forgot about this recipe! It's one of my favorite coffee cakes. It's got a hint of sour from the buttermilk, a touch of nutmeg, and is a lighter, fluffy coffee cake. So good!

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

1 1/4 c flour
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c butter
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2/3 c buttermilk
1 beaten egg
1/4 c chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 350*. Combine flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in butter till crumbly; set aside 1/2 cup crumb mixture. To remaining crumb mixture add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Add buttermilk and egg and mix well.

Spread batter into a greased 8x8x2 inch baking pan. Stir together reserved crumbs and nuts; sprinkle atop batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Apple Butter Muffins

Oh, my gosh! These were seriously delicious muffins! I used homemade apple butter that I had in the freezer when I made these for Muffin Monday and they didn't last long. These will definitely be in regular rotation on Mondays, especially in the fall and winter. I may need to make more apple butter just so I can make more muffins.

Apple Butter Muffins
makes 12

2 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 c apple butter
1/4 c milk
1 egg

Heat the oven to 425* and grease a muffin tin. Stir flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, apple butter, milk, and egg together with a fork until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Pour into 12 muffin cups and bake 15 minutes. Enjoy!

From Eat at Home.

Italian White Bean, Sausage, and Cabbage Soup

I was looking around on my pinterest soup board for something to make last night and came across this one. Since we now have a vegetarian in the house sometimes things can be a challenge. This soup looked good and was easy enough to make it so that all of us could enjoy it. I cooked the sausage separately and just put it in the bowls for those of us who wanted it and ladled the soup on top. The original recipe calls for breakfast sausage but I used sweet Italian sausage. This is a veggie heavy soup, lots of veggies to a lesser amount of broth.

Italian White Bean, Sausage, and Cabbage Soup
serves 6-8

1 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausage
1 small onion, diced
1 small cabbage, sliced into bite sized pieces, about 4 cups
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can drained Great Northern beans
6 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
red pepper flakes, a few shakes (optional)
salt, to taste

Cook and crumble the sausage in a large pot over medium heat. When the sausage has almost finished browning add the onions. Cook for a few more minutes until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the cabbage is soft.

Slightly modified from Barefeet in the Kitchen.

Cook and crumble the sausage in a large pot, over medium high heat. When the sausage has almost finished browning, add the onions. Cook for a few more minutes, until the sausage has browned and the onions are tender. Add the cabbage, beans, tomatoes, broth, and spices. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes to soften the cabbage. - See more at: http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2014/08/italian-sausage-cabbage-soup-recipe.html#sthash.XOgl9IDv.dpuf

Cook and crumble the sausage in a large pot, over medium high heat. When the sausage has almost finished browning, add the onions. Cook for a few more minutes, until the sausage has browned and the onions are tender. Add the cabbage, beans, tomatoes, broth, and spices. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes to soften the cabbage. - See more at: http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2014/08/italian-sausage-cabbage-soup-recipe.html#sthash.XOgl9IDv.dpuf

Muffins

This is one of the first recipes that I posted and I still make them several times a month. This recipe has several variations and I make them all - plain, banana, pumpkin, blueberry, and apple. Today for the first day of school we had pumpkin muffins, perfect for the very fall-like morning that we had today.

the last pumpkin muffin

Muffins
makes 10-12

1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 beaten egg
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. oil

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Make a well in the center.  combine egg, milk, and oil; add all at once to the flour mixture.  Stir just till moistened.  Lightly grease muffin cups or line with paper cups; fill 2/3 full.  Bake in a 400* oven about 20 minutes or till golden.

I have a large enough liquid measuring cup that I can mix the milk, oil, and egg in and not dirty another bowl.  You can also make these in a mini-muffin pan, great when you have toddlers or little kids since they make a great snack and are easily portable.

Variations:

Blueberry - add 3/4 c. fresh or frozen blueberries and 1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel (optional) to batter.
Banana - reduce milk to 1/2 c. Add 3/4 c. mashed banana (I use 2 bananas) and 1/2 c. chopped nuts to flour mixture with egg mixture.  Do not use paper cups.
Pumpkin - add 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp. ground cloves to flour mixture. Add 1/2 c. canned pumpkin to egg mixture.  stir 1/2 c. chopped nuts into batter.  Do not use paper bake cups.
Oatmeal - reduce flour to 1 1/3 c. and add 3/4 c. rolled oats to flour mixture.  Rolled oats seem to "melt" more into the muffins.  I usually used Old Fashioned Oats since it's what I have and the oats keep a crunchier texture, which I like. 
Apple - add 1 tsp. cinnamon to the flour mixture. Add one apple, cored, sliced, and diced with the wet ingredients.

Spicy Thai Noodles

I was scrolling through pinterest one day and came across this. I knew Bob wouldn't like it but I do have some that eat spicy food here, including me, so I thought I'd give it a try one night when he wasn't home. Those that ate it really enjoyed it. Best thing? It's a one pot dish. It's also vegetarian but is easy enough to add either shrimp or chicken to it. I think it'll show up on the lunch menu occasionally this fall.

Spicy Thai Noodles
serves 6

1 lb linguine
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 zucchini, cut in half vertically, then into half circles
8 oz mushrooms, chopped or sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/3 c low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (use less if you don't want it super spicy)
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 c peanuts, chopped

In a large stockpot, cook the linguine according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, Sriracha, and ginger; whisk well to combine and set aside.

Return the stockpot to the stove, heat over medium heat and all 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add beaten eggs and red pepper flakes, stir to scramble the eggs. Once cooked, set aside with the noodles.

Return the stockpot to the stove and heat remaining tablespoon of oil on medium high heat. Add zucchini, mushrooms, and garlic; saute 5-6 minutes until veggies are cooked through.* Turn the heat down to low, add the noodles and eggs back to the pot, stir the sauce mixture then add that on top. Stir well to coat the pasta and veggies with the sauce. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro, green onions and peanuts. Stir to combine.

Serve immediately. This is also good the next day served cold.

*If you want to add shrimp, add it with the veggies when there's 2-3 minutes left.

recipe from the Domestic Superhero

Pasta with Asparagus and Bacon

This was a super easy dish to make. I got a few ideas from some recipes on pinterest and pulled this together one night when I was lacking inspiration. This isn't really a recipe per say but a list of ingredients that you proportion to how many you need to feed.

Pasta with Asparagus and Bacon
to feed approximately four

pasta of choice, about half a 16oz. box
most/all of a bunch of asparagus, cut into 1-2" slices

four slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
Caesar dressing

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. When there's about five minutes left, add the asparagus. Drain. In a large bowl, combine the pasta and asparagus with the bacon. Add a couple of good squirts of the dressing and stir. Add more dressing if needed.

Chocolate Chip Pie

Oh, my, goodness! Where has this deliciousness been all my life?? I'm sure there's some of you that grew up eating this occasionally or had it somewhere else, but I'd never had it until a few months ago. Yum! Chocolate chip cookies in pie form. This is super easy as well as being delicious. Enjoy!!

One tip - make sure the butter is soft. I was reading through the comments on the Nestle website and someone commented that it was too much butter, that her pie was oily. The butter needs to be very soft to fully incorporate into the filling; if it's not you'll end up with small, visible pieces of butter and these will make a "pool" of melted butter instead of being fully part of the filling.

Chocolate Chip Pie

1 unbaked deep dish pie crust
2 eggs
1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c chocolate chips
1 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325*. Beat eggs in a mixer until foamy. Beat in flour and sugars then beat in butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts then pour into pie crust. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a knife inserted halfway between the edge and center comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Recipe from Nestle.

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

I've been making these just about bi-weekly all summer. My older daughter is working at a summer camp and isn't always fond of eating breakfast (no knock on them, she's just generally not a breakfast person). Working at camp, she really needs to eat something to keep her energy up for the morning. She does like scones and I came across this one that she loves. I usually make them on the weekends and she takes what she needs for the week when she heads back to camp. Just pulled another batch out of the oven; they do freeze well, she'll take about half with her and I'll freeze the rest for the next week.

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones
makes 12

3/4 c cold buttermilk
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 c flour
1 c (white) whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*. Combine first four ingredients in a medium bowl, stir well with a whisk. Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Fold in the chocolate chips, then add the milk mixture stirring just until moist. The dough will be very sticky! Turn out onto a floured surface and knead four or five times. Form dough into a 9" circle on a greased baking sheet, about 3/4" thick. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut dough into 12 wedges. Bake until golden, 18-20 minutes.

slightly modified from skinnytaste.com

Asparagus, Egg, and Bacon Salad

I'll start by saying that I totally forgot to take a picture of this before it was gone. It was *that* good! This is a super easy, quick salad. The original recipe calls for flash cooking the asparagus and makes a salad for one. I made it for the four of us and roasted the asparagus instead. For those of you who are mathematically challenged, I'll put the single servings for the dressing at the bottom.

Asparagus, Egg, and Bacon Salad
serves 4

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut into half or sliced
1lb asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
8 slices cooked and crumbled bacon

2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tsp olive oil
4 tsp red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Roast the asparagus about 10 minutes until tender but firm and a bit charred. In a small bowl, mix the mustard, olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Arrange the asparagus on plates, top with bacon and egg and drizzle with the dressing.

For a single serving, use 1 2/3 c asparagus, 1 egg, and 2 slices of bacon. For the dressing, 1/2 tsp mustard and 1 tsp oil and vinegar. This would make a great lunch salad with a small roll on the side.

From SkinnyTaste

Mexican Chopped Chicken Salad

In my efforts to work through the many recipes that I have on pinterest I'm trying to make at least one a week to find out if they're keepers or just taking up space over there. This one is a keeper for me, but got mixed reviews from the rest of the family. I'd guess it's the dressing they didn't like much.

Mexican Chopped Chicken Salad
serves 6

Dressing:
1/2 c apple cider or red wine vinegar
6 Tbsp honey
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Salad:
4 cups cooked, chopped chicken (1 2-lb. rotisserie chicken worked or any other cooked/grilled chicken)
1 1/2 c fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed if frozen
1 c chopped cherry or roma tomatoes
15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 small romaine hearts, chopped or about 6-8 cups chopped romaine
1/2 c chopped cilantro
2 avocados, diced
1 c cubed sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (or a combination)
sour cream, corn tortilla chips or tortilla strips, and salsa for serving

Whisk together the dressing ingredients until combined. In a large bowl, toss the chicken, corn, tomatoes, beans, green onions, and red pepper with about 1/2 to 2/3 of the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 8 hours. When ready to serve, toss the chicken mixture with the lettuce, cilantro, avocados, and cheese. Taste, add more dressing if needed. Serve immediately with sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, and salsa.

Slightly modified from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry

Another asparagus dish! This is a quick and easy main dish stir fry. The girls go to a bible study by and for senior high kids on Monday nights and they bring dinner to eat before they get into the study. Each week has a different theme, some easy like this week's Asian, some a bit quirky like foods that are circles or colors or foods that start with the same letter as the first letter in your first name. I looked for an easy, spring stir fry for the Asian theme. Another winner from pinterest!

Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry
serves 4-5

1 Tbsp soy sauce
1Tbsp honey
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 coves garlic, thinkl sliced
2 scallions, chopped
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

In a small bowl or in a ziplock bag combine soy sauce and honey. Add chicken and stir to coat. Set in the refrigerator until ready.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and saute until cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Remove chicken from marinade and add to skillet (you may need to add more oil). Saute until nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Then add garlic, scallions, and the reserved marinade to the pan. Saute for an additional 2 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in the asparagus and sesame oil. Serve immediately with rice, garnished with toasted sesame seeds.

recipe from Gimme Some Oven

Stir-Fried Sesame Asparagus

One of our favorite spring veggies is asparagus. There are so many yummy ways to fix it and we eat it quite a bit around here. I was looking for something a little different the other night and found this stir-fry recipe.

Stir-Fried Sesame Asparagus
makes 4-6 servings

2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 lbs asparagus, ends trimmed, cut on diagonal into 2" long pieces
2 tsp sesame seeds

Stir soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Heat oil in heavy large skillet. Add garlic and stir 15 seconds. Add asparagus and sir-fry until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Add soy mixture and toss until asparagus is coated, about 1 minute longer. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

For the Dog - Oatmeal, Peanut Butter, and Banana Treats

This is a super easy dog treat! I found the recipe of Pinterest and have made it twice now. Our dog really likes them. I need to find a dog bone cookie cutter; for now I just cut them into sticks. My dog's lucky I love her because I hate peanut butter.

Oatmeal, Peanut Butter, and Banana Dog Treats

1 egg
1/3 c peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c oats
1/2 c mashed banana (1 banana)

Preheat oven to 300*. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Knead dough until a ball forms, adding a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Flatten, either with your hands or a rolling pin, on a lightly floured counter. Use cookie cutters or a pizza cutter to cut into shapes/sticks. Put onto a lightly greased cookie sheet or use parchment paper and bake for about 20 minutes. Depending on the thickness when you cut them and the size cutter you use, your yield will vary.