Say That 3 Times Fast 2-28-10

Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Raisin Nut Bread



I was looking all over the web for an oatmeal raisin bread recipe. Everything I found wanted to give me a bread loaf, sandwich style, with yeast, which wasn't what I wanted. I found an apple bread recipe of my mothers and made some great tweaks to it, and ta-da, one of the best breads I have eaten.

Here's the recipe:
Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Raisin Nut Bread
makes 2 loaves

1/4 C. Shortening
1 C. Sugar (or do what I did 1/2 c. white sugar, 1/2 c. light brown sugar)
1 Well beaten egg
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 c. Flour
dash of salt (love my moms recipes)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. applesauce (I used homemade applesauce, which is a little chunky, you could also use a peeled, cored, and chopped apple instead)
1/2 c. nuts (I used walnuts, I am particular to them)
1/2 c. raisins
(you can add more raisins or nuts to suit your taste, I didn't really measure the raisins and nuts I just poured until it looked like it was enough) :)

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg and stir. Blend in milk. Add dry ingredients, then apple, raisins and nuts. Pour into greased bread pans and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes.

Spinach Ravioli Lasagna 2-25-10

After having bronchitis for a week, I am back to cooking!
Forgive my camera, it decides when it wants to work best for me.


Homemade Ravioli using wonton wrappers, stuffed with spinach, garlic and mozzarella cheese. Boiled for 3 minutes, and then layered in a pan (lasagna style) with sauce, leftover spinach mixture and cheddar cheese and baked @ 400 for 20 minutes. This dish, despite the poor picture that doesn't show the individual raviolis, came out amazing.

Zucchini Bread Feb 10, 2010

I normally cook from my own recipes, but I didn't have one for Zucchini Bread. So I searched online and I found this recipe here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx

I made a few tweaks to the recipe (to make it my own) as follows:
I used 2 tsp. Cinnamon instead of 3
I traded 1/4 C. of the sugar for light brown sugar
I used 3 C. of Zucchini instead of 2, and I left the peels on while grating to give some beautiful green flecks, and did NOT drain the zucchini after grating it.

2 large zucchinis=3 cups for me

This bread came out amazing, it made 3 loaves for me. It really is an amazing recipe with the tweaks I made to it.

Yellow Rice, Sugar Snap Peas

White rice cooked in vegetable broth with Goya Sazon for color and flavor. I like to slow cook the rice, almost in "risotto" style for a nice creamy texture. Sugar snap peas, blanched and then sauteed in some butter and a hint of sugar to bring out the flavor of the peas.

Bread Crumbs, a Discussion

As far as Vermont, and I am assuming the rest of the world ( I have only lived as far South as Connecticut, but lived in Boston), in the Bread Crumb world we have plain, Italian Seasoned, and Panko.

What to buy? Which will work best in this dish?

In a lot of stores in Vermont, Panko can be overpriced, but worth the price based on what you prefer. I find that Panko is great if you are frying. It's a Japanese crust-less breadcrumb. We aren't huge fryers, but we bake a lot, and Panko gives you a crisp bite that you might find in many restaurants, especially on fish or seafood. Many people season Panko, and I have included my own seasonings in the "plain section"

Italian Bread Crumbs are great, when you want to coat your food in a hurry. You don't need to mess with the seasoning, but then again, you cannot control what is in there. So often we buy something for the ease, but we can make it ourselves, without additives, and can control our portions.

Plain bread crumbs are great, when you can't make your own (making your own is very easy out of left over bread and a food processor, it may seem time consuming, but most of us throw away the end crusts of our bread, and that can make perfect croutons and bread crumbs).

Regardless, it's easier for most people to buy regular bread crumbs as it's cheapest. If this is the case, and you want to bake with them, I find throwing in some sea salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion salt and dried parsley top notch in flavor. Even some Parmesan (grated or fresh) can add a salty cheese kick to finish off your meal. Some people will "smash" crackers into this, for the last bit of bite, and personally "Townhouse" has a buttery crunch that people like (people being my family lol)

I use bread crumbs when I bake goods, in the occasional frying, and even in recipes (such as meatloaf, which I will be sharing soon) my veggie burgers and spinach quiche. They can make a great crust, and great to thicken something that you won't use flour or cornstarch for.

I don't claim this is complete, and I hope if anyone has other ideas or seasonings they will share it.
I just hope this helps everyone when chosing which kind of bread crumb they want and with what dish to use it.
Enjoy :)

Caramel Applesauce Cake(s) Feb 5, 2010

Made with Walnuts and Raisins. My sister trades the nuts and raisins for coconut and chocolate chips. I like my version better. I don't like frosting too much, so this was perfect. And we used the homemade applesauce I had canned, was just a really nice cake. YUMMM!!

All recipes available upon request

Spanish Rice Feb 3, 2010

Made with ground turkey. Blanched and Sauteed Green Beans.

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Zucchini Bars Feb 1, 2010

It's not fried Zucchini, it's Zucchini prepared like apple pie, brownie style. Guaranteed delight when you are craving sweets!

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Baked Egglpant Jan 31, 2010

Baked in the oven, over fettuccine noodles with homemade sauce. A big hit in our house.
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Apple-Filled Cinnamon Topped Coffee Cake Jan 28, 2010

No explanation needed here.

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Veggie Burgers Can be Good! Jan 27, 2010

Homemade Veggie Burgers with Pesto Mayo and Mashed Cauliflower (We made homemade garlic biscuits, but any favorite bread will do, I think good Ciabatta Rolls would be great too)

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Healthy Chicken Breast Jan 24, 2010

Chicken Breast topped with Apple Stuffing and Crustless Spinach Quiche.
Very Easy to make. My mom used to top pork chops with an apple stuffing, and I would scrape off the stuffing and throw the pork chop back into the pan. I think this stuffing is so versatile if you eat pork, chicken, red meat or even tofu, it's a great topper.
My Crust-less Spinach Quiche can use frozen or fresh spinach, so it's great in season or not.

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Chocolate Stuffed Eclairs Jan 23, 2010

A mix of up one of Paula Dean's Recipes. A bit time consuming, but easy to make!

All recipes available upon request (although her original recipe can be found at foodnetwork.com)

Easy one pot Rice and Beans Jan 21, 2010

Cooked in vegetable broth with Goya Sazon, onion, garlic and a bit of sea salt. This is one of our favs.

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Lets Do Chicken Jan 20, 2010

Baked Chicken (breast) Bites, Baked Seasoned Red Potatos (we don't eat too much meat, but this came out nice)


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Broccoli and Cauliflower Stirfry Jan 18, 2010

Also great with zucchini and summer squash, or snap peas.

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Pineapple Cake Jan 17 2010

Pineapple Cake with homemade Pineapple Whipped Cream, yumm. The pineapple is mixed into the cake, rather then upside down, as people are used to. (shame my camera is on the fritz)

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