Author Archives: Tiffany

Raspberry and Apple Crisp *

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This is a wonderful recipe I adapted, it just comes out perfectly and is healthier (even though it’s still a dessert) than a traditional apple pie because it is lacking the caloric crusts.  Galas or honey crisp work especially well here.  ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 cups sliced apples
  • 1/4 cup raspberries, if tolerated
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon**
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup brown sugar (You can get away with 3/4 cup here to reduce the sugar; I’ve done it successfully).
  • 1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons)
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (You can do a half all-purpose and half whole wheat mixture)
  • 1/2 cup quick oats, optional but healthier! 

**Make this IC safe by removing the cinnamon. Omit raspberries if they bother you.

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Grease a 8×8″ to a 10×7″ (approximately) pan.  The size doesn’t matter, it just may take longer to cook in a smaller pan.  (I used a glass pan).
  2. Place apples in prepared dish. Sprinkle raspberries randomly in the dish.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Pour water over the entire thing.
  3. In a bowl, cream sugar and butter together.  You can use a mixer or your clean hands.
  4. Gently blend in flour and quick oats.  Sprinkle this mixture evenly over apples.
  5. Bake in preheated oven 30-40 minutes until apples are tender and crust is golden.  Mine usually takes 40 minutes.   

Asian Beef With Broccoli (or Snow Peas) * (Not IC Safe)

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This was a recipe from an All Recipes magazine that I don’t subscribe to, but got free in the mail.  I didn’t have, and couldn’t find, snow peas, so I used broccoli.  The sauce is the biggest winner in this recipe.  Most commenters double the sauce and so did I.  The following recipe has doubled sauce ingredients.  It would have been great on a bed of rice, but it was a LONG day.  It calls for fresh ginger root but I hate wasting the remainder whenever I buy it, so I just used a few dashes of powdered ginger.  I hate the way round steak usually turns out so I used a higher quality cut of beef.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 6 tablespoons soy sauce (I only use low sodium)**
  • 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar**
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar (I used 1 T.; it was fine).
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil, as desired.
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root (I used a few dashes of powdered ginger)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used a few dashes of powdered)
  • 1 pound beef round steak, cut into thin strips
  • 8 ounces snow peas (or broccoli)

**Known IC irritants, tread carefully!

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, and cornstarch; set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat.
  3. Stirfry ginger and garlic for 30 seconds.
  4. Add the steak and stirfry for 2 minutes or until evenly browned. 
  5. Add the snowpeas and stirfry for an additional 3 minutes. 
  6. Add the soy sauce mixture; bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  7. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Serve immediately. 

 

Homemade Red Pasta Sauce *

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This recipe involves the blender and simple simmering and reduction.  You can change up the spices as you like.  I used fresh oregano and basil from the garden.  I added garlic and onion powder and some generic Italian type seasoning.  For not having any preservatives or chemicals, this is a WIN!  Mix with some whole wheat pasta and you have a healthy side to your meal.    

 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4-5 medium tomatoes**
  • salt & pepper**
  • fresh or dried spices, as desired (such as oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, garlic/onion powder, etc)**

**Known IC irritants, tread carefully!

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Begin by cutting out a tiny amount of the tomato: cut out the top woody party of the tomato and a thin layer including the stem.
  2. Roughly chop remaining tomatoes and put in blender.
  3. Add salt/pepper and basic spices that you chose. 
  4. Pulverize in blender until smooth.
  5. Transfer to skillet and reduce this pink, liquidy mixture until it turns into a pasta sauce consistency, watching not to let it burn, about 20-30 minutes.

 

 

Sesame Pork Chops

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I found this recipe in some magazine, possibly Rachael Ray.  I don’t know.  It’s very simple and produced a unique flavor of pork chop that wasn’t so bland.  I found that after the initial searing, it helped to cover the chops with a lid to keep them from drying out; it worked very well.  It was the first time I bought and used rice vinegar.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 6 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp. brown sugar (I reduced it to 1 tbsp no problem)
  • 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 4 boneless pork chops
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds

Directions:

  1. In a resealable bag, mix soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar. 
  2. Add pork, marinate 20 minutes.
  3. In skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium high heat. 
  4. Press seeds into pork on both sides.
  5. Cook, turning, 10 minutes.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

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I have always wanted to make cream of broccoli soup and this was a great first try.  It was a little on the watery side, so if you prefer it thicker, you could just add less milk or add another thickener, in addition to the flour, like cornstarch, etc.  I used butter and reduced the amount to 1.5 TBSP.  I used a quarter onion and added 2 celery stalks and it was more than enough.  This was the first time I cooked with raw onion in about a year and a half.  I learned that I can eat cooked onion, but being around raw onion cooking still makes me feel off and sick.  So now I know!  Next time I will use onion powder and add more celery.  Very tasty, healthy, and full of nutrients!   Enjoy…. 

 

  • 4 cups water

  • 4 cups broccoli florets
  • 2 tablespoons margarine
  • 1 onion, chopped 
  • 1 large stalk celery, chopped
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. In a medium-sized cooking pot, add water and broccoli florets and bring to boil; reduce heat and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving all of the water.
  2. In a food processor or blender, process half the cooked broccoli until fairly smooth. Chop remaining broccoli and set aside.
  3. In a heavy-bottomed cooking pot, melt butter or margarine, add onion and celery and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Stir in flour; cook, stirring constantly for about 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Add reserved water and chicken bouillon granules, and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, stirring constantly until thickened.
  5. Stir in milk, nutmeg, pepper, and processed and chopped broccoli, and heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve garnished with grated cheddar cheese.

Crispy Rosemary Potatoes

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This is a very tasty recipe for baked rosemary potatoes.  My husband and I loved this recipe and will make it again.  It’s from the cookbook “Cook This!  Not That!”.  Fresh rosemary is best here.  Makes 4 servings. 

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into 3/4″ chunks
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Toss the potatoes with the oil, rosemary, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.
  3. Spread out evenly on a baking sheet.
  4. Roast until brown and crispy on the outside and tender inside, about 30 minutes. 

Mud and Worms Pudding Cups * (Not IC Safe)

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These pudding cups take a simple treat to such a fun level – even us adults had fun making and eating them!  What is great, from an adult perspective, is that the Oreo topping prevents that yucky pudding ‘skin’ from forming on the top once refrigerated,.  I do suggest putting plastic wrap on top while refrigerating anyway.  IT’S A SUPER CUTE recipe!  We ended up making a larger box of instant pudding as it was on sale and used extra Oreo crumbs; this recipe is not exact.   We made 6 servings.
(Original recipe makes 4 servings)
Ingredients:
  • 12 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies, like Oreos**
  • 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix**
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 (3 ounce) package gummy worms candy**

**Known IC irritants, tread carefully!

Directions

  1. Place the chocolate sandwich cookies into a resealable plastic zipper bag, and crush with a rolling pin into crumbs. For a more mudlike appearance, untwist the cookies and scrape off the creme filling before crushing cookies.
  2. Whisk together the chocolate pudding mix with the milk in a bowl, stirring for 2 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the crushed sandwich cookie crumbs into the bottom of a serving bowl, and spoon the chocolate pudding over the crumbs. Smooth out the top of the pudding, then top with the rest of the chocolate cookie crumbs to resemble dirt.
  4. Poke gummy worms halfway into the dirt. Refrigerate until serving.

Fluffy French Toast *

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WOW – all I can say is WOW.  This is the best French toast I’ve ever had.  It was perfectly flavored with just enough eggs, cinnamon, and more.  Be sure to use Texas toast or another thickly sliced toast (Challah, sourdough, etc) for best results.  If you use just the thin sandwich bread it will fall apart before you get it to the griddle.  It turned out beautifully and the rest of it will go in my freezer for later.  It’s a great way to get protein in those anti-protein kids and for us adults, to eat something other than pure carbs for breakfast!  It looked like too much cinnamon while mixing, but it tasted perfect.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon**
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract**
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 12 thick slices bread (Texas toast or Brioche, etc)

**Omit cinnamon or vanilla if they bother you.

 

Directions:

  1. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
  2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
  3. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

Zucchini Parmesan Chips *

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This is a great, healthy recipe off of Foodnetwork.com.  You simply slice up your zucchini, toss it in olive oil, and then cover it in your mixture of Parmesan/bread crumbs/salt/pepper.  Only at the last minute did I realize that it said freshly grated Parmesan like from a Parmesan brick of cheese.  Since I didn’t have that,  used the Parmesan in the container and mixed in some shredded mozzarella cheese; it still was tasty!  I will try it again with the preferred ingredient.  The near burnt cheese flavor was divine.  I used a metal baking pan with aluminum foil coated generously with cooking spray, nothing stuck!  I had to lessen the time slightly.  I had to make more Parmesan mixture as it wasn’t enough and/or I put too much mixture on, but it was worth it.

Ingredients:

  • Cooking spray
  • 2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (3/4-ounce)
  • 1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs, like Panko or plain bread crumbs
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and salt. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
  4. Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve immediately.

Amish White Bread

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I have a few bread recipes on my culinary ‘must bake list’ and this was one of them.  It was pretty effortless!  I used my stand mixer for the kneading step and it was a waiting game!  It took exactly 30 mins. in my oven!  It makes two 9×5″ loaves.  For best results use stainless loaf pans with ‘PAM with baking’ spray.  The loaves just fell out of the pans easily!  Even though it was baked through the sides of the bread and the inside were perfectly soft!  I usually eat and make only whole wheat based bread products, but this was a nice change!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

  • 2/3 cup white sugar

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 6 cups bread flour

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.Mix salt and oil into the yeast.
  2. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
  3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

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