I don’t know about you, but I always struggle to come up with snacks for my daughter and for me. Sometimes we go ultra-healthy, sometimes we go with cold-cut turkey, sometimes we do snack bar. And more often than not, we’re running out the door and need something portable….
Easy Thanksgiving Side: Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
On to the last recipe in this year’s Easy Thanksgiving Side series here on Flurries of Flour! This recipe is classic Thanksgiving, but instead of doing anything on the stove, I let the oven take care of all the work (minus a bit of chopping!). Savory Brussels sprouts with crisped edges are mixed with creamy sweet potatoes and crispy, flavorful bacon! It’s the perfect accompaniment to all your Thanksgiving favorites like turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes!…
Easy Thanksgiving Sides: Stuffed Acorn Squash
Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a week away? I can’t. It seems like just October was just last week. It’s getting to be crunch time, and if you’re still not sure what’s going to be on your Thanksgiving table, let me introduce the third recipe in this year’s Easy Thanksgiving Sides series here on Flurries of Flour, Stuffed Acorn Squash! Seasoned turkey and sausage is mixed with greens, wild rice, and pine nuts, all nestled in a nest of roasted acorn squash. And, as with all the dishes in this series, there are only a handful of ingredients that don’t require much prep, giving you more time to focus on other aspects of your Thanksgiving feast!…
Mediterranean Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes
Here is recipe two in the Simple Side Dishes here on Flurries of Flour! Sweet potatoes and, to a lesser extent, butternut squash are synonymous with Thanksgiving. This dish takes the two and adds a delicious, Mediterranean twist on Thanksgiving with herbs, feta cheese, and pomegranate seeds! This dish has sweet from the butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and roasted onions, salty creaminess from the feta cheese, a delicious savory layer from the Greek herbs, and a sweet tang from the pomegranate seeds!
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Autumn Harvest Pasta Sauce
When you think of the autumn harvest, you probably think squash and pumpkins and root vegetables like carrots. This creamy pasta sauce is full of squash and pumpkin and says comfort food and cozy evenings. It’s also simple to make, makes a beautiful base for further flavors and additions, and stores perfectly in the freezer for later use!…
Warm Calvados Apple Galette
I love pumpkin and pumpkin spice as much as the next person (just look at my recipes for pumpkin spice panna cotta and spiced pumpkin and carrot soup), but I also love the fact that fall is apple season! And there’s almost nothing as perfect to celebrate apple season with as this warm Calvados apple galette! It’s fall in a crust—seriously! Warm, spiced, and everything you think about when you think cozy!
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Spiced Pumpkin and Carrot Soup
It’s still warmish during the mid-days around here, but the mornings and evenings are chilly! And what’s better for chilly evenings than soup? Especially this ultra-flavorful, velvety spiced pumpkin and carrot soup that uses the best of fall’s produce!
When we moved last month, I found the pumpkin puree I made last year from the little sugar pumpkins. I had to use it, but for what? I also had some carrots that needed to be used up, and then the idea popped into my head—soup!
Also, one of my favorite things during the cold months (besides soup) is something with spice in it—it just gives me that warm, cozy feeling, and this soup does just that! It’s absolutely packed full of bright, warm flavors and a little bit of spice to warm you up even on the coldest of days!…
Breakfast Baked Apples with Granola Crumble
- 6 semi-sweet apples
- 1 cup of granola, either homemade or store-bought
- ½ cup of vanilla yogurt or Greek yogurt
- 1 cup of water
- 2 Tbsp. softened butter
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. ginger
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg (You can also use 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice and 1 tsp. cinnamon)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- Heat the oven to 375°.
- Combine the spices in a small bowl.
- Core the apples then set into a baking pan or casserole dish. Sprinkle the spice blend, salt, and vanilla on top of the apples, dot with small bits of butter, then pour the water into the bottom of the pan.
- Place the apples in the oven for half an hour to forty minutes, or until the apples are soft.
- While the apples are cooking, combine the granola with 1 tablespoon of butter and the tablespoon of flour with either a fork or your fingers.
- Take the pan out of the oven. The water will probably have evaporated, but if not, take the apples out and pour out the water. Put the apples back into the pan, fill with the yogurt, and top with the granola crumble mixture.
- Place the apples back into the oven for 10 more minutes, or until the granola crumbled mixture is cooked through (you’re cooking the flour and butter).
- If you’d rather not have the yogurt warmed, you can cook the apples and granola crumble mixture together, then pour the yogurt over top.
- Serve!
When you cook the apples the night before, make the granola crumble, add it and the yogurt to the apples and heat them for ten minuts! You’ll have a fun, decently healthy breakfast on the table in ten to fifteen minutes!
Swaps:
- Instead of apples, you can use pears
- To make this recipe gluten-free, you can use a gluten-free flour and a gluten-free granola.
- To make this recipe paleo-friendly, use a paleo granola and an alternative flour like coconut or cassava (almond flour probably would not work, however), and yogurt made with alternative milks.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use yogurt made with alternative milks like coconut, almond, or cashew.
So, there you have a delicious fall breakfast or brunch, and the apples in the stores right now are so good and perfect for this recipe—nothing mushy or tasteless.
‘Till next time!
Fajita-Stuffed Hatch Green Chile
One thing that marks the end of the summer and the beginning of fall here in New Mexico is the smell of roasting green chile. It’s one of those scents that marks the change in season and it promises sweet, flavorful, buttery, charred heat—it’s so good. That’s why I’m capturing the Hatch chile harvest in a recipe for Fajita-Stuffed Hatch Green Chile!
If you can find Hatch chile in your local store, you really have to try it! It’s not just heat (and if you can find mild, there won’t be much of that anyway). Hatch chile really has a unique flavor, buttery and sweetly peppery, almost like a spicy bell pepper, but with a bit more tang. Just for fun, I also used all local New Mexican ingredients to celebrate the end-of-summer harvest: the steak is from Sweet Mercy Farms, peppers from Red Tractor Farm, sweet corn from Schwebach’s and the onions from an unnamed booth. This recipe has minimal ingredients and comes together quickly. You’ll have a warm, delicious harvest-time meal in under an hour!
It’s certainly not something you have to do. It’s just a lot of fun for me, especially because we’ve made it a habit to go to the farmer’s market every Saturday morning and I’m like a kid in the candy store! And if you can’t get Hatch green chile, a mild green, large green chile like Anaheim or poblano will work just as well! In fact, Anaheims were developed from Hatch green chile, so you’ll get a similar result (they’re just not quite as flavorful).
We have a law here in New Mexico that to be labeled Hatch green chile, it has to be from Hatch New Mexico, so make sure you look for the real thing if you can!
- 4 Hatch, Anaheim, or poblano chile peppers
- 1 steak of your choice sliced into short strips or ½ pound of ground beef
- 2 medium bell peppers, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- The kernels from 2 ears of corn, about a cup
- ½ C. cotija cheese, or any type of mild Mexican or Spanish cheese (although cheddar would work well, as well)
- 1 garlic clove, thinly chopped
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. garlic salt
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika (or regular paprika, if you don’t have smoked)
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Chop the steak into short, thin strips. Chop the peppers and onion into strips and finely chop the garlic clove. Place the large end of the ear of corn into a bowl and cut off the kernels.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil or other neutral oil into a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent, then add in the steak, peppers, and corn. Add the spices. Sauté until the outside of the steak is done, but the inside is still red.
- Remove the filling into a bowl and mix with half of the cheese.
- Cut open the chile peppers, but don’t cut the top off. Carefully remove all the seeds. WARNING: Do not touch your skin after handling the chile pods or seeds, especially your eyes, because it will burn you! Wash your hands thoroughly before you touch anything else, or use gloves like I do.
- Place the peppers onto a foil-lined pan and spoon the filling into the peppers.
- Place the peppers into the oven for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are soft and the cheese has browned and/or melted.
- Take out of the oven and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top before serving the peppers.
Wherever you get the ingredients, and whatever ingredients you choose to include, these fajita-stuffed Hatch green chile peppers are the perfect way to use up all the late-summer harvest goodies!
There won’t be a new blog next week because we’re moving, but I’m really excited to share the recipe going up the following weekend, so make sure you check back.
‘Till next time!
Taste of the Season: Cranberry Coulis
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week! This recipe for cranberry coulis is full of the flavors of the season: cranberry, cinnamon, mulling spices. It’s tart, sweet, and a perfect accompaniment to any dish on your Thanksgiving table!
From the turkey to the stuffing to desserts like pie and pumpkin panna cotta and even stirred into oatmeal, this coulis’ flavor makes it perfect for everything. It’s also quick and easy to cook and can be made days (or weeks) ahead of time!…