Apple Breakfast Stacks

1/3 c packed brown sugar
2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 10-oz can refrigerated biscuits
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 large apple, cored and cut into rings
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside. Separate biscuits, and press each into a 3-inch circle. Place on lightly greased baking sheets; sprinkle with cheese, and top each with an apple ring. Sprinkle with reserved sugar mixture, and drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until crust is golden. Serve immediately. Makes 10.

Orange-Almond Pain Perdu

Orange-Almond Pain Perdu

6 slices white or whole wheat sandwich bread
3 Tbsp. softened cream cheese, divided
6 teaspoons orange marmalade
2 eggs or equivalent in Eggbeaters
2-3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. sliced almonds, toasted
nonstick cooking spray

Spread 3 slices of bread with 1 tablespoon each cream cheese and 2 teaspoons each orange marmalade. Form three sandwiches with the other three slices. Combine eggs/Eggbeaters and milk in a shallow dish. Heat a griddle sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle space where you're going to place a sandwich with 1 tablespoon of the almonds. Dip both sides of sandwich in egg mixture and place on top of almonds. Grill until brown on bottom side, flip and grill until both sides are browned. Serve with maple syrup. Makes 3.

Easy Breakfast Casserole

½ lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
1 tablespoon mustard
6 slices bread , torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
6 eggs or equivalent in Eggbeaters, beaten
1 4-ounce can evaporated milk or 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350?. In a skillet, crumble and brown the sausage. Stir in the mustard. Combine bread, cheese, and sausage, and put in a 9" baking pan. Mix eggs and mik, and pour evenly over bread-meat mixture, and bake about 30 minutes until puffed, golden, and set. Serves 2-3.

Mixed Berry Cobbler

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup Splenda granular, divided
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, cut in small pieces
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cups mixed berries, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 400˚. Line a large cookie sheet with foil.
In a large bowl, mix the flours, flaxseed, 1/2 cup Splenda granular, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in almond extract and 1/2 cup boiling water just until mixture is evenly moist. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water. Mix in remaining 1/2 cup Splenda, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, and blackberries. Transfer to a cast iron skillet, and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Drop dough into the skillet by spoonfuls. Place skillet on the foil lined baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until dough is golden brown. Serves 8.

Chicken Mole Verde

from Ed of Is it EDible?

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves, garlic minced
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used breasts this time)
8 ounces mushrooms, halved
4 ounces Dona Maria Mole Verde sauce
2 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup queso fresco (a Mexican white cheese with a crumbly texture)

In a large saucepan with a lid, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in shallots and garlic. Sauté for a minute. Add chicken. Saute until lightly brown on all sides. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring to blend once the mole paste melts. Sauce will thicken on its own. Just before serving, sprinkle the queso fresco on top. Serve over rice.

Coconut-Cranberry Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup wheat or oat bran
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans)
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup dried cranberries
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup honey
1 egg, beaten
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat bran, coconut, nuts, flour, cranberries and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Creamy Tortilla Soup

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp regular chili powder
1 15.25-ounce can corn, drained
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained (next time I’ll use black beans, but I didn’t have any in the cupboard)
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
2 6-inch corn tortillas, torn in small pieces
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Sauté onion, cumin, coriander, and garlic in oil until onion softens. Add chicken broth, cilantro, chili powders, corn, beans, tomatoes, green chilies, and torn tortilla pieces. Bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat 10-20 minutes. Stir flour into sour cream; add sour cream to soup. Stir with a whisk until all lumps are gone and heat another 5 minutes without boiling. Serve topped with grated cheese and crispy tortilla strips (or do what I did, which was to use broken-up tortilla chips). Makes 6 servings.

Hearty Pumpkin Bundt Cake

adapted from a recipe from Patti of Adventures in Food and Wine

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup unsweeteened applesauce
3 eggs
1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups Splenda granular
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 9-grain cereal (you can also use oat bran or wheat bran)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees˚. Spray one10-inch bundt or tube pan with Baker's Joy or Pam for baking. Cream oil, beaten eggs, pumpkin, flaxseed and vanilla together. Sift the Splenda, sugar, flours, baking soda, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt together. Stir in 9-grain cereal. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in walnuts. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a plate and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Peach Upside-Down Biscuits

adapted from a recipe by Paula Deen

1 can (14 ounce) peaches (I used "lite" peaches)
½ cup packed light brown sugar OR 1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 package (12-ounce) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 count)
Preheat the oven to 400˚.

Grease 10 cups of a muffin tin. Strain the can of peaches, reserving the syrup, and dice the peaches. Combine the peaches, sugar, and butter, and mix well. Divide the peach mixture among the muffin cups. Place 1 biscuit in each cup on top of sugar and peach mixture. Spoon 1 teaspoon reserved peach syrup over each biscuit. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool for 2 minutes. Run a knife around each biscuit and invert the pan onto a plate to release the biscuits. Serve warm. Serves 2.

Spicy Apricot Pork

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 pork sirloins (about 12 oz.), cut in bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 T cider or white vinegar
4 dried apricots, diced (it doesn't look like enough, but they expand while cooking)
1 c chicken stock
1/2 c apricot all-fruit spread
1-2 teaspoons sambal oelek (ground fresh red chile paste) (I used 2, and it was really spicy-so if you want it milder, just use 1)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. cold water

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add meat and season with salt and pepper. Brown on both sides; add onion. Cook 5 minutes. Add vinegar to the skillet, and when it evaporates, add the apricots and chicken stock. When the liquid comes to a boil, add the apricot fruit spread and the sambal oelek; stir to combine. Cover pan, reduce heat, and simmer 10-12 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high, add cornstarch-water mixture, and stir until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Serve over hot rice. Makes 3 servings (or 1 normal serving for you and 1 large serving for your hungry spouse!)

Butterscotch Martinis

1 6-oz. can pineapple juice
6 oz. vanilla vodka
6 oz. butterscotch schnapps

Combine all ingredients; serve cold. Makes about 5-6 martinis.

Italian Sausage Casserole

½ onion, chopped
½ bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 small zucchini, diced
4 sweet Italian sausages
1 tsp. salt
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. pkg. cottage cheese
1 egg
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup grated Mozarella cheese
6 oz. egg noodles or pasta, cooked
1 cup grated Mozarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350˚. Sauté onion, bell pepper, and zucchini lightly in olive oil till softened; add crumbled Italian sausage and cook until meat is browned. Add salt and tomatoes. In a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup shredded Mozarella. In a 3-quart casserole dish, layer half of the noodles, half of the meat mixture, the cottage cheese mixture, the remaining noodles, and then the remaining meat mixture. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes. Top with 1 cup shredded Mozarella and cook 10 more minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Butternut Squash Fries

1 butternut squash
2 tsp. olive or canola oil
1 tsp. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425˚. Cut ends off of squash, and peel. Cut squash in half vertically, and scoop out seeds. Slice squash into french-fry-like shapes, and toss in a large bowl with oil and salt. Spread in one layer on a cookie sheet, and roast 25-35 minutes or until browned. (You'll have to check to make sure they're not burning). Makes 3 servings.

Not My Mom's Coffee Cake

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda granular
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup 1% or skim milk

Heat oven to 375F. Grease pan (9" round or square). Blend all ingredients, beat 1/2 minute. Spread in pan. Topping: Melt 2 tablespoons butter, pour on top. Sprinkle with a mixture of 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 tablespoos sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Mom's Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cup flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk


Heat oven to 375F. Grease pan (9" round or square). Blend all ingredients, beat 1/2 minute. Spread in pan. Topping: Melt 1/4 cup butter, pour on top. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar generously (I've always used a teaspoon of cinnamon mixed with 3 tablespoons of sugar). Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.