Masonable Mondays #5 - Snickerdoodle Hummus

Welcome to Masonable Mondays #5! Today I made a salty, sweet and healthy Snickerdoodle Hummus Masonable. I have been making this snickerdoodle hummus for years. It is amazing! It tastes and smells just like snickerdoodle cookies! The secret is cinnamon and almond butter instead of tahini. I made my own almond butter this weekend. I used my Almond Toffee Butter recipe and just omitted the toffee pieces. But you can use store bought, I know I have many many times. Even some of the friends I shared the recipe with used peanut butter and said it was delicious. If you haven't tried a sweet hummus this should definitely be the one you try. It is so good with sliced apples and carrots. The carrots will remind you of glazed carrots. I really like the salty pretzel crackers with it too. It has that salty sweet thing going for it. The #Masonable is the perfect container to pack all these yummy companions into a easy to carry snack or dessert. It is just sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. So grab a mason jar and a fruit cup and get prepping.

Snickerdoodle Hummus Masonable
Serves 1

Supplies

1 wide mouth pint Mason jar
2 empty fruit cups

Ingredients

Carrot sticks
Apple slices*
Snickerdoodle Hummus (recipe below)
Pretzel chips or crackers

Directions

Add carrots and apples to the bottom of the mason jar. Add fruit cup and place hummus in cup. Add lid and stack pretzels on top of lid. Top with inverted fruit cup and secure with mason jar ring. Store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

*Note: To prevent apple slices from turning brown toss in lemon juice before adding to the jar.

Snickerdoodle Hummus

Makes about 1-1/2 cups; 12 – 2 Tbsp servings

Ingredients

1 (15 oz) can low sodium garbanzo beans

2 Tbsp. almond butter

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ground

Directions

Drain garbanzo beans reserving liquid. Place garbanzo beans in a food processor along with almond butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pulse for about 1 minute until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Slowly drizzle in reserved liquid (you will not need all of it, approx. 1/3 cup) until the dip is smooth and desired consistency. Transfer to a bowl and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

To serve try garnishing with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Surround hummus with apple slices, carrots and/or pretzel crackers.

Nutritional Info per Serving: Calories 71.8; Total Fat 2.0 g; Saturated Fat 0.2 g; Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g; Monounsaturated Fat 1.1 g; Cholesterol 0.0 mg; Sodium 105.7 mg; Potassium 91.7 mg; Total Carbohydrate 12.3 g; Dietary Fiber 1.7 g; Sugars 3.5 g; Protein 2.1 g

Linking to:
Tumbleweed Contessa - What'd You Do This Weekend?

Pancake Tacos

This recipe was inspired by brown sugar bacon. I watched a few videos on the Brown Sugar Bacon BLT where they made this bacon. When I tried the bacon for myself it screamed pancakes to me. It has a sweet, salty, nutty flavor sort of like pecans. I knew it would be just delicious with pancakes. Well since I am taco obsessed right now I decided to use the pancakes for taco shells. All that was left was deciding on the rest of the fillings. Since it is pancakes and bacon then it should be breakfast right? So eggs? Maybe cheese? But what kind of cheese? And I can't forget the salsa! I decided on scrambled eggs, goat cheese and an apple salsa. After all goat cheese is mild and creamy and it goes well with eggs and apple. The scrambled eggs and goat cheese were so creamy, a great contrast to the crunchy bacon and apple salsa. The salsa turned out to be the biggest surprise, such a delicious combination. The honey, lemon, green onion, and cilantro really makes the apple salsa. It is the perfect crunchy topping for these pancake tacos. I can't wait to try it on a salad one day too. It is great with the bacon. I know both would make a great salad. Now believe me when I say this is a filling breakfast. Huge in fact, so get really hungry before you make it.

Pancake Tacos
Serves 2

Ingredients

Shake and Pour Pancake Mix

Apple Salsa:
1 pink lady apple, chopped
Juice of one lemon
1 green onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. honey
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste

8 slices low sodium center cut bacon
Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Butter, divided
4 eggs, beaten
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
Maple syrup, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Prepare pancake mix according to package directions and set aside.

Combine salsa ingredients and set aside.

Place bacon in a pan over medium heat. Cook until you start seeing a little brown color on the bacon (see first bacon photo), flip and sprinkle with brown sugar. Cook the second side until slightly brown, flip and sprinkle with brown sugar. Watch carefully the bacon will brown (or burn) fast now that it has brown sugar on it. Flip one more time to caramelize the sugar. Remove from pan and set on paper to drain.

In another non-stick pan, melt a little butter over medium heat. Pour enough pancake batter to make a 6" pancake. When you see bubbles on the surface of the pancake check to see if brown and flip. Cook until second side is brown. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and put in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter until you have four 6" pancakes.

In another non-stick pan, melt remaining butter over medium low heat. Add beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper. Gently stir eggs until soft curds form, continue to cook until eggs are set and remove from heat.

To assemble the tacos, start with a pancake, place two pieces of bacon inside, add a fourth of the eggs, top with crumbled goat cheese and apple salsa. Drizzle with a little bit of maple syrup.

after first flip with brown sugar sprinkle

with maple syrup drizzle

Linking to:
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Tornadough Alli: Throwback Thursday Link Party
Reasons To Skip The Housework: STH Link Party
The Lazy Gastronome - Taco Tuesday Blog Hop

Frozen Mulled Wine

Living in the south, the Fall is both hot and cold. You will wake up and it is cool, the air is crisp and it feels like Fall. You just can't wait to get home and make a pot of soup or gumbo even. Or sip hot apple cider or mulled wine by a fire. But then by noon, Oh my! It is time to go home and put on your shorts and forget cooking it is too hot! Well here is a way to celebrate Fall in the south without losing your cool; Frozen Mulled Wine. It is so so good! I love the sweet spicy apple flavors with the wine. All the warm flavors of fall but very refreshing if it is still warm outside. The idea came to me last year but temperatures suddenly dropped and it was too cold to post a frozen drink recipe. Now is the perfect time to make a pitcher and share it with your friends. I originally wanted to use sugar free spiced apple cider mix but I could not find it. As soon as I do I am going to try it. I have tried making it with six envelopes of spiced apple cider mix and it is too sweet. Four was kind of bland. But five is perfect! Plus there are ten envelopes in the box, so with one box of spiced apple cider mix and a bottle of wine you have a great gift or a party. I hope you enjoy this cool Fall treat. I am going back to the frig for a refill.

Frozen Mulled Wine

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon

5 envelopes of spiced apple cider mix

3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Ice to fill blender

Apple slices for a garnish

Directions

Combine wine, spiced apple cider mix and pumpkin pie spice in a blender container. Blend until mix is dissolved into wine. Fill blender with ice (at least to the 6 cup line). Blend until ice is finely crushed and smooth. Garnish with apple slices and serve with a straw for sipping.

**UPDATE** 9/30/2014

This frozen spicy apple wine delight is also 

delicious made with Pinot Grigio.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Horrific Knits: Fall Into the Holidays
Anyonita Nibbles:Tasty Tuesdays
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday Link Party
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Cocktails and Mocktails
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Made in a Day: Perpetual Pinterest Party

Curried Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

I am really fond of lettuce wraps these days. They are fresh, crisp and low carb. Lettuce wraps are a great way to scoop up both warm and cold fillings. I decided this weekend to update an old Curried Chicken Salad recipe and use it as a filling for a lettuce wrap. The original recipe was from a Weight Watchers cookbook. It was an open faced sandwich we use to make with canned chicken. For this wrap, I wanted to learn how to poach the chicken. I turned to Rachael Ray for a recipe and she did not disappoint. Rachael's Poached Chicken is full of flavor, tender and moist. The secret is she lets the chicken cool in the poaching liquid. Using her recipe I had four perfectly poach chicken breasts for my wraps and two quarts of chicken broth for future soups. This is definitely a method I will use in the future. The chicken was perfect in the Curried Chicken Salad. I love this combination of chicken, apples, grapes and curry. I used a homemade curry powder I saw on the Dr. Oz show. But you can use a store bought curry powder too, I have in the past. It adds a warm spice to the yogurt-mayo dressing that complements the sweet, tart flavors of the grapes and apples. This salad is great as a lettuce wrap. It makes for a nice fresh and filling meal, an update worth making again real soon.

Curried Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
Servings: 2

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. plain non fat Greek yogurt
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp curry powder
8 oz. skinned and boned poached chicken, diced
1 small apple, diced
12 large seedless green grapes, cut into quarters
Dash each salt, white pepper and cayenne
4 lettuce leaves

Chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

In medium bowl combine mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, and curry powder. Stir in chicken, apple, and grapes; season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Spoon a fourth of the chicken salad into each lettuce leaf. Garnish with pecans (optional).

Curry Powder

Source: Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary as seen on Dr. Oz

Ingredients

5 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 large bay leaf
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 small (1.5 inch) piece of a cinnamon stick
5 cloves
2 tsp turmeric powder (reserve for later)

Directions

Grind all of the above ingredients, except for the turmeric powder, in a coffee grinder. Afterward, add 2 tsp of the turmeric powder. Mix all ingredients together.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Call Me PMc: Marvelous Mondays Link Party
Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
Memories by the Mile: Treasure Box Tuesday
It's Your Life: Tuesdays with a Twist
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Apples

Apple Ale Rita

I am so impressionable. Yesterday I saw Clinton Kelley make an Apple Margarita on the Chew and the seed was planted. Then I had a late lunch meeting at Ruby Tuesdays. I noticed they had a Beer Rita on the menu. Another seed planted. By the time I left there I just had to go get tequila and apple juice. It wasn't until I got to the store that I saw the apple ale. I bought that too. I just knew I had seen a recipe that called for it too. There are tons of apple cocktail recipes on Pinterest now. Apple Sangria anyone? I have pinned them all.

Well let me jump on that band wagon. Here is one more apple cocktail. An Apple Ale Rita! It came to me as I tried to decide which recipe to try first. I have had a Beer Rita before. I liked the effervescence the beer added to the margarita. I bet apple ale would do the same for an apple margarita. Boy does it! It is so great. I don’t like sweet drinks. This drink is perfect not too sweet, it’s fresh or crisp and just a hint of warm fall spice. I like the lemon too. It is what makes the margarita part of the drink evident. I tried it without the lemon and cinnamon.  It was fine but taste just like an apple drink. Let me warn you this is definitely not just an apple drink, the inverted ale in the drink raises the technical drink-ability of this cocktail. Do not be tempted to pull the ale bottle out of the drink until you are sure what is in the bottle will fit in the glass. You have been sufficiently warned. I hope you will try it or at least pin it with all your other apple cocktails.

Apple Ale Rita

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 lemon wedge

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1 oz triple sec or orange liquor

2 oz silver tequila

2 oz 100% pure pressed apple juice

12 oz apple ale

1 cinnamon stick

Directions

Place lemon wedge and ground cinnamon in a pint glass. Muddle together and fill glass 3/4 full with ice. Add triple sec, tequila, apple juice and stir to combine. Carefully place your finger over the top of the ale bottle and invert into glass. Garnish with cinnamon stick and a straw. Place on a small plate with a napkin to catch any spills. Enjoy!

Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: It's Fall Y'all
My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup Linkie Party
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Ms. enPlace: See Ya the Gumbo
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Mondays
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Horrific Knits: Fall Into the Holidays
Cassidy's Cooking Collection: Linky & Drinky
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Memories by the Mile: Tuesday Trivia-Delaware and Link Party
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
The Tumbleweed Contessa: Cinnamon Saturday Dishes
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Cocktails and Mocktails

Veggies + Fruit = Delicious Salads

I have discovered I really like combination veggie and fruit salads. It all started with some of Mark Bittman's recipes for 101 Simple Salads. In many of his salads he combined veggies and fruit. Some of my favorites are:

1. Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft.
2. Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half; toss with soy sauce, a bit of dark sesame oil and basil or cilantro. I love this — the tomato juice-soy thing is incredible. (Ok, no fruit in this one but it is too good not to share.)
3. Cube watermelon and combine with tomato chunks, basil and basic vinaigrette. You can substitute peach for the watermelon or the tomato (but not both).
4. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.

Then Hungry Girl added cucumber to her fruit salad. She calls it Ginormous Fruit Salad Surprise. The surprise to me is that the cucumber tastes a little like melon when combined with the fruit. Delicious!

So when I saw this Zucchini Apple Salad in Taste of Home I knew I had to try it. It did not disappoint. It is sweet, tangy and crunchy. I knew I would like zucchini and apples. But I wasn't sure about Italian dressing and apples, I really like it! Sort of a sweet and sour thing. It is more apparent freshly made. It mellows the longer it sits in the refrigerator. Any of these salads would be great to take for lunch or to a pot luck.

If you have any favorite veggie and fruit combinations I would love to hear about them.

Zucchini Apple Salad

Source: Taste of Home

6 Servings

Ingredients

2 medium red apples, chopped

2 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

2/3 cup Italian salad dressing

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the apples, zucchini and walnuts. Add salad dressing; toss to coat. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 2/3 cup (prepared with fat-free salad dressing) equals 114 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 383 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat, 1/2 fruit.

Malibleu Beach Salad with Grilled Chicken

A co-worker introduced me to this salad years ago. We would go to dinner at Semolina’s Restaurant. She would always order the Malibleu Beach Salad with Grilled Chicken. I developed this recipe after our Semolina’s closed. It is delicious with or without chicken. The sweet raisins are great with the blue cheese. And I love the tart tang of the sun-dried tomatoes. This salad has a lot of great texture too; the apples and walnuts add great crunch. It makes a great chopped salad. Just chop everything in similar size pieces.

Malibleu Beach Salad with Grilled Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the chicken:

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Lawry’s Seasoned salt, to taste

Olive oil

For the salad:

1 bag of Spring Mix salad greens

6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, chopped

1/4 cup Raisins

2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped

1 scallion, sliced

1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbles

Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Directions

Preheat grill to medium-high heat (10 min).

Re-hydrate sun-dried tomatoes (if using dry packed).

Season chicken breast with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Lawry’s. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and turn to coat. Grill chicken 4 to 6 minutes a side, until cooked through. Set a side to rest for 10 minutes. Slice chicken into bite size pieces.

Toss the salad greens with some(4 to 6 Tbsp.) balsamic vinaigrette and top with tomatoes, apples, raisins, walnuts, and scallion. Sprinkle with blue cheese and top with sliced chicken.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Makes approx. 1/2 cup

Ingredients

3 oz olive oil

1 oz Balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced (approx. 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp honey

1 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp basil, chopped

Salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

Mix vinaigrette ingredients in a small mason jar. Secure with lid and shake until emulsified. Store remaining dressing in the refrigerator for up to a week.



Linking to:
Life on Lakeshore Drive: A Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Mondays
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Six Sister's Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Mondays
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Salads
My Pinterventures: Summer Salads Party

Butternut Squash Parsnip Soup

This is one dish that can be made ahead. Just freeze before adding the whipping cream. Thaw and heat on Thanksgiving day. Garnish as directed. This is a wonderful soup and is great all winter long. I love using smoked paprika as part of the garnish. Delicious!

*UPDATED* with a new photo
from Thanksgiving 2013

Butternut Squash Parsnip Soup

Source: Southern Living, Feb 2005

Yield: Makes about 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

1 (3- to 4-pound) butternut squash
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and quartered
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Garnishes: sour cream, paprika

Directions

Cut squash in half; remove seeds. Place squash, cut sides down, and apples on a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until squash pulp is tender. Remove from oven; cool. Scoop out squash pulp, discarding shells.

Melt butter in olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and next 3 ingredients, and sauté 20 minutes or until onion is caramel colored. Add squash, apple quarters, and chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring often, 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

Process squash mixture, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Return to Dutch oven. Stir in whipping cream, paprika, and cumin, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until heated. Garnish, if desired.

I got to the pot last, so this is a messy photo