Simple Gluten-Free Apple Crisp

Cookie and Kate

Apple filling
2 ¼ pounds Granny Smith apples (about 5 large or 7 small), cored and sliced into ¼” thick wedges, skins on
⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
¼ cup water, or bourbon or brandy, or apple cider or apple juice (I like 2 tablespoons bourbon and 2 tablespoons water)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons arrowroot starch or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg


Oat, almond meal and pecan topping
1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
½ cup firmly packed almond meal or almond flour
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional but recommended)
⅓ cup lightly packed coconut sugar or brown sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)

Don’t forget vanilla ice cream or whipped coconut milk, for serving!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9” square baking dish. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey and water until combined. Add the lemon juice, starch, cinnamon and allspice, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the apples and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal, pecans, coconut sugar and salt. Mix in the melted butter and the yogurt. Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.
4. Once the apples have baked for 20 minutes, give them a stir and redistribute them evenly in the baker. Dollop small spoonfuls of the oat mixture evenly over the filling (see photos, no need to pack it down). Return the baker to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 more minutes, until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is nice and golden.
5. Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, I insist. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 5 days.

Easy Noodle Stirfry

Oil
1/2-1 lb sausage and or ground beef
2 c cooked spaghetti noodles
1/4 head of sliced cabbage
3 sliced carrots
1 chopped onion
2t- 2T soy sauce
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
Could serve with freshly squeezed lemon and/or chopped green onion or cilantro.

I cooked this all up in the morning. Then reheated it for dinner at 4pm
I used my iron pan and Brown the onion first.
Then add the meat cook till done.
Add the spaghetti noodles till they get toasted and browned. The noodles did start to stick to the bottom of the pan but I added a little more oil and that loosened them up. Also you can put the lid on the pan and that loosens the noodles on the pan.
Add carrots for 7 min, then add cabbage cook for 3 min.
Add soy sauce, garlic, and salt and pepper.
Way easy and tasty.

Serve with fruit salad, veggie salad and slices of french bread.

baked pumpkin oatmeal

One lovely Life
I  put in a greased 9x13 pan

For the dry ingredients:

4 cups rolled oats (sometimes called old-fashioned). – Use gluten free as needed!
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cardamom

Or 1&1/2t pumpkin pie spice
2 cup toasted pecans or almonds

protein powder optional

For the wet ingredients:

3 cups milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
2 cups pumpkin or 15oz can
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or brown sugar (plus more, for drizzling)
3 eggs or 2 Tbsp chia seeds + 3 Tbsp water (or 1 egg, if not vegan)
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Can serve caramel chips or choco chips

Optional Crumb Topping-

• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Add 1/2-3/4 cup of the pecans (and save the rest for sprinkling on top).

In a medium bow, whisk together the wet ingredients–milk, pumpkin, syrup, chia egg/egg, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry oatmeal mixture. Stir to combine well. Pour into a greased 8×8 (or 2 quart) baking dish. Sprinkle with additional pecans if you like.

Bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes, or until the liquid has soaked in, the center is just set, and the edges are starting to turn golden.

Serve with a drizzle of milk and a little syrup if you like.

Oatmeal will keep 5-7 days in the refrigerator. To reheat, simply add a little extra milk and warm in the oven or microwave.

Can serve with whipped up coconut milk on top.

Chunky Spaghetti Sauce

Jamie brought some most delicious spaghetti sauce, spaghetti squash, and noodles to us after Luke was born.  It was so extremely delicious. I CRAZY loved this sauce. A couple reasons why it was successful: 1.  It was the first time I used sausage in spaghetti sauce and 2. the first time i roasted the tomatoes and onions. I think those things made it awesome!!!

1 lb Turkey or beef
1 lb of any type of sausage (no spicy, I took off the outter thin skin)
1 T basil, 1 T oregano, salt and pepper
garlic
2 sliced onions
chopped mushroooms (saute)
Zucchini
Butternut squash (peel and roast in oil, garlic, salt and pepper)
spaghetti squash for the noodles instead of pasta (cook whole squash, uncut at 400 degrees for one hour)
2 options for spaghetti sauce:
    1.  Sauce- garden combination Ragu or Prego
    2.  4 cans of diced tomatoes 
Pasta noodles


1. Cook ground turkey/beef and sausage with chopped mushrooms.  While I'm cooking the meat, In the past I have chopped it up so small b/c thats what my mom did growing up.  But this time I left the meat in bigger chunks and I really liked the texture in the final product. 
2. Roast onions and tomatoes  in oven at 400 for 45-60 min till browned. Then I pureed 2 cans of the tomatoes in the blender and left 2 cans in their diced chunks.  roasting is suppose to help give a more full flavor 
3. Peel and cube butternut squash, toss with oil, salt, and pepper 400 for 20-30 min. I put it in the sauce and i loved it but logan didn't love it.
4. cook whole spaghetti squash, uncut at 400 degrees for one hour. I liked this squash instead of pasta noodles but the rest of the family liked the pasta.


This fed 2 families of 10 people with still having leftovers. I thought it'd be good to freeze in smaller portions in sandwich ziplock bags for quick meals.

21 Make ahead breakfasts

Sweet pea and saffron

1.Peach Baked Oatmeal from Sweet Peas & Saffron
2. Egg and Quinoa Breakfast Muffins 
3. Make-Ahead Mason Jar Breakfast Parfaits 
4. Healthy Zucchini Oat Breakfast Cookies
5. Hash Brown Egg Nests with Avocado 
6. Ginger Peach Oatmeal Bake with Whipped Coconut Cream
7. Raspberry Nutella Overnight Oats
8. Pancake Mini Muffins 
9.  Spinach, Feta & Red Pepper Breakfast Quesadillas 
10. Make Ahead Smoothies 
11. Banana Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
12. Perfect Breakfast Burritos 
13. Double Chocolate Quinoa Granola
14. Customizable Protein-Packed Oatmeal Cups 
15. Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Egg White Breakfast Burritos 
16. Apple Pecan Baked Oatmeal
17.  Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Quinoa 
18.  Sweet Potato Pancakes 
19. Spinach and Red Pepper Mini Frittatas
20. Blueberry Chia Overnight Oats
21.  Tofu Scramble with Breakfast Sweet Potatoes 
22. Blueberry Overnight French Toast Bake 
23. Overnight Breakfast Casserole with Bacon & Sweet Potatoes from Sweet Peas & Saffron

Pasta with Kale Pesto and butternut squash

NY Times Cooking

1 ½ pounds butternut squash

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

¾ teaspoon kosher salt, more for squash

 Freshly ground black pepper

1 small bunch (about 1/2 pound) lacinato kale, center ribs removed

8 ounces pasta (penne rigate works well)

⅓ cup toasted pine nuts

2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

 Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

 Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

 Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a vegetable peeler to peel squash, then halve it lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Dice squash flesh into 1-inch pieces, place on a baking sheet, and toss with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread pieces into an even layer, making sure there is space between them. Roast, stirring squash pieces once or twice, until golden brown and tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; have ready a bowl of ice water. Drop kale into boiling water and cook for 45 seconds. Use tongs or slotted spoon to transfer kale to ice water. Bring water in pot back to a boil, adding more if necessary so there is enough to cook pasta.

Drain kale well, then wrap tightly in a dry kitchen towel and squeeze thoroughly to remove any excess moisture. Roughly chop leaves. When water in pot comes back to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions.

In a food processor, pulse together kale, nuts, garlic, salt and lemon zest until mixture is smooth and salt has dissolved. With motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until fully incorporated. Taste and add more salt dissolved in a little lemon juice, if necessary.
Drain pasta, reserving a little cooking water. Toss pasta with kale pesto and some pasta cooking water if necessary to help it coat pasta. Add cheese, lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve topped with squash and more cheese.

Sushi and Soup

Sea weed sheets
Rice
Cucumber- cut thin slices to fit in sushi
Avocado
Crunchy fried onions
Tuna or crab
Sriracha and mayo

Can also serve with 

Miso Soup or 

pad thai or 

Oyakodon or 

Pot stickers or dumplings

Stir fry

Great Talks/Sermons

Elder Holland, Lessons from Liberty Jail, 9/2008
Elder Bednar, Social Media & the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Elder Ballard, Be Still, take time to meditate and communicate in person- not texting or social media
Bruce C Hafen- On Dealing with Uncertainty- very thorough and descriptive, sharing many examples of situations we mortals experience. He states, "some uncertainty is characteristic of mortal experience. Our encounters with reality and disappointment are, in fact, vital stages in the development of our maturity and understanding.

Uchtdorf-

Mistakes are events on the timeline of MY life. But they don’t define MY life.

What I do about MY mistakes will go a long way in defining the person I will yet become.

one thing i'm going to finish, that I previously quit

why did you pick this one

why did you quit

what is my plan to finish

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dieter-f-uchtdorf_can-you-hear-the-music/

Carly Minestrone Soup

Food Network

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup elbow pasta
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.

Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.

Caramel corn

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C brown sugar 
1/4 C white Karo syrup 
1/2 t salt (if you are using salted microwave popcorn then omit salt here) 
1 stick real butter 
1/2 t baking soda 
1 t vanilla

Pop popcorn and set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds. That should be enough to melt the butter at least half way. Stir it all to combine. No microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes.

While the caramel is cooking, put the popcorn in a big bowl or brown paper bag. Use one that is way bigger than you think you’ll need.  Also, remove any un-popped kernels.  When the caramel is done cooking, take out of microwave and add baking soda and vanilla.  Stir well and then pour over popcorn and stir up popcorn immediately to coat.
Eat warm straight out of the bowl, or spread out onto waxed paper or foil and let cool to room temperature (for soft, gooey popcorn).
For crunchy caramel corn: spread out on a cookie sheet (you might need 2) and bake either at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  If you choose the latter, keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking time to avoid over cooking.

THE BEST EVER BAKED OATMEAL

How Sweet Eats

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 1/2 cups quick oats
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups milk (whatever you like! dairy or nondairy)
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup flaked coconut (toasted if you’ve like!)
• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• milk or cream, for drizzling

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Pour the mixture in the dish.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and set. Remove the dish from the oven and place the chocolate chips on top right away (so they kind of melt!). Top with the coconut, almonds, hemp hearts and chia seeds. Let cool slightly, then cut into squares and serve with a drizzle of milk or cream.

Baked apples

Logan made these in Bear Lake and they were such a delicious treat and snack.

Apples
brown sugar
oatmeal (or granola)
butter
cinnamon
raisins

Cut top of apple off and scoop out just center section where seeds are, throw away.
saute with butter some oatmeal on the stove top till toasted. Add and stir brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Put everything inside the cored apples.
Cook 350 for 40 min.
We like our apples to be tender crisp not mushy.

General Conference

I love conference and love to make it special with food and activities. Its so nice to be home, relaxed and listening.

We like to set up a small tent like King benjamin, faced their tents to him and lots of blankets for a fort. Lots of random coloring pages, cross word puzzles, a possible quilt to tie, 

printables for small kids,  #1 teenager notebook, #2 teenager notebook. 

More challenging wordsearches   

Learn to paint Watercolor beaches/ocean

One time the girls tallied up specific words (Jesus, testimony, church, scriptures, etc...) that were spoken, that really got them listening to the words the speakers were saying, I think we even gave them a penny for each time they recorded it.  They were really motivated.

A week before - buy the groceries for everything

                        - make the chex mix, fruit and veggie dip the week before conference.

Thursday or friday  - assemble the breakfast french toast and let sit in fridge 

                                - cut fruit and veggies

                                - cut carrots, potatoes, onions for beef roast

 I like to have mostly healthy snacks-

Veggies

1. red and orange peppers
2. celery
3. carrots
4. baby tomatoes
5. cucumbers
6. with veggie ranch dip

Fruit

1. strawberries
2. grapes
3. oranges
4. bananas

5. kiwis
6. apples- prepare a few days before- I like to cut 5-10 apples in advance and let them sit in a ziplock bag with lemon juice, then they don't go brown.
7. any type of berries- raspberries, black berries
8. caramel to dip apples in

9.  Coconut Fruit Dip ((added 9/28/21))

Snacks

1.  Chips and guacamole- 1 avocado, dash lemon juice, salt and pepper, 1/4t diced tomatoes, cilantro,
garlic

2. crackers, beef log, and cheese

3. chex mix (added 9/28/21)

and with some treats and some BREAKFAST
1. Pumpkin Muffins
2. Baked Whole Apples
3 .Baked sliced apples
4. Baked Apple Oatmeal or the other Best Baked Choco Chip Oatmeal

5. I've made whole wheat cinnamon rolls,

6. Alli Baked french Toast


Dinner
Pumpkin Chili
Beef Roast

ROASTED RED PEPPER POTATO SOUP

Garden and table

2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
2 T EVOO
1 jar (7oz) roasted sweet peppers, undrained and chopped (roasted my own peppers)
1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies, drained
1 t  ground cumin (she recommended 2 T)
1 t salt
Didnt have 1 t ground coriander
3 C diced potatoes
2 c chopped tomatoes
3 C vegetable broth
2 T minced fresh cilantro
1 T lemon juice
Didnt have 1/2 C cream cheese ( or coconut milk)

method:
1. In your soup pot, saute onions in oil until tender. Stir in the roasted peppers, chilies, cumin, salt, and coriander. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in potatoes and broth, bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Pull off heat.
3. Pour half the soup into a blender and puree with cream cheese until smooth. Pour back into the soup pot with the other half of the soup. Heat through again on medium.  Stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Serve warm. 

10/4/18 I added too many potatoes so I poured half the soup in the blender and pureed it a bit, it turned out amazing

3 ways to roast a pepper

Tori Avey

OPTIONS-
1. In oven at 400 degrees roast 6 at a time, 20 min turn them, turn 20 more min, turn 20 more min and last time turn 20 more min
2. Or in broiler. It is faster but you need to watch more carefully they burn quicker. Place them 8-9 inches away from broiler, roast 20-25 min, turning every 5 min
3. stove top method or on grill - just put whole pepper on top of the gas flame. Let it roast for 20-25 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to give the pepper a quarter turn every 4-5 minutes.

If the pepper is soft and easily yields to the tongs, it is ready. If the pepper still feels somewhat firm, let it continue to roast for a few more minutes until it softens.

 I chose the #1 method- I put 3 whole peppers on a cookie sheet with a chopped onion. I did need to put olive oil where the onions were b/c they were sicking to the aluminum foil. The onion only needed 30-40min

After you roast, then follow -

Steaming Your Peppers

1. Once you have roasted your peppers, you will need to steam them. This process will help you peel the tough skin from them more easily. There are a few ways to steam the peppers. 
2. I like to place the roasted peppers on a flat, smooth surface like a cutting board, then invert a large bowl over the top of them. The bowl traps the steam inside or I wrapped a plastic grocery bag around the peppers. Steam for 15 minutes.

Seeding and Peeling Your Peppers

1. Once you have roasted your peppers, you will need to seed and peel them. This is kind of a messy process, but it's well worth the effort. Note that some people like to seed their peppers before roasting. When I have tried this in the past, the results are never as good as when I keep the whole pepper intact during roasting-- I recommend roasting the peppers whole and seeding after the roast.
2. Strip off the charred skin. If you want a more charred flavor, you can leave a few small blackened bits on the skin.
3. Once you've peeled and seeded your peppers, you'll end up with soft, sweet, tasty pepper flesh. 
4. If you want to store the peppers short term, put them in a sterile glass jar and cover them with olive oil. Cap the jar tightly and refrigerate. If you don't plan on using them within a few days, pressure can them: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2013/09/pressure-canning/ or freeze the roasted pepper strips in Ziploc bags... they actually hold up well to freezing and retain much of their flavor when thawed.
5. They can be added to stews and pasta sauces or chopped into salsa. They can even be mixed with fresh basil and olive oil to create a peppery bruschetta. I have many recipe ideas on my website, just search Roasted Bell Peppers for ideas. Enjoy!
   See the full post:https://toriavey.com/how-to/roasted-bell-peppers/#D3at7z3RJXIiImeq.99