Homemade Fig Newton-Monday

xxa1lb dried figs or 2 lbs fresh figs
1cup sugar
1cup water (1 c. for dried figs, 1/2 c. for fresh)
1⁄2cup butter, room temp
1cup sugar
1large egg
1tablespoon cream or 1 tablespoon milk
1⁄2teaspoon vanilla
1⁄2teaspoon salt
1teaspoon baking powder
1 3⁄4cups flour

Dice figs, soak in water 1 hour. Add sugar & cook on medium heat until of thin jam consistency. Beat sugar, butter, egg, milk & vanilla until well blended. Add dry ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Place 1/2 on well floured dough cloth; knead about 6 times. Roll out to 1/4″ thick. Line 13 x 9″ glass baking dish; cover with figs. Roll remaining dough, cover figs. Cook at 350° for 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares. Depending on the size you cut you can get a couple dozen cookies.

Chicken En Croute

8oz buffalo mozzarella, chopped
12 fresh basil leaves, shredded
20 sun-blush tomatoes, chopped
4 x chicken breasts
4 pieces puff pastry, 6in square, ⅛in thick
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 400F. Mix the mozzarella, basil and sun-blush tomatoes together in a bowl. Cut a pocket in each of the chicken breasts and stuff with the mozzarella mixture. Place a stuffed chicken breast into the middle of each square of puff pastry and roll up into parcels. Brush each parcel with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown.

Asparagus Quiche-Tuesday

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
10 slices bacon
2 (8 inch) unbaked pie shells
1 egg white, lightly beaten
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place asparagus in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 2 to 6 minutes. Drain and cool. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

Brush pie shells with beaten egg white. Sprinkle crumbled bacon and chopped asparagus into pie shells.

In a bowl, beat together eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Sprinkle Swiss cheese over bacon and asparagus. Pour egg mixture on top of cheese. Bake uncovered in preheated oven until firm, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Avocado Ice Cream

3 medium ripe avocados
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Pinch of salt

Slice open the avocados, remove the pits, and scoop out the flesh. Put the avocados in a blender of food processor. Add the sugar, sour cream, heavy cream, lime juice, and salt. Blend until smooth.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. If you like soft ice cream, go ahead and eat. If you like firmer ice cream, store in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.

 Zucchini Bread-Wednesday

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Tomato and Basil Flatbread

1 flat bread
3 pieces fresh mozzarella cheese sliced to ⅓- 1/2 inch thickness
1 tomato sliced as thin as possible
5-6 leaves basil
3 cloves garlic pressed; or 1 tsp dry garlic powder
1.5 Tbsp Olive oil
1.5 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Press fresh garlic and mix with oil. Brush the flatbread with oil & garlic with half the mixture. Place in preheated to 350F oven for 5 minutes to crisp up. Remove from oven and place 3 slices of cheese on top of the flatbread, sprinkle with salt & pepper, then place thinly sliced tomatoes on top and repeat with a sprinkling of salt & pepper. Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes, plus extra 2-3 minutes on broil. Watch the bread closely, if its too dark before 2-3 minutes remove it from the oven immediately.

Meanwhile mix the remaining oil & garlic with the balsamic vinegar, stirring until a smooth emulsion forms. Chop the basil leaves. Once flatbread pizza is baked and the edges are golden in color, remove from the oven, drizzle with however much of the balsamic vinegar mixture you would like, sprinkle with basil leaves, slice and serve and enjoy!

HOMEMADE TORTILLA-Thursday

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons lard or butter
1 1/2 cups water

Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

Perfect Pie Crust Recipe-Thursdsay

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Mix flour, sugar, and salt: Put flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to mix. Add butter, half at a time, pulsing several times after each addition: Add about half of the butter to the food processor and pulse several times. Then add the rest of the butter and pulse 6 to 8 times until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of large peas.

Slowly add ice water: Sprinkle the mixture with about 1/4 cup of ice water (make sure there are no ice cubes in the water!) and pulse again. Then add more ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition until the dough just barely begins to hold together. press pie dough to see if it holds together
You know that the mixture is ready if when you pinch some of the crumbly dough together with your fingers, it holds together. Be cautious with the amount of water you add, too much and the crust will be tough.

Make two dough disks: Carefully empty the crumbly dough mixture from the food processor on to a clean, dry, flat surface. Gather the mixture in a mound.
Divide the dough mixture into two even-sized mounds. Use your hands to form each one into a disk. Do not over-knead! Kneading develops gluten which will toughen the dough, not something you want in a pastry crust.
If you started with cold butter you should be able to see small chunks of butter speckling the dough. This is a good thing. These small bits of butter will spread out into layers as the crust cooks so you have a flaky crust!
Sprinkle each disk with a little flour, wrap each one in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour or up to 2 days.

Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit for a few minutes: Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier.

Roll out dough, place in pie dish: Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking.
Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

Fruit Tart

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks softened and sliced unsalted butter
1 (8 oz) package softened cream cheese
1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh for topping: strawberries, kiwi slices, blueberries, raspberries fruit
1 (6 oz) can thawed frozen limeade concentrate
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Garnish whipped cream add honey drizzle to top as well

Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioner’s sugar, flour and butter, and process until the mixture forms a ball. With your fingers, press the dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until the crust is even. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

For the filling and topping: Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust. Cut the strawberries into 1/4-inch slices and arrange around the edge of the crust. For the next circle, use kiwi slices. Add another circle of strawberries, filling in any spaces with blueberries. Cluster the raspberries in the center of the tart.

For the glaze: Combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool. With a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze. Drizzle honey on top

Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving. Slice into 8 wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip Oat Bars (Nut-Free)-Friday

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. Leave enough extra to drape the edges over slightly so you can lift the bars out when they’re done. Or you can spray or grease the pan generously instead.
Mix dry ingredients (oats through cinnamon) in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine eggs, applesauce, honey, and vanilla and mix well.
Add wet to dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned around edges and set in the middle.
If baked in parchment, gently lift bars out of pan and set on cooling rack. When cool, slice into squares.

Banana Pudding Pie

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
pinch salt
3 large eggs separated (you’ll need whites later for meringue)
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box vanilla wafers approximately 45 wafers
5-6 bananas
3 egg whites reserved from above
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325º F.
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large, heavy saucepan.
Lightly beat egg yolks and combine with milk in a large bowl or measuring cup. Pour the egg and milk mixture into dry ingredients in heavy saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until ingredients are thickened and smooth. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla.

To layer your banana pudding, begin by placing vanilla wafers on the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish, glass bowl, or another 3-quart container.
Slice bananas and place on top of wafers.
Pour one-third of custard over wafers and bananas.
Repeat layering process two more times until all wafers, bananas, and custard have been used. Ending with a final layer of wafers for decorative purposes.

For the Meringue:
Whip egg whites with an electric mixer set at high speed. Allow egg whites to foam, add cream of tartar and then gradually add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue whipping until sugar is well-dissolved. Add vanilla once stiff peaks have formed and whip until well-combined. Spread meringue over banana pudding, making sure to spread to the edges of the dish.
Bake for about 25 minutes until lightly the meringue is lightly browned.