Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

Last week I made a delicious pizza from the September issue of Cooking Light.  This was a delicious, healthy and different pizza with a twist on taste.  Try it out! It calls for storebought pizza dough, but I made a quick homeade whole wheat crust.

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 (1-pound) six-grain pizza crust
• Cooking spray
• 3 cups thinly sliced Fuji apple (about 8 ounces)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 cups baby arugula
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 450°.
• 2. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Arrange apple slices evenly over pizza crust; top with cheese. Sprinkle thyme evenly over cheese. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.
• 3. Combine oil and next 3 ingredients (through honey) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add arugula; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle pecans evenly over pizza; top with arugula mixture. Cut pizza into 6 wedges.

Enjoy!
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apple-goat-cheese-pecan-pizza-50400000115789/

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin purée*
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (if you like nuts in your bread)

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.

3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

Can easily double the recipe.

*Recipe from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pumpkin_bread/

- Sarah


**Apparently grocery stores only sell pumpkin during the fall season so it was really hard to find this time of year.  I had to go to Walmart; they, of course, had it.**

Pumpkin Pancakes with Bananas

My friend Ellen made these when we visited her a couple weeks ago - they were so good!

Ingredients


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat, inspired by Ellen)
2 T sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 T pumpkin puree
2 T melted butter
1 egg
1 chopped banana (my addition)


Preparation


In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients together.  In a small bowl mix milk, pumpkin, butter and egg together. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients.  Melt some butter in a skillet and pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.  Drop banana pieces onto the poured pancakes before flipping.


These are really good and a refreshing twist to regular pancakes.  I added bananas because they make everything better!

*Recipe from http://www.marthastewart.com/271839/pumpkin-pancakes

- Sarah

Zucchini, Banana, and Flaxseed Muffins

Ingredients


nonstick cooking spray
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup lightly packed light-brown sugar
2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. coarse salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (from 1 large zucchini)
1/3 cup mashed banana (from 1 large banana)
3/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 t. vanilla extract


Preparation


1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly coat 12 standard muffin cups with cooking spray (there was enough batter for about 15 muffins actually).  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Add zucchini and banana and stir to combine.  In a small bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and vanilla.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined (do not overmix).


2. Divide batter among muffin cups.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.  Let muffins cool completely in pan on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.  Store in air-tight container, up to 3 days, or freeze.

*Recipe from Everyday Food Issue 85.

- Sarah

Croque Madame

I had this sandwich several times while in France and it is delicious.  It is a Madame because it has an egg!  Get it?  A Croque Monsieur is the same thing but without the egg.  But I think the egg makes it delicious.

8 slices white or whole-wheat sourdough bread
8 ounces Gruyère cheese, sliced into 24-32 1/16-inch-thick slices
12 ounces smoked ham, such as Black Forest, sliced into 12-16 1/16-inch-thick slices
4 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Fleur de sel or kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

To assemble the sandwiches:
Set half of the slices of bread buttered side down, and cover them with the cheese slices, folding them back in toward the middle if they extend past the edges of the bread. Place 3 or 4 slices of the ham in an even layer over the cheese, and place the top slice of bread over the ham, buttered side up.
Grill the sandwiches in a two-sided grill or on a heavy-bottomed pan, using clarified butter and turning once. Place on serving plates.

To fry the eggs:
Crack two eggs into two separate bowls to check that the yolks aren’t broken. In 2 6-inch non-stick skillets, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble. Pour 1 egg into each pan, being careful not to break the yolks. Add a teaspoon of water to each pan, sprinkle the eggs with fleur de sel, and cover the pans with lids. Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes for a soft-cooked egg and 5-6 minutes if you like your eggs firm. Wipe out the skillets, and fry the other 2 eggs in the remaining butter in the same manner. Center a fried egg over each of the grilled sandwiches and sprinkle with pepper.

Makes 4 sandwiches

Eat with a knife and fork!

*recipe from www.epicurious.com

- Sarah

Bean Salad

A summer favorite -- fresh and delicious.

Ingredients


1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cut green beans, drained and rinsed
half of a small red onion, sliced thin
2/3 cup white/cider vinegar
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar or 1/2 cup Splenda
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 T Dill Weed


Mix all ingredients together and chill.


- Sarah

Coconut Brownie Chunk Ice Cream

Ingredients


2 cups heavy or whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup half-and-half
half can Cream of Coconut (found in Hispanic section at Grocery store)
half batch of partially baked brownies from a box cut into bite-size chunks


Preparation


Ben & Jerry's Sweet Cream Base
Pour the cream into a mixing bowl.  Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more.  Pour in the half-and-half and whisk to blend.


Sarah's Additions

Whisk in half can of cream of coconut.  Churn/freeze ice cream according to your ice cream maker.  I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker so I churn for 25 minutes.  After 25 minutes add chunks of halfway cooked brownies while it continues to churn for about 5 more minutes.


Pour into container and put in freezer for at least a few hours before eating.


It's so delicious!


- Sarah