Apple Dumplings

Umm, YUM! I made these for the first time several years ago when we did our first Iron Chef party, which was apple-themed. The dough is an amazing combo between biscuit dough and pie dough that is truly delectable. SUPER rich, and not for the faint of heart.

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

8 drops red food coloring 

1/4 cup butter or margarine

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup milk

6 small whole apples, pared and cored

For syrup- mix first 5 ingredients; cook on medium high for 5 minutes, or until it comes to a slow boil. Remove from heat and add the butter. 

Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once and stir just until the flour is moistened. On a lightly floured surface, roll in to a 18x12 inch rectangle.

Cut into six 6-inch squares. Place an apple on each. Sprinkle apples generously with additional sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg; dot with additional butter. Moisten edges of pastry, bring corners to the center and pinch edges together. Place 1 inch apart on a 9x13 baking pan. Pour syrup over the dumplings. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm with a dash of heavy cream over-top. 

I just made this for my Specials this past week, and got to try out the dough making feature of my food processor. It was awesome, and SO easy! It cut the flour and shortening together like a dream, and mixed everything just right. Will definitely be using that feature more! 

Southwestern Shrimp Bisque

This recipe is Taste of Home magazine, the 2012 April/May issue. After trying it once, it has become a fast favorite at my house, and even makes great leftovers...if there are any, that is. :) I highly recommend doubling the recipe from the get-go. It says that one recipe makes 3 servings, but unless you're referring to the world's smallest bowl of soup, I say double it, and you'll get 3-4 bowls worth.

Southwestern Shrimp Bisque

      Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tsp chicken bullion granules

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 ground coriander

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined  (you can use cooked or uncooked) 

1/2 cup sour cream

Chopped fresh cilantro and sliced avocado, option

       Directions

1. In a small saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour until blended. Stir in water, cream, bullion and seasonings, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. 

2. Cut shrimp into bite-sized pieces if desired. Add shrimp to soup. Simmer 5-10 minutes until shrimp is pink. (if you are using cooked shrimp, cook just until the shrimp is warm.) Place sour cream in a small bowl; gradually stir in 1/2 cup of hot soup. Return mixture to the pan, stirring constantly. Heat through (do not boil). If desired, top with cilantro and/or avocado. 

Follow as directed! I haven't used uncooked shrimp, just the frozen pre-cooked ones, so I usually just add the shrimp at the same time as the sour cream mixture. I haven't had any issues with them getting rubbery. Excellent served with crisp green salad and crusty french bread for dipping! 

Zuppa Toscana (Updated)

Update on 4/15/13: So I made this with Sage breakfast sausage, and about 2/3 package of bacon, and extra garlic. Otherwise followed as directed. Using real bacon was DEFINITELY an improvement over bacon bits. Oooh poor pre-cooking me, what was I thinking?! I cooked the bacon and the sausage at the same time, and while it worked out ok, I think I would actually follow the recipe next time and cook them separately. Since they both had to cook for 10 minutes, I figured I would save myself some time. However, the bacon has a hard time getting crispy while being that close and personal with the sausage. I did add a little bit of spinach at the end, and was pleasantly surprised by the results! It wasn't too wilty (I have this thing against cooked spinach, unless it's in spinach artichoke dip, which has more cheese then one could hope for) and provided a nice balance to the meat and broth. All in all, heartily recommended, and I'll probably add more spinach next time. :D 


Hello blogging world! So this blog shall keep track of different and fun recipes that I am trying out. More for my own benefit, so that I can keep track of how the recipe was, what I would have changed, etc.
So today's recipe is called Super-delicious Zuppa Toscana and hales from www.allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
• 1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 6 potato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed

Directions

1. Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

So, as a non-cooked spinach lover, I skipped the spinach part. Changes that I made: I sauteed the garlic and onion in a small amount of butter for a few minutes and then added just hot sausage (no other spices) and cooked them all together. I then added the broth to that mixture and the potatoes. Once those were done, I added the cream and bacon (using bacon bits instead of regular bacon). It turned out pretty well - maybe a little on the spicy side. I think next time I may drain the sausage after cooking and potentially use a milder sausage and just add a little bit of red pepper.