My boyfriend isn't picky.

Conversation with my boyfriend yesterday evening:

Matt-“Hey Weez!”

Me-“Yes?”

Matt-“I love ya.”

Me-“I love you too.”

Matt-“I’d even love you if you fed me human meat.”

Me-“…”

Matt-“I might even love you more!”

Apparently, there are now no limitations when it comes to my cooking.

*Note: Don’t even ask where the nickname “Weez” came from…it’s a long – and not very politically correct – story.
**Note: We’re not future cannibals. We just really like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

He's a special one.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

So, I got a slow cooker for Christmas…and one of my resolutions was to use it a lot and post the recipes. On the plus side, I have been using it a ton however I’ve just been too lazy or unorganized to ever blog about it. Mainly, I’ve just made a lot of chili and a bunch of roasts…

However, I do have a recipe for you today! Finally! I had been craving spaghetti and meatballs for most of last week and so when the weekend finally rolled around, I decided to make a nice hearty meal for Matt and I. I decided to make the meat sauce in my slow cooker and it turned out really well. Plus my house just smelled incredible all day.

I also threw in some meatballs that I already had in my freezer, made this garlic bread to accompany the meal and these chocolate chip cookies for dessert…it was a serious comfort food party.

P.S. I NEED to do a post on those chocolate chip cookies. They are quite possibly the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. EVER.

Slow Cooker Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

2 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz) diced or whole tomatoes*, undrained
1 bottle (24 oz) strained tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
dried thyme
dried oregano leaves
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper flakes
olive oil

*I only used whole tomatoes because I originally thought it was a can of diced…it didn’t make too much of a difference though, I just had to break them up a bit but diced would’ve probably been better.

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook onions in a drizzle of olive oil on medium heat. When onions are just starting to get soft, add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add beef and cook until it is no longer pink; drain.


Spoon beef mixture into your slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients. (*Note: I rarely measure spices so unfortunately I didn’t really have an idea of how much I put in…plus, I just ended up adding more to taste later anyways.)

Cover; cook on high heat for 4-6 hours or low heat for 8-9 hours.



Spoon over your favorite pasta and enjoy!

The Green Monster

Ok…so I know you probably came here for sweet things. Butter, sugar, sprinkles and cookies and cakes galore. The last thing you probably want to see is a nutrient-packed, green smoothie.

Well, too bad.

I had heard about the Green Monster Movement through Simply Scrumptious awhile back. And as much as I thought it was a pretty-looking smoothie, the fact that there was a whole whackload of spinach in it turned me off a little. However, this morning I decided to be brave and give it a try. As part of my own personal movement to start eating healthier again.

The result? AMAZING. Seriously. You honestly cannot even taste the spinach – the banana disguises it completely.

This is a fantastic way to start off your day. It’s packed with all good things, and it tastes surprisingly delicious.

So, go give the Green Monster a try…you might be surprised ;)

The Green Monster
(Recipe from Green Monster Movement)

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 cup milk (cow’s milk, soy, almond…anything is good)
1 banana
ice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into your blender. Blend well.

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

I just came to the realization that I make a lot of soups…some “Sprinkled Life” I lead. I should change the name of this blog to “The Soupy Life”.

…erm, maybe not.

Regardless, I made yet another soup today. I’m on a bit of a wholesome kick. Don’t judge me.

(However, I am making cupcakes for a party this weekend…so there will be some sprinkle action again soon enough, I promise.)

Anyways, I recently picked up an immersion blender on sale, so I’ve been dying to make some sort of puréed soup in order to use it. And what is better than the combination of roasted red pepper and tomato?

Nothing. They make a crazy delicious soup. You should go make some. Right now.

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
(Adapted from Leslie Sarna’s recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup)

Ingredients:

6 roma tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, quartered w/ seeds removed
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Toss the tomatoes, red pepper and garlic in some olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Lay on the cookie sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes or until they just start to brown.


Heat a large pot on medium low. Pour in a few rounds of olive oil and the diced onions. Cook them until they are translucent.

Once the onion is translucent and your vegetables are roasted, pour the tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, all the juice from the pan and the vegetable broth into the pot. Stir, breaking up the tomatoes and pepper, and cook for about 5-10 minutes.


Now you can either transfer the soup into a blender (do this in batches) and blend till smooth, or go to town on it with your fancy immersion blender. Leslie recommends to then run the liquid through a strainer, however I like my soup with a little bit more texture – so I skipped the strainer.


Season to taste with a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt & pepper.

Vegetable Stock

So, I’m going on a bit of a detox this week…I had been treating my body pretty badly so I thought cutting back on my sugar and caffeine intake and upping my fruits and vegetables might be a little bit better for me.

As such, I decided to make some vegetable stock – to use for some hearty soups and stews, as it’s becoming clear that winter still isn’t going anywhere.

Vegetable stock is even easier to make than chicken stock, and it’s super delicious. Way better than the stuff you buy in those cartons – I promise!

Vegetable Stock
As usual, this recipe is just a bit of a guideline…you can always throw in more or less of any of the ingredients, depending on what you have. It’s a great way to use up vegetables and herbs.

Ingredients:

3 carrots, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
3 onions, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
3 ribs of celery + leaves, coarsely chopped
1 roma tomato, halved
1 head of garlic, unpeeled and separated into cloves
5-10 sprigs of fresh parsley
1-2 tsp thyme
about 10 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
12 cups cold water
*I also threw in some fresh dill…just cus I had it

salt (optional)

Directions:

In a large stockpot, combine carrots, onions, celery, tomato, garlic, parsley, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves and dill. Pour in water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1½ - 2 hours.


Drain stock through a colander. You can also do this through a fine sieve, but I like that some of the thyme and spices end up in the stock. Add enough salt to suit your tastes, if you’re using it.


The stock will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or it freezes really well for up to 4 months.

I used some of the stock to cook some brown rice, and it flavored it beautifully. I then added some fresh vegetables and made a pilaf of sorts. So yummy!

Wedding Cake Consultations - 3 Ways

So, the first girlfriend from my high school group of friends is getting married this year. Her name is Char. She is girly, blonde and classy. We’re all very excited.

Today, I was fortunate enough to accompany her on her wedding cake consultations. I figured it would be a good chance to not only help her with her own cake, but also get some ideas for the cupcakes I’m doing for my cousin’s wedding in September.

Since we went to 3 very different places, I felt I needed to do some sort of blog post on the entire ordeal. Partially as a mini cake shop review, but also as an insight in case anyone reading this is looking into any 3 of these places to get their own wedding cake done.

Stop #1 – Delish Custom Cakes & Sweets

I fell in love with this place as soon as we walked in. It smelled absolutely divine and there were so many cupcake flavors as well as the most colorful and delicious-looking icing choices. You could also see right into the bakery from the entrance, which I always like. And after clearing up a minor scheduling issue, we got to pick a number of cupcakes to try and were whisked into the back room (an undeveloped half of the shop that the owner told us was being turned into a café) to do the consultation.

As far as the cupcakes go, theirs were my favorite. All the cupcakes were moist, just dense enough and filled with flavor. We tried Vanilla w/ Vanilla Buttercream, Hazelnut w/ Hazelnut Buttercream, Apple Spice w/ Cinnamon Buttercream and Black Forest w/ Whipped Cream. Being a vanilla girl, the vanilla cupcake was definitely my favorite. We also both fell in love with the hazelnut – the icing was incredible – and the black forest was really good too (plus it was Char’s favorite). The apple spice was nice, but we decided it was too “autumn-y” for a summer wedding.

In terms of the service, the girl who helped us was really sweet and patient with us, as Char came very prepared though we ended up making a lot of changes and coming up with an entirely new idea in the process. She was also just very eager and excited to take on Char’s wedding cake vision (which is magnificent but challenging). All in all, it was a really good experience, and they were able to keep it all within Char’s budget. So that was a bonus.

Stop #2 – Cake Couture

The first thing that put me off of Cake Couture was that there were no cupcakes on display or even for immediate purchase (it also didn’t smell like a bakery). They did, however, have a nice selection of absolutely beautiful and unique wedding cakes on display, as well as a few cakes they were finishing up (one was shaped like a frog prince and it was absolutely adorable). There was also a big window where you could see into the bakery to see them at work.

It was a very professional atmosphere though, and the woman who helped us was a lot more serious and analytical than the one at Delish. She was knowledgeable and right to the point, which was nice, but I just didn’t get the same vibe from them. Not to mention the fact that the quote they gave us for the cake was more than double what Delish offered us, and we had to therefore make considerable alterations to keep it within budget.

I can’t really review the taste of the cakes there as we weren’t given any to try – apparently that is the next step with them after you’ve solidified a design. All in all, I got the impression that Cake Couture is more about the aesthetic of the cake. Don’t get me wrong, they do beautiful cakes and I have no doubt that they could give Char exactly what she wanted, however they were very pricey for what we wanted and I personally just didn’t get a good vibe from them.

Stop #2.5 – Fife n’ Dekel

I know this isn’t a cake place but I just wanted to mention that we stopped at Fife n’ Dekel for lunch…Char had never been and we were both craving something somewhat wholesome to balance out the cake so we went and had sandwiches. And there isn’t a better place in the city for that than Fife n’ Dekel. I absolutely love going there, partially because all their bread and ingredients are so fresh and delicious, but also because you can go in the height of the lunch hour rush on a Friday and still be out of there in a surprisingly short amount of time. It is a well-oiled machine. And so delicious. Plus – their strawberry-rhubarb pie is the best in the city. At least, in my opinion.

Stop #3 – Cakes by Trina

Our final stop was Cakes by Trina, which is actually run out of the owner Trina’s home. As soon as we got there, she brought us down to the commercial kitchen in her basement and I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven. Shelves upon shelves of cake pans, sprinkles, flour, vanilla…you name it. It was paradise.

I also immediately liked her as she offered us tea and coffee with our cake. We then went to try 4 of the flavors she had on hand; Vanilla, Chocolate, Raspberry and Lemon Poppyseed – all with a vanilla buttercream. The cakes were all very good, they definitely tasted like they were made from scratch, and I have to say that the Lemon Poppyseed was my favorite. I’m not even a huge fan of Lemon Poppyseed, but hers was just perfect and I couldn’t stop eating it.

I also got a really good vibe from her. She had a real love of baking and creating, “edible art” (as she calls it). She had a strong distaste for having fake Styrofoam tiers in cakes as she wants people to be able to eat what she creates. She was also very honest and knowledgeable about all things cake. She showed us a slideshow of numerous cakes she had done over the years (she said she’s made over a thousand cakes in her career) and the whole experience was just very personal. She also ended up helping Char meld her new cake vision with her original one into her perfect wedding cake, while keeping it within her budget. Kind of amazing.

I didn’t like her cake quite as much as Delish, but I really liked her. And I think she was my all-around favorite stop. Maybe because I want to be her...but that’s another story.

So yeah, 3 very different cake consultations and far too much free cake later…I think I have a much better handle on what’s out there in the wedding cake industry. And hopefully Char will have the cake of her dreams :)

(Char and I - back in our high school days before we even had thoughts of wedding cakes)

Yogurt Honey Scones

I had a major scone fail yesterday…I was sitting at home, wanting to bake something, and I came across Joy the Baker’s recipe for Grapefruit, Honey, and Yogurt Scones. I had just bought some grapefruits and had half a container of Greek yogurt in my fridge so I figured it was fate and I went about making the scones.

First off, I didn’t have any parchment paper so I greased some aluminum foil. Needless to say, the scones burnt…bad. Even though I turned down my oven. However, my oven is super old and likes to burn things sometimes…so I blamed it on that as well as my lack of parchment and substitution stupidity.

I was, however, able to taste the salvageable parts of the scones but unfortunately, I didn’t really like them…the grapefruit was nice, but the grapefruit sugar (made with the zest) had a frustrating bitterness to it that threw everything off for me. I think it’s cus I live in a polar climate where fresh grapefruit is rarer than green grass before March…and Joy probably had much better grapefruits, considering she lives in California.

Note to self: Move to California.

Anyways, today I wanted to take another stab at these scones, omitting the grapefruit this time around. The result? DELISH! They are light and flakey, almost like biscuits, and just scream for warm butter and fresh jam. I might be in love.

Mind you, I still had to turn my oven down a bit to avoid burning…

Note to self: Get new oven.

But the parchment really makes a difference. So definitely invest in some if you want to make these scones.

Yogurt & Honey Scones
(Adapted from Joy the Baker’s recipe for Grapefruit, Honey, and Yogurt Scones)

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (IMPORTANT!) and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda.


Dice cold butter into small chunks and add to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers (or a pastry blender), and working quickly, break the butter down into the flour mixture until butter chunks are the size of oat flakes or small peas. The butter and flour combined will resemble coarse meal. Add the honey and yogurt. Toss together with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened by the honey and yogurt.


Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form into an 8 inch circle, about 1 inch thick. Use a knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into six scone triangles. Place on the prepared baking sheet.


Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm but soft in the center. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with butter and jam.

Garlic Dill Cheese Biscuits

I’m a firm believer in the theory that dill makes everything better. Now, I may have made that theory up…but I still stand behind it.

And the combo of dill, garlic and cheese? THE BEST.

The other night, we had leftover chili for dinner. However, I decided to spice it up a bit with homemade biscuits. I had bought a huge bunch of dill, so I chopped some up and added it, along with some garlic, to my favorite biscuit recipe.

And it was good…Matt and I polished off nearly the entire batch between the 2 of us. There’s your warning.

Garlic Dill Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup plus one tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh chopped dill

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a baking sheet. (This is important, as these suckers like to stick.)

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar & garlic powder. Slice the cold butter into the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender (or two kitchen knives, or your hands) to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a coarse, grainy mixture

Stir in grated cheese and dill. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour the buttermilk into it. Stir just until moistened. The dough should be of a consistency like drop cookie dough or just a bit stiffer. If it is not moist enough, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.

Spoon the dough into rounded mounds on the baking sheet, leaving room for expansion.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the biscuits just begin to brown. I actually ended up turning my oven down to in between 400 and 425 as my first batch nearly burned at 425, so watch them carefully. Remove the biscuits from the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool.

Mojito Cupcakes

With all the warm(er) weather that we’ve suddenly been blessed with, I’ve found myself fantasizing about summer lately…sangria, gardening, barbeques – I even went out and bought some flowery short-sleeved dresses today.

What else reminds me of summer? Mojitos. Mind you, I am guilty of drinking them year-round…but they’re just so much better on a hot summer day.

I’ve wanted to make mojito cupcakes for awhile now. I’ve seen recipes floating around the internet and with a friend’s housewarming party over the weekend, I thought it was a perfect time to try them out and use my friends as my favorite food-loving guinea pigs.

These cupcakes are unique and delicious. Plus they have booze in them. So I suggest you go make some the next time you are, like me, having pre-summer mojito cravings.

Mojito Cupcakes
(Adapted from Alpine Berry’s recipe)

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup mint leaves, loosely packed
3/4 cup whole milk, hot
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
grated zest of 2 limes + the juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp white rum

Directions:

Preheat to 350F.

Add mint leaves to the hot milk, and let steep for 10-15 minutes. When steeped, pour milk through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and press liquid from mint leaves. Discard leaves and allow milk to cool slightly.


Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in lime zest, juice, vanilla and rum.

On very low speed, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk and ending with flour, mixing until just incorporated.


Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake until cupcakes spring back when touched, 18-22 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely.


I iced these with a mojito buttercream recipe I found here, though I ended up adapting it so much to my tastes that it really didn’t resemble that recipe at all by the end and I don’t really have a set recipe for it. However, I basically just added more mint and lime until it finally tasted like a mojito to me – so use that recipe as a guideline.

Baked French Toast

So my new “eat healthier” resolution from yesterday? Went right out the window this morning. I was browsing The Pioneer Woman’s blog (one of my absolute favs) and I stumbled across her Cinnamon Baked French Toast recipe…and the pictures alone were pure food porn and I knew my life would not be complete unless I made that delicious delicacy as fast as possible. So I did.

Omg. Quite possibly one of the BEST things I have ever made. And it was so simple. Bread, milk, eggs and cinnamon streusel baked in the oven? Why have I not thought of this already!

It basically combines everything I love. It’s like if French toast and coffee cake had a baby…it would be this. And I would gladly baby-sit whenever they wanted.

…not really sure if that metaphor worked.

Regardless, this is amazingly delicious. Please make it. Just go. Do it. You won’t be disappointed.

Cinnamon Baked French Toast
(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s recipe)
I had to make a few alterations due to the fact that I had no cream…I figured that made it healthier. I also used a whole wheat baguette...however, let’s face it. This really isn’t that good for you.

Ingredients:

French Toast
1 baguette
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla

Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

*Matt thought that there was too much streusel topping on this…but I disagree. So if you’re a fan of streusel, use it all, however if you’re not – you might want to half it.

Directions:

Grease a baking pan with butter (I used a pie plate as I broke my shallow casserole dish while pulling it out of the cupboard…). Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.


Mix together eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight (I omitted this step and it still turned out fine).

In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles.


When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.


Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

Peasant Soup

I returned to boot camp this morning, after a month-long hiatus that involved a lot less working out than I was used to, and a lot more consumption of bad food. Consequently, I felt really inspired afterwards to start eating a little bit healthier again. I hadn’t bought a significant amount of fresh produce in awhile so I decided to hit H&W, stock up on veggies and make a hearty vegetable soup today.

This is, without question, one of my favorite soup recipes. I don’t even know how many times I’ve made it. I got it from my Canadian Living Vegetarian cookbook (which might just be my favorite cookbook…I’ve made almost everything in it) and the picture alone is what sold me on the soup. It was just so colorful and it looked so delicious so I knew I had to try it. Soon enough, it became a staple in my house.

It’s called Peasant Soup, but it really is very similar to minestrone. It’s hearty, delicious and 100% vegan. Enjoy!

Peasant Soup
(Adapted from the Canadian Living Vegetarian Cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1/2 an onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dried green lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fusilli pasta
1 can (19 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
vegetable broth (optional)

Directions:

In large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; fry celery, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, dill and turmeric, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 6 minutes).

Stir in tomatoes, lentils, and 4½ cups water (I usually use half water/half vegetable broth). Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente (according to directions on box).

Drain pasta and add to soup along with beans and parsley; simmer for 5 minutes (Only do this is you plan on eating all the soup that day, otherwise the pasta soaks up all the liquid when you refrigerate the leftovers. I generally just make the pasta separate and add it as I want it.)


You can also add more salt and/or pepper to suit your tastes.

Homemade Applesauce

Now, I know this recipe isn’t very exciting…or pretty…or covered in sprinkles or filled with butter like the majority of the things I like to make. However, it is sweet. And delicious. So it still counts.

(And in all honesty, I actually just wanted to make this to use as an ingredient in some muffins I plan on making tomorrow…)

Applesauce. I’ve been wanting to make my own applesauce for a long time now, and I came across some colossal granny smith apples on sale at the grocery store this week so I figured that it was finally time to give it a try.

I don’t generally crave applesauce…I’ve only ever had the kind you buy in those little plastic cups so my opinion of it wasn’t exactly great. But the theory behind it is lovely. And I knew that there had to be a way to make it better.

So I made some. From scratch. It was remarkably easy and the ingredients are really simple – you just throw everything into a pot, let it cook for half an hour, mash it up and presto, homemade applesauce! Plus, there’s the added bonus of it having no preservatives, fake sugars and misc chemicals jam-packed into it.

And thus, allow me to re-introduce you to applesauce. Real applesauce. You might just fall in love.

Applesauce
(Adapted from Simply Recipes’ Applesauce recipe)
This applesauce is amazing. There really is no other word to describe it. There’s a hint of cinnamon, just enough sweetness and a beautiful tartness from the lemon.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples (I used 5 hefty granny smith apples)
4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
3 inches of a cinnamon stick
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. (Don’t worry if the water doesn’t completely cover the apples, everything will all break down together anyways.)


Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with a potato masher. You may also want to add some more sugar if it isn’t sweet enough for you.


Serve hot or cold. It freezes easily, and will last up to one year in the freezer.

Monster Cookies

I got nostalgic this weekend. I wanted monster cookies. I don’t normally make them as I kind of think that once you pass the age of 12, you look kind of silly eating cookies with Smarties in them…

Who am I kidding? No one ever looks silly eating monster cookies.

Speaking of which, I’ve always wondered why they are even called “monster cookies”. If anything, they should be called, “recycle cookies” or “everything-I-have-in-my-baking-cupboard cookies”. Cus that’s basically all they are. Aside from the standard peanut butter, oatmeal and Smartie components, you can really throw any sort of mix-ins into these cookies. You can even mix up different types of peanut butter and oats. They are mish-mash cookies at their finest.

So go ahead, clean out your cupboards, make some cookies and feel like you’re 12 again! It really is the best – and not to mention, most delicious – way to recycle.

Monster Cookies
Usually, these cookies are made without flour. However, I was experimenting today with a mix of a few different recipes and found the dough wasn’t stable enough, so I added a bit of flour to stiffen it up. However, you could always up the oatmeal instead.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp maple syrup
1 cup peanut butter (I used 1/2 creamy, 1/2 crunchy)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3½ cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old fashioned)
1/2 cup flour
2 cups of add-ins (I used Smarties, chocolate chips and Skor bits)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter with the brown and white sugars until blended. Add eggs, vanilla and syrup. Beat until combined.

Add peanut butter, baking soda and salt. Beat until combined.

Slowly add oatmeal and flour (if using). Blend and then fold in mix-ins.

Drop dough onto baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes until light brown and just set around edges. Cool on wire racks.