Sugar Plums

I saw these sugar plums on Nourished Kitchen's blog a couple of days ago and knew I had to try them for my girls. They are basically dried fruit and nuts, both foods my girls love, how could they be bad? It was fun to read about the history of Sugar Plums on her blog too, so go check it out! She said you could roll them in powdered sugar, but they were so incredibly sweet from the dried fruit that didn't need any extra sugar! I used Crispy Nuts* instead of her freshly soaked nuts so I needed to add in a bit of water. I think a splash of rum would be a great grown-up version!
-Amanda

*Crispy Nuts- a recipe by Sally Fallon. Soaking your nuts in salt water gets rid of the phytic acid in the nuts, an anti-nutrient that is very hard to digest and isn't good for your body. Use about 1 tsp of salt per cup of nuts. Cover the nuts with filtered water and stir in salt. Let them soak for 24 hours. Drain, and spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 150 (or as low as your oven goes) for 12 hours. Or use a dehydrator until they are completely dry and crispy.

Sugar Plums

1 cup walnuts
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 corriander
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup apricots
1/2 cup pitted prunes

Soak nuts over night with salt. Or if you are using crispy nuts like I did, use 1/8-1/4 cup of water to help moisten the mixture. Then toss all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to mix. Then process for a couple of minutes until a paste forms. Using a 1 tbsp scooper, scoop out and form little balls using your hands. These are actually very sweet!

Bacon and Spinach Quiche

I attended a brunch playdate with some of my fellow moms of multiples yesterday and I brought this Bacon and Spinach Quiche for everyone to try. I almost forgot to snap a photo, but made everyone stop for a quick shot!
-Amanda

Bacon and Spinach Quiche

1 lb of bacon (nitrate free!)
1 bag of loosely frozen spinach (I find this is better than the frozen box spinach because you don't have to thaw and squeeze all the liquid out.) Fresh spinach would work perfectly fine too!
1.5 cups of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of cheese (swiss or cheddar)
6 eggs from free range chickens
1 crust*

Roll crust out and place it in a pie dish. Stick it back in the refridgerator to stay cold. Cook bacon using your favorite method. I found that if you have the Pampered Chef Bar Stoneware, it cooks bacon great in the oven and you don't have to turn it. Just lay the bacon out on the stoneware and bake at 400 for 25 minutes for crispy bacon. Let bacon cool. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and heavy cream. Add salt and pepper. Grate your cheese and have it ready. Remove pie shell from refridgerator and layer bacon, spinach, cheese, and then again with another layer of bacon, spinach and cheese. If you have the loose spinach, you can place it frozen in the dish. Pour egg mixture over the layers and shake to make sure it gets evenly distributed. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Crust

8 tbsp butter
1 cup flour (I used white wheat)
1 tsp salt
4 ice cold tbsp of water

Place butter in freezer for 15 minutes. Put flour in food processor and add salt. Pulse to mix. Remove butter and cube it into small pieces. Add to food processor and pulse 6-8 times until the butter is pea sized in the flour. Add 1 tbsp of ice cold water at a time pulse until dough starts ball up and pull away from sides of processor. Pour dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Refrigerate 1 hour before rolling it out.

Omelet Braid

I made this by using a Pampered Chef recipe from the "All the Best" cookbook as my launching point. I changed the croissant dough for homemade pizza dough and I just made a simple egg/bacon/cheese stuffing. I brought it to a kid friendly brunch this morning and it was a hit for the grown-ups and kids alike.
-Amanda

Omelet Braid

Basic Pizza Dough (or crescent dough package)
8 eggs
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt or cream cheese
8 strips of bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 tbsp flour

Cook your bacon using your favorite method. (I laid it out on my Pampered Chef Stoneware Bar Pan and baked at 400 for 20 minutes, then chopped it.) While bacon is cooking, in a big bowl crack 7 eggs and the yolk of the 8th egg. Reserve the 1 egg white for later. Add yogurt to the eggs. Whisk to mix together. Add salt and pepper and 1 tbsp of flour. Last mix in chopped bacon. Roll pizza dough into a large rectangle. Every 1.5 inches cut a slice in the dough to almost the middle.

Lay egg mixture down the center of the dough. Then bring each section together over the egg mixture, twisting the sides together and laying it down over the eggs. Work your way down the length of the dough. Pinch off any dough that is too thick and discard. Brush the dough with the egg white. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Holiday Cheer-Encouraged by Vodka.

Holiday parties are a-coming. I like to offer seasonal holiday beverages. Drinking with a theme seems classier. After college I moved to San Diego. My whole family lives on the East Coast. Because of this my holidays usually included close friends rather than family. To that effect I began to create my own holiday party traditions. I will share with you the most fun: The Apple Cider Martini. The schedule was usually wine and appetizers, meal and wine, then dessert and Apple Cider Martinis. Delicious, simple, and makes any party a rockin' party!

Apple Cider Martini

2 parts Apple Cider

1 part Vodka

Place vodka and cider in martini shaker with several ice cubes and shake well.

Strain ice out and pour into martini glasses with cinnamon-sugar rim.

If you cannot obtain apple cider, "Simply Apple" juice works well as a substitute.

Cinnamon Sugar Rim

Mix equal amounts cinnamon and sugar. Pour onto plate. Use a lemon slice to moisten rim of martini glass. Dip rim in cinnamon and sugar so that the rim is evenly covered.

Warning: Serve these only after you have finished cooking. I cannot recommend using the stove or handling hot dishes while drinking these tasty martinis. Trust me. Please.

-Jules

Mint Chocolate Cookies

John made these cookies for my neighbors annual Christmas cookie exchange. They are so perfect.
-Amanda

Mint Chocolate Cookies

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 tsp mint extract
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup Dark Cocoa Powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Drizzle:
1 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp shortening
3 tsp min extract

Heat oven to 350º.
In a small bowl, melt 1/2 cup of the dark chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute or until melted when stirred.

Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl until well blended. Add melted chips; beat until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. gradually beat into chocolate mixture. Drob by rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet.

Bake 8-9 minutes for chewy cookies or 10-11 for crispy cookies. Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Place the 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate chips in a small bowl and melt with the shortening about 1 minute 20 seconds. Add the 3 teaspoons of mint extract and stir. Place in a ziplock bag and snip a corner. Drizzle over cookies.
Makes about 5 dozen cookies