Gomashio Furikake

This recipe comes by way of my wonderful sister in-law! I have not yet had the chance to try it, but she says it is delicious!

What she used:

* 100 g / 3.5 oz. raw sesame seeds (You can tell if the seeds haven’t been toasted yet if they are flat. Toasted sesame seeds puff up and become round.)
* 10g / .35 oz salt of your choice (I like to use a grey sea salt from Brittany, but any salt will do)
* About 1/2 cup (100ml or so) of water
* Sheet of Nori (dried seaweed)

Equipment needed: a large non-stick frying pan

Dissolve the salt in the water, until the grains are completely gone.

Spread the sesame seeds out in the frying pan. Over medium-low heat, stir around until the seeds start to ‘pop’. Take off the heat and keep stirring until the popping stops. (If you can only get a hold of toasted sesame seeds (in Japan this is pretty common; it’s called irigoma 炒りごま) you can skip this toasting step.)

Return the pan to the heat, and add the salt water. Stir around to distribute evenly. The seeds will clump up. Keep stirring over a medium-low heat - scrape off any salt that sticks to the pan. Keep stirring and scraping, until the water evaporates. The seeds will coated with fine salt crystals so that they look greyish in color, and will no longer be clumpy.

Take the pan off the heat and let the seeds cool in the pan - they’ll dry off better in the warm pan. Once they have cooled down completely and are totally dry, they can packed in an air-tight container. They will keep for about a month in a cool, dry place. (I just keep mine in the pantry, but you could keep it in your refrigerator too.)

Homemade Applesauce

If you have little ones at home I'm sure applesauce is a staple! I know our little one enjoys a good dose of applesauce daily! Recently we were given a TON of apples and I wanted to put them to good use before they went bad. So I made an apple pie (of course!) then I made applesauce! It is a huge hit with our 1 yr. old and might be with your little tyke as well!

What I used:
For every 4 apples I added 3/4 cup of water. It really does not take much water at all because of the fruits natural juices.
A bit of cinnamon for flavoring

Peel, core and cut your apples. Cut the apple in 1/2 then in 1/2 again, what you want it is nice good chunks of apples. Bring to a boil for about 15-20 min. You will have juice and really soft apples, this is when I add my cinnamon. Stir it all up. Throw them in the blender and there you have it! There really is no need for sugar unless you are a huge sugar fan because the fruit has it's own sugar. I have a few jars of fresh applesauce in my fridge but I also have little tupperware (snack size) that I filled and froze! The perfect healthy snack!

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Cold Day Chili

A wonderful tasting and easy making chili dish! It takes hardly any time but it tastes like it took all day :)

What I used:
1lb. ground venison (beef would work as well)
a dash of garlic powder
1 can kidney beans (drained)
1 can chili beans (drained)
1 can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbs. vinegar
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper

Brown your meat. Put all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Then let let simmer for 10-20 min. Then, you are all done! I added a little sour cream and shredded cheese because we enjoy that, but whatever you want to add is up to your taste buds!

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Great Tasting Meatloaf

This recipe makes your meatloaf taste sooo delicious! I got the recipe off of allrecipes.com and I forgot to take a picture of it! However if you want a look at it you can find it under Jackies Meatloaf (or something similar to it:). I did tweak the recipe to my own family's liking so it will look a little different with some of the ingred.

What I used:
1lb. ground turkey (recipe calls for beef)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. garlic powder
ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a baking/bread pan. Place the ground turkey, eggs bread crumbs and 1/2 cup ketchup in a large bowl. Mix by hand, and season with salt, garlic powder and pepper. Form into a loaf shape, and place in the prepared baking pan. Bake 1hr.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Pumpkin Pie

This recipe, honestly, it cannot get any simpler! I did make my own pie crust but you can easily buy a pre-made one if you are hard on time! Simply follow the directions on the can of Pumpkin Pie filling! I used the big can and it only had a few simple ingredients.

The recipe:
1 can (29oz.)
Follow the rest of the directions on the can!
cool whip for the topping!

Simply follow the directions and it is super easy! One tip: use some aluminum foil to cover the top of crust. It helps keep the crust from getting totally brown. Take it off about 15-20 min. before the pie is done.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Struesel Topped Apple Pie

A friend of mine made this and posted it on her blog and well, it basically looks so delicious! To good in fact, to pass up! So here it is for your pure pleasure! :) (Thanks Heidi!)

Here's the Recipe-
(Pie Filling):
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 lbs. apples peeled and sliced
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 refrigerated pie crust(bottom)

(Streusel Topping):
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 C. oatmeal
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. butter

1. Combine filling ingredients and then spoon into pie crust. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
2. Combine brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, and cinnamon for topping. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Uncover pie and sprikle with topping. Bake 30 more minutes (I only did for 20) or until browned. Serve warm. Yum! :)

From her table to yours, bon appetite!