EDIBLES

Go big on brunch

Published

5 years ago

03/20/2019

(Family Features) Building out a full menu to please your brunch guests with simple, tasty recipes can help create a fun, flavorful atmosphere when it’s time for a morning bite.

By making a variety of dishes to accommodate an array of personal tastes, you can give friends and family the flavors they desire. With choices like Apple Strudel Pancakes and Mini Hash Brown Casseroles, you can fulfill a multitude of food groups from grains and fruits to dairy and meat. Allow the adults at your gathering to top off the meal with a spicy take on this Watermelon Bloody Mary, featuring simple preparation and a handful of garnish options.

Find more brunch recipes at Culinary.net.

Add Apples to Your Brunch Buffet

As part of a balanced brunch, these Apple Strudel Pancakes feature whole grains rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins to provide energy for you and your guests. With a rich, nutty flavor, buckwheat flour complements the sweet taste of apples and maple syrup for a twist on traditional pancakes. Find more nutritious recipes at aicr.org.

Apple Strudel Pancakes

Reprinted with permission from the American Institute for Cancer Research

Servings: 8

Apple Strudel Mixture:

1 cup water
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup thoroughly chopped walnuts
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped

Batter:

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups 1 percent buttermilk
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
nonstick cooking spray
maple syrup

To make apple strudel mixture: Boil water; add raisins. Remove from heat and let steep until raisins are plump and reconstituted, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In shallow pan over medium heat, add butter. Once butter melts and is bubbling, stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook about 3 minutes until sugar starts to dissolve. Add walnuts, apples and raisins. Cook apples until just tender when pierced with fork, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
To make batter: In large bowl, mix flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, beat eggs lightly and mix with buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract.
Pour wet ingredients into dry, mixing as little as possible. Add apple strudel mixture and fold all ingredients together. Set aside.
Heat nonstick pan or griddle over medium heat. Grease pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Once pan is hot, ladle about 1/4 cup batter per pancake taking care not to overcrowd pan. After 2-3 minutes, flip pancakes once.
Serve pancakes warm with syrup.

A Small Brunch Bite

A full brunch menu calls for small bites on the side to complement the multitude of flavors brought on by a variety of brunch dishes.

For a clever option that’s quick to make, these Mini Hash Brown Casseroles provide a morsel bursting with flavor to pair with just about any morning meal. Made with refrigerated Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns, which are pre-shredded for a faster fridge to fork kitchen experience, you can make a batch of the tasty cups in less than an hour.

Find more brunch solutions and recipes at simplypotatoes.com.

Mini Hash Brown Casseroles

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 24

1 package refrigerated Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns
1 pound Bob Evans Farms Original Sausage Roll
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup ham, cubed
1 cup red pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350° F.
Remove hash browns from refrigerator and let rest.
In skillet, cook sausage according to package directions.
Lightly grease two 12-cup muffin tins. In bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Add hash browns, butter, ham, red pepper, black pepper and cheese; mix.
Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake 27-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Sipping on Sweet and Spicy

Take your brunch the extra mile with a twist on the traditional mid-morning beverage. By adding jalapeno and horseradish to this Watermelon Bloody Mary, you’ll have a spicy, tasty version of a traditional brunch drink ready for your guests.

With watermelon balancing out the jalapeno, it’s an ideal balance of spicy and sweet with just the right amount of kick. Find more brunch recipes at watermelon.org.

Watermelon Bloody Mary

Recipe courtesy of the National Watermelon Promotion Board

Yield: 4 cocktails

2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
1 medium jalapeno pepper, stem removed, chopped
2 limes, juice only
6 ounces low-sodium tomato juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon horseradish
hot sauce, to taste
1/3 cup vodka
lime wedges
chili lime salt
ice
4 bamboo skewers (6 inches long)
watermelon wedges (optional)
prosciutto (optional)
cucumber slices (optional)
jalapeno slices (optional)
green olives (optional)

In blender, blend watermelon cubes and jalapeno pepper until completely smooth. Pour mixture through fine sieve set over pitcher.
Add lime juice, salt, pepper, fish sauce, horseradish and hot sauce, to taste, to pitcher; stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add vodka and stir.
Line rims of four glasses with lime juice from lime wedges; dip in chili lime salt poured on plate. Carefully put ice in each glass and divide Watermelon Bloody Mary mixture evenly.
Add garnishes, as desired, by skewering watermelon wedges, prosciutto, cucumber, jalapeno and green olives. Place garnishes in glasses and serve.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (Pancakes)

SOURCE:
American Institute for Cancer Research

Simply Potatoes

National Watermelon Promotion Board

EDIBLES

Empower yourself with nutrition know-how

Published

2 weeks ago

04/03/2024

bowienews

(Family Features) Eating a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and proteins is a crucial first step toward a healthy life.

Even with hectic schedules and convenience foods readily available, it’s important to incorporate habits like regular family meals and meal planning so you have a variety of better-for-you snacks and recipes on hand. Also important is leading by example and modeling healthy eating habits to help improve overall nutrition for you and your family members, especially children.

If you are looking for ways to make nutrition fun, the experts at Healthy Family Project, along with its fruit and vegetable partners, are offering an online nutrition resource center as part of Mission for Nutrition 2024.

Geared toward dietitians, nutrition professionals and anyone involved in nutrition education, the resource center is a one-stop shop to make nutrition education fun and inspiring, featuring more than 600 dietitian-approved recipes; tips to pick, prepare and store more than 50 fruits and vegetables during every season; a podcast, e-cookbook and monthly newsletter; and free downloadables, infographics, activities for kids and more.

Dietitians and nutrition professionals can sign up to receive this year’s Mission for Nutrition kit, which is full of resources to use in classrooms, in-store with customers or wherever they’re supporting nutrition education. Available by request only, the kit includes a roll of “I’m a Healthy Eater” stickers, seasonal counter cards, mini magazines, demo ideas, a Healthy Family Project spatula and additional resources and information from produce partners.

As part of the mission, the partner brands are making a donation to improve access to fresh produce in schools through the Foundation for Fresh Produce.

To find more resources, tips and recipes to encourage proper nutrition, visit HealthyFamilyProject.com.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

SOURCE:
Healthy Family Project

EDIBLES

Get creative with Easter sweets

Published

3 weeks ago

03/27/2024

bowienews

Kid-friendly crafts that bring loved ones together

(Family Features) Holiday hams and deviled eggs may take center stage at Easter gatherings, but edible crafts offer a reminder of the magic of the season that’s found in moments spent together. Simple recipes that call for a dose of creativity are perfect ways to bring the kids to the kitchen, made even easier when all that work leads to sweet treats.

While plastic eggs may have led to a decline in good, old-fashioned egg-dyeing, there are still fun ways to bring crafts back to Easter celebrations. Consider these Kids Krafty Easter Cake Pops, which call for little ones to help dip seasonal shapes in chocolate, use cake molds and more.

Children of virtually any age can relish in the joys of using cookie cutters and decorating Easter Sugar Cookies, all with a little supervision and short list of instructions. This version shows how to make the cookies and homemade icing so you can create any color you desire for maximum creativity.

Remember, these delicious crafts don’t have to be perfect – having fun and making memories that last a lifetime are what make Easter truly special.

Visit Culinary.net to find more Easter inspiration and recipes from “Cookin’ Savvy.”

Kids Krafty Easter Cake Pops

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”

1 box cake mix
1 can frosting
1 bunny chocolate mold
1 cakesicle mold
ice pop sticks
1 bag white chocolate chips or melting chips
cake pop sticks
1 bag orange melting chips
2 tablespoons canola or coconut oil, divided
1 bag green melting chips
pastel sprinkles
1 piece hard foam (optional)
edible markers

Bake cake according to package instructions and let cool completely.
Crumble cake and mix with 1/2 can frosting until dough forms. Add more frosting, if needed. Using small cookie scoop, form dough into balls and set aside. Place dough in bunny molds then pop out and set aside with balls. Place dough in cakesicle mold, insert ice pop stick in each slot and freeze 5-10 minutes.
Melt handful of white melting chips. Stick tip of each cake pop stick in chocolate then insert into every cake ball and bunny until each has one stick. Set aside to dry.
Remove cakesicles from freezer and pop out of molds. In bowl, melt orange melts then mix in 1 tablespoon oil and transfer to cup. Dip cakesicles and scrape off excess using rim of cup. Place on parchment paper to dry.
In bowl, melt green melts then place in zip-top or piping bag. Cut tip off bag, pipe carrot leaves onto piece of parchment paper and let dry.
Melt remaining white melts and mix in remaining oil. Transfer to cup and dip ball-shaped cake pops and bunnies then tap stick on edge of cup to remove excess.
Over separate bowl, sprinkle ball-shaped pops with pastel sprinkles. To keep ball shape, let dry by sticking in piece of hard foam. Bunnies can dry face side up on parchment paper. After bunnies are dry, use edible markers to make face and color in ears.
When carrots and leaves are dry, remelt orange melts and place in piping or zip-top bag. Cut off tip and drizzle orange over carrots. Add small line of orange on each ice pop stick and place leaves on each stick. Let dry.

Easter Sugar Cookies

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”

Icing:

1/3 cup meringue powder
1/2 cup warm water, plus additional for thinning (optional), divided
3 tablespoons vanilla
1 bag (2 pounds) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
assorted food coloring

Cookies:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 dash salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

To make icing: Mix meringue powder, 1/2 cup warm water, vanilla, powdered sugar and corn syrup. Separate into bowls and add food coloring; mix with water, as needed, to thin for piping.
To make cookies: Heat oven to 350 F.
Cream butter and sugar. Mix in egg, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time to form dough. Roll dough out to 1/4-1/2-inch thickness.
Cut into shapes, place on baking sheet and freeze 10 minutes. Bake 8-12 minutes. Cool completely before icing.
Place icing in zip-top or piping bags and cut off tips. Put cookies on parchment paper. Trace outline first then fill in middle. Use toothpicks to smooth out.
Let dry 6 hours and finish decorating with different icing colors or edible markers.

SOURCE:
Culinary.net

EDIBLES

Go big with a yummy bread bowl

Published

4 weeks ago

03/20/2024

bowienews

(Culinary.net) Perfect for afternoon snacking or as an appetizer, this Spinach-Ham Dip is warmed inside a bread bowl and can be served with bread cubes, crackers or tortilla chips.

Find more snack ideas at Culinary.net.

Watch video to see how to make this recipe!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GaExt5fBAQs%3Fmodestbranding%3D1%26rel%3D0%26showinfo%3D0

Spinach-Ham Dip

2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 pound ham, cubed
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 round bread loaf (16 ounces), unsliced

Heat oven to 350° F.
In medium bowl, blend ricotta cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add spinach, ham, Parmesan cheese and green onions; mix until blended.
Cut 1-2-inch diameter circle out of top of bread loaf. Reserve top. Remove bread inside loaf, leaving about 1 inch along sides. Pour cheese mixture into bread bowl. Replace top. Cover bread loaf in aluminum foil and bake 60 minutes, or until warmed through.
Take bread removed from inside bread bowl and cut into dipping sized chunks.
Remove bread from aluminum foil and place on platter. Scatter bread chunks around bread bowl to use for dunking in cheese sauce.

SOURCE:
Culinary.net