Spinach Pomegranate Apple Pear Salad

So this salad started out by just using the random things that I had in the house but it turned out really good and is now one of my favorite salads. Sometimes I get tired of eating only vegetables in salads and really like to but fruit in my salads. However it is hard to find sweet strawberries in the winter so this salad is a perfect combination of winter fruits.

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped

1 apple, diced (I used pink lady)

1 pear diced

1/2 whole pomegranate arils

fresh shaved Parmesan on top

Just put everything in a bowl, mix, top with Parmesan (put on as much as you like, fresh parm is SO good)

I used balsamic vinaigrette for the dressing because I think it goes really well with fruit.

Pomegranate Apple Spice Bread

I love to eat baked goods but can't justify baking them for myself very often because I will just eat all of them. So when I came across this sweet bread recipe I got really excited. It is relatively healthy with very little oil and sugar and by using whole wheat flour. It turned out really well, the pomegranate arils stay intact and add a nice crunch to the bread. I think it would also be good with the addition of walnuts, I might try that next time. Also, it took mine about an hour to bake and was still in my opinion slightly under baked even though in the recipe it says to only cook for 40 minutes so be careful with the cooking time.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground nutmeg

1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar (make sure to break up any clumps)

1 egg, whisked

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. (5/8 cup) milk

2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup apples, finely diced (I used part Granny Smith, part Honeycrisp)

1/2-3/4 cup pomegranate arils

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x5 bread pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients (flour through sugars). In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the butter, applesauce, milk, and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients, stirring just until blended. Fold in the apples and pomegranate arils. Pour the batter into the bread pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.

Snickerdoodles

I decided yesterday, that snickerdoodles are the perfect Christmas cookie. I love snickerdoodles and feel like it is a cookie that is pretty hard to dislike- so I made a double batch of these and wrapped them up to give away.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Topping

2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Cream together the butter and sugars with a mixer on high speed.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.
7. Roll the dough into balls, roll the dough balls in the topping and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper- I think the cookies cook more evenly).
8. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes and no more (this is important- the cookies WILL look underdone but they continue to develop once they are out of the oven).
9. When the cookies have cooled they should be soft and chewy in the middle.

PIZZA

I love pizza. I would eat it every day if I could. I have recently been searching for a good pizza dough recipe instead of buying frozen dough, and I think that this one is a real winner. I came across the recipe on one of my friends blogs and used it tonight for dinner. I was very happy about the result.

Pizza Dough:

this recipe called for using half regular flour and half whole wheat but since I didn't have any whole wheat flour and by the time I decided this is what I wanted for dinner it was dark and therefore cold outside and I couldn't work up the nerve to walk the 16 blocks round trip to the store. So while I am sure it is good with whole wheat flour (and healthier) is was very good with just regular flour too.

Also I used instant yeast instead of normal yeast and it worked just fine. Instant yeast is much less intimidating to me than real yeast.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water (110-120 degrees F, over 120 degrees will kill your yeast)
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup all purpose or bread flour (+ up to 1/4 cup more for kneading)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. In a glass or plastic bowl (metal can negatively affect yeast), dissolve honey in warm water. Add yeast and let sit (at least 10 minutes) until yeast is active and bubbly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, and salt. Create a well in the center.
3. Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour it into the well in your flour mixture bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil. Using a spatula and then your fingers, mix the dough until it pulls away from the side of the bowl.
4. Knead the dough on the counter top, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour just until it is no longer sticking to the counter and has a smooth texture. (You can brush a little olive oil onto your fingers for the kneading process.)
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
6. Deflate the dough into a ball, and let it rest on your counter for at least 10 minutes before you create the crust.
7. Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 450 degrees F. A scorching hot pizza stone is the key to getting that puffy evenly cooked crust.

8. To shape your crust you will simply use your hands and gravity. DO NOT use a rolling pin- it will press out all of the air that has formed in your dough. Take the ball of dough in your hands and simply begin pulling it around the edges. It should start to stretch easily. Rotate it around your first making sure you are stretching each side evenly, so that you have a round crust. The middle will be fairly thin, and you want to leave the edges thicker so they will puff up.

Pizza Sauce:

Don't use to much sauce, use less than you think you should. I didn't use all that this recipe made.

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional- I left it out!)
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.

2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes (or longer in the refrigerator) to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Both recipes make enough for one pizza, then you can top with anything you would like. I used fresh mozzarella, sausage, green peppers, onions and squash (it just happened to be what I had in the fridge). I also like to use spinach and artichoke hearts for pizza. But really you can use whatever you feel like.

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did.

The recipe is only for one sandwich but I doubled it when I made it last week- it took less than 20 minutes start to finish and was a fantastic, easy lunch.

1 (1/2-inch-thick) center slice from a round Italian loaf of bread
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 chicken cutlet (about 1/4 inch thick)
1 plum tomato, halved lengthwise
1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence/em> or dried thyme
1/4 head romaine (quarter head lengthwise), tough outer leaves removed and root end kept intact
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
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Preparation: Preheat broiler.

Brush both sides of bread with oil, then put bread on a large baking sheet.

Stir together mayonnaise, mustard, cheese, and zest in a small bowl, then coat top of cutlet with about 2 tablespoons sauce, reserving remaining sauce. Transfer chicken to baking sheet.

Brush cut sides of tomato with oil and season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with herbes de Provence. Transfer to baking sheet.

Toss romaine with 1 tablespoon oil, lemon juice, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl until coated. Transfer to baking sheet.

Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until bread is golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Turn bread and continue broiling until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove toast from broiler and continue broiling until romaine is wilted and well browned in spots, chicken is just cooked through, and tomato is lightly browned, 1 to 4 minutes more (remove romaine, chicken, and tomato as done).

Rub toast with cut side of garlic (reserve other 1/2 clove for another use). Top garlic toast with chicken, lettuce, and tomato. Serve with remaining sauce.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Broiled-Chicken-Romaine-and-Tomato-Bruschetta-356052