Baked Bananas

It is now month 16 of the Improv Cooking Challenge and this month our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of bananas & nutmeg.  Unlike last month where I just was uninspired, but still managed to make a wonderful White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark, this month there were so many delicious things I wanted to make.  I’m talking about cakes, cookies, pancakes, muffins, fritters, ice cream and smoothies, so many wonderful things to be made with bananas and nutmeg.  But here it is, a new year, and after all our indulging over Thanksgiving, during our trip to Savannah, during our two weeks in Aruba, over Christmas, New Years Eve and then visiting with friends and our week at Disney…well I needed something delicious but very healthy.  With that in mind, may I present, Baked Bananas.  I saw this recipe on Epicurious and knew that I had found a winner. 

And a winner it is, just minutes to make, all the ingredients are staples in my home and delicious…well just insanely!!  I have made these Baked Bananas a few times already, once as a dessert with a little bit of whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg and a few times I’ve put them over plain oatmeal, a delicious breakfast.  One night I served these Baked Bananas as a sweet little side dish along side some roasted pork (amazing combination) and I even just baked up a half recipe one night when I was craving something sweet.  I’d bet that these bananas would be fabu over some vanilla ice cream…one day I will give that a try.  I suggest that you give this recipe a try as you’ll be amazed at how just a few ingredients and a tiny bit of time totally transforms simple bananas into an insanely delicious treat.      

Baked Bananas (adapted from here)

2 bananas

Juice of 1 lemon

1 TBS, dark rum  

1/4 tsp. ground roasted cinnamon 

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg 

1 TBS. Whey Low Gold or brown sugar 

1 TBS butter 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the bananas and slice in half lengthwise. Lay the pieces into a buttered 9x9x2-inch ovenproof dish. Pour the lime juice and rum evenly over the bananas. Sprinkle on the cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Dot on the butter and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with a bit of whipped cream sprinkled with a pinch of nutmeg.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Cranberry Almond Oat Breakfast Cookies ~ no added sugar ~ egg, flour & dairy free!!

In the Cook Lisa Cook home we go through a lot of oats.  Not only do we all enjoy oatmeal for breakfast but I also use oats in all of the granola bars that I make for Maisie and in a number of my cookie bars too.  So when I was contacted by Foodie Blogroll* regarding participating in a promotion for Better Oats, I of course said yes! 

Once the Better Oats were in the house we were all excited to give them a try.  Eammon immediately went for the MMM...Muffins Blueberry and said that it was the best flavored oatmeal he had ever eaten.  Maisie opted for the Oat Revolution! Apples & Cinnamon as that’s her favorite flavor.  Maisie liked the oatmeal though she said, not as much as her regular one, but I think that’s because her regular one tastes much sweeter.  I enjoyed the MMM...Muffins Oatmeal Raisin Cookie which was tasty, not too sweet and had a great texture.  We also tried the RAW Pure & Simple Pomegranate with Flax which was interesting and different from what we generally eat.  I set aside the RAW Pure & Simple bare to be used in the recipe below but honestly any of the flavors would have worked in the cookies but I wanted to keep them no-added sugar so I opted for the plain oatmeal.

I saw a recipe for breakfast cookies and tailored that recipe to flavors which we enjoy.  What’s really nice though about using this basic recipe is that it can be made to fit any taste you enjoy.  Don’t like cranberries or they contain too much sugar, try raisins.  Allergic to almonds or don’t like nuts?  Just use ones you like or leave them out.  Not a fan of bananas, use mango pulp…what about mango pulp, apple sauce, dried mango bits and some unsweetened coconut with the oats…sure sounds delicious and still wheat, egg and dairy free!  So grab some Better Oats and use your imagination to make some delicious Oat Breakfast Cookies of your own, they’re delicious.

Better Oats offers 23 delicious flavors in several lines, including RAW Pure & Simple, Oat Revolution, and MMM...Muffins.

RAW Pure & Simple: RAW Pure & Simple is a better way to eat. We start with the finest quality 100% organic, whole grain oats blended with organic whole grains and seeds, like flax, barley and quinoa, for a wonderfully wholesome and nutritious breakfast. You'll love all four thick, hearty multigrain texture and natural, robust flavors. RAW Pure & Simple is naturally good, straight from Mother Earth.

Oat Revolution: Raise your spoon and join us for an Oat Revolution! It starts with all natural 100% whole grain oats. We then add antioxidants and flax, a good source of Omega-3, and top it all off with a bold shot of flavor. All combine to create delicious oatmeal that keeps its rich, robust flavor all the way to your bowl. Take one bite and start your Oat Revolution! 

MMM...Muffins: Everyone loves waking up to hot, fresh muffins for breakfast.
MMM...Muffins gives you that same delicious muffin taste you crave in healthy and nutritious 100% whole grain oatmeal. Our thick and hearty oatmeal is also a good source of fiber and omega-3, so it's better than good, it's good for you. Start your day off right with the indulgent taste of real muffin flavor in every bite...mmm.

Cranberry Almond Oat Breakfast Cookies  ~ no added sugar ~ egg, flour & dairy free!! (Adapted from here)

• 3 pkts. Better Oats RAW Pure & Simple Multi-Grain Hot Cereal ~ Bare Flavor, or 1 1/3 c. whole or instant oats
• 2 large bananas, very ripe
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 2 tsp. almond extract 
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.  In a medium bowl mash the bananas.  Stir in the applesauce & almond extract.  Add the oats, dried cranberries and toasted almonds and mix well.  Allow the mixture to sit for about five minutes before proceeding.  With a large cookie scoop portion out the mixture making 12 cookies.  Flatten the cookies down a bit as they will not spread or puff as they bake.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden.  Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the pans before removing to a cooling rack.  Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

 

More about Better Oats: 

Better Oats instant oatmeal comes in many delicious varieties * 23 flavors in fact, including RAW Pure & Simple  *Pomegranate and MMM... Muffins  *Blueberry Muffin. Kids love Better Oats because it’s fun and delicious, and parents love it because it is not only nutritious, but also convenient. Better Oats uses up to 35 percent less packaging than traditional instant oatmeal boxes (so there’s more room on the pantry shelf), and the pouch doubles as a measuring cup!

Made with 100% whole grain oats and flax seeds, this complete line offers a simple and healthy option when it comes to instant oatmeal. But it's not only a great breakfast (or lunch... or snack...) but also a better ingredient to spice up a cookie or other baked goods.

You've got to try Better Oats. If you've been settling for ordinary oatmeal, then you're in for a treat because Better Oats is just... better! Try us and see for yourself.

Visit the Better Oats website!

* This sponsorship is brought to you by Foodie Blogroll who we have partnered with for this promotion.  I was provided with a box of products to sample.  This is a compensated post but all the views and opinions expressed are my own and based upon my experiences with Better Oats.

White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark

About a month ago I posted the following status on Facebook:  “The older I get, the less I enjoy, crave or even want chocolate. What's up with that?”   Most people commented that I must be sick or crazy and stated that they had the complete opposite problem.  I honestly don’t know what it is with me but I just haven’t been in a chocolate mood.  So when I saw that this month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker asked the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choice using the two given ingredients of chocolate & marshmallows, I have to say, I was uninspired.  Though I could think of a way to use chocolate in a savory recipe, like my Fruit & Nut Turkey Chili, I just couldn’t work the marshmallows into anything savory.  I looked through dozens and dozens of sweet recipes and though lots of them looked interesting and good, they just left me cold and I couldn’t be bothered to make them. 

I almost decided to skip the challenge this month but I’ve been participating in the Improv Cooking Challenge for the past 14 months and I just didn’t want to break my streak.  In the end I decided to make a simple candy bark in flavors that Eammon would love and using ingredients that I had in the house.  Eammon adores both milk and white chocolate and as I had white in the house, that was the way I went.  I always keep marshmallows in the pantry as Maisie loves them as a little treat and as I was using white chocolate I decided to use the pretty pastel colored ones.  I also wanted something crunchy and chewy in the bark so after a raid on the panty, I chose to add some cashews and dried cranberries.  

White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark

• 1 lb. good quality white chocolate
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup roasted cashews

Prepare a baking sheet, covered with either a Silpat, or aluminum foil.  Slowly and carefully melt the white chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave being careful not to scorch the chocolate.  Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, mix in the marshmallows, cranberries and cashews and immediately pour onto the prepared pan.  Spread and smooth the mixture as needed.  Refrigerate until the chocolate is set and then either cut or break into pieces.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Strawberry Soup

Strawberries and Cream, those are this month’s Improv Cooking Challenge ingredients assigned by our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  I went back and forth thinking about all the wonderful and delicious things I could make with the assigned ingredients but after enjoying delicious cold fruit soups every lunchtime during our recent 2 week transatlantic cruise I decided that I needed to make my own cold soup.  I did a bit of searching on the internet and the recipe that kept coming up as a standout winning recipe was the Strawberry Soup from the 1900 Park Fare restaurant in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. 

I scaled back on the amounts in the recipe as I was going to be the only one eating the soup as it’s not Maisie “safe” and Eammon doesn’t care for cold or fruit soups, but had I put this in a glass and told him it was a smoothie he would have gobbled it down and loved it!  I was happy to have it all to myself as the soup was absolutely delicious and when you read the recipe, beyond simple to make.  I wish that Maisie could enjoy this soup as it would be so special to serve for a Princess lunch.  With strawberries in season, this is a perfect soup to make and enjoy.

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars  
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake 
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies 

Strawberry Soup (Adapted from here) 

• 1 lb.strawberries (frozen variety with no added sugar, thaw with juice)
• 6.4 oz. heavy cream
• 0.8 oz.sour cream
• 1.2 oz. vanilla yogurt
• fresh strawberries for garnish
• sour cream for garnish
• fresh mint for garnish

Using a blender mix together the strawberries, heavy cream, sour cream & yogurt until smooth.

Chill.

Shake well before serving. Add a dollop of sour cream, fresh strawberries and mint leaves as garnish.

Makes 3 servings.

Enjoy!

Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad

I was very excited this month when I received my Secret Recipe Club assignment as I was assigned Amy’s A Little Nosh, a blog which I have followed for a long time and one where, when I have my act together, I participate in her weekly Tastetastic Thursday blog hop.  Since I’ve been a long time reader of Amy’s blog it didn’t take me ages and ages to find a recipe that I wanted to make as I already had a few of hers saved in my “need to make” file.  For some reason most of the recipes included using chicken like her Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs, Sweet and Sour Chicken and the one I chose to make, Amy’s Chicken Salad.  Part of the reason I chose Amy’s Chicken Salad was, I was asked by Maisie’s gym to make lunch for the judges at a gymnastics meet the gym was hosting and they happened to request chicken salad on croissants so what better time to try out a new recipe.

One thing that I really liked about Amy’s recipe was that she made it sound adaptable to whatever added ingredients you’d choose to include.  I have to say that this chicken salad was the hands down best chicken salad I’ve ever eaten and it only got better the second day once all the flavors really came together.   I really loved the sweet little bites of apple and cranberry and the little added cinnamon crunch of the cashews was always a nice surprise.  The combination of yogurts, sour cream & mayonnaise gave a creamy richness and because I used some honey yogurt, just a touch of sweetness.  This is now my go-to chicken salad recipe and I know that this summer it will be served time and time again in wraps, sandwiches and atop salads.

Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad (Adapted from here) 

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless white meat “Rotisserie” Chicken, cut or pulled into small bite-size chunks
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries 
• 1 large Fuji apple, peeled, seeded & cut into 1/8-inch dice
• 1 cup coarsely chopped cinnamon cashews
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds 
• 6 oz. plain Greek yogurt
• 6 oz. honey Greek yogurt
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 8 oz. Hellmann’s real mayonnaise 

In a large bowl mix the yogurts, sour cream and mayonnaise together.  Add the chicken, dried cranberries, apple, cinnamon cashews and poppy seeds and mix together.  Enjoy immediately or for even better flavor, cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts:

Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Skinny Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I seem to have an addiction, but it’s not what you might think.  It’s not to muffins, blueberries or even to my much adored lemon, it’s an addiction to my monthly recipe challenges, The Secret Recipe Club, The Improv Cooking Challenge and today’s Crazy Cooking Challenge.  Here’s why I say that I have an addiction… The way that the Crazy Cooking Challenge works is that each month there is a dish that our hostess Tina, of Moms Crazy Cooking challenges the participating bloggers to make.  We all go out searching non-celebrity blogs looking for what we think is the ultimate recipe for that dish and once we find it, we make it and then on the same day we do our post featuring the recipe and the blog where it was found.  Well this month we were challenged to find the ultimate blueberry muffin recipe.  Sounds easy enough as the internet is littered with food bloggers who have posted gorgeous blueberry muffin recipes to their blog so finding one is up to what really just suits your fancy.  My problem though is that I’m anaphylaxis allergic to blueberries so as a general rule, I don’t cook with them.  But…BUT… I have participated in the Crazy Cooking Challenge since the beginning and I just couldn’t miss a month, so I was going to make it work.

My friend Lisa (yes Lisa is a popular name) is doing Weight Watchers (and doing great at it I might add) and she recently had surgery so while she was recovering I brought her dinner one night.  For her meal I decided to make Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole and I also wanted to bring her some WW friendly sweet treats.  I decided that her sweet treats would be my blueberry muffin challenge.  Up front I knew that I wasn’t going to use fresh or frozen blueberries but rather blueberry yogurt as I felt it would be safer for me.  I then set out searching the internet looking for my, well really Lisa’s, not me Lisa but friend Lisa’s, ultimate blueberry muffin recipe.  I knew that the recipe I would choose needed to include yogurt and because of Lisa’s diet I wanted to avoid recipes which included a lot of oil, butter or eggs.  In my search I decided to look for recipes which included yogurt (my blueberry addition) and applesauce in place of the fat and as far as the sugar, well that I knew I could easily substitute.  When I happened upon Ruth’s She-Fit.com and her Skinny Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, well I knew that I had found my recipe.  I’ve heard that lemon and blueberry go fabulously together and with Ruth’s recipe all I had to do was swap out her lemon yogurt for my blueberry yogurt, easy-peasy!!  I held pretty true to Ruth’s recipe just switching out the yogurt flavor and I didn’t bother with the additional sprinkling of Splenda on top of the muffins.

As the muffins cooked the house smelled absolutely delicious and I do wish that I was able to sample one of the muffins but Maisie (because of her food allergies) and I (because of my blueberry allergy) had to just watch as Eammon was our taste tester. 

The results, both Eammon and Lisa had thumbs up for this recipe and said that even though it’s skinny and healthy you’d never know it as these muffins were moist, tender, delicious and full of flavor.  Sounds like a winner to me!

Skinny Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins   (Adapted from here)

• 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 
• 1 tsp. baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 c. Splenda
• 5.3 oz container fat-free Greek fruit-on-the-bottom blueberry yogurt
• 2 TBS. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 Cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 2 large egg whites
• grated lemon peel of 1 fresh lemon
• 1 TBS. poppy seeds 

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a medium bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and Splenda together.  Add the yogurt, lemon juice and applesauce, lemon peel and poppy seeds.  Stir to combine.  This will make a very thick batter.  In a separate bowl whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.  Add the egg whites to the flour mix and fold in.  Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.  Using a large cookie scoop place approximately 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin mold.  Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!

My previous Crazy Cooking Challenge entries:

Spaghetti with Red Sauce Challenge:  Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter 
Chocolate Cake Challenge:  Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake
Chicken Noodle Soup Challenge: Thai Chicken Noodle Soup 
Fudge Challenge: Biscoff Fudge 
Mashed Potato Challenge: Aloo Tikki 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge: Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps 
Mac & Cheese Challenge: Velvety Mac & Cheese

Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake

It’s Crazy Cooking Challenge time again and this month our hostess Tina of Moms Crazy Cooking challenged the participating bloggers to search non-celebrity blogs looking for the ultimate chocolate cake recipe.  Once we find what we think is the ultimate recipe we are to make and feature that recipe and the blog where we found it.  I posted recently in my Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel post that since making my Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart I’ve been on a major lemon kick so when I saw Mimi’s Double Chocolate Tangerine Mousse Cake I knew immediately that I could tweak the recipe a bit switching out the tangerine for lemon and I could get my tangy lemon fix, still meet the requirements of making a chocolate cake while also making the ultimate chocolate cake.

This cake used both white and dark chocolate and that combined with tangy lemon, well it was exactly what I had been craving.  The chocolate cake is flourless so it’s dense and rich.  The mousse uses gelatin which is something that I haven’t done before but it seemed to help the mousse keep it’s shape but the mousse remained light, soft, rich and creamy.  Everyone who tried the cake thought it was beautiful and adored the rich flavors…and they were rich so small slices are a must.  If you adore dark chocolate and lemon like we do, I think you will find this to be a favorite in your home too.

My previous Crazy Cooking Challenge entries:
Chicken Noodle Soup Challenge: Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
Fudge Challenge: Biscoff Fudge
Mashed Potato Challenge: Aloo Tikki
Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge: Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps
Mac & Cheese Challenge: Velvety Mac & Cheese 

Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake  (Adapted from here)

Cake
1 cup butter
9 oz. dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1/2 cup ground toasted walnuts

Mousse
1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
1/3 cup lemon sugar syrup from making the Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel
2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
12 oz. white chocolate chips 
6 TBS sour cream
2 cups chilled whipping cream

Garnish:
Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel
walnut halves, toasted

For Cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan with cutter and then dust with cocoa powder.  Melt the butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, checking and stirring often until smooth.  Whisk in the sugar, eggs and ground nuts. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with very moist crumbs attached, about 45 minutes. Cool completely on rack (cake will fall and crack).  Once cool, using the pan’s cutter release the cake from the pan.

Lightly brush the sides of a 10-inch springform pan with vegetable oil. Set the cooled cake in center of pan (there will be space around cake that will be filled in with mousse). Refrigerate cake.

For Mousse:
Place 3 TBS of the lemon juice in a small bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin. Let stand for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to soften.  Meanwhile, simmer the remaining lemon juice and lemon sugar syrup, stirring until combined, about 3 minutes.  Add the gelatin mixture to the lemon juice mixture and stir to dissolve.  Add 12 ounces white chocolate and whisk over low heat just until melted.  Remove from heat and whisk in the sour cream. Pour the lemon white chocolate mixture into a large bowl. Chill the mixture until cool and thickened but not set, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Beat the chilled whipping cream to stiff peaks. Fold into the lemon white chocolate mixture. Pour the mousse over the chocolate cake in the springform pan, covering the top and sides completely. Refrigerate cake overnight.

Run a small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Place cake on platter. Garnish as desired.

Enjoy!

Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart

This is month four of the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  This month I was super excited to participate as we were tasked to use two of my favorite ingredients, lemon and sour cream.  How the challenge works is, each month the participating bloggers are given two ingredients and asked to make any recipe of their choosing which contains those two ingredients.  Well I have been looking forward to this month because not only are lemon & sour cream personal favorites but for almost a year I’ve been itching to make this tart from Mary’s blog, One Perfect Bite and this was the perfect opportunity.  I have previously cooked from Mary’s blog with great success, when I made Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews so had high hopes for this recipe.  This tart not only lived up to my expectations but it far exceeded them.  This tart was absolutely delicious and both Eammon and I couldn’t stop eating it and the entire tart barely lasted a day.  Okay I did share a couple of slices with some friends, who also loved it but Eammon and I managed to polish off the lion’s share.

Quite fortuitously this ponderous Ponderosa lemon magically appeared on my doorstep just a couple of days before I made my tart.

This gorgeous almost 2 1/2 pound Ponderosa lemon was a surprise gift from fellow bloggers Alyson & Ford.  It was a great treat as I’ve never heard of nor tried this lemon before and not only did it have wonderful flavor but this baby gave me two full cups of juice!

Mary said in her post “The crust is as negotiable as your standards. It need not be homemade and a really good commercial crust or puff pastry will work just fine.”   I debated on the crust for a while, undecided on whether to go with a graham cracker, shortbread or just a pie crust…until I remembered that I had some homemade pie crust dough in the freezer so easy-peasy I went that route.

This tart was super simple to make and oh-so delicious. The lemon & sour cream together were gorgeous and the tart was tangy, creamy and silky smooth, just pure perfection. This tart will be made again and again as this was a winning recipe.

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter

Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart  (from here) 

1 9-inch pie or tart crust
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1 TBS finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup milk
4 TBS butter
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a tart pan with pastry and trim edges.  Prick the bottom & sides with a fork.  Bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

In a saucier combine the cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolks and milk.  Cook on medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.  Stir in the butter until fully combined and let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Stir in sour cream and pour filling into the tart shell.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  The tart can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.  Top with fresh lemon zest, berries or whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp

I don’t particularly care for pie crusts but I enjoy the fillings so over the years I’ve realized that what I do really enjoy are crisps and they’re super simple and very forgiving to make.  Back in July I posted a recipe for a Rhubarb Crisp and because I love that crisp so much I decided that for Thanksgiving this year I would change it up a little adding apples and cranberries for a more seasonal taste and serve it for dessert.  In addition to the more seasonal fruit I changed the crisp topping ingredients to make it “safe” for Maisie and her food allergies.  The recipe worked out well, the dessert was delicious and a perfect finish to our Thanksgiving dinner.

In a large oven-safe casserole dish mix together the fruit and syrup.

Top the fruit mixture with the oatmeal and nut crumble mixture.

Bake until the fruit is bubbly and the topping has browned a bit.

Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled & large dice
1 pound ruby rhubarb, fresh or frozen, sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Syrup
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBS warm water

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup very roughly chopped walnuts
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup old fashioned oats 
1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large oven-safe casserole dish combine the lemon juice, sugar and water and stir to dissolve.  Add the apples, rhubarb & cranberries and stir to coat the fruit with the syrup.  In a separate microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and then add the walnuts, brown sugar and oats and using your fingers, mix to combine into a crumbly mix.  Sprinkle over the fruit.

Bake 40-50 minutes until the fruit is bubbly around the edges and the crisp has started to brown.  Serve warm or room temperature.

Enjoy!!

Apple Dumplings

Recently I saw a recipe for apple dumplings on Tina’s blog, Moms Crazy Cooking and they looked so easy and delicious I just had to make them.

When I say easy, I mean easy.  Peel and slice an apple.

Wrap each apple slice in a triangle of refrigerated crescent dough.

Lay the wrapped apples in a greased pan.

Pour on a mixture of melted butter, sugar and vanilla.

Spread on some partially thawed apple  juice concentrate and add some water.  

Sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped pecans and then bake. 

Like I said, super simple and what you get are hot and delicious apple dumplings.

Apple Dumplings (Adapted from here)

1 stick butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups sugar
1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
1 granny smith apples
1/2 can frozen apple juice concentrate
1/4 cup water
ground cinnamon 
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Peel and slice your apples. Wrap each slice in a crescent dough triangle and place in a sprayed (greased) 8x8-inch pan.  In a bowl melt the butter and then lightly stir in the sugar and vanilla so that the mixture remains grainy. Pour over top of the wrapped apples. Spread the frozen apple concentrate over the wrapped apples and pour in the water.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and pecans. Place in 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed with food suggestions, websites and links in helping me with food substitutions and suggestions so that I can feed Maisie with her recently diagnosed allergy to wheat, milk and egg whites.  I am beginning to find my way and hopefully soon I’ll easily be cooking up a storm of wonderful foods that are safe for Maisie to eat.