Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I made a feast for the roomies. The menu consisted of roasted chicken, gravy, stuffing, baked yams, green beans in lemon sauce, ginger cranberries, rolls and eggnog for dessert. Needless to say it was a very delicious evening. This was the first time I've ever made stuffing. It was pretty easy and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I used a really nice loaf of sour dough from trader joes which I think is crucial. The better the bread the better the stuffing. I really like this recipe because the apples and raisins give the stuffing a natural sweetness without over doing it.

Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins (from bon appétit)
1 ½ lb loaf sourdough bread, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 lbs pork breakfast sausage
2 large onions, chopped
2 c chopped celery
4 tbsp butter
6 c ½ inch cubes Granny Smith apples (about 4 large apples)
¾ c golden raisins
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 ½ c low sodium chicken broth (I used 4 c)
3 eggs
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread cubes in single layer on baking sheet. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes. Transfer into large bowl. Sauté sausage in skillet, break up into small pieces, 8-10 minutes. Use slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with bread. Add onions and celery to skillet with drippings. Sauté until golden brown, 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread and sausage. Melt 2 tbsp butter, add apples. Sauté until tender, 10 minutes, add raisins. Add to bowl with bread mixture. Melt 2 tbsp butter over low heat. Add sage, stir 30 seconds. Add to mixture, toss well. Whisk together broth and eggs. Poor over bread mixture. Transfer mixture into buttered 15X10X2 glass baking dish. Bake uncovered until top is crisp, 45 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes. 16 servings

Tips: You need a HUGE bowl to make this. I was not well equip and ended up dividing all the stuffing between three large tupperware bowls. I also used a bit more chicken broth that the recipe called for. I poured extra broth over the bread after I took it out of the oven to make sure it was moist enough.

Reese Cupcakes

Michelle and I made birthday cupcakes for our weekly dinner with the soil judgers to celebrate Matt's birthday. Matt and Phil always cook us the most amazing meals. This week was no different. In fact, I think it was one of the best meals they've ever made us. They made bean chili, soy chili, rice & vegetable grains, greek salad, and spring rolls from My.

The beginnings of chili.



Matt and Phil. Matching aprons this time!





When it comes to birthday cakes you can't go wrong with the Kraft Oil Cake. Don't let its simplicity deceive you. It always turns out moist and delicious. We frosted them with peanut butter frosting and sprinkled with chopped up Reese cups. We also got a little daring and tried putting a whole mini Reese cup in the center of the cupcakes before baking. The cups ended up sinking to the bottom of the cakes and getting stuck to the cupcake papers. In the future I'll try adding the candy halfway through the bake time in an attempt to keep them in the center of the cake.

Kraft Oil Cake

2.25 cup cake flour
1.75 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
.75 cup cocoa
1 cup oil
1.5 cup sour milk
1.5 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1.75 cup sugar


Beat eggs and sugar until thick and foamy in a small bowl
Sift dry ingredients together in separate bowl and add oil, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Fold in egg mixture (2 minutes)Pour into cake tins. Bake 350F for 35-40 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1. Cream shortening and butter together with an electric mixer. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat just until combined.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar. Once sugar is incorporated, add just enough milk to make it spreadable.

Chicken Coconut Soup

I found this recipe this summer in Clean Eating magazine. Despite the magazine's unappetizing title, it has a lot of really cool recipes and articles. This soup is a healthier version of most coconut soups which are heavy in fat. It uses half coconut milk half skim milk, giving it a lighter consistency but just as yummy!

Here's the Clean Eating recipe with a few of my own adjustments:

2 TBS evoo
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c carrots, chopped 1/2 in pieces
2-3 small white or red potatoes, 1/2 in pieces (I used both)
salt n pepper
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 c skim milk
1 c coconut milk
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c snow peas
juice from half a lemon
3/4 tsp chile powder
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 TBS cilantro

Heat oil in pot, add garlic onions carrots potatoes. Season w/ salt n pepper, saute. Add broth and milks bring to boil. Add chicken (I used the George Foreman to brown them before adding to the soup. Didn't cook them all the way through). Cover, simmer, for 10-15 minutes on low heat. Remove chicken, set aside. Add peas, chile powder, red pepper flakes. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Slice chicken and add to soup. Add lemon juice, sprinkle with cilantro. (~300 cals per serving, makes 4)


Used fresh cilantro from my backyard garden.


Served in my pretty flowered dishes from Thailand. Love them!


My lovely cooking assistant/brother demonstrating how to eat like a real adult.

Welcome!

So I've decided to start a blog to share recipes that I've made/want to try. Feel free to post recipes, comments, and tips. Cheers!