Apple Coffee Cake

This cake is very moist and delicious.  It takes not time to put to together and would make a wonderful addition to your recipes.  A great cake to serve when you have guests either for breakfast or after a meal.  Give it a try.  
Printable
Ingredients:
for the cake-
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  2/3cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup peeled, diced apple (1/4 inch pieces)
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup low fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the streusel-
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts
for the glaze-
3 oz. softened cream cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons softened margarine or butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk, or enough to make it a glazing consistency

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9-inch spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center and pour all wet ingredients in. Slowly start mixing the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Toss in apple pieces and stir. Pour batter into prepared pan. In a small bowl, stir all ingredients for streusel together until butter pieces are small chunks found throughout mixture. Sprinkle over top of cake and bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Remove from oven and cool.
This is the cake before the drizzle.  Looks good and could be served this way also.

Before serving, whip cream cheese and margarine together until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth and runny. Add the milk slowly until desired drizzling consistency is reached. Un-hinge spring form pan and place cake on serving platter. Drizzle with glaze and serve.
Thanks for stopping by and taking time from you busy day.  Have a wonderful weekend and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU Love.
Donna

Michael Symon's Lemon Chicken with Fried Potatoes

This is a very yummy recipe and doesn't take a lot of prep time.  I saw Micheal Symon make this on the Chew so of course I had to try it.  If you have not seen "The Chew" you should take the time to watch an episode or two.  They have great recipes and tips, the show is filled with lots of helpful information not just cooking.  The potatoes are shown below.


adapted from The Chew - Michael Symon
6-8 chicken thighs
2 cups Lemon Juice
1 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
3 cloves Garlic (sliced)
1/4 Cup Fresh Oregano (leaves only - chopped)
Salt and Pepper

instructions Preheat oven to 400F.

ingredients:

6-9 chicken thighs
2 cups Lemon Juice
1 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
3 cloves Garlic (sliced)
1/4 Cup Fresh Oregano (leaves only - chopped)
Salt and Pepper

instructions:

  Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes up to 4 hours.

Instructions:

 Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken, skin side down. Flip the chicken over, then pour the remaining marinade into the pan and immediately transfer to the hot oven. Roast until chicken finishes cooking through, about 15 minutes.

ingredients:

 4 Potatoes (scrubbed and sliced into 1/2-inch thick disks or chunks)
Vegetable Oil (to fry)
Salt and Pepper

instructions Preheat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a cast iron pan. Arrange the potatoes in the pan and fry until crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, and season with salt and pepper while still hot.

You can put pan sauce over the chicken to serve. Garnish to taste with parsley.

Thanks for taking time from your busy day to stop by.  Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to do ALL the things YOU Love.
Donna

Angel Biscuits

I found this recipe on pinterest and decided to give them a try. I made them for Easter Dinner.   You will need to plan ahead because this recipe takes 24 + hours because you put your dough in the fridge overnight.  It's not a fussy recipe just a waiting recipe. 
I made these with a combination of white whole wheat flour and regular AP flour.  Personally I think they would have been much better with just the white flour.  They seemed a bit heavy to me.  Everyone liked them even though.
Printable 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons warm water
one (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast (if using bulk 2 1/4 tsp)
1 teaspoon sugar, plus ¼ cup
5 cups self-rising flour (can make own **)
¾ cup vegetable shortening
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken (can make own see below **)
all-purpose flour, for shaping and rolling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the tops

Instructions:

Place the water in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the yeast and stir in 1 teaspoon sugar. Let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup sugar with the flour. Using a pastry blender, cut the shortening and butter into the flour until the mixture is the size of peas. Add the yeast mixture and buttermilk and stir until the dough comes together. Sprinkle over a tablespoon or two of all-purpose flour over the dough and gently knead until the dough is soft (add more flour as necessary). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. With floured hands, pinch off a small amount of dough and lightly roll into a smooth 2-inch ball; place on the prepared baking sheets. Cover the biscuits loosely with buttered (or use cooking spray) plastic and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 2 hours or more.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the tops of the biscuits with some melted butter and bake until the biscuits are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and upcoming weekend and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the Things You Love.
Donna

Lime Bars with Pecan Crust

These are just like the lemon bars I posted last month but made with limes.  My grandson AJ just loves both of them.  He usually eats most of the ones I make.  This is such a quick easy recipe and can be ready in no time.
Printable
Ingredients
For the crust:

1/2 cup pecans
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
16-25 pecan halves, toasted (see note)

For topping

 Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F. Butter an 8-inch square pan.
In a food processor  (or by hand), finely chop the pecans. Add the melted butter, flour and brown sugar and process until well combined. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

 Filling:
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the lime juice and zest and the flour and whisk until smooth.
Pour the filling over the still hot crust. Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is set. Cool in the pan for 1 hour before cutting into squares. Top each square with a pecan half and press down lightly.
Thanks for taking time from you busy day to stop by, have a wonderful Day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU Love.
Donna

White Whole Wheat Sesame Braids

This is a yummy bread and easy to make.  It look wonderful when it comes out of the oven, as you can see.  Makes a great presentation also.  You could make this into a regular loaf or rolls so it's also very versatile. Oh yeah makes a great sandwich too.

2 pkgs (4½ tsp) active dry yeast
1¼ cups warm water (110° to 115°)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
4½ to 5 cups flour
1 egg yolk
1 Tbl cold water
1 Tbl sesame seeds
In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add oil, sugar, salt, eggs, and 3 cups flour.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).  Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top.  Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface, divide into six equal pieces. Shape each portion into a 20-in. rope. Place all six ropes parallel to each other on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  This makes two long loaves.
Working with three ropes side-by-side, start braid at center of loaf, yes, center.  Place right rope over center rope, left rope over center rope, continue to the end, pinch ends together and tuck under.  Turn baking sheet around to work other side so unbraided ropes face you.  This side place center rope over right rope, then center rope over left rope, continue to the end, pinch ends together and tuck under.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Beat egg yolk and cold water; brush over braids.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake at 350° 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

 Hope you try this bread, think it will become one of your favorites.  Thanks for taking time to stop by.  Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU Love.
Donna

Chai Banana Bread

Yet another version of banana bread.  This is really a wonderful tasting bread, had the right amount of spice and is wonderful as a snack or for breakfast with your coffee or tea.  Give it a try you'll be happy you did.

 Printable
adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3)
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
10 ounce all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
Cooking spray
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons 2% low-fat milk (can use 1/2 n 1/2 and water)

1/3 cp chopped nuts (optional)

1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberry (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350

 Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed just until blended. Add sugars; beat at medium just until blended.
 Weigh or spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine flour, soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended.
Combine cardamom and next 3 ingredients. Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla into batter. Pour into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Remove from pan; cool.
 Combine remaining spice mixture, remaining vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk. Drizzle over bread.

I really enjoyed this bread and the spices and flavors are really awesome.  I will be trying this recipe with a variation of different fruits.
Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful St. Patty's Day and Remember to Find the Time to Do all the Things You Love.
Donna

Semolina Sandwich Rolls

I just love making bread and experimenting with all sorts of flour combinations.  Today I tried using one of my Italian bread recipes and adapted it to make these sandwich rolls.  This is my go to recipe so why not try and do another version of it.  My friends recently went to an Amish Store in Missouri and picked me up some different types of flours.  I had them get me Potato Flour, Cake Flour, Semolina Flour and Rye-Pumpernickel flour.  They also bought me some Cocoanut Oil which makes delicious french fries and awesome popcorn.  It was way cheaper from that store than getting the from the grocery store.  I might add their white popcorn is wonderful, will have to get more of than next time they go.
Ok back to these rolls.  My egg person brought me eggs last week so I thought I would make some more bread for them.  I gave them a loaf of the orange spice bread and these rolls.

After tasting these, they are very good, but I would like a little more sweetness so maybe next time I will increase the sugar to at least 4 TBL maybe a bit more, but they taste great as a sandwich the way they are, the sweetness would be nice when you're just eating them with butter.

Ingredients:
2 pkgs instant yeast
1 3/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 TBL sugar
2 TBL vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups semolina flour
3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cup AP flour
1 TBL poppy seeds (optional)
egg whites for wash on top

Directions:
In bowl of mixer whisk the yeast, salt, sugar and 1 cup of semolina flour and 1 cup of AP flour, add oil and with beater blade on mixer mix on low adding the water, when all water is added increase the speed to med and mix for 3 minutes.  When done change to dough hook and slowly add 1/2 cup semolina flour and the rest of the AP flour.  You may need more you may need less.  Knead with the machine for 6 1/2 minutes until dough comes away from the sides and gets smooth.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Divide into 12 rolls, cut a slash on top with a serrated knife, cover and let rest for 30-45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees, brush with egg whites and sprinkle poppy seeds (optional) when placing in the oven spritz oven with water before closing the door.  (this helps give the rolls and bit of crusty crust)  Bake for 25 minutes.  Enjoy