Apple Spice Cake Cookies

Autumn is in the air. The smell of apples and cinnamon are everywhere you go. This is my favorite time of year. My house gets filled with aromas of comfort and warmth from familiar foods. This recipe is one of my favorites. It’s so easy to make, even better to eat. 5 ingredients. That’s it, but the taste and textures are so flavorful, it brings all the comforts of holidays in one bite. 

This recipe has been a work in progress. My aunt started with the recipe, then my mom changed it a little bit, and now I have made it my own. Because there is no oil in the recipe, it is a much lower fat cookie, but believes me; you don’t miss it at all. These semi-homemade cookies are so easy to make and freeze perfectly for parties, packing in lunches, or even just to have on hand when you want a snack. 

This recipe makes about a dozen large cookies, but it is very easy to double or even triple depending on how many apples you have and cookies you would like to make.

Apple Spice Cake Cookies

1 box Spice Cake Mix (any brand)

1/2 cup applesauce (I used pear because I had a ton in the pantry)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 medium green apple diced

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. Pour the cake mix into a large bowl. Add in the applesauce, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together. Remember this is a cookie batter so it is not going to loosen up the way a cake mix will. Once it’s combined, fold in the apples. The dough is going to be very sticky, so using a spoon, scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet and cook for 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Allow to cool completely and place in a freezer proof container or Ziploc bag. Be sure to date and label. They will stay in the freezer for 3 months.

Cabbage Soup

A lot of people see the word cabbage, and all they think is either stuffed cabbage or coleslaw. But cabbage is much more than that. Cabbage soup is a traditional jewish dish, almost as common as matzoh ball soup. This recipe is a spin on a traditional cabbage soup from my great aunt. This soup is just as comforting as a hearty chicken soup. Traditionally this dish has rice cooked in it, but rice generally does not freeze well, so I have omitted it. But by all means feel free to add it back in when you serve it. 

Cabbage Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1lb ground beef

1 small head Savoy cabbage, quartered cored, then sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 carrot peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

4 cups Chicken Stock (can substitute for vegetable or beef)

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups water

Juice and Zest of 1 lemon  

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic

1 Tbsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. celery salt

2 large tomatoes, chopped

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil then add the ground beef. Cook until all of the beef is all brown, drain off most, but not all, of the fat. Add in the onions, pepper, celery, and carrots. Sautee about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add in the broth, wine, and water, lemon zest and juice and all the seasonings. Add in the tomatoes and the cabbage. The cabbage will look like it’s going to over flow the pot. It will wilt down, quickly, so don’t panic. Stir in the best you can and then cover with a tight fitting lid and lower the heat to medium low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, check the amount of liquid in the pot, if you think it needs more liquid; add either warm broth or water. Cook for another 30 minutes, or until you find the cabbage is cooked through. Serve immediately or allow to cool completely and then freeze. 

To freeze: Place in a freezer safe tupperware. Place plastic wrap over the top and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Freeze when it’s completely cooled.

To reheat: To microwave, remove the lid and plastic wrap and heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring half way through. To heat on the stovetop. Heat in the stock pot, add in 1/2 cup chicken broth and then add in the cabbage soup. Cook for 20 minutes. 

Freeze you fresh herbs for winter

I talk about my CSA all the time, I know. But it really is such a great way for me to get my vegetables; however I get so many, I need to find ways to keep them from going bad. Freezing them works, but you have to blanch them first or prep them in some way. Herbs, however you can’t blanch. I can’t tell you how much dill I must have wasted this year alone. 

In this weeks newsletter from the farm is my solution. Freeze Herbs in Ice Cube Trays. What? This is genius. Not just in paste form but freezing the herbs too. Way cool. I was so excited by this, and chives and basil are still growing strong because of the beautiful weather we're having. So here are two ways to freeze your favorite herbs for use in the winter.

Herbs that freeze well basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, fennel, garlic chives, mint, parsley, tarragon, and thyme.  Think about how often you use each of the herbs you’re going to freeze, because it will be months before you can cut fresh herbs from the garden again. Freezing the fresh herbs does take a little bit of preps, but you’ll be rewarded the taste of fresh herbs throughout the winter months.

Freezing Fresh Herbs

Gather your herbs, chop finely and pack into ice cube trays. Add a spot of water to cover and put the trays into the freezer. Let set until completely frozen. Remove the individual herb paste cubes, and store in a Ziploc bag labeled and dated. Labeling is supper important here because all the herbs will look the same when they’re frozen. Herb cubes will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Fresh Herb Paste- From Suite101.com

Place the herbs in a colander and gentle rinse under running water. Remove the herbs from their stems. Discard the stems. Using a dry measuring cup, measure the amount of leaves you have to process. Put the leaves in a blender. For each cup of herbs measured, add 1/4 cup of water to the blender. Place the lid on the blender and puree into a fine paste. Fill an ice cube tray with the herb paste. Place the trays in the freezer and let set until completely frozen. Remove the individual herb paste cubes, and store in a Ziploc bag labeled and dated. Herb cubes will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

How to use: Simply place the desired number of herb cubes into the pan as the meal is being cooked. For example, use 1-2 cubes of basil can be added to a pan of tomato sauce.

Herb Butter-From Yumsugar.com

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp

1/2 cup fresh herbs, minced

Salt and pepper

Additional seasonings (optional) minced garlic, minced shallot, cayenne pepper, crumbled soft cheese, paprika, red pepper flakes finely grated hard cheese, minced anchovy, etc.

In a medium bowl, combine the butter with herbs. Stir well to fully incorporate. Season with salt, pepper and any additional herbs. Place the herb butter on a piece of wax paper and form a log shape about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the log again in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to a month. This is awesome on steak, chicken, or to spice up steamed vegetables. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread

Nothing is better than banana nut bread. Throw in chocolate chips and im in heaven. But when you buy it in the store, it’s never really banana-ie enough for me. If I’m eating banana bread, I want it to taste like bananas. This recipe is super moist and really tastes like banana bread. I double this recipe and stock my freezer so I can pull a piece right from the freezer.

Baked good in general freeze well. The key is proper packaging. If you don’t it can end up, soggy, or freezer burned. Make sure you squeeze out all of the air from the Ziploc bag before sealing. If you do this, you can store it in the freezer for 6 months.

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread 

1/2 c room temp butter

2 c sugar

2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c milk
3-5 over ripe bananas, mashed
3 c self-rising flour (can use all-purpose but if find self-rising better for my breads)
1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt
1 c chopped walnuts

1 c chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease 2 loaf pans. If you’re making muffins, place liners in the muffin pan. In a Mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Next add in the eggs, vanilla, milk, and mashes bananas. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the flour, 1/3 at a time, into the wet mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. Pour into the loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

To freeze: Slice the bread before freezing and place in a freezer safe container or Ziploc bag. If you’re going to stack the bread in a container or bag, place a sheet of parchment or wax paper in between the layers to prevent the bread from sticking together.

When ready to eat remove from the freezer and place on a cooling rack to thaw. Do not thaw in the freezer bag because as the ice crystals melt it will make your bread soggy. Or if you want you can pull a piece right out from the freezer and place in the microwave or toaster oven and eat warm. 

Curry Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Aright this is a two for one dish. I roast the butternut squash, take half for baby food, and use the rest to make this amazing soup. The squash freezer so well, and since its one of the foods my pediatrician recommended as the first food in the orange family, I need to make the most of this versatile vegetable.

 I roast 2- 3 large squash at a time. This makes enough for both dishes, but only dirties one pan, and the food processor once. The fewer dishes I have to do, the better. So puree all the squash in the food processor. Fill two ice cube trays and freeze. Leave the rest of the squash into the food processor and add the rest to make a rich and creamy soup. 

Baby food in mini muffin tins

To make the baby food

1 butternut squash, quartered and with seeds and membranes removed. 

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the squash in a baking dish and put in the oven.  Roast for 40 minutes. It’s done when you can easily pierce it with a fork. Remove from oven and scoop out the flesh and the skin. Put in a food processor. Place in ice cube trays and freeze. When ready to use, remove ice cube from freezer, microwave for 30 seconds. Thin out with breast milk or formula. Don't add the formula or breast milk before freezing.

Two butternut squash soup

Curry Apple Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, quartered, and with seeds and membranes removed

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 large apple, seeds removed roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 c. warm chicken broth (can use vegetable)

Roasted squash

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the squash in a baking dish and put in the oven.  Roast for 40 minutes. It’s done when you can easily pierce it with a fork. While this is roasting, heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the onions and apples. Cook until slightly golden brown. Add the curry powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.  Remove the squash from oven and scoop out the flesh and the skin. Put in a food processor. Add the apple-onion mixture and the warmed chicken broth. Puree until smooth. If it’s too thick you can slowly drizzle in some more broth until you get the consistency you like. I enjoy mine a little on the thick side. 

Finished soup, garnished with cilantro

To Freeze: Place in a freezer safe container, place plastic wrap directly onto the soup, then put the lid on. This will prevent the lid from sticking.

To Reheat: 

Stovetop: Put into a sauce pan, add 1/4 c broth and place a tight fitting lid on the pot. Cook until warmed through. 

Microwave: Remove the plastic wrap and leave the lid slightly off to allow steam to escape. Place in the microwave for 3-5 minutes.

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Peppers

When looking at what recipes I have posted so far, I realized that my slow cooker bag recipes have been a culinary tour around the world. This amused me, so I decided to continue with a quick stop over in Italy with my Italian sausage and peppers.

Nothing beats Sausage and peppers right off the grill, but who wants to do that during the week, let alone during the winter. Slow cooking them allows you to enjoy the taste of sausage and peppers any day of the week with a third of the work. 

I find myself cooking this with chicken sausage for a few reasons. 1. It causes less gas 2. It is less fatty 3. You can get so many varieties of chicken sausage that I like experimenting with different flavors such as chicken and apples, chicken with fennel, hot chicken sausage, and so on. You most certainly can use this exact same recipe with pork sausage, especially since that is the Italian way to do.

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Peppers

2 lbs. sausage links

3 bell peppers (any color you like, even mix if you’re feeling a bit crazy) sliced

2 large onions sliced

2 large tomatoes chopped with juices

1/2 c dry red wine

1/2 c beef stock

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

3 cloves garlic minced

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 bay leaves

Get a large Ziploc bag and write on it the following. Pour entire contents of bag into slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve on rolls or with crusty bread to absorb the sauce. Pour into the bag wine, stock, tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, cayenne, salt and pepper. Seal the bag, double check the seal and then shake to make sure everything gets combined. It will take a few minutes to get the tomato paste incorporated. Once you’re satisfied, add in the bay leaves, sausage, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Seal bag and lay flat to freeze. When you’re ready to eat it pull it out the night before to thaw, in the morning through them in the slow cooker, set and forget. 

Chicken and Spinach Soup

My freezer started to run low on food for my husband to take for lunch, so I had to come up with some new recipes to get him to continue to eat his vegetables. Sometimes, I look at what I have in the house, and make up a recipe from there, as was the case today. I got a fresh bunch of spinach in the share yesterday, and I never can use it fast enough. So I knew I had to use it today, or it would wilt. So I saw chicken thighs in the fridge and decided to throw them together to make a soup. It turned out awesome, so I had to share it right away. I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I have.

Chicken and Spinach Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 small onion chopped

1 lbs. chicken thighs cut roughly into 1 inch chunks

6 c chicken broth

1 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans

1 juice of lemon

1 bunch fresh spinach roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot. Sautee the onions and garlic until just slightly golden. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Once brown add the chicken broth and cannellini beans. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then add in the spinach and lemon juice. The spinach may look like it’s over flowing the pot, but it won’t. It will wilt down fairly quickly. Cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally, but be gentle because you don’t want to break the beans up too much. Taste and add salt and pepper. You will need more than you think but start in small amounts and gradually add until you are satisfied. 

To Freeze: Allow to cool completely. Then portion into single serving freezer safe containers, leaving 3/4 inch space between the soup and the lid. 

To reheat: 

Stove top- Place the soup into a sauce pan. Put a cover on it and let it melt and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Microwave-remove from freezer, remove lid and microwave from 2-5 minutes depending on the size of your container and your microwave