Challah Apple Stuffing

CHALLAH-APPLE STUFFING
Serves 10-12
http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/challah-apple-stuffing

INGREDIENTS
2 - 1lb. loaves challah
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced onion
2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apples
8 sprigs thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
6 sprigs marjoram, leaves picked and finely chopped
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (we use vegetable broth)
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
Note: To dice means to chop into roughly ¼-inch cubes.
Special Equipment
Aluminum Foil
9x13-inch baking dish

PREPARATION
Cut challah into 1-inch cubes and let cubes sit out in a bowl or on a baking tray, uncovered, for at least six hours to make them stale. Alternatively, you can dry bread in a 250°F oven by laying cubes in a single layer on baking sheets and baking for about 30 minutes, or until bread is dry but not toasted (it should not start to brown at all).

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium-low heat, then add onions and celery. Add three teaspoons of salt and ground pepper to taste, and cook until onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Add apples and herbs and cook until apples are soft, about 5 minutes more.

In a large bowl, combine challah cubes, cooked vegetables in butter, and chicken broth. Mix until the bread is saturated with liquid, and everything is evenly mixed. Press stuffing into a 9x13-inch baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes, then remove the foil, raise your oven to 450°F, and cook stuffing uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, or until the top starts to brown slightly.
Cool 10 minutes, then serve.

Mashed Potato Casserole

MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE

Makes 7 - 1 cup servings

Can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator.

Cooking Light May 1994 (Modified 2013)

Ingredients:

2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces

1 (8 oz) tub nonfat cream cheese (Lowfat is fine)

1 c plain nonfat yogurt

½ t garlic powder

¼ t salt

Vegetable cooking spray

2 T reduced calorie margarine, melted (Butter is fine)

½ t paprika (amount approximate - make it look nice)

Instructions:
Place potato in a saucepan; add water to cover and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or until very tender.
Drain. Mash by hand and combine potato, cream cheese and next 3 ingredients in a bowl.  Beat at medium speed with electric mixer 2 minutes or until smooth.  Spoon into an 11x7x2 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Drizzle margarine over potato mixture.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Muffins

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Ingredients

1 1/4 c all purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 c brown sugar firmly packed
1/4 c softened margarine or butter
3 T (1/4c) molasses                          
1 c mashed/cooked canned pumpkin
1 egg

1/4 c chopped pecans or walnuts

1/4 c raisins

cooking/oil spray

DIRECTIONS

Combine all purpose flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. In a second bowl combine sugar, margarine and molasses and beat with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin and egg and beat until well blended. Make a well in center of flour mixture and add wet mixture to it stirring until moistened. Fold in pecans and raisins.

Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan immediately. Let cool on wire rack. 

NOTES

Substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips for the raisins.

Make more than 1 batch for Thanksgiving. Good for days after. 

Yields 1 dozen

CRANBERRY APPLESAUCE

CRANBERRY APPLESAUCE

Serves 10-12

INGREDIENTS
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup sugar
½ cup Manischewitz Concord Grape wine
4 large Granny Smith apples
PREPARATION
In a medium sauce pot, combine cranberries, spices, sugar, and Manischewitz. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Peel and core apples, then cut them into large chunks (approximately ½-inch cubes), and add to the cranberry mixture. Cover sauce and continue to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If sauce begins to stick, add water.
Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before serving with latkes.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/cranberry-applesauce

Quinoa Salad with Broccoli-Avocado Pesto

Photo by Katie Morris

Katie Morris November 7, 2012

http://greatist.com/health/recipe-quinoa-broccoli-avocado-pesto

Inspired by the Orzo and Broccoli Pesto Salad in Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day and the Barefoot Contessa's Parmesan Roasted Broccoli. Serves 2-3.

What You'll Need:

1 cup quinoa, cooked
2 medium heads broccoli, cut into florets
8 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
Sea salt
1 ripe avocado, pit removed
2 tablespoons pine nuts or almonds
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/4 pound mushrooms
2 oz. parmesan cheese, cut into small chunks
fresh lemon juice (optional)

What to Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss the broccoli and garlic cloves with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until both broccoli and garlic are beginning to brown. Stir part way through if anything looks like it's burning.
3. Set 1/2 cup of the roasted broccoli pieces aside.
4. Add the remaining roasted broccoli, roasted garlic, avocado, parmesan cheese, and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to a blender, and blend until a smooth puree is formed. Taste and season with salt. Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice if desired.
5. Mix half a cup of the broccoli pesto and the reserved broccoli florets into the cooked quinoa. Save any leftover pesto in the fridge for another use.
6. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the nuts to the dry pan and toast, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant and beginning to turn golden brown. Remove from pan and add to cooked quinoa.
7. Add the butter to the same frying pan and let it melt. Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add to the salad and serve the whole mixture warm.

Looking for more roasted vegetable recipies? Check out our roundup of five favorites from around the web.

What's your favorite go-to roasted vegetable recipe? Share with us in the comments below or tweet us @greatist!

Grandma Lee's Charoset

http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040331/news_lz1f31seder.html

8 servings (may be double, tripled, etc.)

1 c walnuts
2 T sugar
2 lg Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger (optional)
2 tablespoons sweet red wine, kosher for Passover
12 dates, remove pit and coarsely chop (~8 oz)
 
In the food processor, grind the walnuts with sugar. Use pulse setting so it doesn't become too fine. Peel and core apples. (Peel in a spiral for garnish, if desired.) Grate apples on regular-size perforations of a food grater. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and stir in ground nut mixture, cinnamon, ginger, wine and dates. Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish with apple peel, if desired.

Charoset is a sweet spread made from chopped apples, nuts and wine. It symbolizes the mortar the Jewish slaves used to hold together the bricks used in the Egyptians' cities and temples. Grandma Lee's Charoset, which is from my mother-in-law, is a traditional recipe that gets a tasty touch from the addition of dates.
Also included here is a more recent discovery, Janos Wilder's New American Charoset. This modern version gets a fresh flavor and bright color from the addition of mango.
To garnish the Charoset, I cut off the apple peels in a long spiral, then coil a piece of peel around each serving in an apple shape. I also core out the apple stems and place one at the center of each serving.

Ferment Your Own Kimchi

This Asian veggie and spice combination is tasty and good for you.

By

Meghan G. Loftus

Published - http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/ferment-your-own-kimchi

March 13, 2013

If you're not familiar with kimchi, it's a fermented Korean food made with spices and vegetables. You may have seen it touted in Newswire for its potential to lower cholesterol, but it's best known for containing healthy bacteria that aid digestion. Plus, it's mostly made of produce. Kimchi: It's good for you.
And, when prepared correctly, it's also delicious. It adds a nice crunch to sandwiches and hot dogs, like an Asian sauerkraut. Or, you can eat it right out of the jar. It has a spicy, tangy flavor that raw veggies can't even match when dipped.
This recipe, unlike many kimchi recipes out there, is super simple and not overly salty. It's from Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make and Store Food, No Matter Where You Live, by Runner's World's creative services director (and Grow Indie cofounder) Robyn Jasko.
Homemade Kimchi
What you'll need:
1 head bok choy (save a leaf or two from the outer layer)
1 daikon radish (about 4 ounces), coarse chopped
Kosher or sea salt
3 cloves garlic
One 2-inch knob ginger, peeled
1/2 cup Korean red pepper powder (kochukaru)
1 pint sterilized mason jar
How to make it:
1. Place bok choy leaves and daikon in a large bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Toss to combine, cover, then let sit at room temperature until cabbage is wilted, at least 1 hour and up to 12. It should release about 1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid.
2. Meanwhile, combine the garlic, ginger, and red pepper powder in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until rough paste is formed, about 30 seconds total, scraping down sides as necessary.
3. Once bok choy is wilted, add chili mixture and turn to coat. Add 1 cup water to mixture. Taste liquid and add more salt as necessary (it should have the saltiness of sea water). Pack kimchi into mason jar, pressing down firmly to pack tightly and using a wooden spoon to release any air bubbles trapped in the bottom of the jar. Top with the outer bok choy leaves, to create a seal on top of the kimchi, and pack down further. Cover the kimchi with its liquid—make sure nothing but parts of the top leaves are above the liquid. If air gets to the kimchi, it could spoil.
4. Seal the jars tightly and allow them to sit at cool room temperature (65 to 75 degrees is ideal) for three to five days, tasting every few days to see if the kimchi is ready. When it develops a sour, spicy taste and a texture similar to sauerkraut, remove the top bok choy leaf being used as a seal and store the jar in the fridge. Kimchi will last for up to 1 month after opening.
If you have a recipe you'd like to share with fellow runners, or any other food-related content you'd like to see, email ravenous@runnersworld.com.