November 17, 2024

Bacon-Wrapped Figs

August 2, 2013 by

Fresh Figs

Ah summer!  You bring us such a variety of delectable little fruits and veggies, some that are only in season and available for a few weeks!  Figs are one of those little gifts from God.  I saw them at my farmer’s market two weeks ago, and Sunday I bought a basket.  Tender little nuggets of sweet pink flesh, hidden under an unassuming brown skin, figs are a sweet treat!  If you’ve only ever had them in Fig Newton form, try this recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Figs!

Simple ingredients, simple preparation – so easy!  Look for figs that are a little soft, but not squishy.  These little bites are sweet and salty and kind of rich, so you don’t need to eat a dozen to feel satisfied.  Try them with a green salad for a light lunch, or with some sparkling wine as an appetizer.

 

Bite-sized bacon goodness!

Bite-sized bacon goodness!

Bacon-Wrapped Figs

Ingredients:

  • 6 ripe figs
  • 6 slices bacon
  • 6 teaspoons cream cheese
  • fresh-ground black pepper
  • optional: honey

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  
  2. Rinse off figs and pat dry.  With a knife, trim off the little stem nub at the top and slice in half lengthwise, so you have 12 halves.  Cut the bacon in half so you have 12 short pieces.
  3. To assemble:  Place half a teaspoon of cream cheese on top of each fig half.  Season with a grind or two of black pepper.  If you want them sweeter, add a drop of honey on top of the cream cheese.  I didn’t use honey and mine were delicious, but it’s up to you how sweet you want them.  Wrap each cream cheese-topped fig in bacon.  I wrapped them so the open end is underneath the fig, but some had the open end on top and it didn’t unravel.  You could use toothpicks if you are worried they won’t stay wrapped in the oven, but mine were fine without.  Lay the bacon-fig bundles on the baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes.  Turn off the oven and let them figs rest for 5 more minutes in the oven.  Take them out and serve hot.  Watch your fingers!

 

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

A Fun Table Top Decoration for Parties

July 31, 2013 by
This past weekend, for my Granddad’s 88th birthday party, we decided to have the great- grandkids decorate the tables.  We had them decorate small brown paper bags any way they wanted.  Some said Happy Birthday, and others had great drawings on them.When the decorations were finished we put a mason jar inside the bag with a tea light candle inside it. Once you light the candle, the bag begins to glow!

Another fun thing you can do with these bags is to write fond memories of the Birthday Person, that you have had over the years. There are so many things you can do with these bags!!  Just get creative!

Items needed:
Small brown paper bags
Mason jars
Tea light candles
Stickers
Crayons
Markers
Directions: 
Decorate the bag with drawings, sayings, pictures, memories; however you want.
Put the candle in the mason jar and light it.
Put the jar in the bag and place on the table.
And then CELEBRATE that special event in your life!
Amy4
ENJOY,
Amy Boyd
Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Caprese Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

July 29, 2013 by

Here on our At Home with GCH blog, Monday’s are always focused on healthy but oh-so-yummy! recipes.  We continue our series of summer recipes featuring in-season ingredients.  Our featured ingredient this week is grape tomatoes!  Oh, I love tiny tomatoes…do you?  They are just so sweet!  Here’s a link  to some great info on the incredible benefits of these beautiful little orbs!

In today’s blog, I am sharing a recipe for a filling, nutritious, delicious quiche.  Included along with our feature ingredient is another in-season vegetable: fresh spinach.  (Baby spinach would be awesome here!)   Also, here is a link to a recipe posted previously on our At Home with GCH blog for Caprese Salad.  Both recipes meet our standard for healthy but oh-so-yummy!  Enjoy!

 

Caprese Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

IMG_0189

Crust:

Ingredients:
3 cups frozen hash browns, thawed
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425.
  • Thaw hash brown potatoes, and blot between paper towels to remove excess moisture.
  • Combine in mixing bowl with melted butter, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings.
  • Lightly grease 9″  glass pie plate.
  • Pour potato mixture into pie plate and press firmly onto bottom and up sides of pie plate…go all the way up to the rim.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned; do not let burn!
  • When done, remove from oven.  Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Reduce oven temp to 350.

Filling:

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 teaspoons olive oil
good-sized handful (12-14 grape tomatoes), chopped
1/2-3/4 cup fresh spinach leaves, sliced 1/4″ slices
1 heaping tablespoon chopped garlic (I use jarred)

Directions

  • Heat olive oil in medium-sized saute pan over medium heat.
  • Add diced onions and cook for 6-7 minutes until softened but just slightly browned.
  • While onions are cooking, chop tomatoes (drain away any excess juice).
  • To slice spinach, stack a number of leaves, and then just carefully slice down through them into 1/4″ slices; repeat until all spinach is sliced.
  • When onions are ready, add tomatoes, spinach, and garlic.  Saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until spinach has wilted.
  • Remove from stovetop and allow to cool.

Egg Custard:

Ingredients:
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup ricotta
dash of Kosher salt
1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used gluten free)

1 cup fresh mozzarella balls, rough chopped

Directions
To the lightly beaten eggs, add the milk, ricotta, seasonings, and breadcrumbs; whisk together until smooth.

To assemble: Once baked crust has cooled slightly, layer in filling ingredients.  To make this spill-proof, I then put the pieplate on the oven rack and then pour the custard on top.  Add chopped cheese and swirl with fork to evenly distribute ingredients over the crust. Bake until eggs are set and cheese is slightly browned, approximately 30 minutes or so.  Let stand for 10 minutes to set up and finish cooking.  Cut into four – six wedges.

Here are a few other great ways to do caprese:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/delicious-ways-to-eat-caprese

 ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥ coleen

_________________________________

If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning this series, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tropical Granita

July 26, 2013 by

Tropical Granita

In my last post on the joys of Homemade Coconut Milk, we’ll look at the most traditional use of coconut:  Dessert!  Coconut milk can be used in savory or sweet dishes, but I think most people like to find coconut mingling with chocolate or fruit.  Here’s a recipe that will satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthy way – Tropical Granita!

For some reason, my girls won’t try new fruits readily, but if I put them in a smoothie or in this granita, they love it!  A granita, if you don’t know, is like a cross between a sorbet and shaved ice.  It’s icy, flaky, and refreshing!  You can use any fresh, juicy fruit you want here – mangoes, peaches, any berries – but be sure you add at least one banana.  The bananas create a thicker texture and enough sweetness that you don’t need to add any sugar!  You could use frozen fruit too – pineapple and raspberries would be lovely!  I used nectarines, bananas, and strawberries.

As with all homemade recipes, there are pros and cons.  The pro, of course, is there are no sweeteners, preservatives, artificial color, etc.  The con is that since there are no stabilizers and gums, this granita is a little more difficult to scoop than commercial ice cream.  I take it out of the freezer about half an hour before we eat it, so it can soften up a little.  It’s a great motivator – I tell my daughter I’m taking dessert out of the freezer, so if she wants to eat some, she better start eating that broccoli on her plate!

Tropical Sorbet

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dessicated coconut and 1 1/2 cups water (or one can coconut milk)
  • 3 nectarines or peaches
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup strawberries
  • optional toppings:  whipped cream, shredded coconut, strawberry jam

Directions:

  1. In a blender, blend the coconut and water.  Strain through a colander and cheese cloth.  Return coconut milk to the blender.  (If using canned coconut milk, just pour it in the blender!)
  2. Boil a pot of water.  Score an X on the bottom of each peach or nectarine.  Drop each nectarine into the water and let it boil for 30 seconds.  Remove the nectarines to an ice bath.  When cool, peel off the skin.  Cut the flesh from the pits and add to the blender.
  3. Add the banana to the blender and blend for 30 seconds.  Remove stems from strawberries and cut in half.  Add to blender and pulse a few times – I like to see chunks of berries!
  4. Pour into a large, shallow container and cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.  To serve, let thaw for about half an hour, and then scrape up with a spoon or fork.  Mound in a dish and serve with whipped cream, more diced berries or coconut flakes, or a dollop of strawberry jam!

These make great popsicles too!

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cinnamon Baked Apple Chips

July 24, 2013 by

If you are looking for a healthy snack that is easy to make, this is it!  Anything with cinnamon satisfies my taste buds!  That’s why this recipe really appealed to me!  It’s great for you, and for the kids; plus it is just so easy to make!!  Make a few ahead of time and keep in a Tupperware-type storage container.

For this recipe, I am referencing ingredients for just one serving.  You will use one small Gala apple for each person that you are serving.

 

Cinnamon Baked Apple Chips

Ingredients:

1 Gala Apple, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon Splenda

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
  • Spray a cookie sheet with Olive Oil Cooking Spray.
  • Place sliced apples on the cookie sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon and splenda.
  • Bake in 225 degree oven for 1 hour.
  • Remove from oven, and place sliced apples on a cooling rack for 20 minutes.

ENJOY!!

 

Cinnamon Apple Chips

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Blueberry Frozen Dessert

July 22, 2013 by

Here on our At Home with GCH blog, Mondays are always focused on healthy but oh-so-yummy! recipes.  We continue our series of summer recipes featuring in-season ingredients.  Our featured ingredient this week is blueberries!  Check out just some of the healthy benefits of this tiny but powerful fruit!  Today’s recipe is for a blueberry frozen dessert—not quite ice cream but it fits perfectly into our ‘healthy but oh-so-yummy’ category!

2013-07-18 22.09.43

Here in the NorthEast, we are in the midst of berry season.  Blueberries are so plentiful that I have six four pints sitting in my refrigerator.  A few weeks ago, we had a recipe for Blueberry Almond Muffins.  But we are also in the midst of a heatwave; so I went looking for a recipe for a frozen treat to make for Robert.  Oh, I found m-a-n-y recipes for blueberry ice cream, sorbet, sherbert, and frozen smoothies…and they all looked so good!  However, I really wanted to keep it light, simple, and healthy but oh-so-yummy!  Over on Amy Green’s website, simplysugarandglutenfree, I found a quite easy recipe that I have tweaked just a bit.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:2013-07-18 21.01.21

1/2 very ripe banana, cut into 1/2″ slices and frozen
1/2 cup blueberries, frozen
1/2 cup ricotta
1 teaspoon maple syrup, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Toppings:
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1-2 dollops whipped cream
Additional blueberries

Directions:

  • First things first: if you haven’t already…place the cut-up banana and blueberries in the freezer for a couple of hours.
  • Put the frozen fruit into the small bowl of a food processor or blender. Process just until it’s in small chunks.
  • Add the ricotta and flavorings; process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as necessary.
  • Put your “ice cream” in a bowl and top with chopped nuts, whipped cream, and additional (non-frozen) blueberries.  Best if eaten immediately as a ‘soft-serve’ type dessert!

Substitutions:
For the blueberries – almost any flavorful summer fruit (I am going to try peaches tonight!)
For the ricotta – cottage cheese
For the maple syrup – agave nectar or honey
For the almonds – any of your favorite nuts

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

_________________________________

If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning this blog post, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Homemade Coconut Flour, and Homemade Cheezits

July 19, 2013 by

 

Homemade Cheezits

 

So, you fell in love with coconut milk too, right?  It’s your end-all, be-all, new favorite thing? That’s okay if it’s not.  But if you have made it, or plan to, you will be left with a cheesecloth-wrapped ball of pulp.  Now, someone who didn’t know better might just chuck that in the trash.  But not us!  We are going to use the pulp to make Homemade Coconut Flour and, with that flour, we’re going to make Homemade Cheezits!

First, the tools you will need:  You’ll need a baking sheet, parchment paper, and a food processor or blender.  If you have a Silpat silicone baking liner, now is the time to use it.  And you’re in luck:  the ingredients are already in your house, right now!  Once you make (or purchase) coconut flour, you can whip these crackers up in minutes.  The good news is that they have no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors, or any unpronounceable chemicals – hooray!  They come out of the oven the perfect blend of crispy and  chewy, ready for snacking.  The bad news is, because they lack any of that lab-created stuff, they don’t stay crispy.  But that is easily remedied by a quick pass through a toaster oven.  Just a few minutes is enough to make these crackers crunchy again.

Ready to make some homemade, preservative-free snacks your family will love?  Let’s go!

Homemade Coconut Flour

Ingredients:

  • Pulp from 2 batches of coconut milk

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 F.  Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.  Spread out the coconut pulp, breaking up any lumps.  Toast the pulp until completely dry and powdery.  You really need to make sure all the moisture is removed.  This can take anywhere from one to two hours.  Stir occasionally to make sure the lumps are broken up and there are no hot-spots, and don’t let it burn!
  2. When the pulp is very dry, let it cool in the oven for another hour or so.  Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend for 5 minutes.  Depending on how powerful your blender is, you can get it pretty fine.  My food processor did a decent job, but the flour was not silky fine in texture.  That’s okay!  Get it as powdery in texture as your tools allow.

 

Homemade Coconut Flour

 

Homemade Cheezits

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • pinch salt
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F.  In a food processor, blend all the ingredients together.  You will end up with a moist ball of dough.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat liner.  Plop the ball of dough down on the liner, and cover with a piece of parchment paper.  Roll out the dough very thinly, to about 1/8″ thickness.  Try to make it even thickness all the way across – you can see my edges were a little thinner, and they got crispier than in the middle.  That’s fine, but you don’t want a huge variation in thickness.  Remove top sheet of parchment paper and bake for 8-10 minutes until starting to color.
  3. Remove from oven and score with a sharp knife.  You don’t need to go all the way through, because you don’t want to cut your liner or parchment paper.  Bake again for another 8-10 minutes until golden brown and starting to get crispy at the edges.
  4. When it’s cool enough to touch, cut all the way through the crackers, or just use your hands to break them at the perforations.  When cool, store crackers in sealed container.  To crisp, put them on a baking sheet in the toaster oven or regular oven for five minutes.

I think next time I make these, I’ll add a little paprika or garlic powder.  New flavor combinations are exciting!  My girls helped me make these, so here is a photo of them enjoying their handiwork:

 

B+L Homemade Cheezits

 

 

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipes, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

An Easy Gardening Tip for Flower Lovers

July 17, 2013 by

Every year as a little girl, my mom would take me and my sisters to pick out summer flowers to plant. My favorite ones were petunias and still are to this day. My mom taught us girls at a very young age about planting flowers. It was always something I enjoyed and have continued as an adult.

Here recently, I learned a tip from my mom that amazed me. She has some large flower pots in her backyard and they are overflowing with petunias, see below.

Pic1

I found out that at the end of the summer she will crumble the dead dried up flowers onto the soil. And alas, they came back the next year. I am finding them everywhere around her yard where they indeed have re-flowered.  Now would be the time to go and get some flowers to plant so you can have fresh blooming flowers next year just by following this simple tip.

Items Needed:

Petunias

Large Flower Pot

Potting Soil

Water

 

Directions:

Empty the potting soil into the flower pot, almost to the top. Place your flowers about 2-3” apart. The flower pots shown below could take up to 3 large petunias or 6-8 small petunias depending on what type you buy.

Pic2and3

Once you have the flowers in place, add more potting soil until the roots of the flowers are covered.

Water the flowers. (If the soil sinks in around the flowers after watering the first time, just add more soil.)

You will need to water these flowers almost every day, depending on the weather. You will also need to pull off any dead flowers during the blooming season. At the end of the summer when the plants turn brown and are thoroughly dried out, crumple the plants on top of the soil. Doing this will keep the seeds from the flowers in the soil. All you have to do is wait for next spring for them to re-bloom.

Have Fun and Garden Away!

Amy 🙂

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Watermelon – Arugula Salad

July 15, 2013 by

Here on our At Home with GCH blog, Mondays are always focused on healthy but oh-so-yummy! recipes.  Starting today we are beginning a series on summer salads featuring in-season ingredients.  Our featured ingredient is watermelon and today’s recipe is for a Watermelon – Arugula – Feta Salad. This salad has such a range of flavors—citrusy vinaigrette, sweet watermelon, salty cheese, and peppery arugula—and it is so refreshing!  Almost everyone I know enjoys watermelon…how about you?  Watermelon is available throughout the summer nationwide.  In addition to being oh-so-yummy (a requirement here, y’know!), watermelon is loaded with healthy benefits.  This salad is a nice side dish to something on the grill…chicken, burgers, or fish.  Enjoy!

2013-07-10 18.36.29

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup grapefruit or orange juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Salad:
1/4 cup finely diced vidalia onion
6 cups baby arugula
3-4 cups seedless watermelon, (about 2# with rind)
8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 ounce pine nuts

Directions:

For the vinaigrette: Pour all of the ingredients (except olive oil) into a bowl, and slowly whisk in the olive oil.  Set aside.

For the salad: Using a melon baller, scoop out watermelon balls into a bowl.  Place arugula and onion into a large salad bowl. Toss with approximately 1/2 of the vinaigrette.  Add watermelon balls, cheese, and nuts.  Toss again.  Serve immediately, offering the rest of the vinaigrette to add to taste.

Substitutions:
For the feta cheese, you could substitute ricotta salata or another salty cheese.
For the pine nuts, sliced almonds would be a wonderful alternative.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

_________________________________

If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning this blog post, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

July 12, 2013 by

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

I am convinced that every culture, every civilization, has a chicken soup recipe.  Nothing else satisfies or feels so much like a hug to the tummy like a big bowl of chicken soup made by someone you love.  If you are like me and are a frugal girl, you buy a whole chicken at least once a week.  I remove the breasts and legs and cook them one night, then cook the carcass for broth and about two cups of shredded chicken left on the body.  If you have a chicken body and the desire to try something new, read on – here comes Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, also known as Tom Kha Gai!

Now that you know how to make coconut milk from scratch, you’ll need about 2 cups of homemade coconut milk, or you can use one can of packaged coconut milk.  There are a few other unusual ingredients for this recipe:  ginger, cilantro, and fish sauce.  Ginger really isn’t that out of the ordinary, and goes great in smoothies and peach dishes; but if you aren’t going to use it soon, you can peel whatever is left and freeze it to use later.  Cilantro shows up in many different cuisines, so if you don’t want to waste half a bunch of cilantro, you have many options (like Mexican or Indian food), or try this  and  this.  Fish sauce is a savory liquid distillation of anchovy, sugar and salt.  If you can’t find it, you can still make the soup, but fish sauce is the secret ingredient that really brings everything together.  It keeps in the fridge forever, and is a great flavor booster for clam chowder or a substitute for anchovy paste (think Caesar salad.)  The only other ingredients you need are a chicken, some limes, and mushrooms.  Thai restaurants use straw mushrooms, and you can find them in a can, but I used dried shiitake mushrooms here, and they’re delicious.  You could also use cremini mushrooms.

Try this with Jasmine rice and a green salad for a light but satisfying dinner!

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Ingredients:

  • 1 chicken body, breasts and legs removed (or use two cooked chicken breasts, diced, plus 3 cups of chicken broth)
  • 1 large piece of ginger, 2 or 3 inches long, peeled and bashed with the handle of your knife
  • 1 can coconut milk, or about 2 cups homemade coconut milk
  • 1 ounce dried mushrooms, broken into little pieces, or 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon or so fish sauce (to taste – if you don’t have fish sauce, use salt)
  • 2 limes, juiced

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, cook the chicken carcass with 4 cups of water and the peeled, bashed ginger, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to a large bowl; shred meat from bones and set aside. Strain the broth into another bowl, discarding ginger. Wash the pot and return to stove. Over medium low, add the dried mushrooms to the chicken broth and cook ten minutes. (If using fresh mushrooms, add them in Step 2.)
  2. Add back the chicken to the broth, and pour in coconut milk (and fresh mushrooms, if using).  Cook until simmering.  Add chopped cilantro, fish sauce, and lime juice, and stir to combine.  Taste for seasoning – may need more salt, or you may like more lime (you can add the zest of the lime too, if you want a stronger citrus flavor.)  Serve hot with more chopped cilantro.  You can also stir in a little hot sauce or chili flakes if you like!

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »