Caramel Apple Oatmeal

For me, fall is all about apples. The cooler weather and the seasonal decorations get me thinking about all kinds of wonderful apple recipes and cool weather foods.

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. --Martin Luther

 

I have been on a serious caramel kick lately too. I've been making it to dip everything into and especially apples. We really love homemade caramel apples in the evening for a quick snack and that craving basically inspired this simple and delicious breakfast.

 

Amaretto Pears

I was so lucky to receive a gift of Amaretto Pears from a friend of mine last fall. I think she gave me five or six jars and I went through them really quickly, they were so good! In this recipe, I've tried to re-create the flavors of that delicious gift from my friend.

Apple Cinnamon Stuffed Crepes

In order to make this recipe, you'll need to simply combine Sweet Crepes and Cinnamon Apples. I've separated the recipes in an attempt to be organized. I'm not sure if it's worked. Anyway, both recipes are fairly easy-- you could make the crepes in advance (store in freezer for months or refrigerator for a couple of days) and simply warm, and the cinnamon apples are quick to do on their own.

Now, you could make both components at the same time and, if you do that, simply start your crepes and, as they are cooking, make your cinnamon apples (chopping the apples a bit here and there between crepes, then simmering all ingredients together on low until crepes are done). Then when the crepes are done, stuff or drizzle with Cinnamon Apples, as indicated below. That is what I have done and it's not too difficult, and only about 20-30 minutes total cook time (keep in mind that the crepes are made one at a time, which lengthens that overall process).

Warm Cinnamon Apples

We used this filling for Apple Cinnamon Stuffed Crepes, made with Sweet Crepes, but it could easily be a sweet treat on its own or part of another dessert.

Apple Nut Muffins

"Almost all wild apples are handsome. They cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at. The gnarliest will have some redeeming traits even to the eye." -- Henry David Thoreau, Wild Apples

How to Quickly Dice an Apple

In case you were thinking that you couldn't make one or another of a really delicious apple recipe because it was too much of a pain to dice the apple or it took too long or blah blah blah whatever... I am here to tell you that that is not the case! You can quickly and easily dice up apples for use in lots of recipes using this simple method.

"How long does this take", you ask? "Five minutes? More than five minutes??" No way! I timed myself leisurely chopping a 2nd apple after I took these photos on the first one, and it took 2 minutes and 5 seconds. No problem!

***Tools needed: A sharp knife and cutting board.

Apple Muffins

Baked Apples with Candied Ginger Sauce

This is a wonderful, warm dessert perfect for the holiday season. It is minimal hands-on time and makes a very lovely presentation.

Steel Cut Cinnamon Apple Oats with Flax and Nuts

This is a recipe modified only slightly from Dr. Hyman's amazing book, Ultrametabolism. His original recipe is one of the first recipes I tried when I changed to a whole foods, unprocessed life-style and I had never had steel cut oats before. And now, nearly ten years later, this is still one of my favorites. I encourage you to give it a try - it is really quick and easy.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
Sea salt to taste (a small pinch), optional
1/4 cup steel cut oats, try Bob's Red Mill
1 apple with skin, diced (you will only need about half the apple to cook into the oats, reserve the other half to sprinkle on top or eat, sliced rather than diced, on the side) ** I use Gala apples because they are high in antioxidants and very tasty.
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, reserve some to sprinkle on top
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
A handful of chopped nuts, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc. I typically use walnuts, but the picture below shows pecans and this version was equally good.

How To:
1. Boil Water & Add Oats - Bring the water and salt, if using, to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the oats and boil until the oats begin to thicken, about five minutes.
2. Simmer & Add Apples - Reduce the heat to low (slow simmer), stir in apples and cinnamon and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until you have a desired consistency.
3. Garnish & Eat - After transferring to a serving bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon, ground flaxseeds, remaining chopped apples, and nuts.

Comments:
This is one-fourth the original recipe (a single serving), so you could easily double and quadruple. I've always made the single serving, but I think if you are making a larger amount your oat cooking time will be longer, up to about 40 minutes maximum based on the instructions in the original recipe. This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes, really filling and delicious and so good for you.

 

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This post was linked to Fat Tuesday, Scratch Cookin' Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, Health 2Day Wednesday, Frugal Ways Sustainable Days, Just Another Meatless Monday, and Real Food Wednesday.

Apple Cake II - Victory!

So I finally revisited apple cake after the first fiasco. There were a few reasons for this... First of all, it's fall now and apples are everywhere and I can't help but want to buy and cook with apples as much as I can. Secondly, since my first try, I have found an interesting sugar alternative. So anyway, here is Take II and a much better cake than the first.

Pan Cake with Apples

See pear variation below.

1 large apple, diced
1 T ghee (optional, if you don't have ghee or organic butter from grass-fed cows, eliminate this ingredient)
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt, to taste (optional)
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a 9x12 baking dish. In large bowl, mix all ingredients except apples with a hand mixer. Then add apples and stir to combine. Pour into baking dish and bake 20 to 25 min until toothpick comes out clean.

Comments: This is very easy to make and we served with turkey bacon, turkey sausage, and a little maple syrup on top. This was supposed to have pears in it (2 pears peeled and diced) but I sent my husband out to get the pears and he came back with sausage. So anyway, I had an apple on hand and made another old fashioned apple "pan cake".

Variation - I made it again this morning with two pears, diced, and I also sprinkled extra cinnamon on top as well as chopped pecans. This variation almost turns it into a dessert. It is very good.

Apple Breakfast Cake

When the weather starts getting cooler and with apples in season, this is a favorite fall breakfast. For a little flavor twist, you might try cooking your apples in a little Root (a couple of tablespoons).  

Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp. butter, to cook apples and grease baking dish, plus a little extra for serving
2 tbsp. Root liquor, optional
3 medium apples and/ or pears, cored and diced (I use Gala apples because they are sweet and high in antioxidants)
6 pasture eggs
1/2 cup whole milk (you can use soured raw milk)
3/4 cup spelt or Einkorn flour
1-2 tbsp. honey or maple syrup, to taste, plus a little extra for serving
1/2 teaspoon heaping of ground cinnamon, plus additional for sprinkling over apples
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp. sea salt or Real Salt, to taste

How To:
1. Prepare Apples: Preheat oven to 425. Cook diced apples in a skillet on the stove top over medium heat in butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cook about 6-8 minutes.

2. Make Batter: In the meantime, combine eggs and milk. Beat until smooth. Add flour, honey, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Beat until smooth with no lumps. Batter will be very thin.

3. Bake: Pour cooked apples into a greased 9x9 baking dish and pour batter over top. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Comments:
We like to serve this with chicken breakfast sausage or bacon, top with butter, and drizzle with a little pure maple syrup or honey. You can save a step by cooking apples in a cast iron skillet, then pouring the batter over the cooked apples in the skillet and transferring to the oven to bake. This serves about 6 to 8 people and hands-on cooking time is about 15 minutes.

 

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Fruit Salad Dessert

1/2 pineapple, cut in chunks
1 gala apple (or any other sweet apple)
2-3 oranges, peeled and cut from sections & membranes
1 banana cut in half lengthwise and then sliced at an angle
2 T cream sherry
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Combine all fruit together in a medium sized bowl, drizzle with sherry.

Comments: You can toast the almonds and coconut flakes (on a cookie sheet for ten minutes) for added flavor, but it is very good without that step. It saves well in the refrigerator for about 1 day max. This is really delicious, light and refreshing and tastes a little like a pina colada. Really perfect for the summer.

Chicken Breakfast Sausage Patties

1 pound ground chicken breast
About 1/2 peeled and diced medium apple (gala or other red)
2 T olive oil
2 T minced onion
1 - 2 T maple syrup
1 t garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 - 3 t dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 to 1 t sea salt
2 T ground flax seeds

Mix all ingredients together, form patties with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup meat mixture and saute in pan over medium heat. Approximately 5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through.

Very quick prep time, about 5 minutes and then cook time.

Comments: This is the first time I made this recipe, which is modified from several I found online and in books. It is very quick and easy and I was suprised at how good this sausage tasted (and that it really tasted like sausage!)... I would not change a thing about the way I made it this time. A word of caution, I did not measure my seasonings and tried to approximate the amounts above, so just use your best judgement. You could probably easily sub in ground turkey meat and I think if I wasn't making this for a six-year old to eat, it would taste good spicy - with hot seeds or some cayenne thrown in.

Apple Nut Amaranth

This recipe is another one of my favorites from the amazing book, Ultrametabolism, by Dr. Mark Hyman (AKA my nutrition hero). Before reading Dr. Hyman's book, I had never even tried amaranth, or heard of it. Especially in winter months, try including this recipe as part of your breakfast rotation, as well as these others from Dr. Hyman, Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats and the Best Protein Shake Ever.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup amaranth, uncooked (try this)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of sea salt (optional)
1 small apple, diced (I use Gala for taste and also because they are one of the top 20 antioxidant foods. Red delicious and granny smith apples are also on the "top antioxidant" list, experiment as you like)
2 tbsp rough chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

One-third cup amaranth, uncooked

How To:
1. Combine: Place all ingredients except the nuts and about one-fourth the diced apples in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

2. Cook: Cover saucepan and reduce to low heat. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until amaranth is soft (water will have absorbed).

3. Serve: Top with the remaining apples and nuts (and another sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired). This recipe makes one serving but can easily be doubled or tripled (use one large apple in those cases).

Overall, this takes about 5 minutes to prepare, plus cook time, which is mostly hands off. 

Looks amazingly delicious, right??

Comments:
This recipe is based on one presented in the book, Ultrametabolism, by Dr. Mark Hyman. If you have not tried amaranth, this is a great recipe to start with. Amaranth is a good source of protein, calcium, B vitamins, and fiber. It is also gluten free and has a very good taste. Dr. Hyman's recipe uses soy milk and does not include the uncooked apples at the end. I don't drink soy milk and have always just made this with water and it's delicious -- it is one of my favorites.

 

This post was shared on Fill Those Jars Friday, Freaky Friday, Fight Back Friday, Foodtastic Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Snacktime Saturday, Iron Chef Mom Apples, Monday Mania, Countdown to 2013: Best Breakfast Recipes.