Homemade Applesauce

I made and canned this applesauce recipe at Christmas time as gifts to some of my closest friends. It's June and I'm still receiving kind comments about it. My neighbor calls it "the best apple sauce she's ever had!" and I just gave her another jar of it the other day. Part of me doesn't want to share my secret for the "best apple sauce" but that's what this site is all about...to share great recipes. So here it is. But don't think that because I gave you my applesauce recipe that you're going to get my lasagna recipe too. A girls gotta have some secrets. ;-)

Homemade Applesauce

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)

4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths

Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp

3 inches of cinnamon stick

1/4 cup of dark brown sugar

up to 1/4 cup of white sugar

1 cup of water

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher. Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.

Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

Corn Salad

In our household this is known as Cornslaw. I made it the other day for a potluck and it was a huge hit, especially by Josh. He loved it. I'm planning on making it again this weekend for my twin nephews birthday bbq. Josh can hardly wait.

Ingredients

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 fennel bulb, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1/4 cup canola oil

Directions

In a large serving bowl, toss together the corn, apples, fennel, and onion. Add the parsley and cumin and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and oil. Add the dressing to the vegetables and toss well to coat.

This recipe is from Sandra Lee at the Food Network. 

What do you like to bring to a potluck?

Fruity Quinoa Yogurt

The last "no oil, no fat" recipe that I made while Josh was prepping for surgery was Fruity Quinoa Yogurt. I originally made it as a snack but it ended up being served as dessert two nights in a row. On it's own, it's got a  interesting texture, but if you use it as dip for strawberries, apples or pears, it's great. And knowing that I'm eating a healthy dessert rather than ice cream or pie makes it even better.

Fruity Quinoa Yogurt
1/2 block firm, silken Tofu
1 c. Strawberries (I used frozen)
1/2 c. cooked Quinoa
1 t. Maple Syrup
1/2 t. Vanilla

Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth. The quinoa will give it texture, in addition to lots of protein and fiber. Eat this straight or with sliced fruit.

This recipe was found, along with many other great vegan recipes, at FatFreeVegan.com

Romaine Salad with Choice of Raspberry Vinaigrette or Creamy Italian Dressing

Bummer, I have no beautiful photo to accompany this recipe. I always love photos but I take very poor food images so sadly, you'll have to go without this time. But I'll make it up to you by giving you a delicious recipe for not one, but TWO homemade dressings and a simple salad to pair them with. The dressings make enough for multiple salads so save those old glass store-bought dressing bottles and reuse them to refrigerate your new favorite homemade dressing. :)

Romaine Salad with Choice of Raspberry Vinaigrette or Creamy Italian Dressing
Raspberry Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
1 shallot, quartered
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Creamy Italian Dressing:
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade, and quartered
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons Parmesan
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
12 cups romaine lettuce soaked in salt water to remove grit, stiff spines removed, torn into bite sized pieces and dried with a salad spinner (from 2 or 3 heads romaine lettuce)
1 red onion, thinly sliced on a mandolin
1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small loaf French bread, sliced, toasted and cut into croutons

Directions
For the raspberry vinaigrette:
Add the vinegar to a blender, replace the lid, turn it on, and through the feed opening, add, 1 at a time, the shallot, black pepper, salt, mustard, and thyme. Then leaving the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow thin stream.

Wash and dry the blender to have it ready to prepare the other dressing.

For the creamy Italian dressing:
Add the vinegar to a blender, replace the lid, turn it on, and through the feed opening, add, 1 at a time, the garlic, black pepper, salt, red pepper, and Parmesan. Then leaving the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow thin stream.

For the salad, toss the lettuce, red onion, sweet onion, tomatoes, Parmesan, and parsley together in a large bowl. Top with croutons, and serve the dressings on the side.

This yummy salad recipe is courtesy of FoodNetwork.com.

Let's the blogging begin...again! (And Spanish Rice)

Ah, Meals by Mel...what happened?

What can I say? I've been busy. I've been unmotivated. I've been distracted. Yes, yes and yes. But I think it's time to come back. I really enjoyed my food blog when I was doing it. And I know a few people who have actually referenced my blog and tried a few of my recipes. I even have a list of recipes waiting in my cue to share with you. So thanks to your positive feedback and requests for me to keep blogging, I am going to get my groove on and start cooking and writing again. Oh, and I know leaving comments are often difficult so I've added a few new buttons at the bottom of each post so you can quickly let me know if you 'like' this post.

As a way to kick things off, here's the Spanish Rice recipe that I promised to share with you back in February. It's super easy and oh so good!

Spanish Rice

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup chunky salsa

Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Mix rice into skillet, stirring often. When rice begins to brown, stir in chicken broth and salsa. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.

Recipe found at Allrecipes.com