Roasted Grape + Goat Cheese + Honey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Pinterest

makes 4 potatoes
4 sweet potatoes
2 cups red, seedless grapes
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil (or another high heat oil)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons honey + additional for drizzling
pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Poke holes in sweet potato with a fork, then wrap each tightly in aluminum foil. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until potatoes and tender to the touch. Unwrap foil and cut a slit down the middle of each sweet potato. Let sit until cool enough to handle.

Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Lay grapes on a nonstick baking sheet and drizzle with grapeseed oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper, then toss to coat. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until grapes begin to burst. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Once sweet potatoes are somewhat cool, gently remove the flesh with a spoon, trying to keep the potato intact. Add the sweet potato to a large bowl, then mash with 3 ounces of goat cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper and honey. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired, then scoop flash back into the potato skins. At this point you can re-warm the potatoes (if you let them cool completely) in the oven, then top with remaining goat cheese. Add grapes on top and serve with additional drizzled honey.

Slow Cooker Chicken

Pinterest

Ingredients

1 whole chicken around 5 pounds, insides removed and washed and patted dry

1 tablespoon of paprika – more or less to taste

3 Tablespoons of steak seasoning – more or less to taste

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Season chicken, inside and out. Cook in slow cooker lined with foil balls on high for 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees.

Recipe notes:

I like to use the juices at the bottom of the slow cooker to baste the chicken while it is resting, just to add even more flavor.

Though the skin is flavorful, it doesn’t really get super crispy with this cooking method.

I use a 5 quart slow cooker, and my chicken fits perfectly.

Resist opening the lid to check progress, slow cookers take a long time to come back up to temperature and cooking time will need to be extended.

Country Apple Dumplings

Pinterest

Ingredients

• 1 large apple (I used a Fuji- any apple will do, tart is better)
• 1 can Pillsbury Crescent dough
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup or 6 oz. 7-Up or equivalent (half the can)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
2. Cut each apple into 8-10 wedges. Slice the apple skin off as well and set aside.
3. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the wide end. Pinch to seal and cover apple and place in the baking dish.
4. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Heat, whisking to combine. The mixture will slowly combine and thicken. When it's thickened, remove from heat and add vanilla.
5. Pour cinnamon mixture over the apple dumplings. Pour soda over the dumplings
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Some vanilla ice cream on the side is the way to go....AMAZING!

Olive oil cake

People magazine

INGREDIENTS

• 1-1/2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 1 cupsugar
• 1-1/2 tsp.each baking powder and baking soda
• 1 tsp.each ground cinnamon and salt
• 1 cupolive oil
• 3/4 cupmilk
• 1/4 cupeach orange liqueur and freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2extra-large eggs
• 1unpeeled baking apple (such as McIntosh, Jonathan or Rome), cored and grated
•  Powdered sugar for garnish
  

  STEPS

  1. 1Preheat oven to 350º. Sift together flour and next 5 ingredients; set aside.
  2. 2Whisk together olive oil and next 4 ingredients. Stir in grated apple and reserved flour mixture until blended. Pour mixture into a well-greased 9-in. round cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Top with powdered sugar.
  
  
  
  
  I think you could substitute other fruits like peaches and it would be equally delicious