Honey Baked Salmon

We had never intended to post this Honey Baked Salmon recipe, but we loved it so much that we just HAD to share it.  Our family loves our Calamansi Salmon recipe too, but this one just might top it.

Honey Baked Salmon

the juice of 1 fresh lemon (1-2 Tbs.)

3-4 Tbs. honey

3 large garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (or more if you like ginger)

1 pound wild caught pacific salmon fillet

1 Tbs. olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together juice, honey, garlic, and seasonings for marinade/sauce.  Place salmon in a gallon size ziplock bag.   Pour marinade over the salmon, and press additional air out bag before sealing.  Marinate for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 425*F.  Grease the bottom of an 8x10 baking dish with olive oil.  Arrange marinated salmon skin-side down on dish, making sure not to overlap pieces.  Pour remaining marinade over fillets.  Place dish on center rack of oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until salmon flakes with a fork.

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream {dairy-free}

Hello, everyone! We are finally back! I'm really sorry it's been so long since we posted. Our lives both got crazy, and we needed to take a break. 

We are back now, however, and we are hoping to be able to post more frequently in the future. (that is, if you are still around..) :)

So today's recipe is one that is geared more towards the Christmas season, but I am just now getting around to posting it. I know it is really cold outside, but I would still be willing to eat this all year round. Oh, and did I mention that it's dairy free? That's a definite win for me. 

This ice cream scoops really well, and the taste? Absolutely delicious. 

So get on into the kitchen and whip up a batch of this amazing ice cream! You won't regret it. 

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

2 cans coconut milk (13.5 oz)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon peppermint extract

1/2 cup crushed peppermint pieces

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar, and extracts. Pour the mixture into a freezer-safe bowl and let it freeze. Stir it every hour until it is the desired consistency. once it is mostly frozen, mix in the peppermint pieces. Store it in the freezer for up to a week. Enjoy! 
                                                    ~Nutmeg

Berried Goat Cheese Crisps

As soon as I set my eyes on a similar recipe, I knew that I had to find an occasion to make these beautiful berry crisps myself.  Thanksgiving day was perfect! Tangy goat cheese sits atop a crispy pretzel crisp accompanied by tart blackberries and is sweetly tempered with honey.  Trust me, these are heavenly.  Not only that, but they are quick and easy to make.  The only problem was that I should have doubled the amount that I made!  There is no question that these Berried Goat Cheese Crisps are going to be a new holiday tradition at my house.

Berried Goat Cheese Crisps

1 (10oz.) box Sea Salt Pretzel Thins

2 (4oz.) blocks goat cheese (if you can find honey goat cheese, it's even better)

2 (6oz.) boxes fresh blackberries

1 bottle/jar quality honey

On a medium platter, lay out as many pretzel thins as you have blackberries.  Place a small glob of goat cheese on each cracker - about 1-2 tsp.  Gently press 1 blackberry on top of (each) goat cheese.  Immediately before serving, drizzle each serving with honey.  Lastly, get out of the way quickly, because these are going to go FAST!

Enjoy (while you can)!

*TIPS*  This appetizer should be assembled just before serving, because you don't want the cracker to get soggy.  Soggy crackers are not fun.  Alternatively, you could set out the ingredients like they did here, but it could get messy.   Also, the better quality berries, cheese, and honey you use, the better this will taste.  We used MontChevre Honey goat cheese the first time, and an off brand of regular the second.  The off brand was a little more goat-y.  We also prefer to use our raw honey from our hives over anything store-bought, but we are a little biased ;)

Stuffed Dates

Hello, Everyone!  This year for Thanksgiving I made my very favorite appetizer:  Stuffed Dates. In my head, I always remember it tasting like Cheetos.  Sounds funny, huh?    You don't get the snack food right flavor away, but the aftertaste is reminiscent of white Cheetos.  My guess is that the parmesan shavings have something to do with it.  With this being said, make sure you get some while you have the chance.  They disappear like lightning!

We lost our original recipe, but this one has all the same elements - all THREE of them!  Could it be any easier?  I didn't exactly follow the recipe/measurements, so I'll include my very loose translation to make as many as will fit on a platter.  (Like I said - they go FAST!)

Stuffed Dates

1/2 cup walnut halves ( I toasted 2x extra to use on a salad)

1 (8oz.) pkg.  natural, whole pitted dates (I used DOLE.  Make sure they feel nice and soft through the package - you don't want tough dates!)

1 (3oz.) wedge sharp parmesan cheese (or parmesan aged as long as possible.  The one we used was aged at least 20 months)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Arrange walnuts in an even single layer onto a cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, checking frequently.  Mine were perfect at 8 minutes.  You want them fragrant, but not browned.  Remove from oven  and allow to cool on cookie sheet; set aside.

Split dates open lengthwise, on only ONE SIDE.  Do not cut all the way through.  You want them to open like a clamshell.  Set aside.

Using a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer, shave parmesan into thin slices  about the length of your dates.

Once the walnuts are cool, stuff a parmesan slice into each date, followed by a walnut half.

Enjoy!

Homemade Sweet Potato Casserole

Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things to eat at Thanksgiving is sweet potato casserole. I have never known a Thanksgiving meal without it. This year I got to make it for the first time. I cooked it in the crock pot, and it makes things so much easier when you have a lot of other things to prepare. I will be doing this again in the future. These were delicious! I must say, it is really hard to get an attractive picture of sweet potatoes! (Especially when you can't get a picture of them before most of them are eaten!)

Sweet Potato Casserole

4 cans sweet potatoes (29 oz.), drained
2 cans pumpkin
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, optional
2 bags mini marshmallows 

In a crock pot, mash the sweet potatoes until there are no more lumps left. Mix in the pumpkin. 

Add each of the other ingredients in order, mixing well after each addition. 

Cook the sweet potatoes in the crock pot on high for about 2-3 hours. 

If you want, you can sprinkle a walnut/brown sugar strudel on top, or what I did was transfer it to a large baking dish and sprinkle the marshmallows on top. Bake it at 350* for 5-7 minutes, or until the marshmallows are toasted and brown. Enjoy! 

Apple Bread Pudding

I'll use any excuse to make bread pudding.  It is simple, homey, and full of custardy-goodness.  You can enjoy it warm, cold, a la mode, or au natural.  The flavor combinations are endless, but today's recipe features a festive mix of apples, raisins, pecans, and warm spices. 

I don't know about you, but we have had a remarkably cold November.  Some Apple bread pudding was just what we needed to take the chill off, and as an added benefit, it makes the house smell AMAZING!

Apple Bread Pudding

3 apples, peeled and chopped

4-5 cups soft cubed bread

1/3 cup raisins

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1 3/4 c. milk or almond milk

1/4 c. melted butter (or other fat)

1 c. brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 dash each ground nutmeg and ginger

3 dashes ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Combine apples, bread cubes, raisins, and chopped pecans in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.  Pour wet mixture over bread cube mixture and toss to coat.  Pour evenly into prepared baking dish.  Bake at 350*F for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  It's that easy!  

Cherry Pie Bars {dairy-free}

Hello, everyone! I have been venturing a little more into the dairy free world lately, so the next few recipes I'm sharing are going to be more of that kind of thing. If you aren't dairy free, they are still delicious, and you can enjoy them all the same. 
Today the recipe is for cherry pie bars. These are really good. I had to hurry to get a picture before they were all gone! Dairy free just got this much better. 

Cherry Pie Bars {Dairy-free}

                       For the crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup coconut oil, softened

3 eggs

1 1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cans cherry pie filling

                                   Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2-3 Tablespoons almond or soy milk

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Grease a glass 9x13 baking dish with coconut oil or shortening. Set aside. 

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside. 

In a large bowl, cream the sugar, shortening, and coconut oil until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well after each addition. 

Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Make sure all of the flour is well incorporated. You may need to use a stand mixer for this step. 

Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the dough, and press the remaining dough firmly on the bottom of the prepared pan, making sure it is evenly distributed. 

Spread the cherry pie filling over the crust. 

Using a cookie dough scoop or a regular spoon, drop the rest of the dough randomly over the top of the cherry filling. 

Bake it for 35-40 minutes, or until the dough looks cooked through. 

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine all of the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle it over the cooled bars. 

Once the bars are cooled, cut them into squares and serve. Enjoy! 

These were delicious. Try them out and let us know what you think!