SJK Approved - Vegetable Lasagna

I am SO excited to share my first SJK Approved post with you all. I'll be featuring recipes, restaurants, kitchen gadgets, and other foodie goodies which I have personally tested and approved and LOVE! Stay tuned and follow along at #SJKApproved for more!

First up is Vegetable Lasagna by The Pioneer Woman. This is one of those recipes I've made over and over again because it's just so darn good. Pasta? Check. Cheese? Check. Hearty veggies cooked in a spicy tomato sauce + a little wine? Check. Done and done. It's not heavy like some lasagnas I've had, and you don't miss the meat at all! Meatless Monday never tasted so good.

My husband puts in requests for this recipe! And while I'm usually cooking for just the two of us, I don't mind making a big batch because this lasagna freezes VERY well. I use a few zucchini in place of the mushrooms because Paul isn't a mushroom fan :( I'm saddened by this, but the veggie lasagna tastes amazing either way.

Can I also gush about how much I love Ree Drummond for a minute? She's so fun to watch on the Food Network because she's so cheerful! I love the personal touches she puts on her recipes, sometimes planning them with specific family members in mind. She's such a great story teller and you can see all of the love she puts into her food on the show! She's lovely and her recipes have never failed me. Two thumbs up for Ree Drummond.

You all NEED this vegetable lasagna in your lives! See the recipe and Ree Drummond's flawless step-by-step pictures here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/04/vegetable-lasagna/

Apple Crisp

I present - my fiance's great grandmother's FAMOUS Apple Crisp! Paul's mom was kind enough to share the family recipe with me, and I'm delighted to share it with you all! Paul's mom made Apple Crisp this past Thanksgiving when our families celebrated together, and there were more than a few "I like this better than apple pie!" statements made.

The filling, with sliced tender apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon, is everything you want in an apple pie type dish, but I WAY prefer this crumble topping to the classic pie crust. It's buttery and sweet with slight texture variations from it's crumbly nature. Absolutely heavenly.

The family serves it cold, but I couldn't wait when I pulled this batch out of the oven - I loved it warm too! Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon and prepare for your life to be changed.

I would like to thank my future in laws for sharing the recipe with me :)

Grandma Daniel's Apple Crisp

Makes 10-12 servings

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Baking Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

8-10 Macintosh apples

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup flour

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

Whipped cream for serving

1. Grease a large baking pan (at least 9 x 13).

2. Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix half the brown sugar mixture with the sliced apples and place in the baking pan.

3. Mix white sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix one egg into the sugar and flour mixture with a fork until the mixture is uniformly crumbly. Pour crumble topping over the apples.

4. Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar mixture over the apples. Pour melted butter on top. (Refrigerate at this point and bake later if you would like) 

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Serve cold (or warm!) and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  

 

Aren't these beauties?! These are Fuji apples - my grocery store didn't have Macintosh apples. Go with Macintosh if you can!

Grease the baking pan and preheat the oven. Peel...

Core (or cut around the core)...

And slice the apples. Try not to eat too many as you go.

Look, Ma! I almost peeled it all in one piece! :P

Mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon. The melted sugar becomes kind of syrupy when the apple crisp bakes and it complements the tart apple flavor perfectly.

Mix half of the brown sugar mixture with the sliced apples.The other half of the brown sugar will be part of the crumble topping!

Place the apples in the large greased baking pan.

Mix the white sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder. Now for the crumbly part! Mix in one egg with a fork, kind of grinding it in, until there is a uniform crumble happening.

 It's coming along, but keep mixing...

There we go! Crumbly goodness.

Pour the crumble mixture over the apples.

Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture on top.

And now... For the grand finale... Drizzle an entire stick of melted butter over the whole damn thing.

There are no words....

 Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Salivating....

Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I hope you all make this wonderfully sweet, tart, buttery dessert and enjoy it as much as I do!

P.S. I just discovered Tasty Tuesday blog hops? What is this?!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

I am so DELIGHTED to be finally sharing this recipe! Stuffed Pepper Soup is a staple in my kitchen and in my family but it's been so HOT outside that I haven't been able to make it until now! Lucky for me, North Florida has a lovely fall season and I finally got to bust out this classic :) As I said, I've been eating this meal as long as I can remember. My mom is not a huge fan of cooking but she LOVES making this, and everyone loves eating it. The French bread and butter is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. The soup is just not the same without it. Don't skip that step. It really doesn't get much more simple than this! So few ingredient, but so much flavor, it amazes me really. The beef, peppers, and tomato flavors blend beautifully together with just one standard seasoning - salt. That's it, but I promise the basic ingredients come together in a wonderful way.

Featured in La Petite Fashionista Magazine!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Makes 4 Servings

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup rice

1/4 cup water

1 egg

46 fl oz tomato juice

46 fl oz water

3 green bell peppers

1 loaf French bread

1/4 cup butter

Salt to taste

1. Mix tomato juice and water in a large pot and turn heat to high. Mix ground beef, rice, water, and egg in a large bowl.

2. Slice off the top third of two of the bell peppers. Cut around and discard the stems. Discard any seeds. Tightly pack meat mixture in the hollowed out bell peppers.

3. Cut the remaining bell pepper and top pieces into 1 1/2 inch cubes, discarding stems and seeds. Form the remaining meat mixture into meatballs 2 inches in diameter.

4. Add stuffed peppers, meatballs, and pepper chunks to the pot. When the pot comes to a boil, cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve with sliced French bread and butter. 

Mix the tomato juice and water in a large pot and turn the heat to high. To make your life easy simply pour the tomato juice in, fill the tomato juice container with water, add that to the pot, and mix!

Mix the ground beef, rice, water, and egg. Simple ingredients.

Slice the top third off of two bell peppers. The larger bases will hold some of the stuffing! Discard any seeds and stems. Don't waste the pepper pieces around the stems though!

All clean.

Tightly pack the meat mixture in the hallowed out bell peppers and add them to the pot.

Chop up the other bell pepper, discarding the stems and seeds like before.

Form the remaining meat mixture into 2 inch meatballs and add all meatballs and peppers to the pot!

When the pot comes to a boil, cover and simmer on low for an hour and a half. This is another one of those meals that makes your house smell scrumptious!

Salt to taste and serve with French bread and butter. This recipe is perfect for feeding large groups of people! Depending on the size of your pot, you could fill it with more stuffed peppers and meatballs for a larger crowd. I've even had two pots going on the stove at the same time for large groups! It's definitely hungry-man approved - my boyfriend puts in requests for this soup! The flavor tastes as if you put 49189173679 times more effort into the recipe than you really did, which is always good! Enjoy this easy and hearty family recipe :)

White Chili

There's something about a big bowl of chili that warms your soul (and your hands holding the bowl) on a cold fall or winter day. That's all I want when it's cold outside really - soup! I love me some classic chili w/ beef and a tomato base, but I decided to try something a little different for this recipe. The hearty veggies and beans are all still there, but beef is swapped for chicken and the broth is chicken stock and heavy cream (YUM). The cream gives this a wonderful richness that you wouldn't normally expect for chili, but if you're being health conscious, you could skip it I suppose.  And did I mention this recipe is SO simple? Cozy up on the couch with a throw blanket and a big bowl of White Chili and prepare for comfort.

Featured in La Petite Fashionista Magazine!

White Chili

Makes 4 servings

Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients  (( Healthier Ingredient Substitutions ))

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 orange bell pepper

1 white onion

8 3/4 oz corn

31.6 oz great northern beans

9 oz chopped green chiles

32 oz unsalted chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream   (( skip the cream ))

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp butter   (( 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil ))

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

Salt to taste

1. Dice onion and bell pepper. Melt butter over medium heat in a large pot. Sauté diced onion and bell pepper for 2 minutes. Mince garlic and add to pot, sautéing for another minute.

2. Add chicken broth, heavy cream, corn, beans, chiles, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and salt to the pot and turn heat to high. When the soup comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered for an hour, stirring occasionally. Enjoy!

Chop the pepper and onion and mince the garlic! The rest of the veggies are canned, so no prep required!

Shred two fully cooked chicken breasts. Using a cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is a fantastic shortcut here!

Saute the chopped onion and pepper in butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.

Add all other ingredients besides the heavy cream and turn the heat to high. When the chili comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for an hour. Please ignore the amount of liquid in this picture - I've edited the recipe slightly since these pictures were taken!

Mmmm the luscious creamy goodness. This recipe is so hearty and the cream adds a rich element to the broth.

Loaded with hearty veggies and shredded chicken, this chili is definitely satisfying. And you know what I think would make it even better? Some cornbread. MMM! Definitely serving it with a side of cornbread in the future!

Kickoff Cupcakes

Aren't these just the cutest things you've ever seen?! My mom used to make Easter cupcakes with green grass made of coconut and little eggs candies on top. This is the football season version! The flavors are from one of my favorite candy bars - chocolate, coconut, and almonds. Festive, bite sized, and sweet :)

Featured in La Petite Fashionista Magazine :)
Kickoff Cupcakes
Makes 5 dozen mini cupcakes
Baking Time: according to cake package
Decorating Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
1 package chocolate cake mix and required ingredients (usually eggs, water, and vegetable oil)
1 lb vanilla frosting
2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
3 oz whole plain almonds
Green food coloring

1. Prepare cake mix according to package and bake in mini cupcake portions.
2. While the cupcakes are cooling mix coconut flakes and green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved.
3. Mix half vanilla frosting with green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved. Fill a pastry bag or a zip top bag with one small corner cut off with the remaining white frosting.
4. Frost the cupcakes with green frosting. Sprinkle coconut on top until covered and pat down. Use extra frosting as glue and place the almond on top of the coconut. Pipe small lines of white frosting on top of the almond like the laces on a football.

The little minis are so cute! Prepare cake mix according to package and bake in mini cupcake portions.

While the cupcakes are cooling mix coconut flakes and green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved.

It kind of looks like a galaxy! Mix half vanilla frosting with green food coloring 3 or 4 drops at a time until a medium green shade is achieved.

Fill a pastry bag or a zip top bag with one small corner cut off with the remaining white frosting. Cut as small of a corner off as you can and  do some test lines to see if the size will work. I'll admit, I had to transfer the frosting to a few bags before I got the right size! But they're just zip lock bags, so no biggie.

Frost the cupcakes with green frosting.

Sprinkle coconut on top until covered and pat down. Green grass!

Use extra frosting as glue and place the almond on top of the coconut.

All ready for the final touch!

Pipe small lines of white frosting on top of the almond like the laces on a football.

They're just adorable! And bite sized which is perfect for finger food at a tailgate party! These fun and festive cupcakes will be a hit at any football celebration!