Bisquick Apple Cobbler 

6 medium peeled, cored and sliced apples 

Cinnamon

Sugar 

Butter 

Bisquick 

Milk 

Layer sliced apples in the bottom of a baking or pie pan.  Dot with butter over the apples then dust with cinnamon and sugar over all the apples.  Next mix Bisquick with milk to a moist crumbly texture and add a little more cinnamon. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until the dough is brown and appears done.  

You can use other fruit for this cobbler. Experiment some.  My next cobbler with this recipe will be with fresh plums from another tree I have. 

This cobbler is only as sweet as you want it to be.  I dusted the sliced apples with sugar but didn't add too much and it came out very tasty without the extreme sweetness that most desserts have.  I did add extra cinnamon but that is because I love cinnamon and this was the perfect dish to add more.  

I will definitely make this again!

 

Brown Sugar Apple Pie Critique

6 medium apples sliced
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of melted butter
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch or dash of salt
9 inch pie crust unbaked
 
Topping

1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 cup of chilled butter


My first try at the recipe was awful.....I combined the apples with the sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and put it in the pie crust then sprinkled the topping all on the top. The topping is prepared by mixing the ingredients together with the butter blended in until it is like small crumbs.  I baked the pie at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes until it was brown. My recipe didn't call for it but you should always add a little foil around the edges of the crust to keep them from getting overcooked or burnt.  Remove the foil edges about 10 minutes before it is done.  This seems to work perfect.

I think I prefer to have an apple pie with a pie crust added on top with sprinkled sugar.  Since I have an abundant amount of apples from my tree this year I will be experimenting with different apples recipes.  Hopefully I will find one that I really like.

I plan on trying Bisquick apple cobbler this week and will post my results.  Hopefully it will turn out better than this one and not so unbearably sweet.

If you try this recipe let me know how it worked for you!

 

 

Baked Wild Alaskan Cod

Ingredients:

1 lbs of wild Alaskan Cod Fish
2 scallions (green onions) - thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of butter melted
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of dried rosemary herb
2 tablespoons of dried dill
1 tablespoons of black pepper
2 tablespoons of paprika


Fish is really good for you but I try not to eat it all the time.  I think for me to stay healthy I need to have a variety of foods in my diet.  I just prepared wild Alaskan Cod for dinner.  I love fish from Alaska!

First I take a rectangular baking dish and lay the fish out (as shown in the picture).  I add different things on top at different times depending on what I bought at the store with the fish or what I have left over in my fridge.  Today I added thin sliced scallions and scattered evenly on top followed by pouring melted butter over all the fish.

After pouring the butter I sprinkle the dried rosemary followed by the dill evenly on top.  You can use as little or as much as you would like.  It really depends on your particular taste.  Do you like a lot of flavor or less.  I usually like a lot!  The same goes for the black pepper but I suggest you just cover it lightly or it could over power the flavor of the other herbs you added.

Once you have added the herbs and any vegetables that you want on top of the fish then I take my olive oil (usually I keep a bottle next to my stove with a spout for pouring) and cover the fish and toppings with it.  This and the butter will help keep your fish from drying out when cooking. 

I make this ahead of time, cover it and place it in the fridge to marinate while I prepare all the side dishes.  When I am ready to cook it I pull it out and top it with paprika just to give it some extra color - manly for looks I must admit. 

Cooking fish is important.  You don't want to under cook it or over cook it.  That is one of the reasons I make sure I have juices in with the fish because I do have a tendency to over cook my food.  I have learned a few short cuts to keep the food from appearing or tasting over cooked! 

I suggest for 1 lb of fresh sliced cod baked at 450 degrees to be about 20-25 minutes.  Check before serving to make sure it flakes. 

Suggestions for topping the Fish:  mushrooms, spinach, crab, tarrogon and thyme.  Really it is up to you on what type of topping and spice you would like to use.  Be creative and try different things!

New Cook? What is Blanching?

Are you a new cook and don't have a clue what some things mean?  Let me explain some basic information about blanching.

• Blanching - sounds interesting but what does it really mean?  Well for starters it is used to cook food in boiling water very quickly and then you would dip the food in ice cold water (yes you can use ice cubes - it is highly recommended) immediately afterwards.  You would bring about 1 gallon to a boil for every 1 pound of vegetables unless they are leafy then you would double your water. This might be because you want some vegetables in your recipe that are still crispy but not totally raw....carrots in a salad would be just one example.  You might want to peel tomatoes without the hassle or even a peach.  You should always let the the produce cool for the same amount of time you boil it. 

We will discuss specific amounts of times in another article but first be familiar with the terms used.  It will making a new Cook a Pro in no time. 

INDIAN RICE DISH

This is perhaps my all time favorite rice dish.  I can serve it cold, hot or at room temp!  It can be modified in so many ways according to your taste buds.....

The Ingredients:

4 cups of chicken broth (prefer organic or low sodium)
2 cups of balsmi brown rice
1 - 2  tablespoons of olive oil
1 dash of salt
2 tablespoons of ground cumin
1 cup of sliced almonds (toasted if preferred)
Chopped scallions (or subsitute with red or white onion)
Chopped parsley
grated lemon
grated orange

Dressing:

1/2 cup of olive oil
Salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 cup of honey
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 fresh squeezed lemon and orange
1 - 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

Add chicken broth, olive oil, salt and cumin and bring to boil.  Add rice after you have rinsed it in cold water.  Cook for 40 minutes on medium to low simmer.  I suggest if you have a gas stove like I do to cook it on the low simmer and medium for electric.   Wait 5 minutes after taking it off the burner before removing the lid and then fluff it with a fork.

Add directly to your rice pan the scallions, parsley, almonds, grated lemon and the orange zest! 

Now it is time to make the dressing for the rice.  This is the key to this awesome rice dish.  Take all the ingredience for the dressing listed above and blend it in your blender.  Pour into your rice mixture and toss.  Granish with parsley and almonds if you are serving it to guest.  Ok to serve at room temp, hot or even cold.  This dish is so versatile and delicious.

This is my favorite dish to make at the start of the week and if I need something quick I just pull it out of the fridge and zap it for a minute or just dive in cold.  Great flavor and aroma.  Try it and let me know how you like it!