Category Archives: Fruit

Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal

30 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Breakfast, Fruit, Healthy, Holiday, Quick and Easy, Vegan, Vegetarian

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal

It’s rare that I create a recipe and post it within a few hours  That sort of VIP treatment is reserved exclusively for recipes that I absolutely love and want to share with you immediately.  That’s exactly what we have in this Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal!  Inspired by my favorite candle of the moment, Yankee’s Apple Pumpkin, this recipe would make the perfect breakfast tomorrow for all those amped up kiddos out there getting super excited to go trick or treating!  It’s a breakfast you can feel good about feeding your kids on a day otherwise overloaded with sugar.  Not only does it just taste like autumn, this oatmeal is also healthy and will fill them up so they don’t overindulge on Kit Kats, Skittles, M&Ms, candy corn and all their other favorite Halloween treats!  …Heck, who are we kidding?  They’re going to stuff themselves silly on candy anyhow!  But that’s what being a kid is all about.

Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal
Yield:  4 servings
Time:  15 minutes

1 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
1¼ cups water
1½ cups oats (I always use Old Fashioned instead of Quick Oats)
1 apple, cored and diced
¼ cup pumpkin puree
¼ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. brown sugar
¾ tsp. vanilla extract

Optional:
maple syrup
milk

  1. Combine the apple cider and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, stir in the oats and turn the heat down to medium-low.
  2. Stir in the diced apple, pumpkin puree, ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla.  Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for five minutes.

I like to drizzle my oatmeal with maple syrup and skim milk before serving.  You could also try apple cider instead of milk (which would keep it vegan).  Enjoy!

PDF to Print Recipe for Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal

 

 

Orange Mint Orzo Salad

24 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by in Dinner, Fruit, Healthy, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Salad, Vegetarian

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Orange Mint Orzo Salad

I created this refreshing pasta salad for my housewarming party, which happened to be on a hot summer day.  I wanted to make a pasta salad that wouldn’t be too heavy.  Additionally, its dressing didn’t use a base of mayo or other creamy ingredients, so there was no need to worry about it sitting out in the heat for an hour or two.  My sister loved it so much that she requested I bring a big bowl of this orzo salad to her son’s birthday party this weekend.  The unexpected flavor combination was a hit with the kids and adults alike!  Try it for your next BBQ…perhaps Labor Day?!

Orange Mint Orzo Salad
Time:  40 minutes total
Yield:  12 servings

1 lb. orzo
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice (or orange juice)
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper
zest of one orange (can come from one of the four below)
4 navel oranges
2 cucumbers
1 large bunch mint
16 oz. frozen edamame, defrosted
2 cups crumbled feta

  1. Cook the orzo according to the package instructions.  (To maximize on time, start on step 2 while it’s cooking.)  Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water.
  2. Prepare the dressing:  Place the following ingredients into a small mixing bowl:  olive oil, lemon/orange juice, salt, and pepper.  Zest one of the oranges (after washing it thoroughly) and add it to the bowl.  Whisk all of the ingredients together and set aside.
  3. Peel the oranges and dice them into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Remove the seeds from the cucumbers.  I find the easiest way to do this is to cut the cucumber in half along its length.  Cut it in half along its length again, so that it’s quartered and the seeds are exposed.  Slice the seeds out and discard.  Dice the flesh of the cucumbers into bite-sized pieces.  Place into a large mixing bowl with the oranges.
  5. Coarsely chop the mint and add it to the cucumbers and oranges.  Stir in the defrosted edamame and feta.  Add the orzo, and pour the dressing over top.  Toss to evenly coat all of the ingredients with the dressing.

Link to PDF to Print Recipe for Orange Mint Orzo Salad

 

Roasted Summer Fruit A La Mode

20 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by in Boozy, Dessert, Fruit, Healthy, Quick and Easy, Vegan, Vegetarian

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Ice Cream Over Roasted Summer Fruit

I created this recipe by accident.  I bought tons of fresh blackberries to make blackberry mint mimosas on Mother’s Day, and I ended up with lots left over.  I knew I had a narrow window of time to use them all before they spoiled, so my first thought was to make a blackberry and rhubarb crisp–one of my all time favorites!  In the spirit of cutting out some calories as bathing suit season approaches, I decided to forego the oatmeal crisp topping (which is typically loaded with butter) and instead just toss the fruit with some brown sugar and roast it.  I had a few ripe peaches sitting on my counter, so I diced those up and threw them in too.  Although I had good intentions of keeping the dessert light and low cal, once the fruit was hot and bubbly, I couldn’t resist topping it with a scoop of low-fat vanilla bean ice cream!  The flavors tasted divine together, and they just screamed summer! Next time I make this, I’m going to stir 2 tbsp. of honey whiskey (such as Wild Turkey American Honey or Jack Daniels Honey) into the fruit before roasting it.  It can’t hurt, right??

Roasted Summer Fruit À La Mode
Yield: 2 servings
Time:  25 minutes total

1 cup blackberries
3 peaches, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 cup rhubarb, diced into bite-sized pieces
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
(2 tbsp. honey whiskey*–optional)

2 to 4 scoops of your favorite ice cream**
1.  Toss together all of the fruit, brown sugar, cinnamon, and whiskey (if using).  Transfer to a lightly greased baking dish.

2.  Bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes.

3.  Spoon half of the mixture into a serving bowl.  Top with one or two scoops of your favorite ice cream.

* Try using Wild Turkey American Honey or Jack Daniels Honey.

** I highly recommend Edy’s Slow Churned Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!  A fruit flavored sorbet would also be delicious.

 

PDF to Print Recipe for Roasted Summer Fruit A La Mode

PS…Did you know that “à la mode” is a French saying meaning “in style”?  Thank goodness for the French making it fashionable to top dessert with ice cream!

Easy Berry Custard Tart

21 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by in Dessert, Fruit, Quick and Easy

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Easy Berry Custard Tart

I absolutely hate not sticking to my personal goal of posting one janiscakes recipe per week, and it’s honestly been killing me that I’ve been so sporadic lately.  I also personally hate the excuse of “I’ve been so busy!” (Honestly–raise your hand if you aren’t busy?  Anybody….?  Exactly!) …but, I’ve been busy.  (Ugh, I hate myself a little bit right now for even saying it.)  To clarify, in the span of three days, I:  1) bought a house  2) bought a new car  3) started a new job.  I then proceeded to travel for the new job’s orientation and training, finalize paint colors, buy furniture, and coordinate with various contractors to begin work on the home so it would be move-in-ready two weeks later.  This was all on top of spending all my “free time” (cough cough-what free time?) packing, patching holes in my apartment to ensure getting my security deposit back, officially changing my address with credit cards, the post office, magazine subscriptions,… and everything else that comes along with moving.  Fortunately, I’ve been blessed with an incredible husband who’s been right by my side through everything and picked up a ton of my slack.  I’m also really lucky to have the world’s greatest parents who have done everything they could to help ease the transition into all this new-ness.  Anyhow, please accept my most sincere apologies for missing a post or two.  I promise to hop right back on the wagon starting now!

It’s an understatement to say I’ve been crunched for time lately, but hey–a girl still needs dessert!  Enter this recipe.  What makes this tart so easy?  Rather than making pastry cream, fill it with vanilla pudding instead!  I know the “Cook and Serve” pudding takes (slightly) more effort to make than the instant does, but it’s hardly any more work and the flavor of the cooked pudding is soooooo much better for this recipe!  It comes out deliciously rich and creamy and much more closely mimics custard.  Enjoy, my friends!

Easy Berry Custard Tart
Yield:  8 servings
Time:  15 minutes active; 3 hours total

For the crust:
1½ cups flour
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup (8 tbsp.) cold (frozen!) butter, cut into cubes
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of half an orange

For the custard filling:
1 cup skim milk
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 box (3 oz.) of “Cook and Serve Vanilla pudding” (not instant pudding)

For the topping:
4 cups total of mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries…)
Confectioner’s sugar
Whipped cream

1.  To make the crust, combine the following ingredients in a food processor: flour, sugar, salt, butter.  Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

2.  Whisk together the egg yolk, milk, vanilla, and orange zest.  Pour into the food processor and pulse to combine.  Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch diameter tart pan (or regular pie pan).  To help it slide right out after it’s baked, be sure to grease the sides of the pan, too!  Firmly press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of the pan.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.  Gently prick the surface with the tines of a fork.  Line with parchment paper and pour in pie weights (if you have them).  Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes.  Remove the pie weights and parchment paper.  Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.  Allow to cool at room temperature.

3.  In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together the skim milk, whole milk, pudding mix, and vanilla.  Bring to a light boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil for 2-3 minutes, until thickened.  Remove from the heat and pour into the prepared crust.  Allow to cool at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes, then top with fresh berries.   Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving, 2-24 hours.  Garnish with whipped cream and lightly dust with confectioner’s sugar prior to serving, if desired.

PDF to Print Recipe for Easy Berry Custard Tart

Crunchy Granola

14 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Breakfast, Dessert, Fruit, Healthy, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Crunchy Granola

According to Urban Dictionary, crunchy granola refers to “a person who is into all that natural crap and eats tofu and does yoga and hugs trees”.  I don’t mind tofu if it’s well disguised (it actually adds unparalleled moisture to cakes!), I have come to really love yoga, but I’ve never hugged a tree and don’t intend to!  I don’t think I’m particularly crunchy, but I am a sucker for this homemade granola!  Since I’m very allergic to nuts, granola is one of those foods that I never get to eat unless it’s homemade, since most packaged granolas contains at least one variety of nuts.  I’ve tried making it many times, and I’m usually disappointed because it’s a little soft, not super crunchy how I love it.  I finally hit the nail on the head with this recipe!  I hope you love it as much as I do!  It’s a great snack to munch on dry handfuls, or enjoy it mixed into yogurt with fresh berries for a filling and healthy breakfast or dessert parfait.

Crunchy Granola
Yield:  3 cups
Time:  10 minutes hands-on;  60 minutes total

2 cups oats (use the old fashioned type, not quick cooking)
1/3 cup oat bran*
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup orange juice
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup total dried fruit (I like using a combination of raisins, golden raisins, dried cherries, and dried blueberries.  Dried mango, papaya, pineapple, or cranberries could also work!)

1.  Preheat the oven to 325ºF.  Lightly grease a 9×13″ glass baking dish and set aside.

2.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the oats, oat bran, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

3.  In a small saucepan, combine the honey, orange juice, and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Add the butter and mix until completely melted.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Pour over the oat mixture, tossing to coat.  Spread into the prepared baking dish.  Bake at 325ºF for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  At the end of the 45-minute baking time, remove from the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours, until fully cooled.  Gently break apart the pieces and stir in the dried fruit.

 

*For those of you not familiar with oat bran, it has a flour-like consistency and is usually sold in the same aisle with hot cereals such as Farina, Cream of Wheat,…  I often mix some into homemade pancake batter for more wholesome pancakes.  In this recipe, you could swap the oat bran for ground flax seeds if you prefer.

PDF to Print Recipe for Crunchy Granola