Autumn Apple Salad

Oct 18, 2023

Autumn Apple Salad – Candy Coated Culinista

Autumn is here and I went apple picking and am looking forward to a couple new recipes to use up these apples.

Yield/Serving: 4 – 6
Prep Time: 10 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

Ingredients
Salad
⦁ 1 cup kale, removed from stems, torn by hand
⦁ 1 cup romaine lettuce, chopped
⦁ 1 cup spinach, chopped
⦁ 10 broccoli tops, finely chopped
⦁ Dried cranberries, to taste
⦁ 1/8 cup red onion thinly sliced
⦁ Sunflower seeds, to taste
⦁ 1 honey crisp, cut into matchsticks
⦁ 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
Cranberry Mustard Dressing
⦁ 1/3 cup cranberry sauce, whisk til smooth
⦁ 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
⦁ 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
⦁ 1/4 cup honey mustard
⦁ Sea salt, to taste
⦁ White pepper, to taste

Assembly

1. In a large bowl add ingredients, toss and set aside.
2. In a small bowl wisk cranberries until smooth and then whisk together the other ingredients and drizzle over salad.
3. Serve.

Please Enjoy
My thoughts
There is something about a robust salad. I just love them so much. I get so much of my nutrients from them and feel great after eating them.

Garden Veggie Loaf Pan Lasagna

Oct 4, 2023

Garden Veggie Loaf Pan Lasagna – Candy Coated Culinista

I am craving lasagna as the temperature dipped on Labour Day to 19 degrees; (what a cruel trick) but I have an even smaller lasagna than my skillet version which really is too much if i’m eating alone. Who needs that much leftovers portion wise.

Yield/Serving: 4
Prep Time: 30 min.
Cook Time: 30 min.
Difficulty level is: Medium

Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
⦁ 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
⦁ 1 pint grape tomatoes
⦁ 1 can tomato sauce
Meat
⦁ 1 small onion, diced
⦁ 4 garlic cloves, finely diced
⦁ 1 pound medium ground beef
⦁ season salt, to taste
⦁ sea salt, to taste
⦁ ground black pepper, to taste
⦁ paprika, to taste
Mushrooms
⦁ 6 mushroom, sliced
⦁ 2 green inions, chopped
⦁ red chili flakes, to taste
⦁ chili powder, to taste
Ricotta Mixture
⦁ 3/4 cup ricotta
⦁ handful parsley, finely chopped
⦁ 1 egg
⦁ Italian seasoning
⦁ 3 slices of bacon, rough chopped
⦁ 6 no bake lasagna noodles
⦁ 6 zucchini noodles
⦁ Parmesan, grated
⦁ mozzarella, grated

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   Tomato Sauce
2. Using a medium sized saucepan pour in garden tomates along with olive oil and let tomatoes burst.
3. Pour in canned tomato sauce, let boil and then let simmer.
   Meat
4. Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil using a large frying pan and add onion and cook for 4 minutes.
5. Add garlic for about 1 minutes followed by ground beef and spices.
6. Add some tomato sauce to meat mixture, about one and a half cups and combine. Save the rest of the sauce for another recipe or freeze.
   Mushrooms
7. In a small frying add some vegetable oil and add mushrooms, green onion, red pepper flakes and chili powder until softened.
   Ricotta Mixture
8. In a medium sized bowk add ricotta, parsley, egg and Italian seasoning and combine.
9. Fry bacon in a medium sized frying pan and then rough chop and set aside in a small bowl.
10. Using a mandolin slice 6 zuchinni noodles and set aside.
11. Grate parmesan and mozzarella and put in separate bowls.
    Lasagna
12. Using a loaf pan add some tomato sauce to the bottom.
13. Add meat sauce.
14. Add lasagna noodles followed by ricotta mixture.
15. Add zuchinni noodles followed by mushroom mixture.
16. Sprinkle some bacon followed by tomato sauce and meat sauce.
17. Add another layer of lasagna noodles, ricotta mixture, zuchinni noodles.
18. Add mushroom more tomato sauce and the last two zuchinni noodles.
19. Add the final two lasagna noodles and spread tomato sauce over top.
20. Followed by the paremsan and mozarella and remaining bacon on top.
21. Bake for 30 minutes or longer until top is golden brown and cheese is golden.
22. Let cool for 15 minutes and then serve.

Please Enjoy
My thoughts
I had so much tomatoes and zucchini from the garden I had to incorporate some of these ingredients into recipe and it added and extra something. This is the most saucy oven lasagna I have ever made and I think I finally have the right amount of sauce added to the dish. This also came together quite fast considering all the components. This is a perfect dinner for two.