Week-day Recipes

While autumn doesn't officially start until the end of September, many of us start thinking autumn after Labor Day (which, in the US, is the first Monday in September). With that, while these may not feel like fall recipes, they are yummy enough for any kind of celebration you may feel like having. Enjoy!

FLOURLESS ORANGE CAKE WITH MASCARPONE CREAM AND ORANGE SYRUP

This yummy dessert comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food guide. Brett writes, “This delicious cake is just popping with orange flavor! Dense and moist, this cake makes a very satisfying end to a good meal or goes wonderfully with coffee. It can be prepared well in advance and then sliced up quickly and served with the mascarpone cream and orange syrup when guests arrive.”

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 medium oranges

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup honey

5 eggs

2 cups almond flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 Tbsp of butter

For the Orange Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

Zest and juice of 1 orange

For the Mascarpone Cream

1 cup chilled whipping cream

6 tablespoons Mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 75 minutes; Total Time: 85 minutes; Yield: Makes 12 slices

Preparation

Put the oranges into a large pan and cover with water. Bring water to a rolling boil, then turn down to a good simmer. Place a small plate on the oranges to keep them submerged and cook for 2 hours. Remove the oranges and set aside. Reserve the cooking liquid.

Place the granulated sugar and honey in the bowl of a food processor. Add the eggs. Blend until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

After the oranges have cooled enough to safely handle, cut them into medium-sized pieces (peel and all). Remove any seeds and add to the processor. Blend until smooth. Add the almond flour, salt, and baking powder and blend to combine.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter and line with baking parchment, then butter the parchment paper. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the cake mixture from the processor into the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 1-1½ hours. Test the cake with a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake. If it comes back out mostly clean then the cake is cooked. Let cake cool in pan before removing the springform ring and bottom.

To make the orange syrup:

Pour the reserved cooking liquid from the oranges into a large pan. Add the sugar, the zest of an orange and its juice. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes or until thick and syrupy. Let cool.

To make the Mascarpone cream:

Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to beat together the whipping cream, Mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.

To serve:

Transfer slices of the cake to individual serving plates. Top with a dollop Mascarpone cream and drizzle a little orange syrup over the top.

ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

This comes from FamilyTime.com. The recipe starts off, “A savory pan of cheese-rich Enchilada Casserole make for a delicious family dish on a busy weeknight. Toss a green salad together while this casserole is baking and serve with a bowl of fluffy rice.” To view it online, click here.

Serves: 8; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup onion, peeled and chopped

2 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 can (10-oz.) Pace® Enchilada Sauce

1 can (2 1/2 oz) ripe olives, sliced, divided

10 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut in half, divided

2 cups (8-oz) Shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375º F. Grease bottom of 9-inch-square baking dish.

Combine beef, onion and garlic in large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.

Stir in enchilada sauce and 1/4 cup olives. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes.

Layer half of tortillas on bottom of prepared baking dish. Cover with half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers; cover.

Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake for additional 5 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with remaining olives and green onions.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN BURRITO BOWLS

If you've followed this blog for a while, you know that I am a big fan of The Kitchn and its brother site, Apartment Therapy. This comes from The Kitchn, and can be viewed online here. If you haven't signed up for emails from The Kitchn and Apartment Therapy, do yourself a big favor and sign up. Yes, now. I'll wait. (You can thank me later.)

Serves 6 to 8

1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or a mix

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 to 1 1/4 cups chicken stock, divided

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1 cup brown rice

1 (15-ounce) can black beans

1 cup frozen corn

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream, diced avocado, salsa, hot sauce, diced green onions, shredded lettuce

Combine the chicken breasts, diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of chicken stock, chili powder, salt, and cumin in the bowl of a 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker. Make sure the chicken is covered. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.

Remove the lid and add the rice, black beans, frozen corn, and another 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Replace the lid and continue cooking on low for another 3 to 4 hours. Check the rice periodically in the last hour of cooking, stirring once or twice to make sure the rice cooks evenly and adding more chicken broth if the mixture seems dry. Cooking is done when the rice is tender — if the rice is done while there is still liquid left in the slow cooker, remove the lid and cook on high to let the liquid evaporate. Total cooking time from start to finish is 6 to 8 hours.

Use two forks to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can do this either in the slow cooker itself and then mix it into the rice, or you can transfer the chicken to a cutting board if you prefer to keep it separate. Taste the burrito mix and stir in more salt or other seasonings to taste.

Serve burrito bowls with a selection of toppings. The burrito mixture will keep for 1 week refrigerated or for 3 months in the freezer. This recipe makes about 7 total cups of burrito mix.

Recipe Notes

Cooking the Rice Separately: If you won't be home to add the rice to the slow cooker, you can skip this step and cook it separately on the stovetop just before serving (use these directions). To modify the recipe, combine the chicken, diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of stock, and spices in the slow cooker and cook for 6 to 8 hours on low. Add the black beans and corn, and cook for another 1/2 hour, or until warmed through, while you're cooking the rice (omit the remaining chicken stock).

Vegetarian Burrito Bowls: Combine the diced tomatoes, 1 cup of vegetable stock, spices, rice, black beans, and corn in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid. Stir once or twice toward the end of cooking to make sure the rice is cooking evenly.

Beyond Burrito Bowls: Besides burrito bowls, you can use this filling to make regular tortilla-wrapped burritos or freezer burritos.

PUMPKIN (OR SWEET POTATO) CRUMB CAKES

This is also from The Kitchn, and can be found online here. Makes one 13x9-inch cake or 18 individual cakelets

Dry Mix

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

Cake Dough

1/2 cup unsalted butter, very soft

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 dry mix

Pumpkin Filling

3 large eggs

One 15-ounce can pumpkin or sweet potato puree (1 3/4 cups)

1 cup dark brown sugar

2/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 dry mixture

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup unsalted butter, very soft

2 tablespoons water

2/3 cup crushed pecans or roasted hazelnuts (optional)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish by greasing lightly with butter or baking spray. (Alternate option: You can also make 18 individual crumb cakelets. To do this, line 18 muffin pan wells with paper liners, or set out 4-ounce paper souffle cups on a baking sheet and spray lightly with baking spray.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder for the dry mix.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) beat the butter until whipped and creamy and then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Beat in about half (1 3/4 cup) of the dry mix of flour and sugar. The cake dough will be thick, yet sticky. Scrape the bowl out thoroughly and pat the dough out in the prepared pan. (If making individual cakelets, divide the dough into 18 balls and press each ball into one muffin well so that it covers the bottom.)

Put the eggs, pumpkin or sweet potato puree, milk, brown sugar and spices for the pumpkin filling in the scraped-out bowl of the stand mixer. Whip until combined; it will be very liquid. Pour this evenly over the cake dough in the pan or muffin tin.

Add the additional 1/2 cup flour to the remaining dry mixture, and whisk in the spices. Drop the soft butter into the bowl in chunks or spoonfuls and use your fingers to rub it through until soft, even crumbs form. Add 2 tablespoons of water and mix with fingers until loose and crumbly.

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake or cakelets. If desired, sprinkle also with crushed pecans or hazelnuts.

If baking a 9x13-inch pan, bake for about 45 minutes or until the filling is just set inside. If baking cakelets, they will only need to bake for about 30 minutes.

Let cool for at least half an hour before slicing. This keeps very well for several days, although I like to refrigerate it to make sure it stays firm for slicing.

Note:
• One more pan option: If you only have one muffin pan, you can make 12 cakelets, then bake the rest of the cake in a standard-sized loaf pan. I suggest lining the pan with parchment hanging over the sides, however, so you can lift the cake out after it cools.

STRAWBERRY-PEACH COOLER

Yield: 2 servings

Serving size: 1 cup

View online: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/737.shtml

Source: The Diabetes Snack, Munch, Nibble, Nosh Book

Book Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/1.shtml

Ingredients

1 cup dry-pack unsweetened frozen strawberries

2/3 cup dry-pack unsweetened frozen peaches

3/4 cup orange juice

Directions

In a 2-cup measure or similar microwave-safe bowl, combine the strawberries and peaches.

Cover with wax paper, and microwave on high power 45 seconds to 1 minute to thaw the fruit slightly. The fruit should be icy but not hard.

Working with a small knife in the measuring cup, cut each peach slice in half.

Transfer the peaches and strawberries to a blender container.

Add the orange juice. Blend on low power to combine. Then increase power to high and continue to blend until the peaches are completely pureed, at least 1-1/2 minutes.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 105; Protein: 2 g; Sodium: 2 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Dietary Fiber: 3 g; Sugars: 23 g; Carbohydrates: 26 g; Exchanges: 2 Fruit

SWEET POTATO COOKIES

1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup raisins

Mix butter and sugar together. Add eggs, then dry ingredients and then pecans and raisins. Drop by teaspoons onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.