cooking ala mel

Roasted Carrots

February 6, 2011

I don’t think you can ever have a bad tasting roasted veggie. Not one comes to mind that isn’t good roasted. Carrots are no exception. The sugars all seem to be pulled out and caramelized, causing a super sweet flavor, similar to roasted sweet potatoes. I love dipping them in ketchup (I love almost anything in ketchup); that salty/sweet combo is soo good. For those of you that love dipping your sweet potato fries in honey, do this with the carrots! It’s bound to be delicious.

With roasted chicken&apple sausages and onion and roasted worcestershire potatoes!

With a bit of celery and onion!

Roasted Carrots

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled, halved crosswise, and cut lengthwise if necessary to create even pieces

2 T olive oil

salt, pepper, italian seasonings

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Toss the carrots in olive oil, garlic and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Place evenly on a sprayed baking sheet and roast for 30-35 minutes at 400ºF, until soft.

Spaghetti Squash

February 6, 2011

There’s been a lot of hype about spaghetti squash being a great alternative to pasta, and while it DOES taste great with most pasta sauces and the flavor is like pasta, the texture is different, which will turn most people away from it. I absolutely love it, though. The squash, when roasted, comes out in little strings and soaks up sauce perfectly. It takes longer to make than pasta, but a squash goes a long way, and you only have to roast it once! We usually freeze a good bit of it for later.

Topped with some meat sauce!

Did you know you can roast the seeds, too? They’re just as tasty as pumpkin seeds!

Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash
your choice of pasta sauce

Cut the squash lengthwise and remove pulp and seeds. Place cut side down in baking pan with thin layer of water, and bake at 375ºF for about 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool for a little. Scrape the insides of the squash with a fork so that long strands come out. Place in strainer and allow to drain a bit so there is no excess liquid. Serve with your favorite pasta sauce.

Apple Cupcakes

February 6, 2011

I love desserts with apples. I love the sweet, cinnamon spicy taste. As soon as fall hit, I wanted to make an apple dessert. I stumbled upon this apple cake at 101 Cookbooks. To make it more portable, I made cupcakes instead. I didn’t have a muffin tin at this point, but I did have silicone heart shaped liners from my grandma, so I used those in a cake pan. I love these liners; the cupcakes come out so cleanly, unlike regular paper liners. I do have a muffin tin now, but I don’t think I’ll stop using them!

I ended up eating these for breakfast a few days; they’re way too tasty to pass up, and they aren’t very bad for you!

How cute are these?

Apple Cupcakes

2 cups sweet, crisp red apples, cut into 1/4 cubes (peel on)
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup applesauce
3 T large grain sugar

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees, racks in the middle. Line muffin tins.

Place the chopped apples in a bowl of water along with the juice of one lemon. Set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a large bowl. And in a separate smaller bowl whisk together the eggs and the buttermilk. Whisk in the applesauce. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined – try not to over mix. Now drain the apple, shake off any excess water, and fold the apples into the cake batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, pushing it out toward the edges. Sprinkle with most of the large grain sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cake is just set and a touch golden on top.