Tag Archives: apple

Hardcore Hobbit: Blackberry Jam

Posted on August 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

This tasty jam can certainly be enjoyed in a variety of ways. This is an ingredient recipe in LOTRO. According to the game it is made with blackberries, water, and mixed spice. This then goes on to be the ingredient for so many other hardcore hobbit recipes. I can’t wait! I have been anxiously watching our blackberry bushes all summer. You won’t believe how busy the bees were! Now we have oodles of blackberries and the first thing that absolutely had to be made was this blackberry jam. I like the tartness of the berry so I did not add much sugar at all. If you like a sweeter jam you may want to add more than I did. With the success of this basic jam I am definitely going back to make more. I think the next will be a blackberry lavender jam and a blackberry passionfruit jam. Num! Definitely harvest season around here.

  • 4 cups crushed blackberries
  • 1 cup unsweetened apple juice (I made my own by juicing a few fuji apples)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp light cooking margarine
  • 1 pkg no sugar needed pectin (I call it insurance in case my apple juice doesn’t come through)
  • 1 cup sweetener of choice (I used splenda but honey would be divine)
  • 4 small canning jars
  1. Boil the jars, lids, and seals to sterilize and prep for the jam. Keep them hot until ready for filling.
  2. Strain 2 or 3 cups of the berries to remove the seeds. Blend the strained liquid with the remaining crushed berries in a pot.
  3. Add the apple juice, margarine, cinnamon, and cloves to the berries.
  4. Stir in the pectin until dissolved.
  5. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Add the sweetner of choice.
  6. Stir constantly while boiling for 3 minutes then remove from heat.
  7. One at a time remove jars from the hot liquid, ladle in the jam, leaving about 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe the rim clean. Top with the sealing disk. Screw down the top. Repeat for the rest of the jars.
  8. Return the filled jars to the boiling water, make sure the jars are covered by atleast an inch of water. Boil for 10 minutes or longer if you are at higher altitudes.
  9. Remove the jars from the water without tilting them. Allow to sit upright and undisturbed for 24 hours.

Makes 4 250 ml jars. 1 tbl of jam sweetened with splenda is 7 calories, .1 gram fat, .5 gram fibre, 2.1 carb, and .1 gram protein. 1 tbl of jam sweetened with honey is 22 calories, .1 gram fat, .5 gram fibre, 5.7 carbs, and .1 gram protein. Contains all the num needed to last through winter for two hungry hobbits.

 

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Posted in Breakfast, Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Ingredient, Sidedish, Snack, The Hardcore Hobbit

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Apple Cinnamon Bites

Posted on May 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

These are sort of like bite sized coffee cakes. They have that oh so tasty swirl of brown sugar and cinnamon. Yes, I am totally in love with my little mini cupcake pan. Adorable food is the way to go. You feel like you are totally indulging because you can have three instead of just one. These are awesome with a lovely foamy latte or special tea. These are just so cute! I think I might include these in a tea tray outside this summer. Anyone care to come over for afternoon tea?

  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup splenda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/4 cup unpacked brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  1. Combine the flour, splenda, baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the applesauce, egg whites, and milk.
  2. Add the flour mixture to the apple sauce mixture gradually. Stir until well mixed.
  3. Spoon 1 tsp of batter into each mini cup of your mini cupcake pan.
  4. In a ramekin combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Top each mini bite with a half tsp of the cinnamon mixture. Using a toothpick swirl the mixture into the bite.
  5. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until golden.

Makes 36 bites. Each bite contains 26 calories, .1 gram of fat, 6.4 grams of carbs, .2 gram of fibre, and .9 gram of protein. So go ahead, have a few!

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Chocolate Mini Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Posted on April 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Oh that classic peanut butter and chocolate pairing. It calls to us like a siren in the night…the day…after dinner…ok she’s always there. Stupid stalking craving siren. Now, I’m not going to be strapping myself to the mast of a ship anytime soon (oh yay, I knew that classics degree would come in handy eventually). It’s time to look this siren in the face and get the flock out of here (see? See what I did there? Yyyeah. *proud*). Cupcakes are so trendy right now, I’m simply not willing to spend so much on something I can make at home and healthier too! Have you seen the prices on these things? Pfft. Maybe on the go the temptation may be greater but right now these are much better and easy! They are just as cute too. I couldn’t find my awesome frosting tips at the time. This was done with a plastic baggie with the corner snipped off. This recipe is similar to my mexican brownies just slight differences and ofcourse a much smaller pan.

  • 3/4 cup flour (whole wheat can work here too!)
  • 1 1/2 tbl brown sugar
  • 3 tbl unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp light cooking margarine
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup fat free cool whip, defrosted
  • 1 tbl whipped peanut butter
  1. Combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, and baking soda in a bowl. In a second bowl combine the water, applesauce, vinegar, margarine, and vanilla. Pour the wet mix into the dry and stir until the batter is smooth.
  2. Fill each cup in a 12 count mini muffin tin about half full. Bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes. Cool.
  3. Combine the defrosted cool whip and peanut butter in a bowl. Fill a frosting bag or even a small plastic baggy with the end snipped off. Frost the cupcake mini’s when they have cooled completely. Serve.

Makes 28 mini cupcakes. Each serving contains 22 calories, .4 gram of fat, 4.2 carbs, .3 gram of fiber (based on regular flour), and .6 gram of protein. They look so adorable when brought out on a tray to serve to folks or even for just a night in with something special. I found that this recipe makes more frosting than I actually used. So, you can go really nuts with these things just like the ones you see in the shops. Another fun idea is to cut those bites in half and fill them with the frosting to create a whoopie pie style cupcake. Num!

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dessert, Snack

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Bison Steak with Blood Orange Relish

Posted on February 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

Bison is a fantastic lean red meat, perfect for those watching their fat intake. Also, the bragging rights of having bison for dinner are worth it too. I couldn’t believe how wonderfully tender and delicious this meat is. I used it to kick off my birthday celebration this past weekend but really any celebration will do. Valentines day? Awesome. The dog finally sat when you asked him to? Perfect. Your pet rock didn’t have an accident inside the house? Fantastic! You get the idea. We are lucky enough to live so close to Alberta the land of bison goodness, if you aren’t able to find it I imagine a nice cut of sirloin would be a tasty substitute. I love the colour of the blood orange on this plate. Such a nice deep red, a great way to liven up the visual presentation of a basic meat and potatoes meal.

  • 8 oz Bison steak
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 blood orange
  • 1/2 gala apple, sectioned and sliced thinly
  • 1 tbl dried parsley (2 tbl of fresh)
  • 1/8 tsp anise seeds
  • 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 3 basil leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper
  1. Smash the garlic clove and cut in half. Rub the garlic clove over both sides of the bison steak. Season with sea salt and pepper and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
  2. Cut both ends off the orange. Stand the orange on one of its ends and cut away the peel, don’t leave any of the pith. Quarter the orange by cutting from top to bottom. Slice the wedges thinly starting at the short end.
  3. Combine the orange, apple, parsley, anise, and vinegar gently in a small bowl. Add the sea salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready for use.
  4. Grill the bison. I suggest a medium or medium rare doneness. I gave it 10 minutes on one side and 5 on the other. Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes and slice thinly.

Serves 2. Each portion of bison (3-4oz) and relish contains 174 calories, 2.3 grams of fat and 2.3 grams of fibre. The relish alone split into two portions is 50 calories, .2 gram of fat and 2.3 grams of fibre. I served this with some twice baked potatoes since I had saved so many calories and fat on the main portion of this meal I could go nuts on my side dish. Hurray!

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Hardcore Hobbit: Blueberry Muffins

Posted on January 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

This one was a bit of a triumph for me. I’m sort of anti blueberry muffin after a bad experience with one. Is it ironic that in the game blueberry muffins are used to remove fear effects? I was determined to make blueberry muffins once again tasty for me in the name of hobbitkind. I succeeded…granted I think I will stick to my muffins rather than store bought still. In fact this has given me the courage to try the other blueberry recipes too. Which makes my husband do some sort of happy dance I’m sure. I brought these to our Dresden Files group and amongst that group of fellow foodies they were happily devoured. I call that a huge success! In the game blueberry muffins contain flour, bunch of blueberries, and egg.

  • 1 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1 cup flour (I used that new nutri flour)
  • 1/2 splenda or sugar (nutritionals reflect splenda)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup light butter, melted
  • 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
  1. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and splenda in a bowl.
  2. In another bowl combine applesauce, egg whites, and butter.
  3. Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture, stir until just moistened. Carefully fold in the blueberries.
  4. Divide into 12 sprayed muffin tins. Bake at 375F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins. Each muffin contains 101 calories, 2.6 grams of fat, and 1.6 grams of fibre. Yes, that’s 101 calories…I love how our game master said “What? You mean I have to eat a hundred of these to even out?!” lol goodtimes.

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Hardcore Hobbit: Spiced Apple Pie

Posted on November 29, 2010 | 4 comments

Apple season lives on and what better way to continue celebrating than to make a nummy apple pie. In the game this spiced apple pie is made from a pie crust and apple pie filling. The apple pie filling is made of apples and cinnamon. So very simple! I made this one snowy day, it sure did the trick of bringing a smile to my husband’s face after having to spend an hour and a half in traffic getting home on the snow day. Hurray for apple pie!

  1. Roll out the pie crust dough and place in a sprayed pie plate. Snip off any excess from the edges.
  2. Combine the sliced apples with the remaining ingredients and pour into the crust. You can take the time to arrange them all pretty but…rustic!!! Optional to use a cookie cutter on the remaining dough to add a topper. I added hobbits to mine:
  3. Bake at 425F for 40 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Makes 8 servings. Each serving contains 175 calories, 4 grams of fat and 3.1 grams of fibre. Opting out of a top crust really saved me a ton of calories and fat. If you are not watching your hobbit figure then go ahead and make yourself a top crust, just add about 10 minutes to your cooking time. Although I have to say, I didn’t miss the top crust at all. More apple flavour without it! Want to see my adorable hobbits after baking?Awwwww. I think he’s waving at me.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Dessert, The Hardcore Hobbit

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Fall Fruit Stuffed French Toast

Posted on November 12, 2010 | 2 comments

The fruit during the fall season is just so tasty. I especially love the abundance of apples and pears. So many varieties of delicious awesomeness. Once again my husband has provided an awesome special breakfast on the weekend. Have I mentioned publicly how much I love his special breakfasts? Screw that coffee stuff, they are definitely the best part of waking up. This time my husband was inspired by another Bobby Flay throwdown loss…hehe. For the bread we just used a store brand whole wheat bread that turned out to be our best nutritional option. Check them out! You don’t have to break the bank on silly expensive bread just to eat right.

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pear, peeled, cored, chopped
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored, chopped
  • 1 tbl low fat yogurt cheese or fat free cream cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbl brown sugar, unpacked
  • 4 slices whole wheat bread
  1. Combine fruit, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan. Cook for a few minutes on medium high until tender. Allow to cool. Stir in the yogurt cheese.
  2. Combine egg whites and cinnamon in a large bowl. Heat a skillet on medium high.
  3. Dip bread in the egg mixture. Allow the bread to rest in the egg mixture for a just a few seconds to allow it to absorb the mix.
  4. Pan fry the slices of dipped bread. Once the sides are cooked top one slice with a bit of fruit filling then top with another slice. Heat for one minute and serve. Top the toast with 1 tbl of filling.

Serves two. Each serving contains 304 calories, 4.3 grams of fat and 7.7 grams of fibre. Take a look at that nice fibre! We had this as a brunch so I felt full for most of the day, ended up just having an afternoon snack instead of lunch really. I was still too full! French toast for breakfast is always a total win!

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Posted in Breakfast, Craving Buster

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Confetti Slaw

Posted on November 10, 2010 | 2 comments

My husband wanted to make a fun veggie side dish using whatever we had in the fridge. It was proclaimed that this side dish would be a slaw of some sort, without cabbage since we had none…and tasty somehow. Once we got to the stage where I was mixing and tasting the dressing we realized it was kind of a pretty slaw with all its colours so it was named confetti slaw. We had this as a side with some crab cakes I had made and it was nummy! So low calorie and so filling. Just plain can’t go wrong there.

  • 6 apples
  • 4 small carrots
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 1 tbl lemon juice
  • 4 tbl light mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp mrs. dash original
  • 2 tsp horseradish dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Core the apples. Slice the apples, carrots and celery into matchsticks. My husband went with chunky matchsticks but thinner ones would be tasty too.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients. Combine thoroughly and allow to sit atleast 20 minutes. The longer it sits the better the flavours combine.

Makes 6 servings. Each serving contains 111 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 3.8 grams of fibre. I don’t think this would keep very well so its best eaten the day of. If you need less for your dinner this recipe will cut in half to create 3 servings very easily. Enjoy!

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Hardcore Hobbit: Applesauce

Posted on October 18, 2010 | 1 comment

Can I get a hurray for apple season? I love stocking up on apples and pears and just going nuts with them this time of year. This year I’m going to be canning a bunch of this applesauce for use throughout the winter. It is so tasty! Much better than the premade stuff I get at the store. My favourite applesauce use? Putting it on oatmeal on a cold morning. It makes breakfast taste like a nummy apple crumble dessert. How can you lose? I based the recipe this year off the applesauce found in LOTRO. In LOTRO applesauce contains: shire apples, honey, and cinnamon. I figured a shire apple must be like a royal gala apple, they look so alike! I’ve been told that any apple is a good apple for applesauce so use whatever you think a shire apple should be. I found a nice local honey and away I went.

  • 8 apples (I used gala), peeled and quartered
  • 4 tbl honey
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  1. Place the apples in your crockpot. Top with honey and spices.
  2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. (enjoy how awesome the house smells)
  3. The apples will break down during cooking, you can stop there or remove half of the broken down apples, puree and stir back in for a smoother applesauce. Here is an example of the apples all broken down before the puree stage:
  4. Stovetop: Place the apples and other ingredients in a large pot, cook on medium heat, covered and stirring often until the apples have completely broken down. For smoother applesauce simply blend half of the broken down apples and stir back in.

I highly recommend doing this the crockpot way. Far less fuss, happy smelling house, and somehow a tastier sauce. This makes enough to fill 3 250ml jars. That makes about 12 servings. Each serving (1/4 cup) contains 65 calories, .3 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fibre.

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Posted in Breakfast, Comfort Foods, Dessert, Ingredient, Sidedish, Snack, The Hardcore Hobbit

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Shire Rations

Posted on July 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

I had fun with this hardcore hobbit attempt. In the game shire rations are made of marinated chicken cutlet, apple, and sharp cheese. The marinated chicken cutlet is made of chicken, green onion, and fine seasonings. This is really a double hardcore in one…and that sounds nasty hehe. Now I could see a hobbit being happy with just marinated chicken, some cut up apples and cheese BUT I think they would be much happier with my changes. I kept all the main ingredients like I usually do but changed it up. I approached this like an episode of ‘chopped’, on chopped just cutting up the ingredients and putting them on the plate just won’t fly…well they won’t here either. I fancied up the shire rations by making the apple portion an apple slaw, and the cheese portion a nice cheese sauce for the chicken. I served them on our camping plates though just to make them more ration like hehe. I think the hobbits would be pleased and would never leave their hole without these shire rations.

Apple Slaw:

  • 2 royal gala apples, sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 4 tbl fat free plain yogurt
  • 2 tbl honey
  1. Combine, chill for 20 minutes and serve.

Marinated Chicken Cutlet:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 tbl steakhouse pepper spice
  1. Combine and marinate for atleast 4 hours.
  2. Grill the chicken until cooked using desired method.

Sharp Cheese Sauce:

  • 64 grams of light cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 tbl flour
  • 2 tsp light cooking margarine
  • 2 tbl parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  1. Melt the margarine in a saucepan over medium heat and combine with the flour.
  2. Whisk in the milk and the salt slowly to prevent lumps.
  3. When the milk is heated stir in the cheeses. Do not allow to boil!
  4. Heat and stir until thickened. Serve on the chicken.

The apple slaw serves two, each serving contains 163 calories, .5 grams of fat, and 3.8 grams of fibre. The Chicken makes two servings, each serving contains 142 calories, 1.3 grams of fat, and .4 grams of fibre. The cheese sauce serves four (I like to save the extra to have cheese fries when I feel naughty), each serving contains 85 calories, 2.9 grams of fat and .1 grams of fibre. All together, just to make it simple, a serving of shire ration contains 390 calories, 4.7 grams of fat, and 4.3 grams of fibre.

*phew* That is a load of info. Definitely a tasty meal. This was how I celebrated the end of my first challenge. Definitely decadent seeming but not really in the end. The beauty of this success was that each of these recipes can stand alone and be used for other things…bringing them together is what makes a hobbit happy though. I have a feeling I could actually bring it together when camping. I would definitely give it a try, a fun challenge! I have a feeling that chicken over a fire would be to die for.

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