Toffee Apple Dip

If you're looking for a way to increase your calorie intake while you eat your fruit, give this dip a try. My cousin brought it to a family party a few weeks ago and everyone went crazy for it. It's a little addicting so I'd recommend making it when you're going to have a few extra people around to help you eat it!

Toffee Apple Dip

8 ounces cream cheese (I use the whipped kind to make it easier to mix)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package heath bits (find these by the chocolate chips)

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate. Serve with sliced apples.

Dad's Birthday Cake

My dad loved this cake. He requested it each year on his birthday. It quickly became my brother's favorite cake. As my sisters and I got married, our husbands fell in love with this cake too. Needless to say, it's a popular cake in our family and we have it at least a few times a year. Each year since my dad passed away we have had a party on his birthday. We eat his favorite cake every time. It was my turn to make it this year.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans. Measure all ingredients into a large bowl. Blend for 30 seconds at low speed, scraping bowl constantly. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour evenly into pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

When cake has cooled, slice two round layers of cake in half. Place one layer on a large plate then spread cool whip on top. Add another layer of cake and spread half a can of cherry pie filling on top. Add another layer of cake and spread with cool whip. Add final layer of cake and spread with remainder of cherry pie filling. Frost sides of cake with cool whip and refrigerate.

This cake tastes great right away, but gets better if it sits in the fridge for at least a few hours before serving.

Sausage Minestra Soup

Here's a soup that would make my mother in law proud. You see, I am not a big fan of spicy foods. I don't know if I'm a supertaster or what, I just can't tolerate things that are too spicy. My mother-in-law has a good friend from Bali and he makes this chicken that can set your mouth on fire. He tames it down when we're in town (but it still is spicy for me!). After all these years of eating the food he prepares, my mother-in-law probably has a hard time eating the mellow foods I usually cook. I've been branching out the last few years and trying some recipes with a little extra spice. I found this soup in a Cuisine at Home special magazine called Splendid Soups. As always, there's a few changes, but I think this is a quick easy soup that's sure to warm you up on a cold day!

Oh and trust me, it tastes better than it looks. I served this to my husband the other day and he raved about it. He says he'd rather eat this than go out!

Sausage Minestra Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds link Italian sausage, sliced into 1" thick pieces
3 cups diced onion
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (decrease if you're like me and don't like things too spicy)
6 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (or 3 cups fresh seeded, diced tomatoes)
3/4 cup dry orzo pasta
4 1/2 cups fresh chopped spinach

Saute sausage in olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until browned (make sure to brown it well). Add onion, garlic, and seasonings; cook until the onion is soft. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and deglaze pan. Add remainder of the broth, tomatoes (pureed in food processor if desired), and orzo. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Stir in spinach until wilted. Serve with parmesan croutons on top.

To make parmesan croutons: Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a saute pan over medium-high heat. Toast 3 cups cubed baguette pieces in oil until crisp. Off heat, toss with 1/2 cup grated parmesan and set aside.

Michelle's note: I'm wierd and I don't really like chunks of tomatoes in my soups. I usually just throw the canned tomatoes in my food processor for a minute to puree them a bit.

My Favorite Loaf of Bread

My passion is baking. I especially love baking bread. There's something so magical about putting a few simple ingredients together and ending up with a wonderful loaf of bread. The aroma of bread baking in my house makes me happy. This is my all-time favorite bread recipe. It's adapted from a recipe I found in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book (one of my favorite cookbooks). I make this bread often, and it always disappears in no time. I've resorted to making 3 loaves at a time. We eat one loaf within a few hours of it coming out of the oven. One loaf is used in the next day or so, and one loaf ends up in the freezer. I hope you try it and let me know how you like it!

Honey Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) boiling water
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) old fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey
1 cup (4 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
1 2/3 cups (7 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast

Place the boiling water, oats, butter, salt, and honey into a medium bowl, stir, and let the mixture cool to lukewarm. (I usually do this step and then jump into the shower or take the kids to school so that the mixture has time to cool. If you add the yeast when the mixture is too hot, the bread won't rise!) Mix the remaining dough ingredients with the oat mixture and knead (by hand, machine, or bread maker) until you've made a soft smooth dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour. The dough should be doubled in bulk. (This dough will be stickier than most bread doughs. This is OK because whole wheat flour takes a while to absorb the moisture. If you add more flour so that the bread dough feels like a white dough recipe, your bread will end up dry.)

Lightly grease a 8x4" loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough and shape it into a loaf. Place it in the prepared pan. Gently cover it with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rise until it has crowned 1 1/2 inches over the rim of the pan, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees when your loaves are almost ready to bake.

Uncover and bake the bread for about 35-45 minutes, tenting the loaves with foil after 20 minutes to prevent over browning. The bread is done when it is golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted in the center registers 190 degrees. Remove it from the oven, and after about a minute turn it onto a rack. Cool the bread completely before cutting it.

Michelle's notes: I like to braid this loaf...I just think it looks cool that way. You can shape it however you want. I once made this dough and shaped them into little bunnies for Easter. It's a really easy dough to work with, be creative! Oh, and just in case you were wondering, we never wait until the loaf is cool to cut into it around here. We jump in as soon as it comes out of the pan!

I changed the original recipe to use more whole wheat flour and less all purpose flour. I'd recommend freshly ground wheat flour (I like hard red winter wheat). It's a great way to rotate your food storage. If you use wheat flour from the store, make sure you store it in your fridge or freezer so that it doesn't go rancid. I think a lot of times people say they don't like wheat bread because the flour that was used wasn't fresh. Rancid wheat flour adds the bitter taste that some people associate with wheat breads.

I use a baker's scale to measure my ingredients, it's really easy and in baking it helps make sure things turn out the way the author intended. Don't worry though...if you don't have a scale measuring out the ingredients should work just fine.