Stuffing Muffins

This tasty variation on classic stuffing makes great use of leftover bread. Adapted from my recipe for the Phantom Gourmet television show.


Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12-15 muffins

INGREDIENTS
Muffin cups
1 loaf (1 ½ lbs) sliced whole wheat bread
1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
6-8 strips bacon
1 small (pool ball size) onion, ¼ inch dice
3 stalks celery, ¼ inch dice
1 apple, cored, ¼ inch dice
2 eggs, whisked
1-2 cups chicken stock
½ cup chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with muffin cups, or spray with cooking spray. Cut the loaf of bread into cubes about ½” across. Place bread cubes in a large bowl, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Now cook the bacon until crisp in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove bacon strips to paper towels, pour off excess fat, and cook the onions and celery in the remaining bacon fat for 4 minutes, stirring. Add the apple and cook for another minute. Turn off heat in skillet, scrape mixture into the bowl of bread cubes, and stir. Add the eggs, 1 cup of chicken stock, the parsley, and the bacon, and stir gently to spread the moisture throughout. The mixture should be moist enough to cling together when squeezed with light pressure between your hands. If necessary, add a little more broth. Using your hands collect a baseball-size sphere of stuffing mixture, squeeze slightly so that it clings together, and place in a muffin cup. Make sure that this is the muffin shape you want, because these muffins won’t rise as they cook. Repeat until mixture is used up and other muffin cups are full (if you have extra stuffing mixture, make a few more muffins or a small loaf).

Slide muffin pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until muffins are crisp on the outside.

Serve as a side dish with your favorite oven baked meal. Roast fowl are a natural.

Variations: Add raisins, chopped apricots, toasted nuts, and other fun things to Stuffing Muffins.

Served up by Tod Dimmick

Applesauce Bran Muffins

Apple season enables a million delicious recipes, starting with these.  Eat them warm, with butter.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
12Yield:  muffins

INGREDIENTS
2 eggs, whisked
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1/2 cup sugar or equivalent* (*Stevia works well, read the fine print on your package for the amount that will be equivalent to the sugar)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon apple pie spice (or a mixture of cinnamon and your favorite baking spices)
pinch salt
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/2 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add the applesauce, milk, yogurt, and the olive oil, and whisk again. Set aside.

In another bowl mix the flour, bran, sweetener, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt.

Stir the liquids into the dry ingredients until just blended into a thick dough. Then stir in the pecans and the raisins. Using a rubber spatula, scrape muffin batter into a muffin pan (I use two small rubber spatulas, and line the muffin pan with paper muffin cups for easy cleanup). Add just enough batter to fill a muffin cup level.  Bake for 17 minutes, or until just firm.

Don't overcook whole grain muffins (they'll dry out).

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Powisset Chicken Salad

This crunchy, refreshing salad couldn't be simpler to prepare, and is perfect for a hot weather meal.  Talk about incentive to cook extra chicken the night before.

Prep time:  15 minutes
Serves:  4

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken meat, 1/2 inch dice
1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped carrot, 1/2 inch dice
1 cup arugula, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 apple, peel on, sliced and chopped
3 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan
Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Toss the chicken, carrot, arugula, parsley, apple, almonds and Parmesan with the lemon juice and olive oil.  Serve, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

A cool white or rosé alongside makes the picture complete.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Salad Martini

Want to serve gorgeous fresh salad vegetables in a new way? Make that salad something to toast! Obviously this is more about presentation than recipe, but isn't fun part of the objective?

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Serves: 8+ (depending on the size of your glasses!)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 of a small head fresh green cabbage (about 2 cups, shredded)
2 apples, cored and roughly sliced
5-6 radicchio leaves
2-3 carrots, scrubbed (peeled if necessary)
1 small sweet onion (about 1/2 cup when shredded
Vinaigrette (your favorite)

DIRECTIONS
Run all these ingredients through a food processor using the thin slice wheel. Toss with vinaigrette and serve as a toast to farm fresh produce.

Variations: Wow - limited only by your choice of processor-friendly vegetables. Or add chopped chicken, hard boiled egg, and/or bacon can call it a meal.

Photo & Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Asian Style Apple-Cabbage Slaw

Hard to stop eating this.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Serves:  4-6

INGREDIENTS
1/2 head (about 4 cups) cabbage
2 large apples
4 TB chopped fresh cilantro
3 TB oil (canola or olive will work)
2 TB red wine vinegar
2 TB soy sauce
2 TB sesame tahini
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS
Slice the cabbage and apple by hand or in a food processor using the thinnest slice possible. Set aside.

In a food processor equipped with the chopping blade, process the cilantro, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, tahini, garlic, and salt to a smooth consistency.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage - apple mixture, toss to coat, and serve.

Photo & Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Green Crunch Salad

A crunchy, colorful salad.  

Prep time:  15 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
3 large carrots (or enough to yield about 2 cups processed)
1 large stick celery (or enough to yield 1 to 1 1/2 cups processed)
1 apple cored and cut into wedges
1 cup chopped arugula
1 cup chopped young broccoli leaves
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

DIRECTIONS
For the salad:  Fire up your food processor and, using the thin slicing disk, slice up the carrots, apple, and celery.  Of course, slicing with a knife is always an option.  Scrape sliced vegetables into a bowl, and add the arugula, broccoli leaves, chives, and parsley.

Drizzle the lemon juice, then the olive oil, over the salad and toss to coat.  Distribute to serving plates, sprinkling with pecans and crumbled blue cheese.

Variations:  Endless.  All kinds of greens (radish greens, lettuce, turnip greens, young kale, escarole) could be used.


Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Warm Greens Salad with Apples and Walnuts

A crunchy, chewy, savory, satisfying salad made of hearty greens.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Serves:  4-6

INGREDIENTS
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch bok choi, coarsely chopped
2 cups celery stems and leaves
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4-5 fresh sage leaves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup toasted walnuts1 apple, cored, 1/2 inch dice
1/4 cup mint, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat and cook the bok choi, celery, garlic, sage, rosemary and thyme for 10 minutes, stirring, or until the bok choi and celery stems are tender crisp.  Remove from heat, stir in the walnuts, apple, mint, and feta.  Drizzle with lemon juice, and serve, seasoning to taste with salt if necessary - don't forget feta is salty.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Harvest Season Slaw

Can you say Crrrrunch?

Prep time:  25 minutes
Serves:  4-6

INGREDIENTS
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 bulbs (about 2 cups) shredded fennel bulb and lower portion of the stems
2 apples, cored, sliced, and shredded
2 ears cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup shredded sweet onion
mint leaves, one leaf for each year of age of the cook, chopped
juice from two lemons (about 4 TB)
3-5 tablespoons olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Get busy with your food processor, using the thin slice disk.  Place all ingredients in a large salad bowl, and toss with lemon juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Then crunch.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Cider Donuts

In the department of humor with cooking, here are two "Jekyll & Hyde" recipes for Cider Donuts.  One is a more traditional (and indulgent) method as seen on the Phantom Gourmet, the other is an earnest attempt at a guilt-free version - Baked Whole Grain Cider Donuts!

Parsley, Feta & Toasted Pecan Salad

A great combination.

Prep time:  8 minutes flat
Serves:   4 as a small salad, or 2 serious salad people

INGREDIENTS
2-3 cups fresh parsley, washed & coarsely chopped
1 early season apple, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
A few slabs of feta cheese
about 3 TB toasted pecan chunks

DIRECTIONS
Mix.  :)

Salad of Arugula, Apple, Cabbage, & Carrots

Mini Whole Grain Apple Pies

Photo & Recipe:  Tod Dimmick

For the cook with a sense of humor, here's a whole grain alternative to McDonald's Apple Pies. For sweetener I used stevia.  For butter I used... butter.

Prep time:     20 minutes

Cook time:    10 minutes

Yield:            5-7 turnovers

INGREDIENTS

2 Granny Smith Apples

1/2 Cup + 3 TB + 2 TB Sweetener, separated

1 tsp. + ½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon, separated

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 stick (1/2 Cup) unsalted butter, cold

½ tsp. Salt

1/2 Cup + 1 tsp. Cold Water

3 TB Milk

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 450.

Peel and core the apples, and chop into ¼ inch chunks.  Add the apples, ½ cup sweetener, 1 tsp. of the cinnamon, the nutmeg, and the cloves to a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring, until apples are soft and fragrant.  In fact they will smell so good it will be difficult not to eat them then and there.  When apples are soft, set aside to cool.

Using a food processor, cut the butter into the flour, along with the 3 TB sweetener, and salt, Mix to a grainy consistency.  Slowly pulse in the ½ cup cold water to create a soft crumbly dough.  Scrape the dough onto a floured countertop and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Slice the dough into rectangles about 3” x 4” and arrange 5 rectangles on the baking tray (maybe a 6^th, depending on how much dough you have left).  Combine and roll the extra bits along the edges to enable more rectangles. 

Place a spoonful of apple filling  (about 2 TB) along the center of one of the rectangles of dough on the baking tray.  Moisten the edges by dipping your finger in the juice from the apples and running it along the edges, or use a little milk.  Top with another rectangle, and press to seal.  Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. 

Mix the remaining 2 TB sweetener with the remaining ½ tsp. cinnamon.  Brush each pie with milk, sprinkle with sweetened cinnamon, and slide the baking tray into the oven.  Cook for 10 minutes or until surface is crisp and browned.

These are gorgeous as breakfast, as a snack, as dessert, you name it.  

Apple Carrot Raisin Bran Muffins

Photo & Recipe - Tod Dimmick










Carrot-bran muffins are terrific to begin with, and the apple peels add great flavor and texture (and were leftover from a pie  in the oven on the same rainy afternoon).  The sweetener in this batch was equal portions of stevia and "Xyla", an interesting sugar substitute from WholeFoods that has great flavor and a truly shocking price.

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 18 Minutes
Yield: About 16 muffins

INGREDIENTS
2 cups unprocessed bran
1 cup boiling water
3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sweetener
1 TB baking powder1 TB baking soda
1 TB ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch salt
Peels from 3 apples (about 1 1/2 cups) or equivalent weight apple sauce or finely diced apple.
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3 medium carrots, shredded in a food processor (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400.   Pour the bran into a heatproof bowl and add the boiling water.  Allow to sit for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, and add the oil. In a blender or food processor, process the apple peels and milk.  Mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until combined.  The result should be a thick, chunky dough (if necessary adjust with additional flour or milk).   Stir in the shredded carrots and the raisins. Scoop batter into lined muffin cups, and bake for 18 minutes or until just firm.

Parsley & Apple Salad

For years I fell into the trap of looking at parsley as a garnish, when really it deserves the spotlight as a primary ingredient. It's pungent flavor and crunchy-chewy texture marries beautifully with the sweetness of fall apples and the richness of toasted almonds.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch parsley, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 large crisp apple, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
Vinaigrette (your favorite)

Served up by Tod Dimmick

Breakfast Cereal Muffins

Rich, moist whole grain muffins. A different approach to breakfast cereal!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: 14-16 muffins

Wet ingredients:
1 cup apple cider
1 apple, cored and sliced
1 ripe banana
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cottage cheese
¼ cup canola oil

Dry ingredients:
1 cup breakfast cereal (your favorite - keep an eye on sugar content)
3 cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup flax meal
1/4 cup sugar or equivalent
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
¼ cup 60% cacao chocolate chips (to appeal to the kids)

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Place the cider, apple slices and banana in a blender or food processor and process to a smooth consistency. Pour this mixture into the eggs, add the cottage cheese and the oil, and whisk again.

In another bowl mix the dry ingredients.

Stir the liquids into the dry ingredients until just blended. Then stir in the raisins and chocolate chips if using. Using a rubber spatula, scrape muffin batter into a muffin pan (I use two small rubber spatulas, and line the muffin pan with paper muffin cups for easy cleanup). Bake for 18 minutes, or until just firm.

Don't overcook whole grain muffins or they'll dry out.

Whole Wheat Fruit & Nut Stuffing

Photo:
Tod Dimmick












The dilemma wordlessly posed by this rich dressing is whether to treat it as a mere dressing, or a dish unto itself.

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Servings:8-10

3 TB Olive oil
10 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
3 big ribs celery, sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
3-4 cups whole wheat bread, coarsely hacked into 1/2" cubes
1 large apple, with peel, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup dried cherries or raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt 3 TB butter in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the sage, onion and celery, stirring, for 5 minutes or until celery is tender and onions are soft and translucent. Add the apple and saute for another two minutes, stirring, then remove skillet from heat. Mix the bread cubes, dried fruit and nuts in a large bowl. Scoop onions into the bowl on top of the bread crumbs, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to mix. Add 2 cups of the stock and gently toss to evenly spread the stuffing mixture. The bread cubes should be moist enough to cling to each other. If necessary add a more stock. Scoop stuffing mixture into an oiled baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. Serve warm, or refrigerate for later use. This stuffing can be frozen. It will affect the texture of the apples a little, but not enough to outweigh the convenience of pulling pre-made but home-made stuffing from the fridge.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Apple Cobbler

Photo:
Tod Dimmick


We're getting in to apple season! Here's a great way to use flavorful local apples. Convention calls this dessert: I call it breakfast. This not-too-sweet hot fruit dish is perfect with a good mug of coffee on a cold morning. Food controversy alert: I like the apple slices with the peels for the texture and the nutrition. Jen and the kids would prefer those peels used for something else.

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6 as a breakfast, probably 8 as a dessert

1 stick (8 TB) butter, melted
4 cups chopped apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 400. Spread half of the melted butter on the bottom of a 10x10 casserole dish, or an 8x12 baking dish, and pour in the apples. Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar, and the cinnamon.

Set out two large bowls. In one, beat the milk, eggs, oil, and remaining butter In the other, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour the liquid into the flour, and mix to form a smooth, thick batter. Spoon clumps of this batter onto the apples. Leaving the clumps separate creates the "cobble" effect when this dish is baked, but some people also like to spread the batter smooth.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the topping is cooked through. Use a big serving spoon to scoop out a helping, and flip onto serving plates so the apples are on top. Yum. Serving this for dessert calls for whipped cream or ice cream. Actually, serving this anytime calls for whipped cream.

Optional: A sprinkling of raisins with the apples adds additional flavor and sweetness (I might be tempted to reduce the sugar in this case).

Submitted by Tod Dimmick,
"The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Powisset Slaw

This dish is a fun mixture of crunchy fresh vegetables.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Serves:  6-8
 INGREDIENTS
1 pint green beans
1 apple, sliced, with peel
2 cups shredded carrots (about 4-5 carrots)
1/3 cup minced scallions (about 3 scallions)
a handful of basil leaves, minced
a handful of parsley leaves, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Run the beans, apple slices, and carrots through a food processor equipped with the coarse shredding disk. Scrape that mixture into a serving bowl, and stir in the scallions, basil and parsley. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil, and toss. Distribute to serving plates, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Sliceapalooza Salad

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










"Salad" is a matter of interpretation. Its most common form includes leaves and the color green, but this salad has neither. This does, however, offer great flavor and texture, and makes good crunchy use of fresh vegetables.

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Serves: 4

1 fennel bulb, cut into chunks small enough for a food processor feed tube.
1 small sweet onion (about the size of a pool ball)
A handful of fresh carrots, scrubbed, or scraped if necessary
1 apple, cored and cut into slices
1-2 cooked beets, cut into chunks as above.
2 TB shredded Parmesan cheese
Your favorite vinaigrette

Run the fennel,onion, carrots, apple, and beets through a food processor equipped with a slicing disk. Scrape into a serving bowl, toss with the parmesan and dressing, and serve.

Crunch, crunch, yum, yum.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Salad with Spring Greens

At the beginning of the growing season, my vegetable dishes increasingly include local, seasonal goodies. The objective is everything both seasonal AND local, and we'll get there soon. This simple salad uses the last of the local apples from winter storage, lettuce, dried cranberries, asparagus (blanched), and chives from the garden.

Submitted by Tod Dimmick,
"The Foodie" at 1000radishes