Microwave Apple Crisp

Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, I thought I’d introduce the microwave version of my favorite Thanksgiving dessert.  All you need is six ingredients and about fifteen minutes.  It’s easy, delicious, and fast, and it makes just enough for one satisfying serving, unless you want seconds.

Ingredients:

1 apple

2 tablespoons quick oats

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon melted, unsalted butter

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Optional: A nice heaping of whipped cream or ice cream!  It tastes so much better with cream!

Instructions:

1. Peel the apple.  Core it, then slice it thinly. This will be your filling!

2. Mix the rest of your ingredients (quick oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter) in a mixing bowl.

3. Put your apple slices in a microwave-safe mug.  Make sure your mug is big enough that the apples fill less than half-way.  A bowl works too!  (The apple slices will have shrunk by the end, but you don’t want them to go over the edge of the cup while they’re cooking.)  Cover it, and microwave for 30 seconds.

4. Spoon your oat mixture over the top.  Try to make it even.  Now microwave for a full minute.

5. Let it sit for a few seconds so it doesn’t bubble over the edge of the mug, then microwave for another 30 seconds.  Repeat once more.  Now you’re done!  Once it’s cooled, you can dig in!  Doesn’t that smell delicious?

Credit: http://eugeniekitchen.com/apple-crisp/

Creamy Tomato Soup

Create your own heart-warming version of tomato soup that posts less than the can you’d buy at the store. In this recipe, crushed tomatoes are mixed with sautéed onion and garlic, pureed, then turned into a velvety concoction by stirring in heavy cream.

Ingredients

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2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes, with juice

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until slightly softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour to blend, about 1 minute.

Add tomatoes with juice and broth to saucepan, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir or whisk constantly until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Working in batches, carefully transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl until all soup is pureed. Return soup to saucepan, stir in cream and cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until heated through. Do not boil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot in warmed cups.

Chilled Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers are perfect as a light appetizer.  They’re refreshing, they aren’t too filling, and they taste surprisingly good.  Also, they’re really easy to make.  No stove required!  You may have seen chilled Cucumber Salad as an appetizer at a Chinese restaurant.  Now you can make your own!

Ingredients:

1-2 large seedless cucumbers

2-3 cloves of garlic

Soy sauce ( start with a 1/2 cup, then add to taste)

Rice vinegar (start with a 1/2 cup, then add to taste)

Chili oil (Optional, but delicious)

Directions:

1. Peel the cucumber first if you don’t like the skin.  Otherwise, just wash it, and then slice it into pieces 1/3-1/2 inches (or around 1 cm) thick.

2. Dice the cloves of garlic.

3. Put the garlic and the cucumber into a large bowl.  Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil to taste.

4. Toss gently.  That’s it!  You’re done!  Now enjoy!

Wasn’t that easy?

Credit: my mom and Allison

Photo credit: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/chilled-garlic-soy-cucumbers/

Dolce Potato Mash

No, it’s not sweet potato mashed potatoes, it’s Dolce Potato Mash and it only takes one Friends episode to make.This particular recipe serves 8, so tell that ninth friend to spend his Thanksgiving somewhere else.

Anyway, between passively watching football and catching up with correspondence (just a euphemism for procrastinating), run down to your nearest Trader Joe’s or Associated or Gristede’s for the following ingredients:

• 3 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into symmetrical 1″ by 1″ cubes (or chunks in an assortment of sizes)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg (opt., aka only if you’re feeling fancy)
• Salt and pepper

And here we go.

1. Boil potatoes until as tender as a first kiss. Drain and reserve.
2. Return the pot to the stove top over medium heat.
3. Add butter and bananas into the pot.
4. Cook bananas for 5 minutes before adding the orange juice to the pot, reserve the zest.
5. Allow the juice to cook out (this typically takes 1 minute).
6. Add potatoes to the pot, as well as the stock and sugar.
7. Mash potatoes, banana, stock, and sugar together until more combined than the Boleyn blood line.
8. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper, and orange zest, to your ultra-refined taste.
9. Mash to combine spices.
10. SERVE!

There you have it, your first Friendsgiving dish! Hope you enjoyed this recipe (discovered a la Food Network), and stay tuned for more posts!

EasyNoms Presents a Friendsgiving Feast

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s time to start planning that Thanksgiving feast, and by feast we mean an abundance of food other than your bag of bread and discount shredded cheese (let’s be honest, do you even grill your sandwich or do you just eat your cheese with bread on the side?).

Your friends are lazy, so it’s up to you to feed them. Normally you would resist, but it’s the holidays and you feel this inexplicable urge to act the good samaritan. Lucky for you, EasyNoms has just the recipes to make a feast without all the fuss.

Check back every day leading up to Thanksgiving for a new recipe, and Tweet pics of your creations to us @EasyNoms.

Bisou, our loves, and happy Thanksgiving!

Microwave Potato Chips

Yes, I know.  Microwave potato chips.  They do come out of a microwave, but trust me.  Unlike most nuked food, these are actually crispy.  They’re also healthier than the normal potato chip, because they use much less oil. I’ve tried making these before, but foodgal’s tips made my chips better, so I’m sharing a mashup of our recipes.  Depending on how thinly you slice your potatoes, the amount of each ingredient will change.

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds of potatoes (foodgal said Yukon Gold or red, I say whatever you have in the kitchen)

1-3 tablespoons of oil (if you cut your potatoes super thin, you may need more)

1 teaspoon salt (add to taste- I like my salt)

Something to grease your plate with- oil, butter, or cooking spray

Optional: onion powder, chili powder, garlic salt, be creative!

Directions:

1. Grease your microwave-safe plate, just well enough to cover the whole surface

2. Slice your potatoes.  This may take a while, if you want thinner (and crispier!) chips.  But if you’re impatient and hungry, like me, mangled chips or thicker chips in the style of kettle chips still taste great.

3. Toss your potato slices in a bowl with your oil and salt.  Try to get a bit of oil and salt on every slice.  Feel free to add a little more salt and oil if you need to.

4. Arrange your slices on the greased microwave-safe plate in one layer.  Overlapping chips in multiple layers means they won’t be crispy.  I like to form spirals.

5. Microwave uncovered for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to turn brown (may be 30 seconds if you sliced your potatoes really thinly).  Thinner slices brown faster.  Turn your slices over (I use a fork or chopsticks because they are HOT) and repeat.

6. Once both sides have been microwaved, take them out!  Wait for them to cool and turn crispy.  This shouldn’t take too long, unless your slices are on the thicker side. And even then, potato slices taste great!  Now distribute your chips among your friends (but only if you want to) and enjoy!

Credit: http://www.foodgal.com/2010/01/microwave-potato-chips-really/

Microwave Mac & Cheese

Who doesn’t like mac and cheese?  I love it, but I find that a whole bowl of it can be too much.  This recipe is perfect for a small, but filling snack, and the most you’ll have to wash is a mug and a spoon!  Honestly, that’s the best part.  Easy cooking and easy cleaning.  (Wash as soon as you’re done eating, or soak your mug in hot water to get rid of the cheese and make for easier clean up.)

 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup macaroni/ any small pasta you have on hand

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup milk (whatever kind you have)

1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar probably works best, but feel free to mix in your favorites)

Optional: teaspoon of butter/ ground pepper

 

Directions:

1. “Boil” your pasta by combining the pasta and the water in a large mug.  Microwave on high for 2 minutes, then stir.  I recommend doing this on 20 second intervals, so the water doesn’t spill over.  That should be 6, 20 second intervals.

2. Check the pasta.  Repeat until desired firmness.  For me, this usually takes another 2 minutes, but I have a strong microwave.  If you like your pasta softer than al dente, you might want to cook for 4 extra minutes instead of 2.  Stir at every interval.  (All the water should be absorbed.  If the pasta isn’t cooked yet, add another spoonful of water, and cook for another few intervals of 20 seconds.)

3. You’re almost done now!  Remove your mug from the microwave, and stir in the milk and cheese!  (Add the butter and pepper here too if you want.)  Be careful with the hot mug, but everything should eventually melt into gooey goodness as you stir.

4. Enjoy!  You can always make another mug for yourself, or share with a friend!

Credit:

I’ve seen this recipe more than once, and I’ve added butter and pepper to mine, but here’s the most recent one I’ve seen: http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/instant-mug-o-mac-cheese-in-the-microwave/

The picture is also from babble.com

Halloween Tip #3: Tim Tams and Kit Kats

 

Tim Tams and Kit Kats are both chocolate-covered wafers.  They’re good for snacking.  But there’s more than one way to use these Halloween leftovers!

1. As a Drinking Straw

Simply bite off both ends, dip it into a drink of your choice (I’d recommend coffee, milk, or hot chocolate), and voila!  A straw! There’s nothing better than getting a sip of hot chocolate through the wafer. And you can even eat the wafer “straw” afterwards.  Slightly melty, and full of the drink of your choice…  If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s amazing.

2. Stirring Sticks

You could also simply use them as stirring sticks; the chocolate melts perfectly into hot drinks, but I still prefer the straw.

Photo Credit: http://productsfromnz.com/1900+Tim+Tams+Biscuits+(Cookies)

Wikipedia

Halloween Tip #2: Reeses!

Halloween instantly brings to mind Trick or Treating!  And that means lots of candy.  One of my favorites is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  To get into the spirit for Halloween (or to get rid of that mountain of candy you’ve accumulated), here are 3 quick tips on how to further incorporate these bits of chocolate-y, peanut-buttery goodness into your life.

1. Hot Cocoa

Next time you’re settling down for a cup of hot chocolate, add a Reese’s to your cup before you add your cocoa powder mix, marshmallows, and boiling water.  It’s delicious!

2. Waffles/Pancakes

Right after you pour your batter into your waffle-maker, pop a handful of these on too!

If you’re making pancakes, you can use Reese’s Pieces, or chop your Reese’s into smaller bits, and sprinkle them into your batter.  Then make pancakes as normal.

3. Cupcakes/Muffins

Just before you pop your next batch into the oven, press a Reese’s right into the middle of each muffin!  When it’s done, you’ll have a bite of molten chocolate and peanut-butter filling as a surprise for whoever you want to impress!

Idea Credit: Ellen Krantz