Recipe Blog

made for my friends and also my mom :)

[claycancook]

Clays Favorite Apple Cake ;)

inspired by inspiredbycharm.com "german apple cake", a 2-layered cake with cinnamon & pecans (yum) + a (semi) easy apple curd filling

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

Dash (like ⅛ tsp?) of nutmeg

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tbsp canola/vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups (about 3 apples) green apples, peeled cored & chopped

¾ cup chopped pecans (toasted recommended)

Filling:

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Lemon zest (about ½ a lemon)

Optional: 1 tbsp cognac (or similar liquor)

Frosting:

8oz cream cheese (softened)

½ cup unsalted butter (softened)

Optional: ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (you can cut or fully sub out butter)

1 ½ cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

PLUS sliced apples (toss in lemon juice) and halved pecans (toasted) to garnish (optional)

Directions: 

CAKE:

Heat oven to 350f. Grease and line 9-inch baking pans with parchment and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, spices & salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar with eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla until slightly lightened in color. Fold in dry ingredients till barely mixed & add apples and nuts. Avoid overmixing.

Dump evenly into pans and cook for 50ish minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire racks (ideally at least a few hours) until COMPLETELY cool. 

FILLING:

In a small saucepan, heat sugar and applesauce over medium heat until it starts to boil. 

Add all other ingredients, mix well and put heat to low. 

Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally for several minutes, until liquid is reduced

When the texture is thickened to “gel-like” and color is darkened slightly, set aside and allow to cool as you make frosting.

FROSTING:

In a large bowl (using a stand/electric hand mixer) beat together butter and cream cheese until well blended. 

On med-high speed, add sugar in 2 parts alongside vanilla and salt (and whipping cream, if using)

Beat until thickened and fluffy, taste test & adjust sugar/salt to preference.

ASSEMBLY:

Place one cake layer on a plate & scoop frosting on top. Smooth to an even layer & spread curd evenly. 

Place the remaining cake on top (bottoms up for max even-ness) and frost the outside of the cake.

Place pecans & apple slices to decorate (I like a simple perimeter circle + gold candles for bdays). Enjoy then (or ideally, the next day after chilling in the fridge).

[claycancook]

Girl dinner but its just 1 whole zuchini and 1 whole onion. Repeated for at least 2 meals in a row now. Dare I go for a 3rd?….

[claycancook]

bday cake for the old man (we snuck a pre-bday slice haha). He totally loved it, it's a cinnamon apple 2-tiered cake, based on the recipe on inspired by charm (great blog 10/10), with some kinda big changes.

For the cake itself I reduced the sugar a tiny bit and subbed 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for the same portion of the oil.

I also cut sugar in the frosting by 1 cup, since I found it still pretty sweet. I used whipping cream to make up some of the mass, but I didn't have much extra after (unlike last time, where I followed the og version).

I still wanted a bit more complex a flavor, so I ended up whipping out some apple butter-y reduction thing. just boiled a 1/4 cup package of applesauce with 1-2 tsp of sugar, another 1-2 tsp cinnamon and some lemon zest until it reached a 'carmel' like texture (reduced liquids and thickened, possibly a bit darker). I think if I remade it, I'd try to make it vanillabean/apple, and toss a little more cream in after I take it off the heat.

I think if I remade it, I'd do that apple-butter/carmel idea (but double the recipe), cut the nuts out of the cake (yummy but I prefer the texture of them on top), toast the nuts before using and coat the sides with them (finely chopped). Somebody commented using a bit of booze in the frosting, which sounds yummy too (but maybe in the apple butter instead? Like vanilla-bourbon or something)

[claycancook]

!! pinned post is the recipe, enjoy!

[claycancook]

Cucumber-Cream Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:

8oz plain cream cheese (softened)

2 tbsp heavy whipping cream (optional, but reccomended)

herbs de provence mix (thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc) 1 tsp

onion powder (about 1/2 to 1 tsp)

fresh parsley/dill/basil (anything on hand lol) 1-2 tbsp

salt & pepper to taste

tiny cucumbers (or big, whichever you prefer!)

sliced white bread

directions:

beat together softened cream cheese with heavy cream until a light, fluffy texture forms. Fold in dried & fresh herbs, onion powder and LOTS of black pepper. Add salt to taste (may depend on cream cheese used). Set aside (I let sit overnight for dill flavor to mix in :)).

slice up cucumber and toss in salt, pepper and herbs. Let sit for at lease a few minutes to help cucumbers lose moisture.

while doing so, you can roll out bread slices & trim crusts. Set aside for some other project (yum).

to assemble sandwiches, spread cream cheese mix on 1/2 of bread slices & layer on cucumber slices. Top with remaining slices of bread & cut into preferred size/servings. enjoy!

[claycancook]

GARLIC RICE YIPPEEEEE

rice is my favorite food. Im crazy so this recipe is as much effort as regular rice.

*asterisk = Adjust proportions/cook time to package directions*

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup* of rice of choice (basmati or white my fav)

2 cups* of broth/water

2 or more cloves of garlic

1-2 tbsp butter (or sub w/any oil)

black pepper

1 tsp of dried herbs (I use cilantro but anything is ok)

OPTIONAL: fresh chopped up herb (cilantro, parsley, basil, etc)

STEPS:

Rinse rice until water runs clear, set aside.

In pot, melt butter over medium heat. Put in garlic, cook til fragrant.

Dump in water/broth, bring to a boil and add rice, dried herbs and pepper. Stir once, cover the pot and reduce heat to low.

Let rice simmer to recommended length on package, DO NOT TOUCH IT. When done cooking, keep it covered & let sit for 5ish minutes.

Fluff with a fork and add chopped up herbs. Add salt/pepper to taste.

[claycancook]

french strawberry cake

my go-to easy cake! a simple butter cake with a mega-moist center. Modified from this one by foodtasticmom.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick softened unsalted butter

1 cup sugar (divided into 3/4 and 1/4 cup measurements)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cardamom (powdered)

zest of 1 lemon (divided to halves)

1 and 1/3 cup white all-purpose flour

1 and 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup yogurt (or sour cream, but reduce salt to 1/4 tsp)

16oz strawberries, cleaned and sliced thinly

RECIPE:

heat oven to 350° f and spray/grease a 9" cake tin

beat butter and 3/4 cup of sugar until lightened and fluffy

add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly afterwards. beat in vanilla and cardamom, alongside zest of 1/2 your lemon.

in another bowl, mix dry ingredients. Pour into butter mix, alternating with the yogurt (texture may feel a bit dry)

fold in sliced strawberries, then pour into cake pan.

with remaining 1/4 cup sugar, massage with remaining lemon zest. pour evenly over cake.

bake for 35 to 40 minutes, till a toothpick or knife comes out clean.

[claycancook]

Ingredients:

1-2 lb total Short Ribs and/or Beef Shank (aim for cheap, but with bone inside!)

1 onion (chopped)

2-3 cloves garlic (minced)

1-2 carrots (chopped)

1-2 ribs of celery (chopped)

1 (large) sweet potato (cleaned/peeled and chopped)

1-2 Zucchini (chopped)

1-2 cans of hominy (drain before using!)

1 box (4 cups/32 oz) of vegetable or chicken broth

1 tbsp tomato paste

Spices/aromatics:

1 Bay leaf

1-2 tsp cumin (adjust to taste)

cilantro (abt 1-2 tsp dried, a handful chopped if fresh),

parsley (1 tsp dried, slightly less than cilantro if fresh)

salt

black pepper

Optional: red pepper flakes, Italian herbs, celery seed, paprika

Cooking:

Salt and pepper meat thoroughly, heat large soup pot on med-high heat with oil and brown meat on all sides. Set aside in a rimmed container when done (you’ll add in anything released). If any oil is in the pot, leave it.

In same pot, add extra oil of needed and cook (lower heat if needed, stirring occasionally:

onion till soft

Add in garlic, cooking a little longer till aromatic

Add in celery and carrots, allowing to soften slightly

Add sweet potato and zucchini, allowing to cook another minute or two

Stir in tomato paste, allowing to mix with veggies. Add dry spices (bay leaf, cumin, dried herbs, additional black (and red) pepper, paprika) and stir, allowing them to heat up.

Nestle meat into pot (plus any liquids released), toss in hominy and cover with broth. If there isn’t enough, great! Just add water till it’s all barely covered. Add any (chopped) stems from fresh herbs if using.

Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer! Allow to cook for at least half an hour before checking meat temperature for done-ness (160 degrees) and veggies are soft. You can keep it boiling for up to an extra hour for max soupiness. Mix in any additional herbs, salt and pepper to taste before serving.

NOTE:

 when in doubt, add more salt! I use low-sodium version of the ingredients (+ rinse any canned stuff), so I added probably needed at least 1 tbsp for a large pot. While I added more spices, salt/pepper are all you really need.

Feel free to add (or skip) whatever veg you want! However, here’s my advice:

More odorous/cruciferous veggies will take over the pot. This is anything from radish or broccoli (we’ve tried) to bell peppers (also tried)

Hard/winter squash can be added or replace the sweet potato, but I think it can add a weird taste. Yellow/summer squash can substitute for the zucchini.

  Add corn or beans! I’d especially recommend a white bean (cannellini, navy, northern or chickpea), and add alongside hominy.

[raspberrysgod]

[geck-motj]

so glad this came up on my feed bc i made my own!!

it took me 4hrs to make and i gave him eyes and some starfish frends

[claycancook]

Vegetarian Shepards Pie

This recipe is pretty flexible, I made it last time w/bacon (though not much improvement LOL), it's pretty easy to adapt to any dietary needs. The batch I made was big, so feel free to half this, too.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

(best-eva) Mashed Potatoes

3 potatoes, peeled and (roughly) cubed into 2" chunks

1/2 cup milk (warmed (microwave is fine)

1/4 cup cream cheese

optional: 1/2 to 1 cup cheese of choice (I used my moms fancy cheddar and shredded Italian mix)

salt, pepper onion and garlic powder (to taste)

Base (pretty much all ingredients optional to taste/convenience lmao)

1/2 an onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped

2 carrots (peeled, chopped finely (or shredded))

1 bell pepper, cored and chopped

1 tomato (or mini tomatoes/canned diced), chopped roughly

1-2 tbsp tomato paste

1 can reduced-sodium black beans (rinsed and drained)

2-3 cups precooked lentils (I used this recipe, with bay leaf, cloves, garlic and 1/2 an onion), or 1-2 cans of pre-cooked lentils

1 cup tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes (if you use premade tomato sauce, feel free to skip as many steps as you want)

seasonings: bay leaf, garam masala, celery seed, chipotle pepper, salt, black pepper, paprika, Italian herb mix

1/4 cup red wine

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 (optional) and chose a pan if plating as a pie. For this sized recipe, I used a super deep-dished 10" casserole dish.

chop potatoes, cover in pot with cold water (to abt 1 knuckle above), add salt and set to boil. When it reaches a boil, set for 10-15 minutes (until soft with a fork on largest pieces). When they finish, drain and set aside in pot (covered)

as it cooks, heat 1-2 tbsp oil or butter on med heat until rippling/hot, throw in onion and sauté until slightly softened. Add garlic and continue cooking until onion starts becoming transparent.

adding in tomato paste, pepper, carrots and celery. Cook until veggies are beginning to soften (fork-tender).

add powdered spices, toasting and tossing with veggies for a few seconds before reducing with wine, then add tomato sauce, lentils, beans and canned tomatoes. Add herbs to liquid.

Bring it all to a boil on high, before setting it to low to simmer. Cover pan with a lid, and allow to simmer until completely cooked through. Finish potatoes while it cooks:

mash potatoes, folding tossing in all ingredients with a spatula. Feel free to mash beans, too until a slightly creamy (but still rough) texture.

Microwave frozen peas if adding.

dump into dish of choice and top with beans, then potatoes. Feel free to make a cute faux-lattice pattern on potatoes, and/or top with extra cheddar and paprika. Feel free to put into oven for ~10 min to let melt, or eat immediately.

[claycancook]

bday cake for the old man (we snuck a pre-bday slice haha). He totally loved it, it's a cinnamon apple 2-tiered cake, based on the recipe on inspired by charm (great blog 10/10), with some kinda big changes.

For the cake itself I reduced the sugar a tiny bit and subbed 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for the same portion of the oil.

I also cut sugar in the frosting by 1 cup, since I found it still pretty sweet. I used whipping cream to make up some of the mass, but I didn't have much extra after (unlike last time, where I followed the og version).

I still wanted a bit more complex a flavor, so I ended up whipping out some apple butter-y reduction thing. just boiled a 1/4 cup package of applesauce with 1-2 tsp of sugar, another 1-2 tsp cinnamon and some lemon zest until it reached a 'carmel' like texture (reduced liquids and thickened, possibly a bit darker). I think if I remade it, I'd try to make it vanillabean/apple, and toss a little more cream in after I take it off the heat.

I think if I remade it, I'd do that apple-butter/carmel idea (but double the recipe), cut the nuts out of the cake (yummy but I prefer the texture of them on top), toast the nuts before using and coat the sides with them (finely chopped). Somebody commented using a bit of booze in the frosting, which sounds yummy too (but maybe in the apple butter instead? Like vanilla-bourbon or something)

[claycancook]

Roasted Carrots - Love and Lemons

This oven roasted carrots recipe is a simple, delicious side dish that's ready in 20 minutes! Honey brings out the carrots' sweetness.

this and the potatoes/carrots recipes are baller

[claycancook]

Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet

This Sweet Potato Black Bean skillet is a fun, budget-friendly, and veggie packed meal with lots of flavor and is perfect for meal prep!

maybe I'll just do roasted pan potatoes/baked sweet potatoes and separate bean recipe, so I can have more flexibility with leftovers... hmmm..

[claycancook]

Summer Squash Mac n Cheese

Ingredients

1-2 yellow/summer squash (finely chopped or grated)*

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup butter

a heaping spoonful of flour

about 1/2 cup of milk*

salt

black pepper

optional: Paprika, Red Pepper, nutmeg, dried herbs (thyme, parsley and marjoram are good, but just sniff and add if you think it'll be good!)

about 1 cup of shredded cheese of choice (optionally, just toss in anything extra on hand! I love it with slices of pepper jack)

about 4 servings of pasta (if cooking ahead of time, lightly toss in oil to prevent sticking)

Recipe

melt butter in large pot over medium heat until melted and bubbling lightly

toss in yellow squash, cooking for a minute before adding in onion and garlic. cook until veggies have softened, a few minutes.

when liquid in pot has slightly reduced, add in spoonful of flour (enough to coat veggies). cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Veggies will become a bit of a mush.

at this point, add in milk and continue stirring until somewhat thickened. add in seasonings and shredded cheese, adjusting to taste.

when cheese has melted and sauce become creamy, toss in pasta.

Notes

the finer chop on the squash, the better the texture! It cooks down and becomes pretty unnoticeable. It can also be substituted with about 1/2 a can of pumpkin!

feel free to substitute some/all of the milk with half-n-half, cream, or even a big glob of yogurt (my siblings old Kraft trick lol)

one of my fav recipes to pretend I'm not eating veggies with.

enjoy! ~~匸Pヽ(･ω･｀)

[claycancook]

Grandmas Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients:

6 cups sliced zuchinni

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 (8oz) box of herb stuffing mix

1/2 cup melted butter*

1 cup sour cream

1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup*

Recipe:

Preheat over to 350°

Cook zucchini, carrots and onion in salt water for (about) 5 minutes until softened. Drain well.

Combine the sour cream and soup, then fold in the cooked vegetables.

Separately from the veggie mix, mix melted butter and stuffing

Spread half of the stuffing onto bottom of casserole dish. Layer on the vegetable mixture, then top with remaining stuffing.

bake for 25-30 minutes

Notes:

original recipe calls for margarine, feel free to use either of choice

can be easily substituted with any "cream of ___" soup. To make vegetarian, use any vegetable option such as mushroom or celery.

If "cream of ___" soups aren't as accessible, you can probably substitute it with a basic roux and cream cheese/cream or halfnhalf with bullion or seasonings mixed in :)

[claycancook]

(spiced) brown butter chocolate chip cookies

this is my basic brown-butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, with some additions that I made when I baked them (to get in the fall spirit). Pull out some chai or apple cider and enjoy!

ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup of light brown sugar**

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp molasses**

1 cup white sugar

1 large egg and an extra yolk

2 and 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup of chopped nuts (or replace with more chocolate)

if making spiced, about 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 to 1 tbsp ginger, dash of cloves, nutmeg and allspice to taste*

recipe:

melt half of your butter in a nonstick pan, over medium heat. Let it brown, swirling the butter occasionally as it pops and froths. After brown bits form on the bottom of the pan and the butter stops bubbling, take it off of heat and cool in the fridge (in a separate container) for about 10 minutes, brown bits and all.

optionally: as the butter cools, toss your chopped nuts and a tbsp of your butter, letting cook for a few minutes until you can smell them.

beat together your unmelted butter and brown sugar in a big bowl until smooth

beat in vanilla and molasses, until thoroughly mixed in

pour in cooled brown butter and white sugar, beat until fluffy and lighter in color

mix in eggs and spices, adjust spices to taste.

add flour, baking soda and salt and mix just until combined.

fold in nuts and chocolate chips, and let cool covered in the fridge for at least 30 minutes

as the dough cools, heat oven to 350 and bake when dough is firm for 12-15 minutes. They might look a little puffy fresh out of the oven, but as they cool they set into themselves.

Notes:

the tbsp of molasses is optional if using dark brown sugar, though changing this may mess with texture

spices are mostly to taste- I'd recommend making unspiced first if you're unsure. if so, try tossing some sea salt on top right before baking for some extra fanciness

[claycancook]

Beans and Beans

This recipe is just a base, so make any omissions and additions you want (I'd especially recommend any seasonal veggies you have on hand! fresh versions of ingredients or even canned pumpkin could work)

Ingredients

1/2 of an onion

2-5 cloves of garlic

1 stalk of celery

1 carrot

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of black beans, plus more of choice (chickpeas, red kidney, etc)

orange juice

vegetable broth

Spices: ground chili pepper, ground red pepper, smoked paprika, Adobo, salsa picante/hot sauce, thyme, itallian herbs mix and a bay leaf)

Recipe

In a medium-large pan, heat up a nice coat of olive oil on medium heat

as it heats, chop up the onion, garlic celery and carrot

add in your onion, and let cook for a minute before adding in garlic. Let cook until onion starts looking more transparent, then mix in your celery and carrot and cook until the veggies stop releasing steam. As they cook, toss in a decent pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper

add in your tomatoes (with juice from can) and beans (without juice). add in a splash (maybe 1/4 cup?) or orange juice and enough broth that the beans are covered. Mix in additional spices and herbs.

bring it all to a boil, then turn heat down to low. Let simmer for around 45 min, until liquid is all absorbed and sauce is thick

remove that bay leaf! Serve warm bread or rice of choice :)

[claycancook]

🎷✨Jazz Bread✨🎷

I also call this "gut bread"! Officially it's "savory herb and cheese pull apart bread" but... what a mouthful! This recipe is best made with some funky jazz and a cup of coffee or tea :)

Ingredients:

2 packs of Active Dry Yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp if you use a jar)

1 tsp of sugar

~1 1/2 cups warm water

3 1/2 cups of Flour (and a bit more for kneading)

1 tsp salt

1-2 tbsp olive oil

shredded parmesan cheese (or others as you'd like)

crushed red pepper

black pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

chopped herbs (I used cilantro, parsley, oregano and thyme)

Recipe:

activate your yeast! Toss the 4 1/2 tsp of yeast with about 1/2 cup of warm water. If possible, make sure it's between 100-110°. Stir in with 1 tsp of sugar till it's all dissolved and let sit for 10 minutes.

using your hands or a wooden spoon, mix in the 2 cups of flour, the oil, salt and extra warm water as needed. mix it until its all one big glob (still sticky)

onto that knead-zone! toss it onto a clean surface that's been heartily floured, then knead until its elastic but not tacky.

let it sit in a greased bowl with a towel covering it for an hour, or till doubled in size

while it rises, mix together your spices and your herbs in a normal bowl with a bit of cheese

get that dough and PUNCH IT!!! then, pull it apart into small balls, about a golf balls worth. roll them directly in your seasoning, greasing them up with oil to help them stick as needed

put em all in a sprayed bundt pan*, loosely next to one another. once the first layer is down, sprinkle with cheese. repeat with the last bits of dough, and sprinkle on top again.

Let the dough rise in pan for another hour or so, at least until doubled and fluffy. preheat oven to 350 during this stage- if your oven gets hot while the dough is rising, it can speed up the process.

bake for about 35 minutes. it'll be light on the top layer but crusty to the touch. Let cool till handleable, and serve with tomato sauce or whatever ya want!