Cornbread Stuffing with Sage and Dried Fruits

• 2 qts. cubed day-old cornbread
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large white onion, halved and sliced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries 
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 large eggs 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread cornbread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cornbread is dry and starting to crisp, about 15 minutes, turning pieces over once halfway through; set aside. Keep oven on.

Heat oil, meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring often, until golden brown and sticky, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add dried fruit.

Pour in broth, eggs, salt, and sage and mix well to combine. Add cornbread and toss gently just to moisten. Transfer mixture to a greased 9- by 13-in. baking dish.

Bake stuffing until it feels firm to the touch and the top is starting to brown, about 40 minutes.

Serves 10-12 (3/4 c.); 185 calories.

VERDICT:  This had bites of nice, onion-y, fruity flavor but was pretty dry.  Possibly, if my cornbread had been less old, or I'd cooked it less (I only made a half batch), it would have been better.  However, it's not often that I'm looking to make cornbread stuffing, so toss.

Crunchy Chickpeas

• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons canola oil 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 garlic clove, minced 

Preheat oven to 300°.

Wrap chickpeas in a towel; lightly roll to loosen skins. Discard skins. Combine chickpeas and remaining ingredients. Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 40 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.

Serves 8 (1/4 c.); 95 calories.

VERDICT:  These are really good, but they take forever, between picking the skins off of the chickpeas and stirring every twenty minutes.  Buy, not make.  Toss.
 

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

• 1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
• 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed, divided
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or yogurt
• 2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups and set aside.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield 12-18.

VERDICT:  I did, in fact, overmix the buttermilk, and the batter curdled.  The brown sugar also melted, ran right off of the muffins and burned up on the top of the pan and the sides of the muffins.  The smoke detector went off and half the muffins taste like charcoal.  Toss.

Black Pepper Corn Bread

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/3 cups cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 large eggs 
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• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Place corn and milk in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons butter, honey, and eggs; process until combined. Add milk mixture to cornmeal mixture; stir just until combined.

Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack. Lightly brush corn bread with remaining 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve warm, or cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
 
Serves 12; 144 calories.

VERDICT: I like that this has real corn in it, since we always have some kicking around in the freezer, and I'm intrigued by the idea of mixing all the wet ingredients together in the blender, but the bread itself turned out rubbery.  I didn't get the salt on the top very evenly sprinkled, either, so intermittent bites were incredibly salty.  Toss.

Egg and Veggie Salad with Dill Green Goddess

• 5 large eggs
• 10 small purple potatoes, halved lengthwise (14 oz.)
• 16 medium orange cauliflower florets
• 4 Persian cucumbers
• 1/3 c. plus I Tbs. finely chopped fresh dill
• 3/4 c. plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 bunch large radishes, sliced or quartered, radish leaves, optional

Set large vegetable steamer rack in pot over boiling water.  Place eggs on rack, surround with potatoes.  Cover pan, and steam 10 minutes.  Scatter cauliflower over potatoes.  Cover, and steam 3 to 4 minutes more, or until vegetables are just tender and eggs are hard-boiled.

Meanwhile, cut 1-inch piece from 1 cucumber.  Peel, and place piece in blender.  Add 1/3 c. dill, 1/4 c. yogurt, oil, and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.  Puree in blender until smooth.  Place remaining 1/2 c. of yogurt in medium bowl.  Stir puree from blender into yogurt until smooth.

Slice remaining cucumbers thickly on diagonal.

Peel eggs under cold running water.  Quarter eggs.

Divide radish leaves (if using) among plates.  Top with eggs, potatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, and radishes.  Drizzle each salad with dressing.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 T. chopped dill.

Serves 4; 288 calories.

VERDICT:  This really did only take 30 minutes to prepare, as advertised!  I was a bit skeptical about steaming an egg to hard-boiled status, but it was the most perfect hard-boiled egg I've ever made.  Steaming from here on out.  This didn't really seem like a salad so much as pre-dipped crudite, but it was easy, interesting, and chock-full of nutrients.  Keep!  (Note: I used white cauliflower and non-Greek fat-free plain yogurt, which were both fine.  I also left out the radish leaves, as Target only had sad plastic bags of naked radishes.)

Cavatappi with Spinach, Beans and Asiago Cheese

8 cups coarsely chopped spinach leaves 

4 cups hot cooked cavatappi (about 6 ounces uncooked spiral-shaped pasta)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, drained 

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Cracked black pepper (optional)

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper, if desired.

Serves 4 (2 cups); 401 calories.

VERDICT: Simple and easy, but punchy from the raw garlic and salty and savory from cheese.  The recipe says to use whatever pasta, beans, or cheese you have on hand--John used rigatoni, baby spinach, and Parmesan, and it turned out beautifully.  Keep.

Apple-Apricot Cobbler

Filling:

• 5 large apples (about 2 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced (about 7 cups)
• 1/4 c. diced dried apricots
• 2 T. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/3 c. apple cider or juice

Topping:

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. plus 1 1/2 tsp. sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 3 T. butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 c. 1% milk

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss together apples, apricots, sugar, cinnamon, and cider.  Transfer to a 9-inch square baking pan.  Into the same bowl, sift together flour, 1/3 c. sugar, baking powder, and salt.  With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Fold in lemon zest.  Stir in milk.  Using two spoons, drop dough onto apples in nine evenly spaced mounds.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tsp. sugar.  Bake 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serves 9; 190 calories.

VERDICT:  The biscuits were fluffy with a crunchy sugar top, and the lemon zest was fragrant and delicious.  I'm not sure the apricot added anything incredible, so I'd feel free to make this without.
Keep!