What the Forks for Dinner? - Page 108 of 202 - Recipes and ideas so you never have to ask what the forks for dinner!

Cranberry Pistachio Breakfast Cookies

Need a quick grab and go breakfast treat? Cranberry Pistachio Breakfast Cookies are just the ticket!

I am always looking for a quick and easy grab and go breakfast. Granola bars are great, but I want to know …….and be able to pronounce the things that are in my food.

I know this is odd, but I do not like cooked oatmeal, I love how it smells….must be a texture thing. But, I love it in a baked item. Weird right?

Oatmeal is good for you and can help reduce cholesterol, can help stabilize blood sugar, and may reduce the risk of heart problems when combined with a heart healthy diet. Plus in these cookies it tastes awesome.

While I admit the other items in the cookie may not be the lowest in fat or sugar, they all have certain benefits.

Pistachios…my new favorite nut, as I eluded to in the Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake post earlier this week…..are cholesterol free, sodium free and lower in fat than other nuts. They have potassium, and fiber. Adding pistachios to carb rich food such as rice and pasta may have a glucose and insulin lovering effect.

Everyone know the benefits of bananas, plus they can replace fat in baking so, double score for the banana.

I know, I know, dried cranberries have sugar, but buy the low sugar variety and keep your consumption at a reasonable amount and it’s all good!

Same goes for coconut. It is enjoying its day in the sun, but as it is high in fat content be mindful of its consumption.

Mixing the cookies was easy. ai used a ring for a mason jar as a mold to ensure that all the cookie were round and of the same size.

Another thing I discovered is that the longer these cookies set the better they taste, the flavor just sorta blend to gather and complement each other.

For this recipe I used as much organic as I could find to increase the benefit. The combo of all the ingredients gives a fiber filled, cookie that keep your sugar level even and a boost of energy to last you for the morning, until that mid morning snack, which could be another Cranberry Pistachio Breakfast Cookie!

Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake

Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake the perfect springtime desert.

I must confess, I am a new pistachio lover. I guess I had never really tried them…..they seemed like a lot of work and they were green……I wasn’t too sure about a green nut!

Well, surprise, surprise ……they are awesome!! Fresh out of the shell, they complement sweet or savory dishes,I even tried salt and pepper flavored ones, in the words of Rachael Ray…….yummo!!!

The light green color of this bundt from Pinterest caught my eye. I remember with fondness when ‘Watergate” salad, then cake were popular. I was a Senior in High School when the Watergate Scandal broke.

The Jello Company had just introduced Pistachio pudding, and created a recipe using their new product, called Pistachio Pineapple Salad. Everyone was taking this new salad to parties and rumor has it that the name Watergate Salad, stuck was because it was full of marshmallows, bananas, and nuts and covered with fluff…..just like the Nixon administration.

The cake was made even more popular by being named Watergate Cake with Cover up Icing. The scandal, as all scandals do became the stuff of memories, but he cake has endured.

This cake is not a Watergate cake, it more of a crumb bundt cake. A scratch cake with pistachio pudding. I never was very good a homemade cakes in the past but have developed a late life talent…….you can teach an old dog new tricks!

The cake is simple to put together and bake, due in part to the bakers best friend……the bundt pan. I currently have two bundt pans and will continue to buy different shapes. I love the contours that they create.

OK, so the secret to getting that perfect eye-catching visual of a bundt cake are:

Make sure to spray or brush the pan with non stick spray, or butter. Make sure you get in every nook and cranny. If you hold the pan to the light you can see that sheen that the coating gives you will be in business. If you see any dry spot make sure to get them covered.
Sprinkle the coated pan with flour, or cocoa if you are making a chocolate bundt. Again making sure to get the flour in all the nooks and crannies. Just keep tilting and tapping the pan. Don’t try to use your fingers or you will pull off the coating.
Be sure to tap out any excess flour.
Fill the pan and bake.
Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack before attempting to un-mold.
To un-mold, run a butter knife around the edge of the pan and the tube in the middle. Don’t push the knife down the sides or you will ruin the pans effect.
Place a large plate on top of the bundt pan, and invert the pan in one fluid motion, holding the plate tight to the pan. You might need to jiggle or tap the pan to remove the cake. You will feel when it gives.

Then ta-da you have the perfect bundt cake!

Frosting of bundt cake…… needs to be a glaze. First its easy, and second you need no cake decorating skills needed!

For this cake, what else but a pistachio glaze and why not add a bit of that pistachio pudding to give it that green hint. Mix the pudding mix, and please use instant not the cooked pudding mix, with the water before adding to the powdered sugar. It makes for a smoother glaze. The recipe for the glaze can be tweaked to the consistency you desire.

Give the glaze a couple of minute to set up before garnishing with the pistachios or they will run down the side of the cake with the glaze. Your garnish with be a border if you do not wait!

Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake would make a great Easter cake with its light green color and the pretty visual of your bundt pan.

Or may throw a 70’s Watergate Party ……..for a blast form the past.

Either way enjoy this easy, pretty, Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake!

Salmon Cakes

Salmon Cakes or better know in some circles as Salmon Patties, were a staple dinner when we were kids.

You remember, the canned salmon that you had to pick through to try and get rid of the bones and cartilage that was in with the salmon. I always though it was gross, but truth be told I was never a big salmon patty lover as a kid.

Turns out the bones and cartilage are edible and full of calcium……who knew? That still as a kid, would not have swayed me. I ate them, because anyone of a certain age knows, you ate what was in front of you or you went hungry. Beside they weren’t awful just not my fav.

So, fast forward a few years….ok maybe more than a few, but I learned the love of real, honest to goodness salmon. Not from a can, but from the sea……such a big difference. If possible buy wild caught salmon, fresh is best.

Now, when I say fresh, I mean wild caught, not fresh in the meat case at the grocery store. Actually, don’t assume that fresh is always better than frozen fish. Sometimes frozen is better than fresh. Plenty of frozen fish is put on ice on boats right after it’s caught to preserve its freshness. I buy frozen frequently.

It’s easy to like salmon, its tender, mild-tasting, and versatile. It’s even easy to cook—the fatty texture helps keep the fish tender and moist, so the perfect choice for Salmon Cakes. Plus its loaded with those all important Omega’s.

Using fresh salmon for these Salmon Cakes keeps them moist, as using canned can result in dry cakes. Some Miracle Whip, and as I always say…..mayo if you must…….I prefer Miracle Whip, grainy mustard, capers, dill, and green onions, plus panko crumbs ( I love these ) bind the fresh salmon together.

I used my 1/3 cup measure as a measure and a form. The mixture pressed into the 1/3 cup measure makes the perfect cake.

A quick visit to the frying pan to brown them, and then into the oven to finish.The oven time is the perfect time to make the sauce.

Greek yogurt, lemon, juice, dill, green onion, and mustard make a beautiful sauce to slather over the Salmon cakes. Creamy, lemony, dilly = yummy!

The salmon cakes need a bed to lay on and what better than spinach? Just a olive oil, lemon juice, mustard vinaigrette, tossed with the spinach make a pretty little bed for the Salmon Cakes.

To serve, place the dressing spinach on a plate or serving platter, depending if you are serving individual or family style. Then place the salmon cakes on the bed of spinach. Top each cake with the yogurt sauce, and garnish with extra dill and capers if you wish.

Pass the lemon wedges and dig in………