Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

Recently, I was diagnosed with borderline diabetes, and that I need to lose 25.5 lbs, (will recheck in October bc Dr. wants to make sure that it wasn't a mistake, since I drank coffee with creamer before the test. I had to have something and coffee makes me happy. 😬)  The words from my Doctor hit me with a, near, knock out punch. I was a mess, mentally and emotionally. 

Ok, boom, pow, I took the hits now it's time to get up and dust off my boots.  What's next dear Dr. Carpio?  He said, cut the sugar, eat lots of fruits and veggies and lose 25.5 pounds, then, as always he smiled.

Ok.  Cut sugar. I can do that.  Lose 25.5 lbs.......that's the challenge, but I will do my very best.  In college and shortly after, I used starvation to lose weight, therefore, I don't weigh myself because it triggers the starvation mindset and becomes an obsession.  I must come up with something else.  I consulted a Specialist to help me lose the fat in a healthy  manner. Weight loss in progress.

Next, cutting the sugar.  I love sweet tea, I love ice cream, I love cake, I love sweets.  I hate diet anything.  I can't use artificial sweetners because I have an allergy to something in them and my head starts buzzing, no kidding.  I have long since abandoned, as many things as possible, that contain GMO's and are not organic.  The research into an effective, natural sweetener began.

I can not emphasis more, DO YOUR RESEARCH, there are many "natural" sweetners out there that are only "natural" because a part of it came from nature at one point. Just because something says "natural" doesn't mean healthy. Take Agave syrup, it is terrible for you!  "Most agave syrup has higher fructose content than any commercial sweetener -- ranging from 70 to 97 percent, depending on the brand, which is FAR HIGHER than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which averages 55 percent."

While some Stevia products do contain stevia, they  also contain chemicals. The FDA has not approved pure Stevia for use as a sweetener, as seen in this excerpt from an article written by the Mayo Clinic. "Note that although the FDA has approved highly refined stevia preparations as a novel sweetener, it has not approved whole-leaf stevia or crude stevia extracts for this use."  Key words, "highly refined," code for adding chemicals in the refining process.  That's why Stevia still has an after taste, as do other "sweeteners." My sister bought me some Stevia plants, and when I take a leaf from the Stevia plant and chew on it, or add it to my tea, there is NO aftertaste.  Sigh, why does the FDA approve chemicals but not the natural/actual plant????

In my research I found Monk Fruit.  As you all know, I have food allergies so I have to be extra careful with regards to what I put in my body.  Lots of research later, I found out that the monk fruit  is a gourd and part of the pumpkin family.  Good news for me, I'm not allergic to pumpkins.  Yes!  I also learned that the area the Monk Fruit is harvested, has more Centanarians than any other part of the world. Also good news.  Monk fruit got it's name because the Chinese Monks used it medicinally, it's actual name is Luo Han Guo.  Some of the most important health benefits of monk fruit include its ability to treat diabetes, help with weight loss, lower inflammation, eliminate fever, prevent certain types of cancer, protect the heart, prevent allergies, and prevent signs of aging.  Monk Fruit is also 300 times sweeter than cane sugar.  Could this be true?  Only one way to find out, buy some.

While searching for Monk fruit, I found that 99% of all monk fruit sweetners are mixed with something.  For instance, dextrose is mixed with a popular "raw" sweetener.  Dextrose is a sugar, anyting with "ose" is a sugar.  How can it be raw, if it's mixed with something?  It can't have a lot of monk fruit in it for two reasons, #1 Dextrose is listed first in the ingredients and #2 monk fruit is brown, not white.  If a monk fruit sweetner is white, it's not pure.  There are other "monk fruit" sweeteners out there, but they all have an added ingredient or more.  Also, since Monk Fruit is approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar, and the container says that 1 teaspoon, is a serving, it can't be pure, right?  I want PURE, 100% pure.  So I searched Organic and found a product with 100% pure monk fruit in it.   I purchased it, and WOW.  Just WOW!

I'm not trying to do an ad, but I have to share!  Monk Fruit, pure, 100% organic Monk Fruit is BOMB!  It's is delicious,  no aftertaste, it dissolves in cold drinks, hot drinks, it doesn't break down into a chemical mess when it's added to baked goods.  It is out of this world.  My son with a massive sweet tooth even likes it!  Here's a picture of it:

This is the scooper included in the container. 

The container says 1 gram is a serving, and there are 100 servings in each container. NO WAY, there's probably more like 300 servings in there, simply because it's SO sweet!

This is about how much I use in my coffee, probably less.  It is super super sweet!

I have been using the Monk Fruit for about a month and I have to tell you, I don't miss sugar at all!  This stuff is so sweet that you have to be very careful with how much is used.  I carry it with me,  and my friend asked me to sweeten her tea with it.  (I've given up Sweet Tea, I order Unsweet and put Monk Fruit in it.)  I kept shaking a little in at a time, and she said more....more.....I accidentally dumped more, a lot more!  We both gasped in horror, that tea would be way too sweet to drink!  Thankfully, the tea was so strong that it was ok.  

If you have been following my blog, you see that we love cobblers!  I tried to make cobbler with a little bit of monk fruit and no sugar whatsoever.  I'd never tried to cook with the monk fruit before so I didn't use enough causing the end product to not be as good.  I tried again and this one, well, that's why there's a picture of an empty dish.  I took the cobbler out of the oven, and the two, 10 year old, boys were trying to taste it while it was bubbling hot.  I had to defend it against them until it could be plated.  In all the turmoil, I didn't take a picture of the "before."  I did get a picture of the "after," like less than 15 minutes after, literally.  

Enough Jabber.....Here's the recipe!  Try it and let me know your thoughts in the comments!!!

Blackberry and Raspberry Cobbler with Monk Fruit

1/2 Stick organic butter

1/4 cup organic brown sugar

1 cup organic flour

1 organic egg

1/2 cup 2% organic milk

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 scoop of Organic Monk Fruit apx. 1gram (scoop included in pkg.)

pinch kosher salt

1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

1/2 cup Blackberries (or fruit of your choice)

1/2 cup Raspberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Put casserole dish in oven with the butter, allowing it to melt

Pull out when butter is completely melted

Sprinkle the brown sugar on the the melted butter

In a bowl mix the flour, egg, milks, monk fruit, salt and baking powder

Pour over the butter and the brown sugar

Drop berries on top of the batter, (don't completely cover the batter but put as many as you like on top.)

Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.  

Let cool before serving, with a scoop of frozen whipped topping. (freezing it gives it the consistency of ice-cream, which satisfies our sweet tooth, but with 1 gram of sugar and 25 calories for 2 tablespoons.  compare to your favorite vanilla ice cream and you'll see this is a "diet" SCORE!)

credits:  Agave: Marcola, click on link to go to page. Stevia: Mayo Clinic, click on link to go to page. Monk Fruit: Organic Facts, click on link to go to page.  Links are highlighted in blog.

Acorn Squash with Grapes, Cardamom and Cinnamon. Out of this world.

Acorn Squash is one of my favorite things to make.  It's so easy and so versatile.  I always make it the same way, however that gets old, so I decided to change it up.  It's a big joke in my house when asked, "what's for supper?"  

That question is usually followed by, "Is it one of your concoctions?"  

The answer to that is nearly always, "pretty much."  

My husband doesn't mind my concoctions because he says they're usually pretty good.  Not always, for instance, two weeks ago I decided to try my hand at roasting vegetables.  I didn't really know what to do, but how hard can it be?  I bought some golden beets, carrots, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions.  I called my brother about the beets, he said to boil them first before I baked them.  Good advice. Once I was ready to assemble the vegetables on the pan, I remembered one of the Chefs on Food Network, (the lady with the crazy platinum hair, can't remember her name) say to make sure and salt every new addition of vegetables.  Ok, so I did.  Well, the roasted veggies came out looking great, but tasted awful!!!!!  So salty it was so gross, it all got dumped.  I was very upset with the waste, but nothing could be saved.  Nasty.  So take from that, don't salt every new layer of veggies.  No No No. 

Back to the Acorn Squash.  I have a recipe for acorn squash on the blog, you can find it here.

I usually bake it, then fix up some baked fruit to go in the middle with brown sugar and butter.  It's really good, but, like I said I needed a change.  

Years ago I remember having some wonderful chicken cooked with grapes.  The flavor was absolutely fantastic and the grapes added a very nice taste and texture to the dish.  I thought I'd give my new idea a chance, what's the worst that could happen?  So I made up the acorn squash and along with it, cooked up some chicken with the same grapes, to tie the meal together.  My son, who tends to be on the picky side (wonder where he gets that from? Certainly not me. Insert sarcasm here) loved it.  All of it!  The taste was so delicious, we didn't need to add anything but a little pat of butter.  Really, if you all haven't tried to make Acorn Squash you really need to.  It looks so fancy when you fill it up with fruit, and serve it on the plate with your other food.  A lot of people avoid acorn squash because it looks weird and many recipes call for peeling and cutting.  No thanks.  I like the way my Mom taught me better.  

 Without any further ado here is the recipe. 

Acorn Squash with Cardamom, Cinnamon and Grapes:

1 Acorn Squash

16 grapes 

Sprinkle of Cardamom

1/2 a Cinnamon stick 

2 tsp brown sugar (if you want, we didn't use any and it was wonderful)

Preheat the oven to 350

Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds

Prepare a baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil 

Place a pile of grapes, sprinkle of cardamom and the 1/2 cinnamon stick on top of the grapes

**NOTE: go easy with the cardamom as it can easily and unpleasantly overwhelm the dish

Place the acorn squash over the grapes, making sure the sliced side is touching the foil. 

Pour water in the pan to seal up the edges of the acorn squash (this will keep the squash from burning and drying out.)

Carefully place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  

You can tell the acorn squash is ready, by touching the top of the squash, if it makes a little dent, it's ready.  If it's still hard, leave it in the oven for a few more minutes.  

By leaving the skin on the squash, you've made yourself a bowl. 

When the squash is done, take out of the oven and turn over, add the grapes, a pat of butter and 1 tsp of brown sugar, scrape the squash off the skin, mix and enjoy.

If you try this recipe or, have an acorn squash recipe you like, share with us in the comments.  

Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler Recipe

The field behind our house is full of wild blackberry bushes.  The brambles rise up to the light, full of red berries and the ripened blackberries.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  We have 12 acres, and nearly every where you look there are blackberry bushes.  Some are surrounded by poison ivy, some right along the trails that are cut through the thick underbrush, and some just waving in the breeze among the high grass.  You'd think we would have so many blackberries, we'd be sick of them.  Maybe we could pick so many of them we could sell them at the Farmers Market.  You'd think and you'd be wrong.  Those blackberries are very sought after, and not just by us, but by the animals that live in the field.  We are nestled at the base of a mountain, altitude about 2400 feet above sea level.  

While we do not live IN the mountain, we have a plethora of wild animals to compete with for the blackberries.  One of which is a fat, black bear.  That's right, a bear.  He lives in the field behind our house, periodically breaking into our trash cans to have a feast. Last year were able to only pick one small bowl of blackberries before  he grumped at us, causing us to beat a hasty retreat.  This year, I was determined I would get more than one bowl.  If we don't pick them as soon as they turn black, the bear, deer, skunks, raccoons, possum, squirrels and a variety of birds will pick the vines clean.  I was able to pick the berries 2 times.  I got enough to freeze, which is wonderful, although I doubt they'll make it to the winter because of our love of cobbler.  A few weeks ago, when the red berries were turning black, a friend went to pick some berries.  He has been in the country his whole life of 72 years, and armed with 4 wheeler and a pistol (to scare, not harm, the bear) he went into the field.  A short time later, he came back out.  He said he was picking berries and heard something following him in the bushes.  He looked down at one point and saw a pile of bear poo.  Jumping on the 4 wheeler, clutching his prize of berries he came back to the house. Having admitted he was scared of the bear he thanked me for the berries and left.  I decided I best not go pick anymore either.  Once the berries are scarce, the bear might be a little less fearful and more aggressive since his winter survival would be in question.   

This is a picture of a Mama bear and her cub that frequent my Dad's property.  She is a black bear, the same as the bear who occupies the field.  As my child would say, "Cute, but not cuddly."  I should say so!  Nonetheless, I managed to get some delicious, fresh blackberries and made a fantastic Blackberry cobbler.  I made a video of the process.  Trying something new on my blog.  Hope you enjoy it! 

Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler

1/2 stick organic butter
1 cup organic milk
1 cup organic flour
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 organic egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Blackberries (or any other fruit you like)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F
Place 1/2 stick of butter in 2 8x8 Cobbler pans (or 1 stick in 12x12 pan) and put in the oven as it pre-heats
Take out when the butter has melted and slightly browned
Take pan out of the oven and sprinkle the brown sugar all around the pan, especially the edges

In a seperate bowl mix the rest of the ingredients and pour into the pan, on top of the butter and brown sugar.

Drop blackberries (as many/little) on top of the batter

Return the pan to the oven and bake 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly

Serve warm with a scoop of organic chocolate ice-cream

Note:  You can use non-organic ingredients and the egg is optional, you can also adjust the sugar to your liking.
To make a larger pan, just double the ingredients.
If you'd like you can add a tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt, this will make the batter rise more.
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Balsamic Maple glazed Pork chops, Acorn squash with stewed apples and steamed broccoli

Pic from "Dine with a Darling"

Hey Paw! What's for supper?
Balsamic Maple glazed boneless Pork chops, Acorn squash with stewed apples, raisins and dried cranberries with steamed broccoli.

We love Acorn squash in this house. I'm surprised that so many people don't know what an Acorn squash is! My Mom always made this for us growing up. I use to prepare just one Acorn squash, (one makes two servings). I would "share" mine with my son, well, he likes it so much that I was hardly getting any! So now, I make 2 Acorn squash so we all have enough and there is some left over. Same goes for the broccoli, I have to make sure we all have our own and there is some left over. Hard to believe that my little guy loves broccoli, but he does. He also loves fruits and vegetables, probably because that's really all he knows. When he started on baby food, I tasted some labeled "peaches". Well, it didn't taste like any kind of peach I've ever had! So, from then on, I steamed fresh veggies and fruits for him and pureed them. As for the pork chops, I decided to try something new. I hope you all like it, we did. Let's get started...

Pork Chops:

3 thick cut boneless pork chops
1 cup maple syrup
2-3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of Caribbean jerk seasoning
1/4 teaspoon of dried pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350
Place chops in a baking pan
Salt and pepper them to your taste
Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the chops
Let sit for a little bit while you prepare the Acorn Squash
Put the chops and the Acorn squash in the oven at the same time
Bake for 45 minutes turning the chops over 1/2 way through the baking process

Acorn Squash:

Foil lined cookie sheet
Butter
Brown Sugar

Cut the acorn squash in 1/2 and scoop the seeds out
Place, upside down, on the foil lined baking sheet
Place in the oven along with the Pork Chops
Bake for 45 minutes turning the chops over 1/2 way through the baking process

The way to test the Acorn squash to see if they are done, is simply push the skin with your finger. If you're able to easily make an indention, they're done. If not, then allow to bake a little while longer until you are able to make an indention with your finger.

After you pull the squash from the oven, carefully turn them over using an oven mit, or something to keep from burning your fingers. Add butter to your taste and brown sugar, take a spoon and scrape the squash from the shell and stir into the butter and brown sugar. Try not to destroy the shell, as it makes such a pretty presentation on the plate, this green "boat" filled with sweet yumminess!

Stewed Apples:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 Red delicious apple
Some sort of fruit juice
Orange Juice
Dried Raisins and cranberries
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon (to taste)

Heat a small saucepan on medium low and add the butter
Wash the apple, then slice into bite size pieces, add to the butter. I leave the skins on, that's where all the nutrients are, and they become soft during the cooking process
Stir it around and let the apples cook a little in the butter
Don't let the butter turn brown!
Add the cinnamon
I use whatever juice is in the fridge, tonight it was actually fruit punch. I just pour in enough to cover the apples half way up, and then add a splash of Orange Juice. It add's a surprise taste that is lovely.
Add the raisins and cranberries and put the lid on let simmer for 10 minutes or until the apples are soft.
Scoop the stewed apples into the prepared Acorn Squash and enjoy!

Steamed Broccoli:

1 bag frozen Broccoli
3 tablespoons butter
salt & pepper
water

I don't own a steamer, I don't have enough room in my little kitchen for lots of gadgets. I've learned to make due with what I have and this is my version of steamed broccoli. I put just enough water to coat the bottom of a sauce pan, then I pour the frozen broccoli in with the water. I salt and pepper and add the butter, then put the lid on. Turn the stove onto medium heat and once a little steam starts to escape the lid, I turn it off and let it sit on the eye until it's time to serve.

There we go, that's what's for supper! Hope you like it, we sure did. In fact, after all my careful planning, my little boy still needed more broccoli. Well, guess that's one way for me to loose weight, right? ha ha ha. Good Night!

For other great acorn squash recipes: http://dinewithadarling.com/tag/splenda/

Go Nuts (or Ape) for my Chocolaty Pumpkin Monkey Bread

Go Ape for my chocolaty pumpkin Monkey Bread

I had Monkey bread many years ago and it was so good.  A while ago I tried to replicate it, but failed miserably.  I ended up with a pile of dry bread covered in burned cinnamon.  Yuck!  I learned from that mistake and went on to discover the most delicious combination of monkey bread ingredients I ever tasted.

Ingredients:

2 cans biscuit dough
1 cup cinnamon sugar
Nutella Hazelnut spread
Pumpkin Pie dip
5 pats of unsalted butter

1 bread pan greased and set aside

Tear biscuit dough into small chunks and place into a large bowl as you tear them apart.
After all your dough is in small chunks pour cinnamon sugar over them and toss until every piece is coated in the mixture
Drop coated bread chunks into greased bread pan
Do not overlap, make one layer
Drizzle Nutella over this layer and then the pumpkin pie dip
Make another layer of dough, drizzle again with Nutella and Pumpkin pie dip
Make last layer of dough and place pats of butter on top
Place in oven and bake until dough is done, according to directions on biscuit dough can
WATCH carefully dough may bake faster, depending how big or small the dough pieces are.
Don't over bake!

Serve warm with scrambled eggs.  It is so good!

You can find Pumpkin Pie dip in most specialty kitchen stores.

Beef Roll ups or Rouladen, Mashed ranch potatoes, and corn

Hey Paw! What's for supper?
Beef roll ups, also known as Rouladen, with mashed, ranch potatoes and corn with butter.

My favorite dish in the world is Beef Roll ups. It's a delicious dinner and it's fun too. I have made these twice and I think I did pretty good. They still don't taste as good as my Mom's. Maybe because I have to put forth the effort to make them, or maybe they just lack Mom's special touch, either way they're still my favorite!
I posted the recipe on my Big Oven web page, along with some other recipes I came up with. If you want to go see them, go to www.bigoven.com/~BunnysOven you'll see several recipes I've posted. Let me know what you think!
Make sure you give plenty of cooking time for the roll ups, they'll take a couple of hours to cook. If you rush, you'll end up with raw hide roll ups, and that would be so YUCK!

Beef Roll ups (Rouladen)
Ingredients
12 1/4 inch thick sirloin slices (have butcher cut for you)
3 tbl. canola oil
12 wooden kabob skewers or tooth picks
Worcestershire sauce
12 kosher dill pickle sandwich slices
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons pickle juice
4 cups hot water
3 slices of bacon
1 Heavy deep skillet with good fitting lid
1 jar plain American mustard

Assembly & cooking instructions for Beef Roll ups (Rouladen)

Cut bacon slices in 1/2 and then cut lengthwise in 1/2 (1 slice will yield 4 slices)
Cut kosher dill pickle sandwich slices into approximately 1/8" slices and cut those slices into 1/4" strips
Spread each slice of sirloin with a thin layer of mustard
On one end of the sirloin slice place 1 bacon strip and 1 pickle strip
Roll up and push the skewer through to hold the meat together, trim the skewer as needed.
Heat oil until very hot and add the roll ups with tongs to the pan
Brown on all sides
Drizzle Worcestershire sauce on each roll up (it will sizzle and smoke)
Immediately pour in enough hot water to come 1/2 way up the roll ups
Put on the lid and turn down to low and cook until the water is almost gone
Add more hot water and let that cook down so you have about 2 1/2 cups of gravy
Remove the roll ups to make the gravy, retain liquid from cooking in the skillet
Add 2 tablespoons pickle juice, 1 tablespoon mustard and the cream
Start with 1/4 cup of cream and add more if you like
Salt and pepper to taste

Mashed Ranch Potatoes:

4 large potatoes
Milk
butter
salt & pepper
ranch dressing

Boil a pot of water
Peel and cut your potatoes into thin slices (this will speed up cooking time. If you don't mind a few extra steps, you could always steam your potates with the skins on. Once they are fork tender, peel off the skins and mash. Leaving the skins on adds flavor and vitamins.)
Pour out the water, retaining a 1/2 cup
Mash the potatoes adding the retained water, milk and butter until they are light and fluffy and taste like you like. Add salt and pepper, then add a few squirts of the ranch dressing, to taste.

Corn:
No brainer
Frozen corn
water
salt and pepper
butter

Pour frozen corn into a pan, add water to cover, add 2 tbl. butter and heat on medium high until the water is gone and all that's left is butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Yummmmyyyyy1