"Pudge"

I ended up combining several recipes, including one from Cooks.com to come up with this:

Baked Apples

Wash apples. Core apples with a melon baller to make a ¾ inch wide cavity, stopping ½ inch from the bottom. Peel top inch of apples; place in ramekin. Fill with dried cherries and finely chopped walnuts. Sprinkle with ½ packet Splenda no-calorie sweetener and dot with a small piece of butter.

Microwave on High, individually, for four minutes each.

For a delicious sauce, mix 2 tsp. sour cream into liquid from dish, drizzle over apple.


I hope that pleases them!

I did a ton of cooking last night: apple bran muffins, fudge, the baked apples, and a lovely pasta dish which I want to share. It is so simple and the kids loved it. Coarsely chop about a pound and a half of tomatoes. Warm some olive oil in a medium saucepan and throw the tomatoes in with a generous splash of orange juice. Add salt and pepper. Let simmer while the pasta water comes to a boil. Add a box of macaroni noodles to the pasta water, cook until al dente, drain, and add the tomato-orange sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and mix. Delicious. You would think the orange + tomato would be too acidic but it simmers for long enough that the flavors mellow and they complement each other nicely.

Today Leah told me at lunch time that she was going to eat all her pasta to earn her "pudge." I thought that was so cute!