I had a bag of apples from Mercier Orchard that needed to be used so I decided to incorporate them in my cooking one night last week. Normally Caleb eats all the apples before I have a chance to use them for cooking. However, since he was recovering from having his wisdom teeth out he was unable to eat all the apples and they were at risk of rotting. I made Apple Stuffed Cornish Hens, with cornbread dressing and dirty mashed potatoes. The recipes I created can be found below.
Apple Stuffed Cornish Hens: I have only cooked Cornish Hens 1 other time in my life. Last time I baked them just like I would bake a chicken. However, this time I decided to try something new. So I made up the following recipe using 4 medium size Cornish hens (20 oz) and following the general baking instructions on the label.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Cut one medium apple into fourths. Cut the apple fourths in half. Sprinkle with cinnamon- the more the better.
- Stuff 2 slices of apple into each hen
- Lightly coat the hen with olive oil and add your favorite seasonings. I used Mrs. Dash table blend and fresh ground black pepper.
- Place on pan breast side down and bake uncovered for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Cornbread Dressing: I don’t know how to make homemade dressing. I had purchased a package of Stovetop Cornbread Dressing to have with this meal but I decided that it needed to be dressed up a little.
- Cut up one small apple using a food processor or grater. The apple pieces should be very small.
- Cut up 6 scallions
- Slice 1/3 cup of mushroom
- Saute the Apple in about 3 tablespoons of butter. Add nutmeg to taste (about 1/4 of a teaspoon) and add a dash of cinnamon.
- Once the apple is cooked add the mushroom and scallions.
- Prepare 1 box of Stovetop Cornbread dressing when done add the sauteed apples and vegetables.
- Serve with cold cranberry sauce
Dirty Mashed Potatoes: I did not have any regular mashing potatoes so I used about 10 small potatoes that were red, yellow and blue.
- Wash and boil the potatoes, do not peel. Since these potaotes are bite size there is no need to cut the potatoes.
- When fully cooked mash and add butter to taste (about 2 tablesppons)
- Add about 1/2 cup of sour cream and mix and serve.
For dessert I made Apple Crisp using a recipe that can be found on The Sharp Scissors Lady blog. This recipe turned out really good. Thanks for posting it Laura.
Tags: Apple, Cornish Hens, Recipe