Apple Crisp

Here's another dessert I served last week.  Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Yummy!


Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 2 quarts peeled, cored and sliced apples

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.
3. Take half of the mixture and pat it into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. Cover crumb mixture with apple slices, then sprinkle apple slices with remaining crumb mixture.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

I have been craving pumpkin pie lately.  It's my favorite thing about fall.  Last week I hosted a Scentsy party at my house, and I wanted all the food to be fall themed.  So, of course, pumpkin pie was high on the list on desserts to be served.  I did not anticipate the huge brick wall in my way.  NO ONE is selling pumpkin right now.  I guess the pumpkin crop got wiped out last year so there is only a little supply left, so the stores wont be putting them on their shelves until closer to Thanksgiving.  So...  I had two options.  I could not make it, or I could buy an actual pumpkin (why are there real pumpkins in the stores and not canned pumpkin?  Did the Fry's worker lie to me?) and make it from scratch.  Well, I didn't want to do any of those things, so through the magic of Facebook,  I tracked down a can.

So, here is the recipe for my delicious-almost-didnt-happen-pumpkin-pie.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Combine the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, pumpkin puree, evaporated milk and eggs; blending until smooth. Pour batter into the prepared unbaked pie shell.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 minutes then lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue to bake for about another 40 minutes or until pie is firm. 

This pie was amazingly delicious and I hope you guys can track down some pumpkin so you can try it! The only thing I suggest is to cook the pie at LEAST 15 minutes longer than the recipe says. Enjoy!

Apple Dumplings

Well, it's finally September and that means fall is finally here!  That means cooler weather (finally!) and cooler weather means that I'll be more in the mood to cook!  I already have a bunch of new recipes to try, so check back often!  On Sunday I made these babies:

8 servings

2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and quartered 1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup white sugar 1 cup orange juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Wrap each apple piece in one crescent roll. Place seam side down in an 8x8 baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.  In medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, and orange juice; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over rolls.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden and apples are tender. Spoon sauce over rolls when serving.

I made this recipe as written and I thought it was fantastic!  The only problem I had was that my crescent rolls were butter flavored.  I DO NOT recommend this.  It made the dish taste too buttery, which I didn't think was possible.  So buy original crescent rolls and you'll be golden!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yield: 6 servings

MEATBALLS
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

SAUCE
3/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled
tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.



Yummy. :)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve.

*This was amazing! I really loved it. My only suggestion on this one is to be sure to buy lean ground beef. Mine turned out a tad oilier than I would have liked. Also--this wouldn't be hard to make healthier either! Use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and use whole wheat pasta!*

Last Minute Garlic Bread

Whenever I'm making an italian meal, but am not in the mood to make breadsticks, I whip out a batch of these babies. Super simple, and super yummy.

You will need:

white bread
softened butter
mayonnaise
garlic powder


parmesaen cheese
italian seasonings
(both optional but good)

Mix equal parts softened butter and mayo until smooth. Add garlic powder a little bit at a time until it tastes the way you want it. I like mine really garlicky so I tend to add a lot. Generously spread onto bread. Broil in the oven until nice and toasty. (These are actually a tad toastier than I like, I forgot about them! Don't do that!) Sprinkle with parmesean cheese and italian seasoning. This is optional (I usually don't put it on) but it's good.

Graham Cracker Eclairs

I found this recipe on a craft blog the other day.  I just had to try it!


Makes 1 9x13 pan

2 small packages instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 package of chocolate frosting (or make your own)
8 oz. cool whip
1 box of graham crackers

--Stir pudding mix and milk together and let set for 5 minutes. Fold in cool whip. In a 9 x 13 pan layer graham crackers (I usually break some to get them to fit right). Then layer on 1/2 of the pudding mixture. Layer twice more and then spread frosting all over the top.

Let set overnight or at least 3 hours.

Serve and Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups of white sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the batter until blended. Roll the dough into balls. Roll in a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and still soft.