Crock Pot Applesauce!

Hey kids! Fall is here! And with it, my canning ancestors' spirits are stirring my soul! Crock Pot Applesauce, anyone??
I got a great deal on some Gala apples yesterday and spent my late night me time peeling, coring and dicing 20 small apples. You could use 10 large apples instead.
All I had to do then was dump the apples, liquid and spices into my handy, beloved Crock Pot and then wait for morning!
I awoke to something amazing!! The fragrance, the feelings, the taste! I ran it all through the blender and then helped myself to a cup of warm, delightful applesauce! I'm thinking a dollop of cool whip would certainly be an appropriate addition!

My version of the recipe:

20 small gala apples, peeled, cored, diced

1 c Apple Juice (from concentrate)

Ground cinnamon and Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste. I was pretty generous.

1/4 to 1/3 c honey

8-10 hours in the crock pot. Run through blender or use immersion blender when done cooking.

Now I just need to get the canning gear ready!! I'm going to have to leave a bit in the fridge for myself though...... :)

Cupcakes!

Hey friends! My baby turns TWO this weekend!! I can hardly believe it!! As I have been contemplating what fun dessert we might put together for her, I have also been enjoying the recent youtube addition of nearly all the available episodes of Cupcake Wars. I have literally been watching a whole season every two days while doing my household chores! Talk about inspiration!
At the same time, I was going through my pantry to donate food to the kids' school food drive. I noticed that I have tons of cake mixes that need to be used. Of course a box mix would never be accepted on the tv show, but I live in busy mommy land so they are totally welcome here! Plus, I figured it had to be possible to make a box mix more gourmet and exciting by adding the right ingredients. So I jumped in and here are the cupcakes I came up with yesterday and today!

On the left is a Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake, with the top dipped in melted chocolate and butterscotch. (2 parts chocolate chips to 1 part butterscotch chips). I let that set up in the fridge, making a crunchy chocolate top, then iced it with cream cheese frosting.
I found this to be my more 'adult' cupcake as the sweetness was just enough and not overwhelming, and the colors just seem more mature.

The one on the right is a Betty Crocker Lemon cake, with fresh lemon zest and juice added to the batter, baked and then filled with Jell-O Sugar Free Lemon Pudding. The pudding really does the trick!! Yum!! I will definitely try the red velvet cake with some maybe vanilla or chocolate pudding inside next time!!
I topped it with the same cream cheese frosting, but had mixed in a packet of Duncan Hines Orange Cream flavoring.
This one is definitely the 'kids' cupcake!! My boy loved this one best of the two. I found it super yummy, especially because of the pudding, but the frosting was crazy sweet!! Too sweet for me, I needed a full glass of water after!

So I am out of eggs now but will pick up more today and try two more recipes tomorrow. I am also looking at various different frosting options. I am going to try a whipped cream frosting tomorrow and maybe a ganache.... :)
Stay tuned for yumminess!!!

Super Yummy!!!

 I've been baking again!! The season is nearly over and there were a few more recipes I wanted to try. I don't blog often these days about kitchen adventures, but this recipe is too ridiculously yummy not to share!!
Be warned!!! You'll want to eat the whole batch yourself!!!

Brown Sugar Cookies

• 14 tablespoons (7 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 3/4 cup (12 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Adjust two oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. 
   
   Stir butter, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl until combined. Stir in egg and vanilla until combined. Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda to bowl and stir until combined.
3. 
   
   Scoop 2 tbs sized balls of dough onto baking sheets (8 per pan). Add remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar to now empty (unwashed) bowl. Roll each dough ball into sugar, return to pan, and press to about 1 inch thick.
4.             Bake until tops have puffed and cracked, and edges are golden, 9 to 11 minutes,                         rotating pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let cool                 on pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

Now try not to eat them ALL by yourself!!! :)  Happy Baking!!

Soft Food

 So I've been dealing with this TMJ nightmare recently and will continue to have to eat soft and liquid foods only for the next three months. After getting over my little pity party, I have decided to take this on as a challenge and a mission! I am going to explore various smoothie and soup recipes and see what my family and I like.
 I'm going to make several smooth soups and freeze individual servings that I can reheat as needed. This will save me from having to turn to pudding all the time. I think I can make the shake mixes too and store them in individual servings. Haven't done that before but, hey, why not try?!
 Today's recipes are:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
I'm taking a risk and substituting a few of the items in the original recipe for stuff I already have on hand. Frozen berries are super expensive!!! :(
So here's my version. We'll see how it turns out!

1 banana
1/2 C Skim Milk
1 C light plain yogurt
3 T Strawberry Freezer Jam
1 ice cube

Makes 3 servings

DELICIOUS!! I added more ice cubes and that made it thick and frothy! Yum!!

Rice Krispies

 I got creative with some Rice Krispies the other day. James apparently doesn't care for Krispie treats... weird! So the kids and I enjoyed these plus I shared them with my visiting teaching ladies.

These are my "Krispie KupKakes."

Then I made "Snowballs." They were easier to mold than the cupcakes as they had set up more by then.

Then I put them on skewer sticks and wrapped them in plastic and ribbon.

So yeah, it was fun. :)
Tonight I am making Krispie Pops with my kids and the kids I'm babysitting. Kinda super excited. :)

Chocolate Covered Caramel Nut Graham Clusters

I had a bunch of left over caramel Wednesday night and didn't want it to go to waste. I put on my creative cap and here's what I came up with!

 I mixed cashews, walnuts, almonds, and peanuts into the melted caramel. It wasn't quite thick enough of a mixture for my taste, so I added broken up graham crackers. I scooped them onto wax paper and let them set up over night.

I melted milk chocolate chips in my make shift double boiler and then scooped up the nut caramels. They didn't get as firm as I had hoped and stuck terribly to the wax paper. I figured they'd be firm enough though once the chocolate coating set up. I dipped and coated each of them and set them on tin foil over night.

There are still a few things I'd like to perfect, but over all they set up nicely and my family has been loving them! I now have this overwhelming desire to learn how to make some other candies and things. Probably the time of year...

Baking With Yogurt

 I got a good deal on a tub of plain yogurt last week and decided the other day that it was time to use it. I've been working hard at not wasting food. I had an old banana and a bag of apples that needed eating. I found a yummy banana peanut butter chocolate chip muffin recipe and started putting it together. I had it half way done and then went to grab the banana. I was surprised by a family of maggots. :(
 Undaunted, I pressed on! I used rolled oats in place of the banana. My mini muffins, more like cookies than muffins, were all gone within an hour! I highly recommend this recipe!!

Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

2/3 c granulated sugar

3 T oil

3 T crunchy peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 c rolled oats

1/4 c low-fat plain yogurt

1/2 bag milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips

Heat oven 350

Spray mini muffin cups

Combine sugar, oil, peanut butter, egg and vanilla. Mix well.

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda, rolled oats.

Add to batter and mix well.

Stir in yogurt and chocolate chips.

Fill cups 3/4 full. 

Bake 8 minutes.

Check with fork.

 After the muffin cookies, I started peeling apples. Lots of apples! My mom has apple trees and we've been gathering the fruit. We just haven't been eating it fast enough so I am working on ways to preserve it.

I found this recipe for Apple Crunch Bars. I tried it per the recipe directions and was really disappointed. 

 They refused to bake all the way through. The taste was good but the consistency was not. So I tried the recipe again, with several variations.

 I pressed the crust into the glass dish (instead of metal this time). I sprinkled it with chopped walnuts. (I will add more next time as they really add to the dish)

 I spread the apple mixture over the crust.

 Then I added my own crumble topping. It really seemed to need it and to make a lot more sense than the original recipe.

I baked it and was in love at first bite! I highly recommend this recipe as well and suggest topping it with a generous dollop of Cool Whip!

Julie's Apple Crunch Bars!

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/4 c butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz plain low fat yogurt

2 egg whites

2 c apples, peeled and chopped

1/2 c chopped walnuts

Crumble:

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c rolled oats

3 T butter

Combine first 3 ingredients. Beat well.

Reserve 2 C. flour mix. Set aside.

Add baking soda and next 3 ingredients to flour mixture. Mix well. 

Add vanilla and next 2 ingredients. Beat well.

Stir in apple.

Press reserved 2 C. flour mixture into bottom of greased 9x13x2 glass baking dish.

Sprinkle with walnuts.

Spread apple mixture over crust. 

Mix the crumble ingredients together and use hands to combine.

Sprinkle crumbled over apples.

Bake at 350.

30-40 minutes.

Check at 30 minutes.

 I will be doing more baking and experimenting tomorrow. Feeling the passion again!