Blooming Baked Apples

Since my last post, fall has completely come to my little corner of the world.  I did a few Pinterest experiments throughout October but they were so simple it was hard to break them down for a blog.  If you're interested, let me know and I can post Acorn Donuts, Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies and Pumpkin Dip ...

We are now fully into October and the 's' word is being tentatively mentioned in our forecast.  I don't know about you but I love snow!  I'm still baking my fall treats, though and today I want to share one with you, called Blooming Baked Apples.  We've all heard of Blooming Onions but this treat is really good, too and will make your house smell like fall while it's baking!

4 Honeycrisp Apples - just cut about 1/4 - 1/3 off the top

Hubby helping core the apples - we don't have an apple corer so we used the apple slicer to mark around the core then cut it out with a knife.
 

Make two circular lines in the top, then flip it over and make thin slices all around it.  I guess I didn't get a picture of those lines.  If you follow the link to the original blog, you can see those cut marks.

I somehow also missed getting a picture of the caramels inside the holes of the apples.  I was really rusty on getting the appropriate pictures!

 Melt butter and brown sugar in the microwave then add a little flour and some cinnamon.  Mix it up.  Pour over the top and bake!

The smell was amazing and they were  pretty sweet but not overbearing.  The caramel was a little chewy so I don't know if they needed to go a little longer but they were still really good.

Ingredients

• 2 Honeycrisp apples (or other crisp apples)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 caramels
• Optional toppings: vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. To get the blooming apple look, you need to cut the apples. Slice off the top ¼ to ⅓ of the apples. Scoop out the core. I don’t have an apple corer so I used my metal ½ teaspoon measuring spoon. Then, use a thin knife to make two, deep circular cuts around the center of the apple. Next, turn the apple over and make narrow cuts all the way around the apple. Flip it back over and you can see all of the cuts.
3. Place the apples in an oven safe dish and put two caramels into the center of each apple.
4. Heat butter and brown sugar in the microwave for 30 second, stir and continue heating for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir in flour and cinnamon. Divide the mixture over the top of the two sliced apples.
5. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. (Check apples after 25 minutes and continue cooking until tender. Some apples can take 45 min to 1 hour to soften.)
6. Remove from the oven and use a large spoon to move the apples into bowls.
7. Top with a scoop of ice cream, drizzle with caramel and sprinkle with cinnamon. The ice cream will cause the caramel in the center to harden so eat quickly or put the ice cream scoop on the side.

Here's the link you will definitely want to follow, just to check out her pictures!   http://www.thegunnysack.com/2014/09/bloomin-baked-apples-recipe.html

Special thanks to DH and DD for allowing their hands to model the steps for this blog.

Happy Fall!!

Meatloaf Cupcakes

First off, thank you all for your interest in the Pillowcase dress post!  I am excited to see people still going to it and checking out this simple dress pattern and hopefully following the link to check out Little Dresses for Africa.  That post is one that is more commonly viewed than others.

Today I'm back with another type of post that typically get a lot of views: food posts!

Last night for supper I served my family cupcakes!  Yes, that's right and check out what the frosting was:

Yes, that's right; mashed potatoes!!  These were no ordinary cupcakes, they were meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting!

Meatloaf ingredients (shown below) are:  ground beef, egg, milk, cheddar cheese, quick oats, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce and crushed club crackers 

Scrub up and dig in!!  The easiest way to mix ground beef with other ingredients is with your clean hands!

The red stuff on top is a mixture of ketchup, mustard and brown sugar.

Cupcakes anyone?!

They were really good, although DD did want additional ketchup on hers!

EASY MINI MEATLOAF CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Egg

3/4 Cup Milk

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 Cup Quick Oats

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp Onion Powder

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 Cup Crushed Club Crackers

2/3 Cup Ketchup

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp Musard

2 Cup Mashed Potatoes

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat Oven to 350.
• Place mashed potatoes in a zippered bag or piping bag and set aside for later.
• Combine Ketchup Mustard and brown sugar and mix well. Set aside.
• Combine remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Press this mixture into muffin pan. spread top of each with the ketchup mixture.
• Bake for 30-45 minutes.
• Allow to sit for 5 minutes, remove from muffin pan and pipe on a mashed potato “frosting”.

http://www.couponsandfreebiesmom.com/2014/08/easy-mini-meatloaf-cupcakes.html

Pillowcase Dress

With cooler temperatures, the 'organized, plan ahead' type personalities are probably starting their Christmas shopping.  If they're not already done.  I say 'probably' because, not being one to that degree, I can't say for sure.  However, I want to do more planning ahead.  Especially when it comes to giving gifts for Christmas, specifically Operation Christmas Child.  If you're not familiar with Operation Christmas Child, it is an outreach of Samaritan's Purse (Franklin Graham's ministry - http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/).  Every year they collect shoeboxes full of gifts and deliver them to children in other countries.  I have participated off and on for several years.  I would like to be able to give a couple shoeboxes a year, a girl and a boy around my kids' ages.  I think in order to successfully accomplish this I will need to plan ahead.

Another group my mom and I have heard about is Little Dresses for Africa.  They provide dresses for girls in Africa that are made from pillowcases.  My mom is going to be leading a Life Group in our church to make these to be sent to Africa.  In an effort to help her prepare, we met today to make a pillowcase dress.  It was super easy!  I plan on making 2 more - one for my DD and a matching one to put in a shoebox.  Plus, I am hoping to be able to be involved with the Life Group.

Here is the instructions:

Step 1:  Cut off the sewn end of the pillowcase.  This will make the top of the dress.
Step 2:  Cut armholes.  Cut through all layers, about 2" in and 4" down.
Step 3:  Form a casing and stitch it along the top.  Slide a 6" piece of elastic through and gather.
Step 4:  Cut 38" of bias tape and sew along the armholes.  Leaving extra at top for ties.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!

Here's the pics we took today:

Fun pillowcases, ready to be cut and sewn into dresses!

Cutting done!

On the left-hand side of the dress you can see the elastic threaded through.

On the right-hand side my mom is pinning down the bias tape.  We had a wider tape but for future dresses, we decided a thinner tape would be better.

Sewing on the bias tape. 

We sewed the edges of the tape that will be the ties together.  As we got to the part where the bias tape gets sewed to the pillowcase, we double-stitched so it would be extra reinforced.

Beautiful dress!  Ready to be a blessing to a little girl!

Link to information about Little Dresses for Africa: 

 http://www.freep.com/article/20120708/COL26/207080398/A-small-idea-transforms-an-African-community-and-one-close-to-home

Chicken Pot Pie

I have found an amazing pot pie recipe!!  I had originally pinned this to my Little House on the Prairie board on Pinterest because it seemed like such an old-fashioned recipe.  I think the thing that really makes it is the fresh herbs.  I've never really cooked with fresh herbs before but I don't think this would be near as good without them!  The great thing about pot pies is you can use whatever veggies you want so if you have lots of fresh veggies that would make it even better!

Without furthur ado... CHICKEN POT PIE

I started by chopping up an onion.  The original recipe called for leeks or a small onion.  I'm guessing my onion was bigger than size small but it worked.  And I only cried a little!  lol

After sauteeing the onions in butter, I added a can of chicken broth and some salt, pepper & Worcestershire sauce.

After boiling that to get the sauce, I added a bag of frozen corn, fresh parsley, fresh dill and chicken

Yes, the crust is refrigerated but you could obviously make your own.  The underside of the crust has an egg wash on it and you're supposed to do it on top as well before sprinkling more dill.  I forgot to do that until it was already in the oven.  FYI - a 400 degree oven is really hot to stick your face in while you wash your pie crust in egg!

BUT ...

It came out really good and will definitely be made again!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 small leeks or 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups frozen baby corn blend*
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, divided
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken $
• 1/2 (15-ounce) refrigerated piecrust
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter over medium heat. Sauté leeks 7 minutes. Sprinkle flour over leeks. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth and next 3 ingredients; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add peas, corn blend, parsley, 2 teaspoons dill, and chicken. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9-inch deep pie dish.
2. 2. Whisk together egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water, and brush underside of crust edge with egg wash. Place crust, brushed side down, over pie; crimp or use back of fork to seal rim of crust around dish. Cut 4 to 5 vents in the pastry. Brush top with egg wash, and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon dill. Bake at 400° for 30 to 35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and mixture is bubbling.
3. *For testing purposes, we used Birdseye baby corn mix with corn, carrots, and broccoli.

Note: Note that packaged roasted, diced chicken, although convenient, tends to be salty, so be sure to taste before seasoning. To keep sauce from bubbling over in the oven, place on a baking sheet or seal edges of dough by pressing with back of a fork around the rim of pie dish.

Ana Kelly, MyRecipes
JANUARY 2005

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-10000001585259/ 

 

Kite Suncatcher

Third blog post of the day.  Yes, 3!  You guys are so fortunate to get to read 3 posts from me today - lol!  Actually, I just had a chance to do lots of Pinterest projects this weekend and I loved it!

This was another project where I could have downloaded a pattern but decided not to.  This originally came from Parents.com and in order to download their pattern you have to set up an account and I didn't feel like taking the time to do that.  Plus, who needs  another password to remember, right?!  So I made my own ... 

Those two pieces were then put together with the center piece that is waxed paper with crayon shavings in between, ironed together.  Glue those pieces all together, add a tail (we used tissue paper) and hang in your window.  DD loves it and keeps telling me so!

http://www.parents.com/fun/arts-crafts/kid/stained-glass-kite-craft/?sssdmh=dm17.592029&esrc=nwpce041612&email=2653194577

 

 

A Pinterest Birthday

I want to start this blog post by saying Happy Birthday to my Dear Husband.  He truly is a blessing and I honestly don't know what I'd do without him!

So yesterday was his birthday.  In my previous post I shared his birthday dinner that I was so excited was a Pinterest dish.  I also got my birthday cake idea and his present from the kids off Pinterest.  

If you know my hubby, you know he likes camouflage.  So I was pretty excited to find these camouflage cupcakes with camouflage frosting!  The original recipe called for making white and chocolate cake mixes then mixing and dying as needed to make 4 different colors of batter.  I just used a Duffy brand camouflage cake mix.  It was a yellow cake mix and included the dyes I needed.

It made tan, dark green, brown and green batter.  To make the cake (or in our case, cupcakes) you put random spoonfuls of each dough in the pan so it is all random and mixed.

To make the camouflage frosting, I used 3 different Betty Crocker frostings.  One chocolate and two white (I can't remember and I can't read from the picture if they were white or vanilla).  The can on the left is the chocolate with one scoop of white added to lighten it.  The can in the middle is white with one scoop of chocolate and some green food coloring added.  The can on the right is pure white frosting.

I was so excited with how they came out!  Hubby likes to do cake decorating and I wanted something really neat and special for his birthday.  And they were yummy!  

I really recommend the Duffy brand cake mixes if you're needing a quick cake mix.  They even have pink camouflage for the girls, as well as fondant!  They are also soy free!  I will admit I did chance some soy in the chocolate frosting.

Hubby's present idea also came off Pinterest.

This activity required some artsiness.  Which I don't normally think I posses but I really wanted to try it so I got brave!  What you see in the picture above is a white T-shirt and laying in between the front & back is papers with a little map/town drawn on it (yes, free-hand drawn by Yours Truly!).  The markers are fabric markers for tracing.

 

 You can see a little more of my drawings here.  The original website did have patterns that could be downloaded but I didn't feel like doing that ... like I said, I was being brave!

First drawing - I did 3 layers total, except on some of the finer details ... I only did one or two because it was getting harder to read.

So here's the finished product - the whole purpose is for the kids to drive the cars over Daddy's back and give him a backrub.  Plus, it's an easy way for Daddy to spend time with the kids.  DD was much more excited about it than he was as you can see by the blur in the corner.  Hubby's only remark was there was no road up the middle - good point so I told DD to make the truck we bought go off-roading or her dolls could have a dance party in the open space!  lol

So it wasn't a complete flop but maybe not my most successful Pinterest activity ever!

Links below for the shirt and the cupcakes:

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/camouflage-cupcakes/5d6ab4cf-bc6f-4dae-8dba-068c19345620

http://thebluebasket.blogspot.com/2011/09/tutorial-car-shirt.html#more

 

Pinterest for the Win - Bacon, Pasta And Cheese! Oh, my!

This post has been several weeks due but by waiting I have new info on it!

On Pinterest, I believe this recipe was called, "Crazy Good Casserole."  And it is, indeed, crazy good!  Anything with bacon, pasta and cheese has to be good, right?!

Bacon!

Cooking chicken in bacon grease!

Greased pan waiting for this crazy good food!  

As you will see in the recipe below, it does not call for tomatoes.   

When I made it the first time, I had some tomatoes I was needing to use up so I added them in after mixing all the other ingredients in. 

Yummy, yummy!

I am very excited about this recipe because like I said I made it a few weeks ago.  Yesterday was DH's birthday and what did he request for his birthday meal?  Yep - this random recipe I found off  Pinterest!  Pretty excited about that!  

Below you will find the recipe and the original link.

Ingredients

1. 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2. 6 strips of quality bacon – cooked and crumbled
3. 2 cans cream of chicken soup
4. 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
5. 1 box (16 ounces) dried spiral pasta
6. 1 tablespoon garlic powder
7. Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook and crumble bacon. While bacon is cooking, cut chicken into bite-sized chunks.
2. Set cooked bacon aside for later use.
3. In the same pan, cook chicken in bacon drippings.
4. Add garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
5. While chicken is cooking, prepare pasta according to directions.
6. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
7. Drain pasta, return to pot.
8. Add chicken, both cans of cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese – stir to mix well.
9. Pour into prepared baking dish.
10. Top with crumbled bacon.
11. Top with remaining cup of Monterrey Jack cheese.
12. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, just until cheese is melted and beginning to brown on top.

Notes

1. http://www.thecoersfamily.com/cheesy-bacon-chicken-casserole-recipe

By Amanda Coers

http://www.thecoersfamily.com/cheesy-bacon-chicken-casserole-recipe/

 

 

Double Cheese and Sweet Onion Dip

I'm a sucker for anything with cheese in the title so when I saw this double cheese and sweet onion dip, I just had to try it!  I was so focused on the cheese I didn't anticipate the strong onion taste but since it's sweet onion, it's a good flavor.  Without further ado...

Cream cheese, mayo (I used Miracle Whip because that's all DH will allow in the house - lol), grated cheese ( I used Mexican since I left out the optional cayenne pepper), sweet Vidalia onion and pepper

Mix it and pour it in a greased pie plate.  Sprinkle more cheese on top!

 

 

Yummy!!

The day I made the dip I served it with Frito Scoops, pizza quesadillas and salad.

Here is the original recipe with link for where I got it from:

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened (light is okay, I used TJ's Soft Spreadable Light)
1 cup mayonnaise (light is okay, I used Best Foods Light Mayo)
6 to 8 ounces grated cheese, divided (I used 7-ounces Blarney Castle Gouda, use your favorite cheese)
1 medium/large sweet Vidalia onion, peeled and diced (about 1 heaping cup)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
Serving Suggestions - chips, bread, crackers, bagel chips, pita chips, Fritos Scoops, mini toasts, carrot sticks, celery sticks, cucumber sticks, zucchini sticks, jicama, bell pepper wedges, mushrooms, your favorite crudites, or eat by the spoonful

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish (or 1o-inch, or similar-sized oven-safe baking dish) with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add all ingredients (except reserve about 1/2 cup cheese to be sprinkled on top) and stir to combine.
3. Turn mixture out into prepared dish, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
4. Evenly sprinkle reserved 1/2 cup cheese over the top.
5. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until top is golden browned, bubbly, and dip is done to your liking (I baked for 47 minutes). Allow dip to cool momentarily before serving. Dip is best warm and fresh, but extra will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Gently re-heat in micro before serving leftover portion. Read product labels to ensure all products are gluten-free if that's a consideration for you.

http://www.averiecooks.com/2013/11/creamy-baked-double-cheese-and-sweet-onion-dip.html

I'm Back!!

So after a long gap, I am back!  I had hoped that my son's allergies would challenge me to be creative and blog even more.  Nope - sometimes going to the grocery store was a matter of real survival.  Surviving reading every label, surviving having to change meal plans mid-store because a vital ingredient was on the 'no-no' list, just trying not to cry.  But God is good and we are seeing some victory!  A few months ago, DS was re-tested and his is no longer allergic to dairy or corn!!!!!  Soy had improved but we still have to be careful; too much and he's red/itchy again.  This is really difficult but at least I don't feel guilty about it anymore if I make a bad judgement call.  I just learn and move on.  We have added one more allergy, though and that it peanuts.  Our allergy dr does not anticipate serious reactions that would cause troubles breathing but just more skin troubles.  From the time he accidentally got a hold of a sandwich, it appears he will probably throw it up and then turn red.

So, I tried a new recipe today!  Wow - I'm definitely a mom if I can go from talking about throw up to new recipes in the next sentence!  If you haven't lost your appetite you'll want to check out these Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips!

Not sure why my picture is so blurry but in this bowl we have bananas, milk, egg, baking powder, instant oatmeal (quick 1-minute cook) and vanilla.

Now add some chocolate chips:

(I used close to 1/2 cup because mine were chunks, not mini-chocolate chips)

Even though DS can have dairy, most chocolates have soy in them so I still use these for baking things he will be eating:

Sorry for the upside down picture!

Then you wait... here's the precious little guy waiting for his muffins!

Breakfast today was Banana Oatmeal Cups with Dairy-free/Soy-free Chocolate chunks and watermelon from our next door neighbor (for local readers he has the fruit/veggie stand that sets up in the parking lot of Radio Shack/Kelderman Electronics on A Ave)

• 3 mashed bananas (the more ripe the better!)
• 1 cup vanilla Almond milk (any milk should work)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp Baking powder
• 3 cups (240g) Old Fashion or Rolled Oats
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp (42g) mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips together, and let sit while you prepare the muffin pans.
Spray a muffin pan and/or liners with with non-stick spray.
Stir the chocolate chips into the oatmeal batter.
Divide batter into 15 muffin cups. They should be just about filled.
Bake 20-30 minutes, you’ll see the edges just starting to brown and they will be firm to the touch.
The muffins may stick when hot but are removed easily when cooled for a bit.

Here is the link to the original recipe:

http://greenlitebites.com/2009/03/07/banana-oatmeal-cups-with-chocolate-chips/

 Enjoy! 

EDIT:  I made these muffins on a Tuesday.  DD didn't like them because she said she could taste the banana in them (don't ask me - she likes bananas!).  DS loved them and was a chocolatey mess!  I thought they were good as well.  However, Friday morning I went to get a couple for breakfast and one of the muffins had some red stuff on it (it looked like someone drizzled strawberry ice-cream topping on it) and there were several fruit flies around them.  I grabbed a muffin that didn't have the red stuff on it and took a bite.  It tasted funky so I put it back in the bowl and grabbed a healthy alternative, a pop-tart (yes, I was being sarcastic!).  By the end of the day another one had the red stuff on it, there's tons of fruit flies and it's just a yucky looking bowl of stuff.  I'm trying to figure out how to dispose of them without releasing the fruit flies into my house (they're trapped under saran wrap right now!)...