apple pie

Apple Pie
from Pam Atkins

3 pounds apples, peeled and sliced
1/2-3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet the apples are)
2-3 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 pie crusts (see recipe here)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix apples, sugar, flour, and spices together in a bowl.  Let sit while making crusts.
3. Add filling to crust.
4. Bake 50-60 minutes.

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Thanksgiving | Cranberry Sauce

What is Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce?  I really can't do the canned versions mainly because it can be made ahead of time and is ridiculously easy to make it at home!  Besides, it looks weird coming out of the can all ribbed and such...  Just creepy.

 {Cranberry Sauce}

Cranberry Sauce

Makes 3 cups

12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries (approximately 3 cups), rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh orange juice with pulp
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1. In a medium sauce pan dissolve sugar in water and orange juice over medium low heat.
2. Then add cranberries and return to a gentle boil for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Serve warm or let the sauce completely cool.
5. Refrigerate until ready to serve if needed.

One of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving is eating cranberry sauce and turkey sandwiches for lunch the week after!  One of my favorite sandwiches (cream cheese and onions too if you are interested!)

Do you make cranberry sauce or do you buy it?  Now that you know how easy it is, will you try to make it at home this year?

PS--Don't forget to enter the crock-pot giveaway!  The winner will be announced tomorrow!

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Thanksgiving | Sausage, Apple and Sage Stuffing plus GIVEAWAY!

When I was surfing Pinterest for stuffing recipes, I saw several that were done in a crock-pot.  I mean, how awesome is that to shove everything in a crock-pot Thanksgiving morning and let it do the work?   A no-brainer, that's what!

 {Sausage, Apple and Sage Stuffing}

Sausage, Apple & Sage Stuffing
from sweet treats & more

Makes 8 servings

1 loaf sourdough bread, cubed and toasted
8 ounces ground pork sausage (KY Proud)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Granny Smith green apples, chopped (KY Proud)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth plus more if desired
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage 

1. Brown the sausage, drain and place in the bottom of a (6qt or larger) slow cooker. 
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients except for sage; toss everything together using two large spoons. 
3. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours or until the bread is browned on top and vegetables are tender. 
4. Before serving you can stir in extra broth if desired for extra moisture. 

Since we are coming up on cold weather and the holidays, I am giving away one of favorite pieces of kitchen appliances--a crock-pot!
 

{It's my favorite because it has clips to prevent it leaking when you transport the crock-pot!}

The giveaway is only for one crock-pot, and is open to anyone over the age of 18 in the US.  The contest is open from today until Tuesday, November 18 when the winner will be announced!  Use the widget below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

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Fried Apples

Apple season is in full swing here in the Bluegrass!  Orchards like Reed Valley and Evan's have stands at the local farmer's market where you can try different types of apples and buy them for ridiculously low prices!

Take advantage by making this quick and easy recipe for one of my favorite apple dishes--fried apples!

 {Fried Apples with ice cream}

 {Apples from Reed Valley Orchard--some were galas (yellow) and pixie crisps (red)}

 {Cooked apples}

 {Showcasing the wonderful KY Proud products that went into this delicious dessert!}

One year ago: Cauliflower Rice
Two years ago: Pumpkin Bars

Fried Apples

Makes 8 servings

8 apples (local), cored and sliced into 1/2 inch wedges
3 plus 1/2 cups cider (local)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Place apples and 3 cups cider in a large pan on medium heat.
2. Cook apples until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix remaining 1/2 cup cider, cornstarch, and spices together.
4. Once apples are done, remove them with a slotted spoon and turn the pan up to medium-high.
5. Add spice cider mixture and heat until thickened.
6. Add cooked apples back to spiced sauce and stir to coat the apples.
7. Serve.

Use apples that you would eat plain; I personally don't like Granny Smith apples, so I used one of my favorites, Gala, along with a new favorite, Pixie Crisp.

You know that picture with the melting ice cream?  Yeah, it didn't last long!  The ice cream went with it perfectly!  My mom and I also bought almond croissants from Le Matin French Bakery and had fried apples with that too.  I'm pretty sure you can have fried apples with anything and for any meal.

I'm so happy to join the Dead Easy Desserts challenge this month hosted by franglais kitchen and maison cupcake

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Brie en Croute

My family loves cheese.  My mom and I share a special fondness for brie, and when I introduced her to this Brie en Croute, that just made her life (not exaggerating).  Brie en Croute simply means that it is wrapped in a pastry dough, baked with a sweet or savory sauce, and then served with crackers.  We make this a few times a year because it is so indulgent, but completely worth the food coma afterwards!

 {Brie en Croute}

 {Getting the ingredients together}

 {Top the Brie with your favorite fruit jam--I used a Pineapple Habanero Jam my mom had from CostCo, but I've had t with strawberry, raspberry, and peach jams before!}

 {Wrapping the Brie in puff pastry and decorating it (not necessary, but pretty)}

 {Baked Brie}

 {Serve the warm brie with crackers}

Brie en Croute

Makes 8 servings

1 package puff pastry, thawed
1-13 oz wheel of Brie (60% cream)
1/2 cup fruit jam, jelly or preserves (strawberry and raspberry are traditional, but I've had it with several different fruit spreads and loved them all!)
1/2 cups nuts (optional and almonds are best)
Milk (optional but makes pastry shiny and caramelizes it)
Crackers

1.  Preheat oven to the temperature on the puff pastry box.
2.  Unwrap puff pastry and place one on a baking sheet.
3. Place Brie on the puff pastry and cut the puff pastry into a circle around the Brie leaving about 1 inch of dough all around (I used a pizza cutter).
4. Remove Brie and place the second sheet on the baking sheet.  Then place cut dough on top, and cut the dough into a circle. (You should have two circles in similar shape to wrap Brie)
5. Remove one dough and place Brie on top.
6. Add fruit spread and nuts.
7. Place second dough on top and pinch the two seams together.
8. If decorating, cut from the excess dough.  Using a brush, brush the top with milk and add decorations then coat with milk.  Or if not decorating, you can still coat with milk to get a shiny baked surface.
9. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until puff pastry is browned.
10. Serve with crackers.

This is perfect for parties because you can prep this ahead of time and then pop it in the oven as an appetizer or even dessert!

Do you have any deliciously indulgent recipes that you only make at certain times of the year?

The winner of the garlic press is Leah!  An email has been sent to the winner!  Congratulations and thanks for reading and supporting me!

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July 4th: Frozen Berry Cake

What's the 4th without a themed cake?  I threw my hat into the ring with this re-vamp of a family favorite that was a bit more cumbersome to make!  Plus this is much healthier than the old version because it uses real fruit purees!

 {Frozen Berry Cake}

 {Greek Gods Honey Vanilla yogurt is my absolute favorite!  I really loved it in this cake, but please use your favorite!}

 {Strawberry and Blueberry Filling}

 {Baked and cooled crust}

 {Add blueberry filling and freeze until solid}

 {Add strawberry filling and freeze until solid}

 {Frozen Berry Cake side view}

One year ago:  Grilled Corn
Two years ago:  Triple Berry Summer Buttermilk Cake

Frozen Berry Cake

Makes 15 servings

2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 oz pecans, finely chopped
1 cup butter, melted
20 oz frozen blueberries, slightly thawed
20 oz frozen strawberries, slightly thawed
1 cup sugar, divided (optional--might need more)
6 cups vanilla Greek yogurt. divided
pinch of salt
Whipped cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk flour, brown sugar, and nuts together; add butter and stir until combined.
3. Press crust into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
4. Bake for 20 minutes; cool completely.
5. Place blueberries in a food processor and puree; add yogurt and a pinch of salt.  Add sugar to taste; I only used about 1/2 cup for each berry.
6. Repeat with strawberries.
7. Once crust has cooled, pour blueberry filling over it and freeze until set.
8. Pour strawberry filling over blueberry filling and freeze until set.
9. Place in fridge about 1 hour before serving to make it easier to cut.
10. Serve with whipped cream. 

Another cake that I didn't take ANY leftovers home!  This will be a refreshing and cool treat for the family after all that grilling, running around, swimming, and setting off fireworks!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

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Banana Bread

I had a hankering for banana bread last week.  One of my favorite snacks/breakfasts is bananas and peanut butter (no mayo!).  I'm not a big sandwich fan; I just slather the banana with peanut butter and go about my way.  This is a family recipe; I don't add walnuts (not a big fan in my banana bread), but you are more than welcome to!

 {Banana Bread}

 {I freeze my bananas before making banana bread so they do turn black.  However, they are much easier to mush after they've thawed from being frozen}

 {You mix all the wet ingredients together, and the batter looks like this--it's okay!  It will come together when you add the flour!}

 {Add flour and the batter comes together!}

 {Banana Bread with peanut butter (my favorite way to eat it!)}

One year ago:  Roasted Garlic

Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed
1/3 cup water
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease the bottom of the loaf pan. 
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs until blended. 
4. Add bananas and water until combined. 
5. Stir in remaining ingredients until moistened. 
6. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes (knife inserted come out clean).

Another favorite breakfast with peanut butter is Pumpkin Bread which I make in the fall!  Do you have any favorite breakfast breads?

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Broccoli Slaw

I will admit that I eat some pretty weird stuff.  However, when I saw this broccoli slaw recipe, I knew that as weird as it sounded, I had to make it.  The hubby even tried it and said it was good; he also said it needed bacon, but he always says that......

{Broccoli Slaw}

{Start with fresh broccoli}

{Broccoli slices}

{Making the dressing}

{Adding the onion to the dressing calms down some of that in-your-face onion taste (I think it's the buttermilk that helps!)}

{Allow to sit for 10 minutes (or while you are cutting the broccoli and toasting the nuts}

{Add dressing to broccoli, nuts, and cranberries}

{Stir to coat and try not to eat it all before anyone else gets any}

Broccoli Slaw
from smitten kitchen cookbook

Makes 6 servings

2 pounds fresh broccoli
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 teaspoon vinegar)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cut the broccoli into large chunks, and then cut the chunks into slices. 
2. Toss the broccoli with the cranberries and almonds.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth.
4. Allow the dressing to sit for about 10 minutes (this will mellow out the onion flavor).
5. Add dressing to the broccoli mixture and stir to coat.
6. Can be served immediately, but best flavor is after an overnight refrigeration.

I will definitely be eating this throughout the fall and winter when broccoli and cranberries are more in season, but this salad was refreshing in the summer--easy to make, healthy and delicious!

Have you ever made anything that sounded completely bizarre and have it be amazing?  I'd love to hear about it!

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Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake

Remember how I said that sometimes I create occasions to make food?  Well--I made one last week.  It was really a perfect storm.  I had five pounds of cornmeal that I confiscated from my mom during the great pantry-clean-out, and blueberries were on sale for $1 a pint at my local market.  Plus, I was in sore need to see my grandparents, who I typically see weekly and haven't really visited with since the end of July.  I asked if I could bring over cake, and they lovingly agreed!  If all of those circumstances don't scream, "MAKE THE BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL BUTTER CAKE YOU'VE WANTED TO MAKE FOR 8 MONTHS!!!!"  I don't know what would...

{Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake}

Not only that, I made some and brought it to work for my lovely co-workers.  To say that it went fast was an understatement.  It's nice to know that my baking is held in such regard!!!

{Whisking the dry ingredients together}

{Adding eggs to the creamed butter}

{Add flour mixture until just combined!  (Key if you want a soft cake!)}

{Mix blueberries with flour and fold into batter}

{Cake batter!}

{Dry ingredients for the topping}

{Add butter and mix until crumbly (hands work best in my opinion so I wear gloves}

{Spread cake batter evenly in the pan; plus a shot of the yummy cake I was making!}

{Sprinkle topping on top of the cake batter; this is the cake that I made for work.  I doubled the recipe to fit this pan}

{My grandparents gave me this pan; it's called a brownie tin.  Same principle as a cupcake tin, just square.  The original recipe only makes this much, and I had not used this pan so I decided to do it (it's much better individually in my opinion because the edges get crunchy!)} 

One year ago: Peach Sangria

Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake
from smitten kitchen cookbook

Makes an 8x8 pan or 12 cupcakes

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups blueberries

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of salt
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs in one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.
5. Add vanilla and lemon zest until combined.
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Add sour cream and mix until just combined.  Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined.
7. Add blueberries to the remaining flour and stir to combine.
8. Gently fold blueberry-flour mixture into the batter until just combined.
9. Spray cake pan or cupcake tins with non-stick spray.  Spread the cake batter evenly if in a pan; if in a cupcake tin, fill each cup until almost full and smooth out the top.
10. Mix topping ingredients in the bowl that held the blueberry-flour mixture (save dishes!) until crumbly.
11. Spread the topping evenly and in a thin layer--this mean that you might not use all the topping.  I made this twice and never did use it all, but I sat there and ate it instead (don't judge).
12. Bake until a tester comes out clean--cake pan will take about 70 minutes while cupcakes will take 20-25.  To ensure even brown-ness, turn the pan halfway through baking.
13. Cool and watch as they last a scant 24 hours!

Did I get some strange looks when I brought this to work?  Why, yes--yes I did.  However, almost everyone tried a piece, and no one hated it.  Some said "huh that's interesting" while most said "love it!"

So go forth and make cake!  No excuse or reason needed!  ;o)

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Fresh, Old-Fashioned, Homemade Lemonade

Lemonade=Summertime.  Yes, that is a true statement.  There is no question and no reason.  It's also the perfectly refreshing addition to any July 4th BBQ. 

So my hubby and I are slightly obsessed with lemonade.  The man eats lemons like an orange for goodness sake's!!!  (seriously--I wish I was lying)  So this summer, I vowed to perfect a homemade lemonade recipe because we usually just guess until it tastes about right.  Sometimes we get it right, sometimes it's too watery.  I found this Anne of Green Gables recipe, and with three ingredients and about 20 minutes of time, I had a feeling this would be "the one".  OH. MY. GOODNESS.....  There are no words to describe the unbelievable flavor of this drink.  I made this 3 times in the last week alone!!!  Just go make it, and you will see for yourself!!!

{This pitcher was gone in about 3 hours}

{Make a simple syrup first with sugar and water}

{Heat until sugar dissolves then allow to boil for another 5 minutes}

{Juice six lemons and zest one (I used organic since I was going to zest one)}

{After the simple syrup is made, add lemon juice and lemon zest (zest is the yellow on the left)}

{Just writing this makes me want to get up and make a fourth batch!!!!!}

One year ago: Lemonade Popsicles (how ironic)

Old-Fashioned Lemonade

Makes 1/2 gallon

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
1 lemon, zested
Garnish (optional--lemon slices, mint leaves, etc)
Fruit like strawberries, raspberries or blackberries to make flavored lemonade (optional)

1. Heat sugar and water in a saucepan until sugar dissolves.
2. Boil syrup for another 5 minutes.
3. Juice 5 lemons.
4. Zest the last lemon and then juice (it's easier).
5. Add lemon juice and zest when syrup is done boiling.
6. Cool the lemon syrup to room temperature.
7. If you don't like 'floaties' in your lemonade, cool the syrup overnight in the fridge and then strain it.  If you don't care, continue on.
8. Pour syrup in a 1/2 gallon pitcher and fill the rest with ice and/or water. 
9. Serve and repeat because it's not sticking around long!

If you are adding fruit, you can either puree the fruit or muddle it in the bottom of the glass before adding the lemonade--after you chug the first three glasses that is!

Being me, I did try to use the bottled lemon juice (you know-from concentrate), and it was not nearly as tasty.  Don't get me wrong--good but not the oh-my-goodness-this-is-to-die-for-delicious.  So please, don't cheat yourself!  Use real lemons! 

Come back tomorrow for another July 4th BBQ recipe that's super easy!  Hint: it involves a grill and corn!

Are there any July 4th BBQ essentials in your house?  I'd love to hear them!

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