Apples, Apples Everywhere!

We are getting closer to Fall in my neck of the woods and the grocery stores are already lining up all varieties of apples, some old and some new.  There are so many things to do with apples, the obvious one is baking with them.  I have friends who make delicious applesauce from them. I love fried apples along with any cut of pork chops or roasts.  They are so good when they take on a savory taste and not so much sweet with sugar as expected. You can stuff them with a variety of things, either sweet or savory, then bake and serve as a side to any any entree.

My all time favorite apple are Honeycrisps.  I bought a bag the other day and made an Apple Crumb Pie. I usually make a regular 2 crust apple pie, but stepped outside the box of my normal. I used oatmeal in my crumb mixture and it gave it a nice texture.  I also thought afterwards that some chopped walnuts would have been really good too.  Check out my recipe below, it's pretty good even if I do say so myself!

These beauties are going to make an awesome pie!

The good stuff.

More goodness!

Yuuuuuuummmmm......

And here it is ready to be baked.

 

Piping hot!

It's so good hot from the oven with some ice cream and caramel sauce! 

APPLE CRUMB PIE

INGREDIENTS

1 pre-made 9" pie crust

7-8 medium sized Honeycrisp apples

1 lemon, juiced

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

pinch of salt

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

6 Tablespoons of cold butter, 

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out the pie crust into a 9" pie plate. If crust is too big you can trim it, or roll it under and crimp with a fork.  Prick the bottom with a fork in a few spots, set aside.  Wash, peel and core the apples.  Slice apples and toss in a large bowl with the lemon juice to coat them so they don't turn brown. Add 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, cornstarch and salt. Toss together until all apple slices are coated.

In a medium size bowl, add flour, oats, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and butter.  With a pastry blender or fork, combine all until most of it looks like large pea size shapes.

Scoop the apples into the crust, be sure not to get all the juice or the crust will get too soggy.  Spread them out evenly over the crust.  Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples.  Place the pie plate on a baking sheet, put in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Remember all ovens and temperatures are different. When pie is done, set on a cooling rack.

Serve warm or cold with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a drizzle of gooey caramel sauce.  Enjoy! 

 

Something Sweet Coming Your Way!

Christmas morning came and went so quickly this year, I guess it's because I spend most of my day in the kitchen.  Our kitchen really is the heart of our home.  Everyone who comes in, gathers around the counter and the kitchen table to snack on a variety of food items I put out before the big meal. We do have comfy couches and chairs in both the living room and family room, but everyone always chooses to gather in the kitchen, go figure. It's a busy day for everyone, and some do not eat breakfast because of all the running around they have to do that day.  I always try to have a breakfast item on the snack table to have with coffee or juice when they come in, it wakes them up!

So, every Christmas Eve I make a pan of my old fashion sticky buns, cover them and let them rise overnight.  I then bake them off in the morning, they're a special treat.  They only take about a half hour for piping hot, cinnamony, sticky, gooey, nut and raisin encrusted buns, you get the picture.  

This year I changed it up a bit to try something new, cinnamon buns on a smaller scale - Mini Cinnamon Buns made with puff pastry, they are so good we couldn't stop eating them!

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

I used a 24 cup mini muffin pan for two bite buns.

Sometimes you have to buy the the best brand to make something good, and sometimes you don't.  I used this packaged puff pastry that I found in the dairy section at GIANT.  It worked perfectly for the rolls,  I got exactly 24 mini rolls from one package for about $2.39, pretty inexpensive for something so good!

 You don't even have to roll the pastry dough out, just unfold it, brush with some melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and raisins, if you like them, we do! These are so easy to make, you will make them all the time.

 Pop those babies in the oven and watch them turn into something totally delicious.

 In about 30 minutes........

 AWESOMENESS, right there folks.

Perfect little cinny rolls coming right out of the oven, no frosting or glaze required, they are that good!

 And yea, the family kept eating them before everyone got here.  I think I said they were good already didn't I?

These are my old fashioned sticky buns, that I usually make on Christmas morning, check out that recipe on this blog (8/6/2013), they're great too.

PUFF PASTRY MINI CINNAMON ROLLS

Ingredients For The Topping

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup chopped pecans, or other nut you like

Directions For Topping

Preheat 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, with a fork or back of wooden spoon, mash the butter and the brown sugar together until all is combined.  Drop about a tablespoonful of filling into each cup of the muffin pan, then top each of the cups with chopped nuts, set aside.

Ingredients For The Filling

1 - 13.2 oz pkg WEWALKA Puff Pastry, GIANT dairy section

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins

Directions For The Rolls

Unfold pastry dough onto a floured board or other flat surface.  Brush the dough with the melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins.  Starting with the longest end of the dough, roll up tightly, tucking all the filling in as you roll. Make sure you finish rolling with the seam side down at the end.  Lightly pull on the dough at each end, to stretch just a little without tearing it.  Tuck the uneven ends under on each side.  For better measurement of the size of the rolls, cut the roll in half and then each half into twelve 1 inch pieces. You should have twenty-four 1 inch pieces when you are done cutting.

Place one of the rolls, cut side up, in each cup of the prepared muffin pan.  Brush each top with any remaining melted butter.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown and bubbly on top. Remove from oven, let stand for about 5 minutes. Flip the rolls out of the pan onto a parchment lined baking sheet larger than your muffin pan. Scoop out any remaining nuts from the pan and place on top of the muffins.  Serve warm or cold, they are great both ways.  Makes 24 buns.

Yo Pork Chop, Stuff It!

We only eat pork a few times a year, so I like to keep it interesting when we do.   It is the other white meat so they say.  I am just really not a pork person, I don't know why, my mother always made it so good.  It is not an expensive meat to buy, I think it's as inexpensive as chicken.

I rummaged through the pantry to find out what to do with these two boneless center cut pork chops, there was just two of us eating.  I found cornbread stuffing that I keep on hand for times like these.  And so the story begins, I stuffed them and this is how I did it.

Two center cut boneless pork chops and a box of Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing Mix.  Cook the stuffing according to package directions (secret - I didn't use the butter).

 While the stuffing was cooking, I trimmed almost all the fat from the chops with a sharp knife, I don't like the fat on my meat.  Be careful with that knife, you don't want a trip to the emergency room!

 Then I butterflied them, cut them down the center, but not all the way through.  A little olive oil in the bottom of my baking dish so they don't stick.

 I had some pork seasoning in the pantry as well, and sprinkled both of the chops with it.  I figured, what the hay, gives it more flavor.  Place them in the baking dish open side up.

 Ok, that stuffing is ready and time to stuff the pork chops.  Fill them until you can't fit anymore and close the lid (fold over the top of the pork chop).

 Sprinkle more of that pork seasoning on top, and about 2 tablesooons of water in the bottom of the dish.

....... cover with foil so they don't dry out, bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until juices run clear.  During baking, I baste with the juices.  And remember, all oven temperatures are different, so baking time will vary.

WOW!  Tender and juicy stuffed pork chops.  I didn't serve gravy, but you certainly could.

 

And there is nothing better with pork than apples.  I peeled two apples.......

 slice them, put them in a frying pan.....

 with 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

 What did I get?  Amazing cinnamon apples served right next to my stuffed pork chops!  What a yummy Fall meal, the hubby was happy too!  He said he fell in love all over again. With me that is, not the food.

Easy As 1, 2, 3 Apple Cake

I have to start making smaller portions of meals and desserts, now that two of my kids are back in college and the other is working all the time.  On most nights, it's just me and the hubby.  I have never in my life cooked or baked for just two people, and that my friends is hard when you are used to cooking for five or more.

So, I am getting on the ball and changing the way I cook.  I don't mind having something leftover, but I don't want enough leftover to feed and army of people.  I have to rethink the way I cook and bake, so as to not waste food.  Smaller portions, make a smaller me and the hubby!

I started last week with the Filet Mignon I made, check out that blog on September 18.  This week I made an Easy Apple Cake for dessert.

Recipe Below.

To print recipe, click, highlight and print.

To view pictures in a larger format, click on them.

I always start my baking by getting everything out and at my fingertips so I don't forget anything.  Here, I sliced my apples and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar, and measured everything out.  So, apples ready and eggs and sugar ready to be mixed.

Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.

They should be a pale yellow color.   Then add the flour 1/2 at a time...... 

......and mix after each.

Pour into a grease and floured baking pan, I used a round one.

Top with the cinnamon apples and just gently press them in a little.

And off to the oven it goes!

Almost done and the house smells fantastic!

And how good......

 does this look?  Dust with a little powdered sugar and.....

......a little scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce finishes it off.

Easy As 1,2,3 Apple Cake

Ingredients

2 medium size baking apples, McIntosh, Granny Smith are good

1/4 cup of cinnamon sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup of sugar

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon of cardamom, optional  or use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (see note)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Leave the skin on the apples and core and slice them.  Toss with the cinnamon sugar, set aside.  Spray a round baking pan with Bakers Joy, or just grease and flour the pan. Beat the eggs and the 1 cup of sugar in a medium mixing bowl, until almost white and fluffy.  Add 1/2 the flour and mix until combined, then add the other half and mix well.  Add the cardamom or the vanilla and mix completely.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and arrange the apple slices in pattern of your choice, gently press into the batter, don't press all the way in you want to be able to see them.  Bake for 35-40 minutes (all ovens are different), or until a cake tester comes out clean.  If it doesn't get brown on top, I changed the setting on my oven to broil for about 1 minute to brown the top, be careful you have to watch it!  Serve with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce. Makes 6-8 servings.

NOTE:  Cardamom is a strong and aromatic spice, and is commonly used in Swedish baking for cookies and cakes. It has citrus and herbal overtones.  It pairs well with cinnamon, nutmeg allspice, lemons and oranges.  It is on the pricey side, so if you don't want to purchase for this recipe just use vanilla.