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! 

 

Retail Therapy For Me!

So my youngest is gone for the school year, she left for Paris last Wednesday.  A lot of tears shed at home, on the ride to the airport, and at the airport.  I've been recuperating since then, that's why there hasn't been a blog.  They say give your children wings and they will fly, I did, but now I am sad that she is gone.  I know she will do very well, and I am happy about that.  She has already sent pictures, of her and friends, drinking champagne by the Seine.  I should be drinking the champagne! I am the one with all the stress of her leaving.  So to de-stress my world, I treated myself to a few new things.  After all, I have been saving all year for her to have the time of her life.

A few of the pieces I purchased for Fall and Winter.  All were on sale and I had coupons, you can't beat that.

Oatmeal Heathered Drape Sweater - Ross

Bittersweet Waist Buckle Sweater - Dressbarn

 Navy Faux Leather Jacket with Zipper Detail - Dressbarn

The pocket detail and the color is what drew me to this jacket.  It is very hard to find anything in navy blue.

Blue Jeans Times Two

I have been a clothes hog since I had my first job in high school.  I would spend almost my whole paycheck on clothes, shoes, jewelry and handbags.  I still love clothes, but try to get more out of my pieces with creative ways to wear them. I took a dark wash pair of skinny jeans and paired them two ways.  Check them out. 

Dark Skinny Jeans, Grey T- Shirt, Camel Leather Jacket, Red and Navy Flats, Red Bead and Metal Necklace and Red and Ivory Twisted Rope Bracelet.

 Dark Skinny Jeans - rolled up, Coral Lace Tank Top, Oatmeal Sweater, Iridescent Silver Bead Chain Necklace and Nude Ballerina Flats with Marcasite Studded Bow.

Cheery Cherry Pie Cookies

So, I needed to make a red and white dessert for my July 4th picnic.  I already had a can of cherries and was going to make a cheesecake and top it with them, too much work and time involved in that though. My sister was coming and loves cherry pie, I never made one from scratch and didn't want to buy one, so I came up with these cookies.  All I needed to buy was a roll of sugar cookie dough.  Everybody loves a sugar cookie so I knew they would be a hit at my picnic.  And so it goes, I created these little Cherry Pie Cookies.  This is how I made them -  

1 roll of sugar cookie dough, cut it in half then cut the halves into 12 slices.  Roll the slices into balls.

 I did not use liners in the first batch, I just greased the pan with butter, but I recommend using foil muffin pan liners, they were hard to lift out of the pan without the liners.  The liners made it easy and then I just peeled them away from the cookie.  Place a ball of dough in each cup.  Bake the dough for about 15 minutes.  Take out of the oven and fill.  My filling, I strained a little of the thick jelly off of it.  I put 3- 4 cherries in each cookie.

 Then I topped them with a crunchy oatmeal almond topping.  Mix 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter cut into 8 pieces.  Use a pastry blender or your fingers to mix the butter into the other ingredients so it is crumbly.

 Top each cookie with the crumbly topping and back in the oven for another 3 - 4 minutes until bubbly, crispy and browned.

 Remove from pan/liners and set on a parchment paper lined cooling rack.  Mix up the glaze - 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons of milk, depending on the thickness of the glaze, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.  Fill a resealable bag with the glaze and make a small cut at one end.  Drizzle over the cooled cookies.  Can you say YUMMY!

Oh, and look who moseyed into the yard because he smelled cookies! I guess he wants one.

Fashion Wednesday!

Brrrrrr! It's getting so cold outside.  I finally broke down and put the heat on and I usually don't do that until the end of November.  It's time to get out the Winter clothes, the hot chocolate and get cozy. You don't have to buy anything new, just open up your closet and let the outfits begin.

LEFT: Dark Wash Skinny Jeans, Black/White Animal Print Blouse, Fuchsia Chiffon Ruffle Trim Sweater, Black Shoeties, Grey/Fuchsia Rhinestone and Pearl Necklace and Multi Colored Stone Bracelet

RIGHT: Dark Wash Skinny Jeans, Long Black/Grey Slub Knit Sweater with Belt, Orange Flats and Jewelry

LEFT: Dark Wash Skinny Jeans, Green Silky Blouse, Silver Opened Toe Pumps, Green and Silver Jewelry.

RIGHT: Same outfit topped with a Grey Knit, Shawl Collar, Wrap Coat

LEFT: Dark Wash Skinny Jeans, Grey Long Sleeve Rhinestone Cowl Neck Top, Silver Opened Toe Pumps, Faceted Glass Bead Necklaces

RIGHT: Plum Skinny Jeans, Plum, Orange, Navy and Oatmeal Cinch Waist Top, Oatmeal Sweater, Stone Color Bow Wedges and Orange Flower Necklace

It's Time To Change Your Look

I know for some of you  it's a sad time of year, when you have to change the way you dress for the season. Summer is almost gone and it will soon be time to put away all of your lighter clothes, sandals and flip flops.  I like Summer but I love Fall even more.  Spring and Fall have always been my favorite times of the year - not too hot and not too cold.  I pulled some outfits together with things that I already had in my closet.

  Take a look!

Left - Pumpkin Print Scarf, Denim Jacket, Oatmeal Top, Brown Skinny Jeans, Multi Colored Flats.

Right - Snakeskin Print Multi Colored Top, Black Dress Pants, Black Shoeties.

Black Dress Pants, Oatmeal Sweater and Silk Taupe Print Top, Red Belt and Red Shoes.