Apple Pie

I've mentioned before that we now have some groceries delivered from the Homestead Creamery. A few weeks ago, we added apple pie filling and cherry pie filling to our list for the week. I expected just a little thing of each - I was just going to squirt some on some crescent rolls and fry them for fried pies. But the pie filling was HUGE - a whole 2 lbs.! I was able to make several fried pies and had at least 3/4 of the tube left!

 It's not so much that making fried pies is a pain or anything, it's just a bit time consuming when you've got 3 kids underfoot. Josh suggested I make an apple pie... Well, I'm not that great making a crust. I've tried before, and somehow I just never have enough enough dough to make a bottom and top crust. So I found this recipe that's just a bottom crust. That's my kind of recipe! :)

Apple Pie

1 c flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 c water

2/3 c shortening

1 egg

21 oz. can apple pie filling

Preheat oven to 425. Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, then add in the water, shortening, and egg. Mix with a mixer until well combined and smooth. Lightly grease a pie pan, then spread the dough in. Spread the pie filling over the crust but DO NOT STIR. Then just bake 40-45 min. (until crust is browned) and enjoy! :)

  

Pesto Fondue!

I love fondue! My absolute favorite was a Swiss one I had in Switzerland. I still have no idea what all was in it, but it was amazing! I've never had any kind of fondue other than cheese, though. At least, not that I remember. However, my boys and I are going to have a "fondue party" with my parents tonight. We're taking a cheese fondue, and my parents are having an oil fondue and a chocolate fondue. I'm excited! No guarantee my boys will eat any, but I think they'll at least eat some bread...

Pesto Fondue

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp heavy cream

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 jar sundried tomato pesto

Heat first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium low heat until cheese is melted, then stir in the pesto. Heat until slightly bubbly, then transfer to a fondue pot if you have one. Serve with Italian bread, pretzels, and/or sausages. Enjoy!

Snack Mix!

I LOVE snack mix. I think it very well may be one of my absolute favorite holiday snacks to make! Thankfully, my boys have all taken after me in that respect. Josh doesn't like it! I have no idea what's wrong with him (he doesn't like minty things or peanut butter, either!). I know you can buy Chex mix or Ghardetto's (I know I didn't spell that right...), but I think homemade just tastes so much better! It's this time of year that I especially miss my Grandma. Her Chex mix was the absolute best! 

Snack Mix

3 cups chex cereal (rice, corn, or wheat, take your pick)

2 cups cheerios

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup cashews

1/4 cup peanuts

1/2 cup goldfish crackers

1 cup pretzel sticks

1/2 cup toasted corn (we tossed some in - we'd gotten it from the nut kiosk at the mall)

1 stick butter, melted

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp seasoned salt

1 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 300. Mix the butter, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, and garlic powder. In a large baking dish, mix all the other ingredients. Then pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture. Bake 10 min., then shake a little more seasoned salt over and stir, then bake another 10 min. Let cool completely, then store in airtight-containers. Enjoy! :)

Smoky Corn Soup

So I am addicted to pinterest. I've found so many good recipes and craft ideas, great gift ideas, tips for everything! It's great! It has seriously helped save money on gifts this year. I found this recipe on there. I just added/subtracted some things, though. But I thought it sounded good. Josh & I have the Homestead Creamery deliver most of our groceries now, and one thing we tend to stock up on is frozen corn. They also have some really good cream. So why not try it? :) One thing I like doing is taking soup recipes and modifying them a bit for the slow-cooker. That's what I did with this one. So far, the little tastes I've had while stirring have turned out pretty tasty. We'll see! :)

Smoky Corn Soup

3 c corn (frozen, canned, any kind, really)

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

1 c water

1 c heavy cream

1 can chicken broth

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 pkt Ranch mix

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low 4-6 hours. When serving, top with cheddar cheese. Enjoy! :)

  

Red Velvet Fudge!

I LOVE holiday cooking! Josh laughs at me, though, because I love to make it and GIVE IT AWAY. Look at us: do we look like we need any sweets in the house? We taste some, then pass it on! And each year, I've always got new recipes to try. Yesterday we went to a Christmas party: what better time to try a new recipe? I made red velvet fudge yesterday, and it was such a hit, I made it again to take to our Life Group meeting tonight. I did have some trouble getting it out of the Christmas pan I used, but I won in the end. :) There's really no reason it's called red velvet fudge except the color - it does not taste like red velvet cake. Just FYI... :) But it is still pretty tasty.

Red Velvet Fudge

1 pkg. white chocolate chips (the smaller package, not the large one)

1 Tbsp. chocolate chips

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1 small can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 tsp red food dye

1 tsp cocoa powder

Grease an 8" pan well, then set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, mix the white and chocolate chips along with the baking soda and salt, then add the sweetened condensed milk. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until melted and smooth. Mix in the cocoa, vanilla, and food dye. Pour into the greased pan and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. Cut and store in airtight container in fridge.

  

Apple Water!

I can't believe it's been close to, what, a year since I've posted! I guess I should start my New Year's resolution early: to start posting new recipes! And I've got some pretty good ones, too. I just want to take some pictures of them before I post, so you can see how yummy they look! 

I do have one super-simple one that I'm going to post today. And when I say simple, I mean simple. It's really just flavored water. Why am I posting it? Well, because it's so simple I'm not sure anyone's really thought to do it. And also because today is Dec. 1! I am now HALF the size I was last Dec.! On the one hand, I'm really proud of that, but on the other hand, I think "Wow, how could I have been so huge?" But anyway, a lot of people have asked me how. Well, I started making this water this past week, and in that one week, it has helped me lost another 4 lbs. (I still had my cup of coffee in the morning, but then I drank only this for the rest of the day.) I'm not a huge fan of water, but I do like this! 

Apple Water

  1 apple, any flavor

1 cinnamon stick

water

Slice the apple and place it and the cinnamon stick in a pitcher. Fill the pitcher with water and ice (the ice isn't really necessary, but I think it helps keep the apple in when you're pouring lol). Let it sit in the fridge for a few minutes to allow the flavors to seep into the water. Then drink! You can refill the water up to 3 times before replacing the apple and cinnamon. Let me know what you guys think!

Zucchini Lasagna!

So since Josh has been diagnosed with diabetes, we've been slowly but surely trying to be healthier around here. I think he's most upset about having to cut back on bread - he says he can't stand low-carb bread. I think he's just going to have to get use to it! Anyway, one of his absolute favorite foods is lasagna. However, noodles are loaded with carbs, so that's on the no eat list. So last night, I tried a new recipe. I made lasagna with zucchini instead of lasagna noodles. The verdict? He likes it! PTL! (The boys wouldn't try it because it's green, but they're going to have to get use to it, too. Elijah is getting better about trying new food, at least. He sees Josh checking his blood each day, and Elijah sees that as a shot. So we just tell him if he's not careful with what he eats, he'll have to get a shot like that every day, too. LOL. Not nice, maybe, but it's working!)

Zucchini Lasagna

1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips and drained

1 jar spaghetti sauce

oregano 

Italian seasoning

16 oz. small curd cottage cheese

2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. In a small bowl, coming mozzarella, Parmesan, oregano, and Italian seasoning. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place a layer of zucchini strips in the baking dish. Spread some cottage cheese on it, then sprinkle with some of the cheese/seasoning mix. Spoon some spaghetti sauce over the cheese. Top with another layer of zucchini strips and continue with the previous layers, ending with cheese and a little sauce on top. Bake at 400 for 45 min. Enjoy!

Zucchini Muffins!

I planted a garden this year... We had broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, and zucchini (I also planted peppers and eggplant, but they didn't do so well...). Our broccoli has come and gone, peaking actually when we were out of town. :( Our tomatoes have done pretty good - enough that I was able to make a big batch of salsa. (First attempt, well, it was a learning experience lol! I think it's a bit watery and not hot enough, but Josh likes it.) We had lettuce coming out our ears, and our beans have done well, too! But our zucchini! WOW. No exaggeration! They have been HUGE! From the one I cut today, I was able to make one zucchini lasagna (another first - I hope Josh likes it! Since he's been diagnosed with diabetes, we're all trying to eat healthier now), 1 dozen regular size muffins, and 2 dozen mini muffins. My kids usually eat anything in muffin form, so I figure it's worth a try!

Zucchini Muffins

1 c sugar 

1 c softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp salt

2 c quick cooking oats

2 c DRAINED shredded zucchini (to drain, just dry with paper towels. Otherwise  very watery)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients until well blended. Add zucchini LAST. Spoon into sprayed muffin tins (makes 2 dozen regular size muffins) and bake in preheated oven 30-40 min., until golden on top. Enjoy! 

"Hunny" BBQ meatballs!

Again, another recipe from the shower. And again, INCREDIBLY simple! And pretty tasty! :)

Hunny BBQ Meatballs

1 pkg. frozen Homestyle Meatballs

1 bottle Honey BBQ sauce

Dump the meatballs in a slow cooker and pour the bbq sauce over top. Cover and cook on Low 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Enjoy! :)

Acorns!

My best friend's baby shower is tonight. I am so excited! Not just because she's my best friend, but she and her husband have struggled down a  l o n g  road to get here! Her nursery theme is Winnie the Pooh, so we just took that idea and used it for the shower as well. Hunny roasted peanuts, hunny bbq meatballs, Pooh bear cupcakes... you get the idea. So how about some acorn cookies, as well? SUPER easy, and pretty cute, too! :) 

1 pkg. MINI Nilla wafers (be warned - off size boxes of "bite size" vanilla wafers are not the same)
1 family size pkg. Hershey kisses
1 pkg. either butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips (I used Reeses peanut butter chips)
lg. tube of icing (the squirt kind) (any color - you see some green here because I used up all my "blue confetti" - the green was leftover from Isaiah's birthday)

Pretty simple: squirt a little icing on the back of a mini nilla wafer then stick the kiss on. On the top of the nilla wafer, squirt a little dot of icing and stick on the pb or butterscotch chip. And voila! An acorn! Enjoy! :)