Apple Granola Crisp for Breakfast

Let's see, we haven't had an apple recipe in awhile have we?

No we haven't.

Since I had to use up the last of my apples before they turned to mush, I decided on making this instead of more Orchard Applesauce for a change of pace.

I just couldn't resist making this one.

I was done with apples for a bit I tell ya. I was ding dang diggity dog done. (I really talk like that). Then I read Smitten Kitchens blog and saw her beautiful Apple Granola Crisp recipe and before you know it, I'm nixing the applesauce and dreaming of warm bowls of this deliciousness for breakfast.

This was such a warm and comforting dish. Think apple crisp and granola get married and have a baby. Warm cinnamony apples topped with crunchy, crispy granola. If you have some plain yogurt it would be great poured over the top. We've been eating it for breakfast, but if you decided to top it with vanilla ice cream and eat it after dinner, or as a snack, or sneak down the stairs at oh say, 1:00am and have a little nibble then who am I stop you?

Apple Granola Crisp
Recipe from Deb @ Smitten Kitchen
Printable recipe
3 pounds* of whatever apples, or mix of apples, you like to bake with, peeled, cored and cut into medium chunks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup flour
2 cups oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix apple chunks with lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and pinch of salt in a 9×13-inch baking dish until apples are evenly coated.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the honey. Stir in the flour, oats, almonds, coconut and another pinch of salt until clumps form. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture and bake in the oven for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until the apples are softened and bubbly.

Should the granola brown before you wish it to, cover the baking dish carefully with foil for all but the last few minutes of baking time, when removing the foil will help the granola recrisp. Cool to room temperature and then stash in the fridge to eat with your morning yogurt.

Butter Pecan Cookies with Maple Frosting

There are a few flavors on this big blue marble I live on that delight
me beyond measure.

Mocha
Coconut
Caramel
Caramelized Onions
Milk Chocolate
and
Maple

I think my love for maple stems from the maple leaf cookies I adored as a child. The ones I loved came from Canada and had a creamy maple filling inside. Big maple leaf shaped cookies, that you could smell the minute you opened the package. I remember twisting them apart like an Oreo and eating the cookie first, then biting all the way around the frosting on the remaining cookie, so I could savor that maple filling to the end.

The maple frosting on these cookies reminds me of those creamy centers. I wanted to make a second batch and just sit with spoon in hand and stuff my face with it, but I didn't. I was tempted. Oh I was tempted.

Most of my favorite maple recipes use pure maple syrup. This one uses maple flavoring. I buy mine from Watkins. I think it has a great, pure flavor. I've tried other maple flavorings and they were either too sugary or to artifical tasting.

My husband John is a huge fan of butter pecan anything. I'm a huge fan of this frosting. For me that cookie was just a mere vessel to hold display the luscious frosting. Don't get me wrong, the cookie's were great, but oh that frosting. John loved them both.

Once in awhile I come across those cookies from Canada, and I still eat them the very same way.




Butter Pecan Cookies with Maple Frosting
Printable recipe
1 cup shortening
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 package (10 to 12 ounces) vanilla or white chips
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Frosting
¼ cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
3 to 5 tablespoons of milk

Pecan halves for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening, butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and maple flavoring. In a medium size bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda together. Gradually add it to the creamed mixture. Stir in the chips and pecans.

The batter will be soft. Drop my rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. (I used parchment). Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until just golden brown. Cook for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, confectioners sugar, maple flavoring and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost each cookie with approximately 1 teaspoon of frosting and top with a pecan half.

These would be a perfect fall cookie for a Halloween celebration. I put mine in the fridge to stiffen up the frosting a bit and then stored them in an air tight container.

Leaf Peeping

It's just about peak time for peeping here in New England.
Unfortunately the wind and rain has blown most of them off the trees.
That doesn't stop me from taking pictures.




Lighted Leaf





Floating Leaves





Floating Solo





Grounded




Purple

French Potato Salad

Let me just start off my saying that this was not the most photogenic dish. Carrots, potatoes, peas and pickles mixed with sour cream and mayo. Very, very tasty but not the prettiest of dishes.

This was made by Tati's sister Teja. I'm not sure where the recipe originated from, but Teja makes it all the time at home in Slovenija. She made it for us a few years ago when she visited, and she made it again this last visit.

I don't know why it's called French Potato Salad either, neither does Teja. What I do know is that somehow this combination works and this time I had Tati write the recipe down while she made it, which wasn't an easy task since Teja doesn't measure anything. She just throws it all in a bowl and adds a little of this and a little of that until it looks right.

So bear with on this one, but trust in me enough to know that this is one delicious alternative to the boring ole potato salad most of us are used to. It makes a lot, and that's a good thing cause I could eat this by the truck full.



French Potato Salad
recipe from Teja
Printable recipe
4 medium sized potatoes, cut into a small dice, boil and cook until just tender.
3 - 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
12 pickles, finely chopped
3 cans of carrot/pea medley
1 small jar of mayonnaise (do not use Miracle Whip)
6 tablespoons of sour cream
1 - 2 tablespoons mustard (she used yellow)
salt & pepper to taste

Get a very big bowl, and dump all the ingredients in it. Stir gently. Chill and serve.

That's it.

So once you can get over the fact that this is one of those "it ain't pretty, but it sure is good" kinda recipes, I think you're going to agree with me, that sometimes looks really don't matter.

Meet the cast

Yesterday was casting day. Off we went to the Orthopedic Doc.

I tell ya, that place runs like a well oiled machine.

We went into what looked like a little emergency room set-up.

Six or so cots with curtains in between.

Within minutes someone comes over and asks him what happened.

He tells the "fell off my bike story".

A minute later he's in x-ray and a few minutes later he's back.

Doc sees him.

Yup arms broken.

Gonna need a cast (we knew that).

We met Walid, a very nice gentlemen who is going to cast Evan.







That's Grandma back there smiling at Evan.



Walid did a great job. Evan chose black as you can see.

We told him, no one will be able to write on your cast.

"I don't want anyone to write on it" Evan said.

Well ok then.





The casting took no time at all.
I think Walid's done this a time or two or a hundred!



After a trim we were ready to go.
Total time at the docs: 1 hour.
Pretty impressive.

We go back in 2 weeks for a check.
The doctor thinks the cast will be on for a month.

Evan seemed ok with it.
After all, it's the perfect excuse not to be able to....fold your blanket,
make your bed, clear your plate, etc.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Last week I visited the dentist three times in one week.

Three!

I had to get a filling. I guess my sweet tooth caught up with me. My tooth was killing me even after the filling was done, and it shouldn't have. Back to the dentist to fix my bite.....2 more times. And lets not forget our 3 hour emergency room visit for Evans broken arm. Then there were 2 eye doctor appointments and John had an appointment with the Orthopedic doc for his knee.

Yeah we take vacations so we go to appointments. So fun.

We spent most of the week hanging out with Tati and her family. I have to say, I didn't cook a whole lot. We went out quite a few times, and I do believe my oven didn't see any action until this past weekend. It was calling my name.

On my third trip to the dentist office I glanced through a copy of Real Simple Magazine and saw a recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. I did what I believe most people do when they want a page from a magazine in a doctors office. I politely asked the receptionist if it would be ok for me to gently remove the page from said magazine.

Yeah right....you don't believe that do you? I tried to rip that sucker out as quietly as possible and then I snuck it into my purse, coughing as I did it, to avoid any unwanted attention. John gave me a "what the hell are you doing look".
I just shhh'd him.

Admit it, you do the same thing too.

I've been spoiling Evan a little with treats he likes. Chocolate Pie yesterday and I even let him get Kentucky Fried Chicken for his birthday. We don't eat at fast food places so this was a huge treat for Evan. The kids love that KFC. Me - not so much. I do like the biscuits though. Anyway, I knew he'd love these cause he loves peanut butter cups and these cookies are loaded with them.




We went out to dinner with John & Tati Saturday night, and I think John polished off half the jar when he came back from dinner. He proclaimed them "deeeee-licious"

If you have a peanut butter cup lover in your life, make these for them. They will love you for it.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Printable recipe

makes approx. 48 cookies

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1-teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
¾ cup dark brown sugar (don’t pack)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1-teaspoon vanilla
1 – 12 oz package mini peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped.

Heat the oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter cups.

Drop tablespoon-size mounds of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake until light brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

These cookies can be baked and stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days in advance.

Happy 13th Birthday Evan

Today my baby turns 13.

My strong willed, stubborn, sugar lovin', chocoholic baby who looks so much
like me it's scary at times.

Think I'm exaggerating? Check out this pic.

We were both two.



We are so alike in so many ways, I couldn't begin to even list them all.

My beautiful, blonde haired, Hershey colored eyed son, who loves pizza and tacos and playing soccer. Whose smile and laugh melt my heart.

A kid who loves chocolate almost

as much as his Mama does. A boy after my own heart.

I can't wait to see you grown up.
You fill me up with so much love.
I love you to the moon and back and then some.

Mama

Apple Blueberry Crumb Bars

Yes it's another apple recipe! Only a few left, I promise!
What can I say - I have a huge bag to use up!!
I did throw some blueberries in the mix this time though.

The weather here has turned cold and damp. We have a whole weekend of rain in the forecast, so I'll be in the kitchen cranking up the stove.

Our vacation week is coming to an end. We had a nice relaxing week at home (with the exception of Evan's broken arm, that wasn't so relaxing). Today I'm switching the closets over to our winter clothes. Time to don the face mask. The worse allergy attack I ever had was changing over closets and not wearing one.

Tati's Mom & sister were here from Slovenija so we spent a lot of time with them. Tati's sister Mateja stocked up on hot sauce and triple antibiotic, two things which apparently you can't readily purchase in Slovenija. Who knew??

I baked up a few treats while they were visiting, including these crumb bars.

I found these luscious Apple Blueberry Crumb Bars
on Farmgirl Fare.

These are the perfect breakfast treat (or any other time really).

Loaded with apples and blueberries

and filled with crunchy oats and brown sugar.
They were so delicious.

Make sure to cook them until the tops look pretty dried out or you will end up with soggy bars and that ain't a good thing.



Apple Blueberry Crumb Bars
Printable recipe

Bottom Layer
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

12 Tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks/6 ounces) butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Top Layer
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz) butter or natural vegetable oil sticks

Middle Layer
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
3 generous cups unpeeled chopped apples (about 5 small/19 oz)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (1/2 teaspoon if pre-ground)

For the Bottom Layer:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan with your fingers. I also use the bottom of a stainless steel measuring cup to help make the crust flat and even.

For the Top Layer:
Place the flour, brown sugar, and butter or vegetable oil sticks in a small bowl and use a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers to combine until the mixture resembles large crumbs (some pea-sized clumps are okay). Set aside.

For the Middle Layer:
Place the blueberries and apples in the bowl you mixed the bottom layer in. Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and toss until well combined.

Sprinkle the top layer evenly over the fruit mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the top is golden and looks "dry," but the edges aren't too brown, about 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, with ice cream if desired. Store leftover bars in a cool place or refrigerate. They may also be individually wrapped in plastic and frozen.

Broken

See that?

That stunning bracelet in a lovely shade of blue?

It's a wrist adornment that no mother wants to see on her child's arm.

Yesterday afternoon while I was 45 minutes from home, trampsing
to a Game Stop to by a Christmas present for my oldest, I get a call.

The call you knew was eventually going to come, but that you hoped
happened when you were in the near vicinity of your child.

Evan: (holding back tears): "Mom, I think I broke my wrist".

Me: (freaking out at the register of Game Stop very far from home): "You what?? How??"

Evan: "I fell off my bike doing the paper route with Brandon and it really hurts. I think it's broke. It hurts bad. Where are you???"

Me: "I'm on my way".

So we go speeding home, run into not one, but two dump
trucks going 5 miles an hour.
Why is that always the way?

I frantically call Tati and she rushes over to the house.
Having a nurse as your best friend comes in very handy sometimes.
She calls me when I am half way home and says she thinks it's broken too.
She takes Evan straight to the ER.

I dump John, Jesse & Moose off at the house.
Get to the hospital.
Evan's got a very swollen arm on ice.
I thank Tati profusely.
We wait an hour and a half to be seen.
Doc looks at arm. Yup I think it's broken.
X-Rays confirm it.
Half cast for now.
Full cast when the swelling goes down.

Here's a shot of some of the damage. Nice big scrape under his eye
and a little cut. That shiner is changing into different shades as I type.



The boo-boo face when he thinks about not playing soccer for the rest of the season.



It's only a couple of more games, but the boy loves soccer, so he is totally bummed.

His birthday is this Saturday too. Poor kid.



To add insult to injury we noticed that his wrist band labeled him and F and not an M.

"What idiots" says Evan.



Time to go dig out a big plastic bag so this boy can shower.
Any Mom's who have been through the broken limb thing before?
Tips and/or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Lemon Honey Tea Base

I'm a tea person. My husband is a coffee person.
I never drink coffee, he never drinks tea and that
works out great for us.

I like lemon and honey in some of my teas.
I like milk and sugar in some.
I like some straight up.
I'm not a tea snob.

Give me a hot cup that's all I ask. I want that baby near the boiling point.
There is nothing worse than cold tea.
Ok there's lots of things worse than cold tea, but it doesn't make me happy.

I wandered upon a blog called A Little Life and found this

Lemon Honey Tea Base.



If there is anything that has "me" written all over it's this.
Two ingredients.
3 minutes to make.
A jar of lemony honey goodness in my fridge.
Add hot water and enjoy.

How do you prepare this golden amber concoction you ask? Well here's how Catherine from A Little Life first discovered it when her neighbor offered her some:

"She produced a glass container from the very back of her fridge and dug out a giant dollop of amber colored jam that she unceremoniously glopped into a cup. She poured boiling water over it, and handed me my mug. Wow, the most glorious thing I've ever tasted...it was fruity, and warming, and totally blissful. I was surprised to find it only contained two ingredients as well...sliced lemons and honey".

So if you are a tea lover like me, go grab yourself a few lemons and some honey. I used a local Rhode Island honey, but any honey will do.

Slice the lemons up and pack them into a jar.
Pour the honey over the lemons. Close jar. Refrigerate.
When you are feeling sniffly, or chilly, or just want a warm cup of goodness,
grab that jar out of the fridge and fill yourself up.

Raisinette Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are one of my favorites. My husbands too.

We like raisins in our cookies.

The boys do not.

Sometimes it's just tough luck for the boys and what Mama & Papa want rules.

We wanted chewy oatmeal cookies with raisins in them, no wait, we wanted
chewy oatmeal cookies with RAISINETTES in them.

Yeah that's what we wanted.

I have no idea where I got this recipe. It was another scrap in my recipe basket.
As I scoured through the basket looking for inspiration as I often do, I remembered clipping this out of a magazine at some point and thinking "raisinettes in a cookie - genius!"

These cookies were just heaven. A perfect oatmeal cookie with little hints of

chocolate wrapped around plump, sweet raisins. So good.

Even the raisinettes didn't completely deter Jess, he ate around them, lol.

If you pick up the 11oz bag of raisinettes it the perfect amount for this recipe.

Raisinette Oatmeal Cookies
Printable recipe
Yields 3 dozen
1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 ¾ cup rolled oats (you can use quick cooking oats, but I like the rolled oats better)
1 ½ cups (11oz bag) of raisinettes

In a large bowl cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Add in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to combine. Gradually add this to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Stir in the oats and raisinettes.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on a parchment lined (or greased) cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let these cool for 5 minutes in the pan before you remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Winna Winna!

I always say "Winna Winna Chicken Dinner" dont you??

Don't ask. It's a thing we do, lol.

There will not be any chicken dinners but there is a winner!

The random number generator says:



#2 is....June!!

June has a beautiful blog called Four Green Acres.

She's one special lady, so I'm absolutely thrilled that the number generator chose her!

One package of goodies headed off to Maine!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

I think I just might have another giveaway in the near future.

Congrats June!

Upside-Down Apple Pie

My mother-in-law, who lives in Ohio, is always on the lookout
for recipes that she thinks you guys out in Blogville will like.

When she comes across one, she will call me and tell me all about
the recipe and where she heard about it and how great it sounds.

It never fails to get me excited and before you know it, I'm
writing out grocery lists and shopping for the ingredients
and posting it on this blog.

This is another great recipe she found. In Ohio, they have
a gentlemen called Mr. Food on the local daily news each day.
He does a daily recipe. Mom saw this Upside Down Apple Pie
recipe last week and called to tell me about it.

I checked out the recipe and video on his site and before you
knew it, I was prepping to make it.

This time I didn't check my ingredient list too well.
I went to add the pecans to this recipe and found
out there were no pecans to be had in my cupboard.

Oh well, walnuts will just have to do (and they did).



This pie recipe was a keeper.
I can see why Mr. Food says its his
#1 most requested apple pie recipe.

I love the fact that the apple filling goes way,
way into the corners of the crust, and that
it has this crunchy, caramel-like glaze on the top
once it's flipped. No soggy bottom on this pie.

I also know I didn't have to make the top of this pie pretty, cause eventually the top will become the bottom and no one will see it, but I like it when my pie looks pretty coming out of the oven.

Before/After



Golden flaky goodness.

I might just have to add this to the Thanksgiving pie menu.
So many pies, so little time, lol. I just keep finding more and more great pie recipes
What's a pie baker to do?

Make 'em all.

Upside Down Apple Pie
recipe from Mr. Food.com
Printable Recipe

6 tablespoons butter, melted & divided
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup chopped pecans
2 refrigerated pie crusts (you can thank me later ladies)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
5 large Granny Smith apples, or other firm apples,
peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch slices
If you have an apple, peeler, corer machine now is the time to use it!

Preheat the oven to 375.

Coat a deep-dish pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment or waxed paper. Coat the paper with cooking spray also.

In a small bowl combine 4 tablespoons of melted butter, the brown sugar and the pecans. Mix well and spread evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Place one of the crusts in the pie plate, pressing it firmly against the nut mixture and up the sides of the plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix well. Add the apples in and toss gently to coat. Spoon into the piecrust.

Place the second crust over the apple mixture. Trim and fold the edges together to seal. Cut some slits in the top of the crust for venting.



Bake 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until crust is golden brown. Preparation Tip: To make sure you don’t have to do any cleanup, position a cookie sheet on the bottom oven rack to catch any juices that may leak from the pie while it’s baking. Mine did drip!

To invert the pie. I placed a plate that was larger than the pie on top of it and just flipped it over. Remove the pie plate then gently lift the paper. Allow to cool. Or if you can't wait, let it cool just a bit and dig in while it's still warm.

A "me" day and a giveaway

I took the day off today to have a "me" day.

A day where I can enjoy the stillness and
the quietness of the house.

Something that does not happen often here.

A day when I can play the music I love without
anyone complaining (who would complain about the
Beatles anyway???)

A day when I headed out early to shop and
pamper myself a bit.

New bras in funky colors and this beautiful skirt:



A day to decorate for Fall.



To pick the last hydrangea and watch it slowly turn.



A day for surprises in the mail.



A day to try a new recipe.



A day to thank all my blog readers for stopping by and reading my ramblings,

and trying the recipes I post and leaving kind words.

I'm having a Fall Giveaway.
I decided to give away something for your food preparation,

something to bake it in and something to present it on.

One lucky winner will receive:

This beautiful set of hand painted nesting bowls.

There are three of these beauties and they are
just about the most adorable bowls I've laid eyes on.



Please ignore the ugly cardboard separators in between the bowls.
I thought about taking them out and undoing the bow, but
then I thought again and just let them be.

Next you need something to bake in.
Maybe a beautiful deep dish pie plate with lovely
fall leaves and an even lovelier sentiment on the inside?



Lastly, this pedestal cake and goodie stand.



Don't you think everything you make will look
even more delicious on it?

So there. Like what you see?
Wanna chance at winning these items?

All you have to do is leave me a comment on what your
favorite thing about fall is, or what you'd bake
and present on that beautiful dish.

That's it. No extras for mentioning the giveaway on
your blog, but feel free to do so if you want.

When you leave a comment either link back
to your blog or leave me your email.

Please don't forget your email,
if I can't contact you I'll have to pick someone else.

So whatcha waiting for?? Leave me a comment.

Winner will be picked by random number generator
on October 7th at 7pm EST, cause I really love
the month of October and the number 7.

Good Luck!

Happy Fall (isnt it the most best time of year?)

Thanks for reading my little blog!

Upside Down Apple Pie next post!