Dutch Apple Pie

I am not a huge pie fan.  I find the crust mostly a waste of calories.  However, I love the fillings.  Often times, I will eat the filling and chuck the crust, unless I am in the mood for the whole slice.  But I am well aware that not everyone shares my tastes.  For instance, not much in life makes my husband happier than a good slice of pie with ice cream and whipped cream and of course, a tall glass of cold milk.  I do love me some apple crisp though!  So, this pie makes us both happy.  He gets the crust, I get the filling and the yummy crumbly top.  I like my apple filling very soft, melt in your mouth like, and this was perfect!

This pie does its baking in a paper bag.  Yes, you heard correctly.  Not sure why, maybe the steam, or protects it from browning while still allowing the topping to get crunchy.  I have made this pie over a dozen times without the bag, and the topping often gets a bit to brown.  This time it was perfect.  Go ahead and try it and see what you think.

DUTCH APPLE PIE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pie shell- uncooked
• 8-10 granny smith apples (or your fave baking apple)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 TBSP flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I like cinnamon, so I used 1/2 TBSP)
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• handful of oatmeal (OPT.-  if not using, add 1/4 more flour)

DIRECTIONS:

Peel and slice apples thin.  Microwave for 4 minutes to soften.  If you like a firmer apple, skip the microwave.  Add sugars, flour, lemon juice, vanilla and spices.  

Preheat oven to 425.

In a separate bowl, use a pastry blender or fork to mix cold butter with sugars and flour.  

Give apples another stir to distribute the juices and dump into pie shell.  Sprinkle crumb topping over the top evenly.  Place paper bag on a baking sheet (Catches run off for easy clean up) and place pie  inside.  Fold opening over and staple or use a metal paper clip to seal shut.   Bake at 425 for 1 hour.  (I took mine out the last 10-15 minutes to let it brown some.)

VARIATION:  You can add some chopped pecans to the topping for a switch up!

 NOTE:  If you have a gas oven, I might recommend using brown parchment paper or cooking without paper and cover if it is browning too much.  Can use white parchment, but reduce heat to 400 and cook for 70 minutes. 

Chicken Corn Chowder

This soup warmed us through and through, even though it was already 80 here in GA.  Pathetic in Nov...  dying to wear my boots...  but enough whining... back to the soup.  errr... chowder.
This was pretty easy.  Some chopping and adding this and that and shredding and poof!  Chicken Corn Chowder.  I love the chilies in it, but the whole can was a bit too much heat for my young family and my sensitive stomach.  The flavor was superb though and I loved the coolness of the sour cream against the heat of the chowder.  A nice change from the mundane. 



CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER
serves 5-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 chicken breast, roasted, or roaster chicken
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 med red bell pepper, finely diced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced in 1/2" chunks
• 20 oz. frozen or canned creamed corn
• 1 can whole corn
• 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tsp dried parsley (2-3 TBSP fresh)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (1 TBSP fresh)
• salt and pepper
• 32 oz. chicken broth
•  3 TBSP flour
• 2-3 oz light cream cheese
  
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 can green chopped chilies (1/2 can for less heat)

GARNISH:

• 5-6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• chopped scallions
• cheddar cheese
• sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Season and roast chicken for 35 minutes or until cooked.  Shred meat from roaster chicken or the chicken you roasted.  In a large stock pot, place oil, diced onion, red pepper and celery.  Cook for 5-6 minutes over med heat.  Add potatoes and garlic and cook additional 5 minutes. Add broth and corn to vegetables.  Add spices.  Simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Add chilies to soup.   Place  a few TBSP milk in a bowl and whisk in the flour.  Add to soup.  Add remainder of milk and cream cheese to a microwave safe dish and heat until cream cheese is soft and whisk/ mix together until smooth.  Reduce heat so not to burn/boil.  Cook for anther 15-20 minutes over med-low/low heat, to allow flavors to meld.  Serve topped with garnishes.

Texas Roadhouse Rolls (Copycat)

  Are these really like Texas Roadhouse?  Not quite... but they are good.  Maybe if I had made them not like the pull apart kind?  I just read another post that says to add 4 tsp. of wheat gluten and some honey.  Maybe next time.  

Anyway, although they are not quite like Texas Roadhouse's, they were still very yummy rolls and I would make them again.  And the cinnamon honey butter will not disappoint!

TEXAS ROADHOUSE ROLLS - Copycat Recipe

from: eatcakefordinner

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 c. milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
• 3 Tbl. of melted butter, slightly cooled
• 1/2 c. sugar 
• 2 quarts all purpose flour (7-8 cups)
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 tsp. salt

CINNAMON BUTTER

• 1 stick softened butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar.  Add yeast, milk, sugar and enough flour to make a medium batter.  Beat thoroughly.  Let stand until light and foamy.  Add melted butter, eggs and salt.  Beat well.  

Add enough flour to form a soft dough.  Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto counter and let dough rest.  Meanwhile, grease a large bowl.  Knead dough until smooth and satiny and put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. (I used the dough hook on my Kitchen-Aid to knead this for about 4-5 minutes).  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.  Punch down.  Turn out onto a floured board.  Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes.  Shape dough into desired forms.  (I pinched off golf size balls and placed them in a pan for pull apart rolls. They rise a lot, so make them small!!)  Place on greased baking sheets.  Let rise until doubled.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Baste immediately with butter.  Yield: 5 to 6 dozen.  Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter. 

For the Cinnamon Honey Butter:  whisk it all together, w/ mixer or by hand,  for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. 

Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing

What Thanksgiving meal can happen with stuffing?  I never liked stuffing growing up, not sure why, I mean it is bread and spices and it is so good.  Thank God my taste buds grew up! 
This stuffing is fantastic.  It is some my grandmother's recipe and a bit my own.  A wonderful addition to any holiday meal.

SAUSAGE, APPLE, AND CRANBERRY STUFFING

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 lb. breakfast sausage
• 1/2 lb. regular sausage (hot)
• 1 pkg. onion soup mix
• 3 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced 
• 3-4 TBSP white wine
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup. fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 4 c. stuffing (cubed or crushed, your preference)
• 4 cups cornbread stuffing or crumbled cornbread
• 1 egg beaten
• 3-4 cups chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

Cook sausage into crumbles.  When fully cooked, place sausage in dish and set aside.  In the same skillet add onion, and celery and  butter.  Cook for 3-4 minutes over medium high heat and add the apples.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring as needed for another 5-7 minutes.  Add white wine and cook another 2-3 minutes. 
In a large bowl, mix stuffing, cornbread stuffing, poultry seasoning, onion soup mix, parsley and cranberries.  Add sausage, beaten egg, onion mixture and about 2 cups of broth.  Stir, and add little bits of broth until all of the bread is moist.  Place into greased 9x13.  Cover and bake 20 minutes.  If you prefer crispy top, uncover and bake additional 25-30 minutes, or leave covered for softer stuffing.  Increase cooking time for  full oven.

Scalloped Corn

I am not a big fan of corn.  I love it in soups, bread, dips even, but by itself, don't eat it much.  Growing up, it was always on the table.  My parents would buy several bushels at the end of the summer, and then cook it a little, then we would cut it off the cob.  I remember helping shucking the corn, and cutting it off the cob and bagging it. There was a whole shelf designated for corn in the freezer.  We had it with dinner several times a week all winter long.  I liked corn then.  Not sure what happened (maybe overload) but now I will have maybe one ear of sweet corn a year.  Pathetic, I know. 
Enough about corn, and onto this dish!  This is a great dish!  My mom got the recipe from her neighbor Melissa.  I brought this to a potluck last night and every morsel was gone.  I made a slight change to it by adding green chilies, but even before that, still a great dish!  The green chilies compliment it wonderfully though!  Delicious! 

SCALLOPED CORN
from Melissa Freeman

INGREDIENTS:

may not look pretty, but tastes great!

• 1 stick butter
• 8 oz sour cream (I used light, but am going to try some greek yogurt next time too!)
• 2 eggs
• 1 can creamed corn (no salt or low sodium)
• 1 can whole corn (no salt), DO NOT DRAIN!
• 1 Jiffy Corn muffin mix
• (opt.) 1 can green chilies (or 1/2)

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter.  Add everything else and mix.  Place in greased casserole of you choosing (7x11 will produced shorter cooking time then round casserole type which I used).  Bake @ 350 for 45 min to an hour.  Top will be brown and crunchy and center will no longer jiggle (Mine in a round casserole went 1 hr. and 15 minutes with other things in the oven.)

Sweet Potato Casserole (low-fat)

The mass of Thanksgiving recipes is about to begin!  We had a church potluck last night, so I took it as an opportunity to blog some recipes before the holiday gets here.
I grew up with the traditional sweet potatoes with the buttery brown sugar glaze, topped with gooey oozey marshmallows.  It is hard to improve on those, but sometimes change is good.  My sister-in-law first introduced me to a new sweet potato casserole.  I got the recipe and after realizing there was over 2 sticks of butter in it, I realized that while it was delicious, it also was terrible for me.  I am fine with butter in dessert, and a bit in meals from time to time.  But with all the other fat laden things served during the holidays, did I really need one more thing?  Nope...  so I found a lightened version which I think is every bit as delicious with almost 1/4 the butter!   A great addition to the Thanksgiving table!

SWEET POTATO (or YAM) CASSEROLE (low-fat)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 lb.sweet potatoes (3-4 med.  I did 3, wish I had done 4).  peeled and diced, or 3 cans unsweetened sweet potato puree
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 TBSP butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp butter flavoring
• OPT. 2 tsp orange zest (I OMIT)

TOPPING:

• 3 TBSP. Flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2-3 TBSP butter
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup coconut

DIRECTIONS:

Dice sweet potatoes (smaller the dice, faster they will cook.  I did 1/2" dice)  Steam the sweet potatoes until tender all the way through and fall off the fork.  Preheat oven to 350.  Place sweet potatoes in a food processor.  Add the rest of ingredients and blend.  Scrape down sides and pulse until smooth with no lumps.  Spread evenly in a 9x13 dish.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and flour.  Add cold butter and using a pastry blender or fork, mix until a coarse crumb. Add nuts and coconut.  Mix with hands.  Sprinkle evenly over sweet potatoes. Bake covered for 25 minutes, and uncovered for another 20.  NOTE:  If your oven is full, like mine is during the holiday's, you will need to bake longer.  Add at least 10 minutes to cooking time.  I added almost 20 with 3 things in the oven.    Enjoy!

Butterfinger Blondies with Buttercream Frosting

These are wonderful blondies!  Super sweet, and are even better on day 2.  They are full of chunks of butterfinger and topped with a creamy buttercream.
They are evil, because I want to keep eating them.  My kids love them, and my husband too, but just a little bit does him.  Wish a little would do me!  My instincts told me to cut the butter by a couple of TBSP, and I wish I had cut it by a half stick, because I found them a bit too buttery at first.  The butter has kinda reabsorbed now, but I still think I will cut it next time.  Then again, when you are talking 2 sticks and another stick for the icing, plus some crisco, so what's a couple of TBSP?  Worth the extra laps you will have to do. 


BUTTERFINGER BLONDIES WITH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
recipe slightly adapted from: cookiesandcups.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c. butter (I will do 3/4 cup next time)
• 1 c. light brown sugar
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. coarsely chopped Butterfinger Bars (about 5 full size candy bars, or 20 small)

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

•  1/2 c. butter, softened 
• 1/2 c. vegetable shortening
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1 T. milk (more as needed)
• 2 1/2 - 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 c. butterfingers, chopped (about 1 full size candy bar)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

I couldn't wait til they were cool, so I cheated and frosted a few early.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.  Beat butter and sugars until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in flour mixture until just combined, followed by chopped butterfingers.  Spread the batter into 9x13 pan.  Bake 25- 33 minutes, or until the center is set and doesn't jiggle.  They will be a nice golden brown. Cool completely.

Whip frosting and top cooled bars (I only used half the icing, so could half the recipe, if desired).  Sprinkle with crushed butterfinger or mix candy bars in frosting for variation.