Simple Apple Crisp

I've been craving warm apple crisp with a scoop of Blue Bunny Homemade Vanilla ice cream for weeks now. On Saturday morning I finally made it and we've been enjoying it all weekend long!


You'll need:

5 apples (I like to use a mixture of different types - sweet, soft, crispy, and tart)

Slice and place in an 8x8 baking dish (I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on the apples as I go)

Then mix:

2/3 - 3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oatmeal
1/3 cup stick butter, softened
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg


Sprinkle oat/sugar/spice mixture to cover apples. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This is one of my favorite fall/winter treats! All of the juices from the apples combine together with the cinnamon for a delicious treat!

Conference Chowder

I have a friend who makes "Conference Chowder" with her family every 6 months for Conference. I tried it this time and really enjoyed it. Here's what I did.

Combine and saute in large cooking pot:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 carrots sliced
• 2 stalks celery sliced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium onion, quartered or chopped
• 1/2 cup packed chopped fresh parsley, (OR 2 Tbsp dry)

Prepare the following and set aside to add later:

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 1 8oz pkg fresh mushrooms

Add mushrooms at the end of sauteeing other vegetables.

Combine the following and pour over sauteed vegetables, stirring while pouring:

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground marjoram
  
• 1 tsp ground black pepper (I would recommend less)

Add:

2 cups boiling water
1 can chicken or vegetable broth
2 chicken or vegetable bullion cubes
(I just used 1 large container or chicken broth cause that's what I had on hand)


Simmer for 1 hour

Add the zucchini when there's 15-20 minutes left so they don't turn mush

Add:

13 oz evaporated milk for last 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Experimenter's note: This recipe has a lot of FLAVOR - I found it to be delicious as a sauce over a fresh baked spaghetti squash. Marcela really enjoyed it like that too. You could serve it as a chowder or as a sauce over pasta. It's delicious and very flavorful!

Homemade Oreos

I stumbled across a recipe for homemade oreos this week and I had a dream about sinking my teeth into them a couple of nights ago, so I convinced my sister Makayla who's visiting this week to make them with me.

Homemade Oreos
Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 to 1½ cups sugar (I only used 1 cup because I liked the contrast of a less-sweet cookie with the sweet center filling)
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
¼ cup (½ stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
¼ cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375 degrees.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.


3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.



4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

*A side note - I was disappointed when I tried the first one because they were a lot more firm (like an oreo) than I thought they would be. So I turned down the temperature, made them smaller, and cooked them for less time - for a softer cookie.

They'd also be delicious with ice cream centers!

Pastelitos - Honduran Meat-filled Pastries

We've been celebrating Honduras at our house this week (lots of deep frying). I'm ready to go on a diet, but before I do, let me just tell you how yummy these things are...crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a delicious cabbage salad on top . . . something that you can indulge in once . . . in a great while!

Our friend, Karen, from Honduras came to help us make "pastelitos" for the multicultural celebration this week. We made about 50 or more of these little puppies and I've still been making them every day with the left-over dough.

This recipe is taken from a cookbook my sister-in-law, Ana, sent me. We had some help making it this weekend so we'll see if the recipe makes sense.

You'll need:

2 C dough prepared with corn flour (maseca)
1/2 tsp "achiote"
1 tsp salt
1 C corn oil
1 C meat filling

Season the dough with salt and add the "achiote." Divide it in 15 portions and make the tortillas 3 inches in diameter.
Place 1 Tbsp meat filling on the bottom half of each tortilla. Fold the tortilla in the form of half-moon. Seal the edges moistening with water, pressuring with the fingers to prevent the filling from coming out.

In a small pan, heat the oil and cook the pastries at medium heat until golden on both sides. Place them over paper towel and serve warm.



Meat filling includes:

1 C ground beef
2 Tbsp corn oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped ripe tomato
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 C water with 1 Tbsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 tsp hot chili sauce
1 large potato cut into small pieces (we used rice and it was delicious!)

In a medium pan, heat oil and cook the garlic cloves and the onion for 3 minutes or until translucent. Add the meat and cook stirring constantly so it does not cluster. Cook the potato in the salt water until tender then add it to the meat with any remaining water. Add the tomato and season with pepper, salt, thyme, Worcestershire and the hot chili sauce. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover the pot and cook at medium heat until the water consumes completely. Place in the refrigerator to cool.

Top pastries with a salad of finely chopped cabbage, pico de gallo or a warm and spicy tomato sauce, and dry cheese.

Chocolate Raspberry Creme Cake

We invited some friends for dinner and they surprised us with the most delicious dessert. First of all Christina is a natural at inventing things in the kitchen. Here's what she did:

She baked a regular chocolate cake mix in a bundt cake pan. Then she mixed some raspberry jello mix and when she pulled the cake from the oven and removed it from the pan, she pierced it with a fork several times and poured the unset jello mixture over the top and put it in the refrigerator to soak in and set up.


Then, she served it with a freshly whipped spoonful of whipping cream and WOW, we were in heaven! Thanks Christina!

Lindy's Chicken Enchiladas

These are the best enchiladas I've ever tried and I must give credit to my old neighbor and dear friend, Lindy. She taught me how to make them and I am so grateful.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped

vegetable oil

garlic salt

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

2-3 small cans enchilada sauce (I use 1 (or 2) red and 1 green)

1 lb. grated cheese (Monterey Jack and/or cheddar)

12-18 corn tortillas

Instructions:

Turn oven to 350 degrees. Chop onion and cook in an oiled frying pan until translucent.

Mix enchilada sauce in a shallow bowl and stir. Set aside.

Add shredded chicken to onions and heat through (sprinkle with a little garlic salt and add 1/2 cup or so of enchilada sauce.) Transfer chicken mixture to a plate or bowl and wash frying pan (or leave it and use a second one). Heat pan on medium high and coat with oil. Fry corn tortillas one at a time, just a few seconds on each side - softening them. You may have to add more oil after every 3 tortillas. Once the tortillas are done, assemble the enchiladas as follows:

First, dip the softened tortillas in the sauce.

Then fill with a little chicken and shredded cheese.

Roll and place seam side down in greased baking pan.

Drizzle remaining sauce over enchiladas.

Sprinkle with plenty of cheese and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve with refried [black] beans, rice, and a side salad.

Garden Fresh Chicken Tacos

My dear friend Emily had Marcela and I over for lunch last week. She's been working in her garden all summer and our lunch was filled with the delicious fruits (and veggies) of her harvest. She sent us home with the most delicious bunch of tomatoes and Italian Cucumbers (which are GIGANTIC). We had chicken tacos with fresh veggies and fresh peaches with vanilla-bean ice cream on top. Unfortunately we ate that so fast, I didn't get a picture, but I'm sure you can envision it. Here's how she did the Tacos:

Place 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast in a crockpot with taco seasoning and a little bit of water. Cook and shred.

Heat both sides of corn tortillas on skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil.

Dice the following: (most delicious if the ingredients come fresh from someone's garden!)
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Green Peppers
Spinach Leaves
(I might add fresh cilantro if I had some on hand)

Top with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream and ENJOY!

Thanks Emily! I'm still enjoying all the fruits and veggies you shared with us!

I love Harvest Season!