Apple Butter

Thanks to Betty Crocker, we were able to use up some of our apples with this simple recipe!

No idea what this stuff is???? Well, here's what Betty Crocker has to say:

"Even though this thick mixture has no butter, its name comes from the fact that it spreads like butter. Spread your favorite bagel with cream cheese and spicy apple butter. Use it instead of butter on hot toast, English muffins, or freshly baked biscuits or scones. Or spoon it on top of a stack of hot pancakes or waffles, and sprinkle with toasted pecans."

This recipe will make 4 cups of apple butter. I halved it when I made it because it's just me and Steve and it only lasts 3 weeks in the fridge, but make the whole thing if you think you'll go through it... or give some to a friend! Or... I wonder if it would freeze well.....

12 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, ,cored, and cut into fourths

1 1/2 cups packed dark or light brown sugar

1/2 cup apple juice

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1) Mix all ingredients in crock pot/slow cooker.

2)Cover and cook on low heat 8 to 10 hours or until apples are very tender

3)Mash apples with potato masher or large fork.

4)Cook uncovered on low heat for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is very thick. Cool about 2 hours.

5)Spoon apple butter into container. Cover and store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

PREP TIME

Sauce

1/3 cup ketchup

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar (I actually use seasoned rice vinegar)

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons mustard (It calls for just regular yellow mustard, but this last time I used Chinese hot mustard because thats all I had, and it turned out great)

1-2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

MIX ALL THE SAUCE INGREDIENTS AN HOUR OR SO BEFORE COOKING AND SET ASIDE TO ALLOW THE FLAVORS TO MARRY.

Chicken

2 large whole boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups cornstarch

2 eggs

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon oil

SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE COOKING TIME (I've actually done this step only within an hour of cooking, and it turned out fine...but probably better to let it sit longer I guess.) CUT AND SALT THE CHICKEN (a little less than a tsp of salt). PUT THE CHICKEN IN A BOWL, ADD 2 TABLESPOONS CORNSTARCH AND MASSAGE INTO MEAT. COVER AND SET IN REFRIGERATOR.

Rice

........cook some rice.....

Optional:

I like to saute up some onions and peppers to eat with this. Or you can just add green onions. Or no veggies at all if you don't like that sort of thing.

COOKING

When you're ready to cook, mix the eggs, water, and oil. Put the chicken chunks in the mixture then transfer the nuggets to the 2 cups of cornstarch. Let them sit in the cornstarch while you heat oil for frying. Oil should be 375-380 degrees-- should see a little smoke before putting the nuggets in to fry. DISCLAIMER: Be careful! A friend of mine ended up with fire in their pan when making this... don't let the oil get TOO hot! You don't want it majorly smoking!   (I don't usually deep deep fry... just because I don't want to use up all my oil... so I usually just put in maybe an inch of oil, so they still get fried, I just have to flip them over to get the other side. It works just fine for me. But, if you have a deep fryer, go for it!) Add nuggets to the oil. Might have to do them in batches so you don't overcrowd the oil and make the temperature drop. Fry until the outside is crispy and the inside is cooked. Remove and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

When you're ready to heat the sauce, first mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water in a small dish and set aside. Put the sauce into a pan on the stove to heat. Add the cornstarch mixture within the first minute and stir it well to incorporate. As the sauce heats it will thicken! Once it is to your desired thickness, it is ready to serve.

You can dump all the chicken nuggets in and coat them with the sauce if you are going to be eating it all right away. I usually make extra for left overs, so we just mix up our own portions as we take them, that way the chicken won't get all soggy before I eat it the next day.

Mmmm. mmmmmm...... ENJOY!

Cream Cheese Apple Crisp

This, my friends.... is delicious......

It's almost like an apple cheese cake with streusel topping..... mmmmmmmmmm......

Topping

1 1/2 Cups quick cooking oatmeal

1 1/3 Cups flour

1 Cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 Cup butter, chilled & cut up

Apples

6 Cups peeled, chopped Granny Smith Apples

1/3 Cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Filling

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese softened

1/2 Cup sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp milk

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl stir together oatmeal, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press half the mixture in the bottom of 13x9 inch glass baking dish; reserve remaining mixture for topping.

In large bowl toss together all apple ingredients until apples are coated. Spread over crust.

In large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, flour & milk; beat until combined. Spread over apple mixture; sprinkle with reserved oatmeal mixture.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown & apples are tender. Cool on wire rack.

Spicy Ranch Dressing

Blend the following ingredients in a blender 

or food processor:

1 1/3 cups sour cream 

3/4 cup mayonaise 

1/2 bunch of cilantro 

1 package ranch dressing mix 

Salsa verde (you can buy little 7 oz cans of this. the recipe 

only called for 4  Tablespoons, but we added more. I think 

we ended up using about 3/4 of the can.  Pretty much 

just add it to taste.... I think I added the whole 

can once......) 

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1/2 to 1 lime

1/8 tsp Tabasco sauce OR add slices of fresh jalapeno 

until you reach the desired heat

Barbeque Chicken Salad

Last time I was out in Utah I went to California Pizza Kitchen for the first time. My sister in law suggested I try the barbeque chicken salad and she raved about how good it is.  And boy was it good! Since then I found a recipe online and have made it nearly every week for the past month.  Steve and I love it! 

This is the recipe I went off of, but I honestly don't measure anything. I just add as much of each thing as I like! 

-1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
-1/2 head romaine lettuce leaves -- chopped
-12 large fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips
-1 pound jicama -- cut into thin strips or small cubes
-2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-1 cup canned black beans -- rinsed and drained
-1 cup sweet white corn kernels (I like fresh corn off the cob... just stick the corn cob in the microwave for a minute so it is slightly cooked, then cut the kernels off the cob.  Or I guess you could use canned corn or frozen corn.....)
-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
-2 pounds ripe fresh tomatoes -- diced
-1/2 cup good quality bottled sweet and spicy barbecue sauce (or whatever kind of barbeque sauce you like)
-1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion greens (green onions)

-Avocados, chopped (these aren't actually in the recipe, but at the restaurant we had the option of adding avocado and we did. I love avocado.) 

For the chicken, I go the super easy/quick route and just chop up some chicken breasts, then cook them in a skillet. Then I toss it all in barbeque sauce.  Or, you can add oil and garlic to the pan that you cook the chicken in.  However you cook it, in the end you just need chicken coated in barbeque sauce!

The dressing is some garden herb ranch dressing. I didn't actually make that, I ended up just mixing fat free sour cream with a packet of Hidden Valley ranch mix.  That way the dressing is fat free and I feel like I can eat TONS of the salad! You could also just use regular bottled ranch if that's what you have on hand.  Or one time I ended up using this spicy ranch that I had made for a previous meal, because I already had that in the fridge  (I will post that recipe as well... stay tuned). 

The recipe also calls for fried tortilla strips. I never felt like going through the effort of making those, so I never did. But, a friend of mine said she made a more healthy alternative by salting and baking wonton wrappers. 

Okay, now here's how you put the salad together: 

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuces, basil, jicama, Monterey Jack cheese, beans, corn, cilantro, and ranch dressing. Transfer the salads to chilled serving plates. Surround each salad with diced tomatoes (and tortilla strips if you are using them). Top each salad with chunks of Grilled Garlic BBQ Chicken and drizzle the chicken with the barbecue sauce. Garnish with the scallion. 

Or, if you don't want to be fancy, just mix everything together except the chicken, then top with the chicken and barbeque sauce. 

Sooooo good... you know you want some......

Focaccia Breadsticks

I made these breadsticks for the first time last week. We were having Cajun Chicken Alfredo and I wanted to try something besides just regular breadsticks. These turned out well and I thought they were very tasty! I actually got the recipe out of my Betty Crocker cookbook. They suggest serving them with a bit of olive oil and shredded Parmesan for dipping. I did try that and it was good. But, of course if you've got your homemade alfredo sauce.... might as well let them take a dip in that!


_ 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
_2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 tbsp dried rosemary leaves, crumbled
_ 1 tablespoon sugar
_ 1 teaspoon salt
_ 1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
_ 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
_ 1 cup warm water
_ grated Parmesan cheese

1. Mix 1 cup of the flour, the rosemary, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons oil and the warm water. Beat with electric mixer (or stand mixer... I use my kitchen aid) on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour until dough is soft and leaves sides of bowl.

2. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 5 to 8 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy(I just let my kitchen aid do the kneading for me with the kneading hook....). Place dough in large bowl greased with shortening, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until almost double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

3. Grease 2 cookie sheets with shortening or oil.

4. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces (who cares if they aren't perfectly equal...). Roll and shape each piece into 9 to 12-inch rope, sprinkling with flour if dough is too sticky. Place 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets.

5. Lightly brush the top of each bread stick with olive oil.Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

6. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

7. Cover breadsticks loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in warm place about 20 minutes or until almost double.

8. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Homemade Coconut Ice Cream

A simple, easy, but tasty alternative to your normal vanilla.

2 cups heavy or whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup half-and-half

1 can (15 ounces) coconut cream or coconut milk (sometimes I can't find coconut cream at the grocery store... but coconut milk is usually there in the asian section of your grocery store)

Pour the cream into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the half-and-half and coconut milk and whisk to blend.
Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Top ice cream with toasted coconut and fresh diced mango.

YUUUUMMMMYYYY!