What to do with apples

Recipes to try, rather than keeping 30 tabs open in my firefox!

Apple Chunk Bread (bread machine)
Easy Apple Cake
Crunchy Chicken Apple Salad Sandwiches
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Apple Dumplin
Apple Dumplings
Swedish Apple Crisp

Apple Squares
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 stick butter (6 tbsps)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup apples, peeled and chopped (at least - the more apples, the better)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon). In a separate bowl, melt butter - beat in sugars til smooth. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to mixture, then stir in apples and walnuts.
Spread in a greased 8x8 inch pan and sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown.
We usually double or even triple the recipe and bake in a 13x9 pan, just up the baking time about 10-15 minutes.

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

Thirty pounds of apples.  Mmm, apples.  Still going through old apple recipes that we've loved, I made apple spice cookie bars again.  They were delicious.

I don't really know what else to say, except that these will be in my apple picking rotation for a very long time.

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

From: Good Things Catered

Ingredients:

2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice

small pinch ground cloves

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 apples, cored and diced (a little less than 2 c.)

cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9x13 pan with foil and baking spray.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Whisk to combine well and set aside.-In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine.

Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.

Fold in apples.-Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar.

Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving. (bars will be very soft)

Chicken Cheesesteaks

I've always had a particular vision of what is meant by "cheesesteak," however, once ordered a "cheesesteak sandwich" at a diner type restaurant only to be delivered a steak on a roll with some cheese on top.  IN THE TRISTATE AREA, I believe!  CRAZY!

Anyway, I do love me some cheesesteak.  As a kid, this meant Steak Um.  These days, I tend more toward the Philly style or a Buffalo chicken cheesesteak, which I first discovered at the Chegg while working long, late nights at FIAP.

So when I saw that Lauren had posted a recipe for Philly style chicken cheesesteaks, which would also help me to use up the leftovers of a roasted chicken AND extra I had made for some enchiladas, I knew it would be a great one.  We also had my parents coming over for dinner after some pumpkin picking, so it had to be fast and tasty.

When I served it initially, I took Lauren's advice to mix the Velveeta in with the chicken, but it just didn't give me the gooeyness I was looking for.  So, I went to the original recipe for today's lunch and achieved the gooeyness, but also some Cajun flavor.


This was pretty tasty, though the hubs didn't know exactly what I needed and came home with Portuguese rolls--not an awesome choice.  This was a great way to use up some of that extra chicken and fulfill a little cheesesteak craving (without resorting to SteakUms)












 

Chicken Cheesesteaks Source:  La Cucina di Lauren

Ingredients

• 2T olive oil
• 1 pepper, sliced
• 1/2-1 onion, sliced
• 3-4 cups shredded chicken
• 4oz low-fat Velveeta, cubed
• 4 crusty rolls

Preheat broiler.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the peppers and onions and saute until tender.  Add the chicken and saute until warm.  Add the Velveeta and stir until almost completely melted and incorporated.

Divide the mixture among the rolls and heat under the broil to desired done-ness.

Baked Applesauce

We took a trip to the farm for apple picking this weekend.  Our haul this year was 30lbs of apples, up from 26lbs two years ago.  The good news is that we now have a preschooler who loves apples as well as an infant who eats applesauce.  But 30lbs still means a lot of baking!

I went back to the hits from our last trip to the apple orchard, and made baked applesauce, which we found on allrecipes.

I knew we liked it a lot last time, so went ahead and doubled it.  I also made a few modifications, using half brown sugar half white sugar, and adding nutmeg, cloves, and some ginger.  Very nice.  I sliced my apples way too thick in some cases, which made mashing them up very difficult, so this batch came out way chunkier than I might have liked otherwise.  My husband also didn't make the comment about licking his bowl that he made when he made this applesauce, but he's been taking it with his lunches every day since I made it!

Ingredients

• 2 large tart apples, peeled and sliced
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place apples in a greased 1-qt. baking dish. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and vanilla; mix well. Sprinkle over apples. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender. Uncover and mash with a fork. Serve warm.

Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

 

I know many people are afraid of roasting a chicken, but it's so so easy!  I've made a few different ways, depending on what ingredients I've had on hand.  As the back of my roaster's package said, there's no need to have "Roast-a-phobia!"  I saw Melissa D'Arabian make this on her show $10 Meals and thought it looked pretty good.  I had originally planned to make a different roasted chicken, but forgot to take the time to brine it, so went ahead and made this one instead.

It came out really good; the potatoes were particularly delicious! 

The chicken was tasty, though I bet it would have been REALLY awesome if we ate the skin. 

On her show, Melissa descries the ways in which THIS chicken becomes especially good--roasting with the breasts in wine keep it juicy, lowering the temperature keeps the skin crispy.  It worked; this was super good!

I added some of the rosemary to the potatoes to keep the flavor consistent and also to use some of it up!  It was a nice touch.

Ingredients

• 1(3 to 4 pound) chicken, rinsed and patted dry
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

Allow the chicken to rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
In a small bowl or mini prep, mix together the butter with the rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then rub the chicken all over with 3 tablespoons of the herbed butter. Cook's Note: Make sure chicken is dry. Slide some of the butter underneath the breast skin. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string.
In a small roasting pan, pour in the white wine and place the chicken breast side down. Roast for 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, season the potatoes with salt, and pepper and drizzle with oil to coat. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Remove the chicken to a plate turning it breast-side up. Brush the rest of the herbed butter on top of the chicken. Add the potatoes to the bottom of the pan and place the chicken on top.
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F, and return the chicken to the oven to finish roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the inner thigh, not touching the bone, reaches 160 degrees F, about 1 hour more. Once done, remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest 10 minutes before carving. Remove the potatoes to a serving bowl.
Return the roasting pan to the stovetop over high heat. Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
To serve: Place slices of chicken on plate with potatoes and drizzle the pan sauce over both.

Crockpot Barbecue Chicken and Cornbread Casserole

I've been working my way through a few of the recipes in Make it Fast, Cook it Slow.  We haven't really liked too many of the recipes we've made so far, and tonight was the final chance for me.

This was good.  I can't say it was really good because I wasn't in love with it, but think it would have been better with a different choice of bbq sauce.  I thought I had bbq sauce in the basement, but didn't.  I had three different bottles in the fridge, so I went ahead and mixed them together; the bulk of the sauce was a tropical bbq.  It probably would have been better with a smokey type of BBQ sauce.

The cornbread was pretty good, though we both said we prefer a sweeter one like you get at a restaurant.

So, we didn't love this, but think it's worth giving another try with one type of BBQ sauce!

Posted originally here.  Her photos came out much nicer than mine!

--1 pound of cooked, or practically cooked chicken, cubed or shredded I used my leftovers from this
--1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks (optional.)
--1 red onion, diced (optional.)  I used white onion
--1 cup frozen or fresh corn  I used canned
--1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (18 oz)
--1/4 cup hot water

cornbread topping:

use a mix and follow the directions on the box (minus the oil or butter), or mix together the following:

--3/4 cup corn meal
--1 1/4 cups of flour
--1 cup milk
--1/4 cup sugar
--1 egg
--1 tsp baking powder (only if using regular all-purpose flour)

The Directions.

I used a 4 qt round crockpot for this---it was the perfect size.

Spray the inside of your stoneware with cooking spray. Cut up the chicken and sweet potato, and add to the crock. Add the corn. Empty the contents of the barbecue sauce bottle, and then add 1/4 cup of hot water to the bottle, shake, and pour that out, too. Mix well with a spoon.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cornbread topping. You don't need to mix well, I just used a fork. Spread the topping on to the chicken mixture.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Ours cooked on low for exactly 6. If you are planning on being out of the house, cook for the shorter amount of time. You can always switch to high to brown the top when you get home.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

When I saw this in Lauren's blog, I knew it would be just the thing--fast, delicious, and filling my Asian food craving.  It was definitely fast, but it just wasn't the recipe for me.  I was really sad, though, because I had such high hopes for this one.

But maybe it will work for someone else; Lauren liked it, and so did the person she got it from.  Just not for us, I guess.

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce
from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 3 meatballs • Calories: 229 • Points: 4.75 pts

• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce

• 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 chopped fresh scallion

Preheat oven to 500°F.Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.
Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.
Serve meatballs with remaining sauce. Chances are you won't use all the dipping sauce.