Pork Tenderloin with apples

This recipe had disaster written on it when I realized my supply of quick barley was way lower than I realized and that regular barley takes about an hour to make.  No bueno for a weeknight in our house.  So I went with what I had and we all got a smaller than normal portion of barley, which worked out fine.

I also made some of the other barley for the freezer so it's on hand should this happen again!

This was a perfect fall dish.  It came together reasonably quickly (the folks at Food Network suggest 40 minutes, which was about right for disaster cook me), and was delicious.  My three year old didn't really eat much more than the apples and barley, but the rest of us enjoyed the whole meal, though both boys did scrape the "onion things" out of their apples.

Oh, and I also made up my own pumpkin pie spice, which was super easy and surely way cheaper than buying a jar in the store!  I'm not sure exactly which I used (pretty sure mine did not use allspice), but here's one that looks easy enough!  I stored mine in an old cinnamon container I had around (I saved it for craft purposes, but this seemed like a better use!), after taking off the label and making sure to mark it.

Pork Tenderloin with Apples Source:  Food Network Kitchens

1 large pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 baking apples (such as McIntosh)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 cup quick-cooking barley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the pork with the pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes.

Halve the apples and scoop out the cores. Cut 1/2 tablespoon butter into 4 pieces; put a piece in each apple half. Sprinkle with half of the shallot and a pinch of salt. Add the apples to the skillet with the pork, cut-side up, and transfer to the oven. Roast until a meat thermometer registers 145 degrees F, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 1 3/4 cups water, the remaining shallot and a pinch of salt in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add the barley, cover and cook over low heat until the water is absorbed, 12 minutes. Add the parsley.

Transfer the pork and apples to a cutting board. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the cider, vinegar and 1/4 cup water; simmer, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Slice the pork and serve with the pan sauce, apples and barley.

Apple butter

I may have mentioned our recent apple picking trip with the family, during which we appear to have picked more than 70 pounds of apples.  You may have realized that this is way too many apples for a family of four to take on and you would be correct.  So we've decided we'd take them down in the fastest and easiest ways we can (since our lives are NUTS and evenings consist of dinner, hanging with the boys, pack lunches, and crash on the couch at 9:00... maybe that's not WE but ME, but I digress), and apple butter has been brought to the table.  

This apple butter recipe calls for 6.5 pounds of apples, which goes far further in taking 70 pounds down than each of us having an apple every single day in our lunches.  Did I mention how much I love my new apple peeler?

I didn't get around to processing (see what our lives look like and consider how many dishes are usually left sitting in the sink; I didn't feel like dirtying another to use the immersion blender), which resulted in a chunky, more like applesauce, concoction, that is incredibly delicious and very sweet.

Quite good on apple bread, if I do say so myself.

I love that this cooked while we slept, and we all woke up to the most delicious aromas coming from the kitchen!

Going into the crock pot!

All finished!

 Thanks to Tastes of Lizzy T for the great recipe!

Ingredients

• 6 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Place the apples in a slow cooker. Add the sugars, cinnamon, salt and vanilla to the crockpot. Mix well. Cook in slow cooker on low for about 10 hours, stirring every couple hours. The apple butter should be thick and dark brown. If desired, use a blender to puree the apple butter until smooth.

Cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks or freeze in small containers.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

For a co-worker's birthday in October, she requested cupcakes.  When I asked what kind, she said any.  So, I went with something that caught my eye and sounded like something *I* would like.  Turns out, pumpkin is one of her "favorite things ever," and I made a perfect choice.  Score!

These were outrageously good.  My coworkers told me I should open a cupcake business (little do they know how unskilled in the kitchen I really am).   They had that perfect flavor of the Starbucks fall treat to which I used to be addicted (until I realized how much I don't like Starbucks and thus how much cream and sugar it required to make it taste good to me as well as how big a dent such an addiction was putting in my wallet!)

I happened to have been drinking Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Spice coffee the week I made these, so I added that additional flavor to it when I brushed that flavor of coffee over top, but any coffee (or maybe caramel, cinnamon, whatever) would add an additional treat too.

A perfect fall treat!

Shout out to my friend Lishie for the B Movie zombie plate!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes Annie's Eats

Yield: about 2 dozen cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. espresso powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
½ cup coffee or espresso, for brushing

For the whipped cream:
2¼ cups heavy cream, chilled
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

For garnish:
Ground cinnamon
Caramel sauce

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full.  Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.  Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans.  While the cupcakes are still warm, brush them two or three times with the coffee or espresso, allowing the first coat to soak in before repeating.  Let cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-low speed at first, gradually increasing to high speed.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar gradually.  Whip until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-beat.  Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to frost the cooled cupcakes.  Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce.  Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Source: cake adapted from Williams Sonoma

Braised Bratwurst with Bacon, Apples, and Sauerkraut

I found this on the Rachael Ray meal planner. You can see the original here.

• 4 Servings
• 
• Prep 10 min
• 
• Cook 25 min

Ingredients:

• One 12-ounce bottle beer
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 8 cooked bratwurst sausage
• 5 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 pound sauerkraut, drained
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 granny smith apples, cut into matchsticks

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, simmer the beer, chicken broth and bratwurst for 10 minutes. Reserve the bratwurst and cooking liquid separately.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until softened. Add the reserved cooking liquid, bring to a boil and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, carrots, bacon and bratwurst and cook, covered, until heated through. Stir in the apples.

We enjoyed this recipe, but it took WAY longer than the suggested time frame.
I used a bottle of Yeungling Lager, which added a nice flavor, and I also used beer flavored brats.
I basically halved the recipe, using 4 brats (although still 1 c of chicken broth and a whole bottle of beer, and 1 lb of sauerkraut..woops!), 4 slices of bacon, 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 1 apple. It was a bit too much for my skillet to handle, but it did work.

I would have liked the apples to be a little bit softer, but perhaps had I sliced them smaller, they might have been. Next time, I will add them to the heat a little bit earlier.

So, I'll probably make this again, but not for a weeknight...