Apple, Pear, Cranberry Crisp

 I had some cranberry's that needed to be used it and thought this sounded like a perfect fall dessert!

Apple, Cranberry, Pear, Crisp-adapted from Ina Garten
2 lbs pears, peeled, chopped
2 lbs apples(I used honey crisp), peeled, chopped
1 lb fresh cranberries
zest of one lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Topping:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 stick butter, cold, cut up

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place fruit into a large bowl, combine with sugar, flour, lemon juice/zest, and sugar. Spread into a 9x13 pan.


Mix together dry ingredients for toppings, cut butter into mixture until it looks like large crumbles. Place topping on top of fruit and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.


**I did cut back on the sugar and butter oringally called for in this recipe, but it still tasted excellent. I really liked the kick of the lemon zest and it wasn't overly sweet!

Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps

 (picture courtesy of Vancouver Observer)

I was looking for unique cookies to send to the church bake sale and also needed a way to use up some apples!

Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps-shared from Vancouver Observer
2 cups unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp molasses
5 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch ground cloves
1 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
4 cups flour(I used white whole wheat)
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
4 apples
1/2 cup coarse

Preheat oven to 325.

Cream butter until it's light colored and easily forms peaks. Add the molasses, sugars, spices, grated ginger, and vanilla, whip until fully blended.

Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt together. Add to the butter mixture in 3 batches, on low speed until fully blended.

Roll dough into 2-3 tbsp size ball and flatten them on parchment lined cookie sheets.(I used a small glass, dipped in sugar) Slice apple thinly and place on top of the cookie, sprinkle with coarse sugar to cover apple. Bake for 12-15 mins until golden brown.

**The cookies were nice and crispy and flavorful. The ginger was almost to potent for me, but it was very ginger snap like. The dough was very dry and I'm thinking it was because I used white whole wheat flour, but the dryness did work with the cookie, they just were not easy to roll. The boys liked them...just not the apple part on top, but they were eating the apple chips I made!

Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

 I was looking for something to make with my 20 lbs of apples we picked a couple weeks ago. I also needed something for a bake sale at church so I went with these.

Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes-
Dough:
2 cups milk
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
6 1/2 cups flour(I used white whole wheat)
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, room temperature

FIlling:
1/4  cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups finely chopped apples

Heat milk to 110 degrees. Add yeast and sugar to a bowl and pour in the milk stir to dissolve. Add salt and two cups of flour and beat for two minutes. Beat in eggs and butter. Stir in the remaining flour half a cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 2 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Place in a warm place and allow to rise for 40 mins or until dough is doubled. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

Once dough has risen, roll out into 1/4 inch thick. Spread dough with melted butter. Mix filling ingredients together and spread over the top of the dough. Starting with the long end first, roll up dough jelly roll style.  Cut into 1 inch strips.  Take strip and fold in half to form the letter c and place into the cupcake pan.(This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes, I made 12 and put the extras in another pan like traditional cinnamon rolls), cover and allow to rise for another 40 mins. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

Once rolls have cooled, mix glaze together and drizzle over rolls. Eat and enjoy!

**These were really tasty and a fun twist on the traditional cinnamon roll. They were also really cute in the cupcake tin. Next time I might use less sugar in the filling and make sure you mix the filling RIGHT before you are ready to put it on the dough, otherwise it makes a big mess!

Apple Cheddar Monte Cristos

I found this recipe in of the Rachael Ray's magazine. I have never actually tried a Monte Cristo before, but these sounded good. The original recipe did have bacon in it, but I omitted it as we are trying to have more meat free meals, but I did tell K about the bacon and he agreed it would have been a great addiction. He does have a slight addiction to the stuff.

Apple Cheddar Monte Cristos-shared from Rachael Ray
2 apples, thinly sliced
2-3 slices cheddar cheese
1 egg
2-3 tbsp milk
dash of nutmeg
1 loaf french bread or your favorite bread

Preheat griddle or george foreman grill.

Beat together egg, milk, and nutmeg.*The original recipe called for 3 eggs and half a cup of milk, but this made WAY to much egg mixture for my sandwiches and I used a whole loaf of bread, so I cut down the amounts, you can always make more if needed)

Take one piece of bread and slather/dip it into the egg mix. Lay on griddle or grill. Lay on half a slice of cheese followed by 2-3 slices of apple, followed by another half a slice of cheese.(I had small pieces of bread so you may want 2 whole slices/sandwich). Close grill and cook for about 2-3 mins until golden brown. If you are using a griddle flip once cheese is melted and one side is golden.

**This was a very quick and easy weekend night meal...if I had planned better on the bread, but that was my mistake. I didn't think you could really taste the egg on the outside as the apple and cheddar took over on the flavor scale. We served them with roasted sweet and white potatoes and it was very filling!

Apple Onion Stuffing

I had never made "homemade" stuffing before...it was always the stuff in the box. The last year I branched out to try a new recipe and I must have been watching Rachael Ray when I decided to try this recipe. Next year I may even make my own bread for the stuffing! (It's all about the baby steps)

Apple Onion Stuffing-shared from Rachael Ray
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
4 ribs of celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 apples, chopped
salt and pepper
2 tbsp poultry seasoning
6-8 cups cubed stuffing mix(I used pepperidge farm herb)
2-3 cup broth

Place oil and butter in pan, once melted add in veggies and apples, sprinkle with spices, cook just until soft. Add in stuffing and broth just until moistened. Place in 13X9 inch casserole pan(or buttered muffins tins) Bake at 375 degrees until heated through about 10-15 mins.

**this was delicious! Sorry there is no picture...we ate it all before we got one!

Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes

One would think that after eating all the apples last month from apple picking I would be done with apples for a while...until I saw this recipe and needed a pancake recipe for Saturday morning breakfast! I did double the recipe so I could freeze some for quick breakfasts!

Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes-shared from Eat At Home
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups milk*
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 apples, peeled, finely chopped(or shredded)

*The recipe calls for 2 cups of milk, but when doubled I only used 3 cups of milk. I thought the batter would have been too thin if I used all 4 cups, so I stopped. Use your best judgement.

Whisk together dry ingredients. Add in wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in apples. Place on hot oiled griddle. May need to spread out a bit with a spoon. Wait for bubbles to form and flip. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

**These were tasty and perfect for a fall morning!

Apple Chicken Burgers

These were made on our cooking day, again it helped to use up some of my apples and was very easy to put together!

Apple Chicken Burgers- Pillsbury
1 lb ground chicken or turkey(I used breast)
1 apple, peeled, shredded
1/2 small onion, shredded
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 cup(or more breadcrumbs)*

Mix together ingredients and form into patties. Place on grill and cook until internal temperature is 165.

*I shredded my onion and apple into the bowl that I added my meat too, so it made it VERY VERY wet. I had to add in the breadcrumbs in order to shape the burgers. If you don't do this you might have to add 2 tbsp water.

**The burgers were very moist and flavorful. K and I really liked them. I had one for lunch today and put some apple-cranberry chutney on the top of it and it worked out very well! YUM!

Cranberry Apple Chutney

I realized as I was making dinner last night that I had no veggies in the house. I needed something to balance the carbs and protein so I remembered this recipe. I was also trying to make dried cranberries and after 3 days only a few were dried, so I decided to try this recipe with them. I also still had some apples left and wanted to try it to see if I wanted to make it for thanksgiving this year.

I also cut the sugar back and used some maple syrup in it as well, an idea I saw in Bon Appetite.

Cranberry Apple Chutney-adapted from Taste of Home
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup water
1 12oz pkg fresh or frozen whole cranberries
2 large tart apples, peeled, and finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted(omitted)

Place water, syrup, white sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 mins. Carefully stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 mins or until desired thickness is achieved, stirring occasionally. Stir in walnuts just before serving.

**Mine did simmer for much longer than 30 mins...I would say at least an hour if not longer. But I was trying to achieve the picture in the magazine and after 30 mins it just didn't resemble that. So I let it go much longer. This was a tingy bit tart(as I cut the sugar) and it was a lot better with my chicken, but I do like my cranberry with chicken or something savory. A wouldn't try it even though I told him it was "applesauce", but Q devoured it! I was surprised. I think next time I might leave either the allspice or clove our (only use one) as it seemed that both was too much for me. I'd like to serve it for thanksgiving, but I also know I have people coming that are very adamant about their "jelly".

Apple Bread

I still have some apples I need to use up and I noted this recipe on a recent Tasty Tuesday. I needed to bake something just to help warm the house a bit!

Apple Bread-adapted from Pillsbury
1 1/2 cups shredded apple
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups ap flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans(optional)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix together apple, sugar, buttermilk, oil, applesauce, and eggs. Combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add into apple mixture and stir until combined.

Grease just the bottoms of two bread pans. Pour in batter and bake for 45-55 mins at 350 degrees or until toothpick comes out clean.

**This bread was really moist and delicious! Mine was done at 40 mins and probably could have been done around 30 or 35 mins, it is very dark bread.

Apple Brownies

We are slowly using the apples up, this is one of my favorite ways to use them! I had never heard of apple brownies before, but a few years ago my friend Jen F. shared the recipe with me and here it is! Thanks Jen!

This makes an 8x8 pan, but I usually double it for a 9x13 pan.

Apple Brownies-shared from Jen F.
1 cup peeled, chopped apples
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat togther butter, sugar, and applesauce. Add in egg. Slowly add in flour. Followed by cinnamon and baking powder. Mix until combined. Fold in apples. Place in greased pan. Bake for 35-40 mins. Cool before cutting into bars.

**These are very moist and delicious! Yum!

Apple Cheddar Soup

I've had this recipe for a few years...and this is the first time I made it! Not sure why I waited so long, but it was worth it! Sorry I can't give credit to who shared the recipe as I can't remember what magazine it was from!

I will say that I used the leftover broth from the Apple Braised Chicken, I didn't want to throw away all that goodness as it was quite a bit, so you can use that or follow this recipe!

Apple Cheddar Soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp butter
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups apple cider
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
dash of cayenne(omitted by mistake)
1-2 apples, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp flour
1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a hot pan, melt butter and cook onions for about 5 mins. Stir in potatoes, cider, thyme, salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 mins. Add in apples, simmer, covered for 5 mins or until potatoes are tender. In a small bowl combine milk and flour, stir slowly into soup. Cook and stir until bubbly. Slowly add in cheese, whisking until cheese is melted.

** Because I used the broth leftovers, I did add in some fresh apples. I also partly "baked" the potatoes in the microwave for about 5 mins. This was due to the fact that I didn't read the directions. I actually really liked the sweet/salty that the soup gave for flavor using the broth. I probably had more soup than the 2 cups of cider, so I did up the flour by about 2 tbsp. It thickened up nicely.

I did try this without chicken in it and then decided because I had so much chicken leftover to add it in. I liked it a lot better with out the chicken! But feel free to add it in especially if you want a bulkier soup! I may even make this again, as I pureed most of it for my mom.

Spiced Apple Squash Soup

My mom recently had some dental sugery done and I wanted to make her some food that didn't require much chewing!  I was struggling a bit because I knew some of it would probably have to be frozen and what I was coming up with I wasn't sure it would freeze well. I also have an over abudance of apples right now and in my email popped up pillsbury's recipe news letter. This was in it and I deemed it perfect...to use up some apples and my mom actually likes butternut squash(I do not...). I will try it.

Spiced Apple Squash Soup-shared from Pillsbury
8 cups cubed, peeled, butternut squash(about 3 lbs)
2 large apples, chopped,peeled(about 3 cups)
1 onion diced
1 cup apple juice or cider
32 oz veggie or chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream

Place all ingredients into slow cooker except cream and parlsey. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Blend soup with immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. Return to slow cooker and stir in cream.

*I of course didn't read the entire recipe to see that it was cooked in the slow cooker...I took it upon myself to make it a bit harder and roasted the apples and squash. Then I sauted the onion until soft and blended it together.

**I did actually try this and it was actually pretty good! I have about 8 cups in the freezer for my mom, I did not put in any cream. I really didn't think it needed it and figured it might thaw better without it! I saved a bowl for K, so he can try it as well. You can't really taste the butternut which is probably why I actually liked it! A wanted to try it and I told him it was apple soup because I knew if I said squash he wouldn't try it. He wasn't a fan...but that's ok!

Apple Honey Tea

I was peeling some apples today to use in a soup, I remember seeing a recipe to make some tea using the peels. I always like to use as much of a product as I can and this was an easy way to use those peels before they are tossed! It is so pretty!

Apple Honey Tea-shared from Finding Joy in My Kitchen
3-4 cups water
peels from 6 apples
dsah of cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey

Place all ingredients except honey in pan. Heat to boiling, allow to boil for 10-15 mins until colorful and appley.(Mine isn't as dark as hers though.) Remove peels, add in honey. Stir and taste...add more honey if you would like.

**This does make your house smell AMAZING!! YUM

Apple Brown Betty Muffins

Tiffany over at Eat at Home posted this recipe a few days ago. I added it to my list because I am ALWAYS looking for new muffin recipes and seen as it is apple picking time, what is better than an apple muffin? I had some apples that needed to be used up so I made them yesterday...when I was FREEZING! Yes it is definitely feeling fall like here!

Apple Brown Betty Muffins-adapted from Eat at Home
2 cups flour(half whole wheat/half ap)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 stick butter(1/4 cup)
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup finely chopped apple(I chopped 2-3 apples)

Stir together dry ingredients. Beat the butter, applesauce, and sugar together until combined.(The butter will look chunky, I just beat it until they were small pieces). Fold dry ingredients into wet, just until combined. Fold in apples.

Place in greased muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 mins. *Recipes says it makes 12 but I got 15 or 16 muffins

**These are some of the best muffins I've made in a while! They are moist and just the right amount of sweet. I didn't want to alter the butter or sugar at first, but then I decided too. I can only imagine what they would taste like with ALL the butter and sugar in them. So I made them a touch healthier...the boys haven't' seem to eat them yet, but that's fine I'll eat them all!