Perfect Apple Pie

This is the apple pie I made for Christmas....so yummy!

Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury pie crusts
6 c. thinly sliced apples (6 med.-I like to use green apples)
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. flour
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 T. lemon juice

Directions:
Heat oven to 425.  Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch pie plate.  Press firmly against side and bottom.  In a large bowl, gently mix all ingredients and spoon into crust.  Top with second crust.  Wrap excess tope crust under bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal.  Cut slits or shapes in several places in top crust.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.  cover edge of crust with 2 to 3 inch wide strips of foil after first 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning.  cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

So, I decided to try yet another new recipe and again, it was a total success.  The whole family loved this dish and it tastes a lot like stuffed french toast at IHOP.  And let me tell you, this is one of the easiest meals I have ever made...

Ingredients:
12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.

2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

3. Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

5. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast

Orange Cranberry Pecan Sandies

This is a recipe sent to me by a new member of our blog...Cordi

2 cups Jiffy bisquit mix
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
orange zest
1 small pkg crazins
1 cup chopped pecans
36 pecan halves

Glaze mix 2 cups powdered sugar with 2 Tbsp orange juice.

Mix cookie ingredients and drop by spoonfulls onto ungreased baking sheet. Top with pecan half. Bake 8- 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on wire rack and drizzle with glaze. Enjoy!

Hamburger cassarole

I got this recipe from a Betty Crocker cook book that my mother used in her high school cooking class. I LOVE that cook book. This is my "go to" recipe when we are in a hurry.

1 lb Hamburger

1 small onion chopped

1 glove garlic minced

1 can french style green beans

1 can tomatoe soup

4 potatoes (or instant mashed potatoes)

shredded chedder cheese

brown hamburger with onion and garlic, drain return to pan.

boil potatoes and make mashed potatoes or even easier and faster use instant mashed potatoes. i make enough for 6 servings.

to hamburger mixture add drained greenbeans, and tomatoe soup, salt and pepper to taste.

spray a cassarole dish with cooking spray and add hamburger mixture. top with mashed potatoes, bake in a 350 oven until heated through about 30 minutes. top with cheese and melt.

this is good when you are in a hurry and who doesnt love tomatoe soup.

Peaches and Cream Cake

1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
3/4 tsp.. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbl peach syrup

Cream together cheese and 1/3 cup sugar. Beat in sour cream. Add one egg and 1/4 tsp. salt. mix well, set aside

Cream together butter with remaining sugar. add remaining eggs, beat well. combine flour, baking powder and remaining salt. add to cream mixture. mix well

Stir in vanilla and peach syrup. spread evenly on bottom and sides of 10-inch pie plate. spoon in cheese mixture. bake in a 325 degree oven 30 to 35 minutes. remove from oven

TOPPING

1 can (29 0z) cling peach slices

1 cup sour cream
2 Tbl brown sugar

Drain peaches, arrange peach slices on top of cake. blend sour cream with brown sugar, spoon over peaches and return to oven for 5 minutes. Chill before serving.

Salsa Chicken

My friend Kristie told me about this recipe yesterday and so I decided to try it tonight for dinner.  I didn't write it down, so this is my own version out of my head plus an extra ingredient.  We really liked it (well, except two of the kids).  The amount of each ingredient is versatile.

Ingredients:
Chicken
Black Beans
Frozen Corn
Salsa
Cream Cheese

Directions:
Put the chicken in the crockpot and cook for 4 hours.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook for another 2 hours.  Serve over rice.

Pan Fried Meatloaf in Tricolor Peppers

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground turkey ( i have used ground pork too )
2 slices white bread, cut into cubes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes with basil, ( i have used crushed with garlic too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1 small onion chopped
1 TBL chopped sage leaves, plus 6 to 8 whole leaves, for frying if you choose
a few dashes Worcestershire sauce
a few dashes hot sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBL oil, for frying

preheat over to 400 degrees.

Remove core and seed from peppers, slice into 1 inch rings and place on non stick baking sheet. you should get about 3 rings per pepper. In a large bowl mix together beef, turkey, break, 1/2 cup of the tomatoes, garlic , egg, onion, chopped sage, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and season with salt and pepper. press meatloaf mixture evenly into pepper rings. in a skillet over medium-high heat, add oil, saute meatloaf rings on both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Add remaining tomatoes to skillet and bake until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes, meanwhile in a Small saucepan, heat 1-inch oil until a deep fry thermometer reaches 325 degrees. drop sage leaves into oil and fry until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish meatloaf rings with fried sage leaves.