My Mom's Apple Crisp

So my mom is a really good cook...the only problem is, she doesn't use recipes and I need a recipe to cook...so I have implored my mom to write out a recipe here and there that I am just desperate to have...

Her Apple Crisp is divine...so here is her recipe and a couple pics of when I made it! It is a great treat!

"Apple Crisp ala my own made up Recipe"

by Lynda Baldwin

Peel lots of apples and slice (put in cold salt water so they don't turn brown- 1 tbsp salt to 2 quarts water) This means enough apples to cover the bottom of your pan (9 X 13) at least 1 1/2 inches thick. 10-12 big ones maybe

In a medium sized bowl combine:

1 1/2 cup flour (I use rice flour but whatever)

1 1/2 - 2 cups of quick oats

1 1/2 cup brown sugar. I use dark brown.

1 stick salted butter melted

Mix together to a crumbly

Drain apples and cover bottom of pan and put 1 Tbsp Cinnamon on top

Add 1/4 cup of apple cider or leftover juice of any kind in the fridge

Sprinkle the juice of one lemon over the top. You may use 2-3 Tbsp of Cider Vinegar (Organic) instead of lemon.

crumble the topping over the apples and add another good sprinkle of cinnamon over the top/

Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees (preheated)

Serve with Vanilla bean or Cinnamon Ice Cream

Thanks Mom!

a request for readers/contributors

okay ladies and gents...I am in need of a pizza sauce recipe...does anyone have one? I keep making home made pizza and my attempts at sauce are just not good. So if someone has a recipe and could either post it or leave a comment with the recipe or a link or something, I would SO appreciate it...

Help!

Jamie

Porcupines!

Okay People....prepare yourself for this one. It will make your mouth happy. So So So Happy.

Porcupines!

This is a picture of them right when I started cooking them...they were devoured before I could take an "after" pic...

So here's the story...one of my besties lives in NC and I was staying with her for a mutual friends wedding weekend. We were crazy busy, but the first night I arrived, she made these delicious little delights for dinner and I demanded the recipe! Turns out it is her moms recipe...and her mom is one of my favorite people because once upon a time she was the only mom we could get ahold of on a major holiday when we needed help figuring out how to get the stupid turkey's legs apart...but that is a whole other story ;-)

So here is the recipe..and I will have you know...I quadrupled the recipe so I would have left overs. And this recipe is really only enough for one person...double it and it's good for 3 people...quadruple it and it's enough for a couple meals and it is just as good reheated :)

1/2 lb ground beef

1/4 cup uncooked white rice (I used minute rice)

1/4 cup milk or water (I used milk)

2 Tbsp chopped onion (I use the equivalent amount of dried minced onion, instead)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/8 tsp garlic salt or powder

dash of pepper

Sauce 8 oz can of tomato sauce (You can never have too much)

1/2 cup of water for every 8 oz of tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix first set of ingredients together and form into balls about golf ball size or a little smaller. Should make 4-6 balls. Mix sauce ingredients in a deep covered saute pan or frying pan. Put meatballs in sauce and spoon sauce over them. You want to have enough sauce to come up at least halfway on the porcupines.

Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 40-45 minutes. Flip them over about halfway through the cooking time and add some water if the sauce has cooked down too much, but resist the temptation to uncover them more than once. When they're cooked when get firm and the rice should be soft. I usually break one open to see if the rice is cooked. Chef's prerogative to taste test. ;)

Serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes to soak up all the sauce.

You are Welcome.

Joyfully,

Jamie

Divine Meatloaf...two words I never thought I would combine...

I got this recipe from the delicious Pioneer Woman's Blog...if you want to see way nicer and more detailed pictures of the process then go to her blog and check it out!

But if you are here and interested in how someone who is NOT a professional cook made this dish and how it turned out...then you are in the right spot!

This dish definitely took some time to prepare and cook. But it was SO worth it. The best meatloaf I have ever had. It was heavenly. I served it to my own little family and some dinner guests and it was a hit. We decided that calling it meatloaf was inaccurate and a misrepresentation of it's divine deliciousness...we decided "beef cake" might be a better term. which made us giggle. which made the food taste even better :) eating food with fun friends and laughing makes any meal a hit.

Here's how I did it!

Ingredients

Meatloaf:
1 cup Whole Milk (I used skim...)
6 slices White Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef (I used 2 1/2 lbs)
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (I used 1 1/2 cups heaping)
¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
¾ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
⅓ cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten
10 slices Thin/regular Bacon

Sauce:
1-½ cup Ketchup
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Tabasco To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.



With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

*I didn't have a broiler pan...so after it was done cooking, I set it on a cookie rack to drain some of the fat off, before placing it on the serving dish...

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.



Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

I have never been a fan of egg salad. So I was shocked to find that I loved this recipe. I tried it out of desperation cause I haven't gone grocery shopping in ages and because of some drama, I couldn't get into my pantry. And now I think I will make this part of the regular rotation in my meal planning.

Here goes!

7 eggs (that is all I had)
1 1/2 TBS Miracle Whip (you can use mayo but I prefer the sweetness of MW)
2 TBS Hot Mustard (dijon)
1 Tsp Dried Dill Weed
1 Tsp Paprika
salt and pepper to taste
(you could add some chopped red onion or celery or both if you like a little crunch)

Makes enough for 4 sandwiches.

1. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil; cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop. (I used my pampered chef chopper...super easy and fast)
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, dill, paprika and salt and pepper.
3. I served it on toast (I hate soggy stuff so toast is my solution with most sandwiches to avoid it) with a little more mayo on the bread and some crispy lettuce. It was out of this world delicious!

The ingredients!

My handy dandy chopper!

Vwala! dinner is served!

Hamburger Noodle Skillet

This was SUPER easy...and tasty too!

3 slices bacon
1/2 an onion chopped (my onion was kinda big)
1 pound lean ground pork/beef/turkey
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 green peppers chopped
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
3 cups noodles, uncooked (we used tri-color rotini)

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp; eat bacon if you want or toss it :) I ate mine! Add onion to the bacon drippings; cook until tender. Add ground meat and brown. Stir in tomatoes, green bell pepper, chili sauce, salt, and a dash of pepper. Add the uncooked noodles. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, or until noodles are tender.

I am serving mine with some yummy french bread.

easy peasy!

Jamie

Improvising a Panini

Well, I don't own a panini press but I was really really really in the mood for a Panini...so I improvised...

I used the cast iron frying pan as the press and the cast iron grill that you heat up on the stove top to get the lines and grilled panini effect I was desiring.

Basically, I cut up some amazing simple Focaccia bread, spread olive oil on the outside, pub cheese on the inside, added some fabulous pepper turkey breast and red onion and then grilled it to perfection.

It was amazing. Between my husband and I we ate every last bit of it up. I think it would have been even better if I'd added tomato...otherwise I was totally happy with this meal. And quite proud of my improvisational skills too :) I served some strawberries on the side and that was the extent of this meal...just perfect!

Jamie Willow

Hot Beef Sandwiches

3 lbs. beef chuck roast
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbs Lemon Juice
1 tbs Ketsup
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce


This is a crock pot meal. So warm her up! It takes about 8-10 hrs of slow cooking so start it early and relax, dinner will be ready later!

Place meat in crock pot and cover with the chopped onions.

Combine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, ketsup and worcestershire sauce.

Pour over meat. It won't seem like much liquid at first but once it gets cooking the juices from the meat will add to it. I repositioned the meat a few hours into the cooking process so most of it was submerged.

After about 8 hrs shred the meat (I had my DH do it cause I find shredding meat to be very annoying) and then place it back into the broth for another half hour or so.

Drain broth but save for dipping.

Serve on hamburger buns with broth on side. I added a little bit of parmesan cheese to the broth for a garnish and it melted in nicely...tasted great!

I got this recipe from a friend and added a few things. My DH thought it was amazing and so did I! It was relatively easy which was a bonus.

Enjoy!

Jamie Willow

Taco Pizza: Shocking Toddler Favorite

The grown ups liked it too :)



I used a pillsbury pizza crust...just rolled it out.
Cooked the dough at 400* partially (like 8 minutes) before layering it with:

1st layer: Refried Beans
2nd layer: Diced tomatoes
3rd layer: Taco Meat (ground beef and a taco seasoning packet)
4th layer: Shredded Cheese
5th layer: Diced Olives

(I added a 5th layer of pizza sauce but honestly I did not like it, I would rather have left it off...do what you want...if you do add it then put more cheese on top!)

Cooked it for 10 minutes until the cheese was melted

While it was still warm I dropped dollops of sour cream on top, once they sort of melted with the warmth of the pizza I spread it around lightly (so as to not mess up how pretty it all was)
Then I added a layer of shredded lettuce.

Options: add salsa, a dollop on each slice. add broken up frito's to the top.

Here's a picture of my 14mo old son devouring it. I expected him to turn up his nose but he ate two slices!




Enjoy!

Jamie (and Judah)

Simple Pork Chops

10 pork chops
salt and pepper
honey barbecue sauce
one large onion finely chopped,
water,
large pan for baking.

Put about one inch of water in bottom of pan, add a layer of chopped onion in water, then salt and pepper pork chops on both sides. Place pork chops on top of onion, then add a few onions on top of pork chops. Add water to cover.
Bake at 450°F about 1 hour. When nearly done, remove from oven (I poured the water out at this point...) and pour honey barbecue sauce over meat evenly. Return to oven for about 3-5 minutes on broil or long enough to brown barbecue sauce.
Serves 8-10 people.

I used this recipe and only cooked 2 pork chops, they were VERY thick...and they were Grass Fed CSA Pork Chops...which means there is no preservatives/salt in the meat which means you don't need to cook it nearly as long as store bought meat. I cooked them for about 40 minutes and they were plenty well cooked. I think cooking them in the water was a good way to go since they were so thick. I used a meat thermometer and made sure they got to about 160degrees...I didn't want to over cook them since it was my first time cooking grass fed meat.

This was a simple recipe and super delicious. The meat was tender and moist and the flavor was great cause I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce and that stuff is divine!

Jamie

The lazy man's guacamole

There are TONS of amazing ways to make guacamole. I am sure other ladies on this blog will post recipes that will make you drool and challenge your culinary skills all at the same time...but not me! I am posting a recipe that the laziest of lazy lizards could do.

It's simple.

Cut up two Avacado's and smash them with a fork.
Poor in a dollop of salsa and mix it all together.
Salt it a little, add some pepper and EAT!

I love the cheap store brand chips. They work as good as the fancy expensive ones for this delightful dish.




This is what I just had for dinner. Yup, it's so good it's all I eat when I make it. I took a pic with my cell phone...I am dedicated to this blog or I wouldn't have even paused for that long before devouring! :)

Enjoy!!!

Jamie

Simple and Tasty Oven Roast

You will need:

Roast...whatever size you want to use is fine, as long as it fits :) I usually do about a 2 lb roast for 3 people and some left overs. I've also done a 5 lb roast and it was the same cooking instructions...as for the type of roast...I've done several types and they all turn out great, so pick whatever type you enjoy.

1 box beef broth (or a couple cans of the beef consume)
3 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 onions cut into chunks
10-12 potatoes cut into thirds
10 carrots cut into fourths (you can do more carrots, they are SO good! as many as you have room for...)

Put it all in a roasting pan with a cover (probably don't have to keep it covered but that's how I did mine).

Cook for 4 hrs at 350 degrees. I think the low heat, the long cooking time and added moisture are what make it so good :) A couple people told me I should have added a box of onion soup mix...I'll try that next time. I figure the actual onion was enough onion for my own taste...but I'm sure the mix makes a great flavor if you want that.

oh yes, I added salt and pepper on top while cooking, lots of pepper cause I like spice...although it really wasn't spicy in the end.


Happy cooking!
Jamie

Asparagus for dummies

I am kind of assuming everyone knows this but I just learned this tonight. I am 33 yrs old and I just learned this. (shakes head) And of course I learned it from my sister and she informed me that our mother taught her...which means she probably taught me but I was probably day dreaming or something at the time... (shakes head again)

Once you buy your asparagus and bring it home and get ready to cook it...

Take 2 or 3 stalks at a time and gently "bend" them near the bottom...the bottom of the asparagus will then break off at a natural breaking point. The remainder top part of the asparagus is ready for you to cook up however you like.

This eliminates that tough bottom of the asparagus that is soooo hard to eat.


Seriously people. How did I not know this before?!

PS. I read in an etiquette book once that asparagus is the only veggie you can eat with your fingers and it is not considered rude.



How we cooked it tonight:

Covered the bottom of the pan in Olive Oil
Medium Heat
Put the Asparagus in and toss it in the Olive Oil until they are covered.
Cook till they look good. We made ours really al-dente (is that a pasta word or can I use it on asparagus?).
*depending on the thickness of your asparagus the cooking times will vary...ours were really thin and didn't take long at all
About half way through add cut up Honeyed Almonds (I had some in a pouch already cut up from the grocery store)
At the very last we added diced tomatoes (minus the seeds/slimy part) in and gently cooked them for a minute or two...long enough to warm them up.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

I have to say...this was A-Maze-ing!

I hope you try it and I hope you learned something new too!

oh yeah, I can cook...kinda :)

So I'm the least likely to be apart of a cooking blog...I am okay with a recipe and I learn fast but it does not come natural. So when I do accomplish something in the kitchen it is kind of a big deal...

My sister is the queen of throwing anything and everything together and having amazing meals. My mom is pretty much the same. Me...not so much. The last time I just "threw" things together it was bad. Very very bad. So needless to say I will stick to recipes that work and I will glean from those around me and find more ideas and ways to keep my family well fed. (my husband claims to enjoy the taste of burnt bread and cookies...lol...he is to kind)

All that to say....if I post a recipe...you can bet it's easy and will be hard to mess up :)

Here we go!

Jamie