APPLE CRISP FOR TWO

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I call this apple crisp for two, although I guess that is a bit of a misnomer. It actually makes 3 large desserts (like the above photo), so in my warped sense of proportions, it is apple crisp for two (and a little more for later) haha.  This can easily be doubled (just bake it a little longer).

I love a good fruit crisp. I like the topping slightly crunchy (but not HARD crunchy) and I like it to have lots of gooey filling. This is one of the best crisps we've tried in years.

2 large Granny Smith apples (see note)
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Toss with the above ingredients and place in a greased baking dish (I use a 9" x 5" loaf pan). Sprinkle two tablespoons of water over the filling. NOTE: Don't mix the water into the above mixture, just sprinkle it evenly OVER the filling; trust me it works perfectly and makes the BEST sauce.

For the topping, mix
¼ cup quick oats
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons melted butter

Use a spoon and mix the topping ingredients until everything seems coated with butter. Evenly sprinkle it over the fruit filling. Bake in pre-heated 350 oven for 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender.  Let cool 15 minutes before serving (if you can wait that long).

NOTE: Make sure you use a good baking apple like Granny Smith. Regular eating apples don't work well in this kind of recipe (they get mushy).

NOTE: If you want to make dessert for 6, just double the recipe and cook for 45 minutes in an 8" x 8" pan.

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WEEKEND BREAKFAST PIZZA

I don't buy refrigerator (whomp tube) biscuits very often, but I DO buy them for this recipe. My family absolutely loves this quick and easy breakfast. As a matter of fact, the first time I made this, I was told "this is gold!!"  Even Picky-picky Hubby gave double thumbs up which is rare!!

This weekend treat can easily be "tweaked" to suit your family. Here are the basic ingredients:

8 ounce Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
1 pound (total) cooked breakfast meat (see  note)
1½ cups frozen shredded hash browns (thawed)
1½ cups shredded cheddar
4 eggs  (don't be tempted to add more)
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Open the refrigerator rolls and press into an ungreased 12" pizza pan, pinching all of the seams shut. Important: make sure you press some of the dough up onto the sides of the pan to create a "lip". DO NOT PRE-BAKE THE CRUST.

Cook (and completely drain) one pound of your favorite breakfast meat (NOTE: I used equal parts of crisp bacon, breakfast sausage and finely diced ham...but ANY combo will work well. Just make sure the total weight is about a pound).

Sprinkle the cooked breakfast meat, evenly, over the unbaked crescent dough. Next, evenly sprinkle the thawed hash browns and cheddar cheese over the cooked meat.

In small bowl, whisk the 4 eggs, black pepper and milk together. Drizzle evenly over everything.  NOTE: Don't be tempted to add more eggs. It is going to SEEM like it isn't enough, but trust me...it is perfect.

Lastly, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over all.  Bake in a 375 pre-heated oven for 30 minutes (my oven took 28 minutes). Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before you cut it.

Sauteed mushrooms, peppers, etc. would be wonderful in this breakfast pizza. Just add them the same time as the thawed hash browns. You might have to add a couple extra minutes to the total baking time if you add a LOT of extra veggies.

NOTE: You can also use one of those small boxes of JIFFY pizza crust mix instead of the crescent roll dough.

NOTE: If you use frozen hash browns, make sure they are thawed before using in this recipe.

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Away (again)

I'll be in Yogyakarta and Solo for the next 4 days.Have a nice Wednesday night, Friends.

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Baked Apple Oatmeal

 Now that the weather is getting chilly 

it's time for this hearty breakfast.

Hot cereal is far more nourishing and satisfying
than cold and it keeps you full longer. 

You can mix this up in the evening before in a
covered bowl, then refrigerate and

bake fresh and warm in the morning.

It will make your kitchen smell wonderful.

Serve in bowls with additional milk or cream.

(my photos are of half the recipe.)

I can reheat any leftovers for a quick breakfast.

This is a great breakfast to serve before a 

fall or winter activity.

Baked Apple Oatmeal

2 C oatmeal

1/2 C brown sugar

2 t cinnamon

2 T butter, melted

4 C milk

2 apples. peeled and chopped

1/2 C chopped pecans

1/2 C raisins or craisins (if desired)

Combine all ingredients and put into a buttered

2 qt casserole. Bake @350 for about 40 minutes

until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Spoon into bowls and serve 

with additional milk or cream.
6-8 servings

Enjoy!

Links: Designs By Gollum,
French Country Cottage, Between U & Me
At The Picket Fence, The Charm Of Home,
Stone Gable

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Trip to Semarang (1)

Semarang is the capital city of Central Java province, in Indonesia.
It is located in north coast of Java Island.

Probably it's not as popular as Bali or Tana Toraja as the top two tourist destinations in the country, but the trip to Semarang has given us an opportunity to feel, to know, to learn, to see, and the most important one is to enjoy one of the beautiful and historical cities in our

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STRAWBERRY FROSTING

This quick and easy strawberry frosting is just delightful. I used fresh strawberries, but I see no reason why frozen (thawed) strawberries wouldn't work.  It has a light, fresh, fruity flavor and was a big hit at my house.

1 cup UNSALTED butter at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar (see note)
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
5 tablespoons strawberry puree (see note)

Whip the butter, with electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Add the strawberry puree (I just pureed fresh strawberries in my food processor), vanilla and salt. Beat till smooth.

NOTE: The liquid of the strawberries will vary for everyone. If your frosting seems too soft, just add extra powdered sugar (a little at a time) until you get the consistency you want.  If you are going to use this for piping trim, you'll have to add at least another cup to a cup and a half of powdered sugar.
NOTE: This recipe will easily frost 2½ dozen cupcakes if you are just frosting them with a knife.

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Asian Slaw

This is a slaw you just can't stop munching on.

I like that I can make it ahead of time.

 Gather ingredients: broccoli slaw, sunflower seeds,
sliced almonds, green onions and a packet of ramen noodles.

Whisk or shake in a jar the dressings ingredients:
oil, sugar, vinegar and the reserved flavor packet.

 Crush the noodles and put into the bowl.

 Toast the almonds in the toaster oven for about
5-10 minutes at 350, until fragrant.

 Add the broccoli slaw to the bowl.
Chop the green onions and add to the bowl along
with the sunflower seeds and almonds.

Combine the dressing well and pour over. 

Give it a good toss. Taste and try not to eat 

too much. Put in a sealed container in the

refrigerator until ready to serve or overnight. 

Asian Slaw

2 (3-oz) packages beef-flavored 

ramen noodle soup mix

2 (8.5-oz) packages broccoli slaw mix
(or 16-oz bag cole slaw mix) 

1 C sliced almonds, toasted

1 C sunflower kernels

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C vegetable oil

1/3 C white or apple cider vinegar

flavor packets from soup mix

~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove the flavor packets from the soup mix

and set aside. Crush the noodles and place 

them in the bottom of a large bowl. 

Top with the slaw mix; sprinkle with almonds, 

sunflower kernels and green onions.

~~~~~~~~~

Whisk together the contents of the

 flavor packets, sugar, oil and vinegar. 

Poor over the slaw. Cover and chill 24 hours.

 Toss before serving.

tip: can add cut-up shrimp or chicken for
a complete meal. (about 2-4 C)

tip: I cut the recipe in half in the above photos.

for the oil ~ half of 3/4 C = 6T

for the vinegar ~ half of 1/3 C = 2T+2t

Enjoy!

Links: Designs By Gollum

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CLASSIC BUTTER CAKE

A few days ago, my cooking buddy Katy, at Food For a Hungry Soul, posted a great classic cake recipe. It immediately caught my eye, not only because it looked so moist and delicious, but it looked quick, easy and used all standard pantry ingredients (my idea of a great recipe).

The recipe is all I hoped it would be. We had company for the weekend and the cake was a big hit. As a matter of fact, it was gone in about a day and a half (and it makes a nice big cake!!).  I hope you try it, it is delicious, thank you Katy!!

OLD FASHIONED BUTTER CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 2)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease and flour two 8" x 2" baking pans and set aside. (see note)

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat on high speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl once in a while). Add the eggs and beat two more minutes.

Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally between the pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven.

Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Katy frosted her butter cake with a delicious looking chocolate frosting, which I planned on repeating until I discovered I didn’t have enough powdered sugar, so I opted for a cooked frosting that uses granulated sugar, you can find my recipe here.

NOTE: The first time, I made this cake, I made the mistake of not measuring  the depth of my 8” cake pans. Katy’s directions said 8” x 2” and I found out (all too late) that my pans were 8” by 1½”. The cake baked beautifully, but got so tall that it came over the top and flowed over the edges (and down the sides) of the pan (thank goodness I had them on a cookie sheet!!) The next time I made the cake, I used a 9” x 2” pan and it worked beautifully (baked in 30 minutes).

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Glazed Meatloaf

I like comfort food like meatloaf
and don't make it often enough.
I have several recipes and this is the easiest one
because there is little prep work;
no chopping, just mix, shape and bake.

Serving my Easy Scalloped Potatoes for the side. 

It can bake along with the meatloaf.

I use my handy scale to measure out the 

ground beef. Gather all the ingredients.

Combine all the ingredients except the meat and

 let it sit to absorb. Then mix in the meat.

Shape into a loaf and put in a shallow casserole.

*You can prepare it ahead to this point and just

cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate 

to glaze and bake later. 

Combine the glaze ingredients.

Spread the glaze all over the loaf.

Bake about 1 hour. 

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You'll want to save some leftover slices

 for sandwiches the next day. 

Warmed or cold slices of meatloaf on toast 

with your choice of mustard or more ketchup.

Enjoy!

Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef

3 slices dry bread or 1/2 C breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

2 eggs

1/2 C milk

1/2 C ketchup

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Combine the crumbled bread or breadcrumbs in a
 large bowl with the milk. Let sit for 5 minutes
to soften the bread. Add the milk, eggs, ketchup
and soup mix. Stir to combine.
Add the ground beef and mix until combined. 

Shape into a loaf in a shallow casserole.

Top with glaze mixture spreading to coat.

 Bake @ 350 for 1 hour. 

Glaze Mixture

1/2 C ketchup

2 T brown sugar

1 T mustard

Links: Stone Gable, EKats Kitchen

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Homemade Pie Crust

Homemade pie crust is what takes a pie

 from good to great.

It's the foundation for any pie or quiche.

 This is the basic Crisco recipe.

 It takes less than 2 minutes to mix up
in a food processor, but you can also make it
 by hand using a pastry blender.

 Add the flour and salt to the work bowl. 

Pulse to blend, then add the Crisco.

 Pulse a few times until it's coarsely blended in.

 You should be able to pinch it together with your fingers.

 It should be crumbly.

 Now add in the cold water while the machine is running

 Just until it begins to hold together. 

 Remove and divide into two balls.

 Flatten into disks and refrigerate at least 30 

minutes before rolling.

 I store one in a ZipLock bag for the freezer.

It's great to have one ready to go.

 Place the dough on a floured board.
Sprinkle a little flour on top. Roll it out into a
circle from the center using a floured rolling pin.

 Rotate the pie crust from time to time
to make sure it's not sticking to the board.
Add more flour if needed.

 Roll until it's slightly larger than your pie pan.

 You can either use a metal spatula to flip the
pie crust in half

place it into the pie dish or

 Roll it over your rolling pin. 

 Then roll it onto your pie pan. Press into place gently.
Pinch any tears together.

 Fold the excess dough under the edge trying to
 keep the thickness even.

Cajole into shape with your fingers forming a

 nice even rim.

 Then begin fluting the edge all around

using three fingers. I usually go around a few times
to smooth out any cracks.

Fill and bake as recipe suggests.
Here I'm making one pumpkin pie and
one pecan pie.

Chocolate Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Chocolate Meringue Pie

To bake an unfilled shell

Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. 

Bake @425 for 10-12 until golden brown.

Pie Crust

2-1/2 C flour

1/2 t salt

3/4 C shortening

4-5 T ice cold water

Combine the flour and salt in a food processor

Pulse to combine. Add the Crisco and pulse on/off

about 15-30 times, until blended.
With machine running, drizzle in
enough ice water just until it begins to
 hold together. Divide dough in half, and
shape into flatted disks. Wrap in plastic,
chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days or
frozen for up to 1 month.

 Roll out on a floured surface

Enough for a double crust pie or 

two shells. 

Enjoy!

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