So for Thanksgiving I was asked to bring an Apple Pie. I really wanted to make it from scratch and scoured my various recipe sites for the perfect recipe. I settled for two of Paula Deen's Recipes from Food Network. The crust came out flaky and buttery and everyone commented how great it was. The pie itself was pretty amazing, but I did make a couple of modifications to the recipe after reading some reviews. I used 8oz of cinnamon applesauce instead of 16oz of regular applesauce and I doubled the crunch topping.
Paula's Perfect Pie Crust
2 1/2 C All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Fine Salt
3 Tbspn Granulated White Sugar
1/4 C Vegetable Shortening, Cold
12 Tbson Butter, Cold and Cubed
1/4 C to 1/2 C Ice Water
1) In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and salt.
2) Add the shortening and break it up with your hands as you start to coat it all up with the flour. Add the cold butter cubes and work it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work it quickly, so the butter doesn't get too soft, until the mixture is crumbly, like very coarse cornmeal.
3) Add the ice water a little at a time, until the mixture comes together forming a dough. Bring the dough together into a ball.
4) When it comes together stop working it otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
5) On a floured surface, roll each disk out into a 10 to 11 inch circle to make a 9 inch pie.
Crunch Top Apple Pie
Paula's Perfect Pie Crust (9 inches)
3/4 C Sugar
1 Tbspn All Purpose Flour
1 tspn Ground Cinnamon
Dash Salt
3 1/2 C Peeled, Chopped Cooking Apples
1 (16oz) Jar Applesauce
1 Tbspn Lemon Juice
2 Tbspn Butter, Chopped into Small Pieces
Crunch Topping
3 Tbspn All Purpose Flour
1 Tbspn Sugar
Dash Salt
1 Tbspn Butter, at Room Temperature
1) Preheat Oven to 425
2) Line a 9 inch pie pan with half of dough (1 disk)
3) Combine Sugar, Flour, Cinnamon and Salt in a bowl. Stir in Applesauce, Apples and Lemon Juice.
4) Spoon Apple mixture into pie pan and dot with Butter.
5) Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie.
6) For crunch topping, combine Flour, Sugar and Salt in bowl. Using a fork, cut in Butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust.
7) Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for about 45 minutes or until crust and topping are golden brown.
I needed to make an appetizer to bring for a party and this recipe that I found on the Pillsbury
website was perfect. It took minimal time to make, the ingredients were simple and it got devoured in minutes. The original recipe calls for a jar of diced pimiento. I actually used a jar of sweet roasted red peppers and just diced them instead because I happened to have that on hand. It worked perfectly.
Artichoke-Cheese Braids
3/4 C Finely Chopped Artichoke Hearts (from 14oz can), Drained, Patted Dry with Paper Towels
1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1 Can Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Rolls or Pillsbury Refrigerated Seamless Dough Sheet
1 Jar (2 oz) Diced Pimiento, Drained, Patted Dry with Paper Towels
1 Egg Beaten
1 Tsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
1) Heat Oven to 375. In small bowl, mix artichokes, 1/2 C parmesan cheese and the mayonnaise
2) Unroll dough; separate into 2 long rectangles. Place lengthwise on opposite ends of ungreased large cookie sheet. You should have 2 11x4.5" rectangles
3) Spoon 1/2 of artichoke mixture in 1 1/2 inch wide strip down the center of each rectangle. Top each evenly with pimiento.
4) On long sides of each rectangle, make 15 cuts about 3/4 inch apart almost to edge of artichoke mixture. For braided appearance, fold strips of dough at an angle halfway across artichoke mixture with ends of strips slightly overlapping, alternating from side to side; pinch to seal.
5) Bring ends of each braid together to form a ring; press ends together to seal. Carefully brush tops of rings with egg; sprinkle with 1 tsp of parmesan cheese.
6) Bake 13-18 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes and cut.
This is one of my favorite dips to bring to a party. It is easy to make and always tastes wonderful. A friend of mine brought this to one of my parties once and after downing 1/4 of it, I asked her how to make it. For those that don't know me, I have an extreme aversion to mayonnaise. I don't eat it on anything and don't eat anything that has it in it. This recipe has mayonnaise in it - but I couldn't taste it at all. So this is the one recipe of mine that you will find this ingredient in.
Hot Artichoke Dip
1 can Artichokes 1 cup real Mayo (full-fat tastes best) 1 cup Parmesan Cheese 1 clove Garlic minced or 1 tsp already minced 1 tblsp chopped Tomato (optional) 2 tblsp chopped Green Onion (optional) Drain and chop artichokes. Mix in all but tomatoes and onions. Spoon into 9" pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown. Sprinkle tomato and onion on top.
In my ongoing quest to find a use for the 5 pounds of apples that my mother in law has gifted me, I was desperate to find something to make with apples that was not a pie. I found this recipe for Apple Bread on All Recipes by Jennifer. This bread was pretty good, but I would bake it less (start at 40 minutes) and I did make some changes based on some user suggestions: I added 2 Tsp of vegetable oil, I used half brown and half white sugar and I used pumkin pie spice instead of cloves. Another user suggested a glaze of 1 C powdered sugar and 2 Tspn. Half and Half. I did not try this, but will next time.
Apple Bread
1/2 C Butter Softened
1 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 C All Purpose Flour
1 Tspn Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
2 Apples - Peeled, Cored and Chopped
1) Preheat Oven to 350
2) In a Bowl mix Butter and Sugar until Sooth and Creamy. Beat in Eggs.
3) In a Separate Bowl, Sift Together the Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon and Cloves. Mix into Butter Mixture until Moistened. Fold in the Apples. Transfer into a Lightly Greased Loaf Pan.
4) Bake 1 Hour in Preheated Oven. Cool in Pan for 15 Minutes before Removing.
I was searching for something quick and easy to make for dinner tonight. On those days that you don't really feel like cooking, a casserole always seems to be the best option. I found this casserole and loved the following things about the Jiffy Casserole: The ingredients are ones that I always have on hand, It is inexpensive to make and It is yummy. I found this recipe on All Recipes by LadyGuin 2. I did alter this recipe a little based on other All Recipes user comments. I used 2 cans of soup instead of 1, used other spices such as garlic and onion powder and topped the casserole with cheese at the end.
Jiffy Casserole
Serves: 5
1 Tbspn Vegetable Oil
2 Onions Sliced
1 Pound Ground Beef
5 Potatoes Peeled and Cubed
Salt & Pepper
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 C Water
Paprika
1) Preheat Oven to 350
2) Heat a large skillet over medium heat and pour in oil. Saute onion in oil until browned (5-10 minutes) and set aside. In the same skillet brown meat and drain
3) Place a layer of potatoes into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and spread a layer of beef over the potatoes, followed by a layer of onions.
4) Repeat layers, ending with potatoes. In a medium bowl combine the soup with the water. Mix well and pour over the casserole. Sprinkle with paprika to taste
5) Cover and bake for 1 hour
'Tis the season for all things pumpkin - and I was introduced to a great dessert that will hit the spot that doesn't involve frozen pie crust or preheating your oven! I was having a chill night with some girls and one of them brought this amazing dip that it is nearly impossible to stop eating once you have started.
Pumpkin Dip
3 oz Cream Cheese Softened
1/2 C Powdered Sugar
1 C Canned Pumpkin (1/2 Can)
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ginger
8oz Tub Cool Whip
1) Beat together Cream Cheese and Powdered Sugar
2) Add Pumpkin, Ground Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and Stir Well
3) Fold in Cool Whip
4) Serve with Cookies, Graham Crackers, Apples or Vanilla Wafers...or just eat with a spoon :)
I found this great recipe for a Lemon Dill Sauce that can be used on top of salmon, chicken - whatever you like. I have seen a lot of versions of this sauce on different websites with additional ingredients such as mayonnaise, shallots, white wine, etc. This one is pretty simple and I usually have all of these ingredients on hand. My one complaint about this recipe is that there is too much ground mustard in it; I would probably use 1/2 of what the recipe calls for if not less.
Lemon Dill Sauce
2 Tbspn Sour Cream
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard
1/2 tsp Dill Weed
1/4 tsp Lemon Juice
