Delicious Apple Crunch

Fall...my favorite season of the year.  I am a hot person by nature, so when the cool temperatures come, I consider it perfect weather.  When I think of Fall, I also think of apples and pumpkins.  After canning several batches of apples, I still had a few left over and decided to make this Delicious Apple Crunch recipe.  The secret ingredient that makes it better than other recipes is the cinnamon!

Delicious Apple Crunch

Ingredients:
5 cups sliced, peeled apples
1 cup of flour
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup of quick-cooking oats


Directions:
Arrange apples in the bottom of a greases 8" square baking dish.  Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Cut it butter with a pastry blender until crumbly.  Add oats and mix well.  Sprinkle over apples.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until apples are tender.  Serve warm with ice cream if desired.

3 Ingredient Peach Cobbler

I love the weather outside today, the sun is shining and it's in the low 70's.  I adore the Fall season for it's cooler temperatures and the changing color of the leaves.  It won't be long and the crops in the field will need to be harvested.

After a visit to our local orchard (which is literally down the road from our house), I purchased some Monroe peaches from South Carolina and WOW - not only were they big, but the flavor was out of this world.  My overall intention was to can them, but we ate most of the first batch we bought.  I did, however, make a simple peach cobbler one night.

3 Ingredient Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:
2 lbs of peaches, cut up to your liking
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 (16oz) can of Diet Sprite (or 7-Up)


Directions:
Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and add the peaches to the pan.  Next, sprinkle the cake mix (dry) evenly over the peaches.  Pour the can of Diet Sprite over the cake mix.  Be sure to get the entire cake mix wet with the soda.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden in color.  Let cool 10 minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Sloppy Joe Casserole

I admit, it's been awhile since I've blogged.  With the remodeling of our house just about complete, things are starting to slow down to a "normal" pace again.  I was able to process about 50+ pounds of tomatoes this weekend, which felt like quite an accomplishment.

The following recipe is adapted a little from one i previously saw on Pinterest.  It's quick, easy and only took 30 minutes.

Sloppy Joe Casserole

Brown 1 pound of hamburger and 1/4 cup of chopped onion.

 

Once made into sloppy joe mixture, line the pan with biscuits.

 

Bake in the oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until biscuits are done.

 

 

 

Sloppy Joe Casserole

 

Ingredients:

1-pound of hamburger, cooked

1/4 cup of chopped onion

1/4 cup of green pepper (optional)

1 tube of buttermilk biscuits

1 can of Manwhich Sloppy Joe Sauce

Shredded cheese (optional)

 

 

Directions:



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Brown hamburger, onions and green peppers (optional) in skillet.  Drain grease.  Add the Manwhich (or I make my own sauce) and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Grease the sides of an 8x8 casserole dish.  Take out a tube of buttermilk biscuits and cut 4 of them in half.

Pour the sloppy joe mixture in the dish, line the border of the dish with the biscuits, sticking the biscuits somewhat down in the sauce.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until biscuits are cooked through.  The last 5 minutes, sprinkle with cheese and let it melt.  Let cool a few minutes before serving.

 

I know the picture doesn't do it justice, but trust me, this is a dish you'll want to make when you're in a hurry and the biscuits add that extra touch!    

Super Moist Zucchini Bread

This year has been wonderful for our zucchini plants.  We have had an overabundance of produce and one of my favorite things to make and freeze is zucchini bread.  I use butterscotch pudding to make it super moist.

Super Moist Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 t vanilla
1 t salt
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t baking powder
1 small box of Instant Butterscotch Pudding
2 cups of sugar
2-1/4 cups grated zucchini
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
2 cups of flour
1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Mix eggs, sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla.  Add baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder and pudding.  Add zucchini and flour, mixing thoroughly.  Pour mixture into 2 greased medium size bread pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until middle is done (insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread, if it comes out clear then it's done).

Freezer Pickles

I don't know about you, but my cucumbers are growing wonderfully this year and I have quite an abundance.  We love cucumbers at our house and eat them almost nightly when they are in season.  Before my mother-in-law passed away a few years ago, she shared this amazing recipe for "Freezer Pickles" with me.  They are the perfect treat on a hot summer day and when it's to hot to can, you can whip up a batch of these for the freezer.

Wash cucumbers and pat dry.
Thinly sliced cucumbers (do not peel).

Dice, one small onion.

                                                                  You will need the salt!

                                                               
                                               Put cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with
                                                      2 T of salt and let stand for 2 hours.

  You will make a syrup mixture

of the sugar and vinegar.

   Pour the pickles into the sugar/vinegar syrup

and gently mix with a rubber scraper

until all of the sugar dissolves. 

Put the pickles in 2-3 small containers,

pour the syrup mixture over them,

seal and freeze until your ready to thaw and eat.

FREEZER PICKLES

Ingredients:
1 quart of thinly sliced cucumbers (do not peel)
1 small onion, diced
2 T salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vinegar

Directions:
Cut cucumbers and onions as directed.  Put them in a bowl and sprinkle with 2 T of salt and let stand for 2 hours.  After 2 hours, drain the pickles in a colander using as little water as possible to get the salt off.

Next, mix 1-1/2 cups of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of vinegar in a bowl creating a type of syrup.  Do not heat, but stir occasionally while the cucumbers are in the salt mixture.

Now, pour the pickles into the sugar/vinegar syrup and gently mix with a rubber scraper until all of the sugar dissolves.  Put the pickles in 2-3 small containers, pour the syrup mixture over them, seal and freeze until your ready to thaw and eat.

Banana PB Dessert

I know I haven't blogged much lately, but truth be told, I haven't had my kitchen to cook in and at work it's our busiest time of the year.  So to my faithfuls (Misty and Grace), I am sorry!!!

Here's a quick dessert to make on days when it's hot and you want something cold, yet nutritious.
I have to admit though, if I would have had more time, I would have dipped them halfway in some melted chocolate.

Banana PB Dessert

Take two banana's and slice them into about 1/2" chunks.  Add peanut butter to one slice and top with another slice.  Put in the freezer and chill for at least 20 minutes before eating! 

***You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter, and for you chocoholics, try dipping them in some melted chocolate!

Emergency Room Fun

I can honestly say that 2013 has been a tough year so far for me medically.  I've had new allergies pop up, tried new medicines for my migraines that didn't work and made me have horrible side effects and now I can say I've had my first trip to the Emergency Room as an adult.

Last Friday, I was walking in the yard to feed the chickens, when my foot found a new hole in our yard.  My foot went in the hole, my ankle popped and down I went to the ground face first.  Between the pain and tears I couldn't do much yelling for Bill, but I tried.  He was in the barn and couldn't hear me...stupid me didn't bring my cell phone.  While I'm screaming for Bill to help me, my beautiful black lab Sadie, licked the tears and dirt off my face.  What a scene that must have been for anyone that drove by.

Long story short, Bill came to my rescue.  Scooped me up in his arms and then asked what he should do with me.  I told him to get the truck and take me to the Emergency Room.  Although I couldn't see any bone sticking out, the pain was so intense, I felt like I had broke or fractured something in my ankle.

Probably because I was sobbing, I made it through the paperwork portion of the Emergency Room in what I was told was "record time."  They weren't very busy, so I was able to see the doctor right away.  They took x-rays and luckily nothing was broken, just severely sprained. 

Needless to say, I used a walker to "hop" around the first two days because I couldn't put any pressure on my foot and they didn't send me home with crutches.  I then graduated to a cane and now I'm just hobbling. 

Fortunately for us, a 4-H friend of ours was one of the nurses working the Emergency Room, so she made the experience better by talking to me and taking my mind off of the pain.

I hadn't been in the ER since I was 3 years old.  Hopefully I can wait another 36 years before I ever have to go back!