Cranberry Apple Crisp

In a recent post, I mentioned that I had gone to an apple orchard.  I wanted to share some of the recipes that I used because I had 13 pounds of apples to go through!  One of my favorite apple recipes was an apple crisp that I made from my Cuisine at Home magazine.  It was super easy and the streusel on top just set it over the edge of goodness!  

Picture Source

Here's the recipe:

Apple Crisp

Adapted from Cuisine at Home

Issue No. 95

Ingredients:

For the Streusel:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks cold butter, diced

3/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Filling:

3/4 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup cider or brandy

4 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For the streusel, whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, and salt.  Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until thoroughly combined.  Mix oats and pecans into flour mixture; cover and refrigerate.

For the filling, soak cranberries in brandy or cider for 20 minutes, until plumped, 20 minutes.  Drain and save liquid for another use.  Toss together apples, cranberries, brown sugar, lemon juice, 2 Tbsp flour, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.  Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Cover apples with streusel and bake until apples are tender, about 50 minutes.  Let apple crisp rest on a cooling rack 30 minutes before serving.

I'm pretty sure you will enjoy this as much as I did.  Just add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you'll be set!  Happy Fall!

Candy Bar Cookies

The other day, the hubby and I went a restaurant called Room Four here in Indy.  It was pretty tasty, but the best thing that we had there was the candy bar cookies served with cocoa laced whipped cream.  I was skeptical at first (I don't know why), but after the first bite, I was sold!  So when it was time for me to make a batch of cookies, I decided to try my own.  Granted these are not quite as good as the Room Four candy bar cookies, but they are extremely tasty in their own right.

Here's how you can make your own:

Candy Bar Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from The Picky Palate

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 bag of chocolate chips

3/4 bag of heath bits

1 bag of mini snickers - you know.... the smallest size possible

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In the stand of a mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugars until light.  Then, mix in the vanilla and eggs.

In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter, and finally add the chocolate chips and heath bits.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, take the dough, make a dent, insert a snickers bar, and wrap the dough around the candy bar.  Pinch off any extra dough that's unneeded to cover up the dough.  You should end up with a cookie that looks about the size of a golf ball.  I put twelve of these on a cookie pan, and froze the rest.  I think I ended up with about 36 cookies in all.

Bake the cookies for 9-14 minutes... mine took about 10.

I hope you enjoy!

Week Five Recipes & Apple Orchard

Oh, it is finally fall!  This is no doubt my favorite season.  I am lucky enough to have already made some wonderful friends here in Indy, and I was invited to go pick apples at Anderson Orchard.

I absolutely had a blast picking 13 pounds of apples!  When we arrived the air was crisp and we were able to take in all of the sites that you would expect to see at a family orchard.  There was row upon row of about 20-30 different types of apples.  Mums dotted the front porch of the little shop, and the smell of pumpkin bread mingled around in the air.  The playground was packed full of little ones that were on  a field trip, and all of it just brought joy to my heart!

Because I picked a lot of apples for just Scott and me, I'll be making lots of apple recipes.  I'll keep you posted on those, but for now, here's what's for dinner.

Monday: Vegetable Lasagna

• I made this about a month and a half ago and had the remainder frozen.
• I did buy some sourdough bread for $3, and we froze the other 2/3 of it.
• We had this for dinner and again for lunch = $3.

Tuesday: Tacos!

• I haven't made tacos in a while, but they sound tasty this week!
• I bought 1 lb of ground beef  ($6), taco shells ($2), refried beans ($2) and cilantro ($2).
• I had rice and I am going to make my own taco seasoning.
• Total = $12... we will probably have some rice and beans leftover.

Wednesday: Community Group... I bought cheddar cheese to go with our chili ($2).

Thursday: Taco Baked Potato

• I will use the 1/2 pound of ground beef that will be left over from Tuesday to go on top of our baked potatoes.
• I bought 2 potatoes ($1) and an avocado ($1) to dice up on top. 
• I will garnish it with our leftover cilantro, and I am going to make a pepper jack cheese sauce.
• Our total = $2 and some guacamole as a snack with the half that didn't get used!

Friday: Roast Chicken with Spaghetti Squash and Mac and Cheese

This mac 'n cheese is the best stuff ever!  I used to make it from scratch, but this is just as good in a time crunch.

• I bought my little chicken for $10.  He was pasture raised, and I'm sure he was very happy until the end. :)  We'll eat half tonight.
• The spaghetti squash was $3, and the mac and cheese was from Trader Joes - $3. 
• This meal is $16 and a lunch added in and half a leftover chicken for next Monday's dinner.

This weekend we are cheating.... friends and family are coming up, so we'll be eating out!

Our total this week is: $45

Summer Reading

Good Morning Friends!  Hallelujah; it's August!  July was a tricky month.  Whoever said medical school was tough clearly drowned out the first month of their residency.  Scott worked in the ICU, and we were on different hours.  He worked some days and some nights, so when he was home, he was asleep.  August brings a new rotation though, a clinic, and with it normal hours.  I'm really excited!

During July though, I took to reading.  I don't really have an excuse for not being an avid reader before, but with a surplus of time and books lying around that I had yet to read, I picked one up... and I didn't stop. I just wanted to share some with you because they were so enjoyable.  So if you have a few spare moments, here are some books to keep you busy!

This one doesn't really need an explanation.  This series is so popular with youth and adults alike.  As a middle school teacher, my kids continually begged me to read the book series.  I was leery because I have never really been interested in kid's reading fads like Twilight or Harry Potter, but for some reason I gave in on this one, and I'm glad I did.  I read the first, The Hunger Games, in June, but I've been trying to ration out the remaining books because there are only three.

My mother-in-law let me borrow this book.  It was so cute!  I love books that are true and this one was just a fun read.  It chronicles Ree Drummond's love story with her cowboy.  The story also shares her humorous transition from city life to the life of a ranch wife.

I am just finishing this book, and it too is an easy read.  Obviously, I like food, and this story documents Kathleen Flinn's adventures in Paris.  Flinn loses her job at a powerful company, and she decides to follow her dreams to pursue a culinary degree from the Le Cordon Bleu.  During some of her recollections, you can almost picture yourself working in the classroom next to her.  It also provides a fun and realistic picture of Paris.

This is a book that my mom let me borrow.  It is a true feel good story.  The setting is New York City in the late 80s and early 90s.  This is a story about a successful business woman (Laura) that befriends a  11 year old boy (Maurice) that is panhandling for money.  Maurice has a family, but they are in and out of his life.  Laura invests in Maurice's life, and the two come to rely on each other.  This is also a true story.

This are my favorite summer reads.  What are some of the books that you have been reading?

Farmer's Market Pizza

I've had this picture hanging around for a few weeks now.  On one of my trips to the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market, I hit the jackpot of fresh produce, particularly with the corn and squash blossoms.  Indiana is known for corn, but it really does taste so much better here.  I found myself eating the corn kernels without even cooking them.  They were so sweet and tender.

I decided that I wanted to make something to combine the squash blossoms and the corn, and I came up with a Squash Blossom pizza.  They pictures I took didn't turn out so great, but trust me, it tasted heavenly.  Here's how I made my pizza.

Ingredients:

Prepared pizza dough or crust (I got the pre-made dough from Trader Joe's)

olive oil

dried basil

dried oregano

dried parsley

red pepper flakes

1 ear of sweet corn

6 squash blossoms, stem, stamen and rough portion removed

prosciutto

Italian cheese blend

Directions:

Form your dough into a pizza, and preheat the oven to the direction's temperature.  Place your pizza dough onto a baking sheet if it is not already baked.  Pour a little (maybe a tablespoon or two) olive oil onto your dough.  Spread it out.  I used a pastry brush to evenly distribute the olive oil.  Then sprinkle the spices onto the crust of the pizza.  Use as much or as little as you like...everybody's taste are different.  Sprinkle a little bit of cheese, then add as much prosciutto as you like.  Sprinkle on about an ears worth of corn.  Top your pizza with the squash blossoms and lots of cheese.  Place in the oven and bake according to package directions.  I like to take my pizza off the baking sheet once the dough is stable so that the bottom can get crisp as well.  I finally like to turn on the broiler in the last few minutes so that the top of the cheese gets bubbly and brown.  If you do this, be sure to watch it carefully.

That's all!  It hit the spot and was not a typical pizza.... just my type of thing.  Scott and I gobbled it right up!

Here are some more pictures from the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market.  Now you can see why I keep talking about it!

Source

Cookies to Say Thank You!

Happy Saturday!  Yesterday was Scott's first on-call night at the hospital.  All week he has been telling me how wonderful the nurses are, and so I made them some cookies.  A few years ago, one of my mom's gave me these cookies for Christmas, and I begged her for the recipe.  It took two years, but I finally got it!  This is a hybrid (very technical) chocolate chip - oatmeal combo cookie.  The trick that makes it extra special is to use chocolate chunks...not chips and toffee bits.  These make the cookie extra chewy, melty, delicious.... you get the point.  And since nurses are extra-special people, they needed an extra-special cookie. 

The nurses enjoyed the cookies, so I may be doing a weekly cookie installment.  But for now, here is how you make these.

Tricia's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: My Wonderful Student's Mother :)

Ingredients

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups oats

2 cups flour

Directions

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs, mix then add next four ingredients and mix.  Add blended oats and flour gradually.  

Then mix in any type of chips you want like toffee bits, chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, etc.  I used chocolate chunks (whole bag) and half of a bag of toffee bits... delish.

Bake for 9-11 minutes depending on the size of the cookie.  I used a tablespoon and baked them for about 9 1/2 minutes.

Happy Weekend!

A New Town to Call Home

Hi Friends... I know it's been a long time.  So much has happened, so let me get you caught up.  This spring, my husband applied for residency programs and this year he matched.  We are living in Indianapolis for his transitional year.  Next year, we'll be moving again, but that's another story for another day.  Two weeks ago, we packed up all of our earthly belongings and left our beloved Louisville to come to a new city.  

I took it all in stride; it wasn't fun leaving my friends and a job that I really enjoyed to come here to who knows what.  For the past week, I have been unpacking and getting job applications to random stores.  It's odd to think that I won't be teaching this fall, but I'm kind of excited about working a much less stressful job for at least a year.

But this year, I wanted to chronicle our adventures and the culinary delights that I make along the way. Some of you are reading this to keep up with me so I'll tell you the stories behind the recipes.  Hopefully, if you ever come to Indianapolis, you'll have something to do by reading along.  I'm excited to find this city's little secrets and to share them with you.  

So here is my first adventure: The Broad Ripple Farmer's Market.  Scott and I drove to Broad Ripple to explore the new market.  I was pleasantly surprised.  There was an ice cream stand called Lick that looked like it had the funky flavors of Jeni's in Columbus.  There was a great variety of fruits and vegetables, and there were pastries.  We tried a orange and hazelnut croissant and a danish with lemon curd and raspberries.  I wanted to really love them, but the quality just wasn't there.  I found myself comparing them to perfection of Wiltshire Pantry and it just wasn't happening... kind of a bummer.  But there were raspberries, and lots of them, and I couldn't resist.  

This brings me to my first baking endeavor in Indy, Raspberry Breakfast Bars, via Smitten Kitchen.  I used black raspberries that we bought at the market, and this morning Scott had some serious goodness on his (50 minute) trek to work.

Here's how you can make your own:

Raspberry Breakfast Bars

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the Crust and Crumb Topping

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks) cut into one inch pieces

For the Raspberry Filling

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons flour

1 lb fresh raspberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

Directions:

To Make the Crust and Crumb:

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease the bottom and sides of a pan, then line it with parchment paper.  Let the paper hang over the sides. This will make it easier for the bars to be lifted from the pan.  Butter the parchment.

Combine all of the crumb ingredients except the butter.  Then add the butter to the ingredients.  Blend with a pastry mixer until small crumbs form.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture, and press the rest into the bottom of the prepared pan.  The crust should touch the sides of the pan.  Bake until the crust is golden brown - 12 - 15 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool.  Keep the oven on until cool.

Meanwhile, make the raspberry filling.  Combine the ingredients and gently fold in the raspberries so they don't become mush.  

Spread the raspberry filling on top of the cooled crust, then sprinkle the remaining crumb topping on top.  Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the edges are slightly bubbly.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.  Remove from pan and slice into bars.  The slices can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for two days.

I'm working on a picture... I haven't figured out this new computer yet. :)