easy apple pie

 

The other day I noticed that I had a left over pie crust and lots of apples. So I googled "easy apple pie" and this is was the first recipe I came across ...

One 9 inch pie crust

5-6 apples peeled and cut up

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 c. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 c. sugar

1 egg

 

-Place pie crust in pie pan.

-Put apples on top of pie crut and sprinkle with cinnamon and 1 tbsp. sugar.

-In a bowl mix 1 cup sugar, flour, and butter. Blend in unbeaten egg and a pinch of salt.

-Mix well and spread over apples.

-Cut strips of foil and use them to cover the edges only of the pie crust.

-Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

 

It was delicious! I think Lincoln ate half of the pie .. no joke. You've got to try this pie!

"it was a triumph, my dear"

"It was a triumph, my dear!"

That famous line from A Christmas Carol usually only comes out of Chris' mouth when I've made something he realllly likes. Here lately, I've been hearing it quite a bit! So, I thought I would share some of the recipes with you!

I made Curry Chicken for the second time tonight and it was another hit! Why should you make it, you ask? It's as easy as they come to make. It's a crock pot recipe! And it is a delicious Indian meal you can make at home. LOVE!

Oh, and it's by Pioneer Woman! The picture is by her too :-)


We've had these Fajita Style Quesadillas this week too. Yu-mmy!



Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini and Mozzarella . Sounds fancy. Looks fancy. Tastes fancy. Easy to make. Need I say anymore?



Last but not least, LETTUCE WRAPS!!!



These little babies are de-licious! You can make them in a hurry and you can feel like you're eating healthy because it's wrapped in lettuce :-) Yum..Yum..Yum

stuffed mushrooms

I made these for my parent's New Years Eve party and they were sooo yummy I had to share :)









Ingredients
24 ounces, weight White Button Mushrooms
⅓ pounds Hot Pork Sausage
½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
⅓ cups Dry White Wine
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
1 whole Egg Yolk
¾ cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

Directions
Wipe off or wash mushrooms in cold water. Pop out stems, reserving both parts.

Chop mushroom stems finely and set aside.

Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on a plate to cool.

Add onions and garlic to the same skillet; cook for 2 minutes over medium low heat.

Pour in wine to deglaze pan, allow liquid to evaporate.

Add in chopped mushroom stems, stir to cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set mixture aside on a plate to cool.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese and egg yolk. Stir together with Parmesan cheese.

Add cooled sausage and cooled mushroom stems. Stir mixture together and refrigerate for a short time to firm up.

Smear mixture into the cavity of each mushroom, creating a sizable mound over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow to cool at least ten minutes before serving; the stuffed mushrooms taste better when not piping hot.

white bean and tomato casserole

Easy to make, super yummy, and only 327 calories per serving!

If you make an extra batch of roasted tomatoes and onion, you can put half of them aside for this recipe later on in the week and save yourself some time :)

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 medium red onion
2 Tablespoons e.v. olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Coarse salt
Thick slices of rustic bread

1. Preheat brolier. Toss tomatoes and onion with 2 teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the red pepper flakes. Broil on a rimmed baking sheet until tomatoes are just starting to brown, 5-7 minutes.

2. Transfer tomatoes to a 9-inch square baking dish. Broil bread until golden, about 1 minute per side.

3. Stir beans and oregano into tomatoes. Dot with ricotta. Drizzle with remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Broil until bubbling, 3-5 minutes. Serve over toast.

Total Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4
Per Serving: 327 Calories

whole-wheat penne with tomatoes and red onion

I made this for the first time last night and it was delicious! It was so easy to make and there are only 297 calories per serving! I will definitely be making this one again.



1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 medium red onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces dried whole-wheat penne
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1. Preheat broiler. Toss tomatoes and onion with 2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and the red pepper flakes. Broil on a rimmed baking sheet until tomatoes are just starting to brown, 5-7 min.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
3. Toss warm pasta with garlic, remaining 2 tsp oil, and 3/4 tsp salt. Stir in tomato mixture and the oregano. Add reserved cooking water to moisten and ricotta cheese.

Serves 4
297 calories per serving
Total Cooking Time: 25 minutes

mexican chopped salad

1/3 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
2 avocados, chopped
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1/2 cup Mexican Style Shredded Cheese

MIX dressing and cumin.

COMBINE remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing mixture; mix lightly.

SERVE immediately.

Island Pork Tenderloin = ♥

This is one of mine and Chris' favorite meals. And since Chris' dad can get us pork tenderloin for really cheap, it's a meal that we have quite often :)

If you are into a recipe that's easy to make, will make your house smell like heaven, and make your tastebuds throw a party in your mouth ... well, than this is the dish for you.

You are going to need:

16 ounces pork tenderloin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

Put the pork loin in a medium baking pan. Mix all of the ingredients (except for the pork loin) in a small bowl. Rub the mixture onto the pork loin. Bake at 425 for an hour. Some pork tenderloins are smaller than others, so I would check it at about 40 minutes to see how it's cooking.

Bon Appetit!!!

Strawberry Romaine Salad

Chris and I had this salad tonight and it was delicious. I think it's a perfect spring/summer treat! Although, Chris said he could eat it every day :)

First, cut up a whole bunch of romaine lettuce.



Slice up some strawberries



Add some mandarin oranges to the lettuce and strawberries



Add some feta cheese



Add Kraft's Creamy Poppyseed Dressing and mix it up!

these are a few of my Lincoln's favorite things

Lincoln's favorite food, by far, is avocado with bananas. That makes me very happy because avocado is an excellent source of healthy fats needed for brain development. Unfortunately, you cannot find avocado baby food anywhere! Or at least I can't. The good news is that it is very easy to make. I hope you will give it a try. Who knows ... avocado and bananas could be your baby's favorite food too! Let me show you just how easy it is to make ...

Buy an avocado. You can find them in the fresh produce section at just about any grocery store. You're going to want one that is ripe so make sure you buy one that is very dark green (or sometimes kind of purplish). Some stores even put a sticker on the ripe avocados that says, "RIPE." See, I told you this was simple. The last thing you want to check before you buy the avocado is it's firmness. You want an avocado that has a firm flesh, but gives a little when you squeeze.


Cut into the avocado and peel away the skin.


You'll find a big seed in the center.


Put the avocado into a blender, magic bullet, food processor, or whatever and add a banana. You'll also want to add a little water too. How much water you add depends on the consistency you want. The more you add the thinner it is.


Serve immediately or save it for later. You make the rules!


Another one of Lincoln's favorite things is the touch and feel book his aunt Tina bought him, B Is For Bear. So after I get him nice and full of avocado and bananas, I like to read him his favorite book. And if I'm lucky, after that he takes nap!

Tomato Baked Chicken

Let me start off this post by apologizing. My mom brought to my attention that I forgot to put a temperature to bake the sugar cookies at! They bake at 375 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden on top. Sorry about that one.

While we are on the topic of recipes, let me share with you what we ate for dinner last night---Tomato Baked Chicken. Trust me, you need to make this dish. You are going to love the way your house smells as it bakes .... mmmmm.

First you are going to need a red onion.


Thinly slice enough red onion to cover the bottom of your dish.


Make a single layer of red onion in a 13x9 dish (or in a smaller dish if you're only cooking for two)


Place the boneless skinless chicken breasts on top of the red onion.


Put 1 can of diced tomatoes in a small bowl.


Add 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing to the tomatoes.


Add 1/4 tsp garlic powder and mix well.


Pour tomato mixture over chicken and onions.


Sprinkle 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese over the chicken.


Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Voila! Easy Tomato Baked Chicken ...



Ingredients

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup KRAFT Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

ahh sugar sugar

I made these sugar cookies for the first time a couple weeks ago. They were easy to make and very yummy!

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.


In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.


Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.


Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.


Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.


Make some yummy icing, or buy some in a can ... whatever floats your boat! Then, add some food coloring to it.


Mix well


Spread a good amount of icing onto the cookies and eat up! Or do as I did---eat a couple with your hubby, wrap up the rest, and give them to your neighbors before you eat every last one of them :)



Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract