Apple Dumplings

I've made these twice before, and I guess I never blogged it. Silly me!  Here's the recipe. It comes from P-Dub.

Apple Dumplings (adapted slightly)
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges per apple)
2 (8-ounce) cans crescent roll dough
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) can Sprite (because I don't do the Dew)
ground cinnamon to taste
vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Wrap each apple wedge in a crescent roll, starting at the wide end and rolling it up to the point. Put each roll in a buttered 9x13 (or slightly smaller) baking pan.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the sugar and vanilla and stir for about 30 seconds. The sugar does not need to dissolve. Pour that sugar mixture evenly over the rolls. Pop open the can of Sprite (or 7-Up, or Mountain Dew or Slice...no, I take that back. Not Slice. That stuff is nasty) and pour it right over the top of everything. Sprinkle some cinnamon over the rolls and bake for about 40 minutes or until it's golden brown.
Serve the dumplings with ice cream and spoon some syrup-y goodness over the whole plate of deliciousness.

I'm Thankful

I know it's Thanksgiving, but Caleb is opening up his Christmas present, since I won't be there on Christmas day. I'm thankful for this boy!

Caleb loves Legos and Karen loves games. Win/win. 

After the game was over, Caleb wanted to show off the winning trophy. Scroll down fast, like a flip-book. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. What are YOU thankful for? 

P.S. I'm also beyond thankful that I will soon have grandchildren living in Utah before the end of the year!

Cranberry Sauce

I used to hate cranberry sauce. Then I learned to make it myself, and now I love it! Take a bag of these guys...

 ...and turn it into this.

Here's how:
Cranberry Sauce (by Our Best Bites)
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 pinch ground cloves (barely shake the bottle one time)
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
Turn the oven on to 350°F. Rinse the cranberries (there can sometimes be little sticks in there), and place the berries in a 9x13 pan. Add the water, cloves, cinnamon stick and orange juice. Give it a swirl, then sprinkle the sugar on top of the berries.
Bake for one hour.
I like my sauce a little lumpy, so I mash them a little bit after they've cooled slightly. You can process it in a food blender if you like yours smooth. Chill until ready to serve. I'm hoping there will be leftovers!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins

Every month at the employment center where my husband and I "work" we have a meeting which involves a pot-luck breakfast. Last month I was ill and didn't attend. This month I took what I would have taken last month if I could have. They are called muffins, but that's just so you don't feel bad for eating them for breakfast. In anyone else's book, they are cupcakes. I took 30 cupcakes muffins to the meeting. Only these guys survived long enough for me to take their picture.

You can get the recipe here. What I find funny is that in Kate's picture she shows it styled with a green bottle filled with milk. I have those same exact bottles (except they are my bottles at my house and Kate's bottles at her house. We don't run back and forth between houses sharing the same exact exact bottles). I should have styled my photo exactly like Kate's. Yep, to me that's funny.

Apple Pie Filling

I've never canned (or bottled) anything before. Ever. Unless you count freezer jam, which I don't. My friend, Jenny, loaned me some tools and gave me a recipe, and off I went.

This is the sauce. No it is not caramel. 

How many apples makes six pounds? This many. 

A medieval torturing device 

Turn the handle

It peels and slices and cores all at once

I'm going to have to get me one of these corer/slicer/peeler things.  

Ready for the steam bath

Ta-da! Beautiful deliciousness! Jelly jar (12 oz) sized for my family of two. 

You can't even imagine how fast I devoured this. And no, that isn't pineapple- just apple. 

I decided I needed to make them just a little cuter

Oops, I can't leave it crooked! 

There. That's better. Don't worry, Jenny. None of our neighbors will get one of these. 

Preserved Apple Pie Filling -adapted from Jenny Orchard's recipe

(makes 7 quart-sized jars)
6 lb. apples (I used Granny Smith for its tartness)
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup cornstarch
1 T cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 T lemon juice
2-3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
5 cups apple juice
4 cups water
Combine the dry ingredients, then stir in the apple juice and water. Cook over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly, about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice and food coloring.
While the sauce is cooking, peel and slice apples. Add apple slices to the cooked sauce. Fill jars, wiping the jar rims clean after filling. Leave 1/2 inch of space at the top. Put the amount of lids required into a small pan of water. Bring just to a boil. Add lid and band to each jar. Process either by steam or water bath for 30 minutes if you live near me. If you don't live near me, check this handy information.

Processing time for pint or quart size jars:  0-1000 ft: 25 min, 1001-3000 ft:30 3001-6000 ft: 30 mins 

Above 6000 ft: 40 mins

After you remove them from the canner or steamer, let them sit on the counter overnight, undisturbed. You will hear the lids pop as they seal. Avoid the temptation to check them by pressing on the lid. On day two, you can check them by pressing on the lid! Any that have not sealed should be refrigerated and used promptly. All mine sealed just fine, so I think yours will too! Thanks, Jenny!

Bread Bowls

Last week when we had some friends over, I was only planning on making the dessert. However, my friend had another idea. He offered to bring their leftover chili his daughter had made, and promised us it was so good we would die. Hmm. Is chili really what I want for my final meal? He also said he wanted to eat it from a chili bowl. A chili bowl? He meant a bread bowl. Oh! Okay. He said they would bring them, but when I talked to his wife, I told her I would take care of the "chili bowls."

So Monday afternoon, I made these guys. Our friends weren't expecting homemade, but these "chili bowls" were not difficult, and they were so much better than any I've ever bought at the store!

I have been promised the chili recipe, so if/when I ever get it, I'll pass it along. In the meantime, try these bread bowls. Tis the season! The soup season, that is. Especially since we have snow promised for later today.
The recipe is slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Italian Bread Bowls
Makes 6 regular or 8 small bread bowls
1 1/2 T active dry yeast, or 1 T instant yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp salt
2 T vegetable oil
6-7 cups all-purpose flour
If you are using instant yeast, no proofing is required. If you are using active dry yeast, proof the yeast in the warm water. Let stand until bubbly, about ten minutes.
Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture in either a Kitchen Aid mixing bowl or Bosch or Blendtec mixer or whatever you use to make your bread!
Continue to add flour in 1/2 cup intervals until a soft, not too sticky dough is achieved. I used 6 cups of flour to my mixture. When the dough has balled together, turn dough onto a Pam-sprayed counter top. This way, you can knead your dough without adding more flour. You'll need to spray your hands too. Knead until the dough is nice and elastic. This will only take a few minutes.
Lightly oil a large bowl. Add dough and then turn the dough so the greased bottom is now the top. Cover dough with a damp towel and set in a warm area. I always turn my oven on for about one minute, then I turn it off and place the bowl in the oven. Let dough rise for about 40 minutes. Punch the dough down and evenly shape into 6-8 balls. Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (or use a Silpat liner). I tried slashing the top, as Mel suggests, but it just made them look deformed, so I'd say skip the slashing!
Let the bread bowls rise again in a warm place for about 35 minutes, then bake in a 400°F pre-heated oven (this is when having two ovens comes in mighty handy-dandy!).  Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and baked through.