Award Winning Apple Crumb Pie

Award Winning Apple Crumb Pie

My oldest said he wanted to not have a Birthday cake but to have pie. Which pie you might ask, well, he wanted an apple crumb pie. He has been asking me for a recipe for one for a few months now. He wanted a recipe to give to his HomeEc Teacher, he was bragging about my cooking. I told him I didn't really have a recipe. I just throw things together. So, I got out my recipe book, the Better Homes and Gardens red and white checkered book. Looked up apple crumb pie. I liked the sound of the filling. I used the filling recipe, changing it to Gala apples. Which for me are super sweet and perfect for this recipe. The topping was all made up. Using ingredients I already had on hand. The crumb topping is HEAVENLY! Even if I am tooting my own horn.. toot toot!!! So tasty!

Here's the recipe :)

Preheat oven 375 Degrees F.

Crumb Topping

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 1/2 c old fashioned oats

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup cinnamon drops

1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces

Mix together in med size bowl. Add 1/2 cup melted butter. Stir/mix together until it's like a crumble. Set aside. 

In a separate bowl.

Filling

Peel and slice 6 apples into diced pieces (I used Gala Apples)

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

2 Tbsp flour

Toss together to coat filling. 

In prepared, uncooked, pie crust, add apple mixture. Add crumb mixture to the top of the apple mixture in pie crust. 

Should look like this before placing in oven.

Bake @375 for 50 Min. If worried about crust place foil around crust for first 25 min. then remove and continue baking an additional 25 min. Till golden brown on top.

Should look like this when taken out. Let cool. 1 hour. Slice and enjoy! 

Verdict! Best Apple Crumb Pie EVER! So tasty! My children and husband are requesting several of these for Thanksgiving and Christmas, even for Dessert during the week. Easy and delicious. If you enjoy this recipe, please leave me a message. I would love to hear from my readers. Thanks,

Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Jo's

Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Jo's

I had been going through my Pinterest board looking for ideas for todays dinner.  I knew I wanted something easy and that could be put in the crockpot. I had found a recipe for crockpot sloppy jo's and I was pretty sure I had most of the ingredients for the recipe. I was excited. I had never made sloppy jo's in the crock pot before. As I was going through the ingredient list I realized I didn't have any Worcestershire sauce. I was worried that I would need to scrap the whole idea. But luckily for me, I am creative and not afraid of a little challenge. I decided that I would try to make it with what I had around and what I could try to concoct for a delicious alternative for those of us who don't have exacting ingredients when we find recipes that look and sound delicious but are missing one or two ingredients. We get the joy of substitutions, praying they work. Luckily for me this time it worked splendidly. My husband raved about these, and said they were the best sloppy jo's he's ever had. I thought they were good, too. My children all ate theirs I put on their plates but they didn't eat seconds. Which is fine with me. They snacked all afternoon when I was napping. I am glad I took a nap. 

A side note I even forgot to plug the crockpot in before I took my nap. I woke up and checked dinner at 5pm. Realized I didn't have it plugged in... I set it on high, making sure I plugged it in. And 2 hours later it was heaven. So this is not something you necessarily need to make in the crockpot. It can be heated and cooked on the stove. The chicken or beef is precooked, you just heat the rest of the ingredients so they meld together. The leftovers will be frozen for a future meal when I don't have the energy to make anything or will throw in the crockpot to reheat for a busy school night. I love dual purpose dinners. They make life so much easier. In my opinion.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground chicken or beef (precooked, browned)

1 lg green pepper, diced

1 lg or 2 med onions, diced

2 8oz cans tomato sauce with green chili's

1 1/2 cup ketsup

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used sweet baby ray's)

1/2 cup soy sauce

5-6 dashes red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

Directions:

Brown chicken (cook), Add all ingredients to crockpot, set on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4 or all day. Enjoy on hotdog, hamburger buns or on baked potatoes. 

Verdict,

My husband said the sauce part would be delicious on any thing such as pork, ribs, or any kind of meat. I think he really liked it, he had 3 helpings. This makes a lot to feed a crowd or to freeze part for a later meal. 

The original recipe called for Worcestershire sauce and no tomato sauce. I think this by far is the best recipe ever for sloppy jo's. No Worcestershire sauce needed for me. But if you'd like to try the original recipe feel free. Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you. Thanks,

Shae ;)

Sausage Egg Rolls

Fried Sausage Egg Rolls

Baked Sausage Egg Rolls

Sausage Egg Rolls

These egg rolls are super yummy whether fried or baked. Someone from our church gave me this recipe and I have loved it ever since. I have made this recipe so frequently that I no longer need the recipe. I have made these egg rolls with salad shrimp as well, just exchanging the sausage for salad shrimp. This recipe is doubled. I feed 3 Huge boys, myself and husband. We love these so much I freeze some and cook later. The freezer ones are better baked. As the outer wrapper gets soggy and won't fry well. If you can tell me how to freeze them where the outer coating doesn't get soggy when thawed... I would love you forever! well, maybe not forever but would definitely give a shout out!  Anyways, I just love these. They fry up nicely and bake nicely. As you can tell from the pictures. This is another of my loves for cheap takeout at home. I love asian cuisine but don't have the money to go out to eat much. These are so perfect! 

Ingredients:

1-2 onions diced (depending on size)

1 head of cabbage diced/sliced

6-9 carrots grated, or finely jullianed (the more carrots the better)

1 bag Mung Bean sprouts, drained (Sam Sung brand)

2 Tbsp Black pepper

2 lbs ground sausage/pork (raw), or salad shrimp (thawed and drained)

2 pkg egg roll wrappers (Wei-chuan spring roll shells)

Vegetable Oil for frying or Non-stick PAM for baking

Directions:

Mix onions, cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, black pepper, and protein (sausage or shrimp) in a large bowl. (might need to get your hands dirty) Make sure ingredients are dry ingredients. (well except for the sausage). If ingredients are wet dry in towels or in oven. When rolling these follow directions on the wrapper. Usually 2 Tbsp of filling is enough per roll. Don't over fill. Once you have wrappers filled, and ready to go...

Frying:
Heat oil to 450F, fry until golden brown on both sides. I use an electric skillet to fry and only use about 1 inch of oil. you don't want them floating, they need to rest on the bottom and oil needs to come to about half way up the side of the egg roll.  So you can easily flip them and they stay put.

Baking:
Preheat oven 450F, spray bottom or cookie sheet/jelly roll pan with non-stick spray (PAM). Place egg rolls on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Then once egg rolls are placed on cookie sheet, spray egg rolls with cooking spray. Then place in oven for 15-20 min until brown. (check center of largest roll to make sure sausage is completely cooked.)

Enjoy! These are tasty with some Sweet chili sauce! I also find that at my International Grocer (Food Maxx)...

My family loves these and eat them all up! I've tried freezing them so I can stretch them out. I have frozen them all put together, but in the future I may just bag the filling and then thaw when ready to use with the wrappers. But either way, these are a HIT! I hope you enjoy them. We LOVE Them!!! :)

Thai Chicken Pineapple Curry

I love me some Thai! I crave it but usually when I don't have the money to go out to eat. I made up this great recipe to help curb some of those cravings. Luckily for me there is an international grocery store about 30-45 min away. I make a monthly trip there and get what I want. This place has everything! It's called Food Maxx... I digress... oh anywho's.... This recipe is tangy and spicy, sweet and full of flavor. If you try it, please leave a message on any changes you made and/or how you liked it. I love hearing from my readers :)

Ingredients:
2-4 Tbsp Yellow curry paste (I like yellow, but many like red) The more you add the spicier it gets...
2-3 chicken boneless, skinless breasts (chopped about an inch in size or what ever your personal preference)
1 can coconut milk
1 can chunked pineapple in natural juice
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
2 Tbsp white sugar
5 leaves of Thai Basil (optional) diced
Jasmine or Basimati rice

Directions:

Make rice per package directions either on the stove or in a rice cooker.

In a stock pot mix curry paste and diced chicken breasts. with a Tbsp of butter and olive oil. Keep stirring until blended and chicken is mostly cooked. Add the bell peppers, and onions, and cook together with the chicken. Until onions are mostly translucent. Then add the remaining ingredients except the rice. Let simmer and let flavors meld together for about 15-20 min on a low simmer.

To serve, pour a ladle or two over prepared rice. Enjoy...

Verdict... I love it! Reminds me of a great Thai restaurant in Draper, UT I used to eat at. You can use shrimp except add shrimp at the end and only cook until shrimp turns pink. Very, very tasty! :) Even my kids will eat it.

Homemade Pizza Rolls

A friend of mine posted in Facebook her pizza rolls. She said she found the recipe on Pinterest. So I searched pinterest and found this recipe. Is was so easy. I used what I had around the house to make it work. This pan is larger than a 13X9... and part of them are just cheese rolls.

Ingredients:
1 bag turkey pepperoni
3 canisters of regular refrigerator biscuits
8-10 cheese sticks cut into 4ths
1 stick of butter (melted)
2-3 Tbsp italian seasoning

Directions:

Prepare 13X9 baking dish by spraying with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 375F. Open the first canister of biscuits. take one of the biscuit rounds and flatten with fingers and insert 2 pepperoni, then 1/4 of a cheese stick and 2 more pepperoni's. Wrap the biscuits around the pepperoni's and cheese. place seam side down in a 13X9 baking dish. Repeat process until pan is filled. Spoon melted butter on tops of the prepared biscuit rounds. Then sprinkle with italian seasoning.

Bake in 375F oven for 15 min or until golden brown.

Serve with favorite marinara sauce.

Verdict... Now a new item on my menu. My children loved them so much there were no leftovers and the kids were asking if I had any more. Total hit here! I hope you love them too. Thanks :)

Grilled Beef Kebobs and Mixed Veggie Couscous

BBQ Grilled Beef Kebobs

With the warmer weather here this spring in West Virginia, I wanted to cook outside on the Grill. It had been so hot the last couple of days that I planned this dinner. Come to find out the day I made them, it was cold. Even though the weather didn't cooperate, this recipe did not disappoint. It was delicious and even better the next day. It does however, take a good day to prep, and the day before to marinade the beef and veggies. So I suggest getting a headstart. Unless you marinade first thing in the AM and assemble and cook that evening. I cut and marinade the beef and veggies the night before, so by afternoon the day I wanted to make them, everything was nice and marinaded. I also doubled the recipe as I was feeding 8 people. I got the marinade recipe from Pinterest. I Love Pinterest... 

Ingredients:

2 lb. lean beef steaks, cubed

1 green bell peppers, cut into cubes

1 yellow bell peppers, cut into cubes

1 red bell peppers, cut into cubes

1/2 onion cubed

Marinade:

1 cup veg oil

1 cup cooking white wine

1 cup soy sauce

4 Tbsp spicy mustard (prepared)

4 tsp garlic powder

8 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (2 2/3 tablespoons0

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

In a quart size bag or larger add the cut vegetables and 1/2 the marinade, seal and put in the fridge for 12-24 hours. In another quart size bag add the cubed beef steak and the remaining marinade, seal and set in the fridge for 12-24 hours.

Assembly is just alternating veggie and beef on a Skewer. ** Don't stick your self with the skewer... it hurts... (Reserve marinade used on veggies for basting kebobs while cooking). I used metal skewers but you can use bamboo skewers by soaking them for 30 min in water before using them.

I used a gas grill and set it at high. Once it was hot I placed prepared kebobs on the grill and basted with leftover marinade. I cooked about 5 min, per side (depending on desired doneness and thickness of meat) flipped the skewer over with tongs and basted again with reserved marinade. Cooked another 5 or so minutes and then removed from heat. Set aside for 5 min before eating. 

Served with mixed veggie couscous. So yummy!

Ingredients:

2 cups couscous (cooked per package)

4 carrots, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 cup cooking white wine

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

REAL Salt and Pepper to taste

Make couscous per package directions and set aside. In a separate skillet melt the butter with the olive oil, over med/hi heat. Once hot and butter is melted add the diced veggies to soften. sprinkle with salt and pepper. cook down until onions are translucent and veggies are slightly softened. Once the veggies are cooked, add the white wine and deglaze the pan. cook down and reduce. Once reduced add the prepared couscous and mix together. Once warmed through pour lemon Juice on top and mix again. Serve warm with Kebobs.

Veggie Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna Rolls

They are as easy as 1, 2, 3... At least I thought so. Pretty simple and easy to make. These are so good... I forgot to get a picture of them when they were fully baked. They went fast!

Ingredients:

1 box Lasagna noodles*

2 zucchini, sliced thin

6 roma tomato's, sliced thin

1 small ricotta cheese container

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp pesto

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 jar alfredo sauce

1 jar spaghetti sauce

2 eggs

4 Tbsp italian seasoning, plus some to taste

Directions:

Boil water and cook Lasagna noodles until Al Dente, rinse with cold water and set aside. While noodles are cooking.... In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, egg, pesto, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 of the Italian seasoning... stir until combined. Set aside. Cut/slice the zucchini and place in a bowl. I used my kitchen-aid slicing attachment to slice my zucchini. Next, slice the Roma tomato's, thinly. A mandolin slicer would work well to slice thin, I just didn't have one. 

Prepare 13X9 baking pan by pouring about 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven 375F.

Once the noodles are cooked, cooled and drained, and all ingredients are sliced and/or mixed... it's time for assembly. Take a tablespoon and spread a spoonful of the ricotta mixture on the lasagna noodle. Then layer zucchini on top of the ricotta mixture and finally add the thinly sliced roma tomato's. Roll from one end over the other until makes a sort of "ball"(using word loosely, see pic above).  Repeat until pan is full.

Once pan is full pour remaining spaghetti sauce over the lasagna rolls, and then pour the alfredo sauce over the spaghetti sauce. Top with Mozzarella cheese. Cover with Foil.

Can be frozen and baked later or baked right away.

Bake 375F for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake an additional 20 min. 

* Can be Gluten-Free if you use Gluten-Free lasagna noodles.

Serve with salad, and garlic bread. 

Garlic Bread...

Take sliced bread and 2 sticks of melted butter. mix in to the butter about 3 tbsp italian seasoning and 2 Tbsp garlic powder. Spread butter mixture over bread with a pastry brush and bake or broil. Bake for 7 min until brown, or broil until slightly brown on top. 

Lusciously Sweet and Tart Lemon Merengue Pie

Luscious Lemon Merengue Pie

While I was contemplating what to do with a huge bag of lemons from SAM's Club, I realized I really wanted Lemon Merengue Pie. But not a quick mix or partial prepared recipe. I wanted a full on from scratch recipe. This has no canned sweetened condensed milk, no pre-packaged pie crust... This is the real deal. All from scratch. I read several recipes and this is what I came up with. My house smells so good.

This recipe is a combination of three recipes. One for the crust, one for the filling and the other for the merengue. This I think is the best Lemon Merengue Pie I've ever had... I'm a Texas girl who LOVE Lemon Merengue Pie. So, that's saying a lot about how delectable this pie is. The filling is not too sugary sweet or too tangy. It's the perfect blend of the two. It is nice and thick, perfect for slicing and perfect blend of merengue to filling ratio. Perfection in one bite. Don't take my word for it, make it and try it for yourself. I think you'll agree.

Ingredients:

Lemon Zest Pie Crust (makes 2 8" pie crusts)
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp lemon zest

Directions for Pie Crust:

Preheat oven to 425 Degree F.

Combine flour and salt. Sprinkle lemon zest into dry ingredients. Measure in measuring cup oil and milk without stirring. Add all at once to flour mixture and slightly until bleached with fork. Roll 1/2 of pastry to 1/8" thickness between two pieces of waxed paper to fit pie plate. Place in pie pan crimping edges. Place parchment paper over prepared pan and then pour dried beans or whole wheat on top of parchment paper. (This keeps the bottom crust from puffing out and keeps the shape of the crust while baking.) Bake in preheated oven for 12- 15 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove parchment paper and what ever you used to keep it held down. Set aside pie crust while you make the lemon filling and merengue.

Lemon Filling
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
3 yokes, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh from real lemons)

Directions for Filling:

• For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
• Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in butter and lemon peel. Gradually stir in lemon juice just until combined. Pour into the crust.

(Filling part comes from http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/classic-lemon-meringue-pie)

Merengue
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Directions for Merengue:

Preheat oven to 350 Degree F.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add in sugar, beat until stiff peaks. Spread merengue over filling in the prepared pie pan. Seal to the edge of crust bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.