Caramel Apple Pie

Ahh I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week!! Obviously apple pie is a staple dessert on most American's Thanksgiving table but this ooey gooey twist on the traditional version is a must try. I do love Thanksgiving but I think I'm more excited this year because it means that Christmas is right around the corner. I think we are going to have more fun this year than ever before because Owen is excited for Santa and all the things that come with the holiday season.

Ingredients:

2 lbs or 6 Cups of Apples - Peeled, Cored & Diced Small

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Flour

1 Tsp Cinnamon

2 Tbsp Skim Milk

1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp Squeezable Caramel Ice Cream Topping 

1 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Butter

Pre-made Roll out Pie Dough or a Pre-made Pie Crust

Adapted from: http://www.midwestliving.com/

Start by preheating your oven to 350. If you are using a pre-made pie shell take it out of the freezer, if you are using the roll out dough make sure it's close to room temperature before trying to put it in your 9in pie plate. In a large bowl stir together the sugar, 1/4 cup of the flour and cinnamon.

Peel, core, and dice your apples into small chunks. Toss them into the sugar mixture making sure they coat completely. Pour the apples into the prepared pie dish.

In a small bowl whisk the milk with 2 Tbsp of the caramel ice cream topping and drizzle it over top of the apples.

Now it's time to make the crumble topping. In a medium bowl combine the remaining cup of flour with brown sugar. Using the back of a fork or a pastry blender cut the butter into the dry mixture until coarse crumbles appear. Spread the topping out over top of the apples for a complete layer.

Lightly cover the pie with tin foil leaving the top open a little. Place the pie on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 30-35 minutes until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes at least before drizzling the remaining caramel ice cream topping over the entire pie. Just like every other apple pie this one tastes great warm with cold creamy vanilla ice cream and more caramel sauce. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Left Over Turkey Pot Pie

This pot pie is a great way to use any left overs you have after Thanksgiving. You've got a left over pie crust, use it! You've got left over carrots, corn or green beans, use them! You've got left over turkey, use it! Other than that all you need are regular ingredients you definitely have in your pantry or fridge if you just cooked a turkey dinner for your family. If you don't have left overs you can always use a bag of frozen veggies and some rotisserie chicken. Anyway you make it, the filling will be creamy and the crust flaky making it a perfect thing to eat on a cold fall weekend!! I guarantee your house will smell amazing!!

Ingredients:

Left over frozen pie crust

Left over roll out pie dough

2 cups shredded left over turkey

1 Cup Mushrooms - Sliced

1 Potato - Peeled and Diced

1 Large Onion - Diced

2 Cup Mixed Vegetables (Carrots, Corn, Green Beans, Peas)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Thyme

1/2 Cup Butter

6 Tbsp Flour

2 Cup Chicken Broth

1/2 Cup Skim Milk

S&P

Start by taking your pie dough or crust out of the freezer or fridge so it has time to get to room temperature before you fill and bake it. Prep all your veggies, peel and dice the potato, slice your mushrooms, dice up your onion or whatever other veggies you have left over. In your largest skillet over medium heat with the olive oil put anything that has not cooked yet in first like the onion and potato, these will need more time to saute since they aren't necessarily left over. After about ten minutes when you feel they have soften you can add the rest of the vegetables you have. I wouldn't use things that have been put into a casserole or cooked in a heavy glaze or sauce cause that will change the flavor. Mix everything together and allow them to cook, seasoning them with the Thyme and S&P. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Now it is time to make the gravy for the pot pie by beginning with a traditional rue of butter and flour. In a separate large pan on low heat melt the butter and when it has completely melted whisk in the flour. It will become thick and clumpy which is fine because you want at least 2 cups of gravy to coat the turkey and vegetables in the pot pie. The thicker your rue the more liquid you will have to add the more gravy you will get.

Now you can begin to slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk.  Don't stop whisking until you've reached the consistency you want, if it's too clumpy continue to add liquid. Season with S&P.

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When the gravy has come together you can pour it into the pan with the vegetables. Stir it in well so that everything has a coating of gravy. If you feel it is too thick you can add some extra milk or broth.

 Lastly it is time to add in the turkey. Make sure it is shredded into bite sizes so you don't need to cut it as you eat your pot pie. 

I used a frozen deep dish 9in pie crust for the bottom and roll out pie dough for the top but you can use two of the same or flip flop them depending on what you have left over. Either way I suggest putting the pie on a baking tray in case inside filling drips out while it cooks. Fill you pie to the top giving it a shake so that it falls into all the space within the crust.

Top your filling with another pie dough round or crust. Using the back of a fork press down to seal the edge around the whole pie. Cut a few slits in the top so the steam can escape as it bakes and trim off the access dough. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes until the inside is bubbling and the crust has lightly browned and become flaky. Let it stand about 5 minutes before you try to slice and eat it. 

Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving Round Up & Happy Thanksgiving!!

This week we will be taking a little break from the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop to celebrate Thanksgiving. 

Instead of our usual party my mom and I have put together a Round up of last minute ideas for Turkey Day Sides, Appetizers, Desserts and ways to use the highly anticipated left overs!!

Sides:

Pecan Topped Sweet Potato Casserole

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Sage and Shallots

Apple, Sausage and Leek Multi-grain Stuffing


Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard Gratin

Appetizers:

Parmesan Asparagus Breadsticks

Roasted Eggplant Dip

Antipasto Bites in- Baked Salami Cups

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Crostini with Sun-dried Tomato Jam

French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms


Desserts: 

Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

Caramel Apple Shortbread Bars

Cranberry Crunch Cake

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake Bars

Apple Pie Bars

Cranberry Turtle Bars



Leftovers:

Mini Gobbler Pies

Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey Pot Pie Squares

Please be sure to come back again next week (Tuesday 7:00pm ET) to party with us where we will announce the big WINNER of our 100th Blog Hop Giveaway!!! And feature more of your terrific recipes!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you, with love from ...

Alexis

Carrie
C.D.

Diane

Elie

Janine

Kim

Libby and Rachel 

Lynne

Nicole and Susan

Sinea 

See you next week!

Sweet Potato Casserole & Happy Thanksgiving

I will be enjoying Thanksgiving tomorrow at my house with 17 people in my family.  Luckily for me my four daughters will be helping with the sides dishes and desserts.  My mom is here from Florida so she has been helping me all day getting the tables set, polishing the silver, and cleaning up everything as I cook. There is nothing better than a helper on a day like today. This recipe has been a family favorite for many years.  The pecan topping makes the sweet potato casserole so delicious you could almost eat this for dessert.  I hope every one has a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!      

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked, peeled sweet potatoes
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Topping:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel sweet potatoes.

Mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and eggs with sweet potatoes in stand mixer. Pour into a greased casserole dish.

Mix topping together by cutting semi-soft butter into chunks and then cutting into mixture with a fork or a fork and knife. Sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. This can be made a day ahead of time and warmed up in the oven or microwave the next day.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Ooey Gooey, sticky and sweet basically sums up a piece of this Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake!! I made this for the 2nd time over the weekend and took it to a party we like to call Friendsgiving. All of my friends from high school get together and have a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. We have been doing this for 3 years now and every year the party is an afternoon full of eating and drinking. Our hosts Brian & Coralee wrap their turkey in bacon and smoke it which makes it juicy and delicious. The rest of us bring all of our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts. If you are looking for a last minute dessert to serve on Thanksgiving and you'd like to steer away from the traditional apple pie I suggest you give this decadent cake a try, it won't disappoint.

Ingredients for Cake:

2 1/2 Cup Flour

3/4 Cup Canola Oil

1 Large Apple - Peeled & Sliced

1 Large Apple -Peeled & Finely Diced

2 Eggs

1 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Apple Cider or Apple Juice

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Ginger

1/8 Tsp Cloves

Pam Spray

Ingredients for Caramel:

4 Tbsp Butter

3/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/4 Tsp Cinnamon

Adapted from - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/

Start by preheating your oven to 350 F. In a 9 in cake pan put down a piece of parchment paper and give both the paper and the sides of a pan a good spray of Pam. Peel your first apple, cut the top off and place it in the middle of the pan. Then core the apple and thinly slice the rest of the fruit. Arrange it around the bottom of the pan around the top of the apple, overlapping the slices as much as you can to make a fan.

Now it's time to make the caramel. In a small pot over low heat combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and light corn syrup. Allow everything to melt together, stirring occasionally until it's thick and sticky. If you don't have any corn syrup the original recipe says real maple syrup can be substituted. 

Once it has come together keep it just slightly warm so you are able to mix it once in awhile so it doesn't burn. Pour a 1/2 cup of the caramel over top of the apple slices that are down in your baking pan. You are going to save the rest of it to pour over top of the cake once it is done, so set it aside for now.

In your stand mixer bowl combine the oil, eggs, apple cider, spices and brown sugar. Mix on a medium speed for about a minute. Then add in your flour and baking soda. Give it another minute on a low speed to combine everything together. Gently fold in your apple pieces and then pour the batter into your baking pan over top of the caramel apple slices.

Place your cake pan on a baking sheet just in case there is any spillage. I didn't have any but unless you have a 2 in deep pan the batter will come almost to the top of the regular sized pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Take the cake out of the oven, don't worry if it's brown like this isn't not burned.  Run a knife around the edges of the pan to free up any cake that may have stuck on the sides. Do not flip this until you feel it has completely cooled which could take 15-20 minutes. Once it has cooled carefully flip it onto whatever dish you are going to use for serving.

Hopefully yours will come out without any problems. The 1st time I made this mine fell apart but I think it wasn't completely cooled and I didn't spray it as well with the Pam. This time it just slide right out. If you are going to be serving or eating this cake with in a few hours drizzle the caramel over the top. If you plan to eat it the next day or later in the evening, I would wait to drizzle the caramel. It will soak into the cake and although will be just as delicious will not be as ooey and gooey or have that shiny sticky caramel feeling to it. If that's the case you will have to reheat your caramel until is it liquid enough to pour over top of the cake.

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/, http://insidebrucrewlife.com/, http://www.nap-timecreations.com/, http://www.chef-in-training.com/ http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/, http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/, http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com, http://www.ducksnarow.com/, http://momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Brussel Sprouts have been given a bad rap and are an under used vegetable in my opinion. People tend to shy away from them but they can be made tender and delicious with minimal effort and ingredients. If you are looking for a side dish that isn't a casserole and doesn't require space in your oven on Thanksgiving day these Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts may be for you. They have a sweet flavor from the caramelization that occurs as they roast in the salty bacon drippings...Yum!! Pan-Roasted Brussel Sprouts as well as Brussel Sprout Salad with Pancetta and Craisins are both easily prepared on the stove and could be made right before your turkey is served next Thursday.

Ingredients:

2 lbs Brussel Sprouts

4 Pieces Low Sodium Bacon

1/2 Cup Yellow Onion - Thinly Sliced

S&P

Adapted from: http://www.kneadforfood.com/

To prepare your sprouts you want to slice off the bottom stem area which was connected to the stalk and take off the two outer leaves, then wash and slice them in half.  

Slice each strip of bacon into 3-4 pieces. In a large pan over medium heat cook your bacon until crispy. When it is done take out the bacon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan.

Put all of your brussel sprouts cut side down into the hot pan. Put the top of the pan on so the brussel sprouts steam and cook evenly as they caramelize for about 7 minutes.

Add the onion slices and put the top back on to steam for another 2-3 minutes. Once everything is cooked through stir back in the crispy bacon slices and allow the onion to caramelize as well. Serve immediately.  

Enjoy!!, 

Linked at: http://www.thejennyevolution.com, http://www.happyandblessedhome.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com/, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/, http://insidebrucrewlife.com/, http://www.chef-in-training.com/, http://www.nap-timecreations.com/ http://momstestkitchen.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/, http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/, http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com, http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.ducksnarow.com/, 

Cranberry Crunch Cake

Turkey Day is only 10 days away!! Can you believe it?? We have not finalized our menu yet so I don't even know what I'll be responsible for this year. We always seem to have trouble deciding on our side dishes. Although we enjoy trying new more modern twists on the classics we have a hard time taking away the faithful more traditional dishes such as green bean or sweet potato casserole. Do you guys feel this way too??!!

This Cranberry Crunch Cake could be a dessert on your thanksgiving table or maybe a quick breakfast for the family while you are preparing for all of your guests to come over. There are not many recipes out there that use fresh cranberries but they allow this cake to be sweet and tart at the same time. The crunchy sugary nuts on top of this moist cake make for a perfect treat.

Ingredients for Cake:
3 Eggs
2 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cup I Can't Believe it's not Butter - Softened & Cut into chunks
1 tsp Vanila
1 tsp Almond Extract
2 Cups Flour
2 1/2 Cup Fresh Cranberries
Pam Spray

Ingredients for Topping:
1/4 Cup I Can't Believe it's not Butter
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Assorted Nuts Pieces (Almonds, Pecans & Walnuts)

Adapted from: www.thekitchn.com

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with Pam and set aside. In your stand mixer bowl combine the eggs and sugar together on a medium speed for 7-8 minute. The egg and sugar mixture should've doubled in size leaving ribbons on top of the batter. This will give the cake height and volume since the recipe doesn't include a leavening agent like Baking Powder or Soda.

While the batter is beating you can prepare the nut topping. If you are allergic or don't like nuts you can simply bake the cake without the topping. Heat the butter or margarine in a small pan over medium heat. Once it is melted add the sugar, stirring frequently. 

When that has melted as well add the nuts. I used an assortment of pecans, walnuts and almonds that I crushed together but the recipe called for just pecans. Cook the nuts in the butter and sugar mixture stirring occasionally until they are shiny and the nuts smell toasted, about 15 minutes.

When the eggs and sugar are done beating you can add in the butter and flavorings, beating for another 2 minutes. Lastly add the flour in two different increments. Using a spatula gently fold in the cranberries.

Pour the batter into your greased pan, spreading it out evenly. By now your sugared nuts should be ready. Add them to the top of the cake making sure to drizzle them over the entire thing.

 Bake the cake for 45 minutes until the batter is lightly browned. 

Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.ducksnarow.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com, http://momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com, http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/, http://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://www.thejennyevolution.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com, http://www.happyandblessedhome.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com/,http://bizzybakesb.blogspot.com/, http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/, http://www.flourmewithlove.com/, http://www.callmepmc.com/, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/