Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp

Asking for a friend - does an apple a day (even if it’s covered in sugar) keep the doctor away?

Ingredients

• 6 golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped (other varieties can be used, can also be sliced)

• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

• 1 cup light brown sugar

• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced into small cubes

• Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter an 8×8 baking dish, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, add chopped apples, granulated sugar, 3/4 tsp of cinnamon and lemon juice. Stir to combine, then transfer to the prepared baking dish.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, add the topping ingredients (brown sugar, oats, flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, and diced cold butter). Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the oat mixture, using a slight downward twisting motion, until the mixture resembled pea-sized crumbs. Alternatively, you can use two forks or even your hands to cut butter into the mixture.

4. Spread topping over apples in a baking dish, and gently pat to even it out. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

5. Serve warm and enjoy (maybe even with a scoop of vanilla ice cream…)

There are so many great recipes out there but this one from The Chunky Chef is a winner.

Butternut Squash Soup

Photo: Unsplash

This soup is best served snuggled up under a blanket with a side of football.

Ingredients

• 1 (2.5-3 lb) butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1 ½ inch cubed (buy it already cubed at the grocery store to save time)

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered

• 2 sweet apples, (fuji, gala, honeycrisp), cored & sliced

• 8 garlic cloves

• 3 sprigs thyme

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper

• ¼ tsp nutmeg

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• ½ cup heavy cream (or coconut cream if you are vegan or whole30)

• Pepitas (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Place the cubed squash, onions (separate the layers), apple slices, garlic cloves and sprigs of thyme on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle veggies with olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3. Roast 30-40 minutes until squash is fork tender.

4. Transfer all the roasted veggies (discard the stem from the thyme) along with the cream to your blender. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and secure the lid.

5. Turn the blender on and slowly increase to the highest speed. Blend for 5-6 minutes or until heavy steam escapes from the vented lid. Serve immediately.

Thanks to Modern Proper for this recipe.