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.

Cheese And Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

Photo: Delish

Bread and cheese, what else does one need to be the best chef at the party?

Ingredients

• 1 crusty loaf of bread, preferably sourdough. If you’re cooking for some gluten-free friends, they make gluten-free sourdough loaves, usually in the freezer section of the grocery store.

• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (or other melty delish cheese)

• Garlic butter

  • 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced

  • 3/4 tsp salt

  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Melt the butter, garlic and salt in a bowl in the microwave and stir in the parsley when melted.

3. Cut the bread on a diagonal into 1" diamonds but do not cut all the way through the bread.

4. Use your fingers or a knife to pry open each crack and drizzle in a teaspoon of butter and stuff in a pinch of cheese.

5. Brush the surface with the remaining butter.

6. Wrap with foil and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has mostly melted, then unwrap and bake for 5 - 10 minutes more to make the bread nice and crusty.

7. Serve immediately.

There is an underground of pull-apart bread recipes from cranberry gouda to spinach dip if you want to take a deep dive.

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.

Apple Butter Old Fashioned

Photo: Unsplash

Cheers to a weekend of fall fun whether that's a Halloween party or a quiet night in watching scary movies.

Ingredients

• Coarse sugar, for the rim (optional)

• 1/4 cup apple cider

• Juice from 1/2 a lemon

• A dash of orange bitters

• 1 tablespoon apple butter

• 2 ounces bourbon

• Ginger beer or ginger kombucha, for topping (optional)

• Thinly sliced apples and cinnamon, for garnish

Instructions

1. If desired, rim your glass with coarse sugar.

2. In a cocktail shaker, combine the apple cider, lemon juice, orange bitters, apple butter and bourbon. Shake to combine.

3. Strain into your prepared glass filled with ice. If desired top with ginger beer. Garnish with cinnamon and apples. DRINK!

You know we’re slightly obsessed with Half Baked Harvest over here. This is another one of their fabulous recipes. Enjoy!

Cookiedilla

Photo: cookingtv-channel.co

So good everyone will want a bite, but do you really want to share?

Ingredients

• I package of prepared cookie dough (for gluten free version - make sure you use gluten free cookie dough. We’re obsessed with Immaculate’s Double Chocolate Chip and Sweet Loren’s) sugar cookie).

• 1/2 c marshmallow creme

• 1/2 c chocolate syrup

• Other options include a caramel drizzle or melting chocolate chips (see last step when returning to oven) in place of the chocolate syrup.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

• Divide cookie dough into 2 balls. Flatten into large disks and place one on each prepared baking sheet. 

• Bake until golden and cooked through, 15–20 minutes. (You don’t want an underbaked center). Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

• Spread marshmallow cream on the bottom of one cookie and cookies and chocolate syrup (or chocolate chips) on the bottom of the other cookie. Carefully sandwich them together on a baking sheet. 

• Return to oven for 3–4 minutes more, until warmed through. Serve cold or keep warm on the blech or hot plate until ready to slice and serve.

10-Can Chili

A few years ago we watched Jesse James Decker on “Good Morning America“ where she shared her favorite chili recipe. It was so good that we had to bring it back.

This recipe is a great one to adopt for a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. There are so many veggies in it that you won’t miss the meat.

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 3 carrots, chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey or chicken - leave out for vegetarian/vegan)

• 1 (10-ounce) can Ro-tel diced tomatoes and green chilies

• 3 (15.5-ounce) cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• 2 (15.25-ounce) cans of white corn

• 1 (15-ounce) can of vegetarian chili

• 1 (15-ounce) can of tomato sauce

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans of cut green beans

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Shredded Cheddar cheese, for serving (leave our for vegan)

• Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

• Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

• In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the carrots and onion and when they start to soften, after about 5 minutes, add the beef and brown for about 7 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spatula or spoon. Drain the fat from the meat and discard the drippings.

• Stir in the tomatoes with green chilies, kidney beans, corn, vegetarian chili, tomato sauce and green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, Tony's seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until you are ready to eat.

• Top with cheddar, garnish with cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

From JUST FEED ME by Jessie James Decker Copyright © 2020 by Jessie James Decker. Reprinted by permission of Dey Street, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Disclaimer: Click the book to purchase it on Amazon. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn a commission.

Simple Tips For A Quick Meal

Photo: Unsplash

The need for speed isn’t reserved only for Tom Cruise. A true talent is the ability to throw together a dinner (that’s not cereal) that people will actually want to eat.

Here are some of our favorite tips to make your life easier:

• Use frozen fish sticks for fish tacos vs. breading and baking/frying the fish yourself. 

• Double a recipe and freeze the leftovers. The night before, put the frozen portion in the refrigerator so it’s ready to go when you get home after work. You can even order an extra pizza on takeout night, put it in the freezer and then reheat it in your oven later. 

• Use what you have for a “kitchen sink” dinner like stir fry or this thai curry. 

• Wash and prep your veggies, etc when you get home from the store to save prep time on weeknights. 

• Your broiler is your BFF. From English muffin pizzas to quick quesadillas to fast-cooking fish, a thin cut will cook quickly without burning. 

• Keep your pantry stocked with the essentials like beans, rice, pasta and canned tomatoes for quick dinners. (Full list here).  

• Invest in a pressure cooker that can have dinner ready in under 30 minutes or a slow cooker where you can toss everything in before work and it’ll be ready when you get home.

Skillet Mexican Street Corn Recipe

Photo: BigStock

This week’s recipe is in honor of today’s Field of Dreams game amongst the corn fields in Iowa. We love an easy-to-throw-together side dish and this one is great because you can use steam fresh, frozen, canned or fresh corn.

Ingredients

• 10- ounce bag steam fresh whole kernel corn*

• 1 and ½ tablespoon real butter softened (see below for reduced fat version)

• 1 and ½ tablespoon mayonnaise

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• juice and zest of 1 lime

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 3 green onions sliced

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta or cotija cheese

• 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped fresh

Instructions

1. Heat corn in the microwave according to package instructions.

2. Meanwhile, mix butter and mayonnaise until smooth.

3. Add paprika, salt, pepper, zest and juice of 1 lime, and garlic powder to the butter/mayo mixture and mix until well combined.

4. Place corn in a serving dish and drop spoonfuls of the butter mixture on top of the corn.

5. Sprinkle cheese, cilantro, and green onions over butter.

6. Serve hot.

Thank you Call Me PMC for this recipe. Make sure you go check out the original recipe which includes ways to make a lightened version of this recipe as well as so many stellar other dishes to try.