Apple Pie

Well - I guess I'm in the mood to share my favorite desserts tonight! I don't have many on my website, so I guess this is a good thing for my readers! It has to be the Christmas season...and the fact that I'm cooking right now in preparation for our family Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow!

My husband LOVES apple pie, so one day I decided to make one for Christmas dinner. And he LOVED it! It is now a Christmas tradition and he only gets it once a year!

I get to claim this recipe as my own, excluding the Double-Crust recipe. I found this recipe in a cookbook, but I completely re-vamped the filling; therefore, I get to call it mine :) This one is NOT gluten free (sorry guys).

This one takes some time to make. If you want to take short cuts and save time, you can buy a pie shell and a pie crust top and just make your filling. But if you make your own crust...it's so good!

Enjoy this one! We love to serve it with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream on top!

Recipe for Double Crust Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 10 tablespoons cold water

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt with a hand whisk.
• Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea sized.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the flour mixture. Gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time until all the flour mixture is moistened.
• Divide in half; form each half into a ball
• On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten 1 dough ball. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle 12 inches in diameter.
• To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin and then unroll it into a 9-inch pie plate (or I re-use my aluminum pie pans)
• Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it. Trim the pastry even with rim of pie plate. 
• Transfer apple pie filling (recipe below) to pastry-lined pie plate.
• Roll remaining dough ball into a circle, about 12 inches in diameter.
• Cut slits on top to allow steam to escape. Place the pastry on top of the filling, then trim 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. 
• Crimp the edges as desired (there are so many cute ways to do this!!)

Recipe for Apple Pie Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe for Double-Crust Pie (above) or use a store bought ready made pie shells and topping if you are short on time.
• 6 cups of thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith Apples (about 5-6 apples)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice from fresh lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon milk (for topping)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (for topping)

Directions:

• Prepare and roll out pastry for Double-Crust pie (see recipe above).
• Take your Granny Smith Apples and core them and cut into slices.

• Peel the apple slices and cut slices until they are thin. Place in a large bowl.
• Take 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and sprinkle over the apple slices. Combine the apple slices with a spoon to ensure that the juice is covering all apple slices.
• In a separate bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg until well combined.
• Pour mixture over apple slices and mix well until all apple slices are well coated.
• Transfer apple mixture filling to the pastry-lined pie plate. Trim the bottom pastry to edge of pie plate.
• Place on filling, cut slits in pastry and crimp edges as desired.

• Brush top pastry with milk and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar. This gives your pie a nice brown topping.

Chef's Note: To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie with foil or a pie edge cover.

• Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes.
• Remove foil or pie edge cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven an cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

The fall season is here! Well, in AZ it i still 95 degrees during the day so it doesn't really feel like fall, but the nights are cooler so that counts! Like many others, fall time makes me want all my pumpkin flavors and smells...pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, the smell of pumpkin candles and the pumpkin hand soaps and wallflower plugins from Bath and Body Works!

My friend Jillian brought in these yummy little pumpkin muffins to work one day and I tried one. They were so fantastic that I had to ask her for the recipe! I made a batch of these and they were gone in 2 days! My niece came into town for 4 weeks and we made a total of 3 batches while she was here! So yummy! Thanks Jillian!!

This one is pretty easy to make and you can make these gluten free if you substitute the all purpose flour for a Gluten free version.

I think this recipe falls into the category of things I will look forward to every fall!!

Enjoy :)


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (If you are Gluten Free, substitute with a Gluten Free flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup solid packed, canned pumpkin puree

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, ground spices, and salt. 
• In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and pumpkin puree, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.   
• Fill the muffin cups evenly to the top with the batter using a spoon or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake for about 18 -20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Misty's Chili

I have struggled over the years to find a really good chili and I finally found one!!  My sweet friend, Misty, shared her recipe with me and it's fantastic!  For all of you yearning or feeling that fall season coming, this recipe will hit home because it calls for cinnamon and cloves.  I typically wouldn't think of putting a cinnamon stick and whole cloves in my chili, but this specific recipe is fantastic and has a wonderful taste for our approaching fall season!

This one if Gluten free and full of fiber. This recipe calls for 1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Mix.  This is a Gluten Free product!  Read the labels to ensure your box says Gluten Free!

This recipe is super easy to make and my 4 year old son asked for seconds!  Now, what 4 year old asks for seconds when eating chili!!  That's how good it is!

Let's talk about the cloves for a minute.  These can be fun for your kiddos.  You want to ensure you dont eat the cloves.  If you opt to add water to this recipe (you can), the cloves will float to the top so you can easily pick them out when the chili is finished cooking.  But I like my chili on the thicker side.  If I dont see the cloves when serving the chili, I tell the kids to look for the "wishes" in the chili and if they find one they can pick it out and make a wish.  It's a fun way for the kiddos to eat :)

I love to eat my chili with noodles or rice (depending on my mood).  I typically put a 1/2 cup of cooked rice or Gluten Free noodles at the bottom of my bowl, pour my chili over it and top it with my favorite shredded cheese.  It's always best to use a fresh block of cheese!  My husband loves to top his off with a little sour cream.

Whatever toppings you like, you will love this chili recipe!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Hamburger Meat
• 2-3 Cloves of chopped garlic 
• 1 Can Fire-Roasted Tomatoes - dices with chilies
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1-2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 2 Cans Chili Beans
• 2 Cans Black Beans
• 1-2 Cans Dark Red Kidney Beans
• 1-2 Cans Light Red Kidney Beans
• 3 Small cans of Tomato Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin
• 1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Mix 
• 4-5 Whole Cloves
• 1 Cinnamon Stick (Do Not Use Ground Cinnamon!)

Directions:

• Brown hamburger meat with onion and garlic.
• Add can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes with chilies.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add Worcestershire sauce, chili powder to layer flavors.
• Add chili beans and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Rinse other beans and add to chili.
• Finish by pouring in tomato sauce, adding Cumin and Hidden Valley Ranch Packet spices to taste.
• Last - add the cinnamon stick and cloves.
• Simmer for 1 hour.