Although I always make pumpkin and pecan pies for Thanksgiving, I give myself a break and take the easy way out on the third dessert. With a Crumble Topped Apples dessert, you get the taste of baked apples and cinnamon without having to fuss with a crust. It is also a good vehicle for getting lots of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream into your diet, too!
Crumble Topped Apples
Six to eight green, tart apples
Juice and zest of one lemon
3/4 cup granulated sugar, combined with one tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Peel, core and slice six to eight apples depending on size of your family. Mix apple slices in a bowl with the zest and juice of one lemon. Add 3/4 to one cup granulated sugar, the tablespoon of flour and the cinnamon. Taste and see if it is sweet enough for you. Arrange in greased baking pan that will comfortably accommodate the apples. You will want to leave room for the topping.
Topping:One stick butter or margarine
One cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One heaping teaspoon cinnamon
One cup chopped nuts
For the topping, crumble together one stick of butter or margarine, one cup-all-purpose flour, ½ cup brown sugar, one teaspoon vanilla extract, one heaping teaspoon cinnamon and one cup chopped nuts. The mixture should be coarse but ingredients well-distributed. Arrange over the top of the apples and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until golden and bubbly. All ingredients can be doubled to make a larger amount for a big family. Serve hot, warm or cold. Can stand by itself but whipped cream or vanilla ice cream will make it special.
Friday, November 16, 2012
The Day After Thanksgiving . . .
Although Thanksgiving hasn't appeared, yet, if you observe meatless Fridays, you will need something tasty for dinner that day to keep your mind off the tempting leftovers from the holiday feast the day before. This is an easy recipe and all you need to do once it is in the oven is steam some vegetables or prepare a fresh salad.
Easy Oil Pie Pastry
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold milk
½ cup vegetable oil
Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a small well in the middle and pour in milk and oil. Stir lightly with a fork until well-mixed. If the pastry is too wet, add minute amounts of flour. If it is a dry day, you may have to add dabs of milk and oil. You can chill the dough at this point for later or go ahead and line a pie pan. This recipe makes one double crust or two single pie crusts.
As long as you already have ideas of pastry crusts in mind, think about an elegant main course that uses few ingredients but collects rave notices from hungry families.
Cheese-Onion Quiche
One unbaked, pie crust
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
One cup grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 ½ tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons dried mustard
One can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line pie pan with pastry. Saute onions in butter until tender and slightly golden. Spread over pastry. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Mix together eggs, flour, and mustard. Stir in undiluted cream of mushroom soup and milk. Pour over onions and cheese. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Let stand ten minutes before serving.
Although I used cheddar for the above recipe, don't let that limit you! Swiss cheese is good and Monterey Jack cheese goes well with the addition of some chilies of choice
Easy Oil Pie Pastry
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold milk
½ cup vegetable oil
Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a small well in the middle and pour in milk and oil. Stir lightly with a fork until well-mixed. If the pastry is too wet, add minute amounts of flour. If it is a dry day, you may have to add dabs of milk and oil. You can chill the dough at this point for later or go ahead and line a pie pan. This recipe makes one double crust or two single pie crusts.
As long as you already have ideas of pastry crusts in mind, think about an elegant main course that uses few ingredients but collects rave notices from hungry families.
Cheese-Onion Quiche
One unbaked, pie crust
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
One cup grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 ½ tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons dried mustard
One can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line pie pan with pastry. Saute onions in butter until tender and slightly golden. Spread over pastry. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Mix together eggs, flour, and mustard. Stir in undiluted cream of mushroom soup and milk. Pour over onions and cheese. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Let stand ten minutes before serving.
Although I used cheddar for the above recipe, don't let that limit you! Swiss cheese is good and Monterey Jack cheese goes well with the addition of some chilies of choice
Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Ice Cream
Although we do have an ice cream maker, by the time we purchase enough ice and salt to run it, it costs almost more than it is worth to make ice cream at home. However, homemade ice cream tastes so good . . . probably because it tends to strain the budget which makes the unattainable more desirable! I did find a basic method for making ice cream that didn't require an ice cream machine and froze to the perfect texture to scoop into cones.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Ice Cream
16 ounces fat-free cream cheese
2 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup hazelnut spread like Nutella
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces toasted and skinned hazelnut, roughly chopped
Combine everything except the nuts in a mixing bowl and beat to combine and cream. Stir in the hazelnuts, pour (it will be runny!) into a sealable container and freeze from 4-6 hours.
*You can use full-fat cream cheese, too. I just like to cut back where I can in our diets.
**To toast and skin the hazelnuts, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. The nuts burn easily so keep tabs on them. When they are hot through and starting to brown a bit, place the nuts in a fine-meshed strainer and stir them around with a wooden spoon. The grating against the strainer mesh will dislodge a lot of the skin and it will fall through. The nuts don't have to be completely skinned. Just remove what comes off easily. You can also place the toasted hazelnuts on a rough dish towel and rub the skins off that way, too.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Ice Cream
16 ounces fat-free cream cheese
2 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup hazelnut spread like Nutella
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces toasted and skinned hazelnut, roughly chopped
Combine everything except the nuts in a mixing bowl and beat to combine and cream. Stir in the hazelnuts, pour (it will be runny!) into a sealable container and freeze from 4-6 hours.
*You can use full-fat cream cheese, too. I just like to cut back where I can in our diets.
**To toast and skin the hazelnuts, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. The nuts burn easily so keep tabs on them. When they are hot through and starting to brown a bit, place the nuts in a fine-meshed strainer and stir them around with a wooden spoon. The grating against the strainer mesh will dislodge a lot of the skin and it will fall through. The nuts don't have to be completely skinned. Just remove what comes off easily. You can also place the toasted hazelnuts on a rough dish towel and rub the skins off that way, too.
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