Overnight Apple Pie Oatmeal

Anyone else nearly sick of pumpkin by now?  I blame Pinterest.  I haven't actually eaten much pumpkin this Fall, but with the overload of pumpkin eighty-two different ways in my Pinterest feed, I'm ready to move on. At least until Thanksgiving actually arrives.  Then it's all about the pumpkin piiiiiiie.

Food Rule 78 and Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum Yummmmmm!  Is it obvious how much I love this recipe?

As I've mentioned in the past (here and here), I really struggle with getting more fruit into my diet.  Veggies?  Delicious!  Fruit?  Not so much.  So anytime I find a way to eat fruit that has me reaching for seconds and gobbling up leftovers, it's a definite keeper.  Something about these tiny pieces of mixed fruit with a touch of apricot preserves leaves me feeling so happy.  And those baked cinnamon chips aren't anything to shake a stick at either.  I'm so excited to make this recipe on Sunday for the Super Bowl party we're hosting!

Healthy and delicious and perfect for sharing - talk about a triple threat recipe!

Please Don't Ask Me Which Teams Are Playing,

         

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips
adapted from Allrecipes

2 kiwis
2 apples, peeled and cored
8 oz. peaches (frozen & thawed work perfectly)
1 lb. strawberries
3 Tbsp. all-fruit preserves (apricot flavor is fantastic)

10, 10" flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
1/4 c. cinnamon sugar mixture (1/4 c. sugar + 1 Tbsp. cinnamon)

Finely dice all fruit and toss together in a large bowl.  Stir in fruit preserves and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the cinnamon chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Flip tortilla over and repeat for other side.  Using a pizza cutter, cut tortilla into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Tortilla chips will continue to crisp up as they cool.  Serve with chilled fruit mixture.  Makes 8 servings.

         

Fruit Salsa Ingredient Lineup:

Cinnamon Chips Ingredient Lineup:

Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

Whenever I see a link for an adorable/neat/funny kid craft, I think, "Oh! I wonder if Mellisa and her kids would like this one?"  So, I blast her email with links to random things in the hopes that at least a few will turn out to be goodies.

And look at these ornaments!  Mellisa and her family made them this week, and they're seriously adorable.  And, as I suspected, while the ornaments were baking, her house smelled like a cinnamon fairy had wafted through, making everything feel magical.  Ahhhhh.... Love it.

Click over to Mellisa's post for the recipe and photos of her sweet family!

Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

on Getting All My Ducks in a Row

Apple Pecan Cobbler

Today's recipe is a lesson for me in being giving and gracious.  It's not normally something I struggle with, but when it comes to recipes, I get so antsy to make them how I want to make them, and I have the hardest time fulfilling an exact and specific request.  Sigh.

Example:  For the past two weeks, while my back has been screwed up, Bo has been holding down the fort, unasked.  He's kept my kitchen spotless, unasked.  He's straightened up the clutter piles in our living room, unasked.  He's insisted that I stay on the floor with my heating pad so that my back heals while he's been keeping my sanity in check.  So, on Saturday, I decided to whip up a cozy dessert for him and asked what he'd choose if he could have any dessert.

He promptly said "Apple Cobbler."  Huh.  I'd never made apple cobbler.  When I think apples, I think apple pie, which is my most favorite.  So, I thought, ok, I can do that.  Then when I started digging up recipes, I found one that was more cakey and looked amazing.  I had a whole conversation with my mom over text messages about how we liked the other version better, even tho Bo had asked for a biscuit style cobbler with pecans.  And then, I finally gave up that thing where I make what sounds good to me and decided to make what Bo had specifically asked for.

And I'm so glad I did.  The first bite he took bopped him right up into heaven, and he absolutely loved it.  It made him so happy to have a dessert all to himself, and it made me so happy that I listened and fulfilled his request.  Giving and gracious with my cooking.  I can do that, you betcha.

Thankful,

Apple Pecan Cobbler
adapted from Betty Crocker

filling:
4 c. (475g/20oz.) diced apples *
1/2 c. (100g) sugar
1 Tbsp. (8g) flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped pecans

topping:
1 c. (128g) flour
1/4 c. (50g) sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. unsalted butter, cold and diced
1/2 c. (4oz.) milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange diced apples in a 2 quart baking dish.  In a small bowl, mix remaining filling ingredients - sugar, flour, cinnamon, and pecans.  Sprinkle mixture over apples.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the topping flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or using two forks, until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Stir in milk and drop by spoonfuls over apple mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until topping is golden and apples are cooked through.  You can test apples by poking a fork or skewer into them.

* Or equal amount of peaches or blueberries.

Ingredient Lineup:

Tip!  Pour water from a large glass measuring cup into your casserole dishes to determine size.

Then mark each size on the bottom with a Sharpie.  No more guessing!

Let me introduce my apple peeler corer slicer to you.

I'm not one for kitchen gadgets that serve just one purpose, but this thing saves soooo much time.

It only takes 20 seconds to peel, core, and slice one apple.  20 seconds!

Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pasty blender or two forks.

The batter will look lumpy (and icky), but will bake up just fine.

Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream is beyond amazing with this!

Halloween Idea: Apple Monster Mouths

I thought these apple treats were too fun - and too easy - to pass up!  In a sea of candy and sugar-laden Halloween treats, these are a great little healthy option.  And they'd be super quick to throw together for an after school snack!

If you'll be making these ahead of time or for a party, you can first soak the notched apple pieces in a bowl of water with a couple tablespoons of lemon or orange juice.  Then continue decorating with peanut butter and almond pieces as directed.

Enjoy!



Apple Monster Mouths
idea adapted from Cute Food for Kids

Apples
Almond slices or slivers
Peanut butter
Toothpicks
Mini marshmallows

Core an apple and then cut it into 1/4ths.  Using a small knife, cut a notched section from each apple piece.  Spread the open notch with peanut butter and then press in the almond slices for teeth.  Dot an eyeball onto mini marshmallows using food markers or chocolate syrup.  Poke a toothpick into each marshmallow eyeball and then poke into the top of each apple piece.

Core an apple and then slice it into quarters.

Using a small knife, cut a notch into the side of an apple piece.

And then cut another notch perpendicular to the first notch.

Remove the cut out section and turn apple piece on its side.

Tip:  If your apple slices don't want to stay upright, poke the eyeball toothpicks

all the way through the apple to prop up the slice from the back.

   

Friday Fun: 30 Second Organic Air Freshener

This looks so easy - why hadn't I thought of it already??  The directions and photo are straight from Re-Nest, a fun site for all kinds of home pretties and such.  Definitely let me know if you try this out and what your favorite fruit/spice combos are!




30 Second Organic Air Freshener
from Re-Nest


Materials
2 (or more) pieces of leftover, inedible fruit parts - e.g. apple core, orange peel
1 sprinkle ground, sweet-smelling spice - e.g. cinnamon, nutmeg, dried vanilla powder
Oil spray
6-inch piece of wax paper, tin foil or small, oven-safe ramekin

Instructions
1. Enjoy delicious apple or other fruit of choice. I highly recommend Pink Ladies right now.

2. Take inedible waste- apple core, orange rind, banana peel- and put on piece of foil or wax paper- folding up edges of paper to make a little well that will keep the waste from leaking out.

3. Spice and Oil: Sprinkle with cinnamon, or other fragrant spice. You can feel free to go crazy here (vanilla extract, cardamom, etc). But remember you're feeding your nose not your mouth, so keep it simple. And quickness is key: This isn't Martha Stewart's 2 weeks potpourri primer. Then liberally mist oil spray to prevent burning.

4. Put in 200 degree Fahrenheit oven until you smell the lovely and all-natural apple/orange/[insert your fruit here] pie-like fragrance. Keep on warm as long as you desire full force of scent. The smell will last for a couple hours even after you turn off oven; just don't open the door.

The New Food Guide

We all grew up learning about the Food Guide Pyramid, remember that thing?  I distinctly remember having school quizzes on the foods that belonged at each level, and the numbers for each.  Fast forward a couple of decades, and the USDA has released an updated version of the Food Guide, and this time around, it's in the shape of a plate. 

At first glance, the logo seems cartoon-ish and simplistic, but the more I look at it, the more I really like it.  The graphic makes it so easy to visually portion out meals to fit.  And I really like that it recommends that half my plate be filled with fruits and veggies.  Lately, I've been trying to eat less meat, so that there's room for more fruit and veggies in my diet.  It's not a huge transition for me, but Bo certainly does not like the idea of less meat.  And that blue "Dairy" piece up in the corner is something I do not have in my diet at all.  I'll just have to picture it tan-colored so that I can replace it with my calcium fortified almond milk. 

What do you think about the new food guide?  Easy?  Fantastic?  Plain silly?  Did any of you ever plan your meals according to the old pyramid?  (I never did!)

Apple Treasure - Etsy Treasury

Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop online. They have all kinds of things handmade, custom and vintage. If you have a little time I would really suggest that you check it out. I created this Etsy treasury for this weeks theme and it can be viewed and is clickable here. On the front page there is an option to Pounce...this is what I do when I am bored. Just pounce through the latest items sold. Surely you all would like that...just looking through everyone's shopping bag as they went past you in the mall?

Apple Vinaigrette Dressing

(Tip: this cruet was only 98 cents at Walmart)



I decided to rebel and not use apples as a typical recipe ingredient, haHA!  Ok, so I'm not kidding anyone by calling myself a rebel, but still.  I'm a bit of an apple snob with 90% of my relatives living in Washington state, so now that I'm living in the South, I have the hardest time buying apples when they don't have those little WA state stickers on them.  One day, I'll get over my issues (maybe), one day.  So I opted instead to try and come up with a copy-cat recipe for Panera's Fuji apple vinaigrette dressing.  I love that stuff, but I really wanted to be able to whip it up at home, and without any funky additives.  The results are super yummy, hurrah!  This dressing isn't identical to the restaurant version, but we loved it enough to make it be our stand-in here at home.



Enjoy!

Apple Vinaigrette Dressing

1/2 c. canola or vegetable oil

6 Tbsp. apple juice concentrate

4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar with a pinch of sugar)

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. sugar, or to taste

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.  Keep refrigerated and shake well before serving.

Lettuce, Cucumbers, Carrots, Tomatoes, Apple Slices, Candied Pecans, and Feta