Apple Crisp… oh, how yummy
Kellie posted that she had tons of apples and needed recipe ideas. In our house, we’re split on our apple preferences. The boys prefer sour Granny Smiths while us girls like sweet Fujis. I swear, if my mom had given us Fuji apples instead of those awful mushy Golden Delicious things, I’d have eaten way more apples.
Now, I like my apples dipped in peanut butter. I like my apples thinly sliced with a little cheddar cheese. But mostly, I like my apples in a crisp. And this is one recipe in which the boys’ choice usually wins.
Chel’s Apple Crisp
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- 1/4 - 1/2 c butter
- a bunch of apples
Peel, core and slice the apples really thinly. Pile them into a baking dish until the dish is about half to three-quarters of the way full.
In a bowl, mix the cake mix along with a teaspoon or so of brown sugar and two or three good, healthy shakes of cinnamon.
Melt the butter and pour into bowl with dry ingredients. Mix around some. You’re just looking to make some lumpy spots. Pour the dry mix onto the apples.
Bake at 350 about 20 minutes or so. You want the apples to be soft and tender and the top to be crispy. Scoop into bowls and top with a little bit of vanilla ice cream (or Bruster’s has some cinnamon ice cream I keep thinking I might try with it.).
… You can do this with pretty much any fruit that has enough juice to sweeten up and get tender. It’s great with strawberries. And this weekend, after I get those yummo Harry and David pears, we’re having it with pears.
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Menu Plan Monday - All New, All the Time
Ok, I’m tired of the meals we’re having, so I’m going to make all new things all week. I’m also going to try to add more out in the open veggies (as opposed to the sneaky kind the kids don’t know they’re eating). We’ll see how it goes. (My apologies to Org Junkie… I had already made my menu when I discovered it was family favorites week. Oops.)
Sunday -Bacon Roasted Chicken (thanks to All Recipes.com) with mashed potatoes and fruit salad
Monday -Brinner - Sausage and Bacon Kabobs (care of Sandra Lee @ Food Network) with hash browns
Tuesday - Prosciutto-wrapped chicken breasts (from this month’s Real Simple magazine) with Yummy Carrots and green salad (which will be a challenge as my kids HATE salad).
Yummy Carrots — baby carrots, butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper
Add all ingredients in a pan and simmer till the carrots are soft. Right before serving, turn the heat up to reduce the liquids. It’ll turn into a sweet glaze.
Wednesday -time to get my hair colored - Mike & the kids will have leftovers
Thursday - Turkey Fried Rice (an adaptation of a recipe from “The Dinner Doctor” cookbook - lots of veggies and leftover turkey from the freezer)
Friday - dinner out with Chuck, Stacy & the kids for Mike’s birthday (Sunday). After dinner, the kids are going to spend the weekend with the cousins.
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Menu Plan Monday
We did a lousy job of sticking to the menu last week, so I’m hoping we do better this week. I’m making a few things we haven’t had in a while, so that should help.
We’re having a Food Day for someone’s birthday at work tomorrow, and I’m making Catch A Man Dip (a recipe for which I will forever be indebted to my friend, Terri). I’m making one for Mike and the kids, of course.
Sunday - Chicken Parm with Spaghetti (Ninja sauce, of course), breadsticks
Monday - waffles with sausage on the side (Eliza could eat her weight in sausage)
Tuesday - leftover spaghetti
Wednesday - Broccoli Cheddar soup (Griff’s having two baby teeth pulled that day)
2 tbs olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 tbs butter 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb fresh veggie of choice pinch of sugar
** Saute veggies in olive oil. Add butter and sugar. Cook until veggies are soft and tender.
3 c vegetable broth 1 1/2 c milk 1 1/2 tsp mustard 1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Add additional ingredients (except milk!) and simmer. Blend with an immersion blender. Add milk and simmer an additional few minutes.
Serve with shredded cheese on top and warm bread on the side.
*** You can also make this with other veggies & spices to match. Use the same base recipe and change the veggie - potato and sweet potato both work well.
*** I’m also adding a few edamame beans to the mix to add a few extra veggie points without anyone’s knowledge.
Thursday - Spirit Night @ Griff’s school - we’ll be eating out
Friday - Tortilla Pie (meant for a week or so ago but we didn’t get to it then)
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Menu Plan Monday - all rice, all week
The Harry Potter weekend was fun, and I’ll post some photos later this week. The cousins are returned to their parents, and my kids and I are vegging the afternoon away. Each kid is parked in front of a tv (I know, super parenting) with a yummo piece of leftover pizza, and I’m doing a bit of internet browsing. Laundry, cleaning house, and getting out the Halloween decorations (I know it’s early, but it’s been a long decorating season drought, and I’m all about Halloween) will come later today.
After being out sick on Friday and out today for the holiday, I really need to go to work this evening when Mike gets home, but I’m thinking not. Which brings me to this week’s Menu Plan Monday.
I’m thinking not.
Yeah, that’s right. I think not. I’m not feeling it. So we’re gonna have the easiest, least time consuming meals I can imagine this week, which means it’s rice week.
Monday - usually our weekly Brinner night, but we’re skipping that this wee… we’ll have turkey and rice instead, made from the leftover turkey leg meat from our Harry Potter dinner
Tuesday - baked lemon pepper chicken and rice (followed by a PTO meeting)
Wednesday - Red Beans and Rice
Thursday - leftover turkey and rice
Friday - leftover RB&R
I do love some rice. God bless that it’s plentiful and cheap and easy to use with anything.
Now, I’m off to take a nap. Sounds like a good way to spend Labor Day, huh?
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Platform 9 3/4 … tonight … don’t be late
Our Harry Potter weekend begins soon, and I’m so excited! I thought there for a bit that we weren’t going to be able to do it this weekend. I’ve had a horrible sore throat this week and finally went to the doctor yesterday. Three doses of Cipro later, I’m feeling sluggish but not in pain.
I’ve got everything planned - though I’ve still got tons to do today - for our big Harry Potter day tomorrow. We’re doing Downtown Disney tonight when we meet to get Hayden and Hannah (chocolate pretzels at Goofy’s Candy Co.!!), and then it’s HP all day tomorrow.
Wizards Griff and Hayden are both reading the fourth book now, and so we’ve got the small tent set up in the front room (you know, like at the big Quiddich World Cup) for the kids to play in through the day. Wizards Griff and Eliza have already informed me it’s a kids’ only tent. Geez, I’m disappointed since it’s tiny and hot!
We’re starting tomorrow morning with Troll Bites (Jimmy Dean sausage balls) and Herbology Fruit (cool shaped fruit cut up) for breakfast.
Lunch is looking like Bat Wings (chicken wings) and Jelly Slugs (jello with gummy worms). Probably a little leftover herbology fruit.
I’ve got some groovy activities for the afternoon while we drink our chilled Butterbeer (cream soda with butterscotch syrup) and suck on some Acid Pops (sour suckers rolled in Pop Rocks) and snack on some Chocolate Cockroaches (thin pretzel sticks crushed and drenched in chocolate) …
- If you could Apparate, where would you go and why?
- Draw your own Boggart (the thing that scares you the most).
- Draw your own Patronus.
- Draw your own Crest.
- I’m working on figuring out how to make Rememberalls. We’ll stop by the Michael’s on our way to DD tonight & pick up the necessary materials.
Then, for dinner, Mike’s smoking Turkey Legs. We’re having Mrs. Weasley’s Famous Roasted Wild Boar (apparently, turkey legs aren’t so easy to come by. Who knew?) with Smoked Herbology Mix (whatever fresh veggies the market has today).
And some Magic Wand breadsticks. And we’re having Dragon Dung Fertilizer (dirt cake with gummy worms) for dessert while we watch the first movie.
Whew. I’m all excited!! Now, I got all of the recipes from some really groovy sites, and then I dumbed them down so that they were super easy for me to make. I’m hoping the kids have as much fun with it as I have had planning it. And I’m hoping it goes as well as the last fun day I planned for all of us.
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