Apple PIe

Apple Pie is the BEST pie.

Well...actually...my FAVORITE is Boysenberry Pie. And there was this one time, while visiting my Grandma Ewing in Washington, that I picked BOWLS of wild blackberries and she baked me TWO Blackberry Pies...which will live as one of the best days of my life in my memories FOREVER.

But Apple Pie is pretty much darn near the most perfect pie in existence. And much more easily attained than the two above mentioned variety's of pie...

I love apple pie, and wanted to share my very favorite, best EVER, Apple Pie recipe with you...

Now, you can make your own crust...and sometimes I do...but usually I just use Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust. It is easy and comes out great. So, the choice is yours...



Apple Pie

One pkg. Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust or enough pie dough to make a double-crust pie
8-10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 1/4-inch or so)
1-2 TBS lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 TBS all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 TBS butter (chopped into chunks)
1 egg
Additional cinnamon/sugar mix to sprinkle

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray your pie dish with Pam. Roll out half of pie crust and arrange it in pie pan, pressing gently to curves and walls of dish. Allow generous hang-over from edge of dish.

2. Toss apples into a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and stir until completely coated.

3. Transfer apple mixture to pastry-lined pie dish. Fill to HEAPING...apples should be spilling off. Try and get them all to stay put long enough for you to dot with butter and cover with second crust (which you may have to roll a bit thinner and wider to cover and overhang the apples.) If you can't fit all the apples in, that's okay...but make sure you get all the yummy cinnamon juice that has collected at the bottom of the bowl into your pie. If you have to, remove those excess apples and pour juice over what managed to stay put in pie. Pinch crusts together using thumb and fore and middle fingers to create "lace" at edge of pie. Trim excess, but save for later.

4. Cut vents in top of pie. Now...there are two ways you can glaze the crust...either using a WHOLE egg, or just the white. Depends on the look you're going for and the amount of golden-ness you want. So decide your look (I go back and forth...this year I used a whole egg), beat your egg in a cup, and with a pastry brush, GENEROUSLY glaze your top crust in an egg wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.

5. If you desire...you can use extra pie crust to make leafy cut-outs to decorate the edge of your pie. OR...you can use those extras to individually wrap some of the apples that just WOULDN'T STAY PUT in your pie for mini tarts. My mom always had mini pie dishes and made jelly tarts with the extra dough for us to munch on while we waited for the Thanksgiving Feast. OR - just throw it away and say: "Hey...I made an apple pie today...and that was enough!".

6. Rip aluminum foil into strips and spray with Pam, and cover pie edges so they don't burn. Bake about 30 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes or until top is golden (mine got a little dark on top because I got distracted with laundry...but it is still gorgeous).

7. Cool on a wire rack and serve with ice cream. YUM!!!

(It is normal for pie to "fall" a bit as it cools...DO NOT FREAK OUT!!)

courtesy me!!!

Thanksgiving Stuffing

I love Thanksgiving. I'm awfully protective of it, too...like, I get very upset when the retail stores go straight from Halloween to Christmas decorations without even a nod to Thanksgiving (and all in July, too).

There are two things that I love MOST OF ALL for Thanksgiving, and they are Stuffing and Apple Pie.

This year, we went to friends for Thanksgiving dinner, and my friend asked me to bring my favorite thing...so I brought....STUFFING AND APPLE PIE.

Seriously...I was that predictable.

So I thought I'd share these amazing recipes with you...and you can try them out and see if they aren't just the best dad gum Stuffing and Apple Pie recipes out there!!!

I ALWAYS make a double batch of this...because I want to eat for 3 solid square meals for AT LEAST two days after Thanksgiving...so double if you're like me or are expecting a lot of holiday guests...


Thanksgiving Stuffing

1 bag Pepperidge Farm Cubed and Seasoned Stuffing (in a bag with red title)
a good cup and a half of chopped celery
a good cup and a half of chopped onion
Chicken broth (however many cups it says to have on the back of the bag of stuffing...I think 3)
1 STICK of butter (get the good salted sweet cream stuff)
a cup of whole button mushrooms, drained (about two jars worth)
One pound ground sausage (I usually go for the maple flavored)
3 Granny Smith or Liberty apples, peeled, cored, and diced (optional)

1. You're pretty much preparing the stuffing according to package directions, with a few minor adjustments. You're adding MORE celery and onion than called for, for example...so get that all chopped up...

You're also using a WHOLE STICK of butter. I think the guidelines call for 6 TBS...but you're just going to use the whole 8. So put that on a skillet and melt it, and add the onion and celery, and saute until onion and celery are almost soft. If you're lucky enough that your family will let you use apples, you cook them with the onion and celery, too. My family doesn't like apples in their stuffing, so I don't always get to add them. The beauty of doubling this recipe is that you can make one batch WITH apples, and one WITHOUT.

2. Meanwhile, brown up that pound of sausage.MMMmmmm....smells good.

3. When onion and celery are soft, add mushrooms and heat through.

4. Add sausage and remove from heat, stirring to combine flavors.

5. Heat your chicken broth to boiling, remove from heat and add bag of stuffing AND onion/celery/sausage/mushroom/possibly apple mixture. Stir/Fluff gently until moist.

6. Now...stuff your bird, but save some to stick in the oven, covered at 350, for about 30 minutes. If you want that yummy crispy top to your stuffing, remove the covering for the last 5 to 10 minutes, or after its had it's 30 minutes, put it under the broiler for a couple minutes.

This is so good...you'll never embarrass yourself by making Stove Top again!!

courtesy me!!!

Stuffed and Baked Acorn Squash

This recipe has been adapted from several others and made my own. I claim it. It is one of my favorite things to eat in the fall...I literally cannot get enough...and I want to share it with the masses because I am feeling uncharacteristically generous today...

On a side note: This is NOT my hubbys favorite dish. He calls it "chick food". So that means more for me...and the kids...

On a sider note: This can be a side dish OR an entree...it depends on how you serve it. Tonight it was our entree, served with a spinach salad and a hearty shepherds bread. But I've served it both ways...

Stuffed and Baked Acorn Squash

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2 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded

4 large baking apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I use Granny Smiths)

1 ripe pear, peeled, cored, and diced

1 pound sausage (preferably Italian sweet or chorizo)

4 TBS dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

4 TBS butter

1/4 cup apple cider

1 TBS dark rum (optional)

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1. Preheat oven to 325. Butter a baking pan. Place acorn squash in baking dish CUT SIDE DOWN. Add 1/4 inch hot water to pan. Bake for 45 minutes.

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2. Meanwhile, brown and drain sausage. Set aside.

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3. In a large bowl, mix apples, pear, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a large skillet, melt 4 TBS butter. Add apple mixture and cook until fruit is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in cider and rum. Simmer, stirring often, until the fruit is tender, about 8 minutes. Add sausage and heat through, being careful not to overcook the sausage.

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4. Remove squash from oven; pour off water from pan and turn squash cut side up. Fill squash with apple/sausage mixture. Bake until squash is tender, about 15 minutes more.

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Viola!

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courtesy me!!!

Pumpkin Tea Bread and Apple Cider Punch

Okay, this post has possibly the lamest picture EVER in the history of food blogging.

It's because I am just as busy as a slightly unbalanced bumble bee. See...on Tuesday, I had a Girl Scout Halloween Party at my house, and I spent all day cleaning and running errands. And then at the party...we made caramel apples, and there was caramel EVERYWHERE!! Then we played games like the one where you eat the donut off the string without your hands. And all those crumbs, combined with more crumbs and sugar from various other cupcakes, cookies, and candies all stuck to the caramel...and...well, you get the picture. Walking across my floor was like crossing a sticky mine field.

So I had to get up super early to clean AGAIN, and then bake because I had a recipe group to attend. The theme was "Autumn", and I wanted to make my Pumpkin Tea Bread and Apple Cider Punch, since I'm not using either recipe for November's Iron Chef competition.

Anyway - of COURSE I ran out of time, and had to be all crazy...and that is why, my friends, I know hold the title for taking the crappiest food blogging photo ever...which is really saying something if you look through this blog and see how crappy most of my other pictures are...

You need to forgive the yellow tint to most of the photos...it was around 5:30am, and the fluorescent lights in my kitchen are not attractive lighting.


Pumpkin Tea Bread

this is a recipe from the Fraley Family archives

2/3 cup shortening
2-2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 pound can pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3-1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour bundt pan.

2. Mix shortening and sugar until fluffy.

3. Add all liquid ingredients - mix until blended. Sift dry ingredients together and add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well.


4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

5. Remove from oven. Let cool, then flip onto serving platter. Drizzle with powdered sugar icing.

and now I humbly present the WORST food picture EVER...taken as I'm about to drive away and remember that I never took a picture of the finished bread...(drum roll, please...)

recipe courtesy Fraley Family Archives

Apple Cider Punch

6 cups apple cider

2 cups cranberry-raspberry juice OR orange juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 bottle sparkling white grape juice

1. Combine all juices EXCEPT sparkling white grape juice.

2. SLOWLY add sparkling white grape juice.

3. Serve immediately.

courtesy Fraley Family Archives

Apple-Cheddar Soup

I was all ready to start Spring around here. I've been perusing my favorite Spring and Summer recipes, making menus and preparing grocery lists...

...but these last several days, we've had a late cold snap...with temperatures in the morning feeling quite frosty...which in "Florida-speak" means somewhere in the upper-50's or lower-60's. Cold enough to wet my whistle for another great fall recipe, anyway. And after making that yummy Apple-Sausage Rigatoni several weeks back (http://thejohnsonsjunglerecipes.blogspot.com/2009/02/apple-sausage-rigatoni.html), I had to make another apple favorite that my oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, has been requesting.

In most potato recipes, I try to use Yukon Golds. They are creamy and smooth, and not nearly as starchy as regular Russets. Not only that, but they have such a smooth skin, you can often skip peeling them...a rather tedious job in my kitchen.

Another substitution for this recipe has to do with the green peppercorns called for as a garnish. I've checked everywhere local...and I can't find them. Only a standard peppercorn medley...but no green peppercorns on their own. So I skipped them this time...but they make a lovely finish...so if YOUR local store has them, please don't hesitate. We substituted with red pepper flakes, which compliment the apple sweetness nicely.

(*WARNING* This soup is slightly SPICY. The potatoes and cheese give it comfort, the apples give it a delightful sweetness, and then - POW!!! - suddenly you need a sip of water. It's not "fire-in-your-mouth" spicy...but just a head's up for all you pansy's out there...)

This recipe makes enough for 4-6 side-dish servings. I am serving it as the main course, along with a spinach salad and buttermilk biscuits, so I need to double it...

Apple-Cheddar Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 TBS butter

2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced (or use Yukon Golds, and skip the peeling)

2 cups apple cider

1 tsp. snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed

1/2 tsp salt

Dash cayenne pepper

1 medium cooking apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup milk

2 TBS all-purpose flour

4 oz. sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Fresh apple slices

Green peppercorns

1. In a large saucepan, cook onion in hot butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in potatoes, cider, thyme, salt, and cayenne pepper. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes.

2. Add chopped apple. Simmer, covered, 5 minutes until potatoes are tender.

3. In a small bowl, combine milk and flour; stir until smooth and add to soup.

Cook and stir until bubbly. Slowly add cheese, whisking until cheese is melted.

4. Divide soup among serving dishes; top with apple slices and peppercorns.

Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

Apple-Sausage Rigatoni

I LOVE autumn. It is my FAVORITE time of year. I love the trees turning color, and I love wearing sweaters. But most of all, I love baking and cooking with the marvelous produce available in the fall. The pumpkin, the squash, the nuts...and best of all, THE APPLES.

Here, in South Florida, I am denied my favorite time of year. I have perpetual summer.

Don't get me wrong. I love summer, too. I love the blooming tropical flowers, and the palms heavy with coconuts. I love the hot sand and warm Caribbean waters. I love all the things I get to cook in the summer...cool salads and light pasta dishes, grilled chicken and Fourth of July Hot Dogs. Ice cream creations galore...

But after 12 months, you start to miss the other things...the warm spicy breads. The creamy soups. The simmering roasts and hearty stews that guide you into winter.

It's hard to cook those foods when it's 80+ degrees outside. They're just too heavy.

But, thankfully, we're having a cold snap. Temperatures are down to a brisk 40 degrees. And that means I can cook my favorite fall foods...in February.

Note: This recipe calls for rigatoni, but you can use any thick pasta. I love cavatappi. Penne would also be grand. Just don't run out to the store if you don't have EXACTLY what a pasta recipe calls for...look for something in your pantry that is similar in shape/ thickness/ or texture. It's all good. And in case your knowledge of pasta shapes and what they're suited for is limited to spaghetti, check out the National Pasta Association at http://www.ilovepasta.org/shapes.html.

This serves four. Double if you have more to feed.

Apple-Sausage Rigatoni

6 oz. dried rigatoni

8 oz. cooked smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces (use turkey sausage to cut calories...or the real stuff for a delicious treat)

1-1/2 lb. Golden Delicious apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese

Snipped fresh basil

- In a 4-qt. Dutch oven, cook pasta according to package directions, drain. Set aside.

- In same Dutch oven cook sausage until lightly browned.

- Add apples; cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are lightly golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

- Stir in cooked pasta, whipped cream, and cheese. Heat through. Garnish with basil.

courtesy Better Homes and Gardens