Crock Pot Apple Pie

Image and Recipe Copyright © 2008 Jennifer Iserloh

http://www.skinnychef.com

This dessert has the same flavors as apple pie without the guilt of a fattening crust!
Makes 6 baked apples

Ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons trans-fat free margarine
1 teaspoon cinnamon6 Gala or Macintosh apples, cored
1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
2 tablespoons orange liquor (optional)

Directions
Preheat a large crock-pot on high heat and preset it for 3 hours. In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, walnuts, margarine, and cinnamon. Fill the apples with the filling and place them in the crock-pot. Pour in the apple juice or cider and the liquor, if using. Cover and cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours on high heat until the apples are soft and begin to collapse.

PLUM CRUMBLE

1 3/4 lbs. plums, stoned, thickly sliced (about 4 c.)
1/2 c. granulated sugar or more depending on the tartness of fruit
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Unsalted butter, softened for pie dish

TOPPING:
1 c. brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 c. oatmeal
3/4 c. flour
1 stick (4 oz.) chilled, unsalted butter, cut up
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine plum slices, granulated sugar, flour, and cinnamon in bowl. Toss gently. Butter 10 inch pie plate.

Topping: Rub brown sugar, oatmeal, flour, and butter together with fingers until crumbly. Arrange mixture evenly over plums. Lay sheet of foil under dish to catch drips. Bake about 45 minutes. Can serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Serves 4 to 6. Delicious

Deviled Chicken Lollipops on the Food Network

Deviled Chicken Lollipops on the Food Network

Pork chops with Apple Stuffing

Ingredients
Apples
Pork Chops
Stove Top Stuffing
Sugar

Directions
Cut up your apples and put them in the bottom of a cake pan put a little sugar over them.
Then get a stove top stuffing mix make it (follow the directions for the stuffing)

Layer
Put half of the stuffing over the apples,
Then put pork chops on
Next put the other half of stuffing on top.
Bake until done

My friend Dena Mills gave this to me!

Jalapeño(Honey) Plum Jam

Ingredients
2 pounds plums, pitted and chopped
1½ cups honey
2 TBS minced jalapeno peppers
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (2 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin
1½ cups honey OR 7 cups white sugar

8 half pint canning jars with lids and rings

Directions
Place the pitted, mashed plums, minced jalapeno pepper, lemon juice, and pectin into a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once simmering, stir in the sugar until dissolved, return to a boil, and cook for 1 minute.

Than sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Pack the jam into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.

Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 10 minutes.

Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart. Allow to cool overnight Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area.

Apple Butter

Ingredients
4 lbs of good cooking apples (Granny Smith or Gravenstein)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
Sugar (about 4 cups, see cooking instructions)
Salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Equipment Needed
1 wide 8-quart pan (Stainless steel or copper with stainless steel lining)
A food mill

A large (8 cup) measuring cup pourer
6-8 8-ounce canning jars

Preparing the Fruit
1 Cut the apples into quarters, without peeling or coring them (much of the pectin is in the cores and flavor in the peels), cut out damaged parts.

First Stage of Cooking
2 Put them into large pot, add the vinegar and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Measure out the purée and add the sugar and spices
3 Ladle apple mixture into a chinois sieve (or foodmill) and using a pestle force pulp from the chinois into a large bowl below. Measure resulting puree. Add 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add a dash of salt, and the cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon rind and juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Second Stage of Cooking

4 Cook uncovered in a large, wide, thick-bottomed pot on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming at the bottom. Cook until thick and smooth (about 1 to 2 hours). A small bit spooned onto a chilled (in the freezer) plate will be thick, not runny. You can also cook the purée on low heat, stirring only occasionally, but this will take much longer as stirring encourages evaporation. (Note the wider the pan the better, as there is more surface for evaporation.)

Canning
5 There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

6 Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal. If you plan to store the apple butter un-refrigerated, make sure to follow proper canning procedures. Before applying the lids, sterilize the lids by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. Wipe the rims of the jars clean before applying the lids. I use a hot water bath for 10 minutes to ensure a good seal.

As an alternative to stove cooking the puree you can cook uncovered in a microwave, on medium heat to simmer, for around 30 minutes.

Makes a little more than 3 pint jars.

Apple Cobbler with Coconut



Ingredients

4 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated flaky biscuit dough
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.Stir together apples, caramel topping, and flour in a large round baking dish. Pull apart each biscuit into two halves, and arrange over the apples. Drizzle with butter. Stir together the sugar and coconut; sprinkle over the buttered biscuits.
3.Bake in preheated oven until the biscuits have puffed, and are lightly browned, about 30 minutes.


Apple Cobbler

7 to 8 large (9 cups) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4-inch
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°F. Place sliced apples in ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan.

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl; sprinkle over apples.

Combine remaining cinnamon, flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apples. Pour melted butter over topping. Bake for 45 to 55 5minutes or until lightly browned and apples are tender.

Serve warm with ice cream!!! ENJOY

Country (easy) Apple Dumplings with mountain dew


•2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 16 pieces
•2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
•1 1/2 cups sugar
•1 tsp cinnamon
•2 sticks butter, melted
•12 oz Mountain Dew

Unroll and separate the crescent rolls. Wrap each apple slice in a crescent roll and place in a 9×13 ungreased pan. Melt butter; add sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Pour mixture over the tops of the crescent rolls. Pour Mountain Dew between the rolls. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Apple Crisp

Filling:
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped small
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Filling:
Mix all the ingredients together. Place into 7 to 8-ounce ramekins.

For topping:
Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Blend the butter into the mixture until it forms pea size lumps. Stir in pecans and sprinkle over filling.

Bake crisps for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Apple Hermits



Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup raisins
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2.In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Mix in sugar and egg. Stir in flour mixture, and mix thoroughly. Fold in nuts, apples, and raisins.
3.Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
4.In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar with milk to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

DONUTS

SHORT CUT DONUTS WITH GLAZES


1 package refrigerator biscuit (10 in pkg.)

Preheat oil in deep fryer. Cut centers out of biscuits with a 1 inch cutter. Fry 3 donuts at a time for 1 1/2 minutes; turn and fry 1 1/2 minutes more. Fry donut holes for about 2 minutes, turning once. Drain on absorbent paper. Makes 10 donuts and holes.

MAPLE GLAZE:
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
3 or 4 tbsp. maple syrup

Combine powdered sugar with maple syrup, stirring until smooth. Dip donuts and holes in glaze. Sit on rack to drain.

FRUIT GLAZE:
2 tbsp. grape, apricot or peach jam
1 c. powdered sugar
1 or 2 tsp. milk

Put jam in a glass jar and microwave on high for 15 seconds; stir to melt. Stir in powdered sugar, adding milk and stirring until smooth. Dip donuts and holes in glaze. Drain on rack.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
2 tbsp. milk

Combine chocolate chips, syrup and milk in a 2 cup glass cup; microwave on high for 1 to 1 2/3 minutes; stir until melted. Dip donuts and holes in glaze.

Some other maple frosting recipes
Maple frosting4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine
4 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons maple flavoring

or

1/2 cup butter, room temp
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring

MAPLE FROSTING
1/4 c. Crisco
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. maple blend syrup
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. confectioners' sugar
1/4 c. milk

Combine Crisco, salt, syrup, vanilla and 1 cup of sugar. Add milk and remaining sugar alternately. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add more sugar to thicken or milk to thin, if needed for good spreading consistency.


DONUTS FROM SCRATCH

Ingredients for Doughnuts

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
1 1/4 cups 2% milk, warmed up to 105 °F
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large 1 large egg yolk
4 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Maple Cream Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Maple Glaze
1 cup sifted icing sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons milk

Directions for Doughnuts

1.For doughnuts, stir ¾ cup of flour, yeast and ¾ cup milk together until blended, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.

2.In a large mixing bowl using electric beaters, or in a stand-up mixer fitted with the paddle, add remaining 3 ¼ cups flour, butter, sugar salt and spices and blend for 1 minute on low speed. Combine the initial flour, milk and yeast mixture, with the remaining milk, egg and egg yolk and beat on medium-low speed until batter is smooth and thick. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic and let sit until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3.On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ½-inch thick. Cut doughnuts with a 3-inch cutter and place on a parchment lined baking tray. Cover with a tea towel and let doughnuts rest 15 minutes.

4.Heat oil in a deep pot to 365 °F. Set a doughnut onto a slotted spoon and set gently into oil. Let cook until brown on one side, then carefully turn over. Remove doughnut with slotted spoon and place on a plate with paper towel to cool. Make a few doughnuts at a time, but take care not to overcrowd the pot (to prevent oil from cooling, resulting in greasy doughnuts).

Maple Cream Filling

1.For cream, beat cream cheese until soft and beat in icing sugar, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Spoon batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip. Insert tip into side of doughnut and pipe in cream filling. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Maple Glaze

1.For glaze, beat all ingredients until smooth, adjusting consistency with milk, if needed. Dip each doughnut halfway into glaze and let dry for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

Vanilla Glaze

In a mug, microwave half of cup of milk with a teaspoon of butter (you'll use this later)

In a bowl mix:
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons of the milk mixture
1/4 teaspoon of lemon
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
If you a really thin glaze, just add a little more of the milk mixture.


Chocolate Glaze

Use the milk mixture from above.
In a bowl mix:

1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons of Hershey Cocoa
3 Tablespoons of the milk mixture from above.

Put a slightly warm donut face down in the chocolate glaze, turn slightly and remove. Perfect!

Candy Corn Cheesecake Mousse

Candy Corn Cheesecake Mousse
This recipe yields a sweet and fluffy, light cream cheese flavored dessert.


1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 small container (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed


orange and yellow food color
candy corn (for garnish)


Directions ~
Beat cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer until fully smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, then milk (or cream). Add vanilla. Continue mixing. Beat about 1 minute on medium to medium-high speed. Fold cool whip into cream cheese mixture, and stir until fully combined.


Scoop about 1/3 of the Cheesecake Mousse into a bowl, and color orange. Color another third of the mixture yellow. Leave the remaining third white. One color at a time (starting with yellow), scoop mixture into a piping bag or large ziplock bag, and squeeze a layer of the Cheesecake Mousse into small dessert dishes of your choice. Repeat with orange and then white Mousse.


Refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 1 day) before serving. Garnish with candy corn if desired.


Recipe yields 4 moderate servings or 6-8 mini servings.


Recipe Source: Glorious Treats


Sugar Free Option: In the past, I have adjusted this recipe to be sugar free, with good results. Simply substitute 1/3 cup Splenda for the powdered sugar, and replace regular cool whip with sugar free cool whip. Omit candy corn garnish.


Recipe options: This general concept could be created using vanilla pudding or white chocolate mousse (from a mix or from scratch).

Philadelphia Cheese Steak Sandwich

There are so many different ways to make Philly Cheese steak sandwiches.....

Ingredients

1 12-ounce boneless beef rib eye steak (thin sliced eye of round, rib eye, or sirloin tip roast)*

2 tablespoons margarine or butter
2 medium onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1 medium red or green sweet pepper, cut into thin strips
4 French rolls or hogie buns, split
4 ounces thinly sliced cheddar cheese
optional
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
Dill pickle spears

Directions

1. Partially freeze beef. Thinly slice beef across the grain into bite-size strips. In a 10-inch skillet melt margarine or butter; add onions and pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat about 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove onion-pepper mixture from skillet with a slotted spoon. If necessary, add additional margarine to skillet. Add beef; cook and stir over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until done.
3. To serve, spread rolls open face on a baking sheet. Divide beef and onion-pepper mixture among rolls. Top with cheese. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

OR

Ingredients

2 fresh Italian sandwich rolls or Kaiser buns, split in half crosswise
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 pound rib-eye steak, very very thinly shaved or sliced
1/3 pound thinly sliced white American cheese, or Provolone cheese OR 4 ounces melted cheese whiz
Ketchup, optional topping
Italian pickled peppers, accompaniment

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. When hot add the oil, onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Push off to 1 side of the griddle.

Add the meat to the hot pan and cook, stirring and breaking up with the back of 2 metal spatulas, until almost no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Mix in the Sauteed vegetables. Top with cheese slices and melt. Spoon the cheesy meat mixture into the warm buns and serve immediately with condiments of choice or Put the meat in the bun and dip the spatula in the cheese whiz and then wipe the spatula down the inside of the bread.

Sloppy Chicken Joes

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
3 pounds uncooked ground chicken or uncooked ground turkey
2 14-oz. jars pizza sauce
2 cups frozen (yellow, green, and red) peppers and onion stir-fry vegetables, thawed and chopped
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
8 hoagie rolls, split
8 slices mozzarella or provolone cheese (8 ounces)

Directions

1. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to hot skillet; cook until chicken is no longer pink, stirring to break apart. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine chicken, pizza sauce, vegetables, and undrained tomatoes.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.

3. Arrange split rolls, cut sides up, on an unheated broiler pan. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until toasted. Spoon chicken mixture onto bottoms of toasted rolls. Top with cheese and roll tops. Makes 8 sandwiches.

Chicken-Parmesan Bundles

Chicken-Parmesan Bundles

Ingredients

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
6 tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 egg
10 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2cups spaghetti sauce, heated

Directions

HEAT oven to 375 degrees F.

MIX cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and 3 tbsp. Parmesan until well blended; spread onto chicken breasts. Starting at one short end of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired.

BEAT egg in shallow dish. Mix remaining Parmesan and cracker crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg, then roll in crumb mixture to evenly coat. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done (165 degrees F). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve chicken topped with spaghetti sauce and remaining mozzarella.

Make Ahead:
Assemble chicken bundles and place in baking dish as directed. Refrigerate up to 4 hours. When ready to serve, uncover and bake at 375 degrees F for 35 min. or until chicken is done.

Special Extra:
Stir chopped fresh basil and/or sliced black olives into spaghetti sauce before heating