Menu: December 12 - 17

Oh wow, it has been a long time since I have posted a menu. This has been due to a few reasons, mostly the coming Christmas season. I have been busy trying to get things planned, made and wrapped (more on that later). Also O has recently completed his first 1/2 marathon, so that was a crazy week as well!

I am not sure how long I will continue to post the menus, but will try to continue for a little longer, although I may have to take another break over the holidays.

Menu:
Monday:Stir Fry
Tuesday: Thai Chicken Bites
Wednesday:Lasagna/ manacotti
Thursday: Work Function
Friday: Cheesy Vegetable Chowder (new recipe from pinterest, will post after I have tried it)

Others: chips, crackers, hummus, antipasto, whatever Christmas food is around the house

Baking: No real plans, we will see what inspires me off the Christmas list.

Caramel Apple Pie

Note: Let me apologize for this picture, I was lucky to snack anything to get a picture before this was devoured by O and a few friends! I will try to get a better picture when I make this again in the coming weeks.

This is Owen’s favorite apple pie. I originally found it on Allrecipes as Grandma
Opies Apple pie. I have made some changes over the years to suit out tastes more, and now it is the most requested apple pie I make, the main change I made is the addition of cinnamon - it isn't a true apple pie around here unless there is cinnamon.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I like to use a slightly tart, baking apple)
Pastry dough for a double crust 9 inch pie



Directions:
1. Roll out the bottom crust of the pie and place in the pie plate.
2. Pile the apple slices into the pie crust, you want them so they mound slightly in the middle.
3. In a pot on the stove, melt the butter. Mix in the flour so that it forms a paste.
4. To the butter ‘paste’ add the sugars and water. Mix well and bring to a simmer until it thickens.
5. Add the cinnamon to the butter sugar mixture and pour over the apples in the pie crust.
6. Roll out and add the top crust (we use a full top crust with slits cut in it, but a lattice top works nicely as well if you like less crust).
7. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350F and continue to cook for about 35 minutes.

Note: This pie freezes well. Just wrap in tinfoil and place in the freezer after step 6. When baking it, don’t let it thaw, pop it right into the oven and add an extra 20 to 30 minutes to the cook time.

Reviews:
This pie always gets great reviews, and is always requested when I ask if I should make an apple pie.

Cake Decorating - Flowers and Cake Design

I finished the second cake decorating class (and am signed up to do the third - Fondant and Gumpaste in January). Here is a look at some of the flowers I was able to make and the final cakes.

My Lily Cake


Cake with all the other flowers

I was lucky enough that my instructor showed us how to do a few things that Wilton had taken out of the class when they redid the course, so I also got to learn the rope border and the butter cream pansy (which is one of my favorite flowers I leaned to make).




I also did a little playing around with the leftover gumpaste and some online tutorials to make a gerber daisy!



Thanks Erin, can’t wait for the next class!

Apple Stars

These were my favorite snack as a kid, my brother and I would always ask our Dad for apple stars for our evening snacks. We didn’t always get them, and we usually fought over who got the one with the best “star” when we did get them. Eating these now takes me back to those memories and always makes me smile (plus I can always have the best “star” now that my little brother and I no longer live under the same roof). They are a quick, simple treat and not all that bad for you.

Ingredients:
1 apple
½ to 1 tsp brown sugar
dash of cinnamon

Directions:
1. Slice the apple in rings through the core, remove the seeds from the inside of the apple.
2. Lay the apple slices on a flat surface and sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the apples.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Menu: November 7 - 11

Sorry for being late with the menu this week, I am not sure what happened to my weekend. One minute I was getting ready for the weekend, the next thing I knew I was at cake decorating class on Monday night.

Tuesday: Bacon Ranch Chicken (slow cooker)
Wednesday: spagetti squash
Thursday: Steak and quinoa pilaff
Friday: Going out

Snacks and other: Red pepper feta dip, caramel apple pie, homemade frosty, veggies and dip, honeydew

The Halloween Cake

As promised here are the Halloween cakes I sent to work:

Owen's work minicake


Cake for my work

The bones, skulls, zombie arm and ghosts I made out of gumpaste. The pumpkins were bought at the candy isle and made into jack-o-lanterns with edible markers. The gravestones are chocolate mint cookies with white chocolate writing.

They were a huge hit at work, but the best part was when you cut into the cake as I had hid gummy worms between the layers!




And Abbey the Angel says Happy Halloween. Have a spooktacular night!

Menu: October 31 - November 4

Happy Halloween folks! I can't believe October is almost over, yikes. It seems like only a couple days ago it was September. Oh well, here is goes for a menu:

Monday: Egg McMuffins
Tuesday: Leftovers/Fridge Fallout
Wednesday: Calzones
Thursday: Chicken Soup
Friday: Tacos

Snacks: Apples with caramel Cheesecake dip, pumpkin pie yogurt, apple stars, crackers, veggies and dip, fruit,

Baking: Apple muffins/loaf or cake and possibly caramel apples or apple cider caramels (I have a bunch of apples that need to get used up)