Spiced Apple Cider

CSN Stores has gifted me with a gift certificate to any one of their 200 stores on-line, where I look forward to shopping for whatever I want! I'm excited to choose from a bar stool, to a blender, to a blanket. Really, the choices are endless, but I think since I broke my crockpot this weekend, I'll be looking for one of those (which I could actually use tomorrow, when I take this wonderful cider to share at work)!

You know how, at work, people are expected to bring treats in on their birthdays? Well, I boycott that; it's against my principles to have a commitment on my birthday! That said, I do like to bring in a treat now and then during other times of the year, and when Kendall said she was in the mood for my mom's Spiced Apple Cider, I figured I'd make some. The recipe makes a ton, so I should have plenty to share all around.

Ingredients:

2 2-inch long cinnamon sticks

2 tablespoons whole cloves

1 1/2 quarts water

1 cup sugar(dang! just realized I could have used Splenda!)

1 gallon of apple cider of your choosing

1 12-oz can frozen orange juice (we buy it with pulp)

1 12-oz can frozen lemonade

I threw my 5-year old cinnamon sticks away and bought new ones. 

The cloves smelled wonderful.

 First, take the first four ingredients and simmer them on the stove for an hour.

Obviously, the water will be clear at first.

After a little while, it will look a little cloudy.

After an hour, it will be a beautiful, golden hue.

Strain it into a large pitcher...

...or, if you have a huge Tupperware bowl, strain it directly into that. 

The entire batch fits into the bowl, 

where you can gently stir it with the apple cider, lemonade, and orange juice.

Carefully fill the apple cider bottle, using a funnel.

The recipe makes a gallon and a half.

It also makes for a wonderfully-flavorful drink on a cool, autumn day.

For what it's worth, it also makes a fantastic accompaniment to leftover pumpkin and spice cake! 

(and can you imagine it with a shot of amaretto?!)

Yummmmmm.

Summer's Harvest Breakfast

It's that time of year; strawberries, other fresh fruit.  It's the perfect time of year for this delicious breakfast concoction I came up with a couple of years ago.  Looks yummy, doesn't it? Read on if you love fresh fruit and a healthy breakfast... (and sorry to you anal folks out there who are really bothered by that spoon not being straight. Just keep reading, and you'll forget about it.)

One of the things I love about summer (and no school) is that I have time to make breakfast for the kids (if I feel like it, haha). When I made this favorite for Kyle and me recently, I decided to share it with you. In classic Pioneer-Woman style, I took a photo of the ingredients. (That's where she and I part, though; this recipe is so simple, there is no need to lead you by the hand through every single step.)

The beauty of this "recipe" is that you can use whatever fruit you have available, and since summer has so many fruits to offer (think blueberries, mangos, necterines, grapes, etc.) the sky's the limit! For this batch, I used about 1 cup each of the oatmeal and the yogurt. This yogurt is vanilla, but I've used strawberry before, and it was great, too. If you can't tell, those are sliced almonds (Kyle and I like their nice crunch, but I keep them out for Kendall.)

Start by washing the fruit. I am grossed out by the thought of eating fruit that's been grabbed by Lord knows how many dirty hands. And at the risk of sounding like an infomercial, I'm going to add that I LOVE this product for washing fruit:

It's 100% natural, smells like citrus and gets the waxy coating off of fruits and vegetables beautifully. The store I first found it at doesn't sell it anymore, so I buy it on line. For $20, I bought a 32-oz bottle of concentrated product that makes EIGHT bottles like this (16oz) one, so I'm sure it will last me at least a few years.

Next, cut the fruit into small (cube-sized) pieces. I have to share my all-time favorite Pampered Chef product, too, because I love it for taking strawberry tops off and digging the top out of tomatoes. (It's also a gem for scooping out bad spots of any fruit or vegetable.) I call it a "doohickey," and I own two, because one is always dirty.


Put the fruit in a medium-large bowl and top with oatmeal, yogurt, and almonds. Then, just stir it up and eat it! This batch made two large, full bowls for Kyle and me.  It doesn't keep forever, but that's okay; we eat it too quickly to have any leftovers anyway :)

Snickers Bar "Salad"

Who am I kidding? It's a dessert. And seriously; it's so easy, a whole post about it would be ridiculous.

And it's so quick, I forgot to take a photo of the ingredients:

6 Snickers bars, chopped
1 big container of Cool-Whip
6 large granny smith apples, cored and sliced

This is all I've got for you (just before the big stir!)

And it's so good, I have no photos of the leftovers.

Really; it's that good.

And tune in next time for the promised "Devil's Sex Cake!"

Apple Dumplings, Simple and Delicious

If you've never had The Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings before, you are really missing out! They're one of the easiest things to make (Yes, Matty, even for you.) I've been making them for years, as they are the favorite of everyone in my house and beyond, and to prove it, I'll tell you that Kendall requested Apple Dumplings for her "birthday cake" when she had her birthday sleepover tonight. (That reminds me--while they're in the oven, I'd better find some candles!!)

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 granny-smith apples
2 pkgs Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
cinnamon (enough to sprinkle as pictured below)
a few ounces of Mountain Dew soda/pop

(As you may have noticed, this recipe is not for the calorie/fat conscious. If you must be health conscious, simply close your eyes while you eat it; I've heard that cuts the calories and fat in half!)

Ready? First, put the two sticks of butter in a 2-quart saucepan to melt on low. While it's melting, cut and peel the apples however you like to do it. I use the fun apple cutter...

but I suppose it would have been easier to simply peel the apple and then cut it. It's a horse-apiece, I guess.

There are eight dinner rolls per package. Sixteen dumplings fit nicely in a cake pan (two per person.) The apples I bought today were very small, so I used about a slice and a half for each one. Simply set them at the wide end, roll them up, and place the apple-filled crescents in your cake pan.

By the time you've finished, the butter should be melted.

Add the sugar, and stir, but not too much; it should still be grainy. Remove from heat and add the vanilla (Or not; I've accidentally left it out before, and it turned out fine.)

Pour butter/sugar mixture evenly over all.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Now for the odd part. Carefully pour some Mountain Dew down the rows and around the edges.

I would guess that you only need about 1/4 cup. If you use too much, they'll be swimming in liquid. When that happens, I just take a turkey baster and suck some of the juice out, so that they don't get too soggy.

[BTW, if you're especially observant, you will wonder why in the world these apples are now in a ceramic pan, instead of metal. (If you did notice, I'm very impressed!!) The reason is that I made two pans worth for Kendall's party, since I had to feed 14 girls.]

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees, or until they are nice and brown and you are drooling.


Remove from oven and let stand for a minute or two, or you won't be able to use your tongue for a few days (which might be good, what with the week's worth of calories and fat you'll be consuming.) Serve with or without vanilla ice cream.

Here's the birthday girl enjoying her "cake."

For the record, the girls loved the apple dumplings. In fact, one of them inspired a new name for them, when she asked, "May I have another piece of heaven, please?"

Need I say more?

Anthea's Autumn Cake

FYI, the closest I've ever come to a famous person is finding this recipe (from a friend of Maureen McCormick a.k.a. Marcia Brady) on the Internet. That said, this cake is famously delicious at my house and any place I take it! Plus, it is the easiest cake in the world to make.

First, gather your ingredients:

1 large (29 oz) can of pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cloves
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup melted butter

Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream

Whenever possible, I like to use a mortar and pestle to grind my spices. It awakens the flavors (and helps get rid of pent-up energy!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your 9 x 13 pan.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, spices, slightly-beaten eggs, milk, and salt and stir.

In case you don't know what "slightly beaten" means, and you're a stickler for following directions (and, as a teacher, I say, "God bless you, Child."), it means that you've broken the yoke and stirred it a little; stick a fork in each yolk....And just lift them up until the eggs fall back into the bowl.

Pour batter into the pan. If you forgot to add the salt, pour the batter back into the bowl, stir it in, then dump it back again, making sure to wipe up your mess ;)

Sprinkle the yellow cake mix on top.

[Yes, my pan looks "dirty," but it's actually called "seasoned," (kind of like my house right now.)]

Take a fork and gently run it through the batter to partially mix the two; don't overdo it, but you should see some of the pumpkin peeking through.


(Be sure to wear your daughter's Home Ec project while you cook, as it adds to the flavor.)

Melt the butter. Pour the melted butter over the top,

and place it in the oven to bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. (Make sure that you watch the time when you are preparing this for Thanksgiving meal and want it to be still-warm when you get there. Don't start it late, as that will make you about 20 minutes late for dinner. I'm just sayin'.)

Allow to cool, and top with whipped cream.

Yes, I'm aware that this is a tiny piece, but it was my third one today (Friday after Thanksgiving). Hey, someone has to get rid of these leftovers; I'm just doing my part!


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