Apples with Toffee Dip

I was introduced to this yummy fall treat years ago when we were grad students in Connecticut. Our dear friend Lynnette was such a gourmet cook that it was always great when she shared something so simple like this that I could put together. She has inspired me to learn more about cooking and enjoying it over the years of our friendship. Here is her recipe word for word:

Every time I make this I get requests for the recipe, so here it is. I know it seems a little pampered chef-like, but I promise it's really good. Don't use fat free cream cheese because it turns into a watery mess. Also, the toffee bits will eventually dissolve, so you might want to wait to stir them in at the last minute. 

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce block) 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened

¾ cup toffee bits

apples for dipping

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add toffee bits, mix well. Cover and chill.

Apple Crisp

Nothing says its fall like the smells of apples baking in the oven! Here is one of our favorite classics.

Apple Crisp

Apple Filling (What I use for my freezer apple crisp filling in the fall)

6 cups cored, sliced, peeled apples

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons All-purpose flour or 1 Tablespoon quick Tapioca

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Mix together all ingredients and pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Topping

1 cup oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans, optional

1/2 cup butter, melted

Mix together well and crumble over the apple filling. Bake as desired-oven or crock-pot.

I put this in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes or in my crockpot for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.

Serve warm or cold, but at our house its always al-a-mode!

Strawberry Mango Salad

Try this salad! You won't be disappointed! PROMISE!

Okay another great recipe from my new AFG cookbook! Katie you were right I LOVE your balsamic dressing (I admit it has become a new favorite.) and your salad was wonderful! Thanks for sharing this recipe. It was perfect that I had three ripe mango's in the fridge when I got home from the retreat--timing could not have been better seeing that I usually don't by mango's, yet I had gotten 3 in my bountiful basket the week before. Perfect, just Perfect!

Strawberry Mango Salad

1 cup diced mangos or more

2 cups sliced strawberries

1/2 cup Craisins

Romaine lettuce (1-2 bunches) or 1 bag romaine hearts

Dark green leaf lettuce (or a Spring Mix from Costco as a filler to the romaine)

3/4 cup slivered almonds (see recipe below)

All these ingredients can vary depending on tastes--can add more or less of all ingredients.

Balsamic Dressing:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup olive oil or light olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 cup grated onion

1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar (Katie says Balsamic is key here but you can use other vinegars if you desire)

Emulsify in blender and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Almonds:

Melt 2-3 Tablespoons of butter in frying pan.

Add

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg (I use less not one of my favorite spices)

Mix together and then add 3/4 cup sliced almonds. Stir just until nuts turn light or medium brown in color. Pour out of pan onto a cookie sheet and cool. When cool, add nuts to salad.

To make this ore of a meal, add cooked chicken. Serves 8-10.

**I found that this was a large recipe for our family of 5 but I didn't toss the mangos and strawberries in with the lettuce we just added them to each serving, same with the nuts. It worked like a charm and we were able to have it with two meals. I found that by mixing the mangos and strawberries together in a bowl worked nicely and the strawberries kept a fresh look even for the next day's servings.

Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This little recipe is one I clipped a couple of years ago from our little grocery stores ad. I was glad to find a poppy seed dressing that was homemade. It is nice not to have a million different bottles of condiments in the fridge all the time. We also use candied almonds--making them as instructed in Jack's Favorite Salad. When Jack eats this salad he says, "That could be dessert!"

Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons light Mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds (I think 2 teaspoons would be ample)

10 oz Romaine Lettuce torn

1 cup Strawberries

2 Tablespoons toasted slivered almonds

Combine the sugar, mayonnaise, milk, poppy seeds and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk well.

Place lettuce in a large bowl. Add the strawberries and almonds and toss lightly. Divide among individual serving plates and drizzle each with about 1 Tablespoon dressing.

Makes six servings.

**We like this dressing, just as well as the store bought poppy seed.

Jack's Favorite Salad

Jack's Favorite Salad

1/2 cups sliced almonds

3 Tablespoons Sugar

1/2 head Iceberg lettuce

1/2 head Romaine lettuce

1 cup chopped celery

2 green onions

1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges

Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil (we always use canola)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped parsley (can be made without if you don't happen to have it).

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons Vinegar

Dash Tabasco sauce (to taste) {I put 4 shakes/drops in the last time I made it and it gave the salad a bite. I recommend 1 -2 drops for the best results).

For the Nuts:

In a small sauce pan over medium heat cook almonds with sugar stirring constantly (5-8 minutes.) Cool and store in airtight container. *Don't put them in plastic containers it will melt because the nuts are so hot!

Mixing the Salad:

Wash and tear the lettuces, mix them together in a nice size bowl. Mix salad dressing and chill until ready to serve. Add almonds, oranges, and salad dressing just before serving.

Our Quick Fruit Salad

Growing up I loved when my mom would make her fresh fruit salad with whipping cream. It seemed like we had it mostly at large family gatherings. It was always a huge hit and everyone wanted to lick the bowl clean. I guess I wasn't the only one who loved mom's salad! Because I don't recall there being a set ingredients list to mom's salad all I do remember is the banana's, apples, pears, peaches, pineapple chunks and cream. I have just started adding all kinds of fresh fruits to ours.

Quick Fruit Salad

2-4 Banana's

2 Golden Delicious Apples

1 Red Delicious Apple

Canned Peaches, Pears, and Pineapple (I use a homemade quart of fruit cocktail)

2 cups sliced Strawberries

1 8 oz container Cool Whip Free

Gently mix together in a large bowl, chill if necessary. If chilling is required I would recommend not slicing the banana's or strawberries into the mix until right before you serve the dish, so that they don't discolor or go soggy.

Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

I have been trying to limit my sweet intake to family dinners on Sunday and for special occasions. Tonight was neither category, but I had fresh strawberries that need to be used, so rightfully I caved and gave into making this for dessert. The cream in this recipe is OH SO GOOD! The orange zest in it I L-O-V-E-D! I am excited to make this cream for our next family waffles and cream fest. Who knows when that will be, but I will be ready!

This dessert is light in texture; not in flavor or calories I am sure, but when you are indulging do you really care?!;-) I think this would be so fun to make for a Valentines dessert if strawberries happen to be at a fair price.

Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

Cream Puff Base:

5 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

2/3 cup flour

3 eggs

Cream Cheese Mixture:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon fresh orange zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2/3 cup powdered sugar

For the cream puff layer, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring the butter, water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the flour all at once and stir quickly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the mixture until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is shiny with a satiny sheen. Don't over beat. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan (or in a pinch, you could use a 9-inch circle cake pan). Using an offset spatula, spread the mixture on the bottom and one inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and prick pastry with a toothpick 10-12 times. Return to the oven and bake 5-10 minutes more until golden brown but not over baked (you can insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out with sticky dough, it still needs longer in the oven).Cool completely.

For the cream cheese mixture, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar (if you want to ensure there are no lumps, sift the powdered sugar into the cream cheese) and beat with the cream cheese until mixture is smooth and light. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread onto the cooled cream puff shell.

Top with fresh sliced strawberries (I mixed 2 cups of strawberries with 1 teaspoon sugar and let them hang out in the fridge while I was prepping the cake) or you can use a 16-ounce bag of frozen strawberries that have been thawed. Mix the thawed strawberries and juice with 1-2 teaspoons sugar and bring to a simmer in a saucepan. Cook until slightly thickened. Cool completely and use as topping for the cake.

Recipe Source: from My Kitchen Cafe (www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com)/originally from Aunt Marilyn

Fresh Pear Crisp

Topping:

6 Tablespoons unbleached flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or use 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces

1/2 cup regular oats (or you can add 3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as almonds, pecans, or walnuts)

Filling

6 medium pears (2 1/2 to 3 lbs) I didn't have enough to make the weight so I added to small green apples to the mix and it worked great!

1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Topping: mix all ingredients, but the nuts in a food processor until resembles a course cornmeal, then add the nuts. Refrigerate for 15 minutes while you prepare the fruit.

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.

For the feeling: peel, quartered , and cut the pears into 1-inch chunks. (You should have 6 cups). Toss with lemon juice and sugar in a medium bowl. Scrape the fruit mixture with a rubber spatula into a 8-inch square baking dish or a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Distribute the chilled topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking until the fruit is bubbling and the tipping turns deep golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Serve warm. (The Crisp can be set aside at room temperature for a few hours and then reheated in a warm oven just before serving.)

I also tried a Peach-Raspberry version of this crisp. Follow the recipe for the Pear Crisp above, replacing it with 6 peaches (about 3 lbs), peel, pit, and cut into 1/3-inch wedges.

**This one was runny where the pear one was not. It was tart, yet still delicious.

Fresh Peach Dessert

This recipe is in our family cookbook with both my Aunt Julie and my sister Sherri's name by it. I am so glad that they both shared this recipe, because it is AWESOME! I have never served it when it hasn't gotten rave reviews. Last year I even had a husband contact me and tell me that I needed to give the recipe to his wife because it was a new favorite of his. I hope you have a chance to get some great peaches this fall season and give this recipe a whirl. You will not regret it!

1 small box Orange or Peach Jell-o (orange gives it better color)

2 cups water

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

Cook the above ingredients in a small sauce pan until clear. Cool, before adding 4-5 cups (6-8 peaches) fresh peaches. DO NOT LET SAUCE SET-UP when cooling.

Mix together in a seperate bowl:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 (12oz) cool whip

Lorna Doone cookies or white cake mix serves as the crust. (Sandies shortbread cookies work fine too. Just crush them so they cover the bottom of your dish better).

For the cookies: lay them flat in the bottom of a 9 x 13 cake pan and then top with the sweetened milk and cool whip mixture. Then top with peaches/jell-o mixture. Put in fridge until set up.

If you choose to use white cake divide it in half and put it into two cake pans (or a large sheet cake/jelly roll pan) and bake as directed (until a toothpick comes out clean); cool completely. Then follow the directions listed with the cookies.

Sherri's Frozen Peaches

My sister Sherri is an amazing cook and homemaker. In 2007 when I thought I would never be done canning all the peaches I called her asking for advise on anything else I could do with my peaches. She shared this great recipe with me. I have shared it with friends in Billings and here in Wyoming and it has become a favorite for there families as well. I have created a dessert soup out of it which I will post. I am so glad to have great resources like my sisters, my mom, and friends to glean from their great recipes. Thank you Sherri for a great recipe!

12 oz orange juice, diluted as directed on the container

6 oz lemon aid-DO NOT DILUTE! (Oops this year I used lime-aid--still tasted good)

1- 20 oz can crushed pineapple

3 cups sugar

Mix ingredients well and pour over 30 peaches, sliced.

Scoop into quart freezer bags and freeze until ready to use.

Sherri said that they love theirs over ice cream, making peach milkshakes, or they add a few ice cubes and some 7-up and make a smoothie.

I have made great homemade ice cream with it, as well as, the Peach Soup.

Chocolate-Strawberry Panini

We served this to some friends we had in for dinner and it was a big hit!! Mike (our trusty taste tester) suggest that it needed whipping cream. I just happened to have some thawed cool whip in the fridge so we tried it out. Mike was right the cream added the right sweetness to it, but more than that it was the cool and hot temperatures that made it complete (just like warm apple pie topped with a scoop of ice cream). Hope you get to sink your teeth in to this great dessert. Bon Appetite

Recipe is courtesy Giada De Laurentiis via the Food Network
1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
12 (1/2-inch slices pound cake (from 1 )10.75-ounce) loaf (* I use Costco's pound cake. It's great!)
6 fresh strawberries, hulled and very thinly sliced
Butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray ( I just used a small amount of butter)

Heat a panini grill to medium according to the manufacturer's instructions. Spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread over 1 side of all of the pound cake slices. Arrange the sliced strawberries over 6 cake slices. Cover with the remaining cake slices, chocolate side down. Spray panini grill with nonstick spray and grill each panino until the pound cake is crisp ad golden and the fillings are warm, about 2 minutes. Cut each panino in half and serve.

(If you don't have a a panini grill toast it like you would a grilled cheese sandwich and I think it would work fine.)

Microwave Applesauce

My sister-in-law Echo gave me this recipe when I was telling her I was going to make applesauce with my boys "Joy School" this week. It was so fun. The kids had fun helping peel, core, and slice the apples with the little apple core machine. They gobbled it up asking for seconds and thirds. The four children would have eaten the entire recipe had I allowed it. I highly recommend this recipe if you like apple treats. We ate it warm! What a great fall snack, treat, or dessert. I love that it is simple and quick as well.

3 Golden Delicious Apples

3 Fuji Apples (Have also used Gala)

1 cup Apple juice (I used 1 Capri sun 100% juice pouch)

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

3 Tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel, core and quarter apples (I used my apple peeler/core/slicer.) Combine everything in a microwave safe bowl with a lid. Place lid on bowl and leave on side partially opened for a vent (or use plastic wrap with a vent hole). Microwave on high for 10 minutes. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.

Fresh Peach Dessert

My Aunt Julie gave this recipe to our family years ago. It gets rave reviews everytime I make it. My sister Sherri makes a great homemade white cake that makes a great crust. When pressed for time I use a moist cake mix from the store and it works super. It really is the peach topping that makes this dessert to die for!

1 pkg. Orange or Peach jell-o (Orange gives it better color and flavor in my opinion)
2 cups water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Cook the above ingredients until clear. Cool before adding 4-5 cups (6-8 peaches) fresh peaches, but do not allow for it to set up. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mix together in a separate bowl:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup lemon juice
1 (12 oz) cool whip

Lorna Doone cookies or white cake (mix or from scratch) serves as the crust.
For the cookies; lay them flat in the bottom of a cake pan and then top with the condensed milk and cool whip mixture. Then top with jell-o mixture. Return to fridge until set up.

If you choose white cake divide it in half and pour it into two 9 x 13 cake pans and bake as directed; completely cool. Then follow the directions listed with the cookies. (* When using cake mix make the cake as directed on the box and pour into two pans and make the recipe as is the toppings will cover both 9 x 13 pans completely.)