Well Golly Gee...I'll Be...

I have some Thanksgiving recipes for ya'll! And some photos to go with them!

First is a NEW Apple Pie Recipe!

~Easy Pie Crust~

(Courtesy of Food Network Magazine)

12 tbsp. very cold unsalted butter

3 c. AP flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

1/3 c. very cold vegetable shortening

6-8 tbsp. ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and mix to combine. Place the butter and shortening into the same bowl. Using a knife and fork, cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture. This took me about 30 to 45 min. You can also use a pastry cutter or do this in a food processor. The dough should come together into little pea sized balls. Add the water a tbsp. at time and mix to combine. Turn out onto a floured counter and roll into a ball. Cover in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 30 min.

When ready to form a crust, take the dough out of the refrigerator and cut in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured counter into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

~Deep Dish Apple Pie~

(Courtesy of Food Network Magazine)

4 lbs. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Zest of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 orange

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. orange juice

1/2 c. sugar, plus more

1/4 c. AP flour

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. allspice

1 egg beaten w/ water to brush on top

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the peeled, cored, and sliced apples into a large bowl and combine with the zests, juices, 1/2 c. sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Combine until all of the apples are coated with the mixture. Pour into prepared bottom pie crust. Top with prepared top pie crust. (I latticed my crust) If not latticed, then cut 2-3 slits on the top to release steam. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg mixture and sprinkle with sugar. Place the pie onto a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1.5 hours or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Serve warm and ENJOY!!

(Note: I covered mine with tin foil about half way through because the crust was getting a little too brown)

The apple pie mixture

I would have to say that this is by far my favorite pie crust mixture so far, I used to use my grandmothers recipe, but hers does not call for sugar, and I think that I am a fan of the extra sweetness.

As for the filling...I have mixed feelings on that. When I tasted it, it was very citrusy, because of the lemon and orange zest and juice. I am used to apple pies being very apply and/or cinnamon-y. This new flavor was not bad, just different. I think that next time I will keep the citrus, just back off on it a little bit and add more cinnamon. I might try a different type of apple as well, until I get it right!! hahahaha!!

The next morning we had plain and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast

Clementines that every one enjoyed!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Thankful For...

My extended family just left...photos and recipes to come soon...just wanted to let everyone know:

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!

(and his family of course!!)

Is it a Holiday?

Wow, what a day...wait, what day is today? Oh yeah, it's THANKSGIVING!!! Sure don't feel like it, at least to me. It was such an odd day. Started out that the hubby and I had plans to go to a family friends for Turkey day dinner, but those plans got changed, okay no problem...lets just roll with the flow. Well, we woke up, went to the gym...came home and hard core cleaned the house with the expectation of my In-laws spending the weekend. Okay, what's next? Right, I need to go to the grocery store to pick up some last minute items...okay, in the car over there and when I get there found out that they had closed up for the day...dang! Its the towns only grocery store, you would think they would stay open later that 3:00. Oh well, went to CVS that was open...didn't get everything that I needed, but made due... So, in the car on the way home and I get a call from my hubby who says that he has to go into work earlier than expected, okay...dang! Can't have a mini Thanksgiving with just the two of us in the afternoon! I tell him that I will have food for him when he gets home, but im hungry! I tell him I might eat, and I do...I made Turkey Meatballs (Yummy!) and stovetop stuffing. I also made some spicy turkey sausage when my hubby got home cuz I ate a good deal of the meatballs...I had more of them and less of the stuffing.

~Easy Turkey Meatballs~

1.25 lbs. Ground Turkey

1 egg

1 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs

2 tbsp. ketchup

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. parsley

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. Roll into golfball sized balls and place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 min. or until the meatballs register 180 degrees on a thermometer.

The hubbs got home and started eating, and then he started to feel a little sick...must have been the lack of food all day and then quickly eating really dense food...and the energy drinks that he said he had at work. Bummer man! I don't want him to be sick! So we waited a while and then had dessert! (I was going to make apple pie, but I couldn't get some ingredients due to the grocery store being closed) I made Special K Bars or Scotcheroos as they are also known by. Then I baked up one pie crust that I prepared the other day, and made Mom's Chocolate Pie that is now firming up in the fridge! I also stared some Wild Rice in the microwave that will cook for a while, then sit and steam overnight...can't wait for Thanksgiving Round II tomorrow!! Sans turkey, but hey, thats fine with me!!

~Scotcheroos~

(aka Special K Bars)

1 c. light corn syrup

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. creamy peanut butter

6 c. rice krispies cereal (or Special K)

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. butterscotch chips

In a medium sauce pan (large enough to hold all 6 c. of cereal and be able to stir) combine the corn syrup and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Once the peanut butter has melted and combined, add in the cereal. Stir to coat completely. Spread mixture into a 9in x 10in baking dish spayed with cooking spray. Let sit. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips over LOW heat stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once melted and combined, pour over peanut butter cereal mixture and spread to cover. Let cool. Cut into bite sized bars and ENJOY!!

On the docket for tomorrow:

1. Finish Wild Rice

2. Finish and Bake Apple Pie

3. Do whatever else that may need to be done...

In the time being, here are some picture and some recipes that I am sure everyone is waiting for!

Pie Crust and Apple Pie Recipe coming soon!!

Mom's Chocolate Pie Recipe here.

Restaurant Review!!

We Went Out To Eat!! snicker sicker...

So, yet again, as the hubby and I do on the weekends, we treat ourselves with a new restaurant to eat at on a Friday night! This time we went to Fox & Hound Restaurant in Wilmington, NC. Its in the Mayfair Town Center so it right next to a movie theater, which of course is playing Twilight New Moon this weekend, so there was Twilight trivia. They asked one question while we were there, and we never heard the answer, odd...

But anywho, on to the food! When I look at a restaurant menu, I like to look at the salads first, to see if there is anything that spikes my mood to be healthy! lol, I really am healthy when I go out, and I workout pretty much everyday, so I deserve a treat! Well, I saw a salad that was right up my alley! It was the Napa Valley Spinach Salad, and boy was it just what I was looking for! Light, yet filling and it had a lot of different and complementing flavors in it! It contained grilled chicken, bacon, granny smith apples, red onions, mushrooms, feta cheese, cranberries, pecans, and all topped with a "Pinot Noir shallot vinaigrette" which was a little too creamy for my taste, but they did not over-dress the salad.

This salad was a find, but what my hubby had, he said, was pretty bland. The steak fries tasted like bland potatoes, fried, not very good. The service was okay, our waitress was friendly, but a little scatter-brained. It did not take long to get our food, which was good, and there were a lot of people in the place, but it is right next to a movie theater = convenient for peckish movie-goers. The overall atmosphere in the place was lacking something...it was just missing some character...like it needs to "grow up" so to speak...I was hard to put my finger on it.

Oh, yeah, they had a HUGE beer list! Lots of drafts, bottles and whatnot...

Overall I would give it 2.5 out of 5 Yums. (Basically because the salad satisfied all my cravings!)

Funny!!

These pictures made me GIGGLE the other day!

I was looking at Cake Wrecks where they specialize in displaying various "butchered" cakes and poor grocery store bakery cakes. I looked through a lot of them, and these two made me laugh the best, as well as stand back and think..."what was this person thinking?"

I wonder where my mind was....

I hope you get a kick out of them as well~~

Music Monday

These guys are a new band from Minneapolis, MN. I had the pleasure to meet one of the members and a friend of his while I was at college in a bar late one evening after an Art Major Fiesta Party. He and his friend were both very nice and very insightful. I would qualify them as true gentlemen, even though I have met them only a handful of times...

Good Luck on the Promo Tour!!

Things I have made...

So, here are some of the things that I have baked/cooked in the past month that I actually took time to take some pictures of...due mostly to the lack of lighting in the kitchen! Note to self: in future when looking at kitchen, look at photo potential... Anywho...I have cooked so many meals for both myself and my hubby but here are some that I have photographed!

~Turkey Meatloaf~

1 lb. ground turkey

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c. italian bread crumbs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/3 c. ketchup

1 tbsp. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl combine the turkey, onion, garlic powder, garlic salt, egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly and pat into a loaf pan. Bake for 50 min. In a small bowl, mix together the ketchup and brown sugar. Coat over the meat loaf and bake for another 5 - 10 min. Enjoy!

Biscuits (Plain and Herbed)