Apple Pie

My sister wanted the recipe for this delicious apple pie I make:) It really is good and it is one of those recipes that will get your children to eat their fruits... my girls always stand next to me while I am peeling and slicing the apples and make off with as many pieces as they can before they get added to my bowl... that or they just pull up a chair and beg:)

Apple Pie
1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (6 medium)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice

~Heat oven to 425°F. Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Press firmly against side and bottom.
~In large bowl, gently mix filling ingredients; spoon into crust-lined pie plate. Top with second crust. Wrap excess top crust under bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal; flute. Cut slits or shapes in several places in top crust. *I sprinkle the top of my crust with milk and then a cinnamon and sugar mixture.*
~Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cover edge of crust with 2- to 3-inch wide strips of foil after first 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving.

Monkey Bread

3 packages buttermilk biscuit tubes

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

Cut the biscuits into 4 pieces each. Drop pieces into 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon mixed together. Drop sugar coated pieces into a well-greased bundt pan, being careful not to squish the pieces. Put 1/2 cup of leftover sugar mix, 1/2 brown sugar and 1 cup butter into a saucepan. Bring just to a boil; remove immediately from heat. Carefully drizzle over roll pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes in pan and then flip out onto a plate. It looks really pretty on a glass cake plate with the dome.

Notes: Whisk sugar and butter together while waiting for it to come to a boil or butter will settle on top and be difficult to mix in later.

Make sure to put bundt pan on cookie sheet to bake, just in case in seeps out through the bottom.

Kool-Aid Play Dough

I got this from another blog... Chaotic Peace- and I absolutely love it:) It doesn't leave that residue on your hands and it smells great (which my girls loved). We used Pink Lemonade Kool-Aid and got a pretty pale pink that had a faint smell of lemonade:) We will try another flavor next time we need to make some...

Kool-Aid Play Dough
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 packet of Kool-Aid mix (unsweetened)*
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I used canola oil and it worked fine)

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add oil to boiling water. Mix water and oil mixture into dry mixture with spoon. Knead with hands for about 5 minutes adding flour to make it workable- you may need up to another half cup or more... just kneed in flour until it is no longer sticky. Store in air tight container.

*The flavor of the kool-aid determines the color of your dough. Remember to only use the little flavor packet…not the big packs with the sugar added. Any type of kool-aid/flavored drink mix will work.

Easy Meatloaf

This is a recipe from Kraft that is so easy, so fast and so delicious.

Easy Meatloaf
2lbs. ground beef
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1 box stuffing
1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce, divided
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup (or more, if desired) shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Mix ingredients together. Shape meat into 4 oval loaves on a foil-covered baking sheet; top with remaining sauce. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.

Russian Tea

I'm not exactly sure where this recipe came from, but I think it was Stella Ells. I have a couple of memories of her from when I was a child...The way she said her husband's name, "Sa-am" and that she had apples that we could go and pick. Yum.

I remember my mother making this for Christmas and it has become one of my Fall and Winter favorites.

2 quarts Apple Cider
2 cups Pineapple Juice
2 cups Orange Juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2-1 teaspoon of ground cloves
(The recipe did call for 2-3 sticks of cinnamon and 12 whole cloves, but I substituted the ground stuff)

I put it in my crock pot on low about 4 hours before I planned to serve it. The recipe did say to bring it to a boil first, but I imagine it would be just for the benefit of the whole spices if you were using those.

Sugar Cookie

I have been looking for a tasty sugar cookie and I have finally found one. This one is a recipe form Alton Brown that I have tweaked just a little bit. These are delicious... even Drew said these are some of the best that I have ever made:)

Sugar Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

~Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

~Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat. If planning on sprinkling colored sugar on them, sprinkle milk on the top of each one and then put the sugar on top- this gives it something to stick to. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I am not sure where I got this recipe but it is another one that I make every Thanksgiving...

Sweet Potato Casserole
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
1 T. vanilla

Mix. Put in dish.

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Put on top of sweet potato mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.