Homemade Applesauce

I have had not one, but two friends, give me some apples this fall.  You will get no complaints from this girl on that.  I love apples! That being said, I always know that I like to bake with them, but also make some crockpot applesauce and apple butter (that's still on the list).  They're also an easy fruit to add to the kids' lunches.  

I got a request on my Instagram account after I posted this photo to blog about my homemade applesauce recipe.  Let me tell you, I don't even know if I feel comfortable calling it a "recipe" because it's more like here are the ingredients and add and adjust until it tastes good to you.

Here's what I do:
1. Fill a crockpot with diced apples.  I did a batch where I peeled the apples and I did a batch where I didn't have time for that.  The only difference is the non-peeled apple batch was chunkier.  No big deal.

2. Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of water to your crock pot.

3. Sprinkle 1/2 cup white sugar over your apples.  Sprinkle 1 - 1 1/2 TBL of cinnamon over your apples.

4. Cook on high for 4 hours.  The apples will get really soft and you will be able to just stir it right up to the consistency of applesauce.

5.  Here's the part where you just do your thing based on your taste buds.  If it's too tart for your taste, add some sugar.  If it's not cinnamon-y enough, add some more. (My tip:  Let it cool for awhile before adjusting the cinnamon and sugar).

6. After it cools, I put them in freezer safe containers and wa-la!  That's it. :)

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is a recipe I found a couple of years ago, wrote down and the whole Burdorf family fell in love with it.  Sweet and sour chicken.  Let me preface this by saying if you have a busy night, don't make this recipe.  If you are short on time, don't make this recipe.  However, if you have a little bit of extra time, MAKE THIS RECIPE!!  

I have no idea how you're supposed to make sweet and sour chicken because this was the first time I've tried it with this recipe and it was so delicious I never tried anything else. 

Here's what you need to start:

3-4 chicken breast

1 cup of cornstarch

3-4 beaten eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

Start by cutting your chicken into chunks.  Then dip them into the cornstarch and then the egg.  Put them in the pan with the oil and brown both sides. 

You will have to do the chicken in batches.  When you're done with that, it's time to make the sauce.

Sauce ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

4 TBL ketchup

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 TBL soy sauce

1 tsp. garlic salt

Dump the sauce over the cooked chicken chunks.  If you have twin four year olds, take advantage of that and put them to work. ;)  Sidenote:  Don't mind Blake's hat that is 16 sizes too small, but that he insists to keep wearing. 

Even with the sauce on, at this point, it won't look like much and not very appetizing.  Put your pan in a 325 degree oven.  You will cook the chicken for a total of an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. 

When the hour is done, you get this amazing-ness below:  I know, you're welcome. 

So, if you're a fan of sweet and sour chicken and have the time, skip the restaurant and try this recipe.  It doesn't disappoint. :) 

Peanut Butter Bars

Do any of you Armstrong-Ringsted graduates remember the super yummy peanut bars they used to serve for lunch?  They were the BEST.  What was great, as a teacher's kid, was when they had some leftover and would stick them in the teacher's lounge and all of us teacher's kids would sneak some after school.  Good times. 

 I got a cookbook from my Grandma Beadle for a shower gift and a couple of years ago I tried out a recipe for Peanut Butter Bars and it took me back to my school days.  Aren't church cookbooks the best?  This is from the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Swea City.

 Since it was chilly and fall-like today, I made a batch of chili and these bars for supper. 

 They are so good, soft and this lover of all things peanut butter highly recommends them!

 

Peanut Butter Bars:

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup flour

1 cup quick oatmeal

1/2 tsp. baking soda

FROSTING:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 margarine, softened

1 tablespoon milk

Directions: Mix in order given.  Spread in a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Do NOT overbake!

Frosting: Soften margarine; add powdered sugar and milk.  Mix well spread on cooled bars. 

Easiest Salsa EVER

First of all, thank you for all your encouragement and support from my last blog post!  I sure appreciate it and I probably will mix things up every once and again.

With Cinco de Mayo tomorrow, I whipped up a batch of this tonite to have in the fridge for supper tomorrow.  This is my good friend Mary's recipe that she brought over years ago and I make it all the time.  It's so easy and so delish!

Any Carlos O'Kelly's fans out there? Yep, me too!  This salsa is kind of a knock-off of theirs.  So, if you need a last minute salsa recipe, you should give this a go.  

Ingredients:

2 cans of stewed tomatoes

half an onion

half a jalapeno (play this by ear depending on how spicy you like things)

handful of cilantro (I use a lot; I love the stuff!)

Salt to taste

 Directions:  
Throw it all in a blender and blend it up. That's it!

 Taste testing encouraged!

It doesn't get much easier than that does it?  I'm all about easy! (Thanks Mary for the recipe! )

FRIDAY!

It's Friday!  Woo-Hoo!  I'm not sure why I'm overly excited about that.  Maybe it's the sun.  It's probably that and the warmth and the fact I busted out a tank top today!  Ahhh...it's the little things in life isn't it?!  Ready for consistently warm weather.

Look at that print below.  Doesn't it just make you happy?  All that color!  And it's such a good message.

 

I have a lot going on in this brain of mine right now, but I refuse to get stressed out.  So much of life is stuff we can't control and it does nothing but send our blood pressure skyrocketing when we stress out about it.  You know me, I am a big believer in things working out the way they are supposed and at the time they are supposed to. 

 Life is about positivity!  The belief that good things happen!  I've been thinking about new ideas lately.  Swirling them around in my mind and wondering if I can make things happen and be successful at it.  I'm pretty sure I can do anything I set my mind to. 

In the meantime, we have a pretty low-key weekend around these parts.  Aaron has a boat load of homework for his Master's classes.  It's prom so I need to snap a couple of photos for next week's paper.  We have a dance marathon picnic.  Good stuff like that. 

Oh...and I may also see if I can sneak in time to make a pan of these bad boys.  Oreos AND m&m's?!  Be still my heart.  (Link for recipe below)

 

lhttp://www.averiecooks.com/2013/09/loaded-mm-oreo-cookie-bars.html

HAPPY WEEKEND FRIENDS!

Make this...Apple Dumplings!

Every fall, the kids and I and our friend, Mary, go over to pick apples.  This year, there were no apples.  This crazy weather where it got so warm and then the trees blossomed and then the frost happened and it killed all the blossoms.  So sad!  I'm desperately missing my homemade applesauce!  And this recipe I'm going to share with you - Apple Dumplings.

My grandma June sent this recipe to me a few years ago.  I thought she was crazy when I looked at the ingredient list, but it is so gosh darn good!  I even put it in my column in the paper and had numerous people call to tell me how much they loved it.

So, without further ado...

APPLE DUMPLINGS

Ingredients:
1 tube of crescent rolls
1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup Mountain Dew

Directions:
Prehead oven to 350.  Unfold crescent roll dough.  Placed diced apples on wide edge of each piece, roll up and place in an 8x8 baking dish.  In a saucepan, melt butter with sugar and cinnamon over medium heat.  Stir in Mountain Dew.  Pour mixture over dumpling.  Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer.

I made these last weekend and forgot to take a picture.  Darn it!!  Anyway, if you're looking for something easy and delish, try these.  Bet you can't eat just one. :)