Caramel Apple LolliPies

So I tried my hand at the pies on a stick that have been appearing on pinterest and featured on Bakerella. I made them for an apple party my middle son is having at school tomorrow. The 1st class has been studying apples all week, and tomorrow they are getting to taste different recipes in which apples are used.  I thought the mini pies would be perfect for little hands.

Caramel Apple Mini Pies On A Stick

Mini  Apple Pie

List of Supplies: Pie Crust, Flour, Cookie Sticks, Apple Pie Filling, Cinnamon, Egg White, Caramel Bites, Small Round Cookie Cutter

1.  First I smashed up my apples in a large mixing bowl so they would be easier to work with. I added just a dash more of cinnamon to the apples.
2. Roll out pie crust and sprinkle with flour to keep from sticking. Now cut out your circles. I made about 8-9 pies with one 9inch crust.
3. Place bottom crust on cookie sheet, add your baking cookie stick
4. Add in your toppings I used a 1/4 teaspoon to measure out the apples (very small amount), and added one or two caramel bites
5. Add top crust and use one of the cookie stick to press down the sides
6. Brush tops with egg whites
7. Bake for 15-17 minutes at 375 degrees

Here is a shot of a couple of the stages. Sorry for the bad glare!

Smashed Apples

Wrapped Up and Ready for A Classroom full of 1st Graders

Hope you all enjoy! It was super easy. A little time consuming but very simple. Would help to have more than one cookie sheet. I only have one.

Sweet Chili (Recipe Blog)

Ingredients

2lbs of Lean Beef

½ Green Pepper diced

½ Onion diced

16oz Can Red Beans undrained

16oz Can Chili Beans undrained

2 Tomatoes diced or 1 16oz Can undrained tomatoes

1 Large 66oz or 4lb Can of Tomato Sauce

½ cup of packed Brown Sugar

1 cup of Whole Milk

In large pan, brown the 2lbs of beef with the diced peppers and onions. Add half of the brown sugar to the pot and allow to caramelize the beef. When beef is fully cooked, drain grease and add the remaining ingredients. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. Turn heat up to high and stir (do this for about 15 more minutes). Keep stirring so the bottom does not burn.

Serve hot with your favorite toppings ( Shredded Cheese, Crackers, Sour Cream, chives, etc.),

Or Serve over Tortilla chips or French Fries. There are endless ways to serve this wonderful winter dish. Hope you enjoy creating your favorite ways!

Iron Skillet Pizza

I love pizza! I even love most frozen pizzas. Today I thought I would share my half homemade pizza recipe. Since that is what I made myself for lunch today. I say half homemade because I get the dough from a package. I know I am a lazy person. I can never get my dough I make from scratch to turn out. It just never has good crust taste so I cheat and go the easy route of using MarthaWhite Pizza Crust. Thanks Martha =)!



The Crust Ingredients
1 pkg MarthaWhite Pizza Crust
1/2 Cup Hot Water
Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
Pinch of Italian Seasoning
Pinch of Garlic Salt (or just Garlic)
1/2 Cup of cheese (I like a blend of different cheeses)

Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees

Mix crust according to the MarthaWhite packaging directions in medium mixing bowl. Add in Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and cheese and fold into dough. Spread out your dough in a lightly Pam sprayed iron skillet. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown.




The Topping Ingredients
Your favorite toppings (I used ham and peppers)
1 Cup of Mozzarella
1/4 Cup of Pizza Sauce

Remove from oven, and add desired toppings and cheese. Return to oven for another 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Presto your very own half-homemade personal Iron Skillet Pizza! YUM!

A BITE OF AMERICAN CULTURE

Pies were enjoyed long before America even existed, dating back as far as the Middle Ages. Most of those pies however didn't even contain any sugar....YUCK! Apple pie didn't become a patriotic symbol for America until sometime during WWII, when American soldiers coined the phrase "Fighting for Mom and Apple Pie". The Apple Pie reached it's popularity peek as an American icon around 1970, thanks in large part to a commerical jingle and apple companies' slogans to try and popularize the fruit. Thus....'As American As Apple Pie' was born!!!

CARAMEL APPLE PIE RECIPE

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie ( Honestly I just buy mine)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup of Caramel ( My favorite to use is Kraft Caramel Bits)

Prep Time: 30 min. Cook Time: 1 Hr Ready In: 1 Hr 30 Min

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. Add in Caramel. Place top Crust over gently pinching the sides together. Slice a couple holes in the top crust. To add a richer color to a double-crust brush the top crust with milk or lightly beaten egg before baking. Place Pie on cookie sheet to prevent spill overs in your oven.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft. You may need to put tin foil around the edges of the pie to keep them from becoming to dark or burning.

Whats For Dinner?

Today I thought I would simply share one of my favorite slow cooker recipes. I love pasta so this recipe quickly became a favorite of mine! I hope you all enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment with your favorite recipe or send me some mail and maybe I will feature your recipes on my blog in the future! Like what does your family always ask you to make. What do you make at least once a week? What do you fix as your dish for family holidays? What do you make for a quick easy dinner? These are all some fabulous questions I would love to know the answers to from my readers? Plus I might want to steal some ideas for my own cooking needs =)!


CHEESY ITALIAN TORTELLINI -Slow cooker Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 lb of ground beef
1/2 lb of ground Italian sausage
16 ounce jar of marinara sauce
1/2 small onion
1/2 small green bell pepper
4.5 can of mushroom -drained
14.5 can of Italian style tomatoes -undrained
9 ounces of tortellini noodles ( I like the cheese stuffed ones in the frozen food section)
1 cup of shredded cheese

Directions

Step 1 Crumble beef and sausage add the halves of the finely chopped onion and pepper brown in a skillet on medium heat.

Step 2 Combine contents of the skillet with the mushrooms, tomatoes, and sauce in a slow cooker, cook on low heat for 4 hours covered, cook another 2 hours uncovered

Step 3 Stir in tortellini and sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook for 15 minutes on low. Don't over cook or your noodles will me to soft!