Sour Cream Apple Pie

Last year I signed up for a calendar from Pillsbury and it has been really great using it. Each month they had a new featured recipe. I finally got around to making one this month and the results were surprisingly good.


Sour Cream Apple Pie
Pillsbury

Crust
1 refrigerated pie crust or 1 frozen deep dish pie shell

Filling
1 1/4 cups sour cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
6 cups 1/4-inch slices peeled baking apples

Topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt
3 tablespoons cold butter or margarine

Heat oven to 400°F. Unroll pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie. In large bowl, beat sour cream, granulated sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and egg with wire whisk until well blended; stir in apples. Pour into crust-lined pie plate.

Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 30 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix all topping ingredients except butter. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs; refrigerate until ready to use.

Sprinkle topping over pie. Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

Review: The only thing I changed in this recipe was that I used a frozen deep dish pie crust instead of rolling out my own. I figured it was just easier and sort of saved me a step. Everything else in the recipe I kept the same and I thought it was a very easy pie to make. It turned out great and I think I would make it again. It didn't come out like the picture totally but it tasted great and looked to me like own you can get in a store.

Eggplant "pizza"

I made Eggplant focaccia bread a few weeks ago and forgot to post it. I got the recipe from EveryDay Food magazine which had a whole section for eggplant recipes. I thought it was a tasty dish but I am not going to post to recipe because I want to try it a different way.

Jell-O Please!

Tonight for dinner I made pizza for the family. I totally forgot to close the door to the pantry which is always a bad thing when Jacob is around. He likes to move things around which is the #1 reason it is a complete mess right now.

He found a few boxes of jello and asked me to make it. I wasn't thinking and I told him that I could not make it right now because it need to be in the refrigerator for a few hours before we can eat it.

I continued to make dinner and went into the refrigerator for some ingredients and look what I found...a box of jello chilling. Of course after that I had to make it for me and did the quick set method.

Football Food Season

Last night was the first game of this years NFL season. I am not really a huge football fan and used to hate Sundays during this season because it was impossible to get Mike's butt off the couch. When we were first married I used to go food shopping during this time. We lived in an apartment building where our parking wasn't right next to the building. So I used to unload my car and the move it to the parking lot. He wouldn't even come down to help me for like 10 minutes when the games were on....he wouldn't even help me with the laundry for 5 minutes when the games were on. This was the reason I hated Sundays because he wouldn't get off the couch.

Then I started to like Sundays because of the idea of trying to make good football watching food. I usually try to make something special for the first game of the season. Since this years teams were the Pittsburg Steelers and the Tennessee Titans I decided to try and make a food you find in those areas of the country. Then I remembered that I had a package of ribs in my freezer for a long time...I was going to try to make Memphis BBQ or something like it.

I decided to make the ribs in the crockpot because I thought it would be the easiest thing to do. Also since I thought of it in the morning I was hoping that I would have enough time to complete it. You can find a lot of recipes online and they were all really similar...here is the one I made.

Crockpot BBQ ribs

3 lbs country style ribs (that is what I had in the freezer)
16 oz bottle bbq sauce
1 onion, chopped

Broil ribs for 10 minutes, flip over to other size and broil for another 10 minutes.

Put all ingredients in crockpot and turn on high for 2 hours and then switch to low for another 4 hours .

Review: These were very tasty ribs and Mike really enjoyed them. I think it was super easy and you can probably skip the broiling step it make it even easier. I will definaltye make this one again.

Olive Cheese Bread from Pioneer Woman

I have recently found a new website/blog that I am in love with it. It is called Pioneer Woman and I just can't get enough of her. One day when I was reading a new post she mentioned that her cookbook will be coming out soon. I have already saved a bunch of links in my "recipes I want to try" folder. I figured before I asked for the cookbook for my birthday...that I should try out a few of her recipes.

I posted already about one recipe that I tried: zucchini cakes in my post zucchini and a lot of it. Loved this recipe and I want to try it out with a different veggie next time...maybe broccoli.

Yesterday I made the next one on my list to try: Olive Cheese Bread. I made this at my in-laws house and forgot to bring my camera but please go to the link above and she has awesome pictures of the whole process.

Review: WOW this is a great recipe...I really loved it. Super easy to make because it is just mixing the ingredients together. Great to make for a crowd because it makes a lot. I actually made it the day before but ran out of time before we had to leave for the Oktoberfest (so much fun). I put it in the frig and brought it with us to my in-laws the next day. It was perfect because we where having cheese and crackers for lunch. This fit right in to that meal. I think the next time I make it I have to put less on the bread. Also I didn't let it heat up the whole way because I was just too hungry and it smelled so good.

I have a bunch of recipes so far that I want to try next and I am sure I will find more:
French Breakfast Puffs
Breakfast Potatoes
Cinnamon Rolls
Pumpkin Spice Latte (but I want to make it for tea)

My boys: Jacob & William

Oh for the love of Corn...

I have to say one of my favorite things about the summer is fresh corn. Eating it right off the cob it really can't get any better then that...or could it. How about fresh from the garden corn. Last year we tried growing some in our veggie garden. Unfortunately we did not get to eat any because of a squirrel or deer (we aren't really sure which one) eating the whole crop.

It was fun last year watching the corn at least grow that we decided to try it again this year. So far so good but the other day when I went out to check on stuff...someone is starting to eat the corn again. I think because of the extremely wet summer we have had things have not been growing that well. The corn isn't completely grown yet but I decided to pick one...so I can at least try it this time.

I have to say it was OK nothing that exciting...it wasn't as sweet as I was hoping it to be. I am hoping that is because it wasn't completely grown and needs that extra time to get the sweetness going. Maybe if we try it again next year and start a little bit earlier we might have some luck finally. If anything it is at least fun to see corn growing in our garden.

Kiwi Lime Sorbet

After participating in last month challenge, I was excited when it came time for Bridget at Bake at 350 to unveil August's theme. Lemon or Lime. I was at work so sent an email to Mike telling him what the theme was for this month and all he wrote back was Kiwi Lime Sorbet. So I was like okay, is that a hint. He said that when he was younger there was this ice cream shop in town that use to make the best Kiwi Lime Sorbet. So picking this months recipe was easy!


Kiwi Lime Sorbet

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lime zest
10-12 ripe kiwis
juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup limoncello (optional)

Wash and dry the limes. Using a microplane grater, remove the zest from the limes until you have about 1 tablespoon of zest. Place water, zest and sugar into a small saucepan and boil gently for 10 minutes to reduce mixture and extract lime.


Peel the kiwis and remove the hard ends and even the whitish core, if desired.


Place kiwis in blender. Juice 1-2 limes and add to blender. There's plenty of lime flavor from the zest, so avoid the temptation to add a lot of juice. Pour in the reduced lime syrup and puree the mixture just until smooth. Pour into a sieve and gently filter out the lime zest and kiwi seeds. Pour this into ice bath and stir in 1/4 cup of limoncello Until blended.


Chill mixture in ice bath until less than 45F. Pour into ice cream maker and freezer according to your maker's instructions. Once chilled, remove from ice cream maker and place in a container to set in freezer.

Enjoy!!

My Review: The only problem I had was with the first step of boiling the water, sugar, and zest. Do not boil it for 10 minutes. What happens is that it because a hard syrup that sticks to the side of the pot and doesn't come out. So when I made it the second time, I just brought it up to a boil and then shut off the heat. At one point I though this recipe was cursed because when making it the second time we were have a bad thunderstorm and the power went out. I'm glad it only went out for a few seconds, because I think I would have started throwing kiwis around the kitchen in protest. But I was able to finish it with no other problems. If you like lime flavored things, you'll like this recipe. It was a little tart for me, but Mike loves lime flavored stuff so he really enjoyed it!

What a Great Idea...Hot Pepper Jelly!

I think it was last week some time or the week before when I saw on another blog a post about Hot Pepper Jelly. I told this to Heidi and she sent me a recipe she found on allrecipes.com. I have a lot of Jalapeno peppers growing in my garden which seem to be the only thing doing well. The recipe seemed simple enough and I had most of the ingredients on hand already.

Hot Pepper Jelly
allrecipes.com

2 1/2 cups finely chopped red bell peppers

1 1/4 cups finely chopped green bell peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno peppers

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered pectin

5 cups white sugar

1) Sterilize 6 (8 ounce) canning jars and lids according to manufacturer's instructions. Heat water in a hot water canner.

2) Place red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and jalapeno peppers in a large saucepan over high heat. Mix in vinegar and fruit pectin. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Quickly stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil, and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and skim off any foam.
3) Quickly ladle jelly into sterile jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the tops. Cover with flat lids, and screw on bands tightly.
4) Place jars in rack, and slowly lower jars into canner. The water should cover the jars completely, and should be hot but not boiling. Bring water to a boil, and process for 5 minutes.

Review: This makes a lot of jelly but let me tell you it is addicting and will go fast. I think this would make a great holiday gift. One thing about the recipe that I am not sure about is the amount of pectin to use. I followed the advise of someone's review and used 2 boxes because they said one box didn't set. When I opened the box of pectin it has a recipe for hot pepper relish in it...that is the same as the recipe above. I am thinking that if you use one box to make the relish it wouldn't set like jelly would set. That recipe also called to use a lot more peppers then the one above. I don't think I would add much more pepper to the recipe because it has the jalapeno taste but without the spice of it...however if you know someone that likes it hot then I think you could even more hot pepper and it will still taste good. This recipe is a keeper!

I served this at the party we had on Saturday and someone put it on top of brie cheese and it was AWESOME!

Homemade Ice-Cream!

For my birthday this year, my mom and dad bought me a Cuisinart Ice-Cream Maker. I have been wanting to get one for the last year. Of course, I didn't realize how many calories it takes to actually make your own ice-cream, so I am in search of lower cal ice-cream recipes. But in the meantime, I had asked my hubby to pick up some heavy cream and half-and-half on the last trip the supermarket.

I started by making the mixture for the ice-cream maker (ingredients and directions below). After it was made, I put it in the maker and expected to watch magic happen! After 25 minutes, it still looked like milk. Huh?! I pull out the directions (you know, the paper that comes with the box, that no one really reads, except for seeing what ice-cream recipes they suggested?!). Little did I I know, you actually need to freeze the bowl FIRST! haha

Ok, so put it in the freezer and after 4 hours, I thought let's try again. (Note, instructions said that it usually takes 6-22 hours to freeze the bowl, but I put it in the back of the freezer as suggested and somehow thought that a miracle would happen), umm, yeah, still milky. Hmm! Does this really work?

This time, I left the bowl to freeze overnight, got up this morning and said, ok, third time is a charm. Put the machine together, put in the mixture, turned it on and went upstairs for 40 minutes. Came downstairs and hmm, what is that coming out of the top?! OH MY GOD! It's ICE-CREAM!

Just because it looks like ice-cream, does that mean it actually tastes like it?! What are the chances that this actually works? Well, let's just say Breyers and Turkey Hill have nothing on me! Holy cow! I think this is some of the best ice-cream I have EVER tasted! Even the hubby was impressed! YUM-O! as Rachel Ray would say. Sooooooooo good! I think it cost more to make than to buy a 1/2 gallon at the supermarket, but hey, it may just be worth it!

Next I'll try to make a lower cal one (may half-and-half and skim milk or 1%) and see how that comes out. But let's just say, I am IMPRESSED! If you have an ice-cream maker, you need to try this out...


Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

PREP TIME 45 Min
READY IN 45 Min
Original recipe yield 1/2 gallon (16 servings)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups half-and-half
1 ¾ cup heavy cream
¾ skim milk
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean (seeded) - or combo of both
1/2 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:
Combine half-and-half, heavy cream, and sugar in saucepan to dissolve sugar. Add vanilla bean and salt at end and let cool. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

For Cuisinart ice-cream maker, freeze bowl overnight. Ice cream mixture can be made 2-3 days in advance and stored in fridge until ice cream bowl is frozen.

Original recipe called for 4 cups of half and half and ½ cup of heavy cream. I used what I had available.

Blueberry Picking and Cheese Farm...a perfect day!

After checking the weather report last week I realized that Saturday seemed like the only nice day of the weekend. I wanted to make sure we did something fun outside while the nice weather lasted. Heidi and Kath mentioned that they were going upstate this weekend to go blueberry picking. I have heard from a bunch of people that because of the rain this year the blueberries were ready for picking later then normal. That got me excited that I might not have missed it this year. I happen to live near a place where you can go blueberry picking (they also have strawberry, and pumpkin picking).

We had a really fun time picking with Jacob who just had a great time. We were lucky but a lot had been picked and they were a lot that weren't ripe yet. We managed to pick a total of 4 lbs...and probably ate at least a pound between us all. This morning I made for breakfast blueberry pancakes and I put a bunch aside to make a pie or muffins.

This farm also happens to be on the way to my favorite place I have found since we moved here...the cheese farm. My in-laws came with us who have never been to the cheese farm before. I took a few picture of the farm because it just looks so nice in the summer when everthing is in full bloom. Where they usually have a ton of goats was where a bunch of calves where instead. We also saw some turkeys there who were out of the pen.