I’ve made many a crisp in my day. And by many, I really mean too many.  You name the fruit, I’ve probably made the crisp. Well, except not with pomegranates. Thinking that wouldn’t work out so well.

Anyways, I love how this crisp is made.  You create the caramel sauce and toss it with the apples, rather than just tossing the apples with the brown sugar before tossing them into the baking dish. (Wow, that’s a lot of tossing.)

And yes, I said create.

This is the key to get that great dark brown caramel bubbling over the outside of the crust. It was so ooey-gooey good!

And another way you can use up that abundance of apples…Slow Cooker Applesauce!  I’m sharing the how to over at SCJohnson’s Family Economics Food for Thought blog.

Back to the caramel…

Ooooh, the caramel!

Caramel Apple Crisp

Adapted from Epicurious’ Caramel-Apple Crisp

Ingredients

• 8 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and quartered (I like these because they are the sweetest.)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp butter or (dairy free) margarine
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter or (dairy free) margarine

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a 9×13 glass baking dish. Prepare the apples.
2. In a medium saucepan, cook the brown sugar, butter/margarine and lemon juice.  Bring to bubbly, then reduce heat and stir until sauce darkens.  Add the cinnamon. Then toss in the prepared apples.  Then place into the prepared baking dish.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt.  Cut in the cold butter/margarine, until little crumbles form. Sprinkle the topping all over the caramel sauce coated apples.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until apples are tender, sauce is bubbly and thick, and topping is golden.
5. Serve Caramel Apple Crisp with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

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I had firsts.

Then seconds.

Then thirds.

And *maybe* fourths.

(Perhaps it’s the half marathon training and the fact that my body is just CRAVING calories! Not only am I still full-time nursing, I’ve decided to train for the San Antonio Rock n Roll Half Marathon that will take place in November.  I think I’m burning close to 3,000 calories per day. Hence *maybe* the fourth serving of this delicious quinoa salad.)

(But truth be told, I’d likely have eaten 4 bowls of this if I was not nursing and not training for this half marathon.)

Shall we move on to the ingredients?!

Ingredients

1 1/2  cup white quinoa ($1.25 ) Red would be fine too
2 cups chopped apples ($.75) From the manager’s special apples…and again, a *child who shall remain nameless* ate several before I could get them mixed in
1 cup chopped walnuts ($1)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries ($.50)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken ($1.50)

Dressing
1/4 cup maple syrup (free from Amazon using Swagbucks)
1/4 cup apple juice ($.05)
1/4 cup cider vinegar ($.05)
1/4 cup mayonaisse ($.20)

Salt and pepper to taste

Green beans, steamed (from the garden)

Directions

1.  Cook the quinoa in 2 parts water: 1 part quinoa ratio.  Bring water to a boil, then add quinoa and reduce heat and cover. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until little ring separates from the grain.

2. Chop apples, walnuts and shred the cooked chicken. (I used some chicken from what I cooked in the slow cooker after my grocery shopping trip the other day.)

3. Prepare dressing.  Whisk all dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl.

4. Toss together the cooked quiona, chopped apples, walnuts, raisins and shredded chicken.  Pour dressing over the top.  Season with a little salt and pepper.

5. Wash, trim and steam the green beans for a few minutes, or until bright green.

6. Serve Chicken and Quinoa Waldorf Salad with Creamy Maple Vinaigrette and Steamed Green Beans.

Cost $4.30

These muffins may or may not be featured in the next cookbook.

What do you think?!?  Should I include them?!?

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Directions

This is the key to their yumminess.  Mix together the diced apples, dried cranberries and brown sugar and fold them into the batter just before filling up the muffin tin.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 12 regular size muffin tin wells. (Also makes 24 mini muffins.)

Add the eggs, white sugar, oil, milk, vanilla to a stand mixer or mixing bowl.  Mix until smooth.

Add in the dry ingredients (minus the apples, cranberries and brown sugar.) and mix until batter is smooth.

In a smaller mixing bowl, toss the apples, cranberries and brown sugar.  Fold into the muffin batter.  Pour into the greased muffin tin, filling 3/4 full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 24 minutes for regular size, or 16 to 18 minutes for mini-muffins. Let cool on cooling rack before serving.

Serve warm with some butter!

Pictured above: the mixins.

This is a quick and easy pasta salad. And quite refreshing too.

(Too bad, it’s cool and wet outside today!)

Ingredients
2 cups elbows or penne pasta noodles ($.50) Almost out of my $.50 boxes of pasta!
6 strips of bacon or turkey bacon ($.50) Bought this past week for $1.5o/package.
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets ($.79)
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes ($.19)
About 1/2 cup homemade ranch dressing (or your favorite store bought!) ($.40)
Fresh fruit ($.50) We had apple slices.

Directions
1. Cook the pasta as directed on the box. Drain and rinse with cool water.
2. Cook the bacon in a skillet or in the microwave on paper towels. Let cool, then crumble.
3. Steam the broccoli florets for just 2 or 3 minutes, in a stovetop steamer or in the microwaveable bowl with 1/2 cup of water, covered with plastic wrap.
4. Place the cooked and cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl and toss with the crumbled bacon, broccoli florets, diced tomatoes and homemade ranch dressing. Toss. Toss. Toss.
5. Serve BBT Pasta Salad with fresh fruit.

Cost $2.88

Warm. Slightly crunchy. Just the right sweetness.

Mmmm…

Ingredients
4 cups water
2 cups quick cooking oats ($.20) $.50 containers bought here
1 large honeycrisp apple, diced ($1.12)
Few dashes of cinnamon ($.05)
3-4 Tbsp brown sugar, or other sweetener ($.15)
1 tsp lemon juice ($.05)

Directions

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add 2 cups of quick cooking oats. Cook according to directions on box.

2. While water is boiling and oats are cooking, slice apple.

3. Chop apple.

4. Place chopped apple into a bowl and add a few dashes of cinnamon, enough to cover the top layer of apples.

5. Add 1 tsp lemon juice and brown sugar.

6. Mix together the apples and sweetness.

7. When the oatmeal has thickened and is gently bubbling (over medium-high heat)…

8. Drop in the apples.

9. Once all the apples are into the oatmeal…

10. Stir them in and cook for 1-5 minutes.  If you want crispier apples, just cook for a minute.  If you want softer apples, cook for 5 minutes.  If you want medium-crispy-medium-soft apples, cook for 3 minutes.

You get the idea, right?

11. Serve Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal.

Cost $1.57

Makes 4 hefty breakfast servings.

It’s hard to photograph egg casseroles.  Every time I’ve tried, it just doesn’t look as good as it tastes.  I suppose it’s the bland colors.

Anyways…L-O-V-E-D the sausage and apple flavors in this casserole!

Ingredients
6 slices wheat bread ($.25)
1 lb. mild sausage ($1.99)
1 onion, chopped ($.20)
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped ($.25)
8 eggs ($.80)
1/2 cup milk ($.05)
Salt and pepper
Fresh Fruit ($1)

Directions

1. Spray 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Tear 6 slices of bread and place into the baking dish.

2. Add 1 lb. of cooked sausage.

3. Add 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped granny smith apple.

4. Toss together in the baking dish.

5. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and salt and pepper.  Pour over the bread, sausage and apple mixture in the baking dish.

6. (For best results, refrigerate overnight.) Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

7. Serve Sausage Apple Egg Casserole with fresh fruit.

Cost $4.54

P.S. I actually made this for our Christmas guests…just haven’t found the time to share it, until now!

I actually made this before the baby was born. And of course, froze the extras. Because there were lots of extras. And we are eating those leftovers tonight!

Ingredients
1 cup dried red kidney beans ($.40)
1.5 lb. ground beef ($2.09) On sale for $1.39/lb!
1 onion, chopped ($.30)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.29)
1 6 oz. can tomato paste ($.19) Used $1 coupon on can that cost $1.19!
1 Tbsp garlic powder ($.10)
3 Tbsp chili powder ($.25)
2 tsp salt
Pepper, to taste
2 cups uncooked pasta “wheels” ** ($.25) Bought with $1/2 coupon when on sale for $1…used half the box!
Shredded cheese to top in each serving bowl (optional) Omit if dairy-free
4 small apples ($1)

**Use rice pasta for a GF meal

Directions
1. Soak and cook dried beans in large pot. Drain and rinse the beans.
2. In the same pot that you cooked the beans, brown the ground beef with the chopped onion. Drain and rinse. Return to pot.
3. In small saucepan, cook 2 cups uncooked pasta wheels as directed on package.
4. Combine the ground beef/onions, cooked red beans, diced tomatoes (undrained), tomato paste PLUS 4 cans of water, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, allowing time for flavors to mingle.
5. Slice or dice apples.
6. Serve Chuckwagon Chili with sliced apples.

Cost $4.86 for 1 pre-baby meal and 1 post-baby meal!!!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

I use olive oil.  A lot of it.

It’s my preferred choice of “oil” for cooking.  So it’s a definite BONUS when there are extra savings available for olive oil. 

Filippio Berio is offering a $1 off coupon…Register for the Filippio Berio newsletter and you can print a $1 off coupon! Filippio Berio is also a member of the Upromise team, so they will automatically deposit a percentage of your Filippo Berio purchases into your Upromise account. 

SWEET!!!

Now on to the sweet caramelized onions…

Ingredients
1 package chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs) ($2.33)
1/3 cup olive oil ($.40)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar ($.20) I used a balsamic white wine vinegar…which explains why my chicken isn’t dark in the photo. A dark balsamic vinegar will turn the chicken brown!
Salt and pepper
1 medium butternut squash ($1.03) STILL on sale for $.49/lb!
2 Tbsp maple syrup (free)
1 medium onion ($.30)
1 tsp olive oil ($.03)
1 tsp sugar ($.01)
1/2 bag romaine lettuce ($.25) Bought on sale with store mailer coupon for $.50!
1 small apple ($.25)
Salad dressing ($.25)

Directions
1. Place chicken breasts into glass baking dish. In small bowl, whisk olive oil and balsamic vinegar with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken breasts. Cover with plastic wrap. Marinate at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. I started these guys marinating right after breakfast…and mmm! The longer the marinating time, the better!
2. Remove plastic wrap and bake chicken at 350 for 45-55 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center.
3. Bake butternut squash. When finished, scrape out flesh into bowl and stir in 2 Tbsp maple syrup for some extra sweetness!
4. Caramelize the onions.

Add onion slices to skillet with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp sugar.  Cook over medium high heat for 20-25 minutes, or until turn golden brown.  Stir often! I did not do this, but thought of it while eating.  I should have/suggest that you add a dash of balsamic vinegar as the onions are nearing the end of their caramelization!
5. Chop apples and toss over lettuce with dressing.
6. Serve Balsamic Chicken with Caramelized Onions, Maple Sweetened Squash and Salad.

Cost $5.05

A delicious fall after school snack!

Makes 18 regular sized muffins, or 12 regular sized muffins plus 12 mini muffins

Ingredients
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
4 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 medium Jonathon or Macintosh apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 12 muffin tin wells and 12 mini muffin wells, or 18 regular size muffin tin wells.

2. In stand mixer or large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, applesauce, oil and milk.

3. In small mixing bowl, combine white flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in the mixer/mixing bowl and combine until batter forms.

4. In another small bowl, stir together cranberries, finely chopped apples, cinnamon and brown sugar. Fold the cranberries and apples into the batter.

5. Bake in preheated oven, using these time frames: Regular sized muffins for 16-18 minutes. Or mini muffins for 13-15 minutes.

**Note: If you don’t use all the wells in your muffin tin, just fill them with water so they don’t brown.  Plus the water creates a nice steamy environment in the oven!

Enjoy!

Well.  We’ve been dealing with a bit of a crisis around here.  Remember my “Stock the Freezer” list?  Well, I’ve been busy the last few weeks stocking up our fridge freezer and our deep freezer.

So last night I noticed that the power light on the generic brand deep freezer (wish was just about stuffed to the gills!) was out.

Uh oh.

Checked all the electric, fuses, etc.  All fine and in working order.  Made some calls and “they” deemed the freezer broken.  Made some more calls and was able to get my money refunded.  Thankfully!

Made some calls this morning and learned we could have a new, brand name freezer for the SAME PRICE by Sunday.  Woohoo!

But, what to do with the food in the mean time?  I was NOT about to let $100s of dollars and a whole lot of kitchen time go to waste.  We made arrangements and the food stayed frozen and is safe.

Sigh.

All that to say, we’ve had a bit of a change in the menu plan this week.  My “fall back” meals are usually spaghetti or breakfast for dinner. Tonight, breakfast won.

In the freezer, I found English muffins (that contain dairy) for Hubs and myself to make Sausage Eggwiches.  Since the boys can’t have the English muffins, they had leftover pumpkin pancakes from the freezer, scrambled eggs and fruit. (I’ll share the pumpkin pancake recipe tomorrow!)

Since I only used half of the sausage for this meal, I browned the rest of it to make breakfast burritos for Hubs.

This recipe makes 6 eggwiches…since I had 6 English muffins! 

*Note: Extra eggwiches can be frozen.  Or sent to work for lunch the next day. Or reheated for breakfast the following morning!

Ingredients
6 eggs ($.60) On sale $1/dozen this week!
1/2 lb. natural pork sausage ($.50) Bought 1 lb. natural sausage roll on sale this week for $.99 after sale and coupon!
6 slices cheddar cheese ($1)
6 English muffins ($1.50) Bought on sale for 6/$1.50 and froze
Apple slices ($.50)
Cantaloupe wedges ($.75)

Directions
1. In skillet, spray with cooking spray and turn on medium high heat.  Crack an egg and let it fry.

Like this…But I prefer mine…

Eggs Over Easy…so that’s how I made them for these eggwiches.

2. In same skillet, brown the sausage. Slice sausage roll into 1/3 inch thick circles and fry in skillet until cooked through.
3. Assemble sandwiches. Place fried egg, cooked sausage patty and cheese onto bottom muffin part. Place in toaster oven or under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Add top muffin part.
4. Slice fruits.
5. Serve Sausage Eggwiches with Fresh Fruit.

Cost $4.85