Apple Pie with Cinnamon Whipped Cream Topping

I love Fall. Here in Alabama, we don't get very many seasons. If you ask my husband, we only get two, football season and baseball season.  The seasons we do get aren't very consistent but we do get Fall and it's my favorite.  Alabama has a beautiful Fall. The leaves are pretty, the weather is nice, and the southern comfort food just can't be beat. One of my favorite comfort foods is apple pie. Nothing beats fresh apples, cinnamon and nutmeg all baked nicely in a crispy crust. This particular Apple Pie came from my  husband's great grandmother's recipe. I changed a few things to keep from giving away a sacred family secret ;) but the pie(s) turned out great!

This year, we spent Halloween (or Reformation Day in our family) with some dear friends over dinner and dessert. This pie topped with a dollop of cinnamon whipped cream was the perfect Fall dessert.   (CONFESSION: the whipped topping was actually supposed to be ice cream, but it never froze so we threw it in the Kitchen-aid and whipped it instead. Happy mistake. It was delish!)

I started out with a store bought crust. I'm sure back then, DH's great grandmother made her own pie crust. "Ain't nobody got time for that!" The Pillsbury pre-made crusts were still good. Next, I pealed and sliced 3 Granny Smith apples and tossed them in a dash of lemon juice. The lemon juice really seals in the flavor of the apples, but don't get too carried away. Then spread the slices evenly in the pie crust and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar and drizzle with approximately  1/2 of the butter.

Next, mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter until it begins to crumble. Lightly pack the mixture on top of the apples, covering all the cracks.  Bake in the oven on 375 degrees for 35-40 mins or until the top is golden brown.Gather up a few friends, pour a glass of sweet tea, and serve warm with our awesome cinnamon whipped cream (recipe below)! Then sit back, relax on the back porch and enjoy the nice Fall weather, it will be gone before you know it.

Dutch Apple Pie

Ingredients:

3 tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp lemon juice
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Slice apples very thin and toss in lemon juice.
Place apples in pie shell and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar and half of the butter.
In a mixing bowl, combine remaining sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Work together until spread begins to crumble.
Pack spread evenly on top of apples, patting to cover all of the cracks.
Bake in 375 degrees for 35-45 mins (1 hour if you used a deep dish crust)
Serve hot

Cinnamon Nutmeg Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup half ad half cream
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions:
In a small bowl, beat the egg and set aside. In a saucepan, stir together sugar and half and half over medium to low heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer. Remove the mixture from the heat and slowly whisk half the mixture into the eggs.  Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir in the heavy cream.  Return to medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Chill in the freezer until completely cooled. Using a mixer, whip on high until mixture becomes desired consistency. Refrigerate unused portion in a airtight container.

10 Perfectly Peachy Recipes

To say that I love peaches would be an understatement. I love peaches any way you can prepare them, in a pie, in lemonade, in my sangria, in a cobbler, and even right off the tree. This seems to be a really good year for peaches here in the South, and I  haven't been able to get enough lately. In honor of my favorite fruit, I have compiled a list of great peachy recipes for you. Don't like peaches? Check out the other yummy recipes on my dessert pinterest board.

Source: MyRecipes.com

I've made this peach cobbler from MyRecipes.com several times and it never disappoints!

Source: RecipeSweet.net

Holy yum! If you are looking for something easy and sweet to add to your weeknight dinner, check out these brown sugar baked peaches from TheKitchenIsMyPlayground.com. I am not joking when I say I could have eaten the whole pan by myself and pretended they never existed. What peaches??

Source: TheStyleDossier.com

I haven't tried this peach sangria yet, (although I did throw together a similar one this summer that I never got around to blogging about), but it looks amazing. White wine and peaches? I believe I will.

Source: BestFoodies.com

Like this blogger, some of my favorite childhood memories are of sitting at my great-grandmother's house watching her make fried peach pies. These are uniquely southern and oh soooo good!

KeyIngredient.com

I love strawberry shortcake so when I saw this peach version, I had to share! I can't wait to try this one.

Source: TheThingsILove.com

How cute are these sugared peaches with vanilla cream??

Source: WeekOfMenus.blogspot.com

Peach cupcakes with homemade peach icing. What a great idea!

Source: http://hungryaustralian.com

Made with Prosecco, this peach bellini sorbet looks so refreshing. This would be great on a hot Alabama afternoon.

Source: http://www.alaskafromscratch.com

Grilled peaches paired with vanilla ice cream just can't be beat. Grilled is probably one of my favorite ways to eat peaches. It's so easy and really brings out the flavor!

Source: http://drinkedin.net

I'm not going to  lie, this peach lemonade isn't a walk int he park to make but trust me, it's worth it.

I hope you've enjoyed these peach recipes! We are headed to the beach this weekend which means one thing in Alabama, a stop in Clanton, AL to Durbin Farms! When I get back, I will have to use some of these recipes!

WW Friday Favorites (a little late)

I promised to post my favorite weight watchers recipes on Fridays, and here I am on Monday of week two and still haven't posted. Unfortunately, that is par for the course for what my second week of weight watchers has been. The second week is always the hardest. The motivation is beginning to be replaced by pure hunger. I know if I were diligent and ate veggies, I theoretically should never be hungry on this plan...but man, I hate veggies.

Here are the recipes I have loved so far.

Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo from Celebrations.com

This stuff is heaven. Chicken Alfredo is probably one of my favorite meals. She's a little more ambitious than I am because I used a jar of lite Alfredo sauce instead of making my own giving me a little more points but less headache. With my substitution, it was 12 pts. per serving and serves 4. Not bad for a quick weeknight meal.

Bubble Up Enchilada Casserole

Oh, Emilybites, you have done it again. This didn't even taste like diet food. Actually, looking at this picture again makes me want to put it on the list for this week. I could definitely eat this two weeks in a row. I made this recipe as stated but added in some chili powder and cumin for some kick. (We really like spicy food around here) This recipe feeds 6 at just 7pt+ per serving. So so so good!!! 

That's it folks! Hopefully this week will be a little better and I can post my Friday Favorites on time. 

Weight Watchers Friendly Buffalo Chicken Sandwich - 6pt+

It's that time of year again where we all recover from the holidays and jump on the diet/fitness train. Hubby and I have decided to join Weight Watchers this year. I have tried several diet plans over the past few years. I never had to worry about what I ate in college, but the post college, desk job, has really caught up with me so it's time to do something about it.

I tried Weight Watchers a few months before our wedding and had a little success (granted I cheated more than is allowed). The problem is I don't really like veggies, or salads...or anything green. If you're coming to this site looking for the greatest lunch salad you've ever seen, you're definitely in the wrong place. As Hubby and I start this journey, I will share those recipes that I have managed to lighten up. Starting with this one, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. We love anything buffalo so this is great for our lunches (did I mention that I have an aversion to deli meat too??) and easy to throw together in a hurry. Perfect!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich - 6pt+ *

2 Slices Healthy Life Bread (white) - toasted

2.5 oz shredded chicken (I like fresh chicken better, but this time I used 1/2 a can of 99% fat free canned white chicken, drained)

1.5 Tbs Frank's Hot Sauce

1 wedge Laughing Cow - Lite Swiss

Mix shredded chicken and hot sauce in a small bowl. Add cheese wedge and microwave for 20 seconds to melt cheese. Stir. Spread on toasted bread. Serve hot.

Note: Since I was packing this for lunch, I kept the spread in a microwavable bowl and heated it at work before spreading it on the bread.

Serve with fresh fruit for a 6pt+ lunch! Can't beat that!

* Points Plus value calculated on the Recipe Builder on WeightWatchers.com



Festive Corn Casserole

Good afternoon! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful day in Alabama, I hope your weather was as great as ours.

I tried a few new recipes this year that I would love to share with you. The first is a festive corn casserole that I actually made for the first time for Thanksgiving last year. I got this one from my former boss who brought it for an office pot luck. You see, I don't eat many (ok, any) veggies so the fact that I LOVED this corn casserole is a miracle and definitely worth posting.

The origional recipe is from Cooking Light so it isn't even bad for you! The origional artical can be found on MyRecipe.com but I have also included it here with my edits (in red).

Corn Fritter Casserole, Photo: Randy Mayor, Melanie J. Clarke Ingredients 3 tablespoons butter, softened 3 large egg whites 1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (I put mine in the food processor) 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (again in the food processor) 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole-kernel corn, drained  1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn  1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese (shredded) Cooking spray Preparation Preheat oven to 375°. Combine first 3 (and shredded cheese) ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in onion, bell pepper, whole-kernel corn, and cream-style corn; mix well. Add muffin mix and black pepper, stirring until well combined. Pour into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Billy Strynkowski, Cooking Light  SEPTEMBER 2004    

Gameday Crockpot Meatballs

Happy Humpday! I hope you all are having a great week.
I am very excited to post about these meatballs that I made for the game on Saturday. As I've mentioned before, we love to tailgate. This week, being an away game for our beloved Crimson Tide, we decided to take our tailgating outside to the driveway. Redneck? Maybe, Fun? Heck yes!

I'd like to give a big thanks to our friends at Farm Rich for sending a free coupon to check out their products. They have a great selection  of frozen snack foods that you can either heat up or include in a recipe. This was the perfect opportunity to try out a recipe I had been thinking about.

I used the Farm Rich Italian Style Meatballs (they also have turkey meatballs!!) for this recipe. Most of the stuff I already had around the house so this was a great easy to put together snack.

Crockpot Meatballs
1 bag frozen meatballs
12 oz ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1tsp salt
1 tsp garlic
1 tbsp worcestershire
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Mix all wet ingreadients in a mixing bowl. Add seasonings. Empty bag of meatballs into crock pot. Pour sauce over meatballs. Stir until meatballs are coated. Cook on high for 3-4 hours. Serve warm.






These really turned out GREAT. I'm pretty sure everyone went back for seconds. Best of all, they were easy peasy!!

Want to try this recipe?? Enter to win a certificate to try out a Farm Rich product for yourself!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cream Cheese Pastry with Brown Sugar and Rum Banana Topping

I normally don't care for sweets, I am much more of a salty fan than a sweet fan, however when I saw the idea on Pintrest for a cream cheese pastry I knew I had to try it. I modified it a little and here is what I came up with. It will definitely be a keeper in our home.

Cream Cheese Pastry

1 roll crescent rolls
1/2 cup sugar
1 block cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3tbs butter
Cinnamon/Sugar Mix

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice until smooth. Roll 1/2 the crescent rolls out in a lightly greased pan. Top with cream cheese mixture. Top with second half of crescent rolls. Drizzle butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mix. (I use 1/3 cinnamon and 2/3 sugar) Be generous with the mixture. Bake at 350F for 15-20 mins. Serve warm

Brown Sugar and Rum Banana Topping

2-3 bananas (firm)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tbs butter
1 - 2 tbsp dark rum

In a small sauce pan, heat brown sugar, butter, and rum until thoroughly mixed. Slice bananas into 1/2 inch bites. Saute bananas until sauce thickens. Top cream cheese pastry with bananas and drizzle with remaining sauce. (I do this on the individual servings, not the dish as a whole.)

Please let me know if you try it!

~Amanda

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

About a month ago, my sister-in-law and I had the privelage to interview for a Food Network reality series that will be based in my town. The show is called Food Court Wars and will be based on the concept that two teams will battle for a shop in a food court in a popular mall here in Huntsville. Chef Gordon Ramsey is producing and Tyler Florence is the host. We had so much fun coming up with a concept for a cute little dessert shop. Unfortunately, we didn't get chosen :( but I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Since our audition with the casting director, my husband's co-workers have been begging for desserts. Maybe one day we will get to quit our day jobs and open up our dream shop, until then, pintrest recipes it is! I found this one yesterday from Glorious Treats and tweeked it just a little by cutting down the powdered sugar in the frosting and adding a little coca-cola to the batter. They were great!

Very Berry Brownies - 4th of July

This may be the best semi-homemade concoction I have ever made! I made these for Fathers Day a few weeks ago and decided I HAD to share with all of you. I will be making it again for 4th of July since it looks so patriotic. They are so simple and got great reviews!

1 package of brownie mix
1 block cream cheese
1 can of sweet and condensed milk
1 cup confectioners sugar
Berries

First, I made brownies in a glass casserole pan. Yep, just follow the instructions and let them cool. (If you don't let them cool, your topping will melt.)

Next, mix together 1 block of cream cheese (I used fat free) and 1 can of sweet and condensed milk (I used fat free here too, have to help out where  I can!) Once it is blended well, gradually add in powdered sugar. I don't really measure, I just add to taste. If I had to estimate, I would say I probably

use about a cup, maybe a cup and a half. Mix until smooth.

Spread the topping over your brownies. Sprinkle berries over the top. (I used blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries)

Let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour. This will firm up the topping. It will still be a little runny but it's oh so good!!

Let me know if you try it!

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

This is a easy, great cupcake recipe that is just perfect for summer. I made these a few weeks ago for Memorial Day but I'm just now getting a chance to share them.

For our Memorial Day celebration, I decided to go with a coctail cupcake theme. I made both Shirley Temple and Rum and Coke cupcakes. I got the Rum and Coke recipe from iheartcuppycakes. I didn't change a thing and it was AMAZING! One thing I will warn you about.... she is NOT joking when she warns about the icing looking curdled for a while. Even though I read it, I still freaked out a little because it took longer than I thought for it to smooth out.

For my Shirley Temple cupcakes I doctored up a yellow cake mix by substituting the water and oil with Cherry 7-up. This also makes it a little lighter, a little trick I learned from my failed attempt at Weight Watchers. You can also leave out the egg if you do this but I kept the egg. I would also suggest adding a little splash of grenedine for an extra kick. After all, this is a coctail (vergin as it may be) cupcake. For the icing, I used a recipe from "It's the Little Things in Life" and added some grenedine. It was phenomenal! She also gives what is probably a better recipe for the cakes so if you have a bit of time, I would encourage you to try hers instead of taking my easy way out :)

Here's a pic of the process and the end results!

Weight Watchers Green Onion Dip 1pt+

Ok, I have a serious addiction to chips and dip. This has been my biggest challenge while starting Weight Watchers. I've never really been a sweets fan but when it comes to giving up chips and dip (or bread) I struggle. Yesterday while grocery shopping I had an idea. What if I used fat free sour cream and mixed it with a powdered dip packet?!? Out came my iPhone with my trusty weight watchers scanner. Hidden Valley Dip Mix- Garden Green Onion- 0 points plus! Score!!!

Mix with 16 oz of Fat Free Sour Cream - 1pt+ per 2 tablespoons!

Now just add Special K Multi-Grain Crackers in place of chips (you can have 24 of them for 3 pt+, that's more than plenty!)

What an excellent way to spend 4 points!!

I pinned it, I made it! Recipes!

As a newlywed, I'm always looking for new recipes to make me look (and feel) domestic. You ladies know how it is in the beginning, you always feel like you should have dinner on the table when your husband gets home and it should always be something new and exciting. Well, I'm a SUPER pickey eater. Most five year olds eat better than I do so sometimes finding something new that we both like is quite challenging. Pintrest is my new favorite source of recipes. I put this one in the crock-pot last week. It's finally cold enough here in Alabama to eat this kind of food. Check it out because it is definitely my favorite so far!

Chicken and Dumplings by BackToTheCuttingBoard

Holy Cow! I can't say enough about these! I don't even eat chicken and dumplings but these are quite possibly one of my new favorite things! I didn't make any changes to this one, it was PERFECT as is!

Thanksgiving is here!

I'm super excited about Thanksgiving this year. I'm hosting for the first time ever. Thanks to Pintrest, I've come up with some pretty sweet menu ideas. My mom is bringing chicken and dressing and I am making the following:

Mac and Cheese from A Whisk and A Prayer

Roasted Potatoes seasoned with spices from DellCoveSpices on Etsy (she's a super sweet Etsian and friend, and her spices are out of this world!!) I made these potatoes for a football game viewing party using the Blackened Cajun rub and I swear every single person that ate them raved on how amazing they are.


And maybe these Betty Crocker Green Beans

I do still need a good dessert, anyone have any suggestions???

To end this post, I'll keep my tradition of posting the things I'm most thankful for this year

1. Christ
2. Family, old and new
3. My amazing husband of 3 months :)
4. Gainful employment
5. A BRAND NEW HOUSE!
6. A great set of in-laws packed with cousins, aunts and uncles (I've never had a big family)
7. The cutest puppy alive
8. Having the opportunity to grow my Etsy shop to be profitable (Thanks PromoFrenzy Friends!)
9. Pintrest recipes (seriously, I have taught myself to cook on pintrest)
10. Alabama Football being awesome again (had to throw that one in there ;) ) Roll Tide!