Apple Dumplings

 I took my girls to the apple orchard the other day. As usual we came home with way to many apples and now I need to find something to make all with them. I started with these delicious apple dumplings!

Apple Dumplings

Ingredients needed:

• 6 apples ( I used Cortland)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of butter, softened
• pie crust ( the kind with 2 in a pkg)
• egg
• sugar

In a small bowl mix cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. Set aside.

Core apples

 Peel Apples

Open up your pie dough and roll out to make larger. Cut your crust into 4 pieces

Put apple in the center of dough. Fill with cinnamon mixture.

Fold pie crust up around the apple.

Mix a beaten egg with 1 Tbsp of water.

Brush apples with egg mixture. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 min.

My apples were really large for the pie crust so I suggest if you are using large apples to have another pie crust to use.

Homemade Gel Air Freshners

I have been in a crafty mood lately. I think it is due to the fact that I know our craft shows will be starting soon. Anyways I decided to make some gel air fresheners and I am glad I did, they smell wonderful!

Materials needed:
2 pkgs of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup ice cold water
food coloring
fragrance of choice

Mix the gelatin with the hot water. Stir until dissolved.

 Add food coloring and fragrance. Then add ice water.

 This is the fragrance that I used. I doubled the recipe and used the entire bottle.

 Pour into jars and let sit in a cool place ( not the refrigerator!)

How easy is that??? It took mine around 24 hours to set up then I put lids on them and they are ready to go. My jars were 4 oz and I got 5 filled by doubling the recipe for it.

Chicken-Tomato Skillet

If you are looking for a quick meal , this one is for you. It took less than 15 minutes to make, was cheap and everyone loved it.

Chicken-Tomato Skillet

2 cups pasta
1 pd chicken tenders, cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp. basil ( you may want to go more or less depending on your taste)

Cook pasta and drain, Meanwhile cook chicken in skillet with a little oil for 4-6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add soup, tomatoes, milk and basil.
Stir in cooked pasta. Cook on low for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Enjoy!

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

I have an awesome new recipe for you guys to try! If you like stuffed peppers then you have to try these! I promise you will fall in love with them and never heat your house up by making them again. All you have to turn is turn your crockpot on, sit back and relax.

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

4 large green peppers
1 pd ground beef ( you may need a little more depending how big your peppers are)
1 onion, chopped ( or if you are lazy like me just use onion flakes)
one egg, beaten
one can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg of Spanish rice ( I used the Lipton kind that is in the bag)

Cut tops of peppers and clean out the inside. In a large bowl mix the ground beef, onion, egg, Spanish rice, tomato sauce and water. Fill peppers. It may be a little runny and that is okay.

In crockpot , dump the can of diced tomatoes on the bottom. Set stuffed peppers on top. Cook on low around 6-8 hrs.

Carmel Apple Bread

With both girls in school all day I have some more free time on my hands. After they got on the bus the other day I decided to whip up a batch of this bread. It will be a great recipe to make in a few weeks when the weather turns cool and the apples are in season.



Caramel Apple Bread 
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups coarsely chopped apples ( I used red ones but any kind would work. I also peeled them first)
Caramel sundae sauce ( I used Smuckers)

For Crumb Mixture:
1 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp cold butter
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray loaf pan with non stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy. In a separate bowl, dissolve the baking soda into the lemon juice. Mixture will foam up; that’s normal. Once dissolved, add the baking soda mixture, eggs and vanilla to the butter and beat to combine.
3. Add the flour and salt until a thick batter has formed. Stir in the chopped apples by hand.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the crumb ingredients until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Set aside.
5.Spread 1/4 batter in the bottom of each loaf pan. Sprinkle heavily with the crumb mixture and drizzle a generous amount of caramel on top. Repeat with another layer of each batter, crumb and caramel.
6. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean.

Original Recipe was found here