Caramel-Apple Pudding Cake

I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. It was WONDERFUL...and I usually do not like foods with cooked apples. This would be great in the fall time.

Ingredients

2 medium tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith or Jonathan, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (2 cups) - I used Granny Smith
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins (I used half raisins and half craisins)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes), melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon butter (no substitutes)
Vanilla Ice Cream - optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 2-quart square baking dish; arrange apple slices in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Top evenly with raisins; set aside.
3. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add milk, the 2 tablespoons melted butter, and vanilla; mix well. Stir in nuts. Spread batter evenly over apple mixture.
4. Combine caramel topping, water, and the 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan; bring to boiling. Pour caramel mixture over the batter in the baking dish.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until set in center. Spoon warm individual servings into dessert dishes, inverting each portion. Spoon caramel-apple mixture from the pan over each portion. Makes 12 servings.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This recipe was fantastic!!!! I do not think I will make pulled pork any other way. The recipe was found on allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

My notes: I used Target brand root beer (Shhhh, don't tell) and Sweet Baby Ray's Hot and Spicy BBQ Sauce. Also, I added in some salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Because of my work schedule the pork cooked for 11 hours...and it still came out great! When I got home I added in the BBQ sauce and let is cook for another 30 minutes.

Jason and I liked it so much we are hoping to serve it at a housewarming party IF we get the house!

Rice and Tomato Gravy

This side dish was something Jason's Great Grandma would make all the time. I changed it a little by adding in some other flavors. She would make plain white rice and not added any seasonings to the gravy....Jason's Great Grandfather loved it that way! This is something you can really make your own.

Gravy Part

1 can diced tomatoes
creole seasoning (a good amount)
cumin
smoked paprika
red pepper flakes
1/4 of water
flour and water mix

In a pan combine the first six ingredients. Heat on medium until every is hot and well combined. remove from heat and add in flour and water mixture to thicken gravy to your liking. Place back on heat and let it cook a little more so you do no taste the flour. Adjust the spices to your liking.

Rice Part (you can really do anything you'd like for the rice)

2 cups of water
2 chicken bullion cubes
1 cup of rice

Combine all the above ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil, cover and cook on low. Should be done in about 20-25 minutes.

Serve the gravy over the rice and you are done!

Crab Cakes

We wanted something new for dinner and since we did not want to pay the money for crab legs...we had crab cakes! I also made a "seafood" dip for the crab cakes. This recipe is from my Better Homes and Garden Cook Book.

Crab Cakes

INGREDIENTS

1 beaten egg
1 cup soft bread crumbs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion (1) (omitted this because I do not like onions)
1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill (omitted because I did not have any)
1 teaspoon seafood seasoning (I used Phillip's Blackened Seafood Seasoning-you could also use Old Bay)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 16-ounce can pasteurized crab meat or two 6-1/2-ounce cans crab meat, drained, flaked, and cartilage removed
3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons cooking oil
I added - cayenne pepper and dry ground mustard to the recipe

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium mixing bowl combine egg, soft bread crumbs, mayonnaise, green onion, dill, seafood seasoning, pepper, cayenne pepper and ground dry mustard. Stir in flaked crab meat. Divide mixture into 8 portions. Moisten hands and form each portion into a 2-1/2-inch patty.
2. Place crab cakes in a greased shallow baking pan. Combine the dry bread crumbs and cooking oil. Sprinkle over crab cakes pressing to adhere. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until light brown. (Or, do not place in baking pan; coat with crumbs as above. In an extra large skillet cook patties in 2 tablespoons hot oil over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until brown, turning halfway through cooking. Add additional oil, if necessary. Drain on paper towels.) Makes 4 servings (2 crab cakes per serving).

Make-Ahead Directions: Prepare as above through step 1. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours. Bake or fry as directed.

We fried ours and they were wonderful!!

Seafood Dip Recipe

Mayonnaise
Pimentos
Old Bay Seasoning

Pretty tasty and really simple!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

It was late at night and I was in the mood to bake. I remembered seeing a simple three ingredient recipe for peanut butter cookies on allrecipes.com....so I tried it out. I added chocolate chips to mine!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
chocolate chips (I added this)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool. Recipe doesn't make very many, so you could double recipe as you desire.

My tip: Be sure you press the cookie batter down with a fork on your baking sheet before you put them in the oven.

Creamy Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

Half a box large shells

1/2 pound ground hamburger (I used 93% lean)

1/2 bulk ground sausage (I used half of a Jimmy Dean roll)

4 ounces cream cheese

6 ounces sour cream

shredded mozzarella cheese

chopped garlic

dried oregano

dried thyme

red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Directions

Boil shells.

Brown hamburger and sausage, add in spices to your taste. Once meat is cooked drain fat and add in cream cheese, sour cream and mozzarella cheese. Mix until everything is incorporated. Fill cooked shells with mixture and place open side up in a baking dish. Sprinkle more mozzarella on top and bake until cheese is melted.

Other Successful Options: You could add mushrooms to the meat mixture, and you could also serve marinara sauce over the shells.