Apple Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze

That is one long name! This recipe was very good and easy to make. We had some apples that Jason's Grandparents got for us while they were in the Mountains and I wanted to make something special with them. I came across this Emeril recipe on the Food Network website and thought it would be the perfect thing to try because I had all the ingredients on hand. Jason helped me out my peeling and coring the apples =)!

INGREDIENTS

Cake:
1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples

Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water
a dash of nutmeg (I added this to the recipe)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

Sour Cream Muffins with Bacon and Cheese

When I saw Paula Deen makes these on the Food Network this past weekend I knew I had to try them out. Since they seemed more savory than sweet to me I added the bacon and cheese. These are so good that even Paula Deen doesn't add butter to them when she eats them!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups self-rising flour
2 sticks butter, melted
1/2 pint sour cream
chopped cooked bacon (I added this)
shredded cheese (I added this)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients and spoon into small, un-greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. (You do not need to the grease the muffin tins because of all the butter in the mix). Yield: 24 small muffins or 12 large muffins.

I halved the recipe and they came out great! I can't wait to make a full batch for the holidays.

Cheesy Dill Hashbrown Patty

I was home and had no clue what I wanted to eat and I did not feel like cooking a meal for myself. So...this is what I came up with...

potato (mostly peeled and grated)

oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

salt and pepper to taste

dill to taste and for garnish

sour cream

In a skillet I heated up some oil and then added my grated potato (medium heat). Add salt, pepper and dill to taste. As you cook the potato try to keep one flat layer; stir and flip it as you go. Once it is just about done sprinkle your shredded cheese over potato. Starting from the edges start to form your patty (the cheese really helps it stick together). Once patty is formed cook for about 30 seconds, flip and cook another 30 seconds. Transfer to your plate (you may want to drain off some of the oil first), then garnish with some sour cream and dill.

This was really good and I plan to make it more variations soon.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Caramel Sauce

It is that time of the year when pumpkin becomes popular and craved by many. Once again I turned to Allrecipes.com and I found this recipe. I added the caramel sauce to it and that made it even better! I can not wait to make this again for Thanksgiving!!!

INGREDIENTS
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving

Changes: After reading over some reviews I decided to use pumpkin pie mix instead of pumpkin puree since it already had the spices in it. I also added a little extra vanilla, cinnamon and sugar to the mix.

CARAMEL SAUCE

1 bag of caramels (14oz)
1 can of evaporated mix (12oz)

In a pan on the stove top heat up the caramels and evaporated milk together. Allow it to cool a little so it can thicken. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the cheesecake before serving and top with some whip cream. YUM!
PLEASE NOTE: If you do not want extra caramel sauce leftover when the cheesecake is gone you may want to halve this recipe.

Cabbage Jambalaya

When I saw cabbage on sale at the grocery store I went searching Allrecipes.com for a new way to use it. This recipe did not call for much seasoning so I added a lot to it and it was great!!

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery
1 clove chopped garlic
1 medium head cabbage, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
14 1/2 fluid ounces water
1 cup uncooked rice
garlic salt to taste

I added the following to season it up: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, cumin, and lots of Creole Seasoning.

DIRECTIONS

In a large stock pot over medium high heat, combine ground beef, smoked sausage, onion, celery and garlic. Cook until beef is evenly brown. Stir in cabbage, tomatoes, water and rice. Season with garlic salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 35 to 40 minutes, or until rice is done.

Here are some of my changes: I used a can of petite diced tomatoes because that is what I had on hand. In place of water I used chicken broth. Since I do not like big pieces of onion I grated part of a red onion and used that. I also added more cabbage and liquid than the recipe called for, and I cooked it longer to soften the cabbage to our liking. For the meat I used turkey kielbasa and ground sirloin.