Pilgrim Hats

 So we made these last year and I forgot to post them on my blog.  So I thought I'd go ahead and post them before I forgot again this year.  My 3 yr. old and 5 yr. old put these together pretty much all by themselves and thought they were super fun! Buy the supplies and let your kiddos go nuts!

Pilgrim Hats
1 bag of the small Reese's Peanut Butter cups
1 box chocolate striped shortbread cookies
1 cup frosting (I used homemade buttercream)
decorative fall sprinkles (optional)

Place cookies upside down on a tray.  Using a small dollop of frosting glue the unwrapped peanut butter cups onto the cookies.  Pipe frosting around the bottom edge of the peanut butter cup and make a little square on the front for the buckle.  Add decorative sprinkles if desired.  Enjoy!

Apple Enchilada Dessert

I had seen a few pictures of these on facebook and pinterest and decided to give them a whirl!  I just kind of made up a recipe using my normal apple pie filling and here's what I came up with! It ended up making a 9x13 pan but you could definitely cut it in half and make an 8x8.  They are huge and we each only ate half of an enchilada (with some vanilla ice cream of course!) so there was a ton of leftovers. Give them a try!

Apple Enchilada Dessert
4 cups thinly sliced apples (peeled and sliced)
2 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups water
4 oz. fat free cream cheese
6 taco sized flour tortillas
2 T. butter (melted)
Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling on top

In a large bowl mix apples and lemon juice and set aside.  In a large stock pot or dutch oven combine 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  Add water and whisk together.  Cook over medium- high heat until thickened (about 2 minutes of boiling).  Melt in cream cheese.  Add apples and cover.  Simmer over medium heat until apples are tender.  Pour 1/6 of mixture into a tortilla and roll.  Continue with each of the tortillas placing each one in a 9x13 pan. Brush tops of enchiladas with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and tortillas are slightly crispy. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Fall Favorites

In honor of Halloween I thought I'd link back to some of my favorite fall recipes!  Give some of them a try!

Halloween Fun

Apple Nachos

Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Glaze

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Apple Snickers Salad

Looking for a new way to get rid of some of your kids Halloween candy? This is a quick and yummy dessert idea I got from my friend Elise a while back. Plus the apples and fat free whipped cream make it good for you...right? Right? (Just forget about those delicious little bits of Snickers!)  I put quantities for each of the ingredients but this isn't really a recipe where you need to measure things out.  You can easily make as much or as little as you want.  The recipe below filled my regular sized trifle bowl perfectly. Enjoy!

Apple Snickers Salad
4 large granny smith apples (chopped)
1 16 oz. container fat-free whipped topping
5-6 regular sized snicker bars (chopped)

Chop apples and snickers bars into bite sized pieces and mix with whipped topping. That's it!

Taco Soup

 I'm really surprised I haven't put this recipe on here before now seeing as I make it so much.  I got this recipe from one of my roommates aunts back in college.  It was a great meal for college because it was cheap and it lasted me all week.  Now that I'm cooking for six people it doesn't last quite as long but it's still cheap and easy to throw together.  It's made up of ingredients that you probably already have on hand!

Taco Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can stewed tomatoes (do not drain)
1 can corn (do not drain)
1 can olives (drained)
1 can kidney beans (do not drain)
1 can pinto beans (do not drain)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup salsa (I use Kroger chunky salsa)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup water (or more as needed)

Toppings (optional):
cheese
sour cream
crushed tortilla chips

Instructions:
Cook beef and onion together in a large stock pot.  Add all canned goods, salsa and taco seasoning.  Take note that only the olives are drained. Add water until soup is desired thickness.  (I usually just use one of the empty cans.  About 1 1/2 cans of water usually does the trick).  Let simmer about 10 min.  When serving, top with cheese, sour cream or chips if desired.

Or...
Freezer Meal Instructions:
Brown ground beef and onion together until meat is cooked through and onion is tender.  Cool slightly and place in a gallon sized freezer bag.  Add all remaining ingredients to bag.  Seal and label.

When ready to serve, place in crockpot with an additional cup of water and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until heated through. Or thaw, place in a stock pot with additional cup of water on the stove and cook until heated through.  Top with cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips if desired.

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches

I got this recipe from Alex's aunt several years ago and love it.  Just mix all the ingredients together in a crock pot and the meat and au jus come out perfectly when you're ready to eat.

Italian dressing seasoning and banana peppers work together to give the meat its flavor.  You can spice it up by using hot pepper rings in place of mild. Serve on wheat hoagie rolls with whatever cheese you prefer.  We like provolone or pepperjack around here :)

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
3-4 lb. beef roast
1 packet dry Italian dressing mix
1 jar mild (or hot) pepper rings (with juice)
1 can beef broth
garlic powder (to taste)
oregano (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together in a crock pot.  Heat on low for 7-8 hours.  Shred meat and return to crock pot. Serve meat on sandwich rolls using broth mixture for dipping. 


Freezer Meal Prep and Cooking Instructions:
Place roast in a gallon sized freezer bag.  Substitute 2 tsp. boullion for beef broth.  Add a bouillion and all other ingredients to bag with roast.  Massage slightly to combine ingredients. Freeze.

When ready to serve- Place in crock pot. Heat on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is cooked through.  Shred meat and return to crock pot. Serve meat on sandwich rolls using broth mixture for dipping.

Fruit Crisp

This is one of my favorite desserts.  The topping pairs well with just about all the fruits I've tried.  I've made it with fresh peaches, pears and apples.  The picture above is peaches.  I've also used frozen berries and cherry pie filling and those were both yummy too.  It's also easy to double and cooks nicely in a dutch oven (in case you get put in charge of making cobblers for 100 teenagers at Girls Camp...for example!)

There are a lot of ways to alter this recipe to your liking too.  Omit the coconut if you want, play around with the spices, combine different fruits, add extra pecans, etc.  Just don't forget the vanilla ice cream!!

Fruit Crisp
6 cups fruit (fresh, frozen or canned)
3 T. granulated sugar
1 T. lemon juice (only if using fresh fruit)

Topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon (I like more!)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1) Peel and slice fresh fruit or thaw frozen fruit.  Place in the bottom of a 9x13 in. baking dish.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar and lemon juice (if needed).

2) In a medium bowl combine oats, brown sugar, flour and spices.  Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture is in coarse crumbs.  Stir in nuts and coconut.  Pour topping evenly over the fruit.

3) Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until fruit is tender.  Serve warm with ice cream.

Freezer Meal Prep Instructions:

Follow steps 1 and 2 above making sure to use a freezer friendly 9x13 dish (I use the disposable kind).  Cover with 2 layers of foil. Label and freeze.

When ready to serve:
Let thaw in refrigerator overnight, uncover and bake using instructions above.  OR...to bake from frozen: tent foil over pan, increase cook time to 65 minutes or until fruit is tender and the top golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream!