Fresh Apple Cake w/Brown Sugar Glaze

Mmm the start of Fall means the start of baking in my kitchen.Pumpkin,apple,zucchini!! Tried this recipe yesterday..mmm yumminess :)


Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Apple Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups finely chopped apples
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)


Brown Sugar Glaze:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon heavy cream


For the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch pan (round or square) and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.Stir with a whisk to mix everything together.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs with a hand mixer til light in color and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and beat well.

Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts (if using) and stir to mix them into the batter.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Place the hot cake on a wire cake. While it's still hot, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze: Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Spoon the hot glaze over the still hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.Or you can also remove cake while still warm,place on serving dish before glazing.Enjoy!

Potato & Bacon Soup with Dumplings

I first had this soup when my Mother-in-Law,or I should say my Mom,made it for dinner.I was in love instantly! My Father-in-Law taught me how to make it,another reason it is special to me.The recipe has been passed down in his family.I've been making it since last Fall but today I put my own twist on it & added bacon...oh heavenly yumminess!

Rogers Potato Soup with Dumplings


1 onion,chopped
1/2 stick butter
About 10 potatoes,peeled & chopped
Salt
Pepper
1-2 cans evaporated milk
Chopped bacon,cooked (optional)

Cook onions in large pot on medium heat butter till clear.Add potatoes & fill the rest of the pot with water,make sure to leave room for the milk later.Bring to boil & cook until potatoes are tender.

Turn heat down to low.Add salt & pepper to taste.Add evaporated milk.I usually do 1 1/2 cans.

Drop in dumplings(recipe below),Cook until they start to float.



Dumplings

4 cups flour
6 eggs

Mix both together until doughy.Drop into soup.

Hope you enjoy!

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

As a Law Enforcement Officer my husbands work schedule can change at any moment.As of this past week he is back on night shift...which means my nights are back to being long and boring once my little boy goes to bed.I find myself surfing on Pinterest a lot.Last night I came across a picture of Chocolate No-Bake cookies and realized I couldn't remember the the last time I made them..and I was suddenly starving! And finding I had all the ingrediants I whipped up a batch.So yummy,so simple.Enjoy!


Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oatmeal

Mix sugar,butter,cocoa,and milk in sauce pan.Boil for one minute.Add peanut butter and vanilla.Mix quickly until peanut butter melts,then add oatmeal and mix until well blended.

Drop spoonfuls onto wax paper or tin foil.Allow to set and cool completely.

Meat Balls

I make these meat balls in spaghetti & also with Sweet & Sour sauce over rice.My husband loves them & they are very simple & quick to make! I double the recipe to make about 24 large meat balls.


Meat Balls


1 lb lean ground beef
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together until combined.Shape into balls of your size choice.Place meat balls into a un-greased 13x9 inch baking pan.

Bake uncovered 15 minutes for smaller meat balls,30 minutes for larger  ones.Or until no longer pink in center.

Ground Beef Risotto

You can also make this recipe with shredded chicken,just replace the beef broth with chicken broth!Also,you can add any veggie you like.I usually do carrots & canned french style green beans.Great recipe for sneaking in veggies!

Ground Beef Risotto

1 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder(can also use chopped garlic)
1/2 tsp onion powder(can also use chopped onion)
1 cup long grain white rice
3 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp chopped chives

In large non-stick skillet;cook beef,pepper,garlic & onion.Drain if desired.Stir in rice;cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly.

Stir in broth;bring to boil.Reduce heat to medium-low.Cove & let simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in carrots(and any other veggies).Cook uncovered 5-7 minutes longer or until liquid is absorbed.

Remove skillet from heat.Stir in cheese.Cover,let stand for 3 minutes.Sprinkle with chives.

Home Made Espresso Syrup

My husband bought me a espresso machine for my birthday last year,and since then I have been making our coffee drinks at home.Although it has been saving us money,we still were spending on syrups..which aren't cheap! So I went online and searched for home made syrup recipes.I tried it yesterday & it is so yummy! And so simple..we will be saving a lot more $ from now on! This made enough to fill a coffee creamer bottle I had saved.

Espresso Syrup

3 cups water
3 cups sugar
3 tsp flavored extract of your choice

Bring water & sugar to boil.Stir until water is clear.Remove from heat & immediately add extract.Let cool completely before pouring into storage container.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Lasagna

I haven't made lasagna in years & have been wanting to find a good recipe.I got this one in my email & when I saw it was made in the crock pot [my favorite cooking tool] I immediately wanted to try it.I was a little nervous but it turned out great! 

Crock Pot Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

3 cans (15 ounces each) Italian-style tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

15 uncooked lasagna noodles

Instead of the basil leaves & salt I just added a pack of spaghetti seasoning to the tomato sauce.

Directions:

Cook sausage and onion in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, basil and salt.

Mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. (Refrigerate remaining mozzarella cheese while lasagna cooks.)

Spoon one-fourth of the sausage mixture into 6-quart slow cooker; top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Spread with half of the cheese mixture and one-fourth of the sausage mixture. Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and one-fourth of the sausage mixture. Top with remaining 5 noodles and remaining sausage mixture.

Cover and cook on Low heat setting 4 to 6 hours or until noodles are tender.

Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into pieces.

Something as simple as chopped fresh parsley will dress up this lasagna. Sprinkle on the parsley just before serving.For lasagna with a kick, look for hot or spicy Italian sausage. Links can be used if bulk sausage isn't available. Just squeeze the meat out of the casings and cook as directed.

Enjoy!