by Sharon | Oct 9, 2015
I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate for this 300th post!
I absolutely love apple anything. Then add a caramel glaze over it and it is pure heaven!
My mother and grandmother were the pie makers in the family. Sure, I could join their ranks . . . but there are times you do have to go out a bit on your own and have your own thing. Now, cakes and decorating them was never my thing. When I discovered Bunt Cakes I was in heaven! I’m not a frosting type of person. If I’m going to eat cake, I want cake. . . not icing.
Yes, I am a bit strange. I’ve never been into sweet treats. I’ve never developed a taste for fruit cake — I can’t imagine people eating them . . . but they seem to be as popular as ever.
Now a real fruit bread is a whole flavorful treat. Drizzle it with a caramel glaze and I’m totally hooked.
Apple Bread With A Caramel Glaze Recipe
Ingredients:
For the Bread
- 1-1/2 cups peeled and shredded baking apples — that’s 2 large apples)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 lightly beaten eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts — or skip the nuts
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Glaze
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350°F
- Grease only the bottom of 2 8 x 4 inch loaf pans with cooking spray or shortening.
- In a large bowl, stir together the apples, cup of brown sugar, buttermilk, oil and eggs.
- Stir in the remaining bread ingredients until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Pour into pans.
- Bake 45 to 55 minutes — do the toothpick test.
- Cool 10 minutes on a cooling rack before loosening the sides of the loaves from the pans.
- Remove loaves from the pans and place top side up on cooling rack.
- All the loaves to cool completely. It may take an hour.
- In a 1 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Stir in 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
- Heat to boiling, stirring continuously. Reduce heat to low.
- Boil and stir for a couple of minutes.
- Stir in the milk.
- Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm — it takes about 30 minutes.
- Gradually stir powdered sugar into glaze mixture.
- Place saucepan with the glaze in a bowl of cold water.
- Stir until smooth and thin enough to drizzle.
- If you find the glaze becoming stiff, stir in additional — about 1/2 a teaspoon at a time, or you can heat it over low heat, stirring constantly.
- Drizzle the glaze over the loaves.
If you’re not going to serve it to a hungry crowd you may need to wrap it tightly. It can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerated up to 10 days.
It’s a great bread for any time of the year.
Thanks for stopping by! Please leave me a comment.
by Sharon | Oct 7, 2015
It is fun to play with your food!!
These little guys would truly be a fun surprise to put in your kid’s lunch . . . or to have out for an after school snack. They are truly easy to make. . . and fun to eat.
You can make these apple bites with green or red apples. I guess the green makes them look more like monsters . . . but you decide what you want.
You’ll need:
- green or red apples, washed, cored and quartered
- strawberries, washed and sliced for the monster’s tongue
- sunflower seeds for the teeth
- edible googly eyes
- peanut or other nut butter to keep the pieces in place
They’re easy and fun for the kids.
I try to keep an assortment of edible googly eyes on-hand. You never know when you’ll need them.
Have fun and let me know how your googly-eyed apple bites turned out.
Until next time,
Sharon
by Sharon | Oct 5, 2015
I suppose you could make these any time, but for some reason sweet potatoes come to mind in the fall and stay there through the holiday season. But, it could be a good one to remember for your Super Bowl Party . . . introduce it now and you’ll have requests for it from now on . . . And, don’t tell them it’s a healthy snack which has pretty much turned into a meal.
Sweet Potato Skins With Chipotle Chicken
Ingredients:
- 3 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 2 minced chipotle peppers
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 5 ounces grated sharp white cheddar cheese
- chopped cilantro for garnish
- serve with Greek yogurt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash the sweet potatoes and prick all over with a fork before placing them in a baking dish and popping them in the oven to bake for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Place the chicken in a baking dish and rub with a tablespoon of olive oil (salt and pepper if you like).
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Allow the chicken to cool before shredding it.
- When the sweet potatoes are done, but them in half and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chipotle peppers, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and set aside.
- You’re going to want to wilt the spinach — you can do that in a small skillet over medium heat or in the microwave.
- Toss the spinach and shredded chicken together, set aside, but keep warm.
- Turn the oven up to 400 degrees.
- Scrape the sweet potato out of the peel, leaving a medium size layer of flesh inside with the peel so it can stand on its own and place in a baking dish.
- Brush the skins with a little of the chipotle sauce and back for 5 to 10 minutes until crispy.
- While the skins are baking, mix the spinach, chicken and chipotle sauce together.
- Remove the skins from the oven and stuff with the chicken mixture.
- Top with shredded cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the skins are hot and crisp.
- Serve with fresh chopped cilantro and Greek yogurt.
This is a healthy treat the whole family will enjoy.
Leave me a comment.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sharon
by Sharon | Oct 3, 2015
Here’s A Change From Candy Apples or Caramel Apples . . .
A nice coating of chocolate over your apple — red or green would be a delicious surprise for the guests at your Halloween Party.
It could just be me, but I found them difficult to eat . . . and I wasn’t a real fan of candy apples. The caramel ones were all right, but biting into them was an issue for me. I would usually slice my apple up . . . but that’s just me . . .
So, I wanted to give you something entirely different, if you’re having problems with the traditional coated Halloween apples. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
You’ll need to wash up your apples. Remove the stem. Insert some sticks in the top. Melt 2 cups of chocolate morsels and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in the microwave, put in some black food coloring drops and dip the apples to your heart’s content. Place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet to set. Then dip again.
The chocolate coating will break off, but they do look lovely.
These will be a wonderful hit at your party.
You may want:
Please leave me a comment.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sharon