Crock-Pot Chili

    I woke up this morning and was freezing. I checked the temperature and it was only 42 degrees outside and 57 degrees inside. BRRR! Way too cold for October, but I refuse to turn my heat on full blast this early in the year. We have an oil heated furnace and oil is NOT cheap. So I decided that since my husband has been asking for chili for the past two weeks this would be the perfect day to make it.


     I’ve worked hard over the past few years to perfect my chili recipe. I’ve often just used what has been in the refrigerator or in the cupboard and liked it so much that I’ve added it to my chili recipe. I think that I’ve probably revised the recipe 6 or 7 times over the years. The one I have now is great, but I still substitute ingredients in and out depending on what I have in the house.

     I checked out my supplies to see what I had. I didn’t have a packet of chili seasoning, but I had taco seasoning so I substituted that in instead. I had fresh peppers, tomatoes, and onions in the crisper so I was good on vegetables. I made the chili before work and put it in the crock-pot on low for the day. When I got home from work the smell of spicy tomatoes filled the air.

     The chili was perfect for this cold October day. It was warm, spicy, and filling. We ate it with salads and bread. I had butter on my bread but my husband swears by bread with peanut butter on it when eating chili. The best part? We have enough left over for dinner tomorrow!
Crock-Pot Chili

1 pound lean ground beef (I use Laura's Lean)
2 cans of diced tomatoes with jalapenos
2 cans red kidney beans, drained
2 c. water
1 packet of chili seasoning (or 3 T. ground cumin, 1 t. red pepper, 1 t. chili powder)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 t. black pepper
3 T. cumin

1. Put the crock-pot on low heat. Add the canned tomatoes, kidney beans, water, and chili seasoning and mix well. Add in the diced tomatoes, green pepper, onion, and garlic. Cover.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the ground beef, 3 T. of cumin, and black pepper. Cook until the beef is heated through. Drain the grease and add to crock-pot. Cover crock-pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

**There are many things you can do with leftover chili. It freezes well for up to 3 months in a freezer bag.  I like to make a taco salad the next day from leftover chili and my husband likes to make chili dogs the day after. **

Witches Hats (cookies)

  When my friend Mandy Lokar posted a picture of these on her FB page I had to have the recipe!  They are so cute and, as I later found out, super easy to make!   I have not yet made them, but Mandy is allowing me to use a picture of hers.  They are so simple to make, that I may make them to take in to the kids at school tomorrow:-)

Witches Hats (cookies) (idea from Mandy Lokar)

1 package of Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies
1 bag Hershey Kisses
1 container of white icing
orange icing tint
powdered sugar

1.  Remove 30 cookies from the bag and turn upside down on a shet of waxed paper.  Unwrap 30 Hershey Kisses and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl tint the icing orange with icing tint.  Put about half the icing in a pastry bag or a zip top baggie with the end cut off.  Pipe a small amount of icing onto the middle of each upside down cookie.  Immediately set a Hershey Kiss on the icing, pressing down to make the band of the witches hat.

3.  Mix 1/2 c. to 1 c. of powered sugar into the remaining orange icing until it thickens.  Put into a pastry bag with a small tip or into a zip top baggie with the end cut off and pipe the icing on the hat in the shape of a bow.

Halloween Cake Pops!

     Recently there has been a lot of talk about cake pops. I was unsure what actually made up the cake pop, but after looking at a few recipes, it seems as though it’s nothing more then a combination of cake, icing, and chocolate. While it didn’t exactly sound fantastic, I thought it would be something that kids would probably enjoy.


     When I found out one of our friends was coming into town from North Carolina and was bringing his 8 year old son with him I knew this was the perfect time to try out the cake pops. Even better was the fact that he was having a Halloween birthday party. I had just bought chocolate melts in Halloween colors so this was a great time to use them.

     I used a Pillsbury cake mix and Pillsbury cream cheese frosting in my recipe. Of course you could make the cake and icing from scratch, but I think it’s really just the combination of the cake, icing, and chocolate that makes the cake pops so good.

     The pops were very messy to make but turned out so cute after I finished decorating them. My husband and his friend both tried them and gave them their approval. I sent home a bag of the pops with our friend to take to his son. I later got a message telling me that the cake pops were gone in under 2 minutes. These would be great to make ahead of time and then have kids decorate them with icing as a project that they can eat.

Cake Pops  (adapted from Bakerella)

1 box cake mix (I used Pillsbury butter yellow)
1 container of cream cheese frosting
Chocolate melts in the colors you want to use as decoration (I had brown, white, and orange for Halloween)
35-40 Lollipop sticks

1. Bake the cake in a 13 x 9 baking pan according to package directions. Cool on a wire rack.

2. In a large bowl place half of the cooled cake. Mash it with a fork until it is crumbly. Add in the other half of the cake and crumble with a fork.

3. Add half the container of frosting (about 1 cup) and stir. Slowly incorporate the rest of the can into the mixture.

4. Line two baking sheets with wax paper. Mold the cake mixture into 1 inch balls and set on the waxed paper.

5. Meanwhile, melt a small amount (1/3 cup) of brown chocolate melts in a double broiler or in the microwave. Dip 1-2 inches of a lollipop stick into the chocolate and then into the cake ball. Repeat for all of the cake balls. Put the cake balls in the refrigerator/freezer for 30 minutes to set. (You can skip this step, but it makes it much easier to cover in chocolate when the pops are frozen and not falling off the sticks.)

6. Take the cake pops out of the freezer. Melt colored chocolate melts for your cake pop coating. I choose white for skeleton and ghost pops, and orange for jack-o-lantern pops. Hold each cake pop by the stick and dip into the chocolate making sure to coat all sides. Place back on wax paper to harden.

7. After coating each cake pop, place chocolate melts you will be using to decorate with in a zip top baggie and microwave in 30 second intervals. Zip close the top of the baggie when melted, cut off the tip, and pipe the decorations onto the cake pops. If chocolate begins to harden put back in the microwave for 15 seconds. Let the cake pops harden for 15 minutes and then enjoy.

Coolest House on the Block sponsered by Snickers!

     Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I like to dress up, I like handing out candy, and I love seeing the kids all dressed up and excited for the holiday. As an elementary school teacher, I’ve had to hear for the last 20-something days how Halloween is this month and listen to 100 different costume changes.

     So when I received an e-mail from SheSpeaks telling me that I would be getting a package to make my house the “Coolest House on the Block” for Halloween I was super excited! I couldn’t wait for my package to arrive. I tracked it online and it finally came on Friday. The box was huge and was so heavy I had to have my husband help me carry it.

     I could barely get it on the table before I started tearing it open. Imagine my surprise when I found over 20 bags of fun sized Snickers bars! It turns out that Snickers is sponsoring the Coolest House on the Block and because of that I received many fun size bags of NEW Snickers Peanut Butter Squares! They won’t be available in stores until winter of 2010 but a select numbers of people have been chosen to hand them out ahead of time for Halloween! I am so excited to be one of these people!

     In addition to all the bags of Snickers (both the peanut butter and the original) SheSpeaks and Snickers hooked me up with door decals, caution tape, a fog machine, mix for the fog machine, a strobe light, and a HUGE sign telling everyone that I’m handing out the new Snickers candy! It’s everything I need in order to decorate both my house and my classroom for Halloween.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Icing

     This was the first challenge for the What’s Baking? baker’s challenge. The challenge put forth was to create a fall themed cupcake. I immediately thought of either apple or pumpkin. After thinking on it, I decided to expand upon the apple cupcakes I made last week and make them into caramel apple cupcakes. I figured I could then do a caramel butter cream frosting for on top.

     I was watching Sandra Lee on TV the other day and she did a cupcake where she put most of the batter in the cups, then poured in the sweeter batter and did a swirl with it to incorporate it into the cupcake. I decided to do this with my apple cupcakes. I made them with a caramel swirl in them and then topped them off with the caramel buttercream frosting. The frosting is to die for. It is sweet, thick, and oh so full of caramel. I think it’s what makes the cupcake.

     To top it off I made marshmallow fondant apples to put on each one. The end result was a cute cupcake that tastes good and reminds me of fall.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

2 c. flour
2 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 egg
1 egg white
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. sugar
½ c. butter
½ c. applesauce
1 t. vanilla
2 large apples-peeled, cored, and chopped
2 T. milk
1/3 c. caramel sauce (I used Hershey’s caramel syrup)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugars, and applesauce. Add in the egg and egg white. Mix well. Add in the vanilla. Carefully stir in the dry ingredients and mix well. Add in the milk to make the mixture a little easier to stir.

4. Take 2/3 cup of the batter and put it in a small bowl. Mix in the caramel sauce. Meanwhile, add in the apples to the large bowl of batter and mix until combined.

5. Fill 18 muffin cups ½ full with the apple batter. Put a spoonful of the caramel batter on top of each. Take a knife and pulling from the bottom, swirl the two batters together.

6. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Caramel Buttercream Frosting

¼ c. butter
¼ c. caramel sauce
1 t. vanilla
1 ½-2 c. powdered sugar

1. In a medium bowl mix the butter, caramel, and vanilla until well blended. Slowly stir in the powdered sugar until the frosting is thick and holds it’s shape. Spread onto the cupcakes.

White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies

     I get on these kicks where I am in the mood for a certain ingredient and then for the next week or two I make a bunch of recipes using that ingredient. So when I went to Martin’s this weekend to grocery shop and saw that they had the big cans of pumpkin, I was excited. Nothing says October and fall more then pumpkin and I’ve been collecting a ton of pumpkin recipes over the past month. I bought two large cans of pumpkin thinking that this would allow me to make 3 of the recipes I’ve been dying to try and also allow me to try a few of my own.
     The first one I wanted to make was the White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies. I am a huge fan of Blondies. I like the fact that they have the texture similar to a brownie, but none of the chocolate flavor (I’m not big on chocolate cake). When I told my husband what I was making he wanted to know exactly what a blondie was. I explained it to him but he still didn’t get it. However, that didn’t deter him from asking all night when I was going to be making the blondies.

     I checked out the recipe and made some adjustments to it before I began. The recipe was fairly simple to make though it didn’t look every appetizing while I was mixing it together. Once I poured it in the pan and popped it into the oven our mouths started watering. The cooking blondies smelled like butter and spices. When I took them out of the oven I set the entire pan on two wire racks to let them cool.

     After about 15 minutes I transferred the semi-cooled blondies onto a cutting board using the foil. I had a little trouble peeling off the foil. The one side of the blondies crumbled apart but the rest looked good. I let them cool for another 5 minutes after taking off the foil before I cut them. When I brought one out on a plate for my husband to try he looked at it and said, “Oh! It’s like a brownie!” Yep, that’s right, it’s a blond brownie looking treat.

     The blondies were out of this world. They had a cake like texture and an amazing flavor. I could really taste the butter, pumpkin, spices, and the white chocolate. In fact, some of the white chocolate chips had burst on top and made a thin white chocolate glaze on the tops. They were amazing. I took half of them to work so that Frank and I wouldn’t eat them all. They were gone before lunch. The half we kept at home were gone the next day. This recipe is a clear winner that I’ll be making again before the end of October.

White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies (adapted from Erin's Food Files  )

2 ¼ c. all purpose flour
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
½ c. butter (1 stick) at room temperature
½ c. applesauce
¾ c. sugar
½ c. light brown sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
¾ c. pumpkin puree
1 c. white chocolate chips


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.

2. In a medium bowl mix the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl cream the butter, applesauce, and sugars. Beat until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree (the mixture may look curdled).

4. Slowly mix the dry ingredient into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

5. Spread the batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean. Take out of the oven and cool completely in the pan.

6. Lift the cake from the pan using the foil. Peel off the foil and use a serrated knife to cut into squares.

First Attempt with Royal Icing-Halloween Sugar Cookies!

     I’ve been busy making Halloween treat bags for my students. While I was making them I decided to make one for each of my three little cousins. After I made the treat bags I decided to go ahead and make them each a Halloween box to send in the mail. While Johnna and Peyton enjoy Halloween, Greggy takes after me and LOVES Halloween. I was excited to pick up little treats from Wal-Mart to include in the packages but wanted to send something homemade as well.

     Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of cookies decorated with royal icing. I’ve never used royal icing before but I was anxious to try it out. I decided to make the kids Halloween sugar cookies and decorate them with the royal icing. I had cookie cutters in the shapes of a black cat, a ghost, a pumpkin, and a gingerbread man. I know what you are thinking. Who makes a gingerbread man on Halloween? I knew that with icing I could make it look like a skeleton so I went with it.

     Sugar cookies are something I make often, so they were super easy to make. I had just picked up some icing dye in Halloween colors and was excited to use it. I made a batch of royal icing and divided it into 4 small bowls. I left one white and colored the others black, orange, and green.

     The icing was a little runny so I added more powdered sugar then was called for. I put half of each bowl of icing into zip top bags and piped it onto the cookies. I had so much fun doing it and the results were awesome! The icing hardened and looked great on the cookies. I hope my cousins enjoy the cookies as much as I enjoyed making them.

Simple Sugar Cookies

2 ½ c. flour
¼ t. salt
¾ c. butter at room temperature
¾ c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla

1. In a medium bowl mix together the flour and salt.

2. In another bowl beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture.

3. Shape into a ball. Divide in half, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

4. Heat the over to 350 degrees. Roll out one dough half on a floured surface to around ¼” thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cuts. Reserve scraps and roll out dough again.

5. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Royal Icing  (from Joy of Baking)

3-4 c. powdered sugar

2 egg whites

2 t. lemon juice (about half a lemon)

1 t. extract (almond, vanilla, etc.) optional

1. In a bowl beat egg whites until frothy. Add in the lemon juice and extract (if desired) and mix well. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until mixture is thick. Tint icing and put in a piping bag to ice cookies.

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze

     So yesterday I used some more of my six pounds of apples to make apple muffins. They were perfect for breakfast but now that it’s the weekend I’m looking for something sweeter. Immediately cupcakes come to mind. I wanted to make an apple cinnamon cupcake with a sweet frosting on top. Looking through some recipes online I came across a brown sugar glaze that sounded like it would be perfect to go on top of my cupcakes.
     The recipe for the cupcakes is similar to the muffins but there are differences. For starters there is more sugar in the cupcakes and more flour. I baked them up and they smelled divine. While they were in the oven I mixed up the brown sugar glaze. Even after sitting it was still runny so I added some powdered sugar to it which made it the perfect consistency.

     I’d like to say that I could have eaten the entire pan of glaze. I’m not kidding it was like a warm, sweet caramel. The sweetness of this glaze was perfect with the sourness of the granny smith apples in the cupcakes. I ate two as soon as I glazed them and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from eating them all by the end of the weekend. Of course, I think I could dump this glaze on just about anything and I’d eat it.

     Sadly, I used the end of my six pounds of apples on this recipe. It’s been a good apple baking week in our household and the next time I’m down near the Fruit Bowl, I’ll make sure to pick up another large load of apples. Next time I’ll switch up the types of apples, as I’d like to try a few different ones in some recipes I have sitting on my dresser just waiting to be made.

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze

2 c. all purpose flour
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 large egg
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. white sugar
½ c. low fat sour cream
6 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
½ c. sweetened applesauce
3 apples peeled and cored: 1 diced and 2 grated
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a large bowl cream the butter, sour cream, and sugars. Add in the applesauce and egg and beat well. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir until well combined. Add the diced and grated apples and stir well.

5. Pour mixture into muffin tins about ¾ full. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then glaze.

Brown Sugar Glaze (from Vintage Victuals)

½ stick butter
½ c. packed light brown sugar
1 T. milk
2 T. powdered sugar

    1. Put the butter, brown sugar, and milk into a small saucepan. Stir until melted. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Allow to boil for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar. All to cool for 20 minutes to thicken. Pour onto apple cupcakes.

Apple Nut Muffins

    I’m still working on the six pounds of apples that I bought at the Fruit Bowl this past week. The applesauce was scrumptious, but now I was in the mood for something more substantial. I’m a teacher so I normally work 8-3:30 everyday, but today is parent-teacher conference day so my schedule is 11-7. This worked out well for me because it gave me some time to come up with a breakfast recipe that included apples.


    When I think breakfast and apples I immediately think muffins. They are easy to make and really good in the mornings or for a snack. I decided to make a simple apple cinnamon muffin with sour cream to make it moister. I chopped one apple and grated another to give the muffins a few chunks but to also add apple flavor to the muffins.

    The muffins turned out well. They were not too sweet (which is perfect for breakfast), and they had a great apple flavor to them. After making them I realized I had some dried cranberries in the cupboard. I think adding a half a cup of cranberries to the muffins would have made a nice harvest muffin for fall. I’m thinking I might make another batch using the cranberries.

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Muffins

1 ¾ c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 egg
½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
¼ c. white sugar
1/3 c. low fat sour cream
½ c. applesauce
¼ c. butter
1 t. vanilla
2 medium apples (I used Gala) peeled and cored: 1 diced, 1 grated
½ c. coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl cream the butter, sour cream, and sugars. Add the applesauce and vanilla and stir until it’s well combined. Mix in the egg.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little at a time until well combined. Stir in the apples and nuts.

5. Divide the batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Warm Apple Crisp

     There is nothing better on a chilly fall night then a warm bowl of apple crisp. Since I happen to have around 4 ½ pounds of apples left I figured I’d make this treat for my husband and I. I have tried many versions of apple crisp over the years. Some of them have been dry, others have had a topping that wasn’t the greatest, and some have been pretty yummy. I hoped that having made so many different versions of the crisp that I could use what I’ve learned and make the best apple crisp yet.


     I started with two different types of apples. I used Granny Smith apples which are tart and Gala apples which are sweeter. I cut, peeled, and sliced the apples. Then I placed one Granny Smith apple on the bottom and layer one Gala apple on top of it. I then put on a layer of sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. I thought this might help to make the apple crisp moist and more flavorful. Then I layered the other two apples on top. I finished off with a very simple crumb topping.

     The result was amazing! The apples had softened and combined with the spices and lemon juice to make a moist apple bottom on top of which was a buttery crisp topping. It tasted and smelled like fall. My husband asked if we could just eat apple crisp for dinner. Of course I agreed! The only thing that could have made it better would have been a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Apple Crisp (by me!)

4 medium apples-peeled, cored, and sliced thin (I used Granny Smith and Gala)
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. nutmeg
1 lemon
2 T. sugar

Topping:
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. flour
½ c. oats
4 T. butter, chilled

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 11 x 7 baking pan (or 9 x 9) with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Layer two of the apples in the pan. Cut the lemon in half and use the juice of ½ of the lemon to cover the apples in the baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 t. cinnamon, 1 t. nutmeg, and 1 T. sugar.

3. Layer the remaining two apples on top of the sugar. Sprinkle the remaining ½ of the lemon’s juice on top of the apples and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar on top.

4. In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, and oats. Blend the butter with a pastry blender or 2 forks until it is crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the apples to cover the entire top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the top begins to brown.

Crock-Pot Applesauce

     This week all of my recipes have apples in them.  When I think fall I think of apples and pumpkins and have been on a huge fall kick.  I just bought a ton of apples and will be using them throughout the week.

     I was out yard sailing on Saturday as I do most Saturday mornings. I hadn’t had a lot of luck and was tiring quickly. I was in Cumberland, which is about 20 minutes from my house, when I passed the Fruit Bowl. The Fruit Bowl is our local fruit and vegetable market. I don’t get down there to often because it’s in an inconvenient location but the fruits and veggies are great and the price is usually better then at the market.


     When I walked in the door the first thing that greeted me was a huge display of apples. I’ve been in a fall mood for the past two weeks so I went to see what the price was. Turns out they were baking apples and were on sale for 59 cents a pound! I promptly chose three pounds of Gala apples and three pounds of Granny Smiths. I had no clue what I was going to do with them, but I figured I think about that later.

     After asking some of the ladies on the What’s Cooking? board on The Nest for some apple recipe suggestions, I came out with three recipes I couldn’t wait to try. The one I was most excited to try was the crock-pot applesauce. I love applesauce, especially when it’s warm and has a hint of cinnamon to it.

     I got home from Zumba around 8:00 and after taking a shower I had a craving for applesauce. It was pouring down rain and cold outside, so I thought the hot applesauce would be perfect for breakfast. I peeled the apples then used my apple slicer to slice and core the apples. This made it so much easier and faster then doing it by hand.

     I got it all together and in the crock-pot at 10:00pm. The mouth-watering aroma of apples and cinnamon woke me up at 4:30 am. My alarm was set for 6:00am so I just got up and checked on the applesauce.

     It looked so good! It smelled heavenly. Seriously-it smelled like warm apple pie in my kitchen. I couldn’t wait to try it so I had a bowl at 5 o’clock! It tasted as good as it looked. The applesauce was warm with a light sweetness and had undertones of cinnamon. It’s the perfect breakfast dish for a cold, rainy morning. My husband was talking about adding it to his oatmeal when I was walking out the door for work, and he doesn't even like applesauce.  He did however, eat a bowl of this homemade applesauce this morning and really enjoyed it.


Crock-Pot Applesauce (adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking)

6 large apples, skinned, cored, and cut into 8 pieces (I used 3 Granny Smiths and 3 Galas)
Juice of 2 lemons (I used about 1 ½ lemons because they were juicy)
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
3T. brown sugar
¾ c. water

1. Skin, core, and cut the apples into eighths. Put the pieces into the crock-pot. Add the juice of the lemons and the water. Pour in the vanilla. Add the cinnamon and sprinkle the brown sugar on top.

2. Stir just to combine the ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When the apples are super tender, mash with a potato masher or a large fork.

**Note: I cooked the apples for 6 hours on low then mashed them. I then sprinkled another tablespoon of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon on top of the applesauce and cooked for an additional hour. It was fabulous!

Balsamic Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

     Fridays in Frostburg mean the farmer’s market. Unfortunately I work on Fridays so once late August comes I’m unable to make to it to the local farmer’s market. Thankfully my husband was able to get there this past week. He got a lot of our usual favorites and in addition he scored a bag of fresh green beans.


     Now I love green beans, especially when they are fresh. The problem I have is I never know what to do with them. After running through my recipes I recalled a balsamic green bean dish I had made ages ago. After searching my files for the recipe I came up empty handed. I thought that I recalled the recipe well enough to wing it, so I tried.

     The results were surprisingly good. This is such an easy recipe that has just a hint of sweetness to it. The beans were good hot, but the longer they sat in the vinegar mixture after cooking, the more flavor they absorbed and the better they tasted. I think next time I would add more onions and maybe a sprinkle of dried thyme.
Balsamic Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into ½ inch strips
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound green beans, trimmed and halved
¾ c. chicken broth
2-3 T. balsamic vinegar, divided
2 t. brown sugar
½ t. salt
½ t. ground black pepper
1 t. dried thyme
1. In a large saucepan bring salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook, uncovered, for 7-8 minutes or until crisp but tender. Remove from heat and drain. 

2. In a medium skillet heat the olive oil. Cook the onion for 7-8 minutes or until they are beginning to brown. Toss in the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, or until fragrant.

3. Add the chicken broth to the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 T. of vinegar, the brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the green beans and sauté 3-4 minutes. Drizzle with 2 T. balsamic vinegar and heat for another minute. Sprinkle with dried thyme. Add the green beans and serve.

**You can also top the green beans with toasted almond slivers for additional crunch**

Eight Days to Live (Book Review)

     I ordered the audio CD for the novel Eight Days to Live by Iris Johansen at the end of May. Unfortunately it came on this new little device with its’ own ear buds that didn’t work. The library informed me that they didn’t have any other audios of this book but they would find it for me down state. Three weeks later the CD’s arrived at the library. It was a week before my wedding so I listened to as much as I could, but had to return them the day I got back from the honeymoon, as it was an inter-state library loan. I then found that my own library system had purchased the book and I put it on hold. I just got the book yesterday and finally finished it, after starting it last month.

     The question is…was it worth it? The answer: I think it was. This fast paced thriller is one in the Eve Duncan forensics thriller series. I’ve read a few other books in this series and they were mainly about Eve Duncan and her forensic work. This book took the series to a whole new level and focused more on the Jane, Eve’s adopted daughter.

     In the book Jane is being stalked by a religious cult because of one of her paintings. The cult wants to make Jane their sacrifice at the Offering ceremony which takes place in eight days, hence the name of the book. The story brings in characters that we are already familiar with from earlier books. There is Jock Gavin the assassin, Seth Caleb the mind reader, and John MacDuff the warrior. All three men work together to try and keep the cult from finding Jane and offering her as a sacrifice to Judas.

     I think this book is better then her previous two or three. It brings in some of the old characters we love, and gets away from focusing on just Eve and her husband Joe. The religious cult aspect is an interesting look into the Bible and history. This book was action packed and easy to read. There were possibly a few too many killings to make it believable, but it was still entertaining and left me wanting to read the next in the series.

I give this book 3 ½ out of 5 stars.

Crock-Pot Potato Soup

    It’s gotten fairly chilly over the past week even though it’s only the beginning of October.  I’m not complaining, as the first few weeks of school were so hot I thought I might pass out. I’m actually excited because I’ve got my hoodie on, I have nothing to do tonight, it's pouring down rain, and I’m thinking potato soup and grilled cheeses for dinner sound excellent.


    Because I had potatoes, carrots, and celery in the house it was easy to decide on potato soup. I know many people will chide me for using a half a cup of potato flakes in my recipe but my mom and I swear by it. It helps to thicken the soup and gives it a great flavor.

    I put together the soup before work and left it in the Crock-Pot on low all day.  When I came home I put my hoodie back on and dinner was almost ready.  I quickly put together grilled cheese sandwiches and then ladeled out the delicious soup.  We like to top our soup with cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and chives, but really any potato topping will work on this soup. 

     This recipe makes enough soup for 6-8 people.  Therefore we generally have it for dinner the first day, then both lunch and dinner the next day.  It's also a recipe that freezes well for up to 3 months.
Crockpot Potato Soup (a combined recipe from my mom and I)

6 c. chicken broth
2 c. water
6 slices bacon
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
½ c. dried potato flakes
¼ c. milk
1 t. marjoram
1 t. ground black pepper
½ t. rosemary
Cheddar cheese and chives for topping



1. Turn the crock-pot onto low and add chicken broth and water.

2. In a skillet cook the bacon until browned. Put onto paper towels to drain.

3. Keeping 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease in the skillet, sauté the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cloves for 4-5 minutes. Add the vegetables to the crock-pot.

4. Crumble the cooked bacon putting half into the soup and reserving the other half to top the soup with.

5. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes, add to the crock-pot. Slowly stir in the potato flakes, milk, and seasoning.

6. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. If desired, use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes and thicken the soup. Top with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and chives.

Chex Mix Football Party!

     It was the weekend that I’ve been waiting for. The Pittsburgh Steelers (my favorite team) were playing the Baltimore Ravens (my husband’s favorite team). Having been born and raised in Pittsburgh I am a die hard Steelers fan. My husband was raised in Maryland and lived in Baltimore for a few years and is a huge Ravens fan. We live in Western Maryland where the amount of Steelers and Ravens fans are about equal which makes for an exciting game every time the two teams meet.

     It was also the weekend of my General Mills Chex Mix football party! In order to get ready for the event I chose three of the recipes from the Chex Mix website.  Since General Mills provided three flavors of Chex Mix for my party (original, turtle, and honey nut) I looked for one recipe that would match each bag of party mix. Two days before my football party I was having a special event for my students at school and decided to have them taste all of the recipes. The overwhelming favorite of the elementary school students was S’more Fun.



S’more Fun

1 bag of Turtle Chex Mix
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. broken graham cracker pieces
1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and serve.


     On the day of the party I was busy making buffalo chicken dip, apple crisp, and a few other easy snacks to eat in addition to the Chex Mix during the game. The game was exciting with the lead going back and forth between the Steelers and the Ravens. The last two minutes of the game were nail biters. In the end the Ravens ended up winning (BOO) but everyone had a good time.

     The real winners of our party were the different varieties of Chex Mix. While the adults enjoyed the S’more Fun mix and the Berries and Chips, the favorite among the grown ups was the Nuts to You! They liked the salty snack with a variety of nuts added to it. I just used the different nuts we had around the house, but you can use any combination of nuts that equals two cups.
Nuts to You!

1 bag original Chex Mix
1/2 c. salted peanuts
½ c. honey roasted peanuts
½ c. pecans
½ c. cashews
1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and serve.

     My personal favorite out of all three mixes was the Berries and Chips. I liked the sweetness of the Honey Nut Chex Mix with the tartness of the cranberries and the addition of white chocolate. I felt like I was eating a special white chocolate covered pretzel treat. A few of the kids really liked this mix as well mainly because of the addition of the white chocolate.

Berries and Chips

1 bag Honey Nut Chex Mix
1 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. Craisins dried cranberries
1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and serve.


     After it was all said and done we had a great party. It was fun to get some of our friends together for some snacks and football, especially on the weekends our favorite teams were matched up. I also enjoyed seeing the reactions of the students to the different flavors of party mix. I think everyone had a lot of fun and took home some new, easy recipes.

**A special thanks goes to General Mills and the Pssst…panel for providing us with the Chex Mix, football plates, football napkins, and a serving bowl**