Crock Pot Caramel Apple Cake

Can you believe it's October?  I hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful fall season.  We've been blessed with amazing weather.  I'm hoping for a few more weeks before .....  winter!!  What else reminds you of fall?  Apples?  A couple of weeks ago Tim went with our friend the landscaper to pick apples.  Tim brought me home at least 4 dozen.

The third Monday of the month brings us Secret Recipe Club.  You can find out about this group, here!  For October SRC I was assigned Melissa's Cuisine.  A little about Melissa and her blog....

Let's start with the basics...I'm in my early 20's and I have been married to my sweet husband, Mike, since 2010.  We live in West Michigan with our adorable puppy, Champ.  We have a beautiful baby girl, Summer.  During the day, I am the office manager at a busy (and growing) counseling agency.  I spend most of my free time in the kitchen, so I've started running to avoid gaining a ton of weight from all the food I make!  So far, I've run a handful of 5k races and a half marathon.  I've recently discovered a passion for health and fitness and I love working out!  

I've only made a dessert in the slow cooker one time.  A camping weekend several years ago, I tried a chocolate cake.   It was delicious and fudgy and so easy in the slow cooker.  Tim had requested an apple crisp, busy making jam, apple butter and apple sauce with my bounty of apples, I decided to make this cake.  It's moist and delicious and quick to put together.  A perfect fall dessert.

Crock Pot Caramel Apple Cake
Recipe Courtesy of Melissa's Cuisine

1 C flour 
3/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large apples, peeled and diced
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

Caramel Topping

1.  In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

2.  Add diced apples to flour mixture and stir to coat.

3.  In a small bowl, mix eggs and vanilla.

4.  Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and gently stir.  

5.  Pour into a greased crock-pot.

6.  Cover and bake on high for 2 hours. 

7.  Drizzle with warmed caramel topping before serving. Serve along side whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.  

Note: This recipe is the perfect size for a small crock pot, if you're using a larger one, you may want to double the recipe.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Honey Beer Bread

On a recent trip to Minnesota, Tim picked up some local brews.  Looking for a nutty brown ale to use in a beer bread, I chose this bottle of Lost Trout from Third Street in Cold Spring, Minnesota.  Perfect to use in beer bread, this adds a delicious depth of flavor to the bread.  This bread is delicious warm, with a little honey butter.  Our favorite way to enjoy this beer bread was a grilled cheese sandwich.  As we approach winter and think about winter dinners, we'll be enjoying this with a bowl of chili or beef stew.

 Honey Beer Bread
Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x 5x 3-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you'd like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Tip:

If you're a big fan of beer-cheese bread, add a cup or so of cheddar (or your favorite cheese) into the batter to give it the queso-kick. :)

Parmesean Baked Potato Halves

Over the past few weeks these have become my go to potato recipe.  They're easy and delicious.  A great recipe for Sunday family night dinner or dinner guests.  Baking them side down, creates a moist delicious potato.  You can serve these with a side of ranch dressing or sour cream.  We normally enjoy them just as they are when they come out of the oven.

Parmesan Baked Potato Halves
Recipe courtesy of Favorite Family Recipes

• 6 small potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
• 1/4 cup butter
• grated parmesan cheese
• garlic powder
• other seasonings (to personal preference)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9x13 inch pan and spread evenly across the bottom. Generously sprinkle Parmesan cheese and lightly sprinkle other seasonings all over the butter. Place potato halves face down on the butter and seasonings. Place in preheated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for at least a FULL 5 minutes before removing from the pan, otherwise the Parmesan crust won't stick to the potato. Serve on a plate with a side of sour cream for dipping.

Football Cookie Dough Dip

Tis the season, no not that season yet .... football season!  Are you having beautiful fall weather where you live?  I hope so, it has been so beautiful here the past two weekends.  Nothing says fall like football and a tailgate party!

Along with a neighbor, I helped host our neighborhood September BUNCO!  Perfect for the month of September, we decided on a football theme.  One of the things I made was a fun football dip.  Not only is it easy to make, it's delicious!! 

Cookie Dough Dip

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups mini chocolate chips

• Frosting for laces 

For serving:

• graham crackers
• chocolate graham crackers
• vanilla wafers
• pretzels
• apple slices

Instructions

1. Prepare cookie dough dip according to the recipe instructions. Chill for at least two hours,
2. Pour into a mound on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using the parchment paper, shape the mound of cookie dough dip into the shape of a football. Or use a football shaped for shaping.
3. Press additional cup of chocolate chips onto the outside of the football shaped cookie dough dip.
4. Place frosting into a piping bag or a small sandwich bag with the tip snipped off. Pipe lines onto the top of the cookie dough dip football to resemble laces.
5. Store in the refrigerator until about 15 minutes prior to serving. Serve with an assortment of crackers, pretzels, and/ or apple slices.

BBQ Mac and Cheese

Happy Fall!  Fall and Spring are my two favorite seasons.  Living in the midwest, we enjoy the seasonable weather during those two seasons.  As an added bonus, we have beautiful Fall color in our trees.  The trees are just starting to turn here.  We're getting some cooler nights, so full blown color will be soon!  Can't wait!

I say this every month but hard to believe it's Secret Recipe reveal day again.  The third Monday of the month, brings us Secret Recipe Club.  Not familiar with this fun blogging group?  You can find out everything here!

For the month of September, I was assigned Living The Gourmet.  Catherine  has a beautiful blog, filled with amazing recipes.

Catherine says, "The heart of our home lies within the kitchen.

For us, it is so much more than a place where meals are created; it is where memories are made over meals that are meant to be shared."  

 So true for all of us who enjoy cooking and sharing it with friends and family. 

At our house, we love BBQ and mac and cheese, how about a recipe that combines the two?  Yum! 
This is a delicious version of mac and cheese, perfect to go with burgers for a weekend bbq.

BBQ Mac and Cheese
Recipe Courtesy of Living The Gourmet

Serves: 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup ketchup
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• ½ jalapeño (I omitted this)
• ½ cup Italian parsley
• 1¼ cup milk
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 onion – diced
• ¾ tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• 2-3 tbs. butter
• 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded or your favorite
• ¼ cup Italian style breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs
• 1 lb. of your favorite macaroni

Instructions

1. Prepare the macaroni as directed.
2. Combine in a food processor the cottage cheese, milk, Parmesan cheese, ketchup, brown sugar, jalapeño, garlic, parsley and seasonings.
3. Heat a frying pan with butter and sauté the onions until softened and transparent.
4. Heat another frying pan with a pat of butter; add the bread crumbs; toss and brown a bit.
5. Preheat Oven 325 degrees:
6. Butter a baking dish. Add the macaroni, the mixture from the food processor, the shredded cheese, the onions and toss.
7. Top with the bread crumbs a few pats of butter and grated Parmesan cheese and a little shredded cheese.
8. Bake 25 – 30 minutes; until slightly golden.

An InLinkz Link-up

Aronia Berry Oatmeal Cookies

Tim and I had been looking at an Aronia Berry bush for the yard at the Farmer's Market.  If you're not familiar with Aronia Berries, you can read about them here.  They're very good for you and tasty, too! 

Our bush had just enough berries on it to make these cookies.  You could substitute these for any recipe containing blueberries. 

 

Oatmeal Aronia Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks margarine room temp
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups rolled oats old fashioned or quick
• 1 cup peacans
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 1 cup aronia berries frozen

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or use your margarine wrappers to grease 2 baking sheets.
2. Stir the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. In a bowl of a stand mixer w/paddle or hand mixer, cream margarine, sugars until smooth.
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Stir in vanilla.
5. Important: Mix on low and add dry ingredients only until incorporated. Over beating will make flat cookies.
6. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the oats, then pecans and coconut.
7. Add frozen aronia and fold quickly. This will keep the cookies from turning purple.
8. Spoon uniform 1 1/2" balls on baking sheet with 2" spacing.
9. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes. Remove when edges begin to turn. Cookie will continue to bake while cooling. After 5 minutes on baking sheet, remove to wire cooling rack.

Best Sugar Cookies with Cornmeal

  If you like sugar cookies, give this recipe a try.  The cornmeal adds a nice crunch to the already delicious sugar cookie.  The original recipe called for the zest of a lime.  No limes in my frig, so I used lemon.  Lemon and sugar cookies are the perfect combination of flavors!!

 Recipe Courtesy of A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Zest of one lime  (I used lemon)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup 100% yellow cornmeal + extra for rolling (not cornmeal mix)

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3-5  minutes. Then beat in the salt, lime zest, egg, and vanilla. Once blended, slowly add the flour, followed by the cornmeal. Scrape the bowl and beat again for just a few seconds to combine.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (or 350 convection) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Dump the dough out onto large piece of foil and use the foil to shape the dough into a 9 1/2 inch log, about 2 inches thick. Wrap well and freeze for at least 30 minutes to firm up the dough.
3. When ready to bake, open the foil and sprinkle cornmeal over and around the dough log. Roll it back-and-forth to coat the log on all sides. Then cut the log into 16-18 equal slices. Lay the cookies on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes until just barley golden on the edges, but soft in the middle. (7-8 minutes convection.) Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet completely before moving.

Pimento Cheese Mini Burgers

How do you make something that's already good even better?  Add more of it, of course.  That's just what we've done with Secret Recipe Club,  the months where there are 5 Monday's, we will have a reveal day with a theme!  Our first one, Tailgate Recipes, starts now!  What a great theme for the start of football season!  Tailgating and football go hand in hand. 

My assigned blogger is Nicole of I am a Honey Bee.  On her About Me page Nicole shares 28 random things about her.  How fun is that?  I might just borrow this idea.  Okay?  Here's just the first five ....

1. Peridot is my favorite stone although garnet is my birth stone

2. I have 3 tattoos and plan on getting more

3.  I’m from Greenwich, CT

4. I hate the cold, REALLY hate the cold, but I like snow.

5. I really like NASCAR… Go Kasey Kahne!

To read the rest of the 28 and see all of Nicole's great recipes, visit her blog here.  I also love that she has done a Clean 30 several times. 

These Pimento Cheese Burgers would be perfect for tailgate or backyard bbq.  The leftover cheese made delicious grilled cheese sandwiches!!!

Pimento Cheese Mini Burgers

Recipe Courtesy of I am a Honey Bee 

Makes 6 sliders
Ingredients
Pimento Cheese

• 8 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 ounce jar of diced pimentos, drained
• 1/3- 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• cayenne and black pepper to taste

Burgers

• 1 pound of 85/15 ground beef
• 1 teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 6 whole wheat dinner rolls

Process

1. To make the Pimento Cheese, combine the cheese, pimentos, and mayo. Mix thoroughly. Add the cayenne and pepper to taste. Set aside to chill for at least 1 hour.
2. In a large bowl combine the ground beef and the Seasoned Salt and black pepper. Evenly divide the burgers into 6 rounds. Shape and flatten each burger so they are slightly thicker than 1/4″.
3. Cook the burgers until desired doneness.
4. Slice the dinner rolls in half. Place each burger on the bottom portion of the buns, then scoop about 2 tablespoons of the pimento cheese on each burger, and top off with the rest of the bun.

An InLinkz Link-up

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love bacon? I've been wanting to try a chocolate chip bacon combo for a while. This recipe with the addition of maple to the bacon caught my eye. Candied bacon is easy to make in the oven. It does take some time but the end result is so good. The combination of these sweet chocolate chip cookies with the maple bacon flavor is delicious. You can't just eat one!!

These taste better than this picture would appear.  I made these for Tim to take on a guys golf trip and we were snapping a picture in the predawn hours before he left.  They were a hit with the golfers and will be added to my regular cookie rotation!

Milk Chocolate Chip Maple Syrup Glazed Bacon Cookies
Recipe Courtesy of Nadia G

• 12 bacon slices, minced
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

BATTER:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, large dice
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups quality milk chocolate, in chip-sized chunks
• Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

Directions

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
For the bacon: In a medium frying pan, saute the bacon until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp. Drain the fat from the pan, add the maple syrup and stir to blend. Saute until the maple syrup becomes thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer immediately to a small bowl and let cool.
For the batter: With a standing or handheld mixer, blend the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well blended, 1 minute. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds more. Stir in the flour and baking soda with a wooden spoon. Add the bacon and chocolate and stir to combine. Scoop heaping teaspoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until golden around the edges, 9 to 10 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for 1 minute, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cheese and Salsa Dip

Can you believe it's August already?  Does anyone know where 2015 has gone?  Crazy how fast time seems to fly.  I'm up for any ideas to slow it down!!

The third Monday in August brings us Secret Recipe Club.  Not familiar with this fun group, you can find out everything here!  I was assigned Kirstin of Loving Life.  What a great blog name.  She says, "My hubby and I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, in Southwest Washington, with our two amazing daughters, Kaitlynn (19) and Kristianna (16). We have been married 23 years. We have always homeschooled our girls, though both our girls are now ending that journey. Our oldest started a Running Start program her junior year and our youngest will start the same program this fall. Our oldest will also be getting married this fall.  We spend A LOT of time with working, watching soccer...and working around our house and property when we find time."  No wonder she's "Loving Life."

Kirstin had so many great recipes to choose from, it was hard to decide on one.  We were having a neighborhood picnic and I needed something to take for a side.  The veggies a plentiful in my garden, so this delicious Cheese and Salsa Dip seemed like the perfect choice. 

Ingredients:

2 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened
1 12oz. jar salsa (I like thick and chunky)
2 c. shredded cheese

Combine cream cheese and shredded cheese in bowl of mixer. Begin mixing to break up cream cheese. Slowly add salsa until you get a good dipping consistency. Not too runny though, think of guacamole consistency. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips!

An InLinkz Link-up

Key Lime Bars

  These bars use animal crackers for the crust, how delicious is that?  This would make a great cheesecake crust, too.  These bars remind me of cheesecake, only in bar form.  Key lime makes the perfect summer dessert.  I must admit to using bottled key lime juice, which I love, instead of juicing limes.  I did zest a regular lime for the zest.  Topped with toasted coconut these make a beautiful dessert for a summer picnic or barbeque.

Key Lime Bars

Recipe Courtesy of Mel's Kitchen

Yield: Makes 16 bars

Ingredients

Crust:
• 5 ounces animal crackers (about 2 1/2 cups animal crackers)
• 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• Pinch salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 tbsp grated fresh lime zest (from about 2 limes)
• 1 can (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk
• Pinch salt
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 3-4 regular limes or 20 Key limes)
Garnish
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, adjusting an oven rack to the middle position. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, letting two opposing edges hang over at least an inch or so. Grease the foil with cooking spray.
2. For the crust, process the animal crackers, sugar and salt together to fine crumbs in a blender or food processor. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse to incorporate (or stir together in a bowl with a fork). Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press the crumbs into an even layer. Bake the crust until fragrant and golden, about 15-18 minutes.
3. For the filling, while crust bakes, in a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, lime zest and salt together until combined. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk until smooth (you can use a handheld electric mixer, if you want). Whisk in the egg yolk and lime juice until combined.
4. Pour the filling evenly over the crust. Bake the bars until the filling is set and the edges just slightly begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, 15-17 minutes.
5. Let the bars cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Then cover the pan with foil and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhang and cut into squares. Sprinkle with toasted coconut if desired.

Spicy Buffalo Butter

August 2nd? Where has the summer gone? Besides the weather and fun, the thing I will miss the most about summer is the fresh veggies!! Sweet corn is one of my favorites. Herb butters are perfect to enhance the flavor of the corn.  Tim couldn't get enough of this the first time we had it for dinner. 

Spicy Buffalo Butter

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce or other vinegar based hot sauce
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter. Spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of plastic wrap, then roll into a log. Refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.

• Room temperature butter is key to making flavored butters. Use unsalted butter so you can control your salty flavor.
• Softened butter makes it easy to fold your flavoring ingredients into the butter. To make the butter logs, simply spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of a piece of plastic wrap, then shaped into rolls, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap as you roll.
• Chill each log for at least 1 hour or freeze for 20-30 minutes for the logs to take shape.
• Flavored butters taste amazing on anything from vegetables to pasta, chicken, beef and fish.