Bobbing for Apples

Apples just make me think fall. When I was younger, middle school maybe?, my church group always had a fall party. We always bobbed for apples and of course, the boys always shoved the girls heads further into the metal tub of apples and water. I think that was the last time I bobbed for apples.

We stopped at the farm store on the way home from Tim's moms and found an apple picker. Tim was able to pick lots of apples from our tree. I wanted to make something that would let us enjoy the apples when the leaves are off the trees and there's snow on the ground.

Crockpot Chunky Applesauce

10 apples
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
dash of salt
1/2 cup water
lemon juice

Peel, core, slice and chop apples. To keep them from turning brown, place in a bowl with water and a little lemon juice. Combine all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low 8 - 10 hours or until soft.

My notes on this recipe: I decided I wanted a little thicker sauce, so I used my imersion blender to puree half of the sauce. I froze this freezer containers.



The applesauce is good to eat on its own. I used it for a topping for the SMS Pefect Pound Cake that was a little dry. It makes a wonderful topping for French Toast.

License To Grill Cookbook

This morning, dressed in a jacket and the wide brimmed gardening hat my son gave me for Christmas last year, I avoided the very large yellowjackets and successfully pruned the overgrown basil plant. The nights are going to start getting cooler next week and I know the days for fresh basil are numbered.

Little Bit of Everything's featured cookbook this week is License To Grill by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. I believe I purchased this book when we had our lake house. We were in a grilling rut and I was always looking for new grilling recipes.

Basil - Garlic Chicken Breasts

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic

4 whole boneless chicken breasts

In a small bowl, combine the basil, garlic and olive oil and mix well. Rub the chicken breasts with this mixutre. Sprinkle with sale and pepper. Grill over a medium fire, skin side down, until the skin is crispy 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the breasts over and grill for another 6 minutes. Grill until the chicken registers an internal tempeature of 170.

My notes on this recipe: I used both chicken breasts and thighs.

Outdoor Wednesdays - Garden Flowers

Backyard Beauty!

First Day of Fall - Squash Soup

Squash soup is one of those dishes that just makes me think of Fall! It's the beginning of the time of year when there is nothing better than a warm, creamy soup.

When I mentioned to my husband, I wanted to make squash soup from one of our remaining acorn squash. SQUASH SOUP, he said? Remember this is the guy who really prefers all meals to involve some sort of MEAT.

Squash Soup
Recipe Courtesy of Alton Brown

6 cups (about 2 large squash), halved
Melted butter, for brushing
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon minced ginger
4 ounces heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is and soft.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey, and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.






My notes on this recipe: The original recipe called for Butternut Squash. From what I have read the butternut and acorn squash can be used interchangeably. Acorn squash can be challenging to cut in half. I have found if you microwave for about 60 seconds on high, it is a little easier to cut.

Orange Scented Scones - SMS

Due to a family emergency, we made a quick day to trip to Kansas City. Today I am trying to get the things I wanted to do this weekend done in one day. My baking for the weekend was going to be TWD Cottage Cheese Pufflets and SMS Orange Scented Scones. After reading some of the comments on the dough for the TWD recipe and considering my dough skills, I decided just to bake the SMS recipe.

Since I felt like I was in race mode today, I measured and arranged all of the ingredients in advance so as to not make mistakes. I read the recipe well or so I thought. I pulsed the dough and when I went to fold it into the wet mixture, I realized a lot of the butter had settled on the bottom. Too late to correct, half the dough is in the wet mixture. The dough seemed to have a good texture when I rolled it out, so I am hoping they are still good. As I put them in the oven, I realized the glaze was supposed to go on them BEFORE I baked them. I decided to go ahead and bake them and make an icing style glaze to drizzle over them.



The reason I decided to join the SMS and TWD baking groups, is to improve my baking skills and bake recipes outside of my normal comfort zone. It's a great learning experience and next time, I will check the food processor before I fold into the wet mixture.

This weeks recipe was chosen by Robin of Lady Craddock's Bakery. You can find the other SMS bakers here. There are some very talented and creative bakers in this group.

Susie's Salsa

A few years ago we stopped to see our friends in Sioux City, Russ and Susie. Don't you love it when people call and say they are in the area and want to stop by? Susie shared some of her homemade salsa with us. The salsa was excellent and one you remember. Last summer, I wanted to make salsa and called Susie for her recipe. Best laid plans...I never got around to making it.

Last Saturday I went to the Farmer's Market. It was a beautiful fall like morning. I spent more time than ususal walking around. Everything I needed to make salsa was available. As soon as I got home from the market, I went to the recipe file and pulled out Susie's recipe. I had everything to make the salsa except the beef bouillion. I'd planned to go to the store but decided to try a substitution, beef gravy mix. Hopefully it's close to as good as Susie's.



Susie's Salsa

5 green tomatoes (I used 10 tomatillos), chopped
10 red tomatoes (I used romas), peeled and chopped
4 jalapeno peppers, chopped and seeds removed
2 cubes of beef boullion (I used 2 tablespoons of beef gravy mix)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 medium sweet onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
12 oz. tomato paste

Mix everything, except the tomato paste in a large saucepan. Cook 1/2 hour over medium heat. Remove from the stove and stir in the tomato paste.

Makes 5 - 6 pints.

I froze this in freezer containers so we can enjoy the fresh taste of salsa when it's snowy and cold outside.

What Happened to Respect & Manners?

I certainly didn't start Little Bit of Everything to rant about what may be on my mind, so this is a rare post. Also, I am some what old fashioned and have "rules" about discussing sex, politics and religion, so you won't see those topics discussed on here either. However, I can't help but ask the question, "What Happened to Respect & Manners?".

Seriously...first during President Obama's speech last week? Come on, he is the President. While you may or may not have agreed with the call during Serena Williams match, was her outburst necessary? Lastly, Kanye West's interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech Sunday night?

It's all become too much for me to keep quiet about!! What happened to Respect & Manners?