Easy Apple Crisp

As my air conditioner hums away, I lose myself in that little corner of my mind that I have set up for fall now. We bought apple cider yesterday and you better believe that I warmed up a mug, added some cinnamon, sipped, and enjoyed.

Ahh yes, I can see the leaves coming down now.

So now I'm thinking that it's going to be full fledged fall cooking. Weather be damned. I have a really, really, really good imagination. This could work for me.

Our families new favorite dessert is apple crisps. We love it. Bailey finishes hers and then hovers around Arthur and I waiting for her next bite. We were making these soy free and dairy free by using Earth Balance Vegan Butter, but Bailey's symptoms have returned for the last few weeks and when I tried to introduce milk or soy products back into the diet, there's no changes. Not sure what that's all about since I thought for sure she was cured for the first two weeks of the trial. I'm afraid to start taking more out of her diet though without talking to a dietitian or seeing if the doctor will just go ahead with the allergy testing. It's been really frustrating. So for the next few weeks, we are just back to normal everyday eating seeings how it's not making a difference any way.

The recipe I've been using for the apple crisps (kind of) is from here. I made a few adjustments because hers is SUPER easy, but I never keep prepackaged oatmeal in the house, just the big tub of it. So we do it the long way. But never fear, this is still pretty stinking easy.

 

Apple Crisp

(Serves 4, about 200 calories)

 

 

Ingredients

2-4 medium sized apples
      (I like pink lady’s mixed with granny smith)

2 teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste

1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup instant oatmeal

2 – 4 tablespoons butter, cubed

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut apples into cubes into an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
3. Sprinkle apples with half of the butter. (Does not need to cover the whole thing, just a small amount to keep apples moist during baking)
4. In a separate bowl combine the oatmeal with the remaining cinnamon and brown sugar. Pour over apples.
5. Sprinkle remaining butter over the top of the oatmeal.
6.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.



 

I peel my apples for the simple fact that Bailey won't eat the peels, but you can leave them on and it's really just as delicious. Most nights we just eat it straight out of the oven like this, but last night...

 



 

we decided that we would go all out and have apple crisps a la mode! That's right! Melty, warm, delicious, right out of the oven. Like a warm apple pie...

 

My only problem is that I can't eat just one serving. But it's just oatmeal and apples, right? This could totally count for breakfast food! Right?! Oh well, I get a cheat day once (most days) a week.

 

And if you do just want one serving, just use about 1/4 to 1/3 of the recipe and put it in a small baking ramakin.

 

What's your favorite fall back dessert (HA no pun intended!!)?

Sweet Potato Risotto

October. Autumn. Changing of the Seasons. Football. Halloween. Thanksgiving.

All this should be striking up a cold weather cord, but here in AZ the weather is still hot (the high today was 93)! I keep seeing the commercials for warm cozy fires, the leaves changing to the beautiful orange, gold, and red that signify that soon winter will be here, Thanksgiving. My poor little Kansas heart still doesn't quite grasp the fact that here, instead of what most of the United States knows as fall, it's really like spring time. The grass is greener, the trees and bushes are really starting to show their colors, flowers are blooming... It's not fair. My body is telling me to grab a hot cup of cider, wrap up in a blanket, and snuggle up, but quite frankly it's still too hot for that! I want cooler weather! I want to play in a pile of leaves! I want to wear some cute sweaters and scarves! I want a cup of hot cider! And, I want some good fall food!

UGGHH!!! (Phew, that feels better, sorry about that!)

 

I had all intentions of making something today from the fresh strawberries we picked up at the farmers market. They smelled so delicious that I was thinking a strawberry spinach salad, or some strawberry avocado salsa over a grilled steak. But my heart just wasn't in it. It sounded to springy. Too much like it was still summer. Sigh Why can't it be fall weather here too?

 

I know I shouldn't complain, but I'm totally jealous of all the food posts I've seen of fall foods, so today, despite the hot weather, I made a fall dinner. HA! Take that Arizona heat!

 

I am on a total sweet potato kick lately. I don't know if it's because Bailey actually likes something that's healthy for her, or what, but I want them all the time! I am, however, pretty worn out on sweet potato fries and really didn't want to make the typical sweet, sweet potato dish. So I stumbled upon this amazing little gem of a recipe: Sweet Potato Risotto. Sounded pretty delicious with some minor adjustments and some roasted chicken! Yum! I'm escaping to my own little corner of fall in my brain right now!

 

 

Sweet Potato Risotto

(Makes about 6 servings, 247 calories)

 



  Ingredients

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup medium grain rice

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

 

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. In separate saucepan or microwave safe container, mix stock and water. Heat mixture and keep hot for duration of cooking.
3. Add the sweet potatoes and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
5. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until absorbed.
6. Add 3/4 cup of stock at a time and cook, stirring occasionally and waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. It should take 25 to 30 minutes for all the water to be absorbed.
7. Stir in the Parmesan and poultry seasoning.

(NOTE: When making risotto it is very important to make sure that the liquid being added is at the same temperature as the rice or hotter, otherwise rice will become hard on the inside and mushy on the outside. Also, the amount of liquid needed may vary, you may need to use more or less until desired consistency is met. If using chicken broth instead of stock, do not dilute with water, use 5 cups broth instead.)

 

 

 Oh, my, goodness! This dish was delicious! I have never made risotto before, but this was super easy. The hardest part was that I really couldn't walk away from it. The only bad thing about it was that the parmesan was a little too much, I think next time I'll only add a 1/4 cup instead.

 

 

I can't believe how creamy this was. And it was honestly even good before I added the parmesan cheese to it, so you're really not losing too much if you make it dairy free. The sweet potatoes didn't taste like anything that I've ever had, since this is the first time I've made them savory. I cannot wait to try this one again.

 

Thank goodness for a dinner escape to fall. Now back to Arizona reality.

 

What foods help you escape from the weather blahs?



To A New Beginning

Let's just get things straight from the start, I am not good at a lot of things. I have, however, always been good at my job. Four months ago though, I made a major career change, I went from full time, always on the go, career driven woman, to stay at home mom with lots of time (and no money) on my hands. 
I have 2 beautiful daughters, Bailey, who will be 5 soon, and Taylor, who was the blessing that has sent me into the trenches like so many mothers before me. I have never once believed that women who stayed at home had it easy, but now that I am one, man... I don't even know what to say. There are still lots of days I don't know how I make it through and even more that I wonder how so many women have the patience to do this their whole lives. Don't get me wrong, I love every minute of this insane, crazy life, but serious kudos to all stay at home mom veterans.
Now in my new life, I have found that I have had a lot more time to cook and bake, which I have always loved, and good thing too since we just recently found out that Bailey may have some kind of food allergies. When the doctor told me that Bailey's health issues could be due to food allergies and she wanted us to try food elimination trials, I had no idea what I was getting into. "Oh cut out milk and soy first off? Sounds good. Should be a cinch!" HA! What the heck was I thinking?! We've had some definite failures of recipes in this dairy free soy free world we've entered, but we're starting to get the hang of it and would like to help out those families that have kiddos (or themselves) with the same issues.

So, first things first, breakfast! No better way than to start at the beginning right? These tasty, moist, fruit-packed muffins are an awesome morning meal that were pretty easy to turn dairy/soy free without a lot of expensive specialty products. (And for those of us counting calories, only 150 calories in one of these filling little bad boys!)

 

Bailey's Sunrise Muffins

(Makes 12 Muffins)

 

 
 

1 cup almond milk
½ cup orange juice
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 mashed banana
¼ cup Craisins (I like the cherry flavored variety)
¼ cup raspberries, broken into small pieces
½ cup apples (granny smith or pink lady's work the best)
1 egg
¼ cup canola oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease muffin cups. (If using paper muffin cups, spray with cooking spray as mixture will stick to liners since they are so moist).
2. In a small bowl, combine milk, orange juice, fruit and oats; let soak for 15 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture.
4.  In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Fold flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined.     
5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.



 



 

 

Hope that you all enjoy this yummy breakfast treat! Bailey and I sure did! Let us know what you think!