3 great apple dip recipes for your enjoyment!

CRAZY APPLE DIP

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1/4 c white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (start with 1/4 and increase to your liking)

1/2 -1 c chopped nuts, optional

Mix first 5 ingredients until smooth and creamy. Mix in nuts if desired. Let sit at least one hour before serving.

PEANUT BUTTER APPLE DIP

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c peanut butter

1/2 c packed brown sugar

2 TBS milk

Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Serve with apples. Store in refrigerator.

CARAMEL APPLE DIP

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c sugar

1/3 c caramel ice cream topping

Combine ingredients, mixing well. Spread on a plate. Drizzle additional caramel ice cream topping on top. Sprinkle with chopped Heath bar or chopped Skor bar.

Gingerbread Waffles with Pear Sauce

I have yet to make the pear sauce...next time. The waffles were amazing, even with ordinary maple syrup. I might be making these on a very regular basis.

"These homey waffles add up to an awfully good reason to get up in the morning. The pear sauce is easy and delicious, but for a quick substitute try applesauce, sautéed apples or pears, or maple syrup."

Make about 6 large waffles, to serve 3-6

For the pear sauce:

4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced

¼ cup wildflower or other medium-color honey

juice of ½ lemon

For the waffles:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbs baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground dried ginger

1 cup milk

1/3 cup molasses

¼ cup canola oil or corn oil

1 egg

1. Make the sauce: Place the pears, honey, and ¼ cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the neat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the fruit is soft. Add the lemon juice and mash with a potato masher. Transfer to a serving bowl.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a medium bowl. Add the milk, molasses, oil, and egg, and stir until well combined. Cook in a waffle iron, for about 90 seconds. (The cooking time will vary with your waffle iron and with your preference for doneness.) Serve immediately, with the pear sauce.

Tortilla

Got the recipe from this blog

Flour Tortillas

Adapted from Saveur Cooks Authentic American

I’d always thought I was more of a corn-tortilla girl than a flour one, but this recipe has solidly converted me. Once you get a feel for the dough and settle into the rhythm of rolling and cooking it, you might never want to buy tortillas again.

4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp salt
6 Tbs vegetable shortening (preferably a non-hydrogenated type, such as Spectrum)

In a small saucepan, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil.

In a large bowl, stir the flour and salt together with a whisk. Mix in the shortening with your fingers until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in enough boiling water (about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups) that the dough holds together; you will want to begin by stirring with a spoon, since the water is scorching hot, but you should finish by working the dough with your hands.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth, 2-5 minutes. Do not overwork it. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Set a well-seasoned 9" cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface, and cut it into 6 wedges. Cut each wedge into 3 smaller wedges, for a total of 18 wedges. Use a rolling pin to roll out a wedge into a very thin circle—as thin as you can make it, like a sheet of fabric—roughly 7 ½ to 8 inches in diameter. When the skillet is hot but not smoking, cook the tortilla until slightly puffed, about 20-30 seconds. Flip, then cook for 20-30 seconds more, or until flecked with golden or brown (whichever you prefer) spots. Place on a cooling rack. Repeat the process with the other 17 wedges. Allow each tortilla to cool completely before stacking them.

Freshly made tortillas are soft and perfectly delicious at room temperature, but to reheat them, you can warm them briefly in a low oven. These keep well in the fridge, wrapped in paper towels and sealed in a plastic bag, and they also freeze nicely.

Yield: 18 tortillas

Rhubarb Bread I Recipe from Allrecipes.com

You asked for it... here it is!  This bread is requested by all my neighbors each year. I usually increase the flour by 1/4 cup.   Enjoy!

Rhubarb Bread I

"Surely one of the rites of spring is baking with rhubarb. The cherry-red tart stalks, combined here with brown sugar and nuts, make a beautiful bread that is fruity, tangy and terrific."

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
3.	In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves.
4.	Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

Lemon Pull Aparts...

I am joining the BLOG.

I have made this recipe more than once and I LOVE it!

Lemon Pull- Aparts

12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold
zest from 2 whole lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Citrus Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Mix lemon zest with sugar. Cut rolls in half and place in a 12-inch sprayed deep dish pizza pan or 9x13-inch sprayed baking pan. Drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter over rolls. Sprinkle with lemon zest/sugar mixture, reserving 1/2 of mixture to sprinkle on just before baking. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise until double in size, about 1 hour. Remove wrap. Sprinkle on remaining mixture. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Remove immediately from pan and place on cooling rack. Combine glaze ingredients and mix well. Drizzle over pull-aparts.

Servings 12, one serving equals: calories 210, fat6gm, cholesterol 13mg, sodium 189mg, carbohydrate 36gm, dietary bier 0, sugar 20gm, protein 3gm.

P.S. Grandma, I think it's funny that you are called Lynda The Mom.

PPS. Aunt Melissa, what is that soup you are preparing to post. I went to edit one of my posts and then...

Time for something really unhealthy...

Soft Chocolate Sandwich cookies...

I saw a photo, wanted to eat these, and thought everyone else might want to eat these. I do love me some unhealthy baked goods.


Makes: 20 cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 1/2 hour to chill (...that's it?)
Cooking time: 5 to 8 minutes per batch

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup plus 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. water

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and mix together. Gradually mix in cocoa powder and flour. Stir in water.

Form dough into a flattened disk; chill for 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 325F. Carefully place dough on parchment paper; roll out approximately 1/4" thick. Cut into circles using a 1 1/4" round cookie cutter. Place on cookie sheets. Bake about 5 to 8 minutes, until the cookies are firm at edges and no longer doughy in the middle. Cool completely. Spread cream cheese frosting on the cookie bottoms; assemble to form a sandwich cookie.

Cream cheese frosting:
In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup low-fat cream cheese, 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar, and 6 Tbs. softened butter. Mix well.

Actual suggestion from recipe: To reduce the amount of calories in each, make mini cookies using a 3/4" cookie cutter. Wha...that way I might eat less, resulting in fewer calories?

*I love that it asks you to use low-fat cream cheese. What is the point...note the other ingredients.

Enjoy. I will.

Dill Cream Sauce

Disclaimer: Yes, salmon is healthy. Yes, it is a little less healthy with cream poured over the top but I, for one, don't care. This sauce is so savory and yummy and you only need a little bit. I broil or grill the salmon and then I top it with this bit of heaven. And now I give you my beloved...dill cream sauce.

1 Tbsp. finely diced onions

1 Tbsp. butter

1/4 C. chicken stock (or white wine but I doubt you have that on hand)

1/2 C. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped dill

Juice of 1/2 lemon (or 1 1/2 T juice)

Salt and white ground pepper to taste

Lightly saute onions in butter over medium heat

Deglaze pan with chicken stock
Reduce to half and then add cream
Simmer until sauce starts to thicken
Add seasoning and lemon juice

Serve over salmon. So freakin' good.