Apple Dumplings

Oh my goodness gracious!
I made apple dumplings and they were DELICIOUS!!
Really...seriously...you have GOT to try this recipe! You will love it!
There are five separate steps to making this recipe.
Each step is very easy so don't let that discourage you.

1) make the dough...very easy
2) prep the apples...very easy
3) assemble the dumplings...very easy
4) make the sauce...very easy
5) bake the dumplings...really easy

Ok...so you see...it's all very easy...but there is a process.

The Dough Recipe:
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 C. Crisco shortening
1/2 C. milk

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender or 2 knives. Add the milk all at once and then quickly mix with a fork until dough comes together and all milk is absorbed. Do not over mix. Quickly shape dough into ball with your hands and roll dough into 8 x 12 rectangle on a floured surface. Cut dough into 6 sections with knife and leave on floured surface.

Prepping The Apples:



Peel 6 small Macintosh apples.
Cut apples in half.
Core the apples by removing seeds and stem.

Assembling the dumplings:



Take 2 apples halves to create one apple and place on a square of dough.
Holding the apple together with one hand, pour sugar down in between the 2 halves filling almost to the top.
Sprinkle with a nice dose of cinnamon.
Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg.
Top apple with a pat of butter or margarine.



Continue with the remainder of apples until all dough squares are used.
Wet the edges of each square with water using a pastry brush or your finger.
Bring sides of dough up to top of apple and pinch together at sides.
Sometimes the dough breaks or won't fit....just work with it and don't fret...cover that apple as best you can...it will all turn out beautiful and yummy in the end. The sloppier it looks, the more homemade it looks...we don't want these to look like they were made in a factory do we?? No way!

Place dumplings in a 9 x 13 casserole dish or use two pie pans.





Sauce Recipe:
1 C. sugar
1 C. water
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Mix sugar, water, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off heat and add the butter. Stir butter into mixture until it melts. Pour sauce mixture over uncooked apple dumplings and bake in oven at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Leave dumplings sitting in the thickened sauce. That's the best part!!!



Enjoy!

SCORE! sugar pumpkins 4 for a $1.00

Lookey what I got!!! I stopped at my local fruit market and found pie pumpkin/sugar pumpkins on sale at 4 for $1.00 !!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! I totally scored! I bought 12 pumpkins for $3.00 ! I bought a sugar pumpkin at this same market 2 weeks ago for $2.00 and now they are only 25 cents a piece! I am so happy, this just made my day big time!

All weekend long, I'll be roasting pumpkin, pureeing pumpkin and freezing pumpkin puree in 1 cup increments. This will last me until next October. I did this last year and it lasted me until June. So...I had the last of the pumpkin puree frozen for 8 months and it was good as new. It wasn't freezer burned or anything. Last year I think I only did about 4 sugar pumpkins but they were a little larger than these. As you can imagine, I will have lots and lots and lots of puree to use for pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin roll, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins....do I sound like Bubba in Forrest Gump? (shrimp gumbo, shrimp stew, shrimp kebobs, shrimp creole...) ha ha ha!

ninja spotted in my yard

Costumes are 90% off at Wal Mart.
My son bought this costume with his birthday money for only $1.90 - original price was $19.00 - what a bargain!

Cure for a scalded tongue!

Ok, have you ever taken a sip of a hot drink...be it coffee, tea or hot chocolate...and scalded your tongue?!

YOWZA!

Not only does it hurt really bad...but it is so entirely annoying! It ruins your sense of taste and just feels uncomfortable for days!

Well, I've got a cure....a proven cure. I have tried this myself on more than one occassion over the past 10 years and it's worked every time.

Here's the magic healing agent: white sugar!



yes that's right, just plain old white granulated sugar. As soon as you scald your tongue...run to the sugar bowl, get a big ole' spoonful of sugar and put it on your tongue right where it was scalded. Don't be shy! Use a lot! Close your mouth and hold it right there on your tongue for as long as you can stand it. Don't worry, it only tastes gross for the first few seconds and then you get used to it.

You will begin to feel the sugar melting on your tongue. When you can't take it any longer...just spit the sugar out into the sink. You will be surprised to already feel the healing after the first dose. Repeat this method and make sure you get the sugar on the parts of your tongue that still feel scalded. I do this method anywhere from 2 to 3 times. You'll want to rinse your mouth of all that sugar after each dose...trust me...you'll want to!!

I know this sounds really gross, and you're right, it is! But...do you want to deal with a scalded tongue for the next 3 days or do you want to be cured of it within the next 5 minutes. It's not like you're eating the sugar! You do get to spit it out.



Now, let me tell you that after doing this crazy, but tried and true home remedy, you will still have a slight scalded feeling, just a little bit. However, you will be able to continue drinking your hot chocolate without any pain....you will be able to eat your meals without pain from the heat and you will be able to taste your food. If I had to gauge the feeling of scaldedness after the sugar treatment on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst feeling...I would have to give it a 2, maybe even as low as a 1...and that, to me, is worth it! I know this sounds crazy, but the next time this happens to you....give it a try! You'll feel really stupid, but you'll be glad you tried it!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars

My father in law brought us a large sack of apples from a local orchard. I was excited to think of everything I would make with them. The first thing I made was Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars. I found the recipe in my "go to" book: a paperback Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. I have used this book so many times it has completely split into 3 sections and pages are starting to flutter to the kitchen floor!

I chose this recipe for it's simplicity and I'm glad I did. I loved it, my kids loved it, my hubby loved it and my BFF Becky loved it. I think I ate about half of the pan! If you've got just 2 apples, some old fashioned oats and some basic baking supplies on hand...you'll be all set!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars

1 C flour
1 C quick cooking rolled oats
2/3 C packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. butter or margarine
2 medium tart cooking apples: peeled, cored and chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash ground cloves

Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter or margarine till the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 C. of the crumb mixture. With your fingers, press remaining crumb mixture into bottom of ungreased 8 x 8 or a 9 x 9 square baking pan. In small saucepan, combine apples, 2Tbsp. water, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves. Bring apple mixture to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes till apples are tender. Next spread softened apples and pan juices over pressed oat mixture in the baking pan. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes approx. 25 bars.

Enjoy!