Award-winning Apple Pie

When I say this apple pie is "award-winning," I mean it! This apple pie is one of the best recipes I've ever encountered in my life...IN MY LIFE! It's from All Recipes, has 5 stars, and with over 4,600 reviews. It's even better than most pie specialty restaurants (ehem...M.C. and P*lly's). It might even be better than McDonald's apple pie. Yup, you read that correctly. I think McDonald's apple pie is one of my favorite pies, although I don't know if you could officially call it a pie, but I would, and I think it's great.

Here are some pointers when making this recipe. I've had a couple issues when melting the butter and the flour to make the paste. If your burner is on too hot, the butter will burn and you won't be able to make the paste that is required before adding the sugars. So make sure you turn your burner to low, and whisk the flour in as soon as all the butter is melted. This will ensure that the butter and flour become the correct consistency. I've ruined this recipe twice already by burning my butter, and you don't know how sad it is when you have to throw away a precious stick of butter each time you overcook it, especially if the butter is high quality and EXPENSIVE! 

Also, when pouring the liquid onto the pie, pour SLOWLY. In fact, I just spoon the liquid into the holes and over the crust just to make sure every nook and cranny gets an even amount of sauce. 

Other than that, I followed everything exactly as written with the exception of sprinkling some cinnamon over the crust and a couple dashes in the sauce before pouring. I think cinnamon adds a warm touch to the pie. 

Here it is before going into the oven:

Right out of the oven. Notice the sauce is still bubbling up from the heat! Yum~ but don't eat it until it has cooled.

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Chipotle and Fire Roasted Tomato

I'm not normally a soup person (unless I'm at Splash Cafe eating their clam chowder in a bread bowl), but this soup is one that I will eat for many days without getting sick of it. Its name is a mouthful, but its flavor is incredible. My boyfriend made it for me once and it's definitely one of the top 5 things he's made for me. It's Rachael Ray's recipe from her 30-minute meal show, but, honestly, I don't think anyone can make her recipes in 30 minutes. It has a lot of ingredients, so be prepared to buy a little of many things and do a lot of dishes!

Here is the recipe. I wasn't able to capture the process because I was busy making the stuffed mushrooms in the post below while the soup was being made, but follow the directions to the T and you should be fine.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound chicken tenders
• 1 bay leaf, fresh if available
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 4 slices thick, smoky center cut bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 chipotles in adobo, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons sauce
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
• Salt
• 4 cups lightly crushed corn tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded fresh smoked mozzarella or smoked sharp white Cheddar, 3/4 pound
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• Freshly chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

Bring broth to a simmer and add chicken tenders, poach 6 to 7 minutes with a bay leaf.

While chicken poaches, heat extra-virgin olive oil in a medium soup pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp then remove with slotted spoon. Drain off excess fat, leaving 2 to 3 tablespoons in the pan. Add onions and garlic to the skillet and cook 5 minutes then stir in chipotles and tomatoes.

Remove chicken from stock, dice and then add to soup. Pass stock through a strainer then add to the soup.

Place a pile of crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of each soup bowl. Cover liberally with smoked cheese then ladle the hot soup down over the top. Serve with lime, raw onions and cilantro at table to finish the soup. 

*This recipe makes about 4-5 servings

Stuffed Mushrooms

I first ate these stuffed mushrooms at a church picnic. They were amazing. It's an easy recipe that I've bookmarked and used many times in the past. I just haven't gotten around to posting the recipe. The original recipe is Giada's, but I adapted it by adding cooked ground sausage to the mixture before stuffing the little guys. I also used a 3-blend cheese mixture (parmesan, asiago, and romano) instead of the Pecorino Romano used in the recipe. I also left out the mint...just didn't seem savory with it in. Bon appetit!

Giada's Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.

Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.