Apple Berry Bake

a recipe I found in some papers and want to try:

Ingredients:
Filling:
4 cups peeled, thinly sliced apples
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries and/or sliced strawberries
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
5 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. flour

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees; spray 8x8 square dish with cooking spray.
*For filling, combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix until apples are evenly coated. Spoon into baking dish.
*For topping, combine all ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Sprinkle evenly over fruit.
*Bake 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm.

Orange, Apple & Cranberry Salad

I needed a fruit salad to bring to a brunch yesterday, last-minute - so I used what I had on hand, and it turned out really well. It reminded me a bit of curried-fruit salad, which I've had in the past.

2 oranges, peeled, sectioned and diced
3 red delicious apples, cored and diced
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup (or to taste, depending on the oranges) sugar or sweetener of choice
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix all ingredients and let sit at least 30 minutes. Stir again before serving.

Apple Pie Muffins

I was making muffins, and the idea of apple pie muffins came to mind. I adapted this recipe from here. These were delicious.

Crumb topping:
1/4 cup  firmly packed  brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Muffins:
3/4 - 1 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1-2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups white whole wheat/1/2 cup white)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar and milk to make 1 cup)
3 cups diced peeled firm tart apples (I tossed mine with 1 tsp. cinnamon & 1 tsp brown sugar)

Topping: In a small bowl toss together sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon until crumbly; set aside. Muffins: In a large bowl whisk together brown sugar, oil, egg, cinnamon, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda and salt. Mix in dry ingredients, then add buttermilk. Fold in apples, mixing just until combined. Spoon into greased muffin cups filling 3/4 full.
Sprinkle topping over evenly.  Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes.

Apple Brownies

I got this recipe from a homeschooling forum I frequent, and the nice thing is, I almost always have these ingredients on hand.

1 c. butter, melted
2 c. sugar *I used 1 1/3 cups*
2 eggs
2-3 c. peeled & chopped apples
1 c. walnuts (optional) *I used pecans*
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, sugar, and eggs. Stir in apples and walnuts. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Apple Cinnamon Chip Bran Muffins

I got this recipe from a fellow homeschooler - the original recipe, which is listed first, is extremely versatile. It makes a huge batch of muffins, or you can mix it up, leave it in the fridge, and bake muffins when you're in the mood. I don't have that space in my fridge, plus I don't like baking on weekday mornings when we're doing school, so I do the entire batch and freeze the extras. You can add in just about anything to these - I will list our favorite combinations at the end.

Original Muffin Recipe:

1 20 oz box bran cereal
3 cups sugar (I used 2 cups)
5 cups flour (I used 3 cups white whole wheat/2 cups all purpose)
5 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
Raisins, cranberries (optional, see below)
4 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves

4eggs
1 quart buttermilk (I used soured milk)
1 cup oil (I used 3/4 cup)

I like to combine the bran flakes and buttermilk/soured milk first, so the bran flakes can soak. Then, combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Combine, and bake at 400' for 12-16 minutes or until done. I also make them as mini-muffins.

Mix-in ideas:
+ 2 shredded apples and 1 cup cinnamon baking chips
+ 1 can pumpkin, 1/2 cup cocoa and 1 cup chocolate chips
+ 1 can pumpkin + 1 cup cranberries

Fried Apples 'N' Onions

In Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about her husband, when he was a young boy. He LOVED to eat - this was evidently his favorite dish. The first time I read this book to the girls (at least 6 yrs ago), my oldest asked me to make them. She asks every time we re-read the book - and I finally hunted down the recipe. It starts with bacon, which, of course, makes almost anything fantastic. (I've seen recipes using butter for a non-meat version) - this is adapted from several I found online.

4 slices bacon
2 medium yellow onions, sliced thin
5-6 medium tart apples, cored and sliced thin (we used a mixture of Granny Smith and Pink Lady)
salt & pepper to taste
3 teaspoons brown sugar

Cook the bacon until crispy; crumble and set aside. Keeping one tablespoon bacon drippings, saute onions until translucent. Add apples, salt and pepper, and stir until all apples have been mixed in. Cover and let cook until apples are tender. Sprinkle with brown sugar and crumbled bacon, mix well.

We had it with mashed potatoes, which was a good combination.

Chunky Applesauce

We have two apple trees in our backyard - the first year we lived here, we never noticed them! (they are in a pine island in one corner of the yard) Last fall I was looking outside and noticed "something" on the trees - we investigated and found a huge crop of apples. I have no idea what kind - they are tart, but not as tart as Granny Smith.

apples, peeled and sliced (enough to fill up a large stock pot)
sugar to taste
1/4-1/2 cup water
cinnamon to taste
juice of half a lemon

Cook apples and remaining ingredients over medium heat until boiling; turn to low, cover and simmer until apples are tender. If you want it chunky, you can mash them with a potato masher - if you like it smooth, put it in the food processor or a food mill until smooth.

**you could also do this in the Crock Pot - just cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.

Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

this recipe is adapted from a few I found online:
makes 12 muffins

Muffins:
2 cups flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose)
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1/3 – ½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp melted butter
1egg
1 cup buttermilk (I used sour milk - 1 tsp vinegar and add milk to make 1 cup; let sit)
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 large apple, grated (I used red delicious and grated it with the skin on - they cook down nicely)

Streusel:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients; combine wet ingredients. Fold wet into dry, mixing until just combined. Divide batter between 12 muffin tins sprayed with PAM. In separate bowl, combine streusel ingredients except butter. Cut in butter with fork or pastry cutter until it resembles crumbs. Sprinkle muffins with streusel mixture (press topping onto muffins a bit - it keeps it from falling off the muffins as much when you take them out).

Bake at 400* for 15 minutes or until done.

Gramma's Apple Bread Pudding

this is from allrecipes.com - and it is fantastic. Instead of adding in raisins, we buy raisin bread from the discount baked goods rack at the store. I don't make the Vanilla sauce that the recipe calls for; we serve it with whipped cream instead.

Ingredients

• PUDDING
• 4 cups soft bread cubes
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 cups peeled and sliced apples
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten
•  
• VANILLA SAUCE
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 7x11 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine bread, raisins, and apples. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1 3/4 cups milk, and 1/4 cup margarine. Cook and stir until margarine is melted. Pour over bread mixture in bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs. Pour bread mixture into prepared dish, and pour egg mixture over bread.
4. Bake in preheated oven 40 to 50 minutes, or until center is set and apples are tender.
5. While pudding is baking, mix together sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup margarine in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Serve over bread pudding.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

these are really good

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups finely chopped peeled apples

TOPPING:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions

1.In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Combine eggs, pumpkin and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. For topping, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle 1 teaspoon over each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Applesauce Bread

This was originally called "Applesauce Cake", but I cut way back on the sugar to make it more of a breakfast bread - but I still bake it in an 8" round cake pan and serve it sliced in triangles. This is wonderful for those who can't have eggs.

Mix together:
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups applesauce

Add:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Bake in a greased 8 or 9 inch round pan at 350' for 45-50 minutes.