'Oh So Cute' Apple Pie Mini's

The weather finally changed today. Instead of having mid 90's and sweating my butt off, its about 75 and crisp and windy. Believe it or not it may rain tomorrow! Although I'll believe that when I see it.

Getting into a 'crisp weather mood' I decided to make something yummy. A desert. Aha!

Apple Pie!

But not just one big apple pie..

Little baby ones!!

And let me just tell you it will make your house smell so good and warm and cozy.

Here's the details...

*Core and peel 3 green granny smith apples.

*Cut them into small pieces and put them in a bowl.

*Put in 1/4 cup of sugar

*Sprinkle in 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon..(although I used more..like maybe 1 tablespoon..can't have too much of that!)

* Add in 2 tablespoons of flour and mix well.

*Set aside.

*Now you can either make some quick pie crust with the following

1 cup of flour

1/3 cup oil

2-3 tablespoons warm water

Dash of salt

Or..if you're feeling lazy and don't want to do that, use one of those pre-made frozen ones..thawed of course. That's what I did this time.

*Roll out crust and use a bowl to cut 4 circles and then place them in a jumbo 6 cup muffin tin.

*Equally divide the apple mixture into cups.

* With the scraps left over from the crust, cut and use for the lattice topping.

*Fill one of the empty cups with 1/4 cup of water.

*Bake at 425 degrees for about 18ish minutes or until it gets all gooey and bubbly.

The results:

The cutest apple pie you've ever seen!

New look, old recipe...

How does it look? Love it? I know, me too.

My brother-in-law is a web designer and I asked for his help with a new header...gave him a few ideas..and he gave me this..

Brilliant. I likey...

Justin had been bugging me to make salmon cakes and since I haven't any new recipes at the moment, I went ahead and did it..being the wonderful wife that I am.

*How to*

*Dump 2 cans of wild caught salmon in a large bowl.

Pick out the small bones..

*Put in about 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

*Sprinkle in 1/2 cup Parmesan

*Dice up green onion ..tops and bottoms

*Season it up with spices..anything goes with this stuff..(I added dill, oregano, garlic, onion powder..and all purpose seasoning)

*Crack in one large egg

*Mix well and shape into small patties and fry them in skill in vegetable oil until golden brown.

**Note..do not make this if you plan on having company over later that night..because your house will smell of fish for a good 2-3 hours after your bellies are full.**

***Now while those are cooking..have your significant other make you one of these..Vodka Tonic..(the lime goes so well with this dish)***

*Dill Lime Dipping Sauce..

*Put about 1/2 cup sour cream in bowl

*Dump in alot of dill. Seriously, the more the better...

*Bring on the lime....

*Salt and pepper to taste

*Mix well

Enjoy...

Snot and politics..

I found this quiz over at Amy's place and thought I'd give it a go and here are the results...





Your Blogging Type is Kind and Harmonious

You're an approachable blogger who tends to have many online friends.People new to your blogging circle know they can count on you for support.You tend to mediate fighting and drama. You set a cooperative tone.You have a great eye for design - and your blog tends to be the best looking on the block!


I have tons to blog about, however I am just trying to get all my thoughts together.

I am still recovering after Lily's party..and then 3 girls over here for a sleepover..

Girls are definitely a handful. Especially at the ripe ol' age of 9.

Lily is actually home sick today..she developed a cold over the weekend. I am making her homemade chicken soup, (so much better than the canned crap) and she has a nice cozy 'nest' on the couch to rest and relax. Although not sure how much resting she can get with her little bro running around antagonizing her.

I suppose I should move her to her bed.

I am waiting for a call back from the craft store..hopefully this all works out. I would love to work.. Just for a few hours and to be around other adults!!

I really need that adult interaction...I long for it actually. I know Justin is here..but honestly that doesn't count..he is just as much a kid as Lily and Jack are..hahah

Besides I am an extrovert and its for my own well-being that I not be cooped up in here.

Not much planned for the week. We are renting Iron Man Tuesday.

I am so looking forward to the debate on Thursday. Sarah Palin is completely repetitive..not to mention annoying..(in my humble opinion). Makes a perfect pair then with McCain...how many times did he mention " I never did win Mr. Congeniality contests ."
Both are totally clueless..
My brother-in-law sent this to us and its brilliant! So funny!
Check it out!

Off to start Lily's soup!

Tex-Mex Enchilada's

For supper tonight I was going to make some chicken enchilada's. Being totally bored with that I decided to shake things up a bit and experiment.

Cooking the chicken, I seasoned it with the usual stuff..but then added some chipotle seasoning..which has a good kick to it.

When it was done, and cooled I used my handy dandy chopper and went to town on the chicken.

Then threw that in a bowl along with a 7 oz. can of chilies

Next up..I thought it would be good to add some beans..

so in went half a cup of drained and rinsed black beans..

Tomatoes were next..half cup of diced tomatoes..

For a bit of sweetness and a bit of crunch I added half cup sweet corn.

Threw in some monteray jack cheese and poof...you got yourself some kickin' chicken mix..yum-e! I bet you could use this for some awesome nachos too!

I did this this morning actually so when supper rolls around all I have to do is load up a corn tortilla.....

slap on some enchilada sauce

sprinkle some cheese

and assemble..

Totally easy..

Filled the casserole dish with as many roll ups as possible..dumped the sauce..

topped with Mexican blend cheeseanother dash of chipotle spice

and crumble the last bit of chicken mixture over top

Throw in the oven at 350 degrees for about half and hour.This was really good. Different. Spicy. Delish...

I loved the beans in it and the corn...

Next time I think I would add a can of that Mexican corn with the peppers..and maybe some Spanish rice.

Its been awhile...

It's been awhile since I've worked..like 4 years..
I have a job interview..at 5:30..
I went to a craft store yesterday for a few things and I mentioned to the cashier how cool it would be to work here and she gave me an application and said come back tomorrow and 'so and so' will look over it and do an interview with you.
I went back today. Turned in my application along with my letter of recommendation and I need to come back at 5:30pm. They said "when can you work?"..I said "evenings and and weekends..when do you need someone?"
They said "evenings and weekends.."
Sweet..
Wish me luck!

Something new....

Justin and I discovered these guys while playing Rock Band 2 the other night and we immediately order the CD..
They are fantastic....
He also ordered Forth by Verve and a Feist CD for me...
Can't wait til' they get here.
Nothing going on this week...except for a pool party with a crap load of hormonal tween boys and girls for Lily's Bday...
That's on Saturday..
Over the weekend some little boy came over here..some kid from Lily's class...
Apparently he really adores Lily..and is constantly asking her if she likes him..but he doesn't take rejection well.
He is obsessively calling..seriously..he must have called at least 15 times yesterday.
After awhile I was getting annoyed and said look..Lily is not going to come out to play anymore (he lives in the complex next door to us) and she can't talk on the phone anymore today. He says ok.
15 minutes he calls. Again.
Maybe 5 times after that too.
Once he even apologized for calling so much.
Finally that's over..
And then the phone rings..again..
Luckily it was some other girl for Lily..
Its weird to have all these kids calling here.Saturday there musta been 3 different kids calling for her.
I think her body is going through many changes now too..obviously.
The most notable one is the sleep.
Before she would go to bed around 830pm and wake at 6am..even on the weekends..
Now she goes to bed same time..and wakes at almost 10am!
I even had to check on her a few times to see if she was ok.
And she only got up at 9:45 because someone called here for her.
I am still working on this week's menu..
Its getting kinda chilly and I am sooo looking forward to fall and making stews, soups and that comfort food..ya know like pot roasts...casseroles..the stick to your bones kinda stuff. Although we really don't need that, but hey its fun, we gotta eat, and it makes the house smell good.

French Onion Soup

I have been wanting to make this recipe for a really long time, then I had forgot about it..

I was reminded when a good friend made her version the other day.

Here's the low-down...

* Slice up about 5 medium onions....

* Put about 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large pot. Put on medium heat and toss in the onions.

* Season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, thyme and a few bay leaves.

* Cook for about 20ish minutes or until the onions are browning and caramelizing. Remove the bay leaves.

* Add in 1/2 cup sherry to de-glaze the pan..(if you don't have sherry, use white wine)

* Then add 6 cups of beef broth

* Bring to a boil.

* I then dumped the soup in a small crock pot and turned it on low..

* Get a few pieces of crusty bread..(I used sourdough) ...then put some cheese on the top..either Swiss or Gruyere' and put under the broiler until cheese is melted and bread is crispy...

*Enjoy...

The results.....

Delish..so rich and savory..I loved using the bread to sop up the broth.

And like I predicted..Lily took one look at the soup...rolled her eyes and started spurting out something like "ewwww...that is so disgusting..you are feeding us onions for dinner. Why?? But Mom..can't we just have...blah blah blah??"" At that point..I just tuned her out.

She ate it...and LOVED it...

Justin was snooping around in the kitchen wondering where the meat is..and saying he doesn't get the whole 'soup' thing..

I took some to food lady and she really liked it too.

I would give this recipe 4 outta 5 stars...