Judy's Apple Fritters!

 Now you know, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, APPLE FRITTERS! I just can not help myself I LOVE them! These are really just a glorified donut but WHO CARES? Not me do you? Probably not! We eat these for breakfast or even better as dessert, that's how I like them as dessert! Crispy & sticky sweet on the outside fluffy , sweet & spicy with juicy bits of apple on the inside & these are FAST to make! Go ahead & make a batch while apples are in season . You will be GLAD you did! ENJOY FOODIES!
1 Cup Flour
1 & 1/2 TSP Baking Powder
1/2 TSP Salt
2 HEAPING TBS Sugar
1 Beaten Egg
1/2 Cup Milk + 1 TBS
1 TSP Vanilla
1 TSP Cinnamon
2  Peeled & Chopped Apples!

                                  This is how your batter should look!
                                                              
Take your 2  Apples Peeled, Cored & Chopped into small dice, you want about 1 & 1/2 Cups
Stir all dry ingredients together. Add all of the wet & stir well. Add chopped Apple & stir to mix well. Now in a deep skillet add vegetable so you have 2 inches deep in the pan. Heat to sizzling hot. Add HEAPING Spoonfuls of batter to the oil & fry until very brown on the bottom. Using 2 forks turn fritters over & fry until the bottom side is nicely browned. Carefully remove fritters one at a time & drain on paper towels. NOW you may just wait until they are cool & coat with powdered sugar but I LOVE my GLAZED. So while the fritters are draining cook up the following glaze:

                                      Fried & Draining Apple Fritters!
                                                           



1/3 Cup Butter
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Dash of Salt
1 TSP Vanilla
Cook & stir the butter until melted, add the rest of the ingredients & stir. Add enough HOT water about 4 to 5 TBS & cook & stir until boiling. Stir & remove from heat. Let settle & then stir again. Now using 2 forks dip each fritter into the hot glaze & turn each one so each side is glazed. Remove & lay the fritters on a plate. Let cool & then CHOMP AWAY! WOW ARE THEY GOOD! Makes 8 Nice Sized Fritters! 

                  Look at those CHUNKS of Apples!                                                                                                                                  

Bacon & Double Cheese Burger!

SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANT A BIG JUICY MEATY BURGER! You know the kind that drip cheese when you bite into it! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

1 & 1/2 LBS Hamburger thawed
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
8 Slices of Bacon
Garlic Powder, Pepper to taste
4  to 8 Slices Cheddar Cheese
1 Sweet Onion  sliced in thick slices
4 GOOD Hamburger Buns
Ketchup & Mustard 

Mix shredded cheddar cheese & seasonings into the burger. Shape into 4 big hamburger patties. Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each patty. Place in a large skillet & fry about 8 to 10 minutes per side. When you flip the burgers add onion slices to the pan so they saute as you fry the burgers. Once nicely browned & juices run clear top each burger with a slice OR 2 of cheese. Cook until cheese melts. Serve up on really good buns & top each burger with some of the sauteed onions. SO GOOD YOU JUST MIGHT CRY!


                                                                                

All American Apple Pie!

The crisp days of fall means crisp, juicy apples that SCREAM to be made into many different desserts. I wanted a traditional American Apple Pie & here it is hot out of the oven! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or just as is & delicious room temp or cold; apple pie can not be beat especially when local apples are in season & fresh picked! Enjoy a true American favorite!

8 Medium Cooking Apples like Granny Smith or Winesap, I actually used Gala & they turned out perfect !
1 TBS Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar 
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar to 3/4 Cup ( if very tart apples use all of the sugar)
Dash of Salt
2 Heaping Tablespoons Flour
2 Heaping Tsp. Cinnamon
1 TBS Melted Butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla
Peel & core apples. Slice & place slices right into the lemon juice stirring to coat. Do one apple at a time so that each apple slice gets an immediate coating of juice so that they do not brown. When every apple is sliced & coated add the dry ingredients & stir well to coat every piece. Now add the vanilla & melted butter & stir to combine . Pile the mixture into the bottom of a blind baked bottom crust. Cut strips from the dough you have rolled out for a lattice top or bake with a complete top crust. I LOVE lattice tops & usually make my pies with them. On the strips of lattice sprinkle with cinnamon & then white sanding sugar. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour. Your pie should be nice & brown with juice bubbling up & apple pieces cooked TENDER! Test with a fork if still firm or semi soft keep on baking you want completely cooked apples!  Serve warm, room temp or cold as you like! No matter how you slice & eat it this pie you will be eating GOOD!

                                                                           


ALL BUTTER PIE CRUST:
2 Cups Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sugar
2/3 Cups Butter COLD
4 to 5 TBS Cold Water
Process all dry together on pulse in food processor to mix. With processor on medium speed add butter 1 tsp. at a time until coarse crumbs. Now add water just enough to make dough come together into a ball. Divide dough in 1/2 & roll out bottom crust. Lay dough into a 9 inch pie pan. Make a foil form that fits in the pie loosely. Fill with about 2 cups raw rice. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. After 10 minutes remove from oven & carefully lift out foil with the rice. RESERVE rice for future use by letting it cool & then store in a zip lock bag. NOW BACK TO PIE BAKING. 
Lightly pile apple filling into your blind baked crust evenly distributing. Roll out remaining dough & cut into strips. Crisscross the strips for a lattice top. Sprinkle with the sugar & cinnamon as described above & bake!   
                                                                  

                                                   This is the pie as a Double Crust Pie!       

Beefy Cheesy Casserole

A QUICK & EASY dinner that tastes OH SO GOOD, who doesn't LOVE that idea? This mixes up FAST & bakes for 1 hour so you have a moment to sit down & relax while it cooks! GOTTA ENJOY THAT don't you? 

2 LBS. Ground Beef
5 Medium Potatoes Peeled & Cubed
1, 10.5 OZ Can Cream Of Mushroom Soup ( or your FAV)
1, 14 OZ   Bag Frozen Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrot Medley
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Bag Frozen Breaded Onion Rings

Brown beef & potato cubes in a large skillet until meat is brown & potatoes are almost tender. Drain. In large casserole dish place frozen veggies in a single layer. Stir cream of mushroom soup into the beef & potato mixture. Spoon that over the veggies. Top with the shredded cheese spreading it evenly over the surface. Arrange onion rings over the cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Onion rings should be crunchy brown & potatoes fork tender.  Serves 4 to 6 people!This is a yummy casserole & I hope you LOVE it as much as we do! EAT UP FOODIES!
                                                                                 

Fresh & or Cooked Salsa Recipe for Both!

 This is the COOKED version that I am snacking on as I type!

Man oh Man Salsa & Chips one of the GREATEST snacking foods of ALL TIME! Make it FRESH for yourself TWEEKED to suit you! I LOVE my SALSA but MILD for ME! You may HEAT this recipe up as you wish but I MUNCH MINE MILD, CHILD!

This is a cup of the FRESH SALSA no cooking REQUIRED!

Now this is a cup of the FRESH Salsa only COOKED & vinegar added! I LOVE this recipe BOTH WAYS but the cooked version will keep longer in the refrigerator over the fresh version! When making a big batch, I cook, but keep some of the fresh out just to eat RIGHT AWAY! Happy Snacking FOODIES!

 BASIC SALSA& MAKES ABOUT 5 CUPS  either recipe you use!
8 Large Tomatoes cored & quartered
2 Medium Onions peeled & quartered
2 Large Green Peppers cleaned cored & quarted
1 Rib Celery OPTIONAL
2 TBS Cilantro OR Parsley ( I use parsley as I do not like Cilantro)
Throw the veggies including the cilantro or parsley in the food processor & pulse for about 15 pulses or so to get a good chopped density. Remove from processor & if eating this as fresh just add about 1 & 1/2 TBS FRESH squeezed lime juice & salt to taste! YOU HAVE SALSA! Isn't that EASY? IF you want to heat up your salsa add fresh hot peppers that you cleaned & seeded & quartered adding  as you like as much or as little added as you add the other veggies!

COOKED SALSA :
Use the ABOVE INGREDIENTS EXCEPT THE LIME JUICE! When you dump out the food processor dump into a large saucepan. Now add 2 TBS RED WINE VINEGAR & 2 or 3 pinches of sugar & salt to taste! Cook about 1 hour  & stirring off & on for about 1 hour until salsa thickens! Remove from heat & refrigerate until using! Use for many recipes or just as chip dip OH SO GOOD!

 
                                                       
                                                      

                                                     
                                                     
                                                                                

Pumpkin Panko Dessert Squares!

                                                                                

                                                                                    




The Joy of Panko Crumbs those amazing Japanese Style Bread Crumbs make crunchy coatings for all kinds of meats; so why not crusts for desserts? So I gave them a try. This is the dessert square to end all dessert squares! Easy to make & sumptuously  decadent! You might not ever want to make pie ever again! Ok so we know we all WANT pie, but easy is an ok out in the dessert area ( sometimes!). 

CRUST:
4TBS Sugar
1 TSP Cinnamon
Dash each of Cloves, Nutmeg, & Ginger 
4 Tbs Melted Butter
2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs
Mix together like crumbs & press firmly but gently down into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven & pour the pumpkin filling over the crust.

PUMPKIN FILLING:
2 Cups Canned Pumpkin
1 & 2/3 Cup Milk Scalded ( heated just to almost boiling, you will see little bubbles forming around the edge of your pan, I do mine in microwave in a glass measuring cup starting at 1:45 minutes on high & check every 30 seconds after that until milk is steaming hot & you see those bubbles, this might take 2:45 minutes . 
Stir the milk & pumpkin together along with the following:
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 TSP Cinnamon
Dash each of Cloves, Nutmeg, & Ginger
1/2 Tsp Salt  Stir well to combine. Let cool down to the touch then add 2 well beaten eggs & whisk together everything until smooth. Pour over the crust & return to the oven to bake another 20 Minutes. Top with the following topping:
TOPPING:
4 TBS Cold Butter
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar 
Cut together to make crumbs 
Add 3/4 Cup Chopped Pecans, 1/2 Cup Panko & 1 Cup Cinnamon Chips stir with a fork to mix well. Once Filling is bake remove from oven & sprinkle the topping evenly over your filling & return to the oven to bake another 15 to 20 minutes! Let cool & cut into squares & SERVE.  You might wish to serve this with whipped cream or whipped topping dollops or even vanilla ice cream ! ENJOY THIS PLENTY GOOD PUMPKIN DESSERT FOODIES!   

Vegetable Beef Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

  Delicious any time Vegetable Beef Soup but when it is back to school time it seems to be the right time for this always GREAT soup!
1 5LB Chuck Roast
Water to cover 2 inches over the roast
Salt, Onion Powder & Garlic Powder about 1 TSP each
Simmer 2 hours. Remove roast from broth. Into the pot add:
4 LBS Mixed Frozen Vegetables
1 LB. Broccoli, Cauliflower Mix
1, 28 OZ. Can Diced tomatoes + juice & 1, 15.5 OZ can diced tomatoes + juice
2 Large Chopped Onions
2 Celery Ribs Chopped
8 Large Potatoes Peeled & Diced
1/2 of a Medium Cabbage Chopped
More Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder & Garlic Powder to taste ( I use white pepper), & Parsley as much as you wish.
Keep the veggies simmering & as soon as meat is cool enough to handle dice into nice size pieces removing any fat as you dice. Add meat back to the pot. Cook until vegetables are nice & tender , I let mine cook a good 2  hours. I make this in my Electric Roaster & it is the perfect size for this BIG pot of soup! We always have YUMMY grilled cheese with this!
GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES!
Butter the outside of your bread that will be grill side down. 2 Pieces of bread per sandwich. I use Potato Bread. Lay buttered side down in your skillet. Lay 3 pieces of your FAVORITE cheese onto the bread. Lay buttered side up bread on top of the cheese. Grill on medium heat checking for browning as to not burn. Once nice a brown flip sandwich & repeat the browning process. Serve up with a GREAT bowl of soup! YUMMERS!