Baked Apple Oatmeal

 Now that the weather is getting chilly 

it's time for this hearty breakfast.

Hot cereal is far more nourishing and satisfying
than cold and it keeps you full longer. 

You can mix this up in the evening before in a
covered bowl, then refrigerate and

bake fresh and warm in the morning.

It will make your kitchen smell wonderful.

Serve in bowls with additional milk or cream.

(my photos are of half the recipe.)

I can reheat any leftovers for a quick breakfast.

This is a great breakfast to serve before a 

fall or winter activity.

Baked Apple Oatmeal

2 C oatmeal

1/2 C brown sugar

2 t cinnamon

2 T butter, melted

4 C milk

2 apples. peeled and chopped

1/2 C chopped pecans

1/2 C raisins or craisins (if desired)

Combine all ingredients and put into a buttered

2 qt casserole. Bake @350 for about 40 minutes

until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Spoon into bowls and serve 

with additional milk or cream.
6-8 servings

Enjoy!

Links: Designs By Gollum,
French Country Cottage, Between U & Me
At The Picket Fence, The Charm Of Home,
Stone Gable

Asian Slaw

This is a slaw you just can't stop munching on.

I like that I can make it ahead of time.

 Gather ingredients: broccoli slaw, sunflower seeds,
sliced almonds, green onions and a packet of ramen noodles.

Whisk or shake in a jar the dressings ingredients:
oil, sugar, vinegar and the reserved flavor packet.

 Crush the noodles and put into the bowl.

 Toast the almonds in the toaster oven for about
5-10 minutes at 350, until fragrant.

 Add the broccoli slaw to the bowl.
Chop the green onions and add to the bowl along
with the sunflower seeds and almonds.

Combine the dressing well and pour over. 

Give it a good toss. Taste and try not to eat 

too much. Put in a sealed container in the

refrigerator until ready to serve or overnight. 

Asian Slaw

2 (3-oz) packages beef-flavored 

ramen noodle soup mix

2 (8.5-oz) packages broccoli slaw mix
(or 16-oz bag cole slaw mix) 

1 C sliced almonds, toasted

1 C sunflower kernels

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C vegetable oil

1/3 C white or apple cider vinegar

flavor packets from soup mix

~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove the flavor packets from the soup mix

and set aside. Crush the noodles and place 

them in the bottom of a large bowl. 

Top with the slaw mix; sprinkle with almonds, 

sunflower kernels and green onions.

~~~~~~~~~

Whisk together the contents of the

 flavor packets, sugar, oil and vinegar. 

Poor over the slaw. Cover and chill 24 hours.

 Toss before serving.

tip: can add cut-up shrimp or chicken for
a complete meal. (about 2-4 C)

tip: I cut the recipe in half in the above photos.

for the oil ~ half of 3/4 C = 6T

for the vinegar ~ half of 1/3 C = 2T+2t

Enjoy!

Links: Designs By Gollum,
Facebook

Glazed Meatloaf

I like comfort food like meatloaf
and don't make it often enough.
I have several recipes and this is the easiest one
because there is little prep work;
no chopping, just mix, shape and bake.

Serving my Easy Scalloped Potatoes for the side. 

It can bake along with the meatloaf.

I use my handy scale to measure out the 

ground beef. Gather all the ingredients.

Combine all the ingredients except the meat and

 let it sit to absorb. Then mix in the meat.

Shape into a loaf and put in a shallow casserole.

*You can prepare it ahead to this point and just

cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate 

to glaze and bake later. 

Combine the glaze ingredients.

Spread the glaze all over the loaf.

Bake about 1 hour. 

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You'll want to save some leftover slices

 for sandwiches the next day. 

Warmed or cold slices of meatloaf on toast 

with your choice of mustard or more ketchup.

Enjoy!

Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef

3 slices dry bread or 1/2 C breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

2 eggs

1/2 C milk

1/2 C ketchup

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Combine the crumbled bread in a large bowl
 with the milk. Let sit for 5 minutes to
 soften the bread. OR just use the
breadcrumbs, Add the milk, and eggs; stir
 in the ketchup and soup mix to combine.
Add the ground beef and mix well. 

Shape into a loaf in a shallow casserole.

Top with glaze mixture spreading to coat.

 Bake @ 350 for 1 hour. 

Glaze Mixture

1/2 C ketchup

2 T brown sugar

1 T mustard

Links: Stone Gable, EKats Kitchen

Homemade Pie Crust

Homemade pie crust is what takes a pie

 from good to great.

It's the foundation for any pie or quiche.

 This is the basic Crisco recipe.

 It takes less than 2 minutes to mix up
in a food processor, but you can also make it
 by hand using a pastry blender.

 Add the flour and salt to the work bowl. 

Pulse to blend, then add the Crisco.

 Pulse a few times until it's coarsely blended in.

 You should be able to pinch it together with your fingers.

 It should be crumbly.

 Now add in the cold water while the machine is running

 Just until it begins to hold together. 

 Remove and divide into two balls.

 Flatten into disks and refrigerate at least 30 

minutes before rolling.

 I store one in a ZipLock bag for the freezer.

It's great to have one ready to go.

 Place the dough on a floured board.
Sprinkle a little flour on top. Roll it out into a
circle from the center using a floured rolling pin.

 Rotate the pie crust from time to time
to make sure it's not sticking to the board.
Add more flour if needed.

 Roll until it's slightly larger than your pie pan.

 You can either use a metal spatula to flip the
pie crust in half

place it into the pie dish or

 Roll it over your rolling pin. 

 Then roll it onto your pie pan. Press into place gently.
Pinch any tears together.

 Fold the excess dough under the edge trying to
 keep the thickness even.

Cajole into shape with your fingers forming a

 nice even rim.

 Then begin fluting the edge all around

using three fingers. I usually go around a few times
to smooth out any cracks.

Fill and bake as recipe suggests.
Here I'm making one pumpkin pie and
one pecan pie.

Chocolate Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Chocolate Meringue Pie

To bake an unfilled shell

Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. 

Bake @425 for 10-12 until golden brown.

Pie Crust

2-1/2 C flour

1/2 t salt

3/4 C shortening

4-5 T ice cold water

Combine the flour and salt in a food processor

Pulse to combine. Add the Crisco and pulse on/off

about 15-30 times, until blended.
With machine running, drizzle in
enough ice water just until it begins to
 hold together. Divide dough in half, and
shape into flatted disks. Wrap in plastic,
chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days or
frozen for up to 1 month.

 Roll out on a floured surface

Enough for a double crust pie or 

two shells. 

Enjoy!