Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp



One of my favorite things when I was about 11 years old was when my Grandma and Grandpa would come visit on Saturday afternoons.  They would bring a meal with them and it would always include dessert!  When we moved into our new house, my Grandmother wanted to teach me how to make apple crisp.   I will never forget how she would NOT let me use the pairing knife to peel the apples because she was afraid I would cut my finger off!  So she peeled them herself.  Grandma didn't use  a recipe, which wasn't too far off from how she created most of the amazing dishes that came out of her kitchen.  Well I didn't use a recipe for this apple crisp either, and to be honest I didn't even peel the apples.  I helped myself to a stash Stacy has in our freezer ready to go from the apple tree on my brother's farm. I hope you enjoy!

 

THE LIST:

 

Apples- 6-8 cups (peeled and 1 inch cubed)

Pinch of Salt and 1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup with sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
                                                                     

1/4 Cup with sugar

3/4 Cup Brown sugar

3/4 Cup Quick Oats

1/2 Cup Flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 stick butter- sliced thin

 

Mix all the ingredients in red together and put in a 1.5 quart greased round baking dish.

Mix all the ingredients in blue, except the butter.

Put the flour/oat/sugar mixture on top of the apple mixture and place the thinly sliced butter on top of that evenly across.

Bake of 375 degrees F. for 45 min.

 

This will be runny when you pull it out of the oven, so be careful not to burn yourself.

Let cool and enjoy!



Creamy Potato Broccoli Soup

Creamy Potato Broccoli Soup

 

Above is all the ingredients for creamy broccoli potato soup.

 

The list-

 

8 red potatoes-peeled, cubed to about 1/2 inch, and boiled to soft, BUT Still FIRM. 

(to tell when the potatoes are done- take one out of the water and push with a fork against the counter, the spud should resist the smash, but eventually give in. drain immediately and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.  The key is to not overcook the spuds, we want them to hold their shape in the soup!)

 

2 cups of small dice celery

2 cups of small dice carrots

2 cups of small dice onion

1.5 sticks butter or margarine, whatever you prefer!

1 bag of frozen broccoli florets or pieces (you will want to blanch this: cook in boiling water for 2 minutes)

1 8 oz. bag of shredded with cheddar.  (mozzarella or provolone work just fine also) 

1 quart of half & half, or heavy cream

3/4 quart of milk

1 can of evaporated milk

1.5 TBL garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika (or cayenne pepper if you like some heat) 

3/4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp thyme

3 bay leaves

3 whole cloves

2 TBL chicken base

salt and pepper to taste

1.5 cups flour

 

 I encourage you to get all your ingredients ready the day before, (dicing your vegies and cooking the spuds and broccoli) that way all you have to do is cook when the time comes.  If you watch those cooking shows and wonder why you can not do it that fast and easily, well they have there stuff all lined up ready to go.  In the world of French cooking we call this your mise en place, everything is where it needs to be and ready to go! That is what is in the picture- our mise en place for the soup! (except the milk)

 

Now that your are ready to cook, get a big stock pot, you must have a favorite one for soups and such. I have one that is about a gallon and a half and has a semi thick bottom so sauces don't burn real easily.

 

Put your pot on the stove and melt your butter, once you have a golden pool that is hot, (NOT BURNT BUTTER)  throw in your onion, carrots, and celery (what we call mirepox).

mix it up a little and then cover with a lid and let your veggies steam until the onions are translucent and your carrots are soft, but NOT MUSHY!

Then add your flour, mix thoroughly and let this concoction cook a little, you want to cook out the flour taste but you don't want to make a nutty tasting soup, so don't overcook it, just for 2 minutes on mid to high heat stirring so it does not burn.

 

The next paragraph needs to be completed in a very quick time frame, so you can stir the soup before it burns!

Now you are ready to add your 1/2 and 1/2, milk, and evaporated milk.

Add also the garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, nutmeg, bay leaves, cloves, thyme, chicken base, and some salt and pepper (a 1/4 tsp of each)

Stir this continually until it comes to a simmer! Otherwise it will burn!

You can turn up the heat to high if you are standing over the pot stirring constantly to speed this up.

 

When the soup has come to a simmer you will find that it has thickened nicely! At this point you can add your cheese.  I like to add it in three parts so that it melts and the soup holds its temp.

Now remove your bay leaves and whole cloves!

When the cheese is all mixed in, and you got the cloves and leaves out, add your broccoli and potatoes.

Now your potato broccoli soup is complete and should be thick and look like this:

Dig in and enjoy!

If your soup didn't turn out let me know and I can tell you how to fix it!