French Apple Tart

This tart tastes just like apple pie.  I like the fluffy flaky crust that you get with the puff pastry.  The only thing I would do different next time is take the peels off of my apple slices.  Leaving the peels on does make it look pretty but it is hard to take a bite without the whole apple coming off in one bite because of the peel.  On this tart I scored around the edges of the puff pasty and this allowed the edges to puff higher than the middle.  It also kept the filling on the tart and did not run over onto my cookie sheet while baking.

Cally bought my apples from some Amish girls at a farmers market in Portsmouth Friday afternoon.  I am not sure what they are but there were really sweet and tender.  I cut up 4 apples and had way too many apples so I used my extra apples for apple cobbler.

French Apple Tart

1 puff pastry sheet
2 apples, cored and sliced
1/4 Cup sugar
1/8 Cup flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice

French topping
1/2 Cup flour
1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 415 degrees

Thaw the puff pastry for about 20 minutes.  After thawed open up the pastry and cut in half to make 2 tarts.
Place the puff pastry on a baking sheet.  Score around the edges of the puff pastry with a knife.  This will allow the pastry to puff up more around the edges of the tart.  Set aside

Mix together sugar, flour cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour the mixture over the sliced apples and toss to cover. Pour in the lemon juice and continue to toss until all the apples are coated.

Arrange the apples inside the scored portion of the tart all the way from the top to the bottom. Repeat on the 2nd tart.

For the French topping:  mix together flour and brown sugar.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly.  I put my mixture into the microwave for 10 seconds so my crumbs were more like strudel when I put them on top of the tarts.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes

The French Apple Tart is partying at the following parties this week, click on the links below to see tha parties and all the other great entries

The Chicken Chick

Lemon Cream Cheese Danish

Yum 

Cream cheese and lemon are one of my favorite combinations.  Add in puff pastry and it is scrumptious. This dessert was super easy to make.  I used a frozen pastry puff sheet and a can of Lemon Pie filling.  You could make this danish using any pie filing your heart desires.  Cherry and cream cheese sound like a good match too.

one of the pastries I rolled the edges and the other I left flat.  The only difference when they were done baking was the rolled edges was a little puffier than the flat edges.

Lemon Cream Cheese Danish

1 sheet Puff Pastry

1 can Lemon Pie filing ( I used half of 22oz can)

1  8 ounce cream cheese

1/2 C sugar

1 egg

1T vanilla

Preheat oven to 415 degrees

Sit frozen pastry out to thaw (about 20 minutes)

After thawed open up pastry and cut in half.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Mix together the cream cheese, egg, vanilla and sugar until smooth.

Take the pie filling and put a strip of filling down the center of each puff pastry.

On the outsides of the lemon filling place a strip of cream cheese filling on each side.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili

This is a 2 bowl kind of soup.  Because you can not eat just one.  Bill and I loved this soup and will have it many more times this fall and winter.  My favorite part of the soup was the bacon taste.  You can not go wrong with bacon, jalapenos and cream cheese.  We crushed up tortilla chips and put in ours like you would crackers with other soups.

We have been pretty busy this past week.  We finally finished the new Dining room.  Here is a before picture and after picture.  I have looked all over the place for a picture to show this room as our living room.  In this room we use to have a couch, love seat, desk, filing cabinet and hope chest.  We also have a family room in our lower level.  When the kids moved into their new apartments this year for school we decided we no longer needed a living room full of furniture and a family room full of furniture so we gave the living room furniture to the kids and made us a dining room.

Before we had a dining room/kitchen area.  When we moved the dining room into our old living room we moved my office into the old dining room area.  The new office area has so much more room now then before.  Now that we have moved the table, hutch, pie safe and buffet into the new room if is a lot less crowded.

The windows in this last picture made the lighting in this picture bad but thought it was a good view of the new room.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Olive oil for sauteing
1 small onion, diced
5 jalapeno peppers, diced and seeds removed
3 cloves garlic, grated
2  12.5 oz cans of chicken
2 t chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
1 14oz can rotel tomatoes with green chili's
2 C chicken broth
1 15 oz can great northern beans
1 15 oz can corn
8 oz cream cheese
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
Shredded cheese and tortilla chips for garnishing

In a large soup pan heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat and saute onion, jalapeno peppers and grated garlic until soft and tender.  Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomatoes, chicken broth, beans and corn. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes.  Add cream cheese and stir until completely melted.  Remove from heat.  Stir half the bacon into the soup.  Serve with the remaining crumbled bacon, cheese and crushed tortillas.

Blooming Pizza Roll

Yum
MMMMMMMMMMMMM. This was super easy and especially good !  I have seen the blooming breads floating around pinterest the last couple of months but had decided it would be something to make when I had several people around because Bill and I could not eat a whole loaf  (or I should say we should not eat a whole loaf) of bread (because this was so good we probably could eat a whole loaf....lol)  While browsing the bakery goods the other day I came across these Portuguese Rolls.  The texture feels like Italian Bread. The blooming bread says to use a loaf of round sour dough bread.  But I figured why could I not use these smaller rolls that way Bill and I could share one and not have a lot left over to go to waste.

It is super easy to assemble.  You just cut your roll lengthwise and then across the bun almost all the way through.  In the next step I took my garlic butter mixture and my basting brush and basted the roll down inside the slices with the garlic butter.  Then take your sliced mozzarella cheese and pepperoni and place inside all the crevices.  Roll it up and throw it in the pan..... just kidding, I was having a flashback there with bakers man......hehehe.  Roll it up in some foil and put in the oven.

Bill and I have been busy since the kids have started back to school.  Both the kids moved into new apartments this year.  Which means they needed some furniture.  We decided to make our living room into a dining room and the old dining room into my office area so Cally took the couch and tables and Billy took the love set.  Bill and I have been busy trying to install a new floor.  We have put down laminate flooring before with no problem at all but this flooring that we picked out this time is being a pain in the rear to install. It is suppose to snap together, well there is no snapping these planks together we are having to hammer them in.  Here is a peek of what we have been working on

We have laminate down right beside this room but we could not get the same flooring to match because the manufacture of that flooring quit making it.  So we choose to pick a totally different color of flooring so it did not look like we tried to match it up and failed.  For now we have a big mess but we are hoping to get this project finished this weekend.  I will post more pictures after we complete my new Dining room and office area.

Blooming Pizza Roll

Inspired by The Girl Who Ate Everything

Choice of bread roll

3 slices mozzarella cheese slices

pepperoni slices, halved

3 Tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Parmesan cheese topping

pizza sauce (for dipping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the roll lengthwise and then across almost all the way through.  Place bread on a foil lined baking sheet.  Melt the butter and mix with the garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  With a pastry brush, brush the melted butter mixture all over and down inside the slices of bread.  Next place the cheese and pepperoni slices inside the crevices of the bread.  Finally brush some melted butter all over the top of the bread and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese topping.  Wrap bread in the foil and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.  Unwrap and continue baking for 15 more minutes.  Break pieces of the bread off and dip in warm pizza sauce.

Orange Soak Cake

This cake reminds me of a cake I have made in the past called Sunsational cake.  This recipe is a little different in that you bake it in a 9X13 pan and the glaze has melted butter in it.  Oh my heavens the melted butter makes all the difference in the world.  The cake is super moist to the point it wants to fall apart when you put a bite on your fork and it is a creamy buttery orange flavor.  If you like orange flavoring you must try this cake

Duncan Hines Orange Soak Cake
adapted from Duncan Hines

Cake:
1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Orange Supreme Cake Mix
1 sm package orange jello
Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 t lemon juice
2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 tbsp water
whipped topping for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13 x 9-inch pan.
For cake, prepare according to package directions adding a small box of orange jello
Bake cake according to package directions for a 13 X 9 cake
Poke holes in top of warm cake with tines of fork or toothpick.
For glaze, combine confectioners' sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, melted butter and water in medium bowl. Pour slowly over top, allowing glaze to soak into warm cake. Cool completely.

Creamy Buffalo Chicken & Pinto Bean Quesdillas

These Quesadillas were really good.  The original recipe calls for Black Beans but we prefer Pinto Beans.  I also used the can chicken and these were super fast to make.  The buffalo sauce gave them a little kick but the gooey cheese and beans were my favorite part of the Quesadillas.  If you get a chance check out
Sweettreatsmore.com to see more delicious recipes.

The next recipe of Kristy's I want to try is her Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili.  I think I might try it tonight.

Creamy Buffalo Chicken & Pinto Bean Quesadillas
adapted from: Sweettreatsmore.com

1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (or 12.5 oz canned chicken)
15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Franks hot sauce (or other wing sauce)
1/4 cup sour cream (plus more for topping)
2 tbsp diced green onion, optional
salt and pepper to taste


In a small sauce pan combine chicken, sour cream, wing sauce, pinto beans, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and bring to a slight simmer, remove from heat.
Heat a skillet to medium heat and lightly spray with Pam.
Place tortilla on the heated skillet.
Spread about a 1/4- 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese.
Cook for 3-4 minutes or until bottom side is golden brown. Fold the top of the quesadilla in half to close the quesadilla. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Garnish with sour cream and diced green onion

Raspberry Lemonade Cake

This was Cally's entry for Desserts in the fair this year.  This cake was super awesome.  When you first look at it with the pink icing and berries on top you would not dream that when it is sliced it is bright yellow.  It tastes and looks refreshing!

Cally placed 1st in Desserts with her cake

Raspberry Lemonade Cake

Cally Jones

Cake

1/3 C powdered lemonade mix

1 pkg Lemon Cake mix

1 C water

3 eggs

1/3 C sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 9inch round cake pans.  Stir 1 C water into lemonade mix until dissolved.  On low speed, combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream and lemonade.  On medium speed, beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Divide into pans and Bake for 25 minutes

Icing

6 T milk

3 T lemonade mix (dry)

1 1/2 C butter, softened

5 C powdered sugar

pink food coloring, optional

1 1/2 C fresh raspberries for garnishing

Stir milk and lemonade mix.  Beat butter until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sugar.  Add lemonade mixture.  Top one layer with icing, place second layer on top and then finish icing the cake.  Garnish as desired with raspberries.