Apple Pie - Baked in an Apple

I love Pinterest!  Don't you?  When I saw this recipe for apple pie baked in an apple I was pinning for sure!  My Dad LOVES apple pie and my Mom is the queen apple pie maker in our family.  You know how it is trying to make it like Mom makes it, it never turns out as good as Mom makes it so I've given up on the apple pie making!  LOL!  When I saw this I thought, ahhh, my own apple pie!  When I read Sarah's post HERE I had a good laugh then thought, well if she can do it, I can do it!  She did a great job on the crust but me, naaa, to much to do today to take the time.  If I was doing it for a holiday sure!  Well, maybe!  :)  Visit Sarah's blog for her recipe, I changed mine up a bit.

Photo From Chronicles Of A Domestic Dilettante

 Baked Apple Pie In An Apple

Ingredients

• 5 Granny Smith Apples - Make sure they can stand alone and not roll over
• 2 Tsp Cinnamon - Lave the shaker out to sprinkle inside apples
• 1/4 Cup Sugar ( + additional 2tbsp)
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar ( + additional 2tsp)
• 1 Tsp Vanilla (optional)
• Pie Crust (homemade or pre made - me...pre made)
• 1 Egg (whisk in bowl for wash - optional)
• Vanilla Ice Cream or Cool Whip - again optional but I mean come on its PIE!!
• Any other seasonings you like in apple pie...throw them in!

Preheat Oven to 375

Prepare The Apple

• Wash and remove stickers (yeah, forgot to do that...tee hee)
• Cut off top of apple - not a lot, just a thin layer
• Scoop out Insides or as my boys would say...guts - I used a melon ball scoop which worked great!  If you don't have one use a spoon but its best to get the melon ball scoop.  Don't scrape to close to the edge or the bottom because you'll punch a hole and all the yummy juice will drain out.
• Sprinkle the inside of apple with cinnamon...do as much as you like.  I sprinkle about three shakes
• Place apples in baking dish
• Once you've scooped out the inside and thrown away the seeds and core mix apples a bowl with cinnamon, sugars and vanilla
• Fill Apples with mixture

Crust

• Since I used pre made crust I just unrolled it, cut it into 4 and draped over apple.  Not shown in photo but I also cut slits in top of crust
• With whisked egg "paint" top of crust so it turns golden brown
• Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon (I used 1 tbs Brown Sugar and 1 tsp Cinnamon)

Baking

• Place apples in a baking dish
• Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan - I wanted to flavor the water so I added more cinnamon and brown sugar to the water.  I added 1 tbsp Brown Sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon to the pan before adding water
• Cover with foil and bake 30-35 minutes (you will bake less time if you have smaller apple slices but since I used the melon baller it needed more time)
• Remove foil and bake and additional 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown

My family was so excited they ate them HOT! 

Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Lasagna Roll Ups

This week I decided to try something new! Lasagna Roll Ups! Isn't it funny, you get a new pan and you just want to cook something in it! My sister gave me a few pieces of Rachel Rays Bakeware for Christmas and I LOVE IT, so I thought a new dish in a new pan! We love lasagna and I've been hearing about Lasagna Rolls so my mind got to work and I came up with this dish that turned out to be SOOOO good! My Dad said; "Best lasagna I've ever had!" Got to love Dad's! :) I hope you enjoy it too!

Keep in mind I usually double my recipes so I can make a batch for the freezer or to give to a friend. If you don't want to make this much just cut it in half. This recipe will make about 20-22 rolls.

What You Need
3lb. ground beef
1 (32 oz.) Spaghetti Sauce (I use Prego Mushroom-the large bottle), divided
2 T Onion Onion (cap full)
1 tsp Garlic Garlic (half cap full)
3 tsp Sugar (optional)
2 Eggs slightly beaten
4 cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
16 oz Cottage Cheese
20 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained

Parchment Paper

You could also add spinach to sneak a veggie in there!

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in skillet on medium-high heat; drain.

MIX to meat, 3/4 Spaghetti Sauce, seasonings, sugar, beaten eggs, 3 cups Mozzarella Cheese, 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese and Cottage Cheese, set to the side.

NOODLES Its important when you cook the noodles you don't over cook them because they will fall apart. Bring water to a rolling boil, add noodles and cook about 7-10 minutes, just until they are pliable. Use a large pan to boil them but because they are long, don't worry about them sticking out, once they get hot they will fall into the water.

Once they have cooked, remove from water and lay them on parchment paper so you can roll them on the paper, then place in pan. Make sure to use tongs, they are HOT! The silicone tipped tongs are the best but if you don't have them just be careful not to rip them. But as you can see by the photo I ripped a few but still used them.

Cover the bottom of your pan with 1 cup spaghetti sauce. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

Spread each noodle with 3 heaping tablespoonfuls of meat mixture, leaving about an inch from the end because when you roll the mixture will spread. Lay them in the pan with seam side down, top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake 350 for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

These are more of my new dishes! These cuties are going to my Mom so she can enjoy a hot meal two nights this week. I know they will make her super happy! Just wrap with foil, freeze and deliver.

Note about above photo, lay them down and cook with seam side down. I then covered with remaining sauce before topping with cheese. They cook better this way and the tips don't dry out.

These are for my family and my sister came over for dinner too. I thought I made enough for leftovers the next day but once they started eating them, they were gone! Glad I pulled Mom's out first!

Would love to hear how you make your roll ups...my mind is on a roll for different flavors, desserts...etc! ENJOY!

Chicken Quesadillas

The last time I was in need of a quick meal I was in the store and picked up a bag of frozen Chicken Quesadillas. When I cooked them I was sickened at the brown mush that was inside. It was a name brand but nothing I would want to serve my family. So, again I found myself needing a quick and easy meal as we've been on the run all day. So on the menu this evening, homemade Chicken Quesadillas. I love keeping cooked cubed chicken in the freezer for quick meals and today I was glad I could just pull out a bag and have a much better meal for my family. It saved me $20 from getting fast food and much tastier too. Hope you enjoy these!

2lb Cooked Chicken Breast-Seasoned with TS Seasoned Salt
4 c Shredded Cheese any flavor
Bushes Grillin' Beans - I used the Texas Ranchero
10 Four Tortilla Shells
Pam Cooking Spray
Prepared Fiesta Dip

Warm griddle and spray with Pam
Place Tortilla on Griddle
Add toppings in order - cheese, beans, chicken, cheese
Add additional tortilla shell on top and gently push down
Spray tortilla with cooking spray
Flip when both shells are browned slightly
Slice with pizza cutter

Use prepared Fiesta Dip for dipping and....
ENJOY!!

Are You Vinegar or Honey

Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.



Are your words like honeycomb? That is a lesson we've been teaching our children over the past few weeks. When they start to fuss we just ask are you being honey or vinegar? Its amazing how the mood changes. On Saturday night during our devotion time Mark gave each of them a visual illustration by first giving them a little cup of vinegar (they thought it was water) and had them dip their finger into the cup then lick their finger. Wow, did they hate that! He talked about how our words can often be like the vinegar, harsh and bitter.


We've been teaching them that its never okay to talk harsh and mean to one another. The other day in school we talked about encouraging one another and building each other up. After our talk the boys decided on their own to start a tally sheet. Each time one of them said something crude, rude, cut throat, even if in "fun" they would add a tally to that persons name. They were shocked to see how many times they were NOT encouraging one another. It was a real eye opener and a lesson learned. How about you? Are you an encourager? Are you raising children who are encouraging one another? Do you're words reflect a Christ like spirit or do you tear down everyone and everything in your path? When people see you coming do they think of you as uplifting and encouraging or do they see you coming and say; "Oh, boy, here we go, Mrs Negative is coming to visit!" Try starting your own tally sheet to see if you're an encourager or a discourager. I know it was a real eye opener in our home this week!

Another Red Bird Gift

This past week I received some heart wrenching news. You know, the kind of news that tares at your heart strings. It overwhelmed me, consumed my thoughts then started to affect my attitude. I knew what was happening to ME so on my way home I did what I've done many times, I had another good talk with ME and told ME you are not going to take this home and take it out on your family, this has nothing to do with them so get your attitude right before you get out of this van. My husband and oldest son knew of the situation but they did not bear is like I was - don't you love that when someone is stable in the relationship!

On my way home I dropped off my nephews and when leaving their house I noticed a rather large mud puddle. In the middle of the mud puddle I noticed some splashing and could not figure out what it was. When I drove up to see, I notice a little red bird splashing around and having a grand time. My heart was blessed at the little gift God placed in my day. You see several years ago I claimed a Red Bird as my "I love you from God". When I see a Red Bird I know the Lord is sending a special message just to me. That night when things calmed down I got my Bible and a good book and enjoyed getting my focus back where it needed to be. Getting me back in order so I could enjoy a peaceful night sleep and put the situation back in His hands. I'm always reminding myself His Plan is so much bigger then my plan and His ways are so much better then my ways. Choose an "I love you sign" and see how God works in mysterious ways.

A Father's Influence

An old story tells us about a man who asked three stone masons What they were doing. The first man said he was laying bricks. The second man described his work as building a wall. But it was the third man who explained with genuine concern for his work, He said, "I'm raising a great cathedral." When I read that it reminded me of our children and the power of a fathers influence.

Our youngest son has been playing basketball and since the games are in the afternoon Dad has been unable to attend. Last week Mark was able to get off early and make it to the game. I did not see him come in, but I noticed an extra pep in our son as he was playing. He was making shot after shot. I noticed a huge smile on his face as he would look over my shoulder. When I turned around I noticed Dad made it to the game!!! After another good play followed by a little gig on the court, someone around me smiled and said, "Its so much better when Dad is in the building, isn't it?"

A father has such a powerful influence, God's Word told us of a father's powerful influence long before our modern psychological studies. Psalm 127: 4-5 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Fathers can use their impact to build or destroy their child's life. Today I'm thankful for tremendous impact Mark has on our boys. He is not merely laying bricks, he is not building a wall, he is building a great cathedral.

Summer Is Coming! Are You Ready?

I love spending the summer with the boys. Its a time in our lives that I have come to cherish. Its a time when we get to sit together and plan our "Fun Thursdays" for the summer months. I want my kids to look back and remember the days at home as days filled with joy, fun, laughter and memories. I'm not sure if my kids will ever say they remember the smell of PineSol, but I do know they will remember us having picnics in the back yard, camping for months on end, endless bowling, fun Friday nights and so much more. Whether my house was perfect or how it compared to others’ is not even on their radar.

Is it good to have order and structure? Sure. But I don’t allow the pressure to be the "perfect mom" keep me from having a happy home. The unmade bed will still be there when we are through, but I promise that the time with our children will go quickly, then I'll have time to have the perfect abode.

We look at our kids and we wonder why they laugh and smile with others, but I wonder how often our kids look at us and wonder the same thing. Why does my mom have such a great personality with that person or in that place, but not with me? Take a moment today and look past the clutter and the to-do list and enjoy your family. It will be a memory that they will one day say...remember when...

Summer is coming!! Are you Ready?

What Is That SMELL??

Today I had to run a quick errand, I had to run to get sprinkles so I could finish a chocolate dipped order. I set the kids up with school and said; "I'll be back in a few minutes." Not noticing our youngest needed to be timed in Math, our oldest decided to go ahead and get him started. They tried to decide how to start a timer so instead of just watching the clock they decided to start the microwave!!! Don't ask me why, all I can say is....well, I have NO idea!! So, they set the timer for 10 minutes and went back to work. One being timed in Math the other reading in History. When I returned I was met at the van and I knew something was wrong. I hear these words..."Now, Mom, don't get mad but, well, ummmm, we burnt your chocolate!!" When I went to check it out, the whole bowl, 10 pounds of chocolate was so hot it actually burnt and turned into a course sand! When I started to scoop it out of the bowl it melted the trash bag and the spoon I was scooping! Lessons learned today...chocolate stinks really bad when its burnt & DON'T USE THE MICROWAVE FOR A TIMER!!!

A Special Birthday Gift

Going to Wal-Mart on Saturday is NOT my idea of an enjoyable Saturday afternoon, but I wanted to get groceries because we were going into a week of revival services and I wanted my meals planned. I wanted to go Friday but did not get around to going. That was because God had a plan...

As I was running out the door Caleb decided to come along. I always enjoy the alone time with the boys because I get a glimpse into their heart. Caleb recently received money for his birthday and like any little boy he was trying to decide what to buy. For a few months he's been anticipating his birthday. He had a few things in mind that he wanted; however, he kept coming back to one particular item...a new paintball gun! He had been looking online and at the pawn shops for one but no luck finding what he wanted. We talked a few time about waiting on the Lord. We talked about faith and we decided to trust that the Lord had something special just for him on his birthday. While at Wal-Mart he found a $5 item that he wanted, it was not something he needed in fact it was really just a waist of his $5 so we talked about maybe just waiting. We talked about being wise with his money and not just spending it because it was in his wallet. I reminded him that God had something really special for him if he would just wait on the Lord. He had already split his money up into save & spend so what he had was his free to spend birthday money.

On the way home we had one of those special conversations, you know, the ones where he tell me what a great Mom I am! I love those! tee hee!! We had a nice ride home just visiting with one another and enjoying our alone time. As we pulled into the neighborhood we spotted a yard sale sign. Knowing I had groceries in the back he said; "Mom, can we go to the yard sale real quick?' I agreed but said; "I bet its over because its already after 2 and yard sales in our area close before noon!" Sure enough, as we drove by they had everything in boxes and it looked like it was all clothes anyway. As we drove by we noticed the yard sale sign we were following was past the house that was packing up so we proceeded around the corner to another one. Again I repeated what I said a few moments earlier. As we pulled up to the yard sale it was still in full swing! Junk...I mean stuff everywhere! As soon as we pulled up he yelled..."I see a paintball mask!" Now, let me just say this mask was on the back of a table behind some other junk and all you could see was the strap! He jumped out of the van, ran up to the table, talked to the man of the house for a few moments and ran back to the van. I could tell by his excitement that there was more then just a mask!!! He said with great excitement; "Oh, Mom, there is a paintball gun, mask, tank and hopper (only a Mom of boys would know all the names!) for just $70!!! I smiled and said; "Well, lets get your brother so he can look it over." He told the man in a calm voice, you know, not to give away he was really excited; "Ummm, sir, I'm going to get my brother to come look at your gun, we'll be right back". He got in the van and his mouth started running!! Thinking the Lord was about to give him his special gift I said we need to do a few things. One, we need to go home and see how much spend money you have and two you need to take your brother's advice. If he says its good and you have enough money then you can get it; however, if you don't have enough money or if Kyle says no then you need to just take it that the Lord has something better for you and this is a NO. He agreed! When he got home he counted his money and had $50. We decided together if it was good and Kyle said yes he would have to offer the man $50 and if he would accept $50 then he could buy it. Off they went to make a deal!!! They walked back to the yard sale and about 15 minutes later they came into the house .

I could hear them laughing in the front yard before they even opened the door so I knew God had given him a special birthday gift. Sure enough the front door flew open and two excited young men came bellowing in the front door!!! Mom, they said, we got it for $50!!! My heart was filled with joy but little did I know....

You see, our oldest son had been praying that God would give him a new mask because the one he had was to snug. He looked up online a particular mask that he needed but it was $80 and he knew he would never spend $80 on a paintball mask so he decided to pray about it. Would you believe the mask he prayed for was the mask at the yard sale!!! Right down to the color!!! When he saw the mask he said; "My heart started pounding and I could not believe my eyes!" When he told his brother about it on the way home his brother decided Kyle would get the mask, Caleb would get the gun and Kyle would give Caleb the smaller mask.

Oh, and the gun, well, it too was the exact gun Caleb had been praying for and its only been shot about 5 times!! The total package was valued around $300 and God gave it to a little boy who was faithful in praying for a special gift! Don't tell me God does not hear the prayers of our children.

After they settled down Caleb said real quick "I'll be right back, I've got to go to my room!" He ran to his room and when I looked in he was kneeling along side his bed thanking God for the blessing of a special birthday gift. He was thanking God for a gift and I was thanking God for yet another lesson learned.

How I Know Spring Is In The Air

Do you know how we know Spring Is In The Air at our house? This goes up!!!

Every Spring it goes up and stays up for several weeks, sometimes a few months until it gets to hot. The boys have discovered if they put the tent over the top it will not rain inside so now it can stay up wind or rain! Are they roughing it?

ummmm NO!!! Grandpa received a new chair for his birthday so the boys adopted his old one and of course it went in the tent! My rug is in the tent! The bathroom trash can is in the tent! They are not roughing it all all!

They have their X-Box 360 out there and all the blankets in the house! Including my pink one! He is going to love that I have this photo of him in a pink blanket! LOL!

Even the dog has made her home out there with them! So far the tent has been up about a month and they have survived a few stormy nights, 37 degree mornings and a nice windy day. Is is killing the grass...yep, is it in the way....yep, is it blocking the view from the back door...yep, but I've had to ask myself does that really matter? No! I know one day when Spring comes that tent will be in the shed and I'll long to hear them laughing out there. I'll long for the words, "can we eat our dinner outside?" I'll long for the "we discovered stories". I'm going to enjoy knowing two brothers are building a strong bonding relationship. So for now I'm just going to enjoy the annoyance of an ugly tent at my back door and enjoy the sound of them laughing and building memories that they will one day recall. I'm going to enjoy going to check on them to find them sleeping because they think its later then it really is. I'm going to enjoy watching them "clean house"! I'm going to enjoy sitting in the yard watching them play catch. I'm going to enjoy all the sleepovers they have been having because they are "camping". I'm just going to enjoy the job of being a Mom of two fantastic boys because I know way to soon this house will be quiet. I hope you're enjoying your children too and creating a happy joyful home.