Here’s a great crock pot recipe and two super apple desserts.
Easy crock pot dinner
2 lbs. stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 packet Lipton dry onion soup mix
1 small can mushrooms
1 C water
Mix all ingredients and pour over meat. Set to low for the day. Serve over potatoes, noodles or rice or the roasted potatoes below.
Great roasted potatoes
3 lbs. small red or white potatoes
1/4 C olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 TBS minced garlic (6 cloves)
2 TBS minced fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; toss until potatoes are well coated. Transfer potatoes to a sheet pan and spread out into one layer. Roast in oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking in order to ensure even browning. Remove potatoes from the oven, toss with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.
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Apple taquito
1 20-oz. can apple pie filling
12 medium soft tortillas
1/4 C butter, melted
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
caramel syrup, optional
Combine cinnamon and sugar on a plate. Empty can of pie filling onto a cutting board and chop up apples into bite-sized pieces. Lay a tortilla flat and top with about 3 tablespoons of the apple pie filling. Tightly roll up tortilla. Brush outsides of taquito with butter, then roll it in sugar/cinnamon mixture to coat outside. Place taquito in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and apple pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until taquitos start to get golden on top. Drizzle with caramel syrup before serving.
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Upside-down praline apple pie
3 TBS salted butter
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C chopped pecans
1-1/2 TBS maple syrup or honey
pastry for a 2-crust pie, homemade or store-bought
4-5 C peeled thinly sliced apples
1 TBS lemon juice
1/3 C sugar
1 TBS flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 TBS butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans and drizzle with maple syrup. Top with one of the pie crusts (rolled to an 11-in. circle). Mound apple slices onto crust and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Sprinkle on top of apples. Drizzle with melted butter. Lay remaining pie crust on top. Fold edges of crust together and crimp to seal. Pierce top with a fork.
Bake on middle rack of oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue baking for an additional 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes (no longer!). Loosen sides with a knife. Turn upside down onto a large serving platter.
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Thought – The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart. Be careful with your words.
If you would like to share a recipe with me, just send it to the J-T or email it to me.
(Melanie Behrens – melb@marysvillejt.com)