Step by Step...and GIVEAWAY WINNER!!

I've talked it up and talked it up....and now finally here it is! My Dad's WORLD FAMOUS UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS AWARD WINNING APPLE PIE!! (Well, if your world is a teeny town in Wyoming, but the rest is all true).

Oh, you thought I was going to announce the winner of my fabulous giveaway? I will. After I tease ya a bit with this loverly step by step!

On Friday, my girl Kristie came over so I could give her a pie tutorial. I mostly remembered to take pictures along the way. We ended up making 4 pies and a couple of baby tarts with the leftover scraps. Quite a nice way to use up approx 15 pounds of apples.

First up, I peeled, cored and sliced them all up, being extra careful not to include any little wormies in the mix. I know they would be extra protein and all, but.... I was kind of sad to see the peels go in the trash bowl. It's the best part! Next time--pie with peels, everyone!! I am happy to report that I followed my papa's recipe to a T by using the evil of all fats: Mmmm...lard I try not to think about it. Since I was being all "authentic," I even decided to actually GREASE the pie tins instead of just using a little spritz of Pam. Daredevil, I am. After mixing up the top-secret crust, I chunked it out into four equal sections (enough for top and bottom crust for two pies), and let it rest for a sec before rolling it out. That's a little tip my daddy told me. If you let the crust sit for a little bit after mixing, it rolls out about a billion times easier, which is nice because then it doesn't tear like a darn wet tissue for pete's sake. After placing beautifully rolled out crust into your GREASED pie tin, layer in apples, sugar, spice and some little dobs of BUTTER (OMG, who AM I???).Cover with your top crust and make cute little designs on the edges to help it stick together. Also, don't forget to poke some little holes in the top so you can see if the filling is all bubbly. That's how you know it's done! Before After Ta-dah! So, I made two, and this one is kind of the ugly duckling of the bunch, but I totally forgot to take a picture of the other one before I gave it away. Oh well. But this is a much better looking picture: And this... The only thing I did differently than my dad is that I added ice cream to the finished product. He prefers cream. Not whipped. Not from a can. Just cream. (Gag--I mean, sounds great!) My family does not believe in including ice cream with other desserts. No ice cream and cake, or brownies, and they don't make an exception for pie, either. They are ice-creamists. I don't know what's wrong with them. I like to be all inclusive, however. Deconstructed. Look at that flaky crust! My dad is a genius.

Well, you made it this far! I guess it's now time to announce the winner of my very first giveaway!
The Skinny Plate was commenter 14, so she is the lucky girl! Congratulations!! Now you can make your very own apple creations at home, just like yours truly. Kindly send me your info, and I will ship everything off asap. Thank you so much to everyone who entered. I really wish all of you could have won! I kind of felt bad picking a singular winner,but I guess that's the meaning of a contest, right?

I was so pleased with the response, and really loved reading all of your suggestions. I also picked up some great new blogs to read, and I hope some new readers of my own, too!

I also wanted to give a shout out to Willey Beers at Creative Clay Works. He is the awesome dude who created the amazing apple baker. I think I met him when I went to pick up the prize for the giveaway, and he was super cool. If you didn't win, and you're dying for a little apple lovin', be sure to check out his site. You can absolutely order online, and it's very reasonably priced. He also makes really beautiful pottery baskets and loads of cute gift items. Love it!

So sad that it's the beginning of the workweek, but so GLAD I got to give away a great prize and chow some yummy pie. Look for LOTS more apple-icious dishes coming up this week, thanks to you guys and your great ideas. Have a wonderful evening! xoxo

Sammie Saturday

Last Saturday, I posted a luscious waffle sammie since I had missed Waffle Wednesday (again!--one day I will actually eat waffles on a Wednesday!). Anyhoo, I called it Sammie Saturday, and I'm thinking of making it a weekly installment. What do you all think?

Part of the reason I think I could go weekly with this is that I have gotten SO many fantastic suggestions from the apple giveaway--don't forget--only two more days to enter! Giveaway closes first thing Monday a.m. (Sunday at midnight). In fact, I had so many idea bobbling (I just made up that word) in my head, that in true Experimetnatrian fashion, I made TWO halves for lunch yesterday because I couldn't decide. That's just how I do.

The first slammin sammie sprouted from this idea by Food Makes Fun Fuel: turkey sandwich with cream cheese, trader joe cranberry apple butter, and apple slices. Ok yum. But I couldn't find any Cranberry apple butter or cranberry chutney or cranberry relish at either of the two places I went grocery shopping yesterday. I wanted to stop by Target and grab some cranberry mustard, but my tummy was NOT having any more errand-running before lunch times, so I had to improvise. Here's what I came up with for this half:

• 1 slice of mulitgrain bread
• Smear of whipped cream cheese
• maple walnut mustard
• raspberry jalapeno preserves
• oven roasted turkey

I figured the combo of preserves and mustard would approximate the sweet and sour taste of the cranberries. I don't know if it was an exact match,but it sure was good! I toasted it up in my George Foreman--oh man! Yum-o. I loved the tart 'n tangy contrast with the crisp apple slices. I will definitely be making this in a full-sized version again soon! My second half of lunch wasn't really a sammie, it was a wrap. Close enough. I had seen a peanut turkey wrap in my Women's Health mag last month and had an idea for a spicy peanut sauce using PB2 and my ginger snap preserves. In this one:

• 1/4 lavash wrap
• 1 tbs. PB2 mixed with 2 tbs. water
• blob of spicy ginger preserves
• Ginorm spinach
• more turkey

This one was good, too, and I really enjoyed the saucy mix oozing over everything. It really reminded my of a Thai dipping sauce. In fact, I think I wold even mix up the sauce and dip my wrap into it next time. Fabby lunch for sure.

But wait, there's more! To truly make it a Sammie Saturday, I kicked off my morning by chowing one of my other favee suggestions form the giveaway. Lara from Thinspired had mentioned a crafty concoction form good old Martha Stewart that I couldn't wait to try: peanut butter on potato bread with a piece of bacon, apple slices, and drizzled with honey. I healthified it a little bit by using only one slice of turkey bacon and some whole grain bread. Grilled up (but not in the Foreman--I didn't want any of the peanut butter to run out of the sides!).
At first it was just like biting into a regular sandwich as the pb hit my tongue, but then the sudden flavor of bacon permeated my mouth too. I have to say, this was MUCH better than the bacon gumballs! At least this was supposed to taste like bacon! It may sound weird, but I actually loved it. It was so good, I totally wanted to hit up a second round. But I exercised some self-restraint cuz I've got loads of other yummy things coming up this weekend, including some extra special blue-ribbon apple pie form my Dad's award winning recipe. Stay tuned for that one!

It's also super lucky that I have all these fantastic recipe ideas form you guys because hubs is leaving me for work this next week, and meals will be solo. Boo. But I am excited to make up some of my favorite things that he doesn't necessarily care for. What are some of your favorite dishes for dining solo? I'd love to hear your suggestions there as well! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and possibly a Sammie Saturday of your own! xoxo

Freaky Food Friday Round Eight aka Freaky Food Flashback from Five Guys

Holy apples Batman! You guys have some amaaaaazing ideas pertaining to my plethora of apples! Some of the ideas I love so far:

Thinspired said...

Oh my GOSH what a great giveaway!
My favorite recipe with apples is sinful. I found it in a Martha Stewart magazine years ago and seriously dream about it. It's peanut butter on potato bread with a piece of bacon, apple slices, and drizzled with honey. Something about the salty/sweet, soft/crunchy combination of all ingredients is HEAVENLY (but also deathly!).

Food Makes Fun Fuel said...

How about a turkey sandwich with cream cheese, trader joe cranberry apple butter, and apple slices

Katey said...

My favorite apple recipe is Dutch Apple Bread from Eating Well!

insideiamdancing said...

...apple cheddar scones...the combo is amazing (apple cheddar oatmeal was surprisingly good!)

Yum, yum, yum!

Anyway, last Friday, I almost had a freaky food fail, but luckily my husband solved that problem for me. We also ended up indulging in another freaky food experiment that night, so today, I present you with a Freaky Food Flashback!

One of the things that I have been working on in recovery is giving myself days or meals where I am allowed to eat like a "normal" person. I have many ideas in my head about what normal people eat like: no counting, measuring, pre-planning, obsessing, bingeing, starving or any other dastardly-bastardly Ed rules.

I had been craving a burger and fries like mad the previous week, and had attempted to satisfy it by creating a healthier version at home with extra-lean ground beef, sandwich thin and baked oven fries. But I guess sometimes the real deal is the only meal (see how that rhymed?) that cuts it. Somehow, the feeling of a "real" burger could only be satisfied by going out to a "real" burger place.

Have you guys ever heard of Five Guys Burgers and Fries? It doesn't get more real than that. And by real, I mean no-frills, peanut shells on the floor, packed with college dudes real. I also mean that their menu is pure and simple. There is a max of about five things you can order, each burger is custom made to your specifications, made right in front of you, and there is always a sign posted telling you exactly where the potatoes used for french fries came from that day.

So Five Guys appealed to me for several reasons

• Peanuts in the shell. Love 'em. Here is a wonky one that I had to take a picture of:I also love to eat the shell,which could be a freaky food all on it's own! If I eat these, i will usually only eat one or two with the shells on and then eat the rest shelled. Otherwise it just gets too salty and starts to hurt me teeth. My husband is now more convinced than ever that I am some sort of rabbit. Whatevs to that.
• Dudes. That meant the likelihood of someone I knew spotting me eating a burger was slim to none. It is important that when I push myself precariously close the the edge of the safety cliff, that i have the total and complete support of whoever I am dining with. That means I don't have to stress about comments Ike "YOU ordered a burger!" "Wow, that's not 'Emily' food!" "Where's the salad?" "You ate that WHOLE thing?" Jeez Loiuse. Plus I didn't want to be responsible for any heart attacks or fainting spells of said bitch-ass commenter's, who just might keel over if they saw such behavior on my behalf.
  
• Minimal ordering choices meant I couldn't get distracted by a "safe" food like a salad or chicken sandwich. Nice.
  
• Custom ordering meant I could get precisely what I wanted on my burger. This is great for me because I am always worried about mayo showing up on my food. Sick. Even though I always request "no mayo," some people have a hard time understanding that you actually do not want it ON your sandwich. I think I ordered almost everything else, though! The guy was kind of laughing at me when I ordered because I basically just ran down the list: Relish, EXTRA Onions, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, Grilled Mushrooms, Ketchup, Mustard, Jalapeno Peppers, Green Peppers and Bar-B-Q Sauce. Whew! I didn't spot any mushrooms, which was disappointing, but I figured I could forgive a minor error like that considering the ginormity of my other toppings :)
• FRIES! Yes, I am that person who blots off my fries with a napkin. But these were shockingly not that greasy. Of course I still blotted, but mainly just succeeded in giving myself flat fries. These beauties were also CAJUN seasoned. It does not get any better than this in french fry land people! This blend was most likely a mixture of seasoning salt, cayenne pepper and a whole lotta oregano. SO GOOD!
  
• Which leads to another draw: ketchup in a cup. I love this stuff. I think ketchup should go on everything. I feel about ketchup basically the same way I feel about frosting-- the fries and cake are just a means to an end--just another way to get the good stuff into my mouth! When i was a youngun' I died to go to Wendy's so I could throw back shots of ketchup. Addict.

All told, it was a really fun night and I was so proud of pushing my Ed boundaries, regardless of how difficult the internal struggle was. Of course, Ed tried to interfering several ways, telling me not to eat the bun, not to finish the burger or eat too many french fries, not to get diet coke (Hey Ed, shut the hell up--it's DIET ok??), etc.

I started to get major anxiety when we started eating, with resulting stomach pains, but I just held D's hand and chillaxed for a minute until I was ready to go for it. I really made an effort to eat mindfully and savor each bite. You guys, it was heaven. I was a normal person, at least for 45 minutes. I ate what I wanted, stopped when I wanted, and enjoyed my night with the hubs, just like I wanted.

Dustin made a comment that it was the new 'do. heck yes. I am a redhead now--I do what I want! We kind of joked that Ed didn't recognize me now, and I've continued to tell myself that throughout the week. Of course, Ed's smartened up and has resumed battle, but luckily, so have I :)

Hopefully you all weren't bored by this post, since I know a burger and fries is hardly "freaky" to most people, but that's exactly what makes it so for me. Food fears are the freakiest thing of all to conquer, but I consider this one down for the count!

Speaking of counting....I'm still up to my ears in apples (and I have some pretty big ears, peeps!), but the countdown is approaching to enter my outstanding apple giveaway! T-minus 3 days to enter! Giveaway ends Monday a.m., so keep those comments and link backs coming! Thank you so much all those who have already entered--you rock!

I will be trying some of your apple-icious ideas this weekend, along with making dried apple slices and lovely apple pies from my Dad's blue-ribbon recipe. I'll be sure to post some of that deliciousness! I'm also headed to the very last Farmer's Market of the season with my sis, and looking forward to a predicted 74 degree day--also the last of the season, I'm sure!

What are you looking forward to this weekend? Any freaky fear foods that you've managed to overcome? love you, love you! xoxo

P.S. Check out this other super sweet giveaway, courtesy of Healthy Everythingtarian, Holly.

BFD

BFD could stand for a lot of things: Bad Furry Dog, Big Friendly Dork (that's me), but tonight they stood for one fine thing: Breakfast for Dinner.

Hurray! Breakfast is my favorite meal of any day, for sure. I usually whip up something pretty simple like my favorite cereal messes, oats or toast and peanut butter, but that only because I can't function until after I eat.

However, I love ALL breakfast foods-- pancakes, waffles and all kinds of bready goodness. Especially when surrounded by a side of turkey bacon and scrambled egg(white)s. With ketchup. Obv. So luckily, my day also involved another BFD: Blogging Friend Danica! I won her pumpkin giveaway a while back, and I was so psyched when my loot arrived last night: Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter and Pumpkin Pancake Mix. Whoo hoo! Does it get any better than this? Even though I had the pancake mix on hand, I have been entertaining a serious french toast craving lately. What better way to quash that than with an ultimate batch of Cinnamon Raisin Pumpkin Swirl French Toast, courtesy of my oh-so-fabby TJ's pumpkin butter? All I did was whisk together 1 egg and 1 egg white with a bit of stevia, LOTS of cinnamon and a splash of almond milk. I dipped four pieces of whole wheat bread in the mix and cooked them on the griddle until browned on each side. I sprinkled some raisins on mine, but D doesn't like them, so more for me, I guess :) When I removed my slices from the griddle, I dobbed on some ultra superb pumpkin butta and a little smear of maple syrup.

Super easy, super delicious. This turned out perfectly chewy and totally, autumnally satisfying. Danica was kind enough to include several suggestions of utilizing my happy pumpkin butter, and even included her recipe for her own homemade version. You've gotta check it out if you haven't already! It looks like fall in a jar! Thanks Danica--you rock!

I think I am going to recreate this recipe tomorrow morning for yet another fantastic breakfast using the over night oats method with the addition of-- you guessed it-- baked apples! I imagine it will be very apple struedel-ish. If you haven't already checked out my awesome apple giveaway, click here immediately! You all have some amazing ideas on how to use my stock, so make sure to check out others' comments--I guarantee you will be apple-inspired!

Have a great and otherwise inspirational day everyone! xoxo

Danica's Kickin Chicken Enchiladas

It is undeniable that I think about food most of the time, and ever since seeing Danica's chicken enchilada creation on Janetha's blog, I'd had just one thing on my mind: M-m-m-mexican food! So, the other night, I decided to recreate Danica's delectable-looking recipe, with a few experimental tweaks, of course :) I have never actually made enchiladas before, and have only eaten them a couple of times--their cheesy goodness being way far "off limits." But I loved Danica's introduction of Laughing Cow cheese to add that creamy texture to the mix, and Weight Watcher's makes a great low fat cheese Mexican-style cheese blend that I thought would be perfect to top it off, so easy-cheesy it was! Danica's recipe certainly didn't NEED any additions, but here's what I played around with in my own version: First, I halved the recipe. Just me and D, and no need for leftovers (not that there would have been any--that's the other reason: portion control!). Secondly, I used corn tortillas instead of the low carb ones. Unfortunately, most low carb tortillas, and particularly the La Tortilla ones have mucho soy products in them which makes my tummy a sad girl. Next, I noticed one thing missing from the recipe--ONIONS!! You know I need my onions :) So, I quickly diced up about 1/2 c. and sauteed them with the garlic, mushrooms, and one other secret ingredient: Two baby jalapenos from my husband's plant jungle. OMG! Spicy, spicy, spicy! I thought it wouldn't be bad because they were so small, but I should have known better. It was all good though, as their flavor spread nicely throughout the dish and was tempered by all delightfully mellow cheese. Look what I found as I was prepping! This was too neat-o not to take a picture of. I almost felt bad slicing them apart! I felt like they were meant to be together. But I guess they still are--in my tummy! Ha Ha. I only used half a package of mushrooms and a few big handfuls of spinach, although I definitely could have used more of the green stuff. Two wedges of the most miraculous cheese ever and a can of turkey all mixed together. Yes, I am ghetto and use canned turkey. My husband is way into preparing for Armageddon and otter such natural disasters, so we have a continual rotation of food storage to cycle through. The canned turkey was on sale a while ago and I reasoned that it would be a good substitute for canned tuna every once in a while. It really doesn't taste bad at all, especially when use din casseroles and mix-up dishes like this. I like this brand, too (Hormel), because it's actually discernible as turkey, not just some mushed up meat product. Going into the oven... You'll note that I used Newman's Own pineapple salsa instead of the Trader Joe's brand. We're not cool enough in the SLC to have a TJ's. Boo. Delish! Way to go Danica! And props to me too, for cooking on a weeknight. This was really a snap to throw together and very easily modifiable to suit your personal tastes.

Speaking of tastes--I am still loving my apple abundance, but keep your suggestions coming! Who wants an apple baker?? YOU DO!! Don't forget to enter my giveaway here. You only have til Monday to enter! I know you guys are the best possible resource for creative cooking there is, so I'm dying to know what you come up with :) xoxo

P.S. Looks like great minds think alike! check out Allison's version of yummy enchiladas here, too!

Apple Ideas...and a GIVEAWAY

Well, even though we had a bunch of party peeps over to pick apples with us this weekend, we still have SO MANY on our tree! We got some really super-thoughtful housewarming gifts, and this was among them from our pals Jeremy and Kristie: I know it looks rather freaky-deaky, but guess what it is?? An apple baker! All you do is core the apple and sprinkle with a little suga and spice (or stevia and cinnamon, in my case) and pop it in the micro or oven. It also tells you to add some butter, but I just drizzled some water over it for moisture instead. It;s such a shame this thing only makes one apple at a time. It works so well though! After our party-hardy on Saturday, I couldn't resist trying it out right away to make an applicious sundae. Yummm...see that little caramel-y drizzle? that's scrapings from the bottom of the apple baker after I microwaved it. OOOOOOHHH!!! (Angels singing--not me--I sound nothing like an angel when I sing.)

I assure you, I will be making lots of these. If you haven't seen my guest post over at Susan's blog, check it out, because I will also be making lots of those. However, there are only so many ways to eat apples that my little Experimentarian brain can think of.

What are your suggestions?? I would love to hear how you guys would use this apple overload! Savory ideas would be more than welcome!

And I'll do ya one better--GIVEAWAY! That's right friends! It's my VERY FIRST Experimentarian giveaway! Winner gets their very own APPLE BAKER, along with a few other apple-themed goodies...
To enter, just let me know your best creative idea or recipe involving apples. Consider this a challenge! Link back to this post on your blog for another entry (but make sure to leave another comment to let me know!) --that would be sweet! I'll randomly pick a winner on Monday next week.

Have a great week everyone! xoxo

Our House...

...in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our ...

Our house it has a crowd
Theres always something happening
And its usually quite loud
Our mum shes so house-proud
Nothing ever slows her down
And a mess is not allowed...

I love the 80's! You guys know this song?

Holy shamoly! I seriously have the most amazing friends and family! Our housewarming party was so much fun yesterday! It was quite busy trying to put everything together and get all cleaned up, but it was excellent motivation at the same time. I kept looking around thinking, "Dang, my house looks SO nice!" I'm a big fan of a place for everything and everything in it's place, but that so rarely happens in real life--it was nice to have all my shizz in order for at least a couple of hours :)

I made lots of food, and people brought yummy stuff, too. I didn't get the chance to take any pictures though, because I didn't have much of a chance to eat, either. My mouth was too busy jabbering to slow down for any food consumption! Here are some pics of my party people. We invited everyone to come check out the house and help us with our apple harvest. Obviously, I needed some sort of disclaimer about the organic quality of my apples,so I consulted with my legal team to manufacture this highly sophisticated document: I love babies! And you know who else I love?? Janetha B!!!! My faveee local blogger stopped by like a little sweetie to say hello. She is so damn cute and nice. I am really lucky to have had the chance to meet her through our blogs. Holla! It was an awesome day, and I feel truly blessed to have so many people come support us and chill at our casa. Y'all are welcome any time!

You know, not only do I have the best of friends, but I've also been having the best of breakfasts lately. They are not anything too original, but definitely so good that I had to stop and document.

Waffle Sammie: I always forget Waffle Wednesday and get all pissed at myself for missing a fab breakfast op, so Saturday my little rebel streak came out and I decided to have Sammie Saturday instead. Nature's Path Organic Fig and Flax waffles with almoooooond butter and blueberry preserves....oh, so good.

In case you thought I was slacking in the cottage cheese department, don't worry because today I mixed up another concoction. PB &J oats--I adore you!

• 1/3 c. oats, prepared with SunCrystals and cinnamon
• 1/2 c. whipped cottage cheese
• 1 tbs. strawberry preserves
  
• 1 HUGE sliced strawberry (it was like a mutant!)
  
• banana slices
• 1 tbs PEANUT BUTTER

This looked so pretty and tasted even better! Highly recommended! What else? Great friends, super-duper breakfasts, and AWESOME blog readers!! You guys are too cool and nice to me! Thank you so much for all the compliments on my hair! I'm really nervous about it being so dark. But thankfully everyone recognized me yesterday and I didn't make any babies scream when they saw me ( as witnessed above), so yes, it's really nice to get back to my "roots" in a way. :)

Hope you guys all had a wonderful weekend, too. Any best breakfasts lately? Love you! xoxo