Award...

I have received the Lovely Lady Lovely Blog award from my friend Jeni. I feel special to have this because I am not a regular blogger. Jeni and I have never met in person, but we've been buddies for a while now. I hope that one day we will get to meet! Please check out her blog. She posts great recipes, practical ideas and tips and just gives you a sneek peak into her sweet life with her hubby and 3 gorgeous kids. I've now got to pass this award on to 5 lovely ladies..Shannon is expecting her first baby! Shannon loves to decorate her home beautifully and is always sharing great ideas.Lindsey and Sandy are fantastic women with hearts truely on fire for the Lord. Kim is a great lady with great photos! She lives in Savannah, GA which is a place I just adore..check her blog out! Shanda loves the Lord and her family passionately, you'll get lots of insight from her blog.

Enjoy reading these blogs!

Apple Cranberry Crumb Pie

This is another recipe from recipegirl.com. This pie was oh so good. It will make a great gift or serving for company.

TOPPING:
1 cup flour
½ cup packed golden brown sugar
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

PIE:
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¾” pieces (should be approximately 5 cups)
16 oz can whole-berry cranberry sauce
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
One 9 inch deep-dish frozen pie shell
vanilla ice cream

1. To prepare topping: Mix flour, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add butter; cut in with pastry blender or use your fingertips. Keep cutting until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.

2. To prepare filling: Place baking sheet in oven and preheat to 350° F. Toss apples, cranberry sauce, sugar and cornstarch in large bowl until well blended.




3. Transfer apple-cranberry filling to frozen pie shell, mounding in the center. Sprinkle topping over pie. Set pie on baking sheet in oven. Bake until apples are tender, juices bubble thickly and crust is golden, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.







Servings: 8
Recipe Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit

Roasted Spicy Mayo Chicken Breasts and Sauteed Spinach & Onions

Everyone knows how I love Paula Deen and her boys! I have tried many of their recipes and these did not disappoint. I used light mayonnaise to cut back on the fat and it was still very good. I loved the spinach too, so much better than a box of frozen spinach!

Roasted Spicy Mayo Chicken Breasts

1/2 cup mayonnaise (light)
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp salt, plus additional for seasoning
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon zest, paprika, celery seeds, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper,and cayenne.

Season the chicken with the additional salt and pepper. Arrange the chicken on the prepared sheet. Slather the mayo mixture over the chicken. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pricked with a fork.

Sauteed Spinach and Onions

3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
One 9-oz bag baby spinach
3/4 tsp seasoned salt (or The Lady's House Seasoning)
1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet over med. heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the spinach. Toss to wilt, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and lemon juice and serve.




Recipe taken from : The Deen Bros. Take it Easy

Please visit my friend Sandy's blog,God Speaks Today, for Fitness Friday info.

Maple-Drizzled Apple Muffins

Fall has arrived and that means apple season! We are fortunate enough to have our own apple trees and usually get a good amount of apples from them. We do like to make a trip to the mountains in the fall for apples too. Fuji is our favorite! I came across this wonderful website, www.recipegirl.com . I love it! That is where I found this muffin recipe. I hope you will try it and enjoy it too!



MUFFINS:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
¼ cup maple syrup
1 large egg, slightly beaten
2 cups chopped, peeled apples (I use Granny Smith)
12 pecan halves

GLAZE:
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

3. In a small bowl, mix milk, butter, syrup and egg; stir into dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Fold in apples.

4. Fill prepared muffin cups ¾-full (this is easiest to do when you use an ice cream scoop). Top each with a pecan half. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

5. For glaze, mix sugar and syrup; drizzle over cooled muffins.

Peach Cobbler

I had wanted to post this before we entered the Fall season, but it just didn't happen. I used fresh peaches,but it will be OK to use frozen or canned. This recipe is also good as a blueberry or an apple cobbler too! Make sure you have some vanilla ice cream on hand!! Enjoy :-)

Filling
1 stick butter (1/2 stick may be enough too!)
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 cups or so of fresh, sliced peaches
1 Cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Topping
1 Cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in an 8x8 square baking dish.

For filling: In a mixing bowl, combine peaches and lemon juice. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, mix well. Add the mixture to the baking dish, but do not stir.


For Topping: Combine all topping ingredients. Pour over peaches and bake about 45 minutes or until brown.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream

This was taken from a Paula Deen magazine. My children loved it all, the pancakes, the cream and the homemade syrup. It's definitely a weekend meal unless you have lots of time on a weekday morning.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, separated
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate morsels
4 Tablespoons butter, divided
Homemade Maple Syrup
Cinnamon Cream

Preheat griddle to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, combine milk, egg yolks, and 3 T melted butter; add to flour mixture, whisking until smooth. In a small bowl, beat egg whites at medium-high speed w/ an electric mixer until stiff. Gently fold into batter. Fold in chocolate morsels. Melt 2 T butter on hot griddle. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto hot griddle. Cook until top bubbles, turn and cook until done..repeat w/ remaining batter. Serve with Homemade syrup and cinnamon cream.

Homemade Maple Syrup

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water, vanilla, and maple flavoring. Bring to a boil over med-high heat; boil for 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool.



Cinnamon Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl (I put my bowl and beaters in the freezer until ready to use), beat cream at med-high speed w/ an electric mixer until thickened. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and cinnamon, beating until stiff peaks form. Cover, and chill.

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth

Boy am I a slacker!! Its been almost two months since I have blogged! That is just the summer for me. I have stayed busy with the girls, with the garden:canning and freezing, and I've taken two vacations. I wish I could just live at the beach!! School begins next week and I hope to get back to blogging regularly. I'll be thinking of something yummy to share soon.