For The Love of Apples

My post the other day was about apple picking and not having any success. Well I wanted more apples because I had made this yummy apple crisp and wanted so bad to make some more. I still haven't gotten any apples so this post about the apple crisp is the next best thing. I have two different recipes for apple crisp that I like to use. One is from the New Good Housekeeping Cookbook and one from my mom in my own recipe book. I used the recipe from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook. I will post both recipes and let's see which one you prefer.

The New Good Housekeeping

6 medium apples
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup old fashioned or quick cooking oats
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick softened)

Peel, core, and slice apples. Place apples in a glass baking dish.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium size bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, oats, and butter. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over apple slices. Bake 45 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm or refrigerate to serve cold later.


Apple Crisp
My Mom's

6 apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 butter

Butter an 8 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish or a 6 cup casserole dish. Peel, core and slice apples. Combine sugar, cinnamon and mix with apples. Turn into prepared baking dish.
For the topping, combine together sugar, flour, salt and butter. Mix together and top apples with crumbly mixture. Bake at 375 degrees or until apples are tender and topping is nicely browned.

I served our apple crisp with lowfat vanilla ice cream. Very delicious indeed!

A Birthday And No Apples

Yesterday was my husband Randy's 34th birthday. We spent the day just having a lazy day, well except for when we decided to go apple picking. That didn't turn out quite like we would have hoped. We wanted to pick some apples so I could make apple crisp, we only found one tree and were able to pick about four apples and that was it. We went driving around to see if we could find more apple trees but no such luck. I guess instead of driving around to find some apple trees we could have just picked the apples from our tree out back in our yard. But, that would have been a problem too, the apples on our tree out back didn't turn out very well and are very small. Even though we didn't have any success in the apple picking department we did have a great day. Randy had a wonderful birthday and had the cake of his choice, which is an ice cream cake. I was given the idea from my sister that I should have made an ice cream cake instead of buying one from the store. I am going to keep that in mind and when the occasion arises I will make one.

Back From Vacation Sooner Than Expected

Randy and I came back from vacation sooner than we hoped, I woke up on Sunday morning not feeling very good at all. I knew traveling on to Maine would not be a good idea so we ended up coming home. I am feeling much better after having gotten some much needed rest and relaxtion. Even though Randy and I didn't end up going to Maine, we enjoyed the time we spent in Vermont.

The Beginning of Our Vacation

We set off for our vacation at almost one this afternoon. The weather was perfect for driving and there was not a lot of traffic. This was my first time every going to Vermont but for Randy he has been a few times. Randy and I took a few pictures along the way.

I had to take this picture real quick, as we were driving in the car past this sign. Ahh.... we have made it into Vermont. I was taking in all the sights just like a tourist should.

We stopped at a pull off that was on one of the bridges to take some pictures. Here is Randy with Lake Champlain behind him. On either side of the bridge was water for as far as you could see.

I am all smiles as I sit waiting for Randy to take my picture. That is quite the view.

This sign is right beside where we were sitting on the rocks. Very interesting historial information about the lake and the islands.

Another shot of Lake Champlain.

It's Time For Vacation

That is what Randy and I are saying to ourselves today as we prepare to leave for our vacation. We will be leaving later this afternoon and be heading to Burlington, Vermont to spend the night there. Then on Sunday we will be off to Augusta, Maine for five days. I plan on taking my laptop so I will keep everyone updated on the adventures we are having during our trip.

Dinner Made Easy and Tasty

If you want a quick, delicious and easy meal to make then you should try this. I am so glad that I did. I was given a coupon for this by my friend Shelby and picked up a box a couple weeks ago when I had went shopping. Thanks Shelby!
Pick yourself up a box of the Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken and Pasta and give it try.

Some of My Favorites

Since it has been awhile since I have cooked or baked anything, I thought I would post about some of my favorite recipes that I enjoyed making.

Summer Berry Parfait

Quick, Easy Mac and Cheese

Chewy Granola Bites

Apple Fritters

One Silly Cat

Yesterday the temperatures were in the 80's. During the day I was taking some pictures and was able to capture these silly pictures of Buster. Instead of pushing the curtain off to the side, Buster was looking through it to see outside. He did this for quite sometime and even fell asleep in this spot.

Then later on in the afternoon, I noticed Buster was asleep again in the computer room on the floor sunning himself. I know cats like to lay in the sun but I was rather surprised that he would be laying in the sun instead of finding a cool place to lay.

A Quick And Tasty Dessert

The other night I was craving something with pudding, so I set forth looking in the cupboards to see if I had any instant pudding. I was in luck and found a package of french vanilla. Instead of just making the pudding, I also added some graham cracker crumbs and finished it off with a dollop of cool whip. A real simple dessert with a great taste. Doesn't it seem that the simple things are usually the best things?

A Beautiful Sight

And what a beautiful sight this is. I planted this lily plant a few years ago and over the years it has multiplied. I started out with just the one plant and now have three. When I took this picutre all the flowers hadn't bloomed yet but now the plant is in full bloom.

A Fun Filled Day

On Saturday I spent the day with friends and family for the Waddington Homecoming weekend. Randy and I spent the afternoon watching the bed races with my friend Mandy and then enjoyed time at the park with my nephew Justin and my sister Darcy. The evening ended with the parade down Main Street. It was a great day and the weather was very cooperative.

Frozen Yogurt My Way

Yesterday I had the craving for some frozen yogurt. Well I didn't feel like going to the store to get some, so I decided to make my own. All you have to do is freeze some yogurt. Now it can't get any easier than that. I took six containers of blueberry yogurt and placed them in a small casserole dish, I spread them evenly out in the dish. I left this in the freezer overnight and am enjoying a nice dish of frozen yogurt as I am typing this post.

Cleo and Buster

Today turned out to be a rather busy day with errands to run and I wasn't able to get any cooking done. I have been wanting to share some pictures of my cats Cleo and Buster and since there was no food post today, this was as great a day as any for that.

This is Cleo deciding if she wanted to attack her tail. She doesn't need any toys, she always mangaes to keep herself entertained somehow.

Buster always likes to sit right close to me when I am watching TV or doing something on the computer.
Cleo posing for the camera, she kept pushing her face up to the camera. Perfect chance for a great photo.

Buster not paying any attention that Cleo is trying to get his tail.

The Good News Is.....

A few days ago I put up a post about hoping to make some changes soon. I am sure everyone was taking some guesses as to what it could be. Well, the change is that I will no longer be working evenings, I applied for a day position at another facility and was offered the position yesterday morning. Of course I accepted. I have worked the evening shift for 12 years so this will be a new and wonderful experience for me. I am looking forward to the months ahead when I will be able to start my new position.