Apple Dapple Cake

 Have you ever heard of an Apple Dapple Cake? I must confess that until very recently, I had never heard  of it, but apparently it's a thing. Who knew? I searched and searched for the origin of the recipe, but unfortunately didn't find many answers. All I could find is that it's an old-timey recipe that has been around for decades, and everyone's Grandmom had her own version of it. Works for me!

It's basically an apple cake with chopped nuts and a caramel glaze. Sounds amazing, right? I found many versions, and all of them were very similar. There was only a slight variation here and there. Some use walnuts, some use pecans, one even added shredded sweetened coconut (which I wouldn't mind at all). It also seemed that everyone had a different version of the caramel glaze that gets poured over the top. Another variation in all of the recipes was the kind of pan in which it was baked. Some used a tube pan, some used a bundt pan, some used a 9x13 pan. I decided to use the tube pan because it reminded me of the apple cake my Mom always made. And as much as I usually don't like using a 9x13 pan for cakes, I can see how using one for this recipe might be the smartest choice. It would work kind of like a poke cake, where you pour the glaze over a still-warm cake, and then let it sink in. YUM.

 I chose this recipe from a blog called A Family Feast. And it's delicious! The diced apples make it SO moist and the nuts added a little extra crunch. And the caramel turned out really buttery and decadent. AMAZING. Also it's a really easy cake to make! Honestly, I think dicing the apples is the hardest part. You can handle that, right??  I will definitely be making this cake again. I think you should too!

Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 whole eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large Granny Smith apples (about 1 3/4 pound)
1 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

Glaze:
3 tbs butter
3 tbs brown sugar
3 tbs granulated sugar
3 tbs heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Place rack in upper third of the oven. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl then sift a second time. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix vegetable oil with both sugars until well mixed. With mixer running, add one egg at a time and once mixed, add vanilla and mix and scrape the bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients with mixer running on low. Scrape the bowl again and mix. Peel, core and cut the apples into bite sized pieces and fold into the batter. Fold the walnuts into the batter then spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake in top third of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, put all glaze ingredients into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil and stir with a wooden spoon continuously for one minute. Remove from heat and pour over the top of the warm cake.

 

Tips:
Full disclosure, I didn’t sift the dry ingredients as the recipe directs. I just whisked them all together in a bowl. And, like I said, I didn’t use a 9x13 pan.
I used pecans  and honey crisp apples instead of walnuts and granny smith apples, Why? Because I like them better! You do you!

 

Peanut Butter Apple Crumble

 

 So, I was recently cleaning out my pantry, and I discovered a forgotten half jar of peanut butter. Just sitting all the way in the back, thinking no one loved it anymore.  Of course, I instantly thought "what can I make with this?" Yes, I could absolutely do something with chocolate. That's a no brainer, but not exactly ground breaking. Then I thought, how about something apple? A crisp, maybe? Yes, that's exactly the right note I want to hit. But, to me, a crisp has an oat topping, and I was out of oats. I did, however, have a can of slightly salted peanuts. What if I swap out the oats for peanuts and call it a crumble?  THERE's the A HA moment! Then I found a recipe on a blog called Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt. (This is my tweaked version.) A little bit of peeling and coring and mixing, and the next thing I knew I was smelling the heavenly scent of apples baking. YUM. It really is one of life's simple pleasures, you know. So there we have it. Apples and peanut butter, with a peanut crumble topping. Add a little vanilla ice cream on top, and you're having a party! Definitely a keeper. Absolutely delicious!

 

 
Filling:
6 apples
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs flour
pinch salt

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
3/4 cup flour
4 tsp butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
pinch salt

Heat over to 350ºF.

For the filling:
Peel, core, and slice apples set aside.
In a large bowl, combine remaining filling ingredients. Tossing filling with apples. Place in a large baking dish.

For the topping:
In the same bowl as you tossed the apples, (no need to wash), combine all topping ingredients. Pour topping all over apples in an even layer. Place in oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. You MUST serve this with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'm pretty sure it's a law.

Tips:
The usual “baking” apple is the Granny Smith. It’s tart so it stands up to the sweetness of the sugar, and it doesn’t turn to mush while it bakes. But I like Honeycrisp apples better, so that’s what I used. Use what you like!
If you’re using salted peanuts, omit the pinches of salt.
If you want your apples to be a little bit more saucy, sprinkle them with the sugar, and let them sit for a while until the juices form, then toss with the remaining filling ingredients.

Baked Reuben Chicken

  Ever since I learned how to ferment my own homemade sauerkraut, I've been looking for different recipes in which to use it. I mean, yes, you can't go wrong just serving it with some grilled brats, or any kind of favorite sausage, but I wanted to explore using sauerkraut as an ingredient in other dishes too, not just as a stand alone side dish.
  I thought, what if we paired it with chicken instead of pork? A quick google search led me to this recipe that I found on Allrecipes.com. YES! This is exactly what I wanted! A chicken variation of a Reuben sandwich. YUM! I've always been a huge fan of a Reuben, so why not bake it with chicken instead of corned beef or pastrami? Yes please!
 It's just a few ingredients, easy assembly, and into the oven it goes. I should mention, btw, that I tweaked a couple things, but it's still basically the same recipe. The original said to bake it for 90 minutes at 325º, and that just seemed FAR too long for a piece of boneless chicken. So I decided to do less time at a slightly higher temp. MUCH better. I also tweaked some of the ingredient amounts too. Turned out perfectly! Serve it with some noodles, potatoes, or a simple veggie on the side, and there's dinner. LOVE it. This one definitely falls into the category of "why have I never thought of this?" Definitely a keeper!!



4-6 boneless chicken breast halves
S&P to taste
16 oz sauerkraut, drained and pressed
4 slices Swiss cheese, or more to taste
1 cup Thousand Island salad dressing*
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley


Heat oven to 350ºF.
Place chicken in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place sauerkraut over chicken and top with cheese slices. Spread dressing over all, and cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (fork can be easily inserted and juices run clear). Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Update!!
When I first made this, I followed the original recipe, and layered the ingredients as directed. In other words, chicken on the bottom, then the sauerkraut, then the cheese, and then the dressing on the top.
 But when I made it again (because it's so freaking delicious you'll want to make it again), I decided that I wanted the cheese to be on top so it would get all melty and gooey. So I layered it, chicken on the bottom, then the sauerkraut, then the dressing, and then cheese on top. This was a MUCH better plan, in my opinion.




*To make your own Thousand Island dressing, simply stir together a half cup each of mayonnaise and ketchup along with 1 or 2 tbs of sweet pickle relish. The tiny pieces of pickles in the relish look like a thousand tiny little islands in a sea of dressing. Get it?

Tips:
Full disclosure, I didn't even measure anything. As my Mom would say "Just add everything until it's enough." Cover each piece of chicken with just enough sauerkraut, just enough dressing and just enough cheese. Cook it until it's done. If you like a lot, add a lot! If you need more than 4-6 pieces of chicken, make more!! Only cooking for 2? Make less! It's very adaptable, and very simple!
Oh, one other thing.. usually, if I'm making something with cheese, I'll try different kinds of cheeses, just for a variation, or just because I like to use whatever I have on hand. In this case, though, I wouldn't swap out the Swiss cheese. That's kind of one of the best parts of a Reuben , I think. So swapping it for something else doesn't give the same Reuben experience. Just sayin'!

Joey's Easy Balsamic Pork Roast

  Many many years ago, my family (actually, I think it was my sister Cathy), discovered that if you mix up a packet of Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix as directed, but use BALSAMIC vinegar instead of regular distilled white vinegar, the results are SO much better. So that's sort of been a long time favorite. You just measure out the amounts like it says on the packet, or you could even buy the glass carafe that goes with it, with V,  W, and O lines on the glass to show you where to fill up your levels of vinegar, water, and oil. Perfect. Fabulous. Love it. (btw, I usually don't mention specific brands, but this was just what we always used, so that's that. anyway...)
  Recently, I was generously gifted a boneless pork roast (thanx Sherine!) and my first thought was "I wonder how it would go if I marinated it in our favorite balsamic dressing?" So I mixed up a batch, but as I was mixing it, I decided that I didn't need quite so much oil. So I cut it back a little, and did equal parts oil and vinegar. Everything else stayed the same, and I poured it over my now defrosted pork with a little salt and pepper over the top. (side note, I don't even think I marinated it for very long before I popped it into the oven, but you could prep it up to this point in advance and then let it marinate for as long as you like!) The result was the most DELICIOUS pork roast! It came out so tender and the resulting sauce was so perfect, I just couldn't stop eating it.
So there you have it. Easy to prep, easy to cook, even easier to love. Balsamic dressing over pork. Who knew? You should give this one a try.




1 boneless pork loin, about 3-4 lbs
1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix
1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tbs water
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350ºF.
Place roast in a baking dish or roasting pan.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the next 4 ingredients until well blended. You could also add all dressing ingredients to a mason jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to blend well.
Pour over roast and turn to coat all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or as long as you like. Place pan in the oven, uncovered, and roast for about an hour, approximately 20-25 minutes per pound. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145ºF.  Remove from oven and loosely tent with foil. Allow to rest for a good 15 minutes before carving. Serve with pan juices.

Tips:

To stretch the pan juices a little bit further as a sauce... after removing the roast from the pan, add a few more glugs of balsamic vinegar. Whisk to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan... then add 1 or 2 small knobs of butter, and whisk until they melt into the sauce. HEAVEN.

In this case, you really want to get a good quality balsamic vinegar. You don't have to go crazy with the super expensive ones like the ones that are as thick as maple syrup, but you definitely want one that's sweet and syrupy. My favorite one, believe it or not, is from BJ's Wholesale Club, which is a local warehouse club chain. You can buy their balsamic vinegar online if you want to try it!
Want to try it with roast beef instead of pork? Go for it!

Lunchroom Lady Peanut Butter Bars

 Very often, when people have some extra time on their hands, they like to watch TV or a movie. I, on the other hand, like to watch videos on Youtube. Actually, I often refer to it as "going down the Youtube rabbit hole" because sometimes I'll get so involved in watching videos that the next thing I know it's 3 hours later. Ah, well. I guess there are worse things I could do.
 One of my favorite Youtube discoveries was a channel called Whippoorwill Holler, hosted by Miss Lori and her husband Mr. Brown. (And yes, that's what she calls him, which I love. ) They share all kinds of simple homemade old fashioned recipes. Lots of canning and preserving, lots of pies and baking. How awesome is that? Clearly, Miss Lori and I are kindred spirits. I've tried several of her recipes and I've loved every single one of them.
 So when I saw that she was making these peanut butter bars, I immediately added peanut butter to my next grocery list. They're easy to make and they turned out perfectly. Very gooey, very peanutty, and just exactly what you want in a peanut butter bar. YUM.
 I immediately called my Kristin, because her motto is "the peanut butterier the better." This one definitely lives up to that!
 So, thanx, Miss Lori, for another great recipe. I'll look forward to your next video!




Bars:
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter 
1 1/2 cups peanut butter 
1 1/2 c sugar 
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1 1/2 tsp salt 
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
4 eggs 
2 cups flour 

Glaze:
1/4 c. peanut butter 
2 to 3 tbs. milk 
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup confectioners sugar



For the bars:
Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x13 pan. Line with parchment, if desired. 
Melt butter and peanut butter together, either on the stove top or in the microwave. Stir together until well combined. Set aside. 
In large mixing bowl, stir together the sugars, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir in eggs one at a time. Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Add melted peanut butter mixture until well combined.  Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until set in the center and lightly golden around the edges. 
Meanwhile, make the glaze.

For the glaze:
In a small bowl, microwave the peanut butter and about 2 tbs of the milk, just to soften. Stir until smooth. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth. If it's too thick, add the last tbs of milk. Spread the glaze over the bars while they're still warm in the pan. Cool completely or chill before cutting into squares. 



Tips:
I like to spray my pan, and then line it with parchment with enough extra to hang over the edges. Then you can use the parchment as a sling to lift the whole batch out of the pan in one go.
I added a little extra confectioners sugar to the glaze, just because I wanted it a little sweeter, and I also added a little pinch of salt. Speaking of salt, that's what will definitely make your bars taste peanutty. Just that little bit of saltiness changes the entire game. Be sure to include it!

Skillet Pineapple BBQ Chicken

 So, summer has come to a close, but you're not quite ready to let go of summer flavors, right? SAME! I still want some sweet saucey smokey BBQ, but I think all the grilling and cookouts are done for the year. So what do we do? Well, we could do oven BBQ chicken or ribs, but it's still kinda hot out for the oven. We could do slow cooker pulled pork, but that'll take all day. The next best thing? The skillet on the stove top!
 The recipe is super easy, really quick, and super delicious when you want a quick chicken dinner and a quick BBQ sauce. When I tell you that this recipe comes together in a snap, I'm not even kidding. Honestly, you can have dinner on the table in less than a half hour. This is my tweaked version of a recipe for strawberry chicken that I found on Taste of Home. I didn't have strawberries, but I had fresh pineapple, so I went with it. I've done pineapple with BBQ before, so I knew it would work. It turned out SO good! TBH, I've never met a pineapple anything that I didn't love, (yes, even pizza. Oh stop.), so I knew I'd love adding pineapple to the BBQ sauce. Oh, one thing... the original recipe turned out to be VERY sweet, which I'm fine with, but still, I decided to cut back a little on the sweet ingredients and add a little lemon juice to brighten up the whole party. Much better, I think! That's the beauty of a recipe! You make it the way YOU like it!
 So, if you're still thinking of BBQ, try this one. SO easy, and SO good. Serve it with some potato salad and baked beans, and summer is still here!



a couple glugs of oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs EACH of honey, brown sugar, and lemon juice
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped

 Add oil to a large heavy skillet. Over medium heat, brown chicken pieces on both sides, until chicken almost cooked through, but not all the way. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add chopped onions and butter to pan. Saute a minute or two until the onions soften. Add all remaining ingredients to pan. Stir well to combine. Nestle chicken pieces back into the sauce in skillet. Reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened.



Tips:
Don't have fresh pineapple? Use canned! I would add some of the juice too, because why not?
Not a fan of pineapple? Try a different kind of fruit! Like I said, the original recipe used fresh strawberries, but I bet you could use black berries, blueberries, diced apples, supremed oranges, any kind of fruit you like! or just leave the fruit out altogether. All good!
This recipe would also be great with pork chops instead of chicken. I mean, I've never tried it, but dontcha think? I'll let you know if, actually WHEN I try it! How can that not be good? In fact, it would probably be good on anything! Shrimp anyone? Don't throw away that extra sauce!
Btw, if your grilling season has NOT ended, go ahead and make this sauce recipe in a small sauce pot, then brush it on anything you're grilling! 

Joey's BBQ Chicken and Baked Bean Casserole

Ok, sooo......just go with me on this one, k?
I had a crazy idea. I know. I know. That's not exactly new. But this was a GOOD one! If you know me, or at least if you follow my recipes, you know I can't just leave a recipe alone. I'm always trying to come up with different things to do with it. In this case, I wanted to try something new with baked beans. I have to say, I'm pretty famous for my Baked Beans, thank you very much. So I kept thinking "what else can I do with them?" I've done casseroles with ham and beans, rice and beans, and chili dogs. I've done maple beans, pineapple beans, and of course, you can't go wrong with Trisha Yearwood's Baked Bean Casserole. But then I thought, instead of always doing pork and beans, what if we do BBQ CHICKEN and beans instead? I thought, ooo I bet that would go great with some mac and cheese. (ok, here comes the crazy part) .... and then I thought.. what if I do a casserole that combines all three??? BBQ Chicken, baked beans, mac and cheese, all in one. That sounds pretty amazing, dontcha think?! I asked my nephew, Gregger, if that sounds like it would be good.... I won't tell you EXACTLY what he said, but suffice to say he was 100% on board, and immediately volunteered to be a taste tester. LOL
So, where to start? Well, I found a recipe for one of those Bubble Up Bakes. Do you know the ones I'm talking about? It's a casserole that uses canned biscuits. You cut them up, toss them with your casserole ingredients, then bake it. The biscuit pieces puff up and there you have it, Bubble Up Bake. Now, I've tried them before, even shared recipes for them. But my issue is that the biscuit pieces in the center never seem to bake all the way through, and you're left with big pockets of raw biscuit dough. (Cue the Price is Right loser music). Not exactly what I want in a casserole. So basically, I just used that recipe as a springboard for this recipe. Swapped the biscuits for pasta, added a few of my own tweaks, and here we are! Chicken, beans, pasta, cheese, all in one big hearty casserole. All you need is a fresh crisp salad and there's dinner! I must say, it's pretty awesome. I knew I definitely wanted it to be a pasta dish, but I didn't want to just toss some baked beans with pasta. So That's where the can of tomatoes comes in. Full disclosure, when I first made the sauce, I thought "wow, that is FAR too much sauce", but then when I mixed everything together, it turned out to be the right amount! The pasta really drinks it in! Btw, this recipe makes a GIANT casserole. What can I say? I can never seem to make a casserole that fits into a 9x13 casserole dish. I always start adding things, and then the next thing I know, I have the casserole that ate New Jersey. Sorry not sorry! Luckily, my sister gave me a GIANT casserole dish that always seems to accommodate my casseroles. Normally, I'd try to scale things back for the sake of posting the recipe, but this time I'm owning it. So, you can either cut the amounts back to fit your 9x13, split it into two casseroles (and freeze one), or use a giant dish that will feed an army. LOL Also, one more thing, there are a couple steps to the recipe, so I'm gonna ask you to multitask, but it's all pretty simple to do. I have complete faith in you. If you give this a go, let me know how you like it! And also, if you have any other ideas for baked beans, send 'em my way! I've love to give them a try!


1 lb cavatappi or other cut pasta
6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1 onion, roughly chopped
flour, salt, and pepper for dredging
1 pkg boneless skinless chicken (3 or 4 breast halves)
1 28oz can baked beans
1 28z can tomato sauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs mustard
1 tbs kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
16 oz cheddar cheese
8 oz mozzarella cheese



Heat oven to 350ºF.
First, boil the pasta: Add a handful of salt to a pot of rapidly boiling water. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, but drain it a minute before reaching al dente. Drain well.
In the meantime, add the bacon to a cold skillet. Place it over medium heat. Gradually brown the bacon, making sure you render a good amount of fat from it. When the bacon starts to crisp, add the chopped onion. Saute until the onions begin to soften. Meanwhile, prepare the chicken. Yes, I know. Pasta boiling, bacon and onions cooking, yes, I'm asking you to multitask. I told you! What, you thought I was kidding? You can do this! Stay with me...
Place a bit of flour in a shallow bowl, enough to dredge the chicken. Add salt and pepper. Cut up chicken to small bite size pieces. Dredge in seasoned flour until evenly coated. Pat away excess flour (you can also use a ziplog bag to shake them for easier cleanup!).
Remove the bacon and onions from the pan and place in a very large mixing bowl, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add the chicken pieces to the pan. Lightly brown the chicken on all sides, adding an extra drizzle of oil when needed, but don't cook all the way though. Do this in batches, so as not to crowd the pan.
 While the chicken is cooking, add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the mixing bowl... the baked beans, BBQ sauce, tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard, liquid smoke (if using), salt, and pepper. Add the chicken to the bowl as you remove it from the saute pan. Add the drained pasta and half of the cheddar cheese to the bowl. Toss all until well coated. Pour into sprayed casserole dish(es), either one large casserole, or two small ones. (it definitely won't all fit in a 9x13, but like I always say, More is More!) Top with remaining cheddar cheese plus all of the mozzarella. Cover with foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until heated through. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.



Tips:
Yes, Yes, I know there are several things going on at once. Just stay organized and you'll be fine. To save time, you could make each of the components ahead of time, say, the night before. And then when you get home from work, toss them all together, pour into your casserole dish, and bake. Actually, you can even do the whole thing the night before.... assemble it and all, then cover it and pop it in the fridge until you bake it the next day.