Crock Pot Apple Crisp

I don't know about you, but I LOVE using my crock pot. Problem is, I don't use it nearly often enough!! One of my goals this Fall and Winter is to use it once a week. I love the convenience of simply tossing ingredients into ONE pot and coming home to the aroma of an already cooked meal. It's like having someone cook dinner for you and only dirty one pot (which is very endearing when you do NOT have a dishwasher).

Anyway, I came across this recipe from the blog "Get Crocked" and am dying to try it!! Partly because I have a gazillion apples to use from my beautiful little apple tree. Also because it tis' the season for APPLES! Do you have a favorite apple recipe?? Leave it in the comments below and perhaps we'll feature your recipe in the coming days!! :-)

Enjoy!
~Lauren


Crock Pot Apple Crisp

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. light brown sugar
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 c. butter, cut into pieces
• 1 c. chopped walnuts
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• 1/3 c. white sugar, or to taste
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 6 c. apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
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1. Mix flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a bowl.

2. Combine butter with the flour mixture using fingers or a fork until coarse crumbs form. Stir in walnuts and set aside.

3. Whisk together 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

4. Place the apples in a crock pot, stir in the cornstarch mixture; toss with lemon juice. Sprinkle the walnut crumb topping on top.

5. Cover. Cook on High for 2 hours or Low for 4 hours, until apples are tender. Partially uncover the crock pot to allow the topping to harden, about 1 hour.

6. Serve with vanilla ice cream or drenched in cream or milk for breakfast.

Creamy Caramel Dip!!!!

(photo courtesy of Taste of Home)

I LOOOOOOVE this recipe, in fact - I'm craving it right now!! It's cool, creamy and absolutely delicious!! I love to serve it with apples and strawberries, and every time I make this for a party - it's ALWAYS a huge hit! I think this is the perfect addition to any Summer BBQ or get together. It's light, fresh, and ....somewhat healthy? Ok, the dip is completely UN-healthy, but the fruit is good for you anyway! ;-D Try it and let me know what you think!!! Oh and just so you know, this stuff goes FAST - I would recommend making a double batch just in case. ;-)

~Creamy Caramel Dip~

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 cup cold milk
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
• Assorted fresh fruit

Directions

• In a bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, milk and pudding mix, beating well after each addition.
• Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve as a dip for fruit. Yield: 3-1/2 cups

Enjoy!!

~Lauren

Homemade Granola!!

I'm not sure how many of you enjoy granola, but I sure do! I love to make homemade yogurt parfaits, layering yogurt, fresh fruit and granola. Mmmmm!
However, it can be so difficult to find a healthy, inexpensive granola. Have you had that problem as well? It's either incredibly expensive, or it has all kinda of extra ingredients that I really don't want in my granola.
My sister just started a food blog. You really should check it out. She's an amazing cook and aspiring chef, lots of great meal ideas! You can visit her blog here. :-) On this blog she has the following recipe for "Honey Nut Granola". I'm going to share it with you here, if you promise to go visit her blog. Ok, well I'll share it anyway. ;-D


HONEY NUT GRANOLA

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup cashews

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey

½ cup peanut butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tea cinnamon

1 cup raisins

1 cup craisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine honey, peanut butter, oil, cinnamon and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans.

Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and crasins/cranberries and mix until evenly distributed. Serve with your favorite yogurt and fruit!

I recently made this recipe while I had company and I must say, it was quite a hit with them! Not to mention, it makes your entire house smell SO good! My guests chose to just snack on it as is and loved it!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can tweak it to match your taste! If you're allergic to peanut butter, simply omit it. If you'd rather omit the nuts for extra fruit- do it! Like coconut? Add it to the recipe! There are so many ways to make a satisfying homemade granola - be creative! Save money and enjoy this delicious recipe with the peace of mind knowing exactly what's in it.


~Lauren

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

(Please pretend that there's a mouth-watering picture to accompany this recipe)

I'm posting this recipe for Page, and unfortunately she is having internet troubles and couldn't make it to the local Super8 to borrow their internet. ;-D

Please use your imagination....this is one cake that you'll be sure to wanna make!

~Apple Streusel Coffee Cake~


Streusel

1 1/4c packed light brown sugar
3/4 all purpose flour
1 stick cold butter, cut in small pieces
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped


Cake:

3 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp of baking soda
1.5 stick of butter, at room temp
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 16oz container of plain, low-fat yogurt
2 Large Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" pieces


1. Heat your oven to 350. Grease and flour a 14 cup non-stick bundt pan.

2. In a med size bowl, mix all the streusel ingredients together until crumbly and butter is incorporated.

3. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and baking soda). Cream butter and sugar in large bowl till fluffy, beat eggs in one at a time beating well after each. Beat in vanilla and yogurt. With mixer on low speed, beat in flour mixture till just blended.

4. Spoon 3 cups of batter into the pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of streusel, then the apples, then a 1/2 cup of the streusel. Spoon the remaining batter over top of that. Sprinkle the rest of your streusel, pressing down lightly so it sticks to the batter.

5. Bake for 50-60min or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15min. Remove from pan (put plate on top and flip the pan over) and cool completely.


This cake is amazing with ice cream, whipped cream, homemade caramel sauce, or just by itself! It's a comforting dessert that is perfectly paired with coffee or tea, and tastes even better if you're enjoying it while curled up by a warm fire, in your fav chair, in the middle of Winter. :-)


~Page

Crockpot Apple Butter!!!

This is our week of Apple Recipes!! {Unfortunately, Page is having internet trouble so you will have to make do with my recipes for now.} ;-)
The first recipe to kick off our "Week of Apples" was posted on Sunday, and one you definitely don't wanna miss!! Click here in case you missed the chance to drool over these Decadent Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars!! Mmmmm! Now for the 2nd recipe of the week.........



How many of you know what "Apple Butter" is? I was surprised how many people I know who have never even tasted it in all its glory! I guess it's one of those old fashioned delights that get forgotten about. I LOVE it, and know you will too!

I've been busy making Apple Butter ALL day! Well, actually my crock pot has been busy making it all day. That's right, this is the easiest recipe EVER, because you just throw all the ingredients in your crock pot and let it cook away. How cool is that!?!


Ingredients:

3lb Apples (peeled, sliced, and enough to fill your crock pot- I like them tart)
4 cup sugar (3 white, 1 brown - I adjust it depending on the tartness of my apples)
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Allspice
1/2 Cloves
Dash of Salt
3/4c water or cider

Place all ingredients in crock pot and stir to coat evenly. Cover and cook on low setting overnight or until the butter is of a thick, spreadable consistency. Depending on your crock pot, you might want to cook on high and then reduce to low. The goal is for the apples to reduce down to a thick, brown consistency. For a smoother texture, place in blender and blend in batches. **Use EXTREME CAUTION when blending hot items, you must blend in batches with a cloth covering the opening of your blender's lid to keep from causing an explosion**

Store in refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Freeze for longer storage.

Page & I both love our Apple Butter and love to can it! Click here for Page's tutorial on water bath canning. Canning your Apple Butter insures you'll be able to indulge in its deliciousness year round! *Note: If you're really selfless, you might think about using your homemade Apple Butter as gifts....notice, I said MIGHT. haha!

~Spread on warm buttermilk biscuits, toast, pancakes, etc. Mmmmm!

Oh yeah, and did I mention that your home will smell amazing? :-)

Bon Appetit,
~Lauren

Heavenly Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Have you ever eaten something that you could describe as "heavenly"? You know the kind of experience that as you take that first bite, you hear an angelic choir singing and the beam of light shines down as you savor the deliciousness?! I can't even describe how wonderful these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are, all I can say is that you'll both love & hate me for sharing this amazing recipe! You'll love me because it'll be one of the best things you've put into your mouth, and you'll hate me because you'll want to eat the entire pan! haha!

This is a Paula Deen Recipe, and I originally found it on the Food Network website here. They have many wonderful recipes to peruse through, you'll definitely want to check it out! Here at Achieving Proverbs 31, we're planning a "Week of Apples" on the blog, we hope this recipe will jump start the week, making you want even more. Stay tuned for many more scrumptious recipes and please do yourself a favor and take the time to make the recipe below! :-)

~Lauren
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~Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Streusel topping, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup caramel topping (melted caramel candies work fine as well)
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Drizzle some of the caramel over the warm crust.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping.

Streusel Topping:

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.

Yield: approximately 3 cups