Fall Caramel Apples

Holy cow, Shel...your last post looks like the death of me! I've never even heard of cake balls. I'll have to give it a whirl sometime!

CARAMEL APPLES:

4-6 medium to large size granny smith apples, or your apple of preference, granny smith is nice because they're tart and it's a good juxtaposition w/ the sweetness of the caramel and toppings

1 - 14 oz. bag of caramels

2 tablespoons milk

Toppings of your choice....chocolate chips, nuts, graham crackers, marshmallows

*Scrub wax off apples so the caramel sticks better*.

Melt caramels over low on stovetop with milk. Remove stems on apples and insert popsicle sticks into bottom. Slowly turn apples in melted caramel until well covered and let drip over pan for 1 minute or so, or until slightly settled. Either *gently* roll apples into topping mixture or place toppings by hand onto apples, which worked better for me, and then place on greased cookie sheet in fridge for 5-10 min...be careful not to leave in for too long or caramel will slide down. EAT UP!

Cake Balls

Teresa Rossi (better known as G-Mama) makes the most AWESOME cake balls! I can't make them as good as she does, but at least I know how so I can practice.... thats what counts right?

Cake Balls

Ingredients

1 chocolate cake mix (and ingredients required on box)
1 can of chocolate frosting
1 bag of chocolate melting chips (these are NOT regular chocolate chips)


Bake the chocolate cake according to directions on box. When hot from oven, take cake and crumble in mixing bowl. Mix in can of semi melted frosting. Let cool in fridge. Take out and roll into 1 inch balls. Place separated cake balls on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Let freeze for a few hours. Melt chocolate melting chips in a pan or double boiler. Take 4 to 5 balls out of the freezer at a time. If you take them all out, some will thaw too soon. Dip frozen ball into chocolate and place on wax paper to harden. Repeat until all are covered. You can decorate these with icing on top or candy sprinkles, but they are good just by themselves too! Also, you can make different combinations. She makes spice or carrot cake mixed with buttercream or cream cheese frosting and dipped in white chocolate too! AWESOME!!!!!!!

Grandma Bea's Baked Mac & Cheese

As I type I'm baking this in the oven right now, ha! That's what actually made me think to come and post it on here right now. This is Sam's (my husband's) all-time fav dish that I make, and we can thank good ol' Grandma Bea for it!! Even though it's the same recipe, there's something about Grandma Bea's that is always so much yummier. I can never seem to match hers. Needless to say, she is such a good cook! Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 375.

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macoroni noodles
1 and 1/3 cups cheddar cheese cubed
4 tbsp. butter
2 cups milk
salt & pepper
*optional: 1 piece of bread

Directions:
Boil and drain macaroni.
Pour into casserole dish.
Add butter and stir until melted.
Salt & Pepper to your taste.
Add cubed cheese and stir.
Pour in milk.
*optional: crumble a piece of bread ontop if you'd like a crispy touch on top. It's good!
Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 mins.

Tada!! Enjoy. We make it all the time. Not too many ingredients and not a huge timetaker...except for the waiting 45 mins. to eat it once it's in the oven, haha.


Contributed By: Elizabeth Joy

Spaghetti Pie

This is one that I had for the first time in OK while visiting Evan's family. One of our friends, Shawnee, made it and now its a meal we eat often.

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:

6oz (or half a box) of spaghetti noodles cooked
1 egg
3 TBS butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese


Directions:
1. Cook ground beef or ground turkey and combine with sauce.
2. Cook spaghetti and drain
3. Coat cooked spaghetti in melted butter.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together 1 egg and Parmesan cheese.
5. Combine spaghetti and egg mixture.
6. In a greased pie pan, place spaghetti mixture on the bottom and press down.
7. Place ground beef and sauce on top.
8. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese on top to liking.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

(Evan and I like to make this a "Meat lovers" pie by adding cooked turkey peperoni to the top right before baking... YUM!!)

Buttermilk Pancakes and Maple Syrup

Buttermilk Pancakes:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine buttermilk and egg. Add all ingredients, adding the melted butter last. Cook on griddle.

Homemade syrup - this is what I had growing up. There is nothing better than this syrup hot on your pancakes! YUM!
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water

Bring to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp maple flavoring and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Enjoy!

Color-vision Cake:
1 cake mix prepared according to box instructions
1 small box lime jello (you can use any flavor)

Mix 3 tbsp of dry lime jello into cake batter. Bake the cake according to box instructions.

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cold water
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla

In the top of a double boiler combine sugar, cold water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Add remaining dry lime jello. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Place over boiling water (upper pan should not touch water). Cook, beating constantly with the electric mixer on high speed, about 7 minutes or till frosting forms stiff peaks. Remove from the heat; add vanilla. Beat 2 to 3 minutes more or till it reaches spreading consistency. This frosts the tops and sides of two 8 or 9 inch cake layers or one 10 inch tube cake.

Peach Crisp

Peach Crisp:
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter

Pat into greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

2 16oz sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch

Drain peaches; reserve juice in saucepan-add sugar & cornstarch. Bring to a boil stirring constantly for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in peaches, pour into crust.

Mix 1 ½ cups quick oats, ½ cups brown sugar, ¼ cup flour, cut into 5 tbsp butter. Mix & sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.