Milkmaid's Recipe Box

FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! I'm such a FARMER at heart-- even a CALF knows that so much in life is about the FOOD! (A bit of a "bio" about me can be found way down near the bottom.)

You can find a recipe index entitled "Labels" down along the right side, starting below the picture of the farm. Then, below the "Label" list are pictures of some of my old "standbys"-- click on their picture and it should take you to the recipe.

You will see no advertising on my blog; this means there is no monetary benefit for me having "visitors" or "joiners"-- having said that, if you do wish to JOIN my blog, you can do so by scrolling w-a-y down to near the bottom of the page...

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Blueberry Bake


This recipe came to me through Cheryl. 
It is SO quick to make, and tastes SO fruity!


INGREDIENTS:


  • 1 and 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 and 1/3 cup skim milk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  •     2 tablespoons butter, melted in dish      
  •     4 cups blueberries, fresh OR frozen
        

Directions:


Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hr

  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3.  Stir in milk and mix well into a smooth batter.
  4.  Melt butter in 9x13-inch baking dish in the oven for a minute or so.
  5.  Pour batter into melted butter.
  6.  Evenly sprinkle blueberries on top of batter. Do not stir in.
  7.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, OR until done.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Hash Browns/Broccoli Cheese'y Chicken Soup

After not having built a fire to warm the house in over a week, today's fire warmed things up to 'cozy' in no time!  And,...

Because I had some beautiful clumps of broccoli here, 
I made a second soup with it today (this, for the freezer)...


There's a package of hash brown potatoes in here?   
THAT'S different!  


INGREDIENTS:
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 lb. package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
  • 1  large head of broccoli, OR a 16 oz. package frozen California blend vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
  • 4 teaspoons chicken soup starter (or bouillon granules)
  • 1 cup cooked/cubed chicken pieces (optional)
  • 1 pound process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
  • 2 cans (10.75 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted.
  • 1 cup milk
DIRECTIONS:
  1. In a large kettle, bring water to a boil.  Add frozen hash browns, trimmed/cut broccoli pieces (OR vegetable blend) and soup starter (or bouillon).   Continue heating until this reaches a full boil.
  2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  
  3. Stir in the cooked/cubed chicken (optional).
  4. Stir in cheese, soup and milk; cook and stir until cheese is melted.
  5. Serve immediately, or cool and freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Number of servings:  6

Cheese'y Macaroni Broccoli Chicken Soup (Stew?)

If you like broccoli, here's something you may like...  
if broccoli isn't your 'thing', use a different vegetable.  


I  already have a Broccoli Soup listed among my soup recipes.  This one is quite different-- different (and simple) in how it's made, different in what's added.  Different, period!  It's way 'more thickerer' than a usual soup... more like a 'stew/casserole' for the second time around.


As you can see, it's not a 'thin/runny' kind of soup.  
And,... this sure was a quickie to put together!

 As I stated above, I can see this tasting good with whatever kinds of vegetables you like... carrots, green beans, or corn?

Ingredients:


32 oz. (1 quart) chicken broth
6 oz. elbow macaroni (or small macaroni shells), uncooked
16 oz. broccoli pieces (or California blend of broccoli,  cauliflower and carrots)
1 and 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup cooked and cubed chicken (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:


Bring broth to boil over high heat.  Add macaroni and broccoli (or vegetable blend) and return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes, or until veggies and shells are tender. 


Whisk together the flour and milk in a separate container, making sure mixture is well-combined and smooth.  Stir this into hot pasta/vegetable mixture.  Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Add the cooked chicken pieces.  Gradually stir in cheese until melted.  It's good with crusty bread.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Monkey Bread (A pull-apart "breakfast'y" cake)


And,... under the cover is...  this...




Recipes for this are all over the Internet.   If you google "recipe monkey bread", you are likely to come up with 1 MILLION 200 THOUSAND websites.  Is that a lot, or not?!?!?   


Below:  This morning, we had 23° (after a long period of abnormally warm temperatures, this is probably a more "normal" for March 26).  Here is the monkey bread having its photo taken outside in this morning's bright morning sunshine...




I'm including this in my collection because of a 'sweeeeeet memory'.  It's because the first person who gave me the recipe was the late Shirley Schneider (Mrs. George) of Shawano.  She and her husband were the owners of the Schneider Monument Company in Shawano, but I met Shirley back in the mid 80's.  Shirley went with me to Chicago for a meeting and we had such a good time.  She was a sweetheart (gem!) of a woman.   (Shirley actually gave me two different recipes for this, both good!  Of the two, this one is just a bit easier to remember...without looking at a card.)


Here,... have a chunk (clump?)...

I love using nuts when baking-- in fact, I haven't meet a nut I didn't like (including humans, if they're the nice/humorous kind!), but,... because some people have 'nut allergies',  so I don't put a 1/2 cup of chopped nuts into the bottom of the greased Bundt pan UNLESS I know only our family will be having this.  

1. Grease or spray a bundt cake pan.  Set aside.

2.  Combine these ingredients in a plastic bag (or bowl).  Set aside.  This will be your 'sugar coating': 

1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


(If you have some of this sugar/cinnamon mix left over when you're all done, put it in a sort of shaking container and sprinkle on warm buttered toast........... M-m-m-m-m-m-m....)


3.   Open 3 of the 7.5 oz. tubes of buttermilk biscuits (10 ct.); cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.  Put these cut pieces into the bag or bowl of 'sugar coating' and shake or stir until each piece is evenly coated.  Put the sugar-covered biscuit pieces into the prepared Bundt pan. (Some bakers say the 'buttermilk' kind don't dry out as much.)

4.  In a medium saucepan, heat together 1 stick butter and 1 cup brown sugar (packed).  Heat this together over medium heat until mixture is well blended and starting to get 'bubbly'.   Now, pour the prepared/hot TOPPING SAUCE mixture over the sugared biscuit pieces in the Bundt pan.

5.  Bake at 350-degrees for 35-40 minutes or until top is rich golden brown.   (To test for a 'doneness clue', I stuck a wooden skewer down into the 'monkey clumps' to see if I had any 'raw residue' on it.)   

6.  Let stand in pan for a minute or two. Invert onto plate.  Break little clumps off and enjoy while warm.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Cream Puffs with Pudding/Cream Filling

I'm making these to take to my older sister and her husband who's inviting us over tomorrow for a dinner (noon meal) of corned beef and "that head of green stuff" that goes with it. (The farmer in me always calls the noon meal 'dinner', and the evening meal 'supper', and... that's just how it is.)   Even though I'm Irish through my mother's side, this will be the first time I'm having a sort of traditional "St. Patrick's Day meal" like that.


If you google 'recipe cream puffs', you will come up with over 900 THOUSAND websites to check out.  Does ANYone need a 'different' cream puff recipe?  Pro-bab-ly not.   And,... I didn't either.  I just used a very common recipe for these.


As I said, the recipe I follow for making these 'puffs' is pretty much standard:  1 cup water, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and 4 whole eggs.  The directions I follow really stress the importance of letting the cooked mixture (the stirred together 'ball') of water/butter/flour sit (cool) for exactly 10 minutes before starting to add the eggs, one at a time. Cool.

Below:  For the filling*, and instead of using all custard or all cream, I use a 'mixture' of instant pudding and whipping cream:  First, I whip 1 cup of whipping cream and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until it's 'stiff'.  I set that aside while I prepare the pudding-- 1 small box vanilla instant pudding with just 1 and 1/4 cup milk added and beaten together until it thickens.  Now, add the whipped cream to the pudding.  Blend well.  Fill a pastry bag with this mixture, push the pastry tip through the puff (somewhere in the upper 1/3 of it) and squeeze until you can see the sides of your puff 'poof' out.   Done! 
Done!, ...but not 'gone'... yet!

*There are times when I like to use this kind of puff in a non-dessert way.  I do that by filling these with cold/crunchy chicken, ham, or tuna salad.  


Angel Biscuits



In the past, I've made biscuits with plenty of baking powder as the 'lifter'; and others with cream in place of the 'fat'.  This recipe uses yeast as the 'lifter' with a less-than-usual amount of baking power... they're called 'Angel' biscuits because of how the yeast 'lifts them up', I guess.  Just like in real life, there were some 'braggers'-- seriously, these biscuits were no different.  The highest ones  (the 'show offs!') in this batch were just under 2" and others were about 1 and 1/2"--  


One might think these are 'more work', but... what's 'work' about softening a tablespoon of yeast in 2 tablespoons of warm water and setting it aside for five minutes?  From there on, everything moves along quickly.
I like these even better with honey!  Biscuits are a 'memory food' for me.  My mother was born in Texas, then had a home in Oklahoma before moving to Arkansas with her family.  After that,......and,...........because of a letter/photograph she submitted  to a magazine, she met and married an out-of-her-area farmer (my dad).  With her "I do", she was to become a dairy farmer's wife for all of her married life.  I think that, along with her making so many other good foods, she was the 'queen of biscuit making'.  And,... whenever we'd 'go south' to visit her relatives, it seemed to be a given that we'd have hot biscuits in the morning-- with gravy and scrambled eggs, with gravy/sausage, or with warm creamy 'raisined' rice.   How can the sight, aroma and taste of 'those days' linger so long?  

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 package (or 1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons warm water 
  • 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup buttermilk OR sour milk
Optional additions (may add one, two, or all three):
1/4 cup very finely shredded carrot
2 tablespoons finely snipped parsley
2 tablespoons very finely chopped green onion

DIRECTIONS
  • In a small mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Like this...
  • Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
  • Meanwhile, in a larger mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk this together very well so that the 'small amount ingredients' are well dispersed...
  • Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening or lard until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  At this point, if you wish, you can add the optional carrot, parsley and green onion bits.  Whisk together well.
  • Make a well in center of dry mixture, then add softened yeast AND buttermilk (or sour milk) all at once.  Like this... 
  • Using a fork, gently stir just until moistened....
  • Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface.  Quickly knead the dough by gently folding and pressing the dough for only 6 to 8 strokes or until the dough is nearly smooth.  Pat or lightly roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness.  Cut dough with a floured 2 and 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, dipping the cutter into flour between cuts.* (For more about 'cutting' biscuits, see my note at the bottom.)
  • Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet (I used parchment paper).  Bake in a 450-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until biscuits are 'golden brown' and done.  Remove biscuits from baking sheet and serve hot.  Makes 8, or 10, or 12 (depending on how thick the dough is when you start cutting).

M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m....
You know how you end up with little tags of dough left between where the circular biscuit cutter cuts?  Well, ... who says biscuits HAVE to be round?  Not me!   In order to avoid those 'tags' of dough that can get tough if you try to put them together again and re-pat them, do this:  Just pat (or lightly roll) this whole batch of biscuit dough into a square or rectangle-- then, with a knife, cut into shapes (squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds, or ??).  Transfer to baking sheet.  Done!

I first got this recipe from a newspaper insert that I came across one day as I was building a fire in the furnace. Later, I saw this same recipe in the 1990 edition of Better Homes and Gardens Old-Fashioned Home Baking.  

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Run that by me, one more time....


Today, I made 'repeaters' because,... well,... just because!  


Sun was rising outside,--
bread,...inside.




In front (above) is my 'repeater' Broccoli & Ham Quiche. The recipe for that is listed in this blog under 'Breakfast'. I ♥ IT!


And, . . . 
 
▼  
 
 Another SIX loaf batch of Nadine's Bread that's listed under the heading of "Bread"...


 With the smell of these 'beauties' baking, 
I had a very aromatic home!  

So,... dat's dat!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Fudge'y Rocky Road Bars

These remind me quite a bit of bars made years ago by Dolores (Grant's wife)...

Making these calls for more 'work?' than opening a box of brownie mix* and adapting it, but...


But,...



...I think, for certain
'special occasions',... 
worth it!

INGREDIENTS for CHOCOLATE BOTTOM LAYER:
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 of 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate (semi-sweet would work, too)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
DIRECTIONS for bottom layer:
In large saucepan, melt butter and chocolate.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Spread in a greased and floured 9x13" pan, like this...  
Set aside while you prepare top layer.

INGREDIENTS FOR TOP LAYER:
6 oz. cream cheese, softened (set other 2 oz. cream cheese aside for icing)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
----
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
----
2 cups miniature marshmallows (these will be put on after bars bake for 25-30 minutes).

DIRECTIONS for top layer:
In a bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, butter, egg and vanilla; mix until smooth and fluffy.  Drop in dollops over fudgy bottom layer, then gently spread until it covers entirely...

Sprinkle chocolate chips over top...

Sprinkle chopped nuts over chips...

Bake at 350-degrees for 25-30 minutes.  (I baked mine for 27 minutes.)   WHILE THIS IS BAKING, prepare the icing as follows:

INGREDIENTS for Fudge Icing:
1/4 cup softened butter
1 of 1 oz. square unsweetened chocolate  (semi-sweet will work)
2 oz. cream cheese (the part that was previously set aside)
1/4 cup milk
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS for Fudge Icing:
In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter, chocolate, cream cheese and milk.  Whisk together as it melts.  Stir in the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla (add additional milk if icing is too thick to be 'pour'able.  (Set this prepared icing aside until bars come out of the oven-- that is,  AFTER the marshmallows have been 'ovened' for the two minutes.)
----------------
After the 25-30 minutes of baking the bottom fudgy layer, remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows evenly over top... return this to oven for only two minutes.

After the two minutes of being back into the oven, remove and IMMEDIATELY pour prepared 'pour'able icing evenly over the marshmallows...

When whole top is covered with the 'pour'able icing, cool bars thoroughly...

Store left-overs covered tightly and in the refrigerator. (I put four squares of these in a small container, and freeze.)

This recipe came from my late mother-in-law's collection; the bars made with this recipe earned first place and was submitted by Carla Brede and was published in a booklet entitled "Recipes from 1988 Dairy Foods Promotion Class".  

*  I'm thinking one could take a box of store-bought brownie mix, prepare it as directed, pour that batter into a greased/floured (sprayed?) 9x13" pan, set it aside and then follow this recipe from the point of mixing/adding the cream cheese layer to the layer of unbaked brownie mix, and onward.  (TOO MANY words, but....)

Thursday, March 8, 2012

My "Make-Believe" LEMON PIE!!!

My "lemon fix"... 
without a crust--


It WORKED!!!

I put this in small, middle-sized, or larger dessert holders...
It's what's INSIDE that counts...


 This could be all prettier, IF a curl of lemon peel was added as garnish, but....
since I don't EAT the peel,....  you don't SEE a peel!   : )


While evaporated milk, in its undiluted state, is somewhat comparable in calories to cream, it 'delivers'  about half the fat stuff, etc., and stays readily available in its can on the shelf.  (In my cupboard, the evaporated milk 'lives' cheek-to-cheek with the cans of canned pumpkin-- no big wonder about why that is!)

This 'Cloud' part of this dessert is somewhere between a mousse and cheesecake. This recipe also has low-fat* and diabetic variations* that "are said to be" as good as the original.

INGREDIENTS:
  • I of a 6 oz. box Jell-O gelatin ...OR two of the small 3 oz. boxes for a possible combination of flavors. (This time around, I used two small boxes-- both lemon flavored.  Some like this in orange, strawberry, etc.-- I think it's great in 'lemon/lime' combination, also!)
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 15 oz. can evaporated milk (chilled to 'cold')
  • 8 oz. package of cream cheese -- softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla  
-----
The dessert, as above, can be considered complete, as is.   IF you want something like my 'make-believe' pie taste, you can add a layer of the following:
  • 1 large box of Jell-O pudding, made according to directions on the box.  For my 'lemon pie fix', I used a large box of lemon flavored "Cook & Serve Pudding"--the size that needed me to add 3 egg yolks.  (I skipped the meringue part of the instructions on the box.)
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Place in refrigerator until it starts to thicken (I pour into 9x9" glass baking dish to speed up the 'chilling').
  2. Pour the can of evaporated milk into a medium/large mixing bowl, along with the beaters, and place in freezer to chill.
  3. When Jell-O begins to thicken (about the consistency of egg whites) and milk is chilled, proceed with recipe.
  4. In a small/medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until the sugar loses it's 'grain'iness.  (With a food processor, you can start out with cold cream cheese and add the sugar; then the Jell-O, as stated in Step 5.  It works SO WELL for this).
  5. Add the thickened Jell-O to the cheese mixture and blend until well mixed, scraping down the sides often.
  6. In the chilled large mixing bowl, beat the well-chilled evaporated milk and vanilla and continue until stiff peaks form.
  7. Fold the Jell-O/cream cheese/sugar mixture into the beaten milk and beat at low speed until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Since the added ingredients might be light colored (depending on flavor of Jell-O you use), it can be hard to tell if the Jell-O is well distributed, so blend thoroughly.
  8. Spoon the 'Cloud' into footed (or any) dessert dishes and chill for several hours. (May also be poured into a chilled pie crust.)
  9. IF you want to stop at this point, it's all good!  IF you want to add a layer of  pudding on top (as in the photo below), do it when the "fluff" layer is firmed up a bit.
If you plan to save some of this for another day, you can cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper. My smallest dish which is shown front right, above, can be perfectly covered with a wide-mouth Ball canning lid.)

*Diabetic variation: Use sugar-free Jell-O products and substitute 12 packets of Equal for the sugar.  Plus, you can use low-fat versions of cream cheese AND evaporated milk.   

Quite a few years ago, I adapted this recipe from the Natural Health Doc website where it was included in the list of Low Glycemic Recipes.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Veggie and Ham Casserole



This one was called Mother's Ham Casserole-- from somebody's mother, but not mine.  I can see why the submitter said it was one of her mother's favorite dishes.  The blend of vegetables in this pond of creaminess is just... delish!   Because of the potatoes in this, there is a hint of the tastiness that's in a potato soup. Similar, but different (I guess those two words sort of mean the same thing!).

 My 'taste tester' said this is a saver, keeper, repeater kind of recipe!


 I see this recipe being one that can be 'played with'-- 
changing variety of veggies, or meat, etc.


Wish you could get a sniff of this one!  Then,.... a taste.  
After the taste,... a meal!

INGREDIENTS: 

2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 large carrot, sliced
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 cups water
....
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons butter
...
4 (more) tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
...
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
...
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

1.  In saucepan, cook potatoes, carrot and celery in water until tender; drain.
2.  In a skillet, saute ham, green pepper and onion in 3 tablespoons butter until tender.  Add to the drained  potato mixture.  Transfer to a greased 1 and 1/2-quart baking dish.
3.  In a saucepan, melt the remaining butter; stir in flour until smooth.  Gradually add milk, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for a minimum of 2 minutes (to cook the flour) or until thickened.  Stir in the cheese until melted; pour this white sauce over the ham mixture in the casserole dish.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
4.  Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 25-30 or until heated through and bubbly.

YIELD:  4-6 servings.


This recipe was adapted from one submitted by Linda Childers, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  It is in my 2005 edition of Taste of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipes.  Thanks, Linda.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Put your seat belt on (or, better yet, something to at least  restrain your arms from repeatedly reaching out for just a 'little bit more')!!   

This is one of those special kinds of dessert where...
 a 'little' really does go a long way...

A long time ago, I read something like this:  "If you are afraid you might not have room for dessert AFTER a meal, EAT . IT. FIRST!  That might work for this one...   it has cheese, eggs, and fruit.  Sounds like a 'meal' to me-- LOL!!!


I'm wishing I could share a piece of this with my late Mama... she sometimes mentioned, "I could go for a little piece of cheesecake-- I've only had a few little slivers through the years because it's 'rich',... but so good."  (She had it right!)

I wish I could share this with..... YOU!



CRUST  INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
FILLING  INGREDIENTS:
  • 3 of 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
...
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 and 1/2 cups peeled and finely chopped apples
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
...
  • 6 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping, divided.
  • Sweetened whipped cream  (OR, whipped topping?)
  • 2 tablespoons  coarsely chopped pecans
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Combine the first five ingredients; using the flat bottom of something, press onto the bottom of a lightly greased 9-in. spring form pan.
  2. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; set into refrigerator or other cool place for about 20 minutes.
  3. In a mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. (I used my Cuisinart food processor for this.)  Add eggs, one at a time; beat on low (or pulse) just until combined.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour over baked and cooled crust.  Set aside for a moment.
  4. Peel and chop apples*

Make the pieces of apple very small.... they don't look small in the photo below, but they are.

5. Sprinkle lemon juice over apples and gently stir to cover all; sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over apple pieces and stir to coat; now spoon apples evenly over filling.**

6.   Bake at 350-degrees for 55-60 minutes or until center is almost set (until not all jiggly in the center).


7.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen.
8.  Carefully, remove sides of pan.
9.  Drizzle with 4 tablespoons caramel topping.

10.  Cool for 1 hour, out of refrigerator.  Chill in refrigerator overnight.
11.  Just before serving, garnish with whipped cream.  Drizzle with remaining caramel; sprinkle with pecans.  Serve, and store what's left-over in the refrigerator.

Yield:  12 servings (or, just six servings IF it's your MEAL-- with all the cheese, eggs and apples, would that work?   LOL!)

* To prepare the apples, I use my apple peeler gadget that peels, cores and slices all at the same time  I then carefully remove the sliced/cored apple 'rings' from the rotating rod and set them on the cutting board.  With a knife, I cut down through the 'ball' of slices, working my way around until all slices are done. (Pictured earlier in this posting.)

** You'll be able to put the apples on more evenly if you do use a spoon, as directed.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
M-m-m-m-m-m, this is good!

Going...

Going......


...GONE!

So, what about the other pieces-- the left-overs?  
Below, I'll show you...


I put large individual pieces, which are enough for two servings, into a container and freeze them.  After these are frozen solid (overnight), I'll vacuum pack them.  Dessert for ...'the future'.  Doing this saves me from having to wear the hand/arm cuffs I'd certainly need if they were left to sit in the refrigerator all ready to go-- ready to  go 'down the hatch', that is!!!

This recipe was adapted from one submitted by Debbie Wilson, Sellersburg, Indiana, in the 2006 edition of Taste of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2005.  Debbie said this was her most-often-requested dessert and it received more compliments than anything else she's made.  Thanks, Debbie.  

(I hope her area in Indiana isn't one that was repeatedly hit with deadly tornadoes over the past two days!-- but, I wish NONE of ANY area had been hit!!!!!!)