Apple Peeler Corer Slicer

When I find a new kitchen gadget that saves time, energy, heartache, and money I like to shout it from the nearest mountain top to everyone I know.  Many of you are apple pie makin' mamas and this apple peeler is going to make your life so much easier. It has a suction cup on the bottom to hold it in place on your counter top. This enables you to have both of your hands free to direct all of your attention the the apples. All you have to do is place it on the end, hold the apple in place and turn the hand crank a few times to get it going and with just a few more turns of the crank and your apple it peeled, cored and sliced. It is amazing and so much fun. If you are looking for ways get the kids to help in the kitchen, this will surely draw them in. They will have a blast turning the hand crank.  We found the great little invention at Academy Sports and Outdoors. The cost was $19.99. It is great for turning all of those crisp fall apples into delicious pies, cobblers, cakes and apple crisps.

Try this recipe for a quick and easy Apple Crisp

4 1/2 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

4 tablespoons butter

        Evenly spread the apple slices in the prepared dish. In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice and water, and pour over the apples. Drizzle apples with honey, and sprinkle with cinnamon.

      In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, oats, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apples. Pour apples in a 13 x 9 greased pan.

Bake 25 minutes in the preheated 350 degree oven, until apples are tender and topping is lightly browned.

Add a dollop of fresh whipped cream and you will be in Heaven.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time....

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Love on Top

Whew! The summer heat has been lingering on for weeks here in Texas. We almost broke a record of consecutive days to reach over 100 degrees that was set back in 1980. However, on Saturday we had a tiny bit of a break. Our temperature only topped out at about 95. Now, I know 95 degrees is still very warm but, when the old summer sun just will not give you a break and the sweltering heat rises to over 100 degrees for 40 days....well, 95 seems almost cool. Since it has been so hot the last thing I wanted to do was turn on the oven to prepare a nice hearty hot meal. So, we have been eating a lot of salads lately. I love salads and I like a lot of variety but my family is not quiet as adventerous as I am so I have to get creative and make it little more interesting.

We love croutons in our salads. If you have bought croutons in the the bags you know they are very hard. Almost too hard to bite into.  So, I like to make my own. They are still crunchy but with a nice soft crunch on the outside and a middle that is a bit on the chewy side. Like a warm piece of buttery toast. There are alot of advantages to making croutons at home .
1. You can use left over bread that is about to turn stale. This saves money.
2. You can control the flavor of the crouton by adding any spices you like.
3. You control the amount of spices. This is especially good if you are watching your salt intake.
And my favorite part......
4. You can make them any shape you desire.
Most croutons are simply tiny little cubes of toasted bread. If you have some tiny little cookie cutters you can make it fun by cutting the crouton into different shapes.

I try to find anyway I can to tell my family that I love them. Actually saying "I love you"  does not come easily for everyone. I grew up in a family that did not run around all the time telling each other we loved them. I am the youngest of  four children. Our mother was a terrific Mama that raised four children without a father in the house. I do not know how she did it. Let me tell you, whether you are the Mom or the Dad , being a single parent is one of the toughest jobs in the world. We came from a family that did not hear the words "I love you." But boy, did we feel it. We all knew we were loved  by her actions.  She would swat us on the behind when we were being bad then turn right around and love on us to let us know that all is forgiven. I can hear her say, "Now don't do that again and let's move on." My Mama also had many "looks."  She could be in the front yard watering flowers all the while carrying on a conversation with one of the neighbors and spot one of us kids out of the corner of her eye doing something good and she would flash us a look that said, "You are one terrific kid and I am so proud of you". Then in a blink of an eye, that same Mama could turn her head and stop a misbehaving child dead in their tracks with just one look.  All the while she hadn't missed a word the neighbor was saying. Now that my friends is a gift from God. Yes, I know from personal experience that a person can feel the love without actually saying those 3 little words: I LOVE YOU. But, I am a very blessed woman. I am married to my best friend. Over the years he has taught me to say "I love you." But, I am always striving to develop that same God given talent my Mama had. I have always wanted to be able to express my love with just a special look that comes from deep in a person's soul.

So, my tiny little heart shaped croutons are a kind of a subliminal message to my family. A tiny little hug sitting on top of their cool crisp salad or floating in a steamy hot bowl of tomato soup from a loving wife or Mama who loves her fully grown baby girls. 

This my friends, is dinner tonight. A Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with a little love on the top.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time......

Beer Can Chicken

My sweet adorable husband loves to cook out. He truly is a Grill Master. He has a great big stainless steel gas grill with all the bells and whistles and he has a smoker too. His smoker even has a name. It is Oklahoma Joe. Actually, I am just kidding about him naming  his smoker. Oklahoma Joe is the brand of smoker.  He has cooked everything imaginable on his grill. It is nothing for him to whip up a batch of the most fabulous hamburgers on the planet. Just hint that you might want hamburgers for dinner or a Saturday afternoon lunch and he is on it like a duck on a June bug. On old Oklahoma Joe he smokes chicken. brisket, sausage, and ribs. Oh my! While the chicken, brisket and sausage are delicious the ribs are something just this side of Heaven.  Recently, a new cooking weapon was added to his grilling arsenol.

Meet the newest addition. It is a piece of equipment that is William and Sonoma's answer to Beer Can Chicken. Oh my goodness people! I have heard of Beer Can Chicken for many years but for some reason my husband had never tried to prepare it for us and I had never thought to ask him too. It could be because we don't keep beer at our house very often. I simply just never thought about it. Then a couple of weeks ago my hubby found this cute little cooking toy online and had to have it. Let me tell you it makes the most delicious chicken. The beer makes the chicken so most and tender. It is all kinds of yummy.

All you have to do is place your beer can chicken cooking tool in a disposable aluminum pan. Pour your beer in the cup, place your cleaned chicken on the tool ,place it in a 350 degree grill with the lid closed. In about 1 hour you will have a delicious grilled chicken.

I understand there are many people that really use a can of beer to cook the chicken on. If you decide to try this just be very cautious. I have heard there could be lead in the paints on the outside of the cans. I recommend if you want to try Beer Can Chicken get one of these little cooking tools. It was only about $15.00 from William and Sonoma and  since we bought ours I have seen it even cheaper at Academy Sports. Be careful folks. You are precious. I wouldn't want you to fall ill.

Until next time......