Simply Life...

Apple Dumplings & Brandy Sauce

2011-09-17T16:24:00.001-07:00

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Dinner, Cookies, Gluten-Free, Grilling

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Apple Dumplings & Brandy Sauce

A tender butter crust, baked to a golden brown, surrounds these pecan filled apple dumplings smothered in a rich sauce.

60 min.prep time 1:35total time

6 servings, 3/4 cup sauce

0 Ratings

Ingredients

Dumplings

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold LAND O LAKES® Butter

2/3 cup LAND O LAKES® Sour Cream

6 medium tart cooking apples, cored, peeled

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened

Milk

Sauce

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup LAND O LAKES^® Heavy Whipping Cream

2 tablespoons LAND O LAKES® Butter

1 tablespoon brandy**

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Combine flour and salt in medium bowl; cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in sour cream with fork until mixture forms a ball.

Roll dough into 19x12-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Cut 1-inch strip off 19-inch end; reserve. Cut remaining dough into 6 (6-inch) squares. Place apple in center of each square.

Combine sugar, pecans and 2 tablespoons butter in small bowl. Fill center of apple with 1 1/2 tablespoons mixture. Fold dough up around apple; seal seams well. Place onto greased 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan, seam-side down.

Brush dough with milk; prick dough with fork. Cut leaf designs out of reserved 1-inch strip of dough. Brush with milk; place on wrapped apples. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until apples are fork tender. If crust browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil.

Combine all sauce ingredients in 1-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil (3 to 4 minutes). Serve sauce over warm dumplings..

German Chocolate Pecan Pie

2011-09-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

This is a must try and the next dessert I will be fixing.....will let ya'll know how it turns out or if ya try it before me be sure to let me know how ya like it!

German Chocolate Pecan Pie

November 2007

Stephen Scott Gross enlarge

By: Silvana Nardone From: Dessert Recipes » Part of this menu: Thanksgiving Feast with All the Fixings »
Chocolate and coconut are the secret to the world's best pecan pie. 4.64285714285714 14 Dessert Rating (14):

14 people tried this recipe.

Key:

Vegetarian Recipes

Video How-To

8 Servings

Prep 20 min (plus chilling) Bake 55 min

20 55 75

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces) plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 stick chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water
2 large eggs
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) pecan halves, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sweetened flake coconut
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a food processor, pulse the flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until coarse crumbs form, about 5 seconds. Drizzle in the ice water and pulse just until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap; flatten to form a disk. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round; transfer to a pie pan. Cut the excess dough to leave a 1/2-inch overhang. Using your fingers, roll the dough edge under and crimp. Prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork; refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°.
Line the shell with foil and pie weights or dried beans; bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, reduce the heat to 375º and bake for another 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. In a heavy, medium saucepan, whisk together the remaining 5 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt with the brown sugar and corn syrup over medium heat until melted and smooth. Whisk the sugar mixture into the beaten eggs. Stir in the nuts and coconut.
Spread the chocolate chips in the pie shell. Pour in the filling and bake until set, about 25 minutes. Let the pie cool completely before slicing.

Tired.....

2011-09-10T10:18:00.001-07:00

GumboShop® Menu - Award Winning New Orleans Gumbo and Spices Offering Nation Wide Shipping

2011-09-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

GumboShop® Menu - Award Winning New Orleans Gumbo and Spices Offering Nation Wide Shipping

Beignets Recipe http://www.neworleansonline.com

2011-09-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

Beignets Recipe
Makes about 32 beignets

1 cup water
4 oz unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
vegetable shortening, for deep frying
confectioner's sugar

In a small saucepan combine the water, butter, granulated sugar, and salt and bring the mixture to a rapid boil. Remove the pan from heat and add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook the paste over low heat, beatin briskly, until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and the dough cleanly leaves the sides of the pain and forms a ball. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. By hand or with an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the paste until it is smooth and glossy. Stir in the vanilla.
In a deep fryer, heat 3 inches shortening 370 degrees F. drop the dough by teaspoonfuls into the shortening, and fry the beignets in bathes, turning them, until golden brown (about 3 minutes). With a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle the beignets with the confectioners' sugar and serve the hot.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2011-09-08T20:46:00.001-07:00

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 slices bread,cubed, crust removed
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
1/4 cup parlesy
milk

preheat oven to 350*.

Place cubed bread in a bowl and pour in milk, a good splash for bread to soak up.

Mix together ingredients; squeeze out excess milk and add bread---mix well.

take 1/3 cup meat mixture and roll in to a ball. Place one rimmed baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Sauce

2 large cans of whole, peeled plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
salt, to taste
sugar, to taste

Saute in olive oil the diced onion, minced garlic and red pepper flakes.

After veggies are tender and lightly golden brown add the 2 cans of tomatoes and break them up....either use your hand as you put them in or use spoon. Add salt and sugar to taste. Add your cooked meatballs and simmer.

First Football Game

2011-09-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Sean had his first football game Tuesday evening!!!! It was so fun! Sean's team is the JV Leathernecks and all of the boys on his team except for 3 are in 1st grade the other 3 are in 2nd so we are a very young team. When Sean first started practice, well the first few were hell---not even going to lie! He whine and fussed and looked at the coaches like they were crazy and he thought I was a horrible mom for not letting him quit! One day when we got there it was sooo hot and he looked at me and said "these people are crazy it is to hot to be out here." Granted he was right but he was still going to practice! (Granted his grandma and I found a strip of shade that day and she ended up back in the car watching with the a/c on but that is on a need to know basis and he does not need to know :) After that day the mean mommy that I am took away the video games and the tv and told him that I was not going to let him give up! Not going to happen! After he realized that I was serious he thought he might as well give it a try and he did and he came to find out that he actually likes it! He is actually pretty good at it considering he has never played a sport up until now! As a parent I think we were all very surprised at how well our 6 year old boys played the other night; lets just say once they had the first play and our team fumbled the ball and the other team took the ball and scored they realized hey now I know what coach Jason and Dan were talking about during practice it all clicked! That was the only score of the game so unfortunately we did lose and mom almost fainted when I saw the size of the kids on the other team which 2 were girls (shocked at that too because they were as tall as me!) but them little boys played their little hearts out!!! Great job and it was sooooo much fun!!!! Loved every minute of it! Will post pics soon.

Oklahoma City Birthday Trip!

2011-09-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Over this past weekend we took a trip to OKC for John's birthday other then him running a toll booth once and the zoo being way to hot we had a great time. First we started out at the Botanical Gardens----very beautiful! They are adding an area for children unfortunately they are still working on it----of course Sean wanted to run through it and John wanted to take pics of everything but it is beautiful in there (humid) just be sure you have a spare battery or you have charged yours overnight because half way through what do you think happened???? You have it the person wanting to take pics of every plant was not very happy :( Next stop was the OKC zoo---well if you have been to the Fort Worth Zoo there is NO comparison if I had my choice of the 2 I would definitely pick the Fort Worth Zoo! Granted it was still HOT outside we should have went to the zoo on Sunday after the cold front came through and did the Science Museum on Saturday since it was all inside----Next drip I am definitely going to plan according to weather look at the zoo maps to plan out where we go!!! Well back to the zoo OKC's zoo is very spread out and a lot of concrete! I like the more realistic settings----we were there quite a few hours and I never did see the animals that I would like to have seen so maybe they were in a better setting....don't know but I know it was hot---they did have misters to walk through but the wind kept blowing the mist up and away.......... The Children's Science Museum on the other hand was GREAT!!!! Absolutely loved it!!!! They have a whodunit section and it is all FORENSIC science and you get to solve the crime!!!! So much fun if you are into that sort of thing which I AM!!!!!! Loved it! They also have an IMAX theater which is extra but worth it---EXTREME was playing on Sunday which was different extreme sports. Would have preferred a different title but oh well they are still fun. The Planetarium is included in the price of admission and who does not love the night sky? They show sky from OKC view--what you would see that night from OKC without all of the light pollution. They have a ton of hands on exhibits too the Tornado wind tunnel and the earthquake section was really cool too. Totally recommend the Science Museum.

Day Trip

2011-09-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today we drove down to Fort Worth to see my niece Brinley and took my mom to leave her down at Cook's Children's Hospital to stay with my sister. On the way back we stopped at Sal's Italian Restaurant 5465 N. MacArthur Blvd, Irving, Tx-----keep in mind I am not much for Italian food really it is at the bottom of the list of choices for dinner----YUCK Olive Garden----just not my cup of tea! On the way to the BSA museum we see Sal's over in a shopping area, well my first thought is it is not even a stand alone restaurant how good can it possibly be? Well we walk in and we are seated rather quickly because no one else is there other then people up at the full bar. It is actually very nice inside; they had white linen tablecloths on the tables, black linen napkins and candles which were not lit but it was about 330 in the afternoon-I am sure it would be very romantic for a couple in the evening :) The waiter immediately asks what we would like to drink which is nice considering it is so hot outside and the sweet tea is very good :) Sean chose water (yay!) and John Dr Pepper. We did order garlic bread with marinara sauce as an appetizer and I have to admit it was quite yummy---the bread was buttery, garlicky and crispy and the marinara sauce was quite good which is the one thing that really turns me away from Italian food there is always so much sauce on everything---actually Sean will not eat spaghetti with sauce on it----if I do fix spaghetti his has garlic butter with Parmesan cheese. For Sean we ordered the 8" personal size cheese pizza and just to say they must have given us the wrong size because this was way larger then an 8" pizza and let me tell you it had no chance! He ate every bite except for a little wedge of the last piece that he gave to John so he could try it!!! John ordered for us and we both got a Stromboli (sausage, pepperoni and cheese) OMG it was out of this world! Have not had Stromboli like that since I lived in Virginia!!!! Best crust I have ever had and I would really love the recipe for it! We didn't have desert but now I wish we had we were just to full then but they do have Cannoli and Tiramisu to name a couple! Really a great place to eat...even for someone who does not like Italian food!

Tiger Cub

2011-09-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well today John took Sean to sign up for Scouts! I am excited for them----we will see how it goes and I am certainly praying for a certain way! They bought the Tiger Cub book, Shirt, little bandana, and the little thing that holds the bandana closed ? no idea what it is called, his belt, cap and badges that I will be sewing on his shirt hopefully sometime this weekend!!!! Tonight was football practice so after we got home and ate dinner (yes, late for dinner but he will get sick if he eats close to practice so he eats as soon as he gets home from school and then again after practice) we read the first section which was safety scenarios which all of them are like a parents worst nightmare but to tell ya the truth there were only a few of them that I have really ever discussed with him! I was very impressed with the scenarios and honestly it was stuff that we should have already discussed. I read him the scenarios and asked him what he would do in each situation and you could see the wheels turning just by his expressions on his face----I got to one and it stated---you are walking to school in the rain and someone driving by stops and asks if you want a ride to school? What would you do? What would you do if they persist? He said No and I said well what if they persist? He laid there for a few seconds and said what does persist mean? I said they just keep on asking.......they say come one I have some candy and transformers you can play with....He said No leave me alone! I threw all kinds of his favorite things at him and he kept saying NO! He paused again and said that is why you do not want me walking to and from school! Exactly why! There was one where you are at a park and someone comes up and wants you to help them find their lost puppy.....what do you do? Well his initial response was well it would be nice to help them....same response if someone asked him to help them carry in their groceries! I could actually picture him going to help them and that scared me to death! We had a long discussion on what he should do and why it is not safe. There are some more scenarios and they are very graphic if ya know what I mean but they honestly were things that I should have already discussed with him but trying to protect him just did not talk about but it is not protecting him; it could be hurting him not discussing these things no matter how much we do not want to think about it happening to our kids we do live in the real world and unfortunately bad things can happen! I am so glad we discussed these topics tonight and he has had a long day but he listened and I could actually tell by his little facial expressions that he was actually thinking things through it wasn't like okay mom lets hurry up I am tired! He actually said lets read this book every night and he has never wanted to do that with any book----well other then parts of his bible he likes to continuously read.

COOKING WITH KIDS!

2011-08-31T11:01:00.001-07:00

I found this at campbells.com----Anything to get my son at the dining table.....he would prefer to set in front of the tv to eat----I am trying to break him of that, before I know it he will be grown and I do not want to miss any moment of the little him!

What do you get when you combine some family favorite dinners along with a few fun activities? A great opportunity to start building lasting memories. Here are few memory-making ideas you can serve up along with your great dinners.
Eat dinner together at the table as much as possible. Not only is it a good time for family bonding, but this conversational period actually promotes good digestion. Every other month, go formal. Break out the good china and glassware (don't forget the candles!), and have one of the kids set a formal table. Besides being fun, it's a good way to learn which side of the plate the fork goes on and what all those different glasses are for. This is also a perfect time to teach manners and etiquette. Don't worry about making fancy, unfamiliar food for these affairs—the family favorites work just fine here. Rainy or snowy days are perfect times for an indoor picnic. Spread a blanket on the living room floor and, if you have a fireplace, build a fire for atmosphere. If you get stuck on menu ideas, winter barbecues are always different, fun and, of course, great tasting. How can you beat BBQ chicken and potato salad anytime of the year? Nothing boosts a child's self esteem more than a sense of accomplishment and spending time with a grownup in the kitchen. Share the cooking with one of the kids. Four- to eight-year-olds can add premeasured ingredients to a bowl and stir them together (great for developing hand-eye coordination) or wash vegetables in the sink and place in a colander (encourages cleanliness). If you're making meatloaf or meatballs, measure all the ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag, seal the bag closed, and have the kids “mold” and massage the mixture until incorporated. Older kids can help with rolling out dough (good for dexterity), measuring ingredients (extra math tutoring!), and planning menus. And if your teenager shows an interest in cooking, give them responsibility for a portion of the meal or even the entire dinner itself—casseroles are a perfect place to start. It's a wonderful way for them to start developing kitchen skills that they'll use for years to come.

Black-and-White Pudding Parfait Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

2011-08-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Black-and-White Pudding Parfait Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

2011-08-30T21:11:00.001-07:00

Retro Ric Rac Apron and Potholder Set

2011-08-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Retro Ric Rac Apron and Potholder Set

Bake It Pretty - Finger Eye Puppets

2011-08-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Bake It Pretty - Finger Eye Puppets

Bakers Dozen Mini Cupcake Liner Gift Set

2011-08-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

Bakers Dozen Mini Cupcake Liner Gift Set

Bake it Pretty - Retro Halloween Mask Assortment

2011-08-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Bake it Pretty - Retro Halloween Mask Assortment

Brinley

2011-08-28T12:12:00.001-07:00

Well we all slept long and hard last night, I think Sean was the first one up this morning but he watched cartoons quietly in the living room---he is the only one who slept on the drive to Ft Worth but he certainly fought the urge to sleep last night on the drive home (: Brinley slept the entire time we were there, she was being sedated to keep her sats up---from what I understand she is still being sedated and is awaiting her 2nd surgery so we will be driving back to Ft Worth Tuesday afternoon---probably as soon as Sean gets out of school. After this surgery she will finally get to go out of the house just like any other baby :) yay. Then surgery 3 will be around the age of 3 I believe Jen said!

1st week of School!

2011-08-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well today is Friday--it has been a long week too. Of course it was the 1st week of school which meant going to bed early and getting up early. Surprisingly, it all went relatively smoothly on that aspect, Sean even wanted to go EARLY the last 2 day so he could eat breakfast at school. He finally figured out football, likes hitting people and got his 1st bloody nose----coach shook his had and told him he did great! Sean was so excited about that. He was proud of himself and I have to admit I was pretty darned proud of him myself.

Unfortunately, my beautiful niece Brinley is back down at Cook's Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. She is going to have a Cardiac Cath in the morning so of course our entire family is praying for Queen B. She is about to have heart surgery # 2 any time now I am sure. Sweetest, happiest baby you have ever seen. (Sean is a little bit jealous of her of her since I talk about her so much).

Trip and Jacob, my twins, live in Richmond, Virginia with their dad. It has been a lot of stress and worrying about them this week as well. Earthquake early this week and now Irene moving up the east coast.....sigh. So much stuff happened this week...

So ready for fall, I know it is still hot but did make 2 pots of soup this week. Vegetable beef with cornbread and chicken noodle soup. Sean is asking for potato soup----he will have to wait for grandma to make that one but I guess I need to have her teach me or show me how she makes it because he loves that soup! Think I am ready for some homemade chili as well------at least in my mind I can think it is starting to cool down :)

1st Day of School!

2011-08-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today was the 1st day of school......I think it was more stressful for me then Sean. Of course we had to get up early which was a chore in itself! We are so use to getting up kinda late. Sean ate breakfast, we finished packing his lunch and then off we went. We had to park down the street a bit so we had to walk :) We unpacked all of his supplies-well HE wanted to unpack everything. He teacher had papers on each students desk so got him situated at his desk and he started coloring the school bus on one of the pages that was stacked on his desk----thought this would be a good time to tell him that I was leaving, well his eyes teared up some and he quietly whispered no don't go..... :) well I pointed out to him that all the other mommy's had left---I asked him if he wanted to give me a hug and a kiss before I left and it was a solid NO! MOM! Well at that point it was okay for me to leave, I think he thought he better let me go before I made him give me a hug or a kiss=====I guess he is getting to old for that :(

1

Full Contact and Tooth Fairy

2011-08-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well today was Sean's first day of contact football! He does not want to hurt anyone so he holds back on hitting the other boys. I am hoping that when he really gets hit for the first time he is going to REALLY know what to do.....the boys on his team are smaller them him so not sure anyone can really hit him hard (: This is Sean's first sport other then martial arts and that never worked out with my schedule so he hasn't got to do that for a while :( The boys on the team are very supportive though..... I think football really sets a bond with boys....he needs that, his siblings are all older then him so its like he is an only child in a sense even though he has 4 brothers and 4 sisters....... Monday I am going to have to take him to the boys club and have him re-fitted for shoulder pads; I think his are to small! He seems to finally be getting use to wearing the helmet and the shoulder pads which is an improvement and he did way better when they were running the kick off!!!!! WAY BETTER!

This afternoon, he stayed with John while I went to Walmart to use all of my free coupons and when I returned he had lost a tooth! Not sure if the contact football this morning had anything to do with it but he has written a note for the tooth fairy because he wants to know what she eats so next time he can leaver her a snack :) He wanted to leave her a ding dong! I convinced him that she eats healthy and would not eat something so sugary since it would cause her teeth to have cavities....hence the note to see if she eats carrots or fruit! Apparently the tooth fairy glows in the dark----wasn't aware of this myself but according to Sean her arms and everything glows so he would like to keep the tv or lights on so she does not wake him up with her bright glow :) and if he sees her she will give him a ticket (: Not sure where he heard this story but anyway I wish he would go to sleep :) so she can come get the tooth!!!!!

Meet the Teacher

2011-08-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today was meet the teacher day! Sean pleaded and pleaded all day not to make him go back to school....said that he would do anything to not go.....I am going to do public school at least one more year....would like to homeschool but he wanted to play football and to play you have to be enrolled in a public school. After he got up there and met his teacher he seemed happy with the teacher he got. This is her first year and she seemed really nice! He ran out to the car and brought his school supplies in and placed them in his locker....he was excited about the locker too; it was a big kids locker rather then a cubby like he had in kindergarten :) He actually has a desk this year too instead of sharing a table with a group of kids....it has his name on it and everything....well here is to a good school year! Hopefully a better year for us as a family as well :) Faith in God.

2011-08-14T11:08:00.001-07:00

Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Bites on the Food Network

2011-08-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Bites on the Food Network

Philly Dogs on the Food Network

2011-08-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

Philly Dogs on the Food Network

Simply Life...

Apple Dumplings & Brandy Sauce

Apple Dumplings & Brandy Sauce

Ingredients

Dumplings

Sauce

Directions

German Chocolate Pecan Pie

This is a must try and the next dessert I will be fixing.....will let ya'll know how it turns out or if ya try it before me be sure to let me know how ya like it!

German Chocolate Pecan Pie

Key:

Ingredients

Directions:

Tired.....

GumboShop® Menu - Award Winning New Orleans Gumbo and Spices Offering Nation Wide Shipping

Beignets Recipe http://www.neworleansonline.com

Beignets Recipe Makes about 32 beignets

Spaghetti and Meatballs

First Football Game

Oklahoma City Birthday Trip!

Day Trip

Tiger Cub

COOKING WITH KIDS!

Black-and-White Pudding Parfait Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

Retro Ric Rac Apron and Potholder Set

Bake It Pretty - Finger Eye Puppets

Bakers Dozen Mini Cupcake Liner Gift Set

Bake it Pretty - Retro Halloween Mask Assortment

Brinley

1st week of School!

1st Day of School!

Full Contact and Tooth Fairy

Meet the Teacher

Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Bites on the Food Network

Philly Dogs on the Food Network

Beignets Recipe
Makes about 32 beignets