Desperation Apple Pilets

Imagine if you will: It's 11:00 p.m. and you just remembered that you have to bring a snack to share to the ladies Bible study in the morning. You are dead tired. You have nothing that is instant. What do you do? Here's what I did.



Desperation Apple Pilets
1 can apple pie filling
3 flour tortillas
cinnamon & sugar mixture
2-3 Tbsp. melted butter
granola
graham crackers (largish crumbs)
raisins

Cut tortillas into quarters. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mix. Press into a sprayed 12-cup muffin pan so that the corners stick out above the cups.

Add a few pieces of crushed graham crackers into the bottom of the tortilla "cup." Spoon filling in evenly between each serving. Sprinkle with granola and raisins, then sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. You can remove these from the pan easily by grabbing two of the now-crunchy tortilla points and lifting out.



These were so easy to make and quick, quick, quick. I tried one, and it was crunchy, sweet, and perfectly sized. I don't anticipate any leftovers tomorrow morning.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes aren't all that tough really. If you can bake a potato and make mashers, then you can do this. The recipe below is pretty rough. I never really measure much when I make my mashed potatoes, so I'm simply listing what I normally throw in.



Twice Baked Potatoes

STEP 1: Bake potatoes
Scrub potatoes. Rub vegetable oil on them and sprinkle with salt. Place directly on the rack in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 1 hour.

STEP 2: Split and cool potatoes
Cut each potato in half, lengthwise and allow to cool for 30 minutes or until cool enough to handle. (If you have asbestos fingers like my grandmother did, then perhaps you don't need to wait the whole 30 minutes.)

STEP 3: Scoop potatoes
Using a regular spoon, carve out the insides of the potatoes, leaving only a little bit and the skin. Put the innards into a large bowl or the bowl of your standing mixer. (That's how I make my mashers.)

STEP 4: Make mashed potatoes!
I simply put the potatoes in my stand mixer, then run the paddle mixer on it for a bit to start breaking them down. Then I add garlic salt, pepper, sour cream, butter, and milk. (Butter first so it melts in the hot potatoes.) I like to add chives too if I have them. Run the mixer until mashers are the desired smoothness.

STEP 5: Fill and coat
Spoon the mashers back into the potatoes, allowing for a generous, rounded mound at the top. (Invariably, there will be more mashed potatoes than will fit, so don't be stingy.) Smooth the tops with a spoon, then roll the exposed mashed potatoes in Italian bread crumbs. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. (You could mix some cheese into the mashers if you wanted.)

STEP 6: Bake!
Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

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Yeah, it takes awhile. You practically have to start them after you get out of bed so you can eat them for dinner, but they are SO worth it.

Good Stuffing

My mom has always made the best Thanksgiving stuffing (or "dressing" if you'd rather) for as long as I can remember. But I have to say that as I've grown older and started making my own, I am thinking that mine could probably stand up to hers in a blind taste test.



Thanksgiving being just around the corner, I can't help but post my own recipe for stuffing that has been altered from my mom's original.

Good Stuffing
1 stick butter (reserve 2 Tbsp for sauteing, melt the rest)
1 loaf bread (any bread will do, even leftover hamburger/hot dog buns)
1 medium-sized yellow onion
2 ribs celery (include the green leaves too--that adds lots of flavor!)
mushrooms
ground sausage (optional)
1-2 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
salt and pepper
1 C. milk

Night before: Using a pair of scissors, cube up the bread onto a cookie sheet, making about 1-inch cubes. (No one will be measuring though, so just eyeball it. ;o)) Spread evenly and leave to dry overnight. If you don't have overnight, you can spread the cubed bread on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes on low heat in the oven.

Cooking day: Chop onion and celery into smallish pieces. Slice mushrooms. Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a skillet. Over medium-high heat, saute the chopped veggies with a pinch of salt until tender and soft, not too browned. (I like to add a little bit of poultry seasoning to the veggies for some added yumminess.) Remove veggies from pan, then add the sausage. Brown the meat, then add back the veggies and stir to combine. Set aside.

Start preheating your oven now to 350 degrees.

Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Add cubed bread. Shake poultry seasoning and pepper over the cubed bread. Pour the rest of the butter (melted) over the bread and give a light toss. Pour the veggie-meat mixture over the bread and lightly toss again.

Pour the milk evenly over the entire dish. (NOTE: You may need a little more depending on how dry your bread is. Just make sure there isn't a whole lot pooling at the bottom of the dish. A little pooling is fine.) Toss a little more.

TIP: You can toss all the prepared ingredients in a large mixing bowl to make it easier, then add it, completely tossed, into the casserole dish. But sometimes it's worth the extra effort to just be careful and toss in the casserole dish itself so you don't have to clean another bowl. ;o)

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and delicious and you can smell Thanksgiving in your house.

Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

In case you didn't catch it, my friend MamaMentor left a recipe on the comments of my breakfast casserole. Looks like a yummy one. Who doesn't like potato chips as a topping? YUM!

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MamaMentor says: Here's my favorite breakfast casserole. We have it on Christmas and Easter and other special occasions!

Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

Butter a 9x13 pan, then line it with trimmed slices of bread. Layer with ham or cooked sausage, then grated cheese, then more bread.

Mix in blender and pour over:

6 eggs
1 green pepper, chopped
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3 cups milk
½ onion, chopped
Red and/or black pepper to taste

Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350˚. Meanwhile, melt 1 stick margarine and pour over casserole. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake 1 hour at 350˚. Makes 12 servings.

This casserole varies widely in character depending on your choice of meat, bread and cheese. Using good wholegrain bread makes it much heartier. You can use any kind of cheese, but we normally use sharp cheddar because we want it to taste cheesy!