Saturday, April 18, 2015

Pine-Apple Pear Crisp

Needs a small scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream!
Last week after celebrating Easter there were a few leftovers in the fridge.  What treasures!  I'd used the crushed Pineapple in a very old family fave recipe for Polish Cheesecake.  Triple Yum!  Now it's been weeks since I'd baked a Crisp, so the dessert with baked fruit that's topped with crunchiness was on my mind!  Yes, I'm back to peeling & slicing Apples!  All of the ingredients were on hand. No pun intended.  In addition to the Apples, I spied 2 Pears, so I was on my way.  We also had Vanilla Ice Cream in the freezer. 

Crushed drained Pineapple was added to the slices of Pears & Cortland Apples in my rose colored Pyrex baking dish.  Then, Craisins were sprinkled in.  They always add a great flavor to a Crisp.

While this dessert was baking the aroma of the sweet fruits was so yummy!  After it cooled we enjoyed digging our spoons into our servings.  Yes, a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream was on top. 
Pine-Apple Pear Crisp
is so good!

Pine-Apple Pear Crisp

Oven Temperature: 375°F
Time: 45 - 50 Minutes

Ingredients:
 4 - 5 peeled sliced large apples - I use McIntosh, Cortland
       &/or Empire apples
2 ripened Pears, peeled, cut into slices
8 ounces crushed Pineapple, drained
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/3 Cup + 1 Tablespoon softened Butter or Margarine
1/4 Cup Craisins

Method:
  1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2.  Spray PAM in 8" x 8" glass baking pan.
  3.  Rinse Apples & Pears under cold running water & dry.
  4.  Peel & slice Apples & Pears. 
  5.  Place peeled sliced Apples & Pears in pan. 
  6.  Add Craisins and mix in. 
  7.  Thoroughly mix remaining ingredients together in small bowl.
  8.  Sprinkle over apples. 
  9.  Bake 45- 50 Minutes or until Apples & Pears are tender. 
  10.  Serve warm or chilled with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. 
  11.  When cool, cover & refrigerate any leftovers.
Whenever I have extra crushed Pineapple, this will be my "go to" dessert!

Enjoy!
Yummy!
       

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Beefy Asparagus

Beefy Asparagus
There was a definite chill in the air yesterday.  Opening the fridge door before dinner suddenly I saw a container of cooked rice & asparagus.  Now, these could very easily be labelled leftovers from tasty dinners earlier in the week.  To me, they were the beginning of preparing last night's dinner. 

Asparagus is a treat at this time of year & we always enjoy it when it is available.  Rice is plain delicious!  Add in Plum Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, browned ground beef & suddenly I was heading to my Spice Rack.  While preparing this colorful dish, it smelled so good!  The grains of Rice became nestled between pieces of Asparagus & Tomatoes.  Before I knew it dinner was ready.  Beefy Asparagus tasted so good!

Beefy Asparagus

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. Ground Beef or Ground Turkey - browned
about 1 and 3/4 cups cooked Rice
6- 7 cooked Asparagus stalks, cut into pieces
(1) can (15- 20 ounces) Plum Tomatoes, drained- cut into quarters.
(1) can (15 ounces) Tomato Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Basil
1/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Method:
  1. Brown Ground Beef or Ground Turkey.  Drain.
  2. In Dutch Oven or large pot combine all ingredients.
  3. Heat about 25- 30 minutes, stirring often.
  4. Enjoy!
Serve with Feta Cheese sprinkled on top!

What looked like leftovers in my fridge suddenly became a delicious dinner- served along with a fruit salad!  Try it, you'll like it- if you like Asparagus!

Enjoy!
Yummy!
   

Saturday, April 4, 2015

~Happy Easter!~

A small amount of snow is still here.
A sight I've been patiently waiting for!  There's a path to our outdoor grill!  With the warmer temps &  sunshine these past couple of weeks and then a bit of rain, the snow in our yard has been disappearing.  Almost like magic!  However, our outdoor grill & deck were still surrounded by the white stuff!  Earlier this week Jim cleared a path to our grill.  The path got much larger.  Grilling on Easter Sunday sounded so good!  It's happening!  Woohoo!

Happy Easter!!!

Enjoy!