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Apple Dumplings in Lemon sauce

Pie Crusts:

For Single Pie crust:

1 ½ cup flour                            

½ teaspoon salt

7 ½ Tablespoon shortening

2 ½ Tablespoon Ice water

For Double pie crust:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

15-16 Tablespoons shortening

5 Tablespoons ice water

Mix flour salt and shortening till you have a crumb mixture. Add ice water – mix by hand into a ball. If using Double crust recipe, divide in half after you mix the ingredients. Roll out bottom pie shell and put in pie plate. Add filling and then roll out remaining crust to top pie.

For apple Dumplings:

Peel and core apples. Roll out pie crust into circle. Divide in quarters. Wrap ¼ around apple. Place in low sided baking dish. Bake 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

For Lemon Sauce for apple dumpling, mix in small saucepan:
½ cup sugar

1 Tablespoon corn starch.

Add, stirring constantly,

1 cup boiling water

Boil 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Stir in:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 ½ Tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

And a pinch of salt.

Makes about  1 cup of lemon sauce for apple dumpling.

Here's a less homemade version of Apple Dumplings(ready made dough):

Chicken Cacciatore w/ Spaghetti

Ingredients:Vegetable oil

2 ½ pounds boned chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes

1 ½ Tablespoon flour

¾ cup dry white wine or chicken broth

4 Tablespoons butter

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

2 green bell peppers, cut into ½ inch strips

1 cup beef broth

1 garlic clove, pressed

6 ounces tomato paste

1 (35 oz.) diced Italian tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with garlic onion, & green pepper), undrained

¼ pound pepperoni, sliced

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon rosemary

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Pour enough oil into a large flame-roof casserole to cover the bottom. Add chicken and stir over high heat until browned. Sprinkle on flour. Continue stirring over high heat until flour is lightly browned. Pour on wine/chicken broth. Stir to release any cooked on meat particles and bring to a boil. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Add butter to the pan. Melt over medium heat, then add mushrooms, onions and peppers. Toss to coat. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook for 10  minutes or until the onions are tender.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Pour on beef broth. Stir in garlic and tomato paste. Add tomatoes, breaking them up. Add pepperoni. Blend in basil, oregano and rosemary. Return chicken and wine to the casserole and mix. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Stir in the parsley and cover the casserole. Place the covered casserole in a cool oven and set to 325 degrees. Bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Cook spaghetti and pour Chicken Cacciatore on top of spaghetti

Freeze leftovers! Still tastes great.

Another version of Chicken caccitorre (Click here for ingredients): 

A-Pizza-Teaser

This recipe is from: The Pampered Chef

1 (12 ounce) package refrigerated buttermilk flaky biscuits
Olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 ounce (1/4 cup) fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Separate biscuits in half horizontally to form 20 biscuits. On 13-inch Round Baking Stone, arrange six biscuits, with edges touching, in circle. Arrange remaining biscuits, edges touching, in another circle around center ring of biscuits. Gently press biscuits together with fingers to seal, leaving outside edges scalloped for petal effect. Using Kitchen Spritzer, lightly spray biscuits with oil.

Using Garlic Press, press garlic over biscuits; spread evenly. Using Food Chopper, chop tomato, green pepper and onion; sprinkle evenly over biscuits along with oregano and basil. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown; remove from oven. Using Deluxe Cheese Grater, immediately grate cheese over warm biscuits.

To serve, pull biscuits apart. 

Italian Herb Braid

INGREDIENTS:

6 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 envelope Fleishchmann’s quick rise yeast

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups water

½ cup milk

3 tablespoons shortening

1 tablespoon shortening, melted

1 tablespoon poppy seeds or additional dried herbs

DIRECTIONS:

Set aside 1 cup flour from total amount. 

In large bowl, combine remaining flour, sugar, salt, undissolved yeast, basil, oregano and thyme. 

Heat water, milk, and 3 tablespoons shortening until hot to touch, 125-130^oF.  Stir hot liquids into dry mixture.  Stir in enough reserved flour to make soft dough. 

Turn out onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. 

Cover; let rest 10 minutes.  Divide dough in half.  Divide one-half of dough into 3 equal pieces. 

Flatten each piece into a rectangle.  Roll each piece into a long strand the length of baking sheet, tapering the ends.  Place each strand on greased baking sheet and braid the 3 strands, pinching the tips of the braid together to seal.  Repeat with other half of dough. 

Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

Bake at 400^oF for 25 minutes or until done.  Brush with melted shortening; sprinkle with poppy seeds or dried herbs, if desired.  Remove from baking sheet; cool on wire racks.

Servings: 24; Yield: 2 braids; www.breadworld.com/index.html

"Grandma's Apron"

It's time for another Apples of Gold this Thursday!
AOG II remember to where an apron...
Louise will be discussing the topic of Submission!

Here's a little story I found on the internet
 & re-posted thinking you might enjoy as much as I do:

The History of ‘APRONS’ 
   I don’t think our  kids
 Know what an apron is.
 The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath,
because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses
and they used less material, but along with that,
it served as a potholder for removing
 Hot pans from the oven.

( My Granny-frying chicken)

  It was wonderful for drying children’s tears,
and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears..
     
 From the chicken coop,
The apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks,
and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

  When company came, those  aprons were ideal hiding places for shy  kids.
  And when the  weather
Was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.
  
 Those big old aprons  wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood  stove..
  Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that  apron.
 
 From the  garden,
It carried all sorts of vegetables. 
  After the peas had been  shelled, it carried out the hulls.
 
 In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

  When unexpected company  drove up the road,
it was surprising how much furniture that
 old apron could dust in a matter of  seconds.

 When dinner was ready,
Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron,
and the menfolks knew it was time to come In from the fields to  dinner.
  It will be a long time
Before someone invents something that will replace
that ‘old-time apron’ that served  so many purposes.
  
 Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma’s aprons..  REMEMBER:
  
 Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.
Her granddaughters set  theirs on the window sill 
  To  thaw.
  They would go crazy now  trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
   I never caught
Anything from an apron
     But  Love  

God is like our apron.  He protects us and keeps us out of the “heat” when we give our hearts to Him.  He wipes our tears away and he provides a hiding place for us within His strong embrace.  He carries us when we are weak.  He dusts us off and readies us for the eternal life that He  planned for us from the very beginning.  Like the apron, it can only protect the garment underneath if we are willing to wear it.  It won’t do any good if it is hanging on the hook.  We MUST pick it up, put it on, tie it tight and USE IT!   We must have willing hearts, and open arms that welcome God’s embrace and His divine protection.   

 Like the story says,

I never caught anything from God

BUT LOVE! 

I pray that you will receive it willingly!

The apple Orchard Outing...

Amazing pictures from Amy Stillings Photography: http://amystillingsphoto.blogspot.com/