Pumpkin {Chocolate Chip} Bread

This recipe doesn't originally call for chocolate chips, but chocolate makes everything better, right?!?! I actually don't think it added much to this, it is soooooo good to begin with! But, if adding chocolate chips makes your kids {or your sweet tooth} happy, then by all means, add away! My mom enriched my life with this fall favorite, though the recipe only makes one loaf. That is simply not enough. Plus, it only calls for 1 cup of pumpkin. What are you supposed to do with half a can of pumpkin? So I've added the doubled amounts to the side of the ingredients{in case math wasn't your strong suit} and you can easily choose which way you want to go and not have anxiety over wasting that leftover pumpkin. You can just plan on doubling it and bring that extra loaf over to me. Thanks. **Warning** If you ever think you'd like to make this or any other pumpkin recipe at any time besides September- December, then it is imperative that you stock up on canned pumpkin NOW while it is still in stores for the season. If you forget, I have plenty! ;) ***Bonus Warning!*** You will totally pick at this all day. You've been warned.

1 1/2 C sugar (3 C)

1/2 C shortening (1 C)

1/2 C water (1 C)

1 C canned pumpkin (2 C or 1- 16 oz can)

2 eggs (4 eggs)

1 2/3 C flour (3 1/3 C)

3/4 tsp salt (1 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp soda (2 tsp)

1/2 tsp cloves (1 tsp)

1/2 tsp nutmeg (1 tsp)

1/2 tsp cinnamon (1 tsp)

1/2 tsp baking powder (1 tsp)

Mix all ingredients together. Spread in a greased and floured large loaf pan {for best results, line bottom of pan with wax paper}. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until knife clean. Makes one large or two small loaves.

Fried Rice

It is totally common for me to make WAY too much rice at my meals, store it in the fridge until it's WAY past its prime, then throw it away. Well, not this time! Bolstered by my mom's mention of making her own fried rice, I thought I'd give it a try myself! So, I checked out a couple recipes over at allrecipes.com, took what I liked from them and left out what I didn't and came up with this. I couldn't believe how much it tasted like the fried rice at Panda Express! Pair it with this Orange Chicken and your husband will be asking where the take-out boxes went! Now let's see if I can remember how it goes...

2-3 eggs {about 1 egg per 1-2 C rice, depending on how much you like egg!}

4-6 C cooked rice

1/4 tbsp canola, olive oil, or butter {I think I used margarine}

1 C peas and carrot frozen vegetable blend

2 tsp garlic

1/4 C soy sauce

Beat the eggs and cook in a large skillet until done; chop to desired size and set aside. Add the oil or butter and heat on medium high until hot or melted. Add the rice; saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the vegetables, saute another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, soy sauce and eggs for 2-3 minutes or until evenly heated. Serve immediately.

The beauty of this is you can add more or less of the things you want. You can even add different things to your taste, such as Green onions, celery, bacon, shrimp, chicken, ham, etc.

Easy Orange Chicken

Is it kinda sad that I obsess so much about food and do this group and have this blog, but really don't do any blog browsing of my own?? It's a good thing I follow my cousin's blog at www.sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com; I let them do all the time consuming work of finding great recipes and I just get to copy them, adjust them to taste and call them my own! They got it from Team T Adventures, in case you were wondering. I absolutely LOVE orange chicken! It's pretty much a guarantee anytime we go out for Chinese that one of us will get it and the rest will pick at it! This recipe was simple and seriously tastes as good as the restaurant- at least as good as you can get without adding all the unhealthy msg and fast food preservatives you'd get at certain fast food Chinese chain restaurants... I did have a few changes that I added at the bottom of the directions...

4 boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks
1/3 C flour
olive oil
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp ketchup
6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (3/4 C)
1/4 C brown sugar

In a small bowl, mix the salt, vinegar, ketchup, orange juice concentrate and brown sugar. Set aside. Pour the flour in a separate bowl. Coat the chicken in the flour and shake off the excess. Pour a small amount of olive oil {about 1-2 tbsp} in a skillet and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. {It doesn't need to be fully cooked if you put it in the crock pot. Directions are included for both crock pot and oven}

Place the chicken in a crock pot and cover with the orange concentrate mixture; stir lightly. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3. Serve with boring old rice, or this way more exciting, tasty and simple fried rice! Panda Express, eat your heart out!

~OR~
I found the chicken got a little dried out going this route, so either make sure the chicken is under cooked before putting it in the crock pot or don't leave it in as long. If you are unsure, taste test a piece after 2-3 hours. Then again, and again, but leave some for the family!

Next time I do this, I'd fry the chicken as directed, but until just cooked through then toss in a large bowl with the orange concentrate mixture. Spread in a single layer on a baking pan and bake for 10-15 minutes or until evenly heated.

Yummy Oreo Dessert Graveyard

As much as I love a cute themed food, I have a REALLY hard time spending a bunch of time on something that looks great and tastes just ok only to have it demolished immediately! So, I just kinda took one of my favorite recipes that I knew would taste good and decorated accordingly!
The dessert is like a layered ice cream sundae for a group. One of my personal favorites that I have a REALLY hard time staying out of when it's in my freezer.

Dessert:
1 pkg oreos
1 jar hot fudge sauce
1 carton (1 1/2- 2 qt) ice cream, slightly softened {my fav is mint chip, but vanilla is what it originally calls for}
1 carton Cool Whip

Crush the Oreo's {I use my food processor} and cover the bottom of a 9x13" pan with half the Oreo's. Cut the ice cream into 1" slices and place on top of the cookie crumbs. Warm the fudge sauce according to package directions and spread on top of the ice cream. Spread the Cool Whip over that. Sprinkle with remaining Oreo crumbs. Freeze for 3-4 hours or until frozen through.

Graveyard decorations:
Tombstones: I just used graham crackers that I'd crumbled off the corners to round them out then used a toothpick to write RIP on some with frosting. I had cinnamon graham crackers so, I alternated the cinnamon side and plain sides for variety.

Ghosts: The two ghosts in the front are blobs of cool whip with chocolate chips for eyes. M&M's would work well, too. The ghost in the back is a Dum Dum sucker with 2 pieces of toilet paper (CLEAN!!) tied with a ribbon and a face drawn in.

Gummy worms at random always add an instant element of Halloween.

The Fence: Pull-a-part licorice held together with toothpicks.

Red Velvet Cupcake Eyeballs

I'm sure I've seen this idea a hundred times, though no particular one prompted these cupcakes. It's not a new idea, by any means, but I've added an extra dose of macabre by making them on red velvet cupcakes. That way, if the eyeballs aren't scary enough, the way your kids look after eating them will be! Case in point:

The bath tub looked like a crime scene after this! As if that weren't enough, this is by far my favorite red velvet recipe with a yummy cream cheese icing and surprise filling. Also makes an excellent valentines day treat- minus the optical orb.

CUPCAKES:

1 pkg red velvet cake mix, plus ingredients as called for on box

1 (3.9 oz) pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 C butter or margarine, softened

1 pkg (16 oz) powdered sugar (about 4 cups)

1 C thawed Cool Whip

Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 24 cupcakes, blending dry pudding mix into batter before spooning into muffin cups lined with cupcake paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Cool. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make a hole in the top of each cupcake.

Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with a mixer until well blended. Gradually beat in sugar. Whisk in cool whip. Spoon 1 1/2 C into sandwich or qt sized Ziploc bag; seal bag. Cut small corner off bottom of bag. Insert tip of bag into the holes on the cupcakes and pipe about 1 tbsp frosting into center of cupcake. Frost cupcakes with remaining frosting.

EYEBALLS:
I used LifeSaver gummies for the irises and upside down chocolate chips for the pupils. I used decorating frosting to pipe the veins.

Valentines day:

Top with shaved white chocolate curls or sprinkle red decorating sugar over a stencil to make a heart.

Grandpa's Cheese Ball

This cheese ball comes from my dearest grandpa. Every year, he'd make this at Christmas time and it became a staple. Now he's passed on and I can't think appetizer without thinking of this, and I can't think of this without thinking fondly of my grandpa. I've decided this cheeseball is an embodiment of all the best things about him. It is a little sweet, soft, a little unexpected, and absolutely nutty! Actually, the nuts are very mild pecans. Grandpa was much nuttier! Anyway, here it is: My favorite appetizer from my favorite grandpa!

2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
2 C pecans, chopped and divided
1/4 C green bell peppers, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp onions, chopped
1 tsp seasoning salt

Stir all ingredients together, reserving 1 C pecans. Chill well. Form into 1 large or 2 small balls; roll in remaining pecans. Wrap tightly and chill until serving.

Artichoke Dip

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Kristen, but hadn't tried it out before. I LOVE artichoke dip as an appetizer when we go out to eat, but haven't found a homemade recipe I like. I thought I would give this a shot! It was pretty tasty, but I think next time I'd decrease the amount of miracle whip and maybe up the mozzarella a bit. Thanks for being my hand model, Trina! And don't kill me for this:
hehehe....

2 cans artichokes
1 C mozzarella
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 C Parmesan cheese
1 C mayo
1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix and put in a casserole dish, sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with chips, crackers, celery sticks, warm pita bread, or toasted baguettes.

Lemon Chicken

I've been on kind of a Chinese kick lately, which is strange, because that's one category I'm not typically crazy about attempting at home! But, I'm glad I'm reaching out, because I'm finding some good stuff! Like this. I love the gooey glaze of this makes it kinda taste breaded and fried, but so much easier than actually breading and frying!

Marinade:
1 tsp flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut to bite size

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add soy sauce and beaten egg. Add chicken and marinate up to 24 hours.

1 carrot, thinly sliced {or a cup or two of baby carrots, sliced lengthwise into quarters}
1-2 tbsp oil

Saute chicken in vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes. Add carrots and continue to stir fry until chicken is no longer pink.

Lemon sauce:
3 tbsp sugar {actually, my recipe doesn't say tsp or tbsp or cups... I put 1 tbsp sugar in, but could have done more or less and it still would have been good!}
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water

Combine all ingredients for lemon sauce. Add to chicken and cook until thickened. Serve over steamed rice.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I love that it's been cool enough for these great warm and hearty recipes! Even if it is supposed to be in the 100's again next week... Blah. Despite that, I love THIS!!! Trina mentioned that she was looking for a good broccoli cheese soup recipe, and this one from my mom is fanTASTIC!! Particularly when it's pouring out of a bread bowl {recipe here}. It makes nearly a bajillion servings, but I never freeze any, because it's even good enough for leftovers, over and over! Just be sure to use a large enough pot!

10 cubes chicken bullion
8 potatoes, peeled and cubed {I actually like to leave the peel on- can't taste it and is packed with nutrients!}
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 C celery, chopped
2 bunches broccoli, chopped
1 C margarine
1 C flour
2 qts milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 (16 oz) jar cheese whiz

Boil onion, celery and bullion cubes in 3 qts water for 20 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Boil 10 more minutes. Heat milk and butter in microwave until butter melts. Stir in salt and garlic. Add flour and stir with whisk until smooth. Pour into vegetables, stir and cook until thickened. Add cheese whiz, stir until smooth. Pour into vegetables, stir and cook until thickened. Add cheese whiz, stir until smooth.

*** For those of you who don't like a lot of vegetables, {*AHEM* Trina! ;)}, reduce the veggies you don't like and beef up on others! I usually add a can of corn- regular or creamed.

***Also good with 1/2 lb of bacon, cooked and crumbled.

Easy Fruit and Cream Cheese Danish

I am loving following my cousin's blog- http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/! They recently posted this tasty recipe, though it looked SOO much better in the picture. It was quite lumpy when I made it, but it tasted AMAZING! Here's the original recipe{and the much more attractive picture!}. I was just gripping about trying to find a decent danish recipe and I love the slight cheating of using crescent roll dough for that soft, flaky wrap around a creamy and fruity filling. The filling could be awesome in the Drop Danish that I was griping in! This will be a regular special breakfast around here more often!

1 tube crescent roll dough {I really think the filling would fill 2 tubes worth...}

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 C fresh fruit or pie filling {originally calls for blackberry, but we relished the apple I used}

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla. Set aside. Pop open crescent roll dough and unroll, leaving crescents in rectangles. On an ungreased baking sheet, lay the crescent roll rectangles together, lining them up width wise. Dough should be almost the entire length of a half sheet pan. Press edges together to even out edges and seal any holes. Cut 1/2" diagonal strips up each side of the dough. Carefully spread cream cheese filling down the center of the dough to be about 2-3 inches wide. Top with fruit. Fold 1/2" dough pieces up over filling alternating sides to get a braided pattern. You may have excess dough once you reach the end of the danish, so fold it in as best you can. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until filling is set and crescent dough is golden.

Icing:

1/2 C powdered sugar

2 tbsp heavy cream {I used 1% milk, cause it's what I had, then used a little extra powdered sugar to thicken it up}

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Cool before removing from baking sheet. Once danish is cooled, remove to serving platter. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, cream {or milk} and vanilla to create icing. You may need to add more cream/milk or powdered sugar to get the desired consistency. Drizzle icing over danish. Cut into pieces and serve.

Shepards Pie

My mom used to make snowy mountain casserole and it wasn't until recently that I learned that the rest of the world called it Shepard's pie! So, I found a little twist on my mom's classic and even though I didn't think it was possible, it was even better! Again, a slight mixture of Mom's recipe and the one I'd found from Kraft.
1 lb ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1/2 pkg frozen mixed vegetables ( I like the peas and carrots variety)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp dried onion
6-8 servings mashed potatoes
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 C cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in large skillet. Stir in soup, vegetables, salt and pepper and diced onion. Spoon into 2 1/2 qt casserole dish. Prepare mashed potatoes. Stir in cream cheese, 1/2 C cheddar cheese and garlic salt. Spoon over beef mixture and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Harvest Maple Pork Loin Roast

My darling hubby had commented on the frequency of ground beef and chicken in our house, so when I saw an awesome deal on pork loin, I snagged it! Then... I didn't have a great recipe for a pork loin. So, I found some yummy sounding recipes and merged them into this. It was perfect for the cool spell that has me yearning for fall. Warm, robust maple glaze with a side of apple and brown sugar stuffing. Hubby has proclaimed this the new meal for holidays around here! This would be the easiest holiday meal EVER! Now lets see if I can remember how I made it...

1 apple, chopped (I used Granny Smith)
1 sm onion
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 C water
1/4 C plus 2 tbps maple
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken

1 (2-6 lbs) pork loin roast

3/4 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper

Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add apples and onion, cook and stir 3 minutes or until crisp tender. Add water, 1/4 C maple and stuffing mix; cover. Let stand 5 minutes, mix lightly. Place pork loin in a roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray (or 9x13" pan if you are like me and don't have a roasting pan. Sad, I know!) and spoon stuffing mix along sides of loin. Bake 1 hour. Mix 2 tbsp maple and remaining ingredients; brush over roast, drizzle any remaining mix over stuffing. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until cooked through (160 degrees). Let stand 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

Sweet and Sour Pork or chicken or meatballs

This has been hanging out in my 'magical cookbook' for some time, but I didn't really remember it, so I hadn't made it before. I thought I'd give it a try one night when I had LOADS of leftover pork from Harvest Maple Pork loin. It originally calls for meatballs, but pork or battered chicken would be equally delicious! If you wanna try the meatball version, the recipe for the meatballs is after the sauce. Just as good as any Chinese restaurant I've been to! I love the sweet and tangy combination of flavors in this and won't be ignoring this recipe any more!

1/4 C cider vinegar
3/4 C beef bouillon
1 tbsp catsup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1/4 C brown sugar
1 (10 oz) can pineapple chunks or tidbits
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 C green bell peppers, cut in strips
6 maraschino cherries, halved

Mix first 6 sauce ingredients and juice from pineapple in bowl, pour into frying pan, simmer. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 C water, stir into simmering sauce. Boil, stirring until thick and transparent. Add meatballs, pork or chicken, pineapples, green peppers and cherries. Simmer until heated through. Serve over hot rice.

Meatballs:
1 slice white bread
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 6 oz can water chestnuts, diced and drained

Stir together meatball ingredients, shape into 1 1/2" balls. Brown in hot oil, remove from pan when brown, set aside to prepare sauce.

Goulash

My mom grew up on this recipe, as did I, as will my children. It is a sweet, barbecue flavored, very kid friendly meal that throws together quickly and easily. It even tastes great as a leftover- a rare quality!

3/4 lb ground beef
2 1/2 C elbow macaroni noodles (I didn't have any on hand, so obviously, that one is flexible)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can tomato soup
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans water
1/4 C onions, chopped
1/8 C green bell peppers, chopped (optional)
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C catsup
salt and pepper
1 C frozen corn

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Stir in remaining ingredients except corn. Cover and simmer until macaroni is soft. Stir in corn, cook 5 more minutes.

Drop Danish

Ya know how it's impossible to get good pastries at home? Why is it that every bakery from here to Timbuktu can have these light, fluffy pastries just taunting you, but they cannot be duplicated at home??? Well, this may not be light and fluffy, but it will certainly give those evil tempters a run for their money! Sweet, crumbly danishes with jam centers all covered in a sugary glaze. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me so well- Sugar to start my day right!

1/4 C butter
2 tbsp sugar
2 C Bisquick
2/3 C milk
1/4 C jam
2/3 C powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk

Cut butter into Bisquick and sugar until crumbly. Stir in 2/3 C milk until dough forms. Beat 15 strokes. Drop 2" apart onto slightly greased cookie sheet. Make a dent in the top of each with a spoon and fill with 1 tbsp jam. Bake until golden; 10-15 minutes. Stir powdered sugar and 1 tbsp milk together, drizzle over warm rolls. Serve warm.

*Strawberry or blueberry cream cheese spreads are a tasty alternative to jam.

Peppermint Poke Cake

Chocolate is a miracle drug. Seriously, is there a better band-aid in all the world? Sure, it may not fix any problems, but it sure does help you feel better faster! This cake is like one giant, gooey york peppermint patty first-aid kit that will have you eating right out of the pan and back on cloud nine. Not that I've been there... this afternoon... The white you see in the cake is a minty white chocolate pudding that seeps all throughout the cake making it super ooey-gooey-lick-the-plate-clean good! Plus, yet again, easy peasy! From the back of a cake mix box years ago:

1 box double fudge or Devil's food cake
2 C milk
1 (6 oz) box instant white chocolate pudding ***
1 can (12-16 oz) whipped milk chocolate frosting
1 1/2 tsp peppermint flavoring, divided
Chocolate covered mint candies, chopped

Make cake in 9x13" pan as directed on box. Let cool 15 minutes. Poke holes every 1/4- 1/2" with the handle of a wooden spoon. Mix milk, pudding and 1 tsp peppermint and slowly pour over top of cake. Refrigerate 2 hours. Mix 1/2 tsp peppermint into frosting and carefully spread over cold cake. Sprinkle with chopped candy pieces. Serve with a shovel. Keep refrigerated.

*** I had a hard time finding a 6 oz box of white chocolate pudding, so I used two 3.8{ish} oz boxes. IF you do this, be sure to up the milk to 2 1/2 C milk or the pudding mixture will be too thick to pour into the holes and instead you'll end up with a layer on top of the cake. Again, allow my experience to be your lesson!

Samoa Brownies

These brownies were featured on my cousins' blog Sixsistersstuff and I'd been dying to try it. Ya know those tasty Samoa Girl Scout cookies? They are Hubbs favorite, so I was excited to try it for him. It was a super simple recipe and should have been cake to make, but that's not my style! It was a disaster from the beginning! I thought I had everything I needed and I was so wrong. I didn't have brownie mix, like it called for, so I just made some from scratch- about 3 times more effort! Then I realized that I needed 2 bags of caramel and I only had one! Blah. But by now, I was committed, so I pulled out my recipe for homemade caramel. Except that called for Karo syrup. Which I also did not have. Two seconds from giving up, I found another caramel recipe that says you can substitute honey for the Karo. Like I said. Disaster. Finally, we made everything that didn't need to be home made and put it all together with the substitute ingredients... Blah. Anyway, I was so frustrated I'm not even going to repost the recipe. I'm just going to give you the link here. It was rich and chewy and oh, so good, but I'm betting it would be even better had it been done right! I'm not giving up on you, Samoa's!!

Spinach Salad

In my opinion, spinach totally deserves the bad wrap it's gotten. I know I've had a few recipes with it, but they are exceptions to an otherwise sound rule. So is this one. In fact, I am surprised at how much we LOVE this salad. It's our go-to when we are in charge of salad for get-togethers. But it is mandatory to serve with Poppyseed dressing. The tart cranberries, sharp mozzarella, bitter leaves and salty bacon are an incredible mix of flavors and textures. Plus, other than the bacon, it's SUUUPPPPERRR healthy!

1 bag/container baby spring mix salad
1 bag/container Spinach salad{or you can sometimes find a 50/50 mix which is the two already combined}
1 pkg bacon, cooked and crumbled {I usually use turkey bacon- cheaper, healthier and I actually prefer the taste}
4-6 pieces of string cheese, chopped or mozzarella, cubed
1- 1 1/2 C cranberries
1- 1 1/2 C almonds {not pictured...}

Place half the salad in a bowl, sprinkle with half of each of the toppings. Repeat. Serve with poppy seed dressing {my fav is Brianna's Home style with the picture of a peach on it...}.

Warm Spiced Cider

I forgot to get a picture of this, so sorry. And sorry to anyone who tried this at the exchange- it was terrible! I think it was the cider I used as a base... BUT I promise, it really is a DELICIOUS recipe! Usually. When we lived in Utah and snow wasn't unheard of for Halloween, we used to have a little bonfire in our drive way with this cider for the kids{and parents}. I think people would be as excited for the drink and chance to warm up by the fire as they would be for the candy. Now that it's 85 degrees for us on Halloween, we might have to switch drinks!

1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
3 sticks cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1 gallon apple cider

Place salt, spices and brown sugar on a square of clean, white cotton fabric. Pull up edges and tie with string to form a bag. Simmer bag in cider for at least 20 minutes.

My hubby likes to add a few orange slices to this...

Caramel Apple (Nachos)

We LOVE caramel apples around here. LOVE. So when I saw a few different ideas for them, I combined them to this amazing new tradition! The thought behind doing it like nachos was that it would be less messy for kids. I think it just moves the mess from your face to your fingers! But it sure is easier to serve up!

Caramel:

1 bag Kraft caramels

1 tbsp milk

Unwrap caramels and place in a microwave safe bowl with milk. Microwave on high for 1 minute then stir. Microwave an additional minute or until caramel is smooth.

White Chocolate :

6 oz white chocolate or white candy coating

Microwave on high 30 seconds, stir, microwave an additional 30 seconds or until smooth.

Chocolate:

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

1 tbsp shortening

Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave an additional 30 seconds or until smooth.

For Nachos:

Wash and dry 4-6 Granny Smith apples. Core, slice, then arrange them on a platter. Drizzle toppings over apples slices making sure to get each slice. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar{ I usually do about two to three parts sugar, one part cinnamon}.

For Dipped apples:
Wash and dry{or the toppings won't stick} 4-6 Granny Smith apples. Dip in melted caramel then spin slowly over the bowl allowing the caramel to cool on the apple a bit. Place on a piece of waxed paper and allow to set in the fridge while you prepare the white chocolate layer. Carefully remove from the waxed paper by twisting. Dip in the white chocolate, again twisting over the bowl until it stops dripping. Place on clean waxed paper. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Allow to cool and set while preparing chocolate. Drizzle chocolate over the white chocolate and cool.