Crock Pot Apple Butter

I have to tell you first off, again, this is NOT my recipe but I found it on pinterest (blog information is at the bottom of the post) and tried it out and LOVED it... so I wanted to post it.  It was EASY!1  and it is very yummy.  If you haven't been able to tell already, I'm all about easy!

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Makes a little more than 1 pint

1 dozen apples, peeled, cored, cubed

1/2 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon All Spice

Step 1:

Peel, Core, and Chop a dozen apples. I used green apples from a neighbors yard and I also used about 14 apples instead of just 12.  I peeled them and used my apple cutter to cut them and then cut them in slices.  Made for quick work!

Step 2:

Toss the apples in the sugar and spices.

Step 3:

Put everything in the Crockpot, let it cook.

I cooked it on high for about 4-5 hours…. it cooked down quite a bit.  I am wishing now that I did more since my apples only made one bottle of apple butter

Step 4:

This is optional but I blended it down like the recipe on pinterest told me to and I am happy I did... it tastes and looks awesome!

Yay, for easy recipes.  This is an awesome one and I am glad I found it.  Thanks to Allison Shaw at http://changingmydestiny.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/crockpot-apple-butter/  can't wait to try out the pumpkin butter.  Everyone should stop by her blog and check it out!

Simple and EXTREMELY delicious Salads

Jenny Townsend Salad.  

This is my most favorite salad in the world!  

I can eat this salad until I die of over eating, it is the best!!!

This recipe does require a little thought because you have to prepare the dressing 3 hours, at least, before you are ready to serve it.  BUT it is SIMPLE and takes minutes to do.

I'm going to try to post picture with my recipes but I'm also going to be trying new ones... first time cooking some recipes so I'm not sure how well I will do with the pictures but I promise to give honest reviews of its ease and taste.  Remember... I won't have accurate timing on meals because no matter what my griddle will take probably double the time it takes to cook on  a normal stove.

Ingredients:

2 heads of romaine lettuce

 2 Cups grape tomatoes cut in quarters

1/4- 1/2 lb. crumbled bacon (I often use turkey beacon because it is not as fattening and don't feel like it changes the taste too much.  That is up to you)

2/3 c. toasted almonds

1 c. Grated Swiss Cheese

1/3 c. Parmesan Cheese

 1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

Dressing:

(make 3 hours in advance)

3/4 c Olive  or vegetable oil (I prefer  olive oil but it doesn't matter at all)

Juice of one lemon

3 cloves of garlic, minced well (no one wants to eat huge chunks of garlic)

Directions: :)

 Mix the ingredients how  you want but ....  I cut the middle out of the leaves and throw them out.  Then, cut the leaves to the size I want.  I think the rest is pretty self explanatory.  If you want to broil the almonds it is quicker but they will burn fast if you aren't watching them.  Just watch until they are a light golden brown.    I never mix my dressing into the salad until right before we serve it... that is just my preference though.

I don't think this would feed more than 5-10 people.  I usually always try to double this because it gets eaten so fast it just seems that there is never enough.

I hope you like it and if you don't that is ok because I LOVE IT  ;)!!!

Another Simple and delicious Salad

I can't stop eating this!

I can not take credit for this salad recipe.  I stole it from a friend who also has a blog you should check out (www.snowdelicious.blogspot.com)  BUT it was too good not to post about.  

3/4 lb sliced mushrooms
2-3 bunches of spinach
3/4 lb grated Swiss cheese
1 c. drained and rinsed cottage cheese
1 small head iceberg lettuce
1/2 lb crisped and crumbled bacon

Combine and toss with the following dressing just before serving:

1 1/2 t. poppy seeds
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
1 purple onion, thinly sliced
3/4 c. vinegar
1 1/2 c oil
3/4 t. dry mustard

Make ahead of time. Stir before putting on salad. This makes a lot of dressing, more than you need for a single batch of salad. Enjoy!