Red Hot Apples Comin’ at Ya!

Posted on September 10, 2014 by D Schnare

Have you tried our first baked apple recipe? Every bite of it tastes like fall, doesn’t it? If you’ve tried it you’ll also know that it was super simple to assemble and bake. In fact, you were probably thinking, “Wow, this was super simple and the presentation is beautiful.” Or, “Wow, this is what September tastes like.” Or, if you’re like me, you were thinking, “Nom, nom, nom…it’s gone already?!” (Obviously my level of sophistication exceeds that of many.)

For those of you who haven’t tried that baked apple and are feeling a bit green with envy that we’ve all taken a bite out of September and you haven’t, then in the words of Smokey the Bear, “Only you can solve that problem.” Perhaps that was my fourth grade teacher….

In any event… Here are two more delicious apple baking recipes for you to savor in our fabulous apple bakers!

Red Hot Apple:

You need one large apple and a handful of those spicy little red hot candies

Begin by coring your apple and cutting off the skin around the top of the apple. Place your apple on the spoke of your handy little apple baker.

The second step is very simple: drop as many of those red hot candies into the center of the apple as possible and then let them mound on top.

Bake your apple for 20-30 mins at 350. Pull it out when the apple seems done and the red hot candies are melted. ** We used larger red hots and they didn’t melt as quickly. This would probably work best with the smaller red hots. However, it did not have a negative impact on the taste of the apple. **

This apple has a similar flavor to a candied apple.

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Apple Praline:

One large baking apple

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons pecan pieces

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

a few drops of vanilla

Core your apple, cut off skin around the top of the apple.

Melt your butter and combine with your brown sugar, cinnamon, drops of vanilla and most of your pecans. Pack the mixture into the center of your apple and let it mound on top of the apple. Place extra pecans on top of brown sugar mixture.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 mins.

** If you don’t want the pecans to get too brown you can cover your baker with foil.

New Favorite Things

Posted on September 7, 2014 by D Schnare

Making a piece that is aesthetically pleasing is a task. Making a piece that is functional is also a task. Making a dish that possesses both qualities can be a challenge. That is my challenge. I was thrilled last spring when a friend helped me get in touch with Miss Ruth from Conservatism and Bacon. Miss Ruth had some interest in pottery from DowntoEarthenware. I am always looking for people willing to try out my baking ware for critique so I know what it can do, what its limitations are and how I can improve the design and functionality. Miss Ruth was willing to field test a few of the apple bakers and some medium sized baking dishes. Check out her review of DowntoEarthenware at New Favorite Things by Miss Ruth and then visit our Etsy store so you can bake like Miss Ruth! And while you’re at it – go ahead and follow her blog – it’s worth it!

From The Kitchen And On The Road

I love to cook. And I love to bake. If you follow any of my social media (this blog included) you know this already. If I’m not following politics I’m probably in my kitchen throwing random ingredients together in an attempt to either fully destroy my kitchen or create another drool-worthy masterpiece. Part of the what makes the whole process a success is the right cookware. And I’ve sorely been lacking in that area since having to sell off all my original cook- and bakeware. I’m super picky about my pieces and want each one to be multi-functioning and worth the price, material, time, etc, which is probably the biggest reason I’m STILL working on my collection.

Well, this chick is three pieces closer to her dream kitchen thanks to a small company called DowntoEarthenware. The owner and earthenware creator extraordinaire, Zach Schnare, is based out of the tiny…

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The Apple Baker – Traditional with Oats

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Z Schnare

Hel-lo September!

September brings fall and fall brings apples. If you have the opportunity to pick apples at a local orchard, I suggest you take it! Apples are easy to pick and always taste the best right off of the tree. We took the family out to a local orchard recently and picked our favorite apples: Honey crisp. We have been experimenting with our apple bakers and the honey crisp apples.

What’s so great about an apple baker?

Easy for single-serving dessert
Easy clean up – your apple treat won’t stick to the baker!
Lends itself to versatility – experiment with toppings quickly and easily
Small bakers take up less space for easy storage
Dessert presentation is appealing
It’s not just for apples! You can even use it to bake sweet potatoes or white potatoes.

For this recipe I just made a traditional apple crisp topping. This is very simple and requires little, if any, culinary experience.

1 large apple,oats, coconut, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon

Begin by coring your apple, cutting out a cylinder from the middle of your apple. Once the core is removed, cut off the skin around the top of the apple. It works well to then cut around the hole, angling your knife toward the center of the apple. This makes a great platform to hold all of the delicious goodness you plan on cramming into your apple.

Melt your butter, combine with remaining ingredients. {Take the most flattering picture possible of your hand mixing the ingredients. You’ll say, “Wow, my hand never looked so good!” I’m sure your hand looks lovely, perhaps graceful, mixing crisp topping, but my hand looks like a giant, meaty, mangling, monster hand! } Using your hand, put mixture into center of apple. Be sure to pack it in there tightly. It won’t take long and the center will be filled and that’s when you get to pile it and pack it firmly on top of the apple.

Pour 1 teaspoon of water into the bottom of the apple baker and place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. It’s easiest to eat it right out of the dish. It’s tastiest to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream before eating it out of the dish!

And now you’re dying to try your own baked apple! Get your own apple baker here! Keep your eyes open – we’ll post more baked apple recipes in the coming days and weeks!

Baked Apple with Crisp Topping:

1 large baking apple, cored

2 Tablespoons rolled oats

1 Tablespoon coconut flakes

1Tablespoon brown sugar

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Core apple all the way through and place on spoke of apple baker. In separate small bowl melt butter. Combine melted butter with oats, coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon. Place the mixture into the apple, packing tightly. Let mixture mound on top of apple. Put 1 teaspoon water in bottom of apple baker and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve as is or with a scoop of ice cream!

Clean Crustless Egg Casserole

Posted on August 30, 2014 by D Schnare

Beautiful Ceramic Baking Dish

This breakfast dish has quickly become a family favorite. It’s great because it’s versatile, high in protein, and convenient! It makes a delicious, nutritious hot breakfast a breeze on a hectic school morning. You know those mornings. The mornings when the kids are off-task (because organizing Rainbow Loom bands must be done at 6:47am), their socks don’t match (which, thankfully, is the trend these days), the permission slip that you signed yesterday went AWOL and it’s due today, and while scrubbing those pearly whites your daughter ends up with toothpaste slobber on her school shirt and now you have to rummage through the laundry pile (five loads, none folded) because if you try to get a new shirt from her room you’ll wake the toddler and no one wants to wake this toddler! Or maybe that’s just our mornings…

Back to the point of the post.

This dish serves 4-6 depending on the appetites you’re feeding and if you offer fresh fruit or toast or any other sides. I am using our large baking dish that easily accommodates a dozen eggs. We also have a smaller baking dish available that is great for 6-8 eggs.

Ingredients needed:

Start by browning your breakfast sausage. I use one pound of Jimmy Dean All Natural Regular Pork Sausage because it is MSG free, nitrate/nitrite free, and phosphate free. (Plus it’s gluten free, which matters to some.) Yes, organic would be preferred, unfortunately that’s not in the budget this week.

Brown Sausage in a small to medium pot on the stove.

Be sure to drain off the fat or let the sausage rest on paper towel to absorb the grease. To be thrifty, put half of the browned sausage in a baggie and throw it in the freezer for later.

I get my eggs from a local farm on a weekly basis. Not only are they beautiful, but they have a deliciously rich flavor.

I have found that 12 eggs is ideal for our family, but you can use 8-6 if you don’t need quite as much. Beat your eggs and add milk.

I’m not big measuring, I just pour some in until it looks pretty good. Around 1/2 – 3/4 cup organic whole milk.

After you beat the eggs and milk so they’re fluffy, toss in 1/4 cup-ish grated cheese. We change it up around here, which is mostly due to what I have on hand. Some days I use cheddar, other days it’s been mozzarella and parmesan. For a great kick add pepper jack cheese!

Next add 1 1/2 cups torn baby spinach. If you’re cooking with the kids this is a fun thing for them to be doing. While you’re busy beating eggs your little helper can be tearing baby spinach leaves. It doesn’t have to be extra tiny or sliced or all the same size. Just let the kids grab a few leaves and rip them up a couple times.

At any point you can add your sausage and salt and pepper to taste. Which, really is an odd thing to say. After all, who is going to add some salt and pepper to raw egg soup, stick their finger in and taste it. Really? Don’t do that. Just add some. and then add more after it bakes if it wasn’t enough.

This is where our additions end because of the taste preferences of our 5 minions. If you’re minion-free or have minions with different taste preferences you could add even more deliciousness to this dish, such as fresh mushrooms, diced bell pepper, broccoli, chunks of ham, onion, kale, etc. Have fun with it. Get creative. Throw in anything you like! (Just don’t tell the kids until after they have eaten it!)

Before I pour my egg mixture into my baking dish, I spritz the dish with grapeseed oil. You could use Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil or even butter I suppose. I have made this several times before in a glass baking dish and in Corningware.** If you are preparing this the night before and don’t want to bake it until the morning then you can cover your dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.

I bake mine in my convection oven at 350 for 40 minutes. I honestly don’t know if it takes longer to bake in a conventional oven. Just be sure that the egg in the middle is completely cooked before you serve and enjoy!

** Note about this bakeware: I have made this several times before in a glass baking dish and in Corningware. The eggs stuck to both of those dishes regardless of how well I oiled the pan. The casserole baked in the DowntoEarthenware Baking Dish was extremely easy to cut and came our without any of the egg sticking. Beautiful results!

Check out this style of baking dish on Etsy

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Tag Archives: Recipe

Red Hot Apples Comin’ at Ya!

New Favorite Things

The Apple Baker – Traditional with Oats

Clean Crustless Egg Casserole