Apple Nachos

3 granny smith apples (sliced)

3 red delicious apples (sliced)

1/2 cup chocolate caramel sauce (I used this recipe but when it didn't thicken up at all, I threw in some milk chocolate chips and stirred them in. You could easily used bought chocolate or caramel sauce)

2 tbsp slivered almonds

1 tbsp Epicure selections Vanilla sprinkles

1 tbsp Epicure selections Chocolate sprinkles

1 hand full of M&Ms (I used limited edition cherry ones)

Place apple slices on a platter. Pour on sauce and add desired toppings. Serve immediately to hungry blogger friends.

Pear, Brie, and Fig Quesadillas

Ingredients:

1/2 wheel brie cheese

1 firm pear, cored and chopped (peeled if desired)

6-8 dried figs (I used mission figs bought in the produce section), chopped with scissors

2 flour tortillas

Directions: 

Place thin slices of brie cheese (leave rind on if desired) on 1 half of flour tortilla. Top with pear and fig pieces. Cover with additional thin brie cheese. Fold tortilla over and place in a frying pan at medium-low heat, cover and cook on one side until golden. Flip carefully and then cook on the other side. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut into wedges and serve. 

Whole Wheat Ham and Cheese Calzones

Ingredients

CRUST

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon molasses

FILLING

• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 2 tablespoons bulgur (buy as much as you need from a bulk food store)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce1 tsp oregano
• 1 cup diced deli ham (honey maple is my favourite!)
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. For the Crust: Measure the first 6 ingredients into a large bowl. Stir. Make small indentation in the middle.
2. Combine next 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add to middle of dry mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead 8-10 times.
3. For the Filling: Combine boiling water and bulgur in small heatproof bowl. Let stand for about 20 minutes until bulgur is softened.
4. Add remaining 3 ingredients. Stir. Divide into 8-12 equal portions.
5. Shape portions into balls. Roll out 1 portion to form an 3-4 inch diameter circle. Place about 3 tbsp of filling on half of circle, leaving 1 inch edge. Fold dough in half over filling.
   
   6. Press edges to seal.
   7. Carefully transfer to greased baking sheet. Poke with a fork in top two times to allow steam to escape.
   8. Repeat with remaining dough portions and filling. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for about 10-15 minutes until golden.
   9. Makes 8-12 calzones.
   10. To freeze: allow to cool completely and then transfer to a large labeled ziploc bag. To serve: microwave or bake until fully reheated.
   
   
   

Copy Cat "Tall Grass Prairie" Cinnamon Buns

Buns:

5 cups warm water

1/2 cup brown sugar

9 tsp yeast

3/4 cup oil

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

8 cups white flour

In a large bowl, add water, yeast, and brown sugar and let sit for 10 minutes. Add oil, salt, and eggs and mix well. Add flour, a small amount at a time and mix into a smooth dough. Set aside and let rise for 1 hour. Divide into 2 pieces and roll each piece into a large dough rectangle.

Filling

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp flour

margarine (for spreading)

Mix brown sugar and spices together and then blend in flour. Spread a thin layer of margarine onto your large dough rectangles and sprinkle half the filling mix on top of each rectangle. Roll up and cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces.

Glaze:

Mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar and 3/4 cup margarine. (Double this amount for ooey gooey buns) Spread glaze evenly on to your baking pan and then put cinnamon buns on top of the glaze to bake. Leave space in between for buns to rise slightly for a half hour or so. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately flip buns onto a pan of equal or larger size so that the glazed side is up. Serve warm for an extra treat.

**This recipe makes a HUGE batch!! You may want to cut the recipe in half or make the whole recipe and bless someone with the extras.**

Little girl's snack

little girl made me a night lunch snack last night, it was actually really good, but not that i needed it at all. she made sure i had to take a pic of it and post it so....

1 banana
3 scoups ice cream
1 cup popcorn popped
1 cracker broken into bits

place banana in bottom of plate, scoup ice cream around banana, top with broken bits of crackers ( she used Breton crackers) then put popped popcorn around. enjoy