Running Mama Cooks

Ok, I lied. THIS will be my last apple post (maybe!). I came across this recipe and couldn't resist. What a treat this was for lunch today! And such a creative way to use apples!

Caramelized Apple Grilled Cheese

Recipe from Closet Cooking by way of Beantown Baker

serves 1

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 dash of cinnamon
1 apple (peeled, cored and sliced)
2 thick slices of good cheese (cheddar or gouda work well)
2 slices of good bread
1 Tbsp butter

Melt the butter in a non-stick pan.

Add the sugar and cinnamon and cook until bubbly.

Add the apples and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

Assemble sandwich and grill until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side or place in a preheated panini press

Last apple post, I promise!! I don't think I can cut anymore up! But trust me and make this applesauce. SO GOOD!

With all these apples in the house it is tempting to whip up a fattening pie or cake, so I am trying to find some low fat/cal alternatives. I came across this apple crisp recipe and decided to give it a try. At 3 weight watchers points per serving (can you tell I have some baby weight to lose :D) you can't go wrong! We topped it with a bit of fat free cool whip. Yum!


Low Cal Apple Crisp
Adapted slightly from Lower Calerie Cooking

Ingredients:

•4 cups peeled, cored, sliced golden delicious apples (3-4 medium apples)
•1 Tbsp granulated sugar
•2 tsp lemon juice
•3/4 cup rolled oats
•1/4 cup flour
•2 Tbsp brown sugar
•2 Tbsp melted butter
•1 tsp ground cinnamon
•1/4 tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Place the apples evenly in the bottom of a 11x7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. To complete the crisp, in a medium-sized bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and stir until the mixture resembles of course meal. Top the apples evenly with the oat mixture.

4. Bake the crisp at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Serves 6

It was a beautiful fall day today so my family and I went apple picking. When we got home, Cecily and I baked these apple muffins. I adapted the original recipe to make it lower in fat (4 WW pts per muffin) and it didn't effect the taste one bit. They were yummy!

Since I have a ton of apples, I will be baking more soon!

Apple Muffins
Recipe adapted from Food.com

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar, packed,divided
1/4 cup vegatable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 325-degrees F.

2 Grease muffin tins or use paper liners.

3 In a large bowl, blend 3/4 cup brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla with a wooden spoon.

4 Add flour, baking soda and salt.

5 Stir in apple, buttermilk, walnuts and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and mix thoroughly until combined well.

6 Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

7 In a small bowl combine remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar with remaining cinnamon.

8 Sprinkle over muffins.

9 Bake for 30-40 minutes or until muffins are browned and toothpick comes clean when inserted in middle.

Watching Food Network can be dangerous. I saw Sunny Anderson make these today and was checking to see if I had all the ingredients about 10 minutes later! Lucky me, I did :)

Baked Apple with Crisp Topping
Recipe by Sunny Anderson

Ingredients:

2 apples (recommended: Fuji or McIntosh) I used golden delicious
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup strawberry jam, jelly or preserves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, cold and diced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup oats, uncooked
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut each apple in half along its equator. Using a melon baller (I just used a spoon), cut out each side of the core, creating a rounded hole. Rub exposed apple flesh with lemon juice. Place 1 tablespoon of jam into each hole. For the topping: in a small bowl mix together flour, butter, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt. Press this mixture on the top of each apple, covering jam. Place in a baking dish filled with about a 1/4-inch of water. Bake until top is golden brown and apple is tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cecily and I really enjoyed this as a late afternoon treat.

I saw this recipe in A Year of Slowcooking blog and thought it would be a great thing to make since I love applesauce so much. An easy healthy snack to have on hand. Plus I am making pork chops tonight and thought it would be a nice addition to that meal! I used 6 honey crisp apples and adjusted the recipe accordingly.

Crockpot Applesauce

Ingrediants

This makes enough for 4 people. If you would like to freeze or can, use more apples.

--4 large apples, skinned ,cored, and cut in quarters
--juice from 1 lemon
--1/2 tsp cinnamon
--1 tsp vanilla
--1 T brown sugar
--1/4 cup H20

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart crockpot for the applesauce.
Skin, core, and cut your apples into quarters. Plop the pieces into your crockpot. Add the juice from the lemon, and the water. Pour in the vanilla (I used imitation--we were out of the good stuff), and add the cinnamon and brown sugar.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When the apples are super tender, mash with a potato masher or large fork. My apples were very tender after 6 hours, and I used a fork.

All the ingrediants in the crockpot ready to go: