Driveway Apple Crisp

Let's see - can anyone guess why I've named this 'driveway apple crisp'? 

So we've lived in this house for a number of years, I'd have to stop and count how many but let's go with 20 for the sake of the story. Our neighbors have an apple tree that overhangs our driveway and drops apples, which Dave then runs over or throws back into their yard (side note: we haven't gotten along with these neighbors until recently and I think D secretly enjoyed whipping the apples back into their yard haha). I can honestly say it never occurred to me that the messy apples laying all over our driveway are probably edible to humans (I've watched the squirrels eat them) until Mark grabbed one and ate it! Then I was all 'waaaaait a minute, we have tons of apples - and I've never used them?"

They are very tart, and not pretty - but I just cut around the ugly bits and made an apple crisp for our maiden driveway apple experiment, and it turned out great! I didn't follow a particular recipe, crisp is one of those things that you can wing the amounts. Peel and chop apples, toss with cinnamon and sugar. Put into a greased baking dish and top with a crumbly mixture of oats, flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Bake until the apples are done and the crisp is crispy. Super easy. 

Funny story - a few days after Mark ate the first apple Brooke called me and said something like 'you know that apple tree in your driveway...?'  I thought she was saying the tree fell over and I was bummed that I wasn't gonna be eating free driveway apples any more but she was asking if she could eat the apples! She's 19 and has seen this tree for 19 years and has never noticed there are apples until now. Weird, right? 

Here's a recipe from Betty Crocker that's pretty straightforward if you want an actual recipe haha:

4 cups apple chunks

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

1/3 cup butter

3/4 t. cinnamon

3/4 t. nutmeg

Bake at 375' for 30 minutes. 

11.30.21: tip-sy tuesday: cutting board for rolling cookies

11.30.20: penne alla vodka 

11.30.19: margarita cupcakes

11.30.18: pinecone gnome

11.30.17: golf glove counter

11.30.16: pumpkin bread

11.30.15: pill box travel organizer

Mustard and Cracked Pepper Pork Tenderloin

How many ways to change up pork tenderloin? Seems like I'm exhausting every single way LOL. Here's another one that my sis told me about - a friend prepared it like this and she loved it, says she isn't a big pork tenderloin lover but this was amazing. 

Rub regular yellow mustard all over the tenderloin, then coat with crushed black pepper. Grill or bake according to your preference. 

Simple right? I haven't tried this yet, we just had marinated pork tenderloin a couple days ago but the next time we have a tenderloin I'm going to make this. Sounds good (and different). 

11.29.21: stuffed burgers

11.29.20: 🔥 week 48

11.29.19: all the green things salad

11.29.18: pinecone elves

11.29.17: smoothie bowl

11.29.16: make a pocket towel for the guest room

11.29.15: mini pineapple-upside-down cakes

Monday Fun-day

Monday got away from me and I forgot to post, I'm backdating this one so we have something in place and also to leave you with a little funny picture I snapped of a shirt that pretty much sums up life right now. Let's call today 'Monday Fun-day' hahah!!

11.28.21: 🔥 week 48

11.28.20: cast iron blackened salmon

11.28.19: Thanksgiving '19

11.28.18: Cathy's rolled oats cake

11.28.16: felt feather barrettes

11.28.15: pompom purse charm

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 48)

Dear Campers ~

I'm catching this weeks recap up a couple weeks late, but I want it to be on the blog for 11/27 so I'm posting it just to have it!

11/20: 🔥 week 47

11/21: wine cork turkey (re-run)

11/22: mashed squashes (re-run)

11/23: make-ahead mashed potatoes (re-run)

11/24: Happy Thanksgiving '22

11/25: black friday

11/26: turkey charcuterie plate

Pretty lame of me,  I know!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

11/27/21: corn and cherry tomato saute 

11.27.20: the moist maker sandwich (from Friends)

11.27.19: how to fold a turkey napkin

11.27.18: pinecone angels

11.27.17: styrofoam snowman

11.27.16: crock-pot green bean casserole

Turkey Charcuterie

You might have had your fill of turkey related food ideas but tuck this one away for the future - LeDonna sent me this picture of a cute turkey charcuterie plate that Amy made for Thanksgiving that I have to share  with you (and also will be stealing this idea!). 

Meats, cheeses, grapes, with a decorated red pear for it's head - I don't know what she used for the beak and feet, and I didn't ask if I could blog this so we're gonna just wing that part and come up with our own decorating hahah. I see googly eyes, maybe cheese for the other parts?  

11.26.21: black friday

11.26.20: happy thanksgiving '20

11.26.19: tip-sy tuesday: aluminum foil

11.26.18: Miss Lori's Christmas wreath

11.26.17: birds on a wire artwork

11.26.16: mulled cider

 

Black Friday '22

This made me laugh, especially since there is a parrot sleeping on my counter right now LOL. 

#12 

11.25.21: last minute plate stand 

11.25.20: how to roast a turkey

11.25.19: cork turkeys

11.25.18: 🔥 week 47

11.25.17: oatmeal scotchies 

11.25.16: zehnders cranberry relish

11.25.15: turkey napkin folding

Happy Thanksgiving 2022

Yes, you've seen this exact post on past Thanksgivings - it isn't that I'm too lazy to write something new hahahaha, it's just that this still sums up what I want to say :)

I'm thankful and grateful for so many things - among them are my faith, my family and friends, my furry and feathery kids, gravy, the ability to live my life the way I want (filled with making stuff!) and you guys reading my blog of course! Happy Thanksgiving - I hope you enjoy your day whether it's at home, with family, or having "friendsgiving" with friends that are the family you get to choose :).

11.24.21: buffalo (and buffalo-less) chicken dip 

11.24.20: tip-sy tuesday: how to make gravy

11.24.19: 🔥 week 47

11.24.18: Cathy made over a dining room set

11.24.17: black friday funny

11.24.16: butthole bread funny 

11.24.15: gravy and a funny

Mashed Potatoes (made ahead of time! re-run)

Yesterday was mashed squash, today it's mashed potatoes - but not just any mashed potatoes, these can be made ahead of time saving you one less thing to make on Thanksgiving day. And who doesn't need that hahah? 

This is from 11/23/16:

There's so much going on when making Thanksgiving dinner that anything I can do ahead of time is great. I've made these a couple of times now and they are delish - the secret is to not add the butter until you're ready to serve the potatoes. You can make these up to 2 days ahead of time - 30 minutes prior to serving warm them up and then stir in the butter.

• 3 pounds medium Idaho potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half, heated plus extra if necessary
• Salt
• 6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, softened

1. Place potatoes in a large pot with water to cover. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a thin-bladed knife, about 20 minutes.

2. Run unpeeled potatoes thru a food mill into a medium bowl. Or, holding hot potatoes with a pot holder, peel them, then place them in a standing mixer and beat until smooth; or place in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer. Add half-and-half and a generous sprinkling of salt to potatoes. Stir, or continue to beat, adding more half-and-half if necessary, until smooth, light, and fluffy.
-If not serving immediately, transfer to a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Or if making ahead, cool, cover, and refrigerate. 30 minutes before serving, microwave potatoes until warm and pour into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or simply warm them in heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water).

3. Stir butter into potatoes until melted. Serve, or cover with plastic wrap and keep warm over simmering water until ready to serve. Makes 8-10 servings.

Note: that's the instructions given with the recipe, I did not warm back up over simmering water but simply microwaved until hot, if you do it that way check if they need more half-and-half to moisten them. Tesha made them last Thanksgiving and after they were mashed with half-and-half she put them in a crock pot to keep warm, then added the butter before serving.

Recipe from "perfect recipes for having people over" by Pam Anderson

11.23.21: tip-sy tuesday: egg shells 

11.23.20: 🔥week 47

11.23.19: turkey gravy (I'm telling ya - it's foolproof!)

11.23.18: fabric bread basket

11.23.16: make ahead mashed potatoes 

11.23.15: organize your cookie cutters

Mashed Squashes (re-run)

Do you like mashed squash? Sort of like mashed sweet potatoes but just the veggie part, none of that marshmallow nut stuff some people like on top (I'm not one of them hahaha). Here's a very good recipe from Tesha that we really enjoy - and not just at Thanksgiving! 

This is a repeat from 11/22/18:

I'm going simple this year with our Thanksgiving menu - Dave just wants turkey and stuffing (nothing else, he's so weird) but I love green bean casserole so we are having that too...I make it in the crockpot and it's sooooo easy (click here for the recipe). I decided at the last minute this morning, after Tesha told me she was making it, that I also want mashed squash. I was going to just boil some butternut squash chunks but when Tesha told me how she's making hers I decided to copy...er, I mean be inspired by haha... her method. Very easy so it's perfect for my simple dinner plans.

look how pretty this cut acorn is!

I cut a small butternut and a small acorn squash in half, scooped out the seeds, roasted the squash in a 350' oven until soft (I sort of forgot they were roasting so don't know how long it actually takes, mine were in there almost an hour before I remembered them!). Let the squash cool, then scrape out of the shell. I put it in the food processor so it'd get very smooth - don't know what Tesha did - normally I would add a little sweetener (maple syrup or brown sugar) but these squash are really sweet already so I didn't add any additional sugar. Taste yours before deciding if you need to make it sweeter. After processing the squash until smooth I streamed in 2 tablespoons of melted butter mixed with a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt until they were incorporated into the squash. Transfer to a 9" baking dish; about 1/2 hour before we were ready to eat popped it into a 350' oven until it was heated thru.

This turned out SO good, I'm not saving this simple recipe just for my holiday meals - it's a winner any time of the year!

11.22.21: baked brie with fig preserves 

11.22.19: Thanksgiving and your dog

11.22.18: mashed butternut and acorn squash

11.22.17: turkey cheeseball (and cranberry relish, green bean casserole)

11.22.16: herb butter

11.22.15: nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies 

Wine Cork Turkey (re-run)

The other day I showed you how to make a giraffe pencil topper out of a wine cork, that reminded me about another fun cork animal craft you might like to make for Thanksgiving - turkeys! Super easy, super cute. 

This is a re-run from '19 that I'm sharing again (I'm gone this week so doing a few Thanksgiving related repeats):

It's been a while since I've made any cork things, so when I saw these cutie little turkeys online here I immediately went to the craft room and made one - how cute is this? It only took a couple minutes to put together, you have plenty of time to whip a few out before Thanksgiving (I'm sure you're not doing anything else getting ready for Thanksgiving hahaha!), but really - they are quick so if you have a few minutes give 'em a go.

Cut out 5 feathers from whatever color felt you want; you'll also need a little beak triangle and a snood (the comma shaped thing around the beak), and either a couple googly eyes, small felt circle eyes, or you can use pushpins. I also made a little yellow foot sort of thing to stand him on. Glue everything in place and once it's dry you're done.

I'm also thinking if you cut a thin slit in the top of the cork you could set one at each place setting with a name tag card inserted in the slit. Cute, right?

I propped up the bottom of the cork for support while the glue was drying

PS: in the interest of full discloser - the elmer's glue was taking forever to dry so I stuck a pin thru the back of the feathers to keep them in place. If you glue them with regular craft glue and they never end up drying and/or holding I'd hot glue them in place - or stick a pin in them!


11.21.21: 🔥 week 47

11.21.20: maple dijon chicken thighs

11.21.19: MSIH: butternut mac and cheese

11.21.18: lightbulb pear

11.21.17: yarn-wrapped bottle

11.21.16: how to make turkey gravy

11.21.15: Sarge's birthday pupcakes