Heavenly Apple Pie

This is one of those recipes that brings back such fond memories.  

Grandma's apple pie was simply divine and cooked a little differently than most apple pie recipes. She actually started cooking the apple filling on the stove top before she baked the entire pie in the oven. Not sure where this idea came from, but it makes perfect sense! The important thing is not to overcook the apples, but just distribute the sugars and cinnamon while gently heating everything up. By preparing the apples this way, the filling was never too sweet, most of the liquid had been extracted from the apples in the cooking process so the pie was never "soupy," and the apples looked like apples--not sauce. Brilliant!

I think I'm going to go make one right now!  Just close your eyes and imagine this apple pie, warm out of the oven and topped with some good Madagascar Vanilla ice cream. Yummmm! I say again, yummmmm!

Prepare a full recipe of your No-Fail Pie Crust and you will be ready to go.

Heavenly Apple Pie

2 tablespoons butter
8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into slices
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add in the apple slices, sugars, and cinnamon. Stir the apples to make sure they are thoroughly coated with the sugar and cinnamon. Heat through, being careful not to make the apples mushy.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the apples and spoon them into your prepared pie crust. There will be quite a bit of liquid left in the skillet. Reserve about 1/4 cup of this and pour over apples in pie crust. Top with second pie crust and crimp edges as desired. 

Cut slits in top crust so air can escape while cooking. Cover edges with foil so they don’t get too brown.  Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Cranberry Fruit Salad

I'm not sure where Grandma got all of her jello recipes--from friends, from relatives, from the recipe collections of her various clubs and guilds, from her own ingenuity--but at least one would find its way to our holiday table (and sometimes not just during the holidays)! They are so refreshing, they could be used any time of year.

This variation of the cranberry jello salad has the sweet and tart together using pineapple with a little bit of crunch from the celery. A delicious combination of flavors and textures!

Cranberry Fruit Salad

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained, reserving juice

½ cup cranberry juice cocktail

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 (3 oz) pkg raspberry gelatin

1 (16 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce

½ cup chopped celery

Combine reserved pineapple juice, cranberry juice and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add gelatin, stirring until it is completely dissolved. Break up cranberry sauce with a fork. Stir into gelatin mixture.  Refrigerate until mixture begins to set. Stir in pineapple and celery. Pour into a 4-cup mold. Chill until firm. (Makes 8 servings.)

Cranberry Apple Salad

I did some research on cranberries and why they're so darn popular during the holidays.

Did you know that the cranberry is one fruit that is native to the United States and was grown by Native Americans, who introduced them to the Pilgrims? Not only were they used as a food source (and a right healthy one at that!) but also pressed and used for dying fabrics, crushed and used as a healing balm, and also used as "money" for bartering! Amazing!

There's just something about the cranberry during the holidays.  Given a great combination of ingredients, cranberries can enhance a turkey dressing, a bread, a jello, or a drink (Crantini? Delicious!)

This cranberry jello dish is a delicious combination of sweet and tart all at once. If you use Granny Smith apples, the tartness of the apple blends with the sour of the cranberry in a delicious way.  You will absolutely love this one for your holiday table!

Cranberry Apple Mold

1-½  cup boiling water

1 pkg (8 serving size) OR

    2 pkgs (4 serving size) cranberry jello or ANY RED FLAVOR

1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce

1 cup cold water

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 medium apple (preferable Granny Smith), chopped

Stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl 2 minutes or until completely dissolved.  Stir in cranberry sauce, cold water, and cinnamon.  Refrigerate about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until thickened.  Stir in apple and spoon into 5-cup mold. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.  Unmold and garnish as desired.  

Ambrosia Salad

Another family favorite during the holidays (or any time of year) was Grandma's Ambrosia Fruit Salad. It was just plain good (and refreshing) with ingredients you can get year round. The trick was to let it thaw until it became soft and then the fruity and marshmallow-y goodness came through in all its delectable-ness...sorry, got a little carried away there. It really is good though and something different for your table than just the ubiquitous red jello, especially during the holidays.

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

1 pkg (8 oz) Philly Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 large can fruit cocktail, drained thoroughly

½ cup drained/halved marachino cherries

2 ½ cups mini marshmallows

1/2 pint whipped cream

Mix softened cream cheese and mayo until smooth. Gently fold in fruit cocktail, mini marshmallows and whipped cream that has been prepared and sweetened to taste. Fold in marachino cherries last. Pour entire mixture into small Pyrex baking dish and freeze at least 3 hours or overnight.  Thaw slightly and cut into squares. 

Holiday Cinnamon Molded Salad

Grandma did a lot of entertaining. She absolutely loved people and loved giving back to the community, so she belonged to many clubs and guilds that raised funds for disadvantaged youth or kids who needed medical care.  Her servant's heart ran deep.  

When a meeting place or special event location was needed, Grandma often opened her home. She was a natural at putting together something memorable, carried out with attention to every detail.

Her beautiful table always had a centerpiece of some sort with flowers or candles. She cared about each place setting and the silverware was deliberately placed in its proper location. There had to be order but she was never compulsive about it so things were very relaxed. Such a life lesson to be learned from that.

As she got older, the soirees began to diminish and she wasn't able to be a member of so many organizations, but she still had family over for holidays and other special events well into her 80s! Where she got all that energy was a mystery.

Family dinners always included some sort of gelatin salad and Grandma used to say that a good salad starts off a meal on the right foot...and they always did. Her holiday salad fixings were wonderful and with Thanksgiving around the corner these "tried and trues" should give you a few ideas for your own family gathering.

Holiday Cinnamon Molded Salad

½ cup red cinnamon candies (Red Hots--trust me on this)

4 Tbsp sugar

2 cups hot water

2 pkgs cherry Jello

2 cups cold water

2 cups diced apples

1 cup diced oranges

½ cup walnuts (optional)

Dissolve candies and sugar in boiling water then pour over 2 packages of cherry Jello.  Add cold water and chill until partially set, then add apples, oranges, and walnuts.  Chill until set.

Easy Flag Cake

It's Veteran's Day today and what better way to celebrate than with food? Besides we need the practice for Thanksgiving in two weeks!

Grandma subscribed to a couple of home and garden magazines and when she found a recipe she wanted to try out, she'd tear it out and save it. Kraft kitchens always had (and still has!) great recipes and they're easily adaptable if you prefer healthier ingredients.

For the pound cake, the best option is to make your own just like Grandma would have and since that's the key ingredient, it has to be delicious!  For the whipped filling and topping (recipe calls for Cool Whip), Grandma would have preferred dairy whipped cream...with sugar and real vanilla added...so good it makes me weak in the knees. The only catch is when you use real whipped cream in a dessert, you need to finish the whole thing. With this flag cake recipe, that's not a problem.  

Kraft's flag cake is actually a summery Fourth of July dessert, so getting blueberries and strawberries in the middle of November could be a challenge for some of you. If you're fortunate enough to find them though, this recipe is well worth the effort and brings a little sunshine to your table too! 

Easy Flag Cake

4 cups fresh strawberries

1 prepared pound cake, cut into 14 slices

1 1/3 cups blueberries, divided

1 tub (12 oz) Cool Whip, thawed or (if serving immediately) your own whipped cream

Slice 1 cup strawberries and halve the remaining strawberries. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with cake slices, top with sliced strawberries and 1 cup blueberries. Spread Cool Whip or whipped cream over berries.

Arrange strawberry halves and remaining blueberries on top of whipped topping to resemble a US flag. Refrigerate until served.