Caramel Apple Braid

 What a busy week it's been, we've had something going on every single night and this mom failed to have much of a meal plan for the week. Does that ever happen to you? Thankfully we managed, I made very simple meals but we got through it. Sunday I need to sit down and actually plan out for my week.

Well tomorrow morning I am off bright and early to the Iowa City area for an Iowa Food and Lifestyle blogger meet-up. I've been looking forward to this for months now, I can not remember the last time I really got to go away for an entire day by myself. This will seriously feel like a vacation and a much needed one at that. I'll be sure to have an update for you come Monday with lots of pictures included!

Thursday evening I did manage to squeeze in a little baking, something I've been planning to make for a few weeks now. I haven't made this bread in a long time! It was actually something I seen at my very first Taste of Home cooking school I attended. I modified it a little bit and used to make it quite often during the fall season.

You'll love how simple this dessert really is, I even used frozen bread dough as the base. Not something I really do anymore but sometimes it's nice to go the convenient route. You can surely substitute with a basic bread dough recipe. This bread is filled a delicious caramel, cinnamon apple mixture you're bound to love. I even top it with a bit of homemade buttercream frosting to make it even more decadent. I think you'll instantly think of a cinnamon roll when you bite into it. In fact it would be a perfect addition to your next brunch. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Braid

Ingredients:

2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed (I used the Rhode's brand)

2 large apples, peeled and diced

12 caramels, cut into fourths

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp flour

Frosting:

6 tbsp butter

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

splash of vanilla

1-2 tbsp of milk to thin, if needed

Directions:

In a bowl, combine diced apples, caramels, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. Mix well to combine. 

On a lightly greased cookie sheet, roll dough out into a long rectangle. Spread half of apple mixture down the middle. Fold long sides of dough over filling and pinch tightly to seal. Seal the ends by pinching and tuck under. Set finished dough aside and repeat with remaining loaf.

Place both prepared loaves onto cookie sheet, seam side down. Carefully twist the loaves together. Pinch ends to seal. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Let bread cool while you make the frosting.

In a medium bowl cream butter and vanilla together. Gradually add in powdered sugar. Add a splash of milk if needed to thin icing. When bread is slightly cooled, but still warm spread frosting over top. Slice when ready to serve.  

Overnight Oatmeal Waffles

I feel like I've been slacking in our breakfast area lately, getting kids up and off to school in the morning plus taking care of three others, including a baby is work I tell ya. In my perfect world I would have my freezer stocked with all kinds of made ahead waffles, pancakes, muffins, breakfast burritos and the like but sometimes toast and eggs or a bowl of cereal it is. The kids sure don't seem to mind though.

Before bed last night I did get started on these waffles. I still had a few ingredients to add and mixing up to do this morning, but just having a plan and a head start helped me out tremendously. They were pretty delicious too, and nutritious as they contain mostly whole grain oats rather than the typical all purpose flour.

By soaking your oats overnight it really does help to soften them, I used old fashioned/rolled oats but I think maybe next time I might try the quick-cooking variety. Or maybe just pulse them through the blender or food processor for a quick minute. The kiddos ate them pretty well but I think they were a little thrown off by the oat texture. Other than that they were really good and a nice change of pace from your typical waffle recipe.

Overnight Oatmeal Waffles

Ingredients:
2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups whole milk
2 eggs
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
In a bowl combine oats with milk, cover and store in fridge overnight. In the morning, add eggs and melted butter to the oat mixture. In another combine all dry ingredients and then gradually mix into wet ingredients.

Cook batter in a waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.  Makes 10 waffles

Adapted from: One Lovely Life

Decadent Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

If I have one weakness when it comes to chocolate and candy, it would be peanut butter M&Ms. They've always been one of my favorites and it's hard to stop at a few. I actually bought a bag a few weeks ago having some sort of cookie in mind. I had a little bit of extra time yesterday to bake so I figured what the hey, it's Halloween after all.

I've been sort of a stickler when it comes to candy lately with my own girls. All of the treats that come with the holiday have been driving me crazy, it seems like everyday they're getting something else. But I also know the majority of their meals are made up of healthy choices so it's not going to kill us if we indulge a little bit. And I love baking....and sharing with others, so that's what we did. We baked up a batch of these amazing cookies and shared them with friends and family yesterday.

I combined a few of my favorite flavors in this particular cookie. We've got those peanut butter M&Ms I love, then a nice salty pretzel and one of my new faves, cookie butter! Yes there is cookie butter in here as well. All baked into a soft cookie. These are so good, they just might even be a contender for my cookie exchange in December. They're really that good!


Decadent Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cookie butter
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1/2 cup broken pretzel pieces
11 oz. bag peanut butter M&Ms -coarsely chopped

Directions:
In a stand mixer cream together butter, both sugars and cookie butter until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla, mix until combined. Mix in baking soda, powder and salt; then gradually add in flour. Once all combined, fold in pretzel pieces and M&Ms with a spatula.

Using a cookie scoop, drop onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Again, this depends on your oven, you want them to be just set and lightly browned. Remove from oven, let cool on sheets for a few minutes before removing to wire racks.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Taste of Home Cooking School

Last night I got to enjoy a little mother/daughter date night with my very own momma! We attended the Taste of Home cooking school, every two-three years it comes to town and it's been our little tradition to go. I love that she shares a love for cooking just like I do.

If you've never been to a show or don't know what exactly it is; it really is essentially a cooking school. A culinary specialist from Taste of Home prepares and presents 10 recipes, the entire show lasts close to 2-1/2 hours. They make it pretty fun though, lots of stories and tips are shared while they are up on stage cooking. I think especially for beginner cooks, you can really take a lot away from a show. Taste of Home magazine is composed of recipes that are submitted by home cooks, so you know they are good, wholesome dishes that most likely your own family will enjoy. Some are made from scratch and maybe more complicated than others while some will make use of convenience products.

Did I mention prizes and goodie bags yet? They always have tons of wonderful prizes to give away, many which are donated from area businesses. Unfortunately my mom and I didn't win anything last night. We did get a lot of good stuff in our bags though. Since we bought VIP tickets we had some bonus things in our bags. Cookbook magazines, a jar of Jiff hazelnut spread, some high value coupons and I had a $20 gift card to Subway in mine. My mom received a $10 gift certificate to a local restaurant in hers. Really some pretty good stuff in there!

With the VIP tickets we had a little better seating than general admission. We also were able to participate in a meet and greet with our culinary specialist. She answered some questions, talked a little bit about herself and things like that.

Out of the ten recipes prepared, I really think I would make most of them for my own family, with a few modifications of course. One of the highlights of the evening is when they give away each of the dishes. We were secretly hoping they might draw us for the German chocolate cake! I just might have to feature that on the blog soon, you know I'm a sucker for sweets!

Ham and Bean Soup

I had every intention of sharing this recipe on Friday with you but things got a little busy over the weekend and it slipped my mind. The girls had Thursday and Friday off from school due to conferences. From Thursday night to Sunday it seemed like we were on the go, but it was a wonderful weekend indeed.

Thursday evening was spent driving all over {at least it felt like it} In between conferences we picked up our very last farm share plus some poultry I ordered from our farmers. The girls were so excited to see our turkey and pick which one we'd take home. They had so many questions and I love their interest in where our food comes from. They've even asked if we can go help work on the farm sometime next summer.

Friday night we picked out our pumpkins at a local patch. Only our youngest would stop to pose for me. I tried to get her to hold her pumpkin but it was too heavy of course so we settled for her mini pumpkin she picked out.

Saturday morning we headed down to the last farmers market of the season, I was particularly happy to find spaghetti squash. Later that morning we participated in our church's trunk or treat, I managed to get one pic of the girls before. Unfortunately it was so cold and windy that day, they didn't want to stand still for long. We'll have to try that again.

Last picture I promise. Sunday night we carved pumpkins at my parent's house, it's been their tradition since our oldest was little. They take the kids to pick their pumpkins out and then my dad carves them with the girls. It's their little thing to do and they all love it!

Okay, back on track now. Growing up my dad made ham and bean soup from time to time, especially after having a nice ham dinner. He'd take the leftover ham and the bone and make soup. My mother-in-law also makes this soup, but she adds potatoes to hers. Which I always thought was interesting. We love this hearty meal in our house, it's not something I make very often but every once in a while we crave it.

We had some extra carrots in the fridge from our produce box so I threw those in as well, they were a perfect addition. Like a lot of meals, I always make this in the crock pot. Let it cook all day, my house smells wonderful and then come dinner time it's all done. I love nights like that.

Ham and Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. white northern beans
1 ham shank (mine was 1.5 lbs.)
3 potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water


Directions:
Pour bag of dry beans into slow cooker, cover with water and let soak overnight. In the morning, remove any beans that are broken and drain water. Return beans to slow cooker. Add in ham, potatoes, carrots, broth and water. Stir to combine, then cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove ham and shred meat. Return meat to slow cooker and stir to combine everything. Beans should be tender at this point and ready to serve. Season with salt if needed, but I didn't need to season mine at all.

Homemade Cereal Bars

We have a new favorite cookbook in our house, it's the Weelicious Lunches by Catherine McCord. Maybe you're already a fan of her food blog, Weelicious. I'm still a fairly new fan of hers, while I haven't read much of her blog I was very interested in a cookbook that dealt specifically with school lunches, healthy lunches at that.

The girls and I have enjoyed thumbing through the recipes and flagging which ones they'd like me to try. We have a lot of orange sticky notes in our cookbook right now! Last night I was able to cross one of those off my list. Tuesday nights seem to be my night to experiment a little in the kitchen lately, it's one of the few evenings where we don't have any place to be and we can relax at home.

Now I've told you a million times already, I don't buy much for convenience foods unless the hubby happens to sneak it into the house. Does anybody else's husbands do this? I swear if I send him to the store he comes home with at least a few things I would never normally buy. Nutri-Grain bars have only been in my cart probably a handful of times, they do make for great snacks and a quick breakfast if needed. But the price can really add up, wouldn't you agree?

I made just a couple small changes to the original recipe and I am thrilled with how well these turned out! In fact they're not lasting long and I can't wait to make another batch, try out a new flavor.The only change I might make is try to add more jam for the filling. They really are so easy to make and cheaper too. I think they even taste better, but everything tastes better when it's homemade. I can't wait for you to try these and let me know what you think!

Homemade Cereal Bars

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into cubes
3 tbsp ice cold water
1 cup strawberry jam

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor add both flours, oats, brown sugar and salt. Pulse for thirty seconds. Add in cubed butter, process until mixture is crumbly. Add in cold water and process until dough comes together.

Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. Divide dough in half and press one portion into bottom of pan. Spread jam evenly on top of bottom layer. Take remaining dough and sprinkle over jam. I took small bits and sort of spread them out in my hands and then sprinkled them all over. Then take a spatula and try to smooth out the top layer.

Bake in oven for 45 minutes, bars will be golden brown and set. Let cool completely before removing from pan and cutting. Makes 12 bars

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

One of my favorite parts of fall is apple season, I love baking with apples! Unfortunately we don't have much in our area for apple orchards, at least that I know of. Unless I want to go for a drive, I usually head down to my farmers market on Saturday mornings and grab some there from an orchard two hours away. I'm thankful they drive that far to supply our area with their delicious apples.

You can imagine how happy I was when one of my daycare parents told me about her parent's neighbor having some apple trees I could go pick from if I wanted last week. I took the hubby with me Friday morning, it was pretty chilly but they had some of the best looking apple trees I've ever seen. And so many apples! I think I'm officially set with apples now for the rest of the season.

Saturday morning after the girls were done with their bowling league I got started on a batch of homemade apple butter. I made some a couple years ago and haven't made it since. It's so good on toasted bagels in the morning for breakfast or even just plain toast. I bet it would be good mixed in some hot oatmeal as well.

I like making mine in the slow cooker, again it frees me up to work on other things and I'm not stuck at the stove. It needs to cook pretty much all day long, at least 12 hours so plan accordingly. You could even do it overnight while you're sleeping if you prefer that route. Whichever you decide, get yourself some good, local apples while they're still available and make up a batch of apple butter. Stash the extra jars in the freezer so you can enjoy it year round or even add a jar to Christmas baskets. Your friends and family will appreciate a little homemade gift!


Apple Butter

Ingredients:
15-20 apples  (I'm estimating a bit, I filled my 3-qt slow cooker with diced apples)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1-1/2 tbsp cinnamon


Directions:
Peel, core and chop apples and add into slow cooker. Sprinkle sugar and spices over top, stir to combine. Cover and let cook on low, stirring the apples every few hours or so.  Let cook for at least 12 hours, apples will be very tender, mash with a potato masher until smooth. I even put the mixture into a blender and pureed  in there until completely smooth. Mixture will be pretty thick.

Once cooled, divide among canning jars or containers. I ended up with 4 half pint jars plus a little extra that I put into a small container in the fridge. Store in the freezer for several months or will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.