Bewitchin' in the Kitchen

Pineapple Cheese Casserole

Pineapple Cheese Casserole

3 cans pineapple chunks (15 ounce)

2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

8 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar Sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed

½ cup melted butter 

Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and transfer to baking dish greased with PAM. In second bowl mix Ritz crumbs with butter and spoon on top of pineapple-cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Baked Apples with Custard Sauce

Baked Apples with Custard Sauce

6 apples, such as McIntosh or Rome Beauty

1 cup light brown sugar

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup water

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

½ cup walnuts

½ cup dried apples, chopped

Custard Sauce

4 egg yolks

2 cups milk

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons brandy, apple brandy preferred

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel the top quarter of each apple, leaving the stem in tact. Then slice off the top quarter you just peeled, and set aside.  Core the apples, but leave the base intact.

Over medium heat, combine half the brown sugar, half the butter, water, half the cinnamon, and lemon zest in a small pan and bring to a boil, dissolving the sugar.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until lightly golden and fragrant, 5 minutes max. Cool, coarsely chop and add to a bowl with dried apples, remaining half of brown sugar, remaining half of the cinnamon, and remaining half of butter.  Mix well and stuff inside cored apples, replacing tops.

Arrange apples in a 2 quart baking dish and pour syrup over them. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, baste with juices and bake additional 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a bowl whisk egg yolks until blended.

In saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk and granulated sugar and heat until sugar dissolves. Slowly whisk milk mixture into egg yolks. Pour mixture back into pan and return to medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens to sauce consistency. Stir in vanilla and brandy. Strain into a pitcher through a fine seive, cover and refrigerate.

Remove cover from baking apples and broil in the oven for about a minute until lightly golden.

To serve, spoon the sauce onto individual plates and place an apple in the center.

***If you would like to save time on the sauce, simply melt 3 heaping scoops of premium vanilla ice cream and whisk in brandy and pour in your favorite pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until time for use.

Apple Butter

Apple Butter

9 quarts of Applesauce, (Applesauce recipe filed under Sauces and Fruit)

2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

4 cups sugar, Splenda or frozen concentrated grape juice.

Canning Supplies

Jar grabber

Lid lifter

Jar funnel

1 Crock pot - 6 quart size

Large spoons and ladles

1 Huge pot, also known as a Canner

Ball jars, lids and rings

Fill the crockpot to within an inch of full with applesauce.

Note: You will add the remaining applesauce later.

Note:  It is possible to do this using a regular large pot on very low heat on the stove, but the crockpot works much better, because its heat is very low. I've never had a batch burn in the crockpot. Scorched apple butter is not good.

Add spices and half the sugar.

Set the crock pot on low heat.

Cover it loosely or use a large pot splatter-guard. It will spatter as it boils slowly, so I also cover nearby surfaces with towels. You don't want to seal it tightly because you want the steam to escape so it can reduce in volume and thicken. Grab an extra pair of chopsticks next time you go out for sushi. Lay them across your crockpot and set the lid on top. This works great!

Allow the applesauce to cook down until it is thick, 6-10 hours depending on heat, size, and other variables. Remember cooking is much an art as it is a science!  A good rule of thumb is to let it reduce by half.

Add remaining applesauce and remaining sugar. Stir until it is well blended and let it cook an additional 2 hours.

Prepare jars by washing them on the hottest, sterilizing setting of your dishwasher. Boiling on the stovetop is also an option. Just be very careful. Lids always go in near boiling water on the stovetop.

Check the apple butter. Too thick? Add apple juice. Too thin? Allow it to cook with the lid removed to let more steam escape.

Fill and seal the jars.

Process jars in boiling water in large pot according to USDA recommendations, roughly 5 minutes for pints and 10 minutes for quarts.

Remove and cool the jars. Check each lid to ensure a vacuum seal. Label and date. Applesauce should keep in the pantry for up to 2 years.

Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce

Start with a variety of naturally sweet apples… Fuji or Rome or Red Delicious. No Granny Smiths! These are used in Caramel apples because the tartness of the apple blends with the sweetness of the caramel. In apple sauce you start with sweet apples and a variety of them.

Count on 12-14 quarts of applesauce per bushel of apples.  Purchase your jars and lids and run them through the hottest setting of your dishwasher. Some folks prefer to boil them and that’s fine, too.

Wash and chop the apples, leaving the peels intact. Cook in a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom, until apples are very soft.

Sieve the apples through a food mill that will separate the seeds, core, and skins. A hand-cranked food mill is very affordable, but you can also purchase an attachment to your standing mixer. A metal hand-held sieve will also work IF you are preparing a very small batch.

Add cinnamon to taste. And you must taste, because now is the time to add a little sugar if it’s necessary and it really shouldn’t be necessary.

Fill the jars and process in a hot water bath according to regular canning instructions. Remove and cool the jars. Check each lid to ensure a vacuum seal. Label and date. Applesauce should keep in the pantry for up to 2 years.

Stewed Fruit Fried Pies

Fried Pies

Biscuit Dough

1 cup Stewed Dried Fruit

Powdered sugar

Fat for frying

Prepare biscuit dough as directed and pat out to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds. Roll each round out thinly to a 5-inch diameter. Put a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Moisten the edges and fold over to form a half circle and press the edges together with a fork.

Fry up in a heavy skillet in a small amount of oil or lard over medium heat. Brown on each side for approximately 3 minutes per side.

Drain on paper, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately. Most people just grab one and run. However you can serve on a plate with whipped cream or ice cream, though I've never seen it done this way.

Makes about 12 pies.

Stewed Dried Fruit Filling

4 ounces of fruit... Peaches, Apricots, Apples, Pears

3 cups of water

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons butter

Cook fruit in water for 45 minutes over low heat, covered, until fruit is completely tender. Drain, mash, and season to taste. Start with sugar and butter. Get creative and add whatever fresh or dried spices sound good... cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, lemon juice.