Tuesdays At The Table - Apple Cake & Apple Chips

Monday was a great day with the family. I took a vacation day - a major success all unto itself, and went apple picking with Kirstren, her son, her mom and my mom. We had a BLAST!!

That means that I get to experiment more with apples. Woohoo! I have two recipes for you. One a success (apple cake) and one a fail; majorly (apple chips). Why am I sharing my fail?!?! Well because A. I can't believe that something so easy and touted by Rachel Ray kicked my butt, B. For any hints that you may have on trying again (I WILL try again; I'm stubborn like that) and C. Because we all know that everything we try isn't going to come out perfect.

Apple Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups (about 6 apples) finely diced apples
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter (melted)
2 eggs

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add apples, nuts, butter and eggs. Beat until combined. This will be a very thick batter. Put in greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for an hour.

Apple chips

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large apples


Preheat the oven to 250°. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Using a serrated knife or mandolin, thinly slice the apples crosswise, discarding the seeds and both ends. Arrange in a single layer on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets; sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake the apple slices, turning every half hour, until dry, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove and transfer to racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

The winner of the pink kitchen products will be revealed Tuesday night & look for another giveaway late in the week.

Musical Monday - Orange Sky

Hi gang. It's been a challenging weekend.

I've been to Ft. Drum and back...
I've laughed and cried...
Breathed a sigh of relief over seeing one of my soldiers return. Battered; bruised; in need of healing - but HERE....
Had my heart break just a little over seeing how hard the road ahead for him is going to be.

You're probably going to laugh at me; but something about an Army base just feels like home to me. It's likely because I grew up in a military family; but I feel like I belong.

This week's song is a favorite of JC's and mine (and a few of my honorary brothers too). It's an amazing song and I cry almost every time I hear it.

A huge thank you to all of you. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! So many of you have emailed your thoughts and experiences with PTSD, offered encouragement and most importantly - prayer! I can't say enough about the power of prayer. All of our soldiers need our prayers and I encourage you to keep them on your prayer list.

Much love. (And back to my usual lighthearted posts tomorrow! If you want in on my giveaway - this is your last chance. :-)

Easily Amused...

Yep, that's me. I'm not too hard to entertain.

I was feeling a little stressed yesterday, so I went shopping on Sephora.com. Do I remember what I bought? NOPE!! It'll be a surprise when it arrives. Today, I arrived home to a surprise... this quarter's BeautyFix package. Woohoo!! So much good stuff! Are any of you BeautyFix members? I'd love to compare notes. :-)

Carmella got a fur-cut yesterday. What did I do to the poor thing before she went? This....

But doesn't she look adorable now? (Ignore the less than pleased expression. She doesn't like the G-R-O-O-M-E-R!)


And, finally... a commercial that I find amusing for absolutely no reason at all.

Have you entered my giveaway yet? If not, click here. :-)

When Things Go "BOOM"

Sorry...this isn't one of my light cheery posts. Cute and happy are scheduled for tomorrow; I promise.

A recent conversation with JC went like this:

JC: I'm OK.
Me: Umm...
JC: Before I tell you this; I'm OK.
Me: Just tell me, damn it.
JC: Our truck blew up.
Me: Oh, F*@K!!

No matter how hard you pray, it's almost inevitable that something is going to go wrong. They don't call it "war" just for shits and giggles.

So, here's the deal. JC wasn't in the truck. He was covering someones leave and didn't go out on a mission with his usual crew. They drove over an IED and their MRAP blew up. If they had been in another vehicle; I don't think they all would have survived.

The men in their truck are all OK; depending on your definition of "ok". However, one of them flew home (not home home; Ft. Drum home) after being diagnosed with PTSD earlier this week. [Another got sent to Ft. Bragg for burns sustained in the explosion.] Saturday morning I'll be going up to see him. I love these guys. They.are.family. Yep, it's a long drive up there and back; but I'd do it for each of them ANYTIME.

If any of you have advice or suggestions on how I can best help someone with PTSD, I'm all ears. I'd like to hear anything you have to say. All I can think to do for him is to BE THERE. Just be there and listen.

And, I leave you with a request. Hug your family extra tight tonight...mmkay?

Tuesdays At The Table - Apple Blueberry Crisp & A GIVEAWAY!

Hola, girlies! I hope you are all having a fabulous week! Many of you heard from Andrea that I'm taking over TATT permanently. She's an amazing woman and I thank her for trusting me with her weekly meme. :-) She is going to make a terrific mom!!

Like a good girl, I'm giving you a few pictures from my baking this week. You asked; I listened!

Also, both in celebration of taking over TATT & recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month - I'm doing a few giveaways. The first one is pink kitchen items. Look for other giveaways later in the month.

Apple Blueberry Crisp

Filling:

8-10 medium apples - peeled, cored and sliced

2 cups of blueberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons of flour

3 tablespoons of butter, melted

3 tablespoons of orange juice

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Topping:

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 cup of flour

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 lb (2 sticks) of butter - cut into pieces and slightly softened

1 1/2 cups of oats

1 cup of pecans - chopped

Place sliced apples in a large bowl, add all other filling ingredients (except blueberries) and fold gently until apples are well covered. Layer evenly in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Spread blueberries over the top.

In a small bowl, place all ingredients (except chopped pecans) and use folks to cut in the butter until it is pea sized. Stir in chopped pecans.

Spread topping over filling evenly and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. *Note this will seem like a lot of topping but is absorbed by the filling during the baking process*

Before...

And after...

What's cooking in your kitchen?

On to the giveaway! Here are a few things that I rounded up for you:

KitchenAid prep bowls

KitchenAid tongs

KitchenAid 1 cup grating set (sensing a theme?!?!)

KitchenAid basting brush

Cuisinart vegetable peeler (Sorry! Couldn't find a KitchenAid one.)

Here are the rules:

You get ONE entry for linking up and contributing a recipe.

You get ONE entry for commenting on this post.

You get ONE entry for following my blog.

You get ONE entry for following me on Twitter.

You get ONE entry for Tweeting about my giveaway.

You get ONE entry for blogging about my giveaway or putting it on your sidebar.
Please tell me what to give you credit for; I want you all to get the right amount of entries.

Entries/comments need to be in by midnight EST on Monday, October 12th and the winner will be announced on Tuesday the 13th. Good luck!!

Musical Monday - Gold Digger & You've Got A Friend

Happy Monday! It's been a busy, but fun and relaxing weekend.

On Saturday I brought my Grandmother to the airport so she can visit with one of my aunts in Kentucky. Then I spent some time cleaning out my DVR and reading. See... I have to multi-task even when I'm relaxing! :-)

Sunday was spent mostly with Kirstren and her little boy. We went to see Toy Story & Toy Story 2 in 3D, then lunch at Uno's and a little grocery shopping. Then it was home to make Apple Blueberry crisp (yep, that's going to be this week's TATT recipe).

I'm sharing two videos this week. First is Gold Digger. Definitely not a new song... but I love Glee. It's one of my new favorite shows and they did an awesome job with it.

Second is You've Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story. You gotta love music from kid's movies, the movie's dachshund looks like Meadow & who doesn't like having Barbie dolls as back-up dancers?! Hahaha!

How was your weekend?

I've Come To Realize That...

The fabulous Tiney did this survey, and after warning her...I stole it. :-)

1. I’ve come to realize that my chest-size … means I need to invest in bras that give good support.
2. I’ve come to realize that my job …. is something that I excel at, but not what I really enjoy.
3. I’ve come to realize that when I’m driving … I relax.
4. I’ve come to realize that I need … to take a vacation.
5. I’ve come to realize that I have lost … the ability to do one thing at a time.
6. I’ve come to realize that I hate it when … I'm supposed to know the answers to everyone's questions all the time.
7. I’ve come to realize that if I’m drunk … something is drastically wrong. I drink; but I'm too much of a control freak to let myself get drunk.
8. I’ve come to realize that money … has the ability to change your life in the best and worst possible ways.
9. I’ve come to realize that certain people … will always hold a piece of my heart.
10. I’ve come to realize that I’ll always … try to take on more things than I should.
11. I’ve come to realize that my sibling … is my hero and one of my best friends.
12. I’ve come to realize that my mom … is way more competitive than I thought.
13. I’ve come to realize that my cell phone … is darn near surgically implanted to my ear/hand.
14. I’ve come to realize that when I woke up this morning … that there were multiple dog noses in my face.
15. I’ve come to realize that last night before I went to sleep … I prayed for a good long time.
16. I’ve come to realize that right now I am thinking …about making a to-do list for the coming week.
17. I’ve come to realize that my dad … knows someone everywhere he goes.
18. I’ve come to realize that when I get on Facebook … I have to choose my words wisely. People from work are FB friends.
19. I’ve come to realize that today … I was happy that it rained, but a little sad to see my grandmother fly to my aunt's house.
20. I’ve come to realize that tonight … I'm going to cuddle with the puppers and read or knit.
21. I’ve come to realize that tomorrow … and every day is a fresh start.
22. I’ve come to realize that I really want to … make other people happy.
23. I’ve come to realize that the person who is most likely to repost this is … Kathie.
24. I’ve come to realize that life … is unpredictable and frequently surprising.
25. I’ve come to realize that this weekend … is half over (almost) and I'm looking forward to hanging with my cousin tomorrow.
26. I’ve come to realize that marriage … is something I have not yet accomplished and one of the few things that I truly want in life.
27. I’ve come to realize that my friends … are part of my family.
28. I’ve come to realize that this year … has been a roller coaster ride. Exciting and a little scary.
29. I’ve come to realize that my ex is … a good guy, but not who I belonged with.
30. I’ve come to realize that maybe I should … probably speak my mind more often.
31. I’ve come to realize that I love … the people who can read my facial expressions and appreciate my sarcasm & shyness.
32. I’ve come to realize that I don’t understand … people who purposely set out to upset other people.
33. I’ve come to realize my past … is best left in the past. It's the future that matters.
34. I’ve come to realize that parties … bring out the shy side of me.
35. I’ve come to realize that I’m totally terrified … heights. Seriously. Planes and roller coasters are ok; but ladders - FORGET IT!