Apple Pie

This week, we found ourselves in the midst of the famed Polar Vortex, which brought temps to a frigid -30 without the wind chill. As we kept ourselves bundled up, and indoors, my family requested that I make their favorite apple pie. I was happy to oblige, and I thought I would share it with you.

Our favorite Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Your favorite pie crust

6 cups of thinly peeled and sliced apples

3/4 cup sugar

2 T. flour

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 T. lemon juice

small amount of milk for top pie crust

extra sugar to sprinkle on pie crust

Heat oven to 425 degrees. I haven't mastered homemade pie crust, so I use store bought. Place bottom crust in 9 inch pie plate. Mix apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Put apple mixture on pie crust. Place top pie crust over apples, and seal. Cut vent slits into crust. Brush a small amount of milk over tp crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover edges of pie crust with a pie shield or aluminum foil. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until crust is golden brown, and apples are tender. Enjoy!

Ranch Baked Beans

We're in the midst of another snow storm, so my family was in the mood for some comfort food tonight. We all agreed that it should be my mother-in-law's Ranch Baked Beans, which is a summer camp favorite. This dish is anything but health food, but once in awhile, it's just, yum! Some women keep their favorite recipes a secret, but my mil was always ready to make a copy for anyone who wanted one. Above is the photocopied recipe that she gave me. I didn't take a picture of the finished product, because while the dish is so good, it isn't one that looks great on camera, like a pretty dessert would. Instead, I'll just give you the recipe here, in case you would like to give it a try. Serve it with a green salad.

Ranch Baked Beans

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

6 slices bacon, diced and fried

2 lbs. canned pork and beans

1 lb. kidney beans, drained

1 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons mustard

2 teaspoons vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

Brown ground beef and onion together, drain off fat. Combine all remaining ingredients, mixing well. Put into slow cooker and cook on low heat 2 to 4 hours, or bake, covered, at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 8-12

Weekend Snow

Doesn't that look like an impressive amount of snow? The forecast for our area included a winter storm that might bring in excess of 6 inches. While this photo looks notable, it was really the result of blowing snow. We did get a decent accumulation, maybe three inches or so. I'm not really a winter loving gal, so I'm glad that this was a powdery snow, and not bad to shovel. That was pretty much the excitement for the weekend. It was actually rather quiet. My husband took the girls out both Saturday and today, and I had the whole quiet house to myself for a few hours. Once in awhile, it's really nice to get that quiet time to recharge. Now, I sit here typing, off to bed in a few minutes, but enjoying a few more quiet moments before the busy week begins. Hope you found some time to rest this weekend too.

Ok, well we made it through our first week back to school for the 2019 year. The past few months have been nuts for a variety of reasons, and I still find myself playing catch up. I could have, I should have, used my time this weekend to get some things done. Instead, I did quite a bit of nothing, and you know what? It was pretty nice. We had our first snow of January, and in between shoveling, we sat ourselves in front of the tv.

The week will have a couple of things going on, school wise, but it should be fairly low key. Perhaps by the end of the month I'll be back on track all of the way. Happy Sunday!

Here We Go...

Alright, yes, well, we are back to our school schedule tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting back into our routine, and knowing what day of the week it is, ha. I had planned to get a jump on my school planning this afternoon, but, well, I didn't. Now, I'm almost off to bed, and looking at the pile of school books on the dining room table. But, they're not going anywhere, are they? I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year's holiday. Now, let's make 2019 a great year!

Made It!

I am so glad to be on the other side of Christmas! It's been a very stressful month, but I'm hoping to catch at least a couple of days to rest and recharge, before we jump back into the school year. We celebrated our last family holiday gathering this morning with a trip to a favorite 1800's home turned hotel/restaurant. Great food, great fellowship. Now, I'm ready to take a breath. Hope your Christmas week was a great one!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a blessed and safe holiday!