Stuffed & Baked Apples

When I was a teenager, my dad used to force me to help him stuff the turkey every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was the one job that I DETESTED and I let him know it. I whined and complained and pulled every dramatic that a teenage girl could dream up, but he never wavered and always made me help. I think he just loved stirring up trouble beause he knew I hated that job.  

Since becoming a vegetarian, I try to steer clear of the bird and let the meat eaters tackle that job.

When it comes to stuffing food, I'd much rather stuff some sweet and juicy apples with a crumbly oatmeal mixture!! Since we got home from vacation, I can't get enough sweets. I've made chocolate macaroons and caramel popcorn, chowed down on a crustless pumpkin pie and even snuck a few bites of frozen Cool Whip right out of the freezer!! I'm telling you that getting  back into an eating routine is really hard after a week of Vegas indulgence followed by my birthday.

Yesterday, I prowled around the kitchen all day looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth. I couldn't find anything, so I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands. I had a bag of apples that needed to be used up, so what better treat could I make than some baked apples stuffed with oatmeal, cocount and brown sugar?! 

The result was what I would call an inside out apple crumble that warms you from the inside out. It only takes a few minutes to put together and is absolutely delish! I topped my stuffed apple with some Cool Whip because that's all I had on hand, but they would be absolutely divine with some coconut or vanilla bean ice cream. 

Stuffed & Baked Apples

Serves 3 or 4

3 - 4 large apples, washed & cored

1/2 c large rolled oats

1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 c chopped pecans

1/4 c brown sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350. Line a small baking sheet with tinfoil or parchment paper.

Mix together all of the ingredients (except of course the apples) in a small mixing bowl.

Stuff the mixture into the apples.

Bake the apples for 24 - 26 minutes. They are done when the apples are soft and the oatmeal mixture is a golden brown.

This is a great way to use up some apples that have been hanging around too long.

Carve out the core and leave a great big space for all of that delicious filling.

Crumbly, oaty stuffing --- mmmmmmmm......

Stuff in as much oaty deliciousness as you can!

Line your pan with tinfoil to avoid a sticky mess.

Anything that cuts back on dish washing is a winner in my book!

Top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Seriously amazing!

What do you snack on when you have a "sweets" craving?

Favourite apple recipe? Link me up.

Have a fabulous day,

Andrea

Skor Bar Trifle

Happy Sunday and to those of you who celebrate Easter ~ Happy Easter!!

I don't know what has come over me, but I have yet another sinfully delicious dessert to share with you today. Let's just say I'm going to be hitting the gym extra hard this week to make up for all of my indulgences this weekend. I'm even planning to go to a 6:15 a.m. spin class tomorrow and I have the day off!!

My friend, Judy, brought this dessert to our potluck (it is the one thing that is always in high demand) and I knew I just had to make it for one of our family dinners this weekend.

I know, I know ~ I'm a little late for those of you who have to bring dessert to Sunday dinner, but hopefully you have another meal planned with family and friends in the very near future. Or you could just whip one up to wow your family with, but be warned, it will not last in your refrigerator long. You'll be tempted to sneak itty bitty spoonfuls every time you pass by the refrigerator door. My plan is to give any leftovers away so none comes home with us. That way we can have a small taste today and then it's out of the house!!

This is a super easy recipe. Today I used all packaged/pre-made stuff, but you can definitely tweak it and use your favourite recipes if you prefer.

Skor Bar Trifle

Recipe by my dear friend, Judy (if you love beading and jewellery, check out her blog here)

This recipe is gorgeous to look at and sinfully delicious to eat. It will make all the chocolate lovers in your family go weak in the knees. Really, it's THAT good!

2 boxes of fudgy brownie mix, prepared ~ makes a 9x13 pan 

2 boxes of chocolate mousse

4 c. whipped cream (I used Cool Whip), thawed

4 Skor bars, chopped

Get our your favourite clear trifle bowl. You'll need a fairly large bowl for this or you could do a smaller trifle by cutting the ingredients in half.

Once the brownies are completely cool, break them into chunks.

This pan is as old as the hills, but it is one of those pans that I love. I think it's an old cake pan from my grandma. Nothing sticks, everything bakes evenly and I always have success when using it!

Prepare the chocolate mousse according to the package directions.  

Now you're ready to start building your trifle! I do 3 sets of layers starting in this order (from the bottom up): brownie, topped with chocolate mousse, topped with Cool Whip, topped with Skor ~ repeat two more times.

End by sprinkling the remaining Skor bar on top. I also used some leftover mini eggs I had. They're festive and I really didn't want them in my house tempting me.

I have to admit, Judy's layers look much better than mine, but it still tastes awesome!

Everytime Judy has made this or I have taken this to a dinner or potluck it is a huge success. Everyone loves this dessert. Bring copies of the recipe with you because people are going to ask you for it!! 

I also made some vanilla pudding cookies with chopped up mini eggs (in place of chocolate chips). These are really, really good. Check out Maria's recipe here.

What is your all-time favourite holiday dessert??

What are your plans for this glorious Sunday?

I hope you have a gorgeous day filled with the love and laughter of your family and friends...and maybe a couple of these ;-)

Andrea

P.S. - Keep an eye out tomorrow because I am planning to share a very healthy recipe to get back on the road to being fit & fab!!

Oreo Truffle Balls

WARNING:

This recipe is not for the faint of heart. It is sinful, it is delicious and it is one of my all-time favourites. If you are watching what you eat this Easter Weekend or you are trying to refrain from sweets, you might want to skip this post.

However, if you love a little treat and you are looking for something fabulous to bring to your family's Easter celebration, keep reading. I have the easiest recipe that is going to "wow" everyone!

My stretchy pants are still out and it's the beginning of a four day weekend, so I felt it was a day to celebrate. This recipe is Easter Bunny approved and I know you are going to love it! 

This is all you need: 

Uh oh. You're drooling already aren't you?

Oreo Truffle Balls

Makes approximately 16 truffles

Recipe from How Sweet It Is

This recipe is so incredibly easy and these truffle balls are so incredibly delicious! Be careful, a batch could easily be eaten in one sitting :-) Do you have your stretchy pants out?!?

1 box of oreo cookies

1 block of cream cheese at room temperature

Something to coat your truffles in - I used semi sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate and sprinkles

Add the oreo cookies to your food processor and process into a crumb. As you know, my food processor recently bit the dust, so I used my blender. I had to do batches. It worked okay but a food processor works the best for this. Your cookie crumbs should look something like this.

Cut the cream cheese into chunks. Add to the cookie mixture in the food processor and process until well mixed. If you are using a blender, you will have to do it in batches.

The filling was pretty soft and sticky, so I put it into the freezer for 15 minutes. It was much easier to roll into balls after it was chilled.

Roll the dough into one inch balls and place them in the freezer for at least an hour. Now, if you can restrain yourself, DO NOT taste test the truffles at this time. You start out tasting one and end up eating three, uh five. 

By now, I assume you've ignored my advice and had a taste. They're like mini oreo cheesecakes in a ball. Now try not to eat a bunch or you're going to end up having to buy even bigger stretchy pants..gulp.

Once the hour has passed, melt your chocolate chips. I melted mine in the microwave making sure to stir every 30 seconds. I dipped half in semi-sweet chocolate and the other half in white chocolate.

Of course, in keeping with my current obsession, sprinkles were a must.

I think the sprinkles make these look like the perfect treat for Easter!

After dipping the truffles in the chocolate, I put them in a freezer appropriate Tupperware container lined with parchment paper. You can freeze the truffles until you are ready to eat them. Notice how I said YOU? Freezing does nothing to deter me from sneaking a truffle now and again...I'll eat them frozen, thawed or melted ~ it all tastes the same to me! My best advice is taste a couple and then give the rest away.
 

People love these and they are an awesome treat for any party or family gathering. Everyone will be asking you for the recipe!!

I hope you have a wonderful Good Friday. Maybe you can squeeze in some time to whip up these truffles for your Sunday dinner. We have nothing going on tomorrow, so I am planning to make some food for our family dinners on Saturday and Sunday. We are also hoping to get the house cleaned, take the dogs for a long walk and then enjoy a nice, relaxing evening watching movies and eating homemade nachos ~ sounds heavenly to me!

Do you have any big plans for Good Friday?
What's your favourite cookie/sweet that you love to make for the holidays?

Goodnight!

Andrea

Grandma's Spiced Fruit

Tonight I had my weekly dinner with my grandparents. After a very long day at work, I walked through their door to an amazing aroma. Sitting on the stove was a big pan of spiced fruit. Sweet pears, peaches and pineapple smothered in a brown sugar curry sauce. Who would have thought?!

I don't normally cook with curry and I think I'm a little afraid of it. I have only had Indian food a couple of times and normally I find the smell of curried dishes to be too strong and over-powering for my tastes.

But this dish was certainly an exception. It was delicious!

Grandma's Spiced Fruit
This recipe is my grandma's version. See the note below for my healthier variation.

20 oz canned peaches, halved
20 oz canned pears, halved
20 oz  canned pineapple rings
1/3 c melted butter
3/4 c brown sugar
2 tsp curry

Heat oven to 375. Greast a 9" x 13" pan. Arrange fruit in the pan.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the fruit. Bake for 15 minutes, making sure to baste the fruit after 10 minutes.

This dish was really fabulous. I think it would be amazing served with vanilla bean or french vanilla ice cream!

*NOTE: It would be so easy to make a healthier version. Just substitute the canned fruit for fresh fruit and the butter for Earth Balance. It probably would take longer to bake, but it would be so worth it!! I actually found the canned fruit a bit too sweet and I think fresh fruit would be amazing. I will let you know how it turns out when I try my version.

Grandmas are the absolute best! She was beaming as I snapped a few pictures of her dish. I think I just might start a Wednesday tradition featuring one of her dishes. She will feel like a star! :-)

What is your favourite curry dish - I would love to step out of my comfort zone & try some new dishes - send me your recipes please!!

Good night all!

Andrea