Apple Spice Cake

Made this for dessert tonight.  Came out pretty great.  I think next time I make it I will use all Macintosh.  I think the Granny Smith made it a bit dry.  But with some caramel or vanilla ice cream....YUM.  Maybe even both :)

Here is what you need :

3 Granny Smith Apples. halved and cut into 1/2 in thick wedges

2 Macintosh Apples, halved and cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges

1 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice

2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

 Confectioners' sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and 1 tsp of the cinnamon.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, oil, orange juice and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and whisk together just until combined.  Add half the apples and mix to combine.  Spread into prepared pan.

Arrange the remaining apples on top.  Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon and bake until a wooden pick inserted in teh center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.  Dust with confectioners' sugar.  

Trip to CVS today

I love stocking up on hair color and the college kids can use more laundry detergent now they are heading back to school.  

Total cost :             $79.95

less sale savings:       20.43

less coupons:            50.27

Out of pocket:        $ 9.25    88.4% savings

Saving on hair color is always a bonus.  Though that will vanish quickly from my stockpile.  :)

Here is how I did it:

1st transaction:

(1) CoverGirl Blush $4.39

(1) CoverGirl Blush $2.19  (50% off)

(3) Nice and Easy Hair Color $5.99

total $24.55

Use $10 ECB from Beauty Club spending (really should join this if you are not a member.  For every $50 you spend on beauty products you earn $5 in ECB  Join Beauty Club )

Use (3) $3/1 Clairol Natural Instincts or Nice n Easy coupon (exp 9.30.12, SS 8.12.12 )

Use (1) $3/2 CoverGirl product coupon (exp 8.31.12, P & G 7.29.12)

Use (1) $2 off any hair color - CVS coupon from the lovely red machine.  (Make sure you run your card through the CRT every single time you go in the store.  And do it until it says no more coupons today.  Sometimes I can grab 3 bunches of them.  Today I got lucky and it spit out this $2 coupon)

Pay $0.55* 

Earn $5 ECB

Submit for a $5 rebate Rebate

2nd transaction

(1) Gillette Fusion or Venus Razor $9.99

(3) Garnier Shampoo/Conditioner  3/$10

(1) Good'n Natural Bar  $0.99

total $20.98

Use $5 ECB from trans 1

Use (3) $1/1 Garnier Shampoo, Conditioner or Treatment coupon ( exp 9.29.12, RP 7.29.12 )

Use (1) FREE Good'n Natural Bar coupon (exp 9.15.12, RP 8.12.12)

Use (1) $4/1 Gillette Fusion or Venus Refillable coupon ( exp 9.30.12, RP 8.12.12)

Pay $7.99*

Earn $4 ECB and $3 ECB

3rd transaction

(1) Poise Body Cooling Towelettes $3.99

(2) Wisk Detergent  $4.99

Total $13.97

Use $7 ECB from trans 2

Use (2) $2/1 Wisk Detergent 45 oz or larger (RP 8.12.12)

Use (1) $1/1 Poise Body Cooling Towelettes, Feminine Wash or Panty Fresheners ( exp 9.22.12, SS 8.12.12)

Use (1) $1/1 Poise CVS Coupon Poise

Pay $0.97*

Earn $1.50 ECB 

* This is before tax.  Tax is calculated on the prices BEFORE coupons.  :(

Provencal Summer Vegetable Bake

Made this for dinner last night.  Needed a bit more spicing up so I increased a few things for you to add to it.  Would even be great with some marinara sauce over some pasta....

Ingredients 2 medium sweet onions 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoon salt 3 cloves garlic chopped 1 15ounce can cannellini beans drained and rinsed 2 1/2 teaspoons herbes de Provence 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 large eggplant (about 1 pound), ends trimmed, halved lengthwise 3 large summer squash (combination of zucchini and yellow squash), ends trimmed 1/2 pound russet potatoes 3 plum tomatoes 4 -8 oz mozzarella cheese

Instructions1. Heat oven to 400 degrees . Peel and halve onions; cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a largesaute pan over medium heat. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in beans, 1/2 teaspoon of the herbes de Provence and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Pour mixture into bottom of a 9 x 13 oven-safe casserole. 2. Meanwhile, cut eggplant, squash, potatoes and tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices. (To speed things up, use a food processor fitted with a slicing blade or a mandoline.) Toss vegetables with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence and 1 teaspoon pepper. Arrange vegetables on top of onion-bean mixture in 1 layer; pack tightly. 3. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 15 more minutes. Cool slightly and slice into 4 servings.

Made A Lemonade Layer Cake today

This was so easy to make and it tasted great.  Perfect for a hot sunny day.  Something about lemonade, you just can't go wrong.  I went a bit over on the decorating, but yellow and pink flowers just seemed to work.  Plus I love using my new 2D decorating tip.

Lemonade Layer Cake

Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

Made this to use on some pork ribs and can't wait to try it on chicken. Spicy hot when you taste it, but seems to loose some of the bite when you use it on the meat.  So don't cut the heat before you cook with it.  Can make this up to 2 weeks ahead.

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Bourbon plus a shot for the chef :)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke (I used mesquite)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring all ingredients to boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced to 2 cups.  About 10 minutes, stirring often.

Cover and chill.  Use at room temperature.

Vegetable Garden

It has been a while but things have been incredibly busy.  We managed to pull off the birthday party for my Dad.  80 years old.  Wow.  It was a lot of fun and the food went over really well.  One of the appetizers was this vegetable garden.  I bought some green Styrofoam at Hobby Lobby along with some green spanish moss.  Then put all the veggies on skewers.  I found these great small green pails at Target and used them for the vegetable dip.  Everyone loved it.  The skewers made it even easier to eat. :)

Fresh Strawberry Crumble

We bought lots of strawberries this week so I needed to find something to do with them.  This turned out delicious.  I wasn't sure about using cinnamon but turns out it worked.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups quick oats

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

2/3 cup cold butter

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

In a bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.   Stir in the strawberries.  Set Aside

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.  Cut in the butter so it looke like coarse crumbs.  Reserve about 1 cup for topping.  Press the remaining crumb mixture into a greased 9 inch pan.  

Spoon the strawberries over the crust.  Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.  Serve warm.  Goes great with vanilla ice cream!!