oooh, yum! Apple Pie Bars!

Yesterday, I was given some apples.  Paula Red apple to be exact and they were yummy!  Crisp, sweet and juicy.  I have been craving a favorite fall recipe of mine for awhile now and finally I could make it! 

Apple Pie Bars!  They make a bar pan full, so feel free to share with friends, or eat a whole row yourself...oops! :)  Hey I was hungry, it was right before supper and... well um they tasted good, maybe too good because I'm thinking another row for breakfast would be pretty amazing!




just before the top crust is put on. Yummmm!


Here is the recipe I know you just can't wait to make these!
Apple Pie Bars
3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks with milk to make 1 cup. (save those egg whites for later in the recipe)

Mix all these ingredients into a ball and divide in half.  Roll our half in bottom of bar pan.

Peel/ Slice 6-8 apples (I always do at least 8)
add 1 cup sugar or more to taste (brown sugar is best!)
1/3 cup flour ( if you forget to add this like I did, oops, they still turn out delish, maybe a tad runny...haha! )
1-2 tsp cinnamon

Mix apples and sugar and cinnamon and then pour onto crust.
Dot with butter
Roll our second half of crust and put on top.  Pinch sides all around.  Brush top with egg whites that you've fluffed with a fork.  Poke holes in crust.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes
then 375 for 20-30 minutes.

After it's done, mix some powdered sugar and milk until you get a somewhat thick consitency and drizzle over bars!

Then just try to resist waiting until they are somewhat cool so you don't burn your mouth.

These are so good and so worth making!

 

For some reason it won't let me make this picture bigger, but even this size  is making me hungry! I think it's time to go eat some more before my kids finish them off, they are that good!

 

Yummy Soup for a Cool, Brisk, Fall Day!

Today the sun is shining, but it's really quite deceiving.  When you step outside, the weather is brisk, the wind is blowing and it's really a great day to stay inside and enjoy some warm, cozy foods like soup! 

Quite a few years ago, a friend gave me a simple, inexpensive recipe for soup that I have used over and over.  It has also been a much requested recipe as well.

Potato Leek Soup
3-4 Leeks - Cut the ends of and the greens.  Slice the leeks down the middle and then run them under water to clean out all of the dirt that likes to hide in the layers. Then chop them up somewhat fine.
1 Stick of butter
5-10lbs of potatoes depending on your family size. Peeled and cut into chunks (not overally large)
Water
salt and pepper to taste- salt is really key to this recipe being yummy!

Melt the butter in your stockpot.  Add the leeks and cook until they are limp.  Add potatoes, salt and pepper  and just cover them with water.  Cook until potatoes are done.  Then either with a blender, or one of those nifty hand blenders, mix the soup until desired consistency.  (We like ours to have some chunks of potatoes left, but not too many as the more you blend the thicker your soup.)  After you have done this add more salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

What I love about this soup, is that today when I made it, I didn't have any leeks, so instead I used a nice sized onion and it tasted just as good! 

 

So warm and filling on a cool, fall day!

Love everything about Fall!

 

There's just something about Fall that I love!  Maybe it's the cooler weather or maybe it's the leaves changing color and crunching under your feet, could be that bonfires are just so much more fun in Fall, or the fact that I absolutely adore anything made with pumpkin, or apples or cider.... on and on it goes. 

My love affair with Fall started when I was a little girl, and my mom would begin to decorate our house with leaves from outside, pinecones and a few pumpkins tucked here and there.  The house began to smell heavenly each day as a pot of chicken soup, or some fresh baked cookies were sitting on the stove waiting for little hands to enjoy! 

Now it's my girls who look forward to Fall.  Each claiming it to be their favorite season!  We all love to decorate our house and have done so since they were quite little.  This year, I added a project into the decorating mix.  Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of it along the way, but I know there are tutorials out there on how to do this.

First I found an old suitcase, (one of the benefits of my mom owning a home decor shop) then we ripped out the lining inside it and my dear husband cut it in half the long way.  We then added some wood on the sides and attached picture hanger....And your ready to hang!

Enjoy these lovely Fall days before all too soon they are gone and winter sets in!