The Night Before Christmas Checklist Recipes

Thanksgiving is over everybody and guess what's next, Christmas! Today we are going to talk about foods that have to be on your checklist, which are crab cakes, pumpkin and meatball risotto, prime rib, min caramel apple pies and spiced apple cider, but today we are going to focus on the mini caramel apple pie.

Fruit pies have always been my favorite, especially apple. I enjoy the taste of caramel flavored ice-cream and syrup.
The mini caramel apple pie contains:
3 cups apples (peeled and diced, Jonathan or Granny Smith)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
1 egg white
1 package refrigerated pie crusts (or your favorite recipe)

Make sure you put apples that are not naturally sweetened or too soft because it will affect the flavor and the texture. My mother and I made two pies one with granny smith and one with golden delicious. The granny smith pie was perfect, but the golden delicious was too sweet and mushy.
Apple pies are the best when the apples are crispy and the crust is flaky. Also from experience, spread butter and egg-whites on the insides of the raw and finished pie crust. This coating makes the crust resistant to the leakage of the pie juices.

In the recipe it calls for two tbsp. of butter; however butter has not affect on the process of cooking it nor it does not take h flavor of the pie. You can actually out more butter than it calls for. The more butter there is the better! Also the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg can be put in there adjusted to your desire. This is the most perfect Christmas dessert, with all of the spices of this holiday cinnamon and nutmeg!

Directions for the pie:

1. Peel and dice apples.
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream.
4. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 6 minutes to soften apples.
5. Remove crusts from fridge. Flatten out one of the doughs on a cutting board.
6. Gently cut 4 inch circles of dough using a cup, bowl, or cookie cutter with a 4-inch diameter.
7. Press dough into the muffin tin cups, making a thin even layer on the bottom and around the sides.
8. Spoon apple mixture into each cup right up to the rim , but no higher.
9. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out small strips (6 per pie) slightly longer than the width of the top of the pies. Lay strips across the tops in a lattice pattern and attach to edges of pies using the end of butter knife.
10. Lightly brush egg white over tops of lattice.
11. Bake pies at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and apple mixture is bubbling.

MAIN BLOG
MINI CARAMEL APPLE PIE RECIPE

 

 

 

"Mini Caramel Apple Pies | Yummly." Yummly. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.yummly.com/dish/2012/10/caramel-apple-mini-pies/>.

"The Night Before Christmas Checklist | Yummly." Yummly. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.yummly.com/dish/2012/12/the-night-before-christmas-checklist/>.

 

Mini Maple Sweet Potato Pie

Do any of you know what my favorite fall food is? A sweet potato! Not just plain sweet potato,but sugary, spice-infused, maple sweet potato.You guessed it, sweet potato pie!

Sweet potato pie is the best snippet of Thanksgiving. It is the dessert I have been waiting to eat since the first three months of school. Sweet potatoes have been around since prehistoric times. Back in 1492, when Christopher Columbus explored and discovered America, he found Native Americans. The Natives had been growing sweet potatoes,Christopher saw them,and took them to be cultivated elsewhere.


To make the pie you would need your traditional ingredients for the filling: mashed sweet potato, butter, soft light brown sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,and salt. Nothing has to be cooked, except the sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes could be either boiled or baked.I prefer baked because the natural flavoring stays in the potato.When you boil it the potato taste bland.

 I like this recipe except they had forgotten the vanilla flavoring. Passionate bakers would not put any pastries or sweets in the oven without vanilla flavoring. The vanilla makes every baked good sweeter and richer. It would be your choice to put vanilla flavoring in the pie;however if you choose not to, I recommend you to mix it in. There is also the crust. If you know how to make crust, you could make it your self, but on the recipe it said frozen pie crust.

The recipe and instructions for Mini Maple Sweet Potato Pie is below:

Pastry
400g short crust pastry (store bought or homemade)
Filling
450g mashed sweet potato
60g butter (softened)
150g soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
200ml evaporated milk
2tbsp maple syrup
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ginger
1/2tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp salt

Instructions

1. Pre heat the oven to 200C.
2. Mix all the filling ingredients together until well combined.
3. Grease 12 10cm (4") loose bottomed tartlet tins.
4. Roll out the pastry and line each tartlet tin.
5. Prick the bottom of each lined tin multiple times with a fork.
6. Pour the sweet potato mixture into each tin leaving 1/2cm of pastry at the top of each one.
7. Bake for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat to 170C and bake for a further 20 minutes or until done.
8. Do not let them brown too much.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             To prevent burnt crust there are Pie Crust Shields sold at William Sonoma 

"Search inside Scoop.it | Scoop.it." Scoop.it. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.scoop.it/search?q=thanksgiving dinner recipe&type=post&page=1&limit=24>.

Different Types of stuffing for Thanksgiving

How many types turkey stuffings are really there?  The traditional stuffing is made with bread crumbs. Believe it or not there are a variety of stuffing you can use for your turkey. Tune in for many flavorful and creative way to make turkey stuffing! Stuffing is the best part of Thanksgiving dinner you could make!

There is not a specific way to make stuffing;however we tend to make the same stuffing every year. there are thirteen different types of stuffing such as:

  Homemade stuffing 

The best stuffing ever

Fruit and herb stuffing

 bacon leek stuffing with sage and pecans

bacon,apple and Fennel Naan Stuffing

 Italian thanksgiving stuffing

  

apple,sausage, cornbread dressing

corn bread challah stuffing

stuffing with sweet potato and cranberries

golden torn bread dressing with four cheeses

 

Quinoa stuffing

,thanksgiving stuffing hushpuppies

Cheesecake stuffed peaches

Most of these recipes are vegetarian, which is beneficial. Some people cannot eat meat or choose not to eat meat so they have to have other alternatives. These flavors come from many different cultures so you will not have that original breadcrumb taste, there will be a burst of flavor in your mouth. There is also a dessert stuffing with peaches filled with cheesecake. It sounds tasty! I cant wait to try these recipes for Thanksgiving!

"13 Thanksgiving Stuffings to Stuff Yourself With This Year | NoshOn.It." NoshOn.It. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <http://noshon.it/blog/2013/11/13-thanksgiving-stuffing-recipes/>.

The links above contain the recipe for each illustration. 

Bacon Lattice Macaroni Pie

It is finally here, it's what we have been waiting for, Thanksgiving! Today I am going to show you why Bacon Lattice Macaroni Pie looks so good and why it should be on everyone's holiday menu.

Bacon lattice macaroni pie, and yes the crust is included(we're talking about a carb overload over here). Macaroni inserted into a flaky, golden-brown  homemade crust topped with full slices of bacon, latticed together. I, myself, love bacon, pie and macaroni; however, I never thought the three would come together. These food are commonly known to be eaten around Thanksgiving, but they were never thought of being put together. The only savory pie I have heard of is Sheppard's Pie, now this pie has been created!

Thanksgiving came from the Pilgrims first dinner in 1621 at the Plymouth Plantation; however, it is celebrated throughout the country. Ninety natives attended and 53 pilgrims came also. It lasted for three days. Even though Thanksgiving is celebrated throughout the whole country, different cultures eat different foods. For an example, in Spain there will not be turkey or macaroni, instead you will find shrimp, tomatoes and other foods. Only the countries with distinctive cultural differences will eat different foods. In America and Europe we will eat similar foods. In my opinion, people of all cultures should have a fair share of bacon macaroni pie. It seems like the best food in the world, looking at the picture. All of my favorite foods in one picture. This is definitely going to be on my menu for every holiday!

INGREDIENTS
For the crust
3½ cups all-purpose flour (from the freezer if possible)
1 cup (2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
¼ cup cold vegetable shortening
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. scant apple cider vinegar + enough ice water to make ¾ cup liquid
For mac ‘n’ cheese filling
5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups dried macaroni
4 Tbsp. of butter (½ a stick)
4 Tbsp. flour
2.5 cups heavy cream
2 tsp mustard powder
1 egg yolk
1 pound grated cheese — an equal parts mixture of gruyere, sharp cheddar, brie (no rind)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the bacon lattice
8 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

"How To Make A Macaroni And Cheese Pie With A Bacon Lattice." BuzzFeed. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.buzzfeed.com/emofly/macaroni-and-cheese-pie-with-a-bacon-lattice#2nlj6lw>
For more detailed steps and picture on how to make this dish press the link below
Bacon Lattice Macaroni Pie

Broccoli Makes You Happy?

 Broccoli effects your thoughts and moods by creating higher levels of happiness, creativity and curiosity. No wonder why vegans are always happy.

          Broccoli makes you happy? I beg to differ. It is a vegetable, not cake! However, broccoli is good for the health of your brain and controls your moods. It refreshes the mind and allows you to think more clear (which is probably the reason why our parent always say, "eat your vegetables", because they want us to do well in school). Broccoli,like other vegetables, contain high levels of Dopamine. The University of Otago's psychologist, Tamlin Conner, says that, "One possible explanation is the micronutrient content of vegetables and fruits." Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that heightens motivation and improves engagement, hence the reason why it takes a large role of a healthy mind.

          When we are stressed we eat desserts. After all, dessert is stressed backwards,correct? Indeed it is! In some foreign countries broccoli is constantly eaten, although in the United States, hardly ever. Since broccoli controls the levels of happiness and creativity, it should be the first item on your grocery list, not ice cream. All sugar does is create happiness for an hour and slowly brings the unhappiness back.  Broccoli gives you life long happiness,as long as you continuously eat it. It also reduces bodily inflammation and depression. Next time your feeling down, drop the cookies and pick up a bag of broccoli.   

Source

The Food Revolution Network

Works Cited

"Broccoli Makes You Happy - Food Revolution Network." Food Revolution Network. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://foodrevolution.org/blog/broccoli-makes-happy/>.

             Hello, stranger! Welcome to my blog. I am a regular girl from Georgia and I am 14 years young. This blog contains the following things I am compassionate about: food, food, food, noodles  and food.