Something New: Apple Puff-Up

It's funny how heated things get when I present a vote on which recipes to post. Things were dead even until the Apple Puff-Up team surged ahead with a show of unity and self-"likes."

Not to worry. The Candy Bar Cookie recipe will be up next. Just give me until the Weekend, Team CBC.

I found a version of this recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook last night while looking for my pancake recipe. There are so many additions and substitutions and cross-offs and post-its on the pancake page, it's a surprise I saw this recipe at all.

It turned out to be an amazingly easy recipe to make, and we had all of the ingredients right on hand. And it's fun to see just how tall it gets in the oven. If you're looking for a breakfast (or breakfast for dinner) treat, try this!

Happy cooking!

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Apple Puff-Up

Ingredients

½ cup flour

½ cup milk

2 large eggs

¼ tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

1 medium apple

2-3 Tbsp brown sugar (depending on the sweetness of your apple)

¼ tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

Powdered sugar or maple syrup (as garnish)

Direction

s

1. Preheat the over to 400 degrees.

2. In a 9-inch pie plate, melt the butter in the oven. Brush the melted butter over the bottom and sides of plate.

3. As the butter is melting, peel the apple and cut into thin slices.

4. Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over melted butter in pie plate. Arrange apple slices on top of sugar.

5. In a medium bowl, beat eggs until just blended. Using a hand beater, add in flour, milk and salt until just mixed. Do not over beat.

6. Immediately pour the batter over the apples. Use a spatula to spread so that all apples are covered.

7. Bake in the oven for 16-20 minutes until golden and puffy, turning the pie plate halfway through baking.

8. Remove from oven and let deflate slightly. Slice into pie pieces and serve topped with powdered sugar (dessert) or maple syrup (breakfast).

Apples arranged on top of the melted butter and brown sugar.

Spreading the batter with the funny spatula from future brother-in-law. (There's a "Nice" one too!)

Out of the oven ...

... onto my plate! Happy cooking!

Something Different: Frog Eye Salad

Welcome to a new year, food friends!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I know mine was certainly was, full of family and wonderful surprises.

I wanted to start off the new year with something sweet and something from the family. I haven't finished sorting through the pictures from my Christmas in Kansas, but I happen to have a neat digital pile of pictures of the Frog Eye Salad recipe from Chase's mom.

Not to worry. The "frog eyes" are are actually a tiny pasta called Acini de Pepe. This is one of those recipes that seems very unusual, and it is, but once you taste the complex sweetness of this side dish, you'll be hooked.

Happy 2012 cooking!

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Frog Eye Salad

NOTE: This recipe requires overnight refrigeration!

Ingredients

1 lb acini de pepe pasta

1 cup white sugar

2 Tbsp flour

½ tsp

salt

1

¾ cup unsweetened pineapple juice (you can get most of this when you drain the canned pineapple)

2 eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained

2 cans pineapple tidbits, drained (reserving juice)

1 can crushed pineapple, drained (reserving juice)

1 cup maraschino cherries

1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip

1 cup miniature marshmallows (o

ptional)

Di

rections

1. Cook acini pasta according to package directions. Drain and let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine sugar, flour, salt, pineapple juice and eggs. Stir slowly and continuously until the mixture thickens to almost pudding consistency.

3. Remove mixture from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let cool for 10 minutes.

4. In a very large bowl (I used the same large pot that I cooked the pasta in), combine pasta and pudding mixture. Then stir in Cool Whip until all pasta is coated.

5. Gently fold in fruits.

6. Refrigerate overnight. Stir in mini marshmallows right before serving. Enjoy.

Package of frog eyes.

Big pot of cooling pasta.

The first time I made this, I made the mistake of stirring in the fruit before the Cool Whip,

and ended up with smooshed mandarine oranges. Oops! Still delicious.

Happy cooking!