Puppy Chow with McKenzie

So a couple weekends ago my best friend from Green Bay, McKenzie, came to Milwaukee! Kyle was out of town hunting so it was perfect timing for a visit! When she saw that I started the blog she text me right away saying that we needed to make something blogworthy when she was here! McKenzie is also a huge baker and always making delicious food! She should start a blog too!! ;) Anyways, since I met McKenzie (about 7 years ago!) we have been enjoying puppy chow together.  The recipe I'm sharing is her tweaked version of the puppy chow from Chex.  It is amazing and highly addictive so I hope you fall in love with it like I have! :) Thanks for visiting Kenz! <3


McKenzie's Puppy Chow 

Ingredients 

9 cups corn chex

1 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl or pot, measure out 9 cups of chex.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.  Microwave for about one minute.  Stir.  Put back into microwave for about 30 more seconds.  Stir.  Continue until mixture is smooth.  Be careful not to over heat the mixture because chocolate can burn VERY easily! 

3.  Add vanilla to mixture. 

4. Pour mixture over chex.  Mix until all the chex all thoroughly coated. 

5.  Pour chex into a large paper grocery bag (like McKenzie does!) or a large ziploc bag. 

6.  Add powdered sugar into bag and shake shake shake.  Add as much sugar as needed to thoroughly coat the chex. McKenzie thinks the more the merrier! :) 

7.  Pour back into a bowl. 

8. Enjoy! McKenzie prefers her puppy chow cold so it might be a good idea to put it into the fridge for an hour or so! 

Love her! 

Apple Pie

I'm so sorry that I haven't had an updated in so long!!! My computer decided to stop allowing me to upload pictures.  I had this post done for awhile but I wanted to add pictures! I will now be using Kyle's computer for blogging! I have a lot of new recipes to share! I've made muffins, pot pie, a low fat queso dip, and so so many more!  I can't wait to share them so hopefully I will have time soon.  Also, if you do try a recipe and feel like I left something out, please comment and let me know so I can make changes to the originals! Thanks for reading. :)

Here is the apple pie post!!


Well, thanks to Pick N Saves 2/$5 deal, I had extra crust that needed to be used so I decided to make a pie! After Kyle told me he "loved" apple pie, I decided to make one! I found a recipe online, made a few changes, and went for it! I have to be honest, the prep didn't go as well as I hoped it would.  I should have done things in a different order to make it a bit easier.  Luckily for you, you can do it right the first time with this recipe!  It was delicious so I highly recommend trying it!

Apple Pie

Prep time: 30 minutes        Cook time: 50-60 minutes

Yields: 1- 9 inch pie

Ingredients:

4 granny smith apples
3 McIntosh apples (You can use all Granny Smith but I used a few McIntosh for a less sour taste.)
9 inch double pie crust ( I use Pillsbury.  Probably not as good as the homemade stuff but I love it!)
1/2 cup butter ( I used salted.)
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 1/2 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup water

1. Preheat over to 425 degrees.

2. Peel and cut the apples.  Put them into a medium sized bowl.  Sprinkle the cinnamon over them while mixing them slowly.  You can use more or less cinnamon depending on what you like.

3. Put the crust in the bottom of the pie pan.  Next, whisk an egg white and carefully brush over the crust.  Put it in the oven for five minutes.  This will keep the crust from becoming soggy. Once it is out of the over, put the apples in the pan, slightly mounded.  

4. In a small pan, melt butter.  Stir in flour to form a paste.  Add white sugar, brown sugar, and water.  After the sauce comes to a boil, reduce temperature, and simmer for five minutes.

5.  While the sauce is simmering, cover the apples with a lattice crust. (Instructions at the end)

6.  Slowly pour the sugar sauce over the lattice crust.  Pour carefully so the sauce does not run off.

7.  Bake on a baking sheet (to prevent spillovers) at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 325 for 35-45 minutes.  If the crust is getting too brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil.  Take the aluminum foil off for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.  Pie is done when inserting a knife into the center meets with little to no resistance. 


8.  When pie is done, combine corn syrup and very hot water as a glaze for the crust of the pie.  Carefully brush over the crust then sprinkle with sugar.  Place back into the over for 2-3 minutes for the glaze to dry. 


9.  Let the pie cool before cutting to allow the filling to set. (If you have the will power! I didn't!) ;)


10.  Enjoy! I bought some french vanilla ice cream to eat with it. Delicious!!! 

Lattice crust-
Making a lattice crust is a must-do for this pie! It is much easier than I thought it would be. It probably only took me five minutes at most! First, lay out the crust you are going to be using.  Cut it into strips that are about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch wide.  Then, take the end and put it on the pie.  Continue this with every other strip.  Then weave the opposite way.  It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is.  Watch this video to see it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv4809RKhzg  I used the first technique she shows; I think it looks a bit nicer!

Please let me know if you try this recipe. It was my first apple pie experience so I was a bit intimidated but it was so much easier than I expected!

I didn't make anything blog worthy today...we had sloppy joes for lunch! I have decided that I'm going to attempt making my own sloppy joe sauce! The canned stuff has so many preservatives. Also, check back soon for a chicken pot pie that I will be making for dinner tomorrow night! :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Missy