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My Kitchen

Apple Pie Filling Recipe with Homemade Apple Filling

by Dana Zeliff on October 19, 20172017-10-19
in Apples Recipes, Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Apple Pie Filling Recipe

I made Apple Pie with my step-dad last week using apples picked from a local farm.  I was surprised at how easy making an apple pie can be!  If you want to make this all American pie, check out my Apple Pie Filling Recipe below:

Ingredients:
6-8 cups sliced apples
1/2 – 1 cup Brown sugar
1/8 + tsp salt
1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 + tsp cinnamon
1/8 + tsp nutmeg
1 package of Pillsbury pie crust

*The ingredient amount range is due to the size of the pie!  Use the more of an ingredient for a 10 in. pie and less for a 9 in. pie.  You can also modify the amount of brown sugar based on the sweetness/tartness of your apples.

Directions:

Apples for Pie Filling

    1. Combine all dry ingredients and sift over apples, stir.  Tip:  Use a large bowl and clean hands to mix as they are more gentle than a spoon.
    2. Line pie crust with apple mixture and dot with butter.Apples in Pie
    3. Add top crust, prick or cut slits in top.
    4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and dot with butter.Homemade Apple Pie Filling Recip
    5. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes then lower temperature to 350° and bake for 35 to 45 minutes more. Tip:  Place a baking sheet under the pie pan to prevent drips.
    6. Top with vanilla ice cream or cool whip (optional.)

Apple Pie Collage

Do you have a favorite Apple Pie Filling Recipe?

Adopted from Joy of Cooking Cookbook

Don’t forget to see my Apple Pie Recipe with homemade pie crust

2 comments

Filed Under: Apples Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: Apple Pie

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe With Bacon

by Dana Zeliff on June 3, 20172017-06-03
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Are you looking for a new recipe to add to your menu plan?  Cheesy and flavorful, this spinach stuffed chicken breast recipe will soon be a new family favorite.  I like to serve it with another veggie and a rice pilaf.

There are a bunch of cheese options to personalize this dish.  Feta, asiago, white cheddar, and pepper jack are tasty options as is an Italian blend or mixture of mozzarella and parmesan.  The options are endless, so use your favorite cheese or whatever you have in the fridge!

You could also substitute frozen spinach, but I prefer the flavor of fresh.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe

[Read more…]

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The Best Gazpacho Recipe Ever! Our Favorite Spanish Soup

by Dana Zeliff on May 18, 20172017-05-18
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

For years I’ve been experimenting to come up with the best gazpacho recipe.   Now, determining what is actually the best, is a matter of opinion.  However, after making countless different recipes and tweaking my favorites, I’ve finally come up with it!

A traditional Spanish soup, there are many variations of gazpacho. Chunky to smooth, spicy to mild, it’s the perfect warm weather soup that’s bursting with flavor.  Eat it in a bowl or drink it out of a mug, it will pair perfectly with your next summer meal.

The trick is to get red, ripe tomatoes.   My mom loves to make gazpacho in the summer when her garden is overflowing with tomatoes.  It’s an easy and refreshing soup that ensures she doesn’t waste a single garden fresh vegetable.

Note that I prefer to peel my tomatoes and remove the seeds.  This is not required and takes more work, but I think the change in flavor is worth the effort.  For our most recent batch, we followed the recipe with the exception of not peeling or seeding the tomatoes.  The kids tasted it (without knowing we changed anything) and wanted to know why it tasted different.   The skin and seeds really does change the flavor!

I also like to add a Jalapeño to my gazpacho for added flavor. Removing the seeds helps to ensure it’s not spicy. BUT if you want to add a little kick to your soup, leave in the seeds.  If you don’t like the flavor, you can omit the Jalapeño all together.

Best Gazpacho Recipe:

Ingredients:

[Read more…]

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Fiesta Time! Over 50 Cinco de Mayo Appetizers to Satisfy a Crowd

by Dana Zeliff on April 30, 20172017-04-30
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Are you looking for Cinco de Mayo appetizers to serve at your fiesta next week?  We’ve rounded up 50 of the BEST Cinco de Mayo appetizers from around the web.  There are several tasty dips including various recipes for salsa, guac, bean dip and more.  Then you’ll find more filling appetizers such as taquitos, nachos, quesadillas, and poppers.  The recipes vary from mild to spicy, vegan to beef.  There should be something to satisfy even the biggest appetites at your get together.

Cinco de Mayo Appetizers:

1. Best Pico de Gallo Recipe by The Coupon Challenge

2. Restaurant-Style Blender Salsa by Cooking with Curls

3. Homemade Cilantro-Lime Salsa by Heidi’s Home Cooking

4. Easy-to-Make Salsa Recipe by Organized 31

5. Tex-Mex Guacamole by Year Round Recipes

6. Homemade Chips and Guacamole Dip by Midwestern Moms

7. World’s Best Guacamole by Family Food and Travel

8. Chunky Restaurant Style Guacamole by Heidi’s Home Cooking

9. Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Salad by Noshtastic

10. Super Easy Guacamole Dip Recipe by The Coupon Challenge

11. Best Ever Guacamole by Trial and Eater

[Read more…]

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Fresh & Delicious – The Best Pico de Gallo Recipe

by Dana Zeliff on April 27, 20172017-04-27
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Oh, how I love fresh Pico de Gallo!

Pico de Gallo makes a great topping for all my favorite Mexican dishes such as tacos, burritos and nachos.  It’s also a fantastic dip – perfect to scoop with salty tortilla chips. Sometimes I just eat it with a spoon – and other times with a bit of avocado. It’s so versatile,  you’re friends will be begging you to bring what will soon be pronounced as the best pico de gallo recipe to all your get togethers. This recipe is similar to my favorite Chipotle pico de gallo recipe. The red onion really makes the recipe and gives it that special Chipotle flavor.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can easily adjust it to your tastes. My recipe is a mild version as Lucy and I don’t like our pico de gallo spicy.  Derrick would add in 2 jalapeños if he wasn’t sharing with us. You could also leave the seeds in to kick the heat up a notch. I recommend starting with less jalapeño and adding a bit more until you get to the desired level of hotness.

Prep time is approximately 10 minutes with an hour needed before serving.  Serving size is about 4 but varies depending on the amount of pico you want to eat!

[Read more…]

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Zucchini & Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Dana Zeliff on April 20, 20172017-04-20
in My Kitchen, Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Best Zucchini Cookies Recipe

I love zucchini and chocolate chip cookies, so why not combine the 2 into a delicious treat?  The recipe is made from garden fresh zucchini – perfect for when you have a summer bounty.

If you’re not a fan of some of the tasty extras in the recipe such as sunflower seeds and cranberry, you can omit it from the recipe without sacrificing flavor.

Zucchini Cookies Recipe:

Zucchini Cookies Recipe - Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (1 medium)
  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 cup dried blueberry and cranberry mix – I used Ocean Spray Craisins, Blueberry Juice Infused
  • 1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, shelled and unsalted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directions:

1. Add flour, cinnamon and baking soda in small bowl.

2. Beat butter, sugar in large mixer bowl until well combined.

3. Add egg and vanilla extract, beat well.

 

Zucchini Cookies Recipe - batter

4. Add zucchini; gradually beat in flour mixture.

5. Stir in oats, blueberry and cranberry mix, sunflower seeds and chocolate chips.

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

6. Drop by rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

7. Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown around edges.

8. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

9. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Let us know what you think about this zucchini cookies recipe.  Did you make any changes or additions?

Zucchini & Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Note: This recipe was adapted from Very Best Baking by Nestle

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Filed Under: My Kitchen, Recipes

Kid Friendly Unicorn Star Cookies: Meringue Cookies Recipe Easy, Fun & Delicious

by Dana Zeliff on February 19, 20172017-02-19
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Meringue Cookies Recipe Easy & Fun

Looking for a treat to make on a rainy day or to take to your child’s classroom?  Create these kid friendly Unicorn Star Cookies – the meringue cookies recipe easy, delicious & fun will be the hit of the party.   Even better,  these are gluten free cookies, so you don’t have to worry about dietary restrictions.

Ingredients
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 C sugar
2/3 C powder sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
purple, pink and blue gel coloring

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees
  2. In a standing mixer, add in the egg whites and cream of tarter.
  3. Mix on medium speed until soft peaks form and then increase to the highest speed setting.
  4. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time first then add 1 table spoon of powder sugar coating until all is combined.
  5. You will want to see stiff peaks form.
  6. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined.
  7. Split batter into 5 bowls
  8. Add blue food coloring into one bowl
  9. Add pink food coloring into the second one
  10. Add purple food coloring into the third one
  11. Using a pastry bag with a star tip, scope some blue meringue into 1/4 of the bag
  12. Add the pink meringue to another 1/4 of the bag
  13. Add the purple to the bag to the final 1/4 of the bag
  14. Pipe on the meringues onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  15. Making them about the size of a silver dollar and leaving about 1 inch in between the cookies
  16. Bake for 1 and 30 minutes hour

Like colorful treats?  Try this Mardi Gras Doughnuts Recipe and add a bit of fun into breakfast time!

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Filed Under: Recipes


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About The Coupon Challenge

Hi! I'm Dana, the writer behind the scenes of The Coupon Challenge, a Hampton Roads, VA based coupon blog. I'm a wife and mother of 2. After getting out of debt we started using our savings to travel together as a family and create memories.

Are you looking for ways to save your family money? I strive to help you save on the products you need, so you can spend more on the things you want. Read More about Dana & Family

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