Best Apple Crisp

This is my absolute favorite apple crisp recipe. We make it at our college roommate reunions each year and then I make it all the time because it's pure deliciousness. I thought I'd already posted it on here, but can't find it. So here it is. It will win you friends and fame.

Ingredients

5 pounds McIntosh, Fuji, or whatever type of apple you like (about 6 apples)

Grated zest of 1 orange

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the topping:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch baking dish. 

Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.


To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.


Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.

(Adapted slightly from Ina Garten and Jenn Rockwood)

Menu Planning: January 2012

This blog is more like a food journal for me. Because of its definition, I also post my menus, so I don't feel remorse for deleting old menus on my computer. I just put them here. So the following is our menu for a couple weeks in January. Inevitably, a trip takes a place, a night out instead of in, or sheer laziness makes sure that this menu is carried out perfectly, but you get the idea.

A couple of tips that have worked for our house:
1. Economy. For anything freezable, I make twice as much and freeze it.
2. Diversity. We plan our meals roughly around the world. I mean, one night is Asian, the next Mexican, Italian, and so forth. On top of that, I try to get in one night of red meat, one night of fish, one night of vegetables, one night of chicken/pork - but I don't like chicken right now. I don't know why. I'm just sick of it. But sometimes it still has to be cooked.
3. Greenity (that's a word right?). Each week, I try to do at least two to three meals vegetarian. A night of just vegetables is good for everyone and my pocketbook.

Here's my plan:

Sunday Monday Tuesday b: eggs, green smoothie l: on your own d: turkey chili, salad, cornbread with honey butter b: crepes with berries and bananas l: sweet potatoe fries d: porch lettuce wraps from here   b: pancakes with blueberries l: pizza d: chicken cacciatore Wednesday Thursday Friday & Saturday b: green smoothies, oatmeal l: cauliflower popcorn, pbj d: spice-rubbed pork chops, potatoes, green beans, applesauce dessert: apple cobbler   b: eggs, smoothie l: leftovers d: broccoli soup (freeze half) date night and leftovers

So no fish this week right? Okay, let's try it this next week then...

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday
b: eggs, green smoothie l: on your own d: slow cooker fajitas	b: pancakes, fruit l: tuna salad d: broccoli soup from freezer, fresh salad, bread	b: green smoothie, oatmeal l: roasted vegetables with hummus d: spice-rubbed salmon with spinach
Wednesday	Thursday	Friday & Saturday
b: oatmeal and fruit l: tuna sandwich d: bean burritos from here	b: green smoothie, egg l: roasted vegetables d: beef stir--fry	date night & leftovers

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe comes from a friend here in Bozeman. But I think I copied down the recipe wrong, because they didn't turn out as delicious as hers that I ate that morning at her house. So, now this recipe has morphed into something else that Jared devours. I myself am not a huge cookie lover, but Jared is and he said these should be in the go-to list. So, here it is.

2 1/2 sticks (1.5 cups) salted butter at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 t. vanilla extract
2 t. espresso powder (optional)
1 T. hot water (to dissolve espresso powder in)
1 c. rolled oats
2 c. all purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 c. any combo - white, semisweet, or milk chocolate chips
1 c. toasted walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 325.

Cream butter and sugars just until large lumps disappear. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until just incorporated, being careful not to overbeat.

Dissolve the espresso powder, if desired, in hot water and add to butter mix.

Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mix well, being sure to stir from the bottom. Stir in chips and nuts.

Spoon large tablespoons of dough on cookie sheet and bake about 12 minutes.

Store up to 6 days.