Fall Flavors

I have high hopes for today and this week. Hopefully it will be good all the way around. It has to be good....after all I am getting a new tile kitchen floor. I can't wait. I am so sick of the peel and stick linoleum floor I am currently treading on. Don't get me wrong....it has served it's purpose admirably, but after 5 years....I am in desperate need of a change. I am also getting some rewiring done so that I can hook up another oven. This is going to make cheesecake baking at the holidays much easier and much more efficient. I will soon be set.

So today is recipe day here in Lisaland. With the onset of fall, I thought I would share two yummy cool weather desserts. I am also going to start something new next week. I am going to start sharing the recipes of my readers, my friends and other bloggers. If you are a blogger, I will share your recipes and a link to your blog. If you are a reader or a friend I will share your recipe and as much or little info about you as you would like. I know everyone is getting tired of just hearing about what I cook and besides......we are almost at the end of my repertoire. So please, email me  or message me on fb and give me your recipes and I will be sharing them with the world (okay....the Lisaland world).

I am a very sensory type person and one thing I love in the fall is to smell fall. To me fall smells like apples, peaches, cinnamon and pumpkin. And there is nothing I like better than to propagate those smells with a little homemade (well sort of ) goodness. Fall always reminds me of my mom. Every year late summer and fall we would go to the local orchards and pick several bushel of peaches and apples and then Mom would spend two entire days baking about 50 pies. She would bake them until they were just about 30 min. from being done, then she would cool them, wrap theme in saran wrap and foil and  put them in the freezer. Then whenever she needed a pie she would pull one out and bake it for about 30 min. and it tasted like fresh. We used them all year round and she gave them as gifts. It was quite a good idea. The best part though was that for 48 hours....our house smelled like heaven.

While I do not have my mothers culinary ambition, I don't mind making a pie from time to time and I absolutely love cobbler. So today I am going to share with you my favorite apple pie recipe with a store bought crust.....sorry....I don't do crusts and then my favorite peach cobbler recipe with a little help from Bisquick. Yeah....I am not much of a scratch girl.

So my apple pie is one that Tim and I came up with. Of course he always made his own crust but as I said, I am substituting Pillsbury ready made crust or whatever kind of crust you like. So here is:

Tim's Caramel Apple Pie
1* Pillsbury ready made crust (top and bottom)
approx. 8-10 granny smith apples peeled and fairly thinly sliced
1/2- 3/4 cup sugar
1/4-1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 bottle of ice cream caramel sauce
1Tbsp. butter/margarine melted
2-3tsp. sugar

 In a bowl mix sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Then poor the sugar mixture over the apples and thoroughly cover. Let apples sit in sugar for 30 min. to an hour.
Put a bottom crust into a 10" pie plate. Pour apple mixture into the crust. The apples should be piled high inside the crust. Pour the caramel sauce over the apples. (Amount is however much caramel you like). Cover apples with top crust. Crimp edges. Cut slits in top of crust and brush melted butter over top. Sprinkle 2-3 tsp. of sugar over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 min. If edges start getting brown cover with foil or a crust cover. For best cutting let cool an hour, but can be served hot with ice cream and covered with caramel sauce. Fall just doesn't get better than this.

In this recipe, fall is at it's finest when the smell of peaches and nutmeg mingle while this tasty little cobbler is baking. Again....I short cut a bit with Bisquick but the finished result is so good!

Peachy Peach Cobbler

1 cup Original Bisquick baking mix
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 can (29 ounce size) sliced peaches, drained (you can also use about 6-8 fresh peaches...peeled, pitted and sliced) If you use fresh peaches use about 2 cups sugar and let peaches set in sugar for for about 20 minutes so they can get juicy. 


Stir together Bisquick, milk and nutmeg in ungreased square baking dish, 8x8x2 inches. Stir in butter until blended. Stir together sugar and peaches; spoon over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden. This is delicious served hot with ice cream and whipped cream or at my house we like it hot with a little milk poured on it. However you like your cobbler.....you are guaranteed to love this.

Oh yeah. You gotta love fall. I know I do and just the thought of all that fall holds is putting me in a great mood today. Here is hoping your day is an awesome one! Happy Monday everyone.