Gooey and Delicious! Caramel Apples

Caramel apples are pretty easy to make, but if you're like me then you might want to place some paper bags or something on your counter and floor to catch the drips.



What you need for a Basic Caramel Apple Recipe:
6-8 Apples (I like using green Granny-Smiths, and Washington apples)
Wooden popsicle sticks
1-1/2 cups Brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons of Butter
6 tablespoons of Milk
1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1/2 to 1 cup of peanuts, mini baking chocolates, or whatever other chopped up topping that you would like.

**Tip** To save yourself a little hassle you could buy a bag of caramels and skip the above ingredients. The downside is that you have to unwrapped the little suckers before you melt the caramel. Also, you still will want to add a little liquid--approximately 2 tablespoons worth.

The other nice thing about buying premade caramels is that they often come with popsicle sticks in the bags.

Step 1. Get your apples ready ahead of time.

a. Wash them and remove the waxy coating. You can do this by dipping them very quickly in boiling water then wipe the wax off. Fit vegetable spray works okay, but the boiling dip works better.

b. Chill the apples in the fridge for at least an hour before you want to dip them.

Step 2. Now that you have washed and chilled apples, you are ready to set up your station.

a. Make sure your nuts and other toppings are chopped and place in a mixing bowl.

b. Line a flat pan (cookie sheet) with wax-paper (to place the apples on once they are coated.

Step 3. In a suacepan mix your ingredients.

** If you are using pre-made caramels, add in the unwrapped candies/milk. Melt these on low heat.

Step 4. Cook on medium heat until approximately 235 degree Fahrenheit. Remove from heat.

Step 5. Dip your apples, turning them in the caramel.

After you dip the apple you are working with in the caramel, quickly dip into your toppings. Then place on the wax sheet.

Step 6. One each of the apples are coated and topped, you must refrigerate them for another hour. Keep them stored in the fridge as well.

Check out Mahalo for more caramel apples recipes and tips. The chocolate caramel recipe on that page sounds sinfully delicious!

Brazilian Puss in Boots, by Cygnusbr

This is a simple and tasty pudding dish. I served it with some strawberries, but you could eat it on it's own and be very satisfied.



The recipe below yielded the amount in the picture. If you'd like more, simply double the recipe.

What you need:
1 Banana, mushed
1/3-1/2 cup of Ricotta Cheese
1/4-1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon

**Optional** To thicken it slightly use a little (about a teaspoon) flour or cornstarch. I didn't find this necessary, but if yours comes out watery.

Step 1. Mush your banana in with the ricotta, until it is smoothly blended.

Step 2. Sprinkle with the cinnamon. You can stir it in if you'd like.

Step 3. Heat in the microwave for at least 5 minutes. The cheese should be warm, and the banana pretty much melted.

Serve on it's own or with some fruit to dip.


More Dessert Ideas: Chocolate Cherry Pie, Maple-Walnut Apple Pie, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!



More Breakfast Ideas: Nubcakes! Aka Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes, Blueberry Nubcakes! Elwynn Forest Lumberjack Special, aka Crepes by Randalflagg, Kiethras's Breakfast Tubers, Sausage and Eggs, Grizzly Frontier Special! Aka Western Style Omelet, Simple Fruits, Great Taste! Telaari Grape Salad, Tundra Berry Salad, Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich, Curiously Tasty Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Omelet Sammich! How to Cook Perfect Bacon, Brazilian Puss in Boots, by Cygnusbr, Mmm Coffee!



More Snack Ideas: Simple Cracker Snacks, Brilliant Smallfish Cracker Snacks, Cucumber, Dill, and Tomato Salad, My Keys are Happy! Veggie Dip, By Thecookie, Celery Snack Ideas! More Easy Celery Snack Ideas, Nethaera's Epic Chicken Nachos, 4 Layer Mexican Black Bean Pie Dip, Mexican Layered Pie Dip, Devilishly Delicious Devilled Eggs, Quickee Tasty Quesadillas, Salami and American Crackers! Pizza 101, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!

Telaari Grape Salad

So I've been trolling the forums, and I've seen a few requests for a healthy snack. I think I have something to satisfy those requests. This is a recipe for grape salad.

This is something you would make ahead of time and let cool for a few hours, but you will have lots of left overs and its very, very tasty.

Mats:
2 lbs. Red Seedless grapes (They need to be washed and dried off. I usually throw them into a strainer with a paper towel on the bottom and top, and then I just dry them that way.)
8oz of room temperature Cream Cheese (Now for a healthier snack you could use a light cream cheese.)
8 oz of Sour Cream (again you could use a lite sour cream as well)
1/2 cup Sugar (this could be substituted with Splenda)
1 tbs. Vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped Pecans (You can find them in the bakery isle at your grocery store.They will have tiny bags of already chopped pecans that work perfectly for this.)
3/4 cup Brown Sugar

Step 1: After you wash and dry off your grapes, you will want to put them in your dish that you will be serving this out of. I use a large chip bowl, because you will have left overs.

Step 2: In a separate mixing bowl, mix everything together minus the pecans. Mix this until it's smooth. Careful though, you don't want it to be runny.

Step 3: Once its mixed up, you will transfer it from the mixing bowl onto the grapes. (I then try to coat all the grapes with the mixture, but you don't have to. You could let it just sit on top of the grapes.)

Step 4: Add the pecans. Cover and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours to chill.

This recipe does take about 5-10 minutes to prep. Plus it does have a cool down time (Don't you love having those IRL too!) But, it will literally take you less than a minute to grab some out of the refrigerator, and have a yummy midnight, mid-day, mid-morning, mid-anything snack. That's both yummy and healthy.


More Dessert Ideas: Chocolate Cherry Pie, Maple-Walnut Apple Pie, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Simple Cheesecake Bake, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!



More Snack Ideas: Simple Cracker Snacks, Brilliant Smallfish Cracker Snacks, Cucumber, Dill, and Tomato Salad, My Keys are Happy! Veggie Dip, By Thecookie, Celery Snack Ideas! More Easy Celery Snack Ideas, Nethaera's Epic Chicken Nachos, 4 Layer Mexican Black Bean Pie Dip, Mexican Layered Pie Dip, Devilishly Delicious Devilled Eggs, Quickee Tasty Quesadillas, Salami and American Crackers! Pizza 101, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!



More Breakfast Ideas: Nubcakes! Aka Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes, Blueberry Nubcakes! Elwynn Forest Lumberjack Special, aka Crepes by Randalflagg, Kiethras's Breakfast Tubers, Sausage and Eggs, Grizzly Frontier Special! Aka Western Style Omelet, Simple Fruits, Great Taste! Telaari Grape Salad, Tundra Berry Salad, Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich, Curiously Tasty Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Omelet Sammich! How to Cook Perfect Bacon, Brazilian Puss in Boots, by Cygnusbr, Mmm Coffee!

Super Stuffed Ganking Apples

These apples rock. They're very simple. Most of the mats you will usually have laying around the kitchen anyway so it will work out really well for you.



Mats:
4 larger apples (take your pick of apple, they all work)
1 tsp. Lemon juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of either instant oatmeal or rolled oats
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter (cut into individual slices)
1 tsp. cinnamon
*optional* chopped walnuts

Step 1. Alright, you will want to start off by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. While the oven is heating up you will want to take the insides out of the apples leaving the bottom so that nothing falls out. But you need to hollow the apple out as best as you can. You could save the apple bits (minus the core) that you took out and use them in the oat mixture (which is step 3).



Step 2. When your done that sprinkle each one with some lemon juice.

Step 3. In a separate large bowl you will want to mix the rest of the ingredients (minus the slices of butter) *this is where you would toss in the apple bits*

Step 4. Then take about a handful and begin to stuff the apples. Do not completely fill them. When you finish putting the first handful in each, evenly distribute whatever you have left into each apple.

Step 5. Take your slices of butter and put them on top of the stuffed apples.

Step 6. Place the apples on a cookie sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.

When you take them out you could top them with ice cream and/or whipped cream (Zonoma has an easy whipped cream recipe you could use).



You're all set with a rather healthy snack. Now go camp some gankers! The stuffed apples will make the experience all the better. =)


More Dessert Ideas: Chocolate Cherry Pie, Maple-Walnut Apple Pie, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Simple Cheesecake Bake, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!



More Snack Ideas: Simple Cracker Snacks, Brilliant Smallfish Cracker Snacks, Cucumber, Dill, and Tomato Salad, My Keys are Happy! Veggie Dip, By Thecookie, Celery Snack Ideas! More Easy Celery Snack Ideas, Nethaera's Epic Chicken Nachos, 4 Layer Mexican Black Bean Pie Dip, Mexican Layered Pie Dip, Devilishly Delicious Devilled Eggs, Quickee Tasty Quesadillas, Salami and American Crackers! Pizza 101, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!

Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes

This recipe is from a modified version of the whipped cream recipe.



What you need:
3/4 cup of whipping cream
2-2.5 teaspoons of sugar (you can substitute this with 1-1.5 packets of sweet and low)
1.5-2 tablespoons of unsweetened Baking Cocoa

Just whip these up as you would normally.



Add a spoonful or two of the cream to the shortcake, and decorate with the strawberries. In the second picture, the mint is for decoration, not eating. ;)

**Note** For a lower-carb treat, leave the shortcake out. Just dip some strawberries into the chocolate cream.


More Dessert Ideas: Chocolate Cherry Pie, Maple-Walnut Apple Pie, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Simple Cheesecake Bake, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!



More Snack Ideas: Simple Cracker Snacks, Brilliant Smallfish Cracker Snacks, Cucumber, Dill, and Tomato Salad, My Keys are Happy! Veggie Dip, By Thecookie, Celery Snack Ideas! More Easy Celery Snack Ideas, Nethaera's Epic Chicken Nachos, 4 Layer Mexican Black Bean Pie Dip, Mexican Layered Pie Dip, Devilishly Delicious Devilled Eggs, Quickee Tasty Quesadillas, Salami and American Crackers! Pizza 101, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!

Strawberry Shortcakes with Real Whipped Cream in under 5 minutes!

Summertime is here, and strawberries are in season. This is a super fast dessert to make.



I saw a few local vendors selling these strawberries on the side of the road, and had to stop! :)

What you need:
1-2 Strawberries per cake
1 strawberry shortcake/sponge cake (You will often find these right next to the strawberries in the grocery store.)
~2 tablespoons of whipped cream per cake

Step 1. Make your whipped cream. You can use the canned stuff, but why would you?! Fill the shortcake with approximately 2 tablespoons of whipped cream.

Step 2. Cut 1-2 strawberries (depending on their size) longways. Add to the cake.

Step 3. Decorate the cake any way you like. For example, a delicious chocolate truffle in the center will make this a decadent dessert.



I sprinkled a little cinnamon on one cake, and place a mint leaf on the other. Be as creative as you'd like.



**Tip** If you are making these for guests, don't forget to stick them into the fridge until you are ready to serve them.


More Dessert Ideas: Chocolate Cherry Pie, Maple-Walnut Apple Pie, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Simple Cheesecake Bake, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!



More Snack Ideas: Simple Cracker Snacks, Brilliant Smallfish Cracker Snacks, Cucumber, Dill, and Tomato Salad, My Keys are Happy! Veggie Dip, By Thecookie, Celery Snack Ideas! More Easy Celery Snack Ideas, Nethaera's Epic Chicken Nachos, 4 Layer Mexican Black Bean Pie Dip, Mexican Layered Pie Dip, Devilishly Delicious Devilled Eggs, Quickee Tasty Quesadillas, Salami and American Crackers! Pizza 101, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!

Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast

If you have never tasted real whipped cream then you are in for a treat.

I used this recipe to make some strawberry shortcakes, and with some of the left over whipped cream, I made my coffee into a treat. You could also just dipped your fruits into the cream for a lower-carb, reduced sugar treat.

Each cup of heavy cream will yield twice as much whipped cream.

What you need:
3/4 cup of whipping cream
2 teaspoons of sugar (you can substitute this with 1 packet of sweet and low)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

Step 1. With a hand or standing mixer, beat the ingredients on medium to high speed until soft peaks form. This will take about 2-4 minutes. You can use a wire whisk, but it takes longer.

That's it! Inorite! Sooo easy, and it's worth it.

Variations: If you'd like to season your whipped cream, try adding a little of any of the following ingredients: cocoa powder, almond extract, cinnamon, syrups for flavoring coffee (no more than a teaspoon or two).


More Dessert Ideas: Chocolate Cherry Pie, Maple-Walnut Apple Pie, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!

Mini Burrito Dessert

This dessert was inspired by mini chimichangas that my favorite Mexican restaurant served. Instead of deep-frying though, these are grilled.



What you need:
2-4 small flour tortillas
Cream cheese
Chocolate (The party-sized Hershey's milk chocolate, about 12 chocolate chips,or chocolate-hazelnut sauce that you can buy in a jar near the jellies taste really good with this.)

Step 1. Heat the pan while wrapping the tortillas around the chocolate and cream cheese like a burrito.

Step 2. Grill these while covered with a lid, on medium heat. Use a non-greased pan. They are finished when the tops and bottoms are browned and a little crispy (approximately 2 minutes per side).

**Top with vanilla ice cream, honey, or plain.


More Dessert Ideas: Chocolate Cherry Pie, Maple-Walnut Apple Pie, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Simple Cheesecake Bake, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!



Other Tex-Mex Favorites: Nethaera's Epic Chicken Nachos, Tacos, Tacos, Tacos! Mexican Layered Pie Dip, 4 Layer Mexican Black Bean Pie Dip, Quickee Quesadillas, OMG Fajita Tuesday! Burrito Style Enchiladas, Mair's Super-Simple Taco Soup, Monti's Crock Pot Ready Tortilla Soup, Burrito Style Enchiladas, Mini Burrito Dessert.



More Snack Ideas: Simple Cracker Snacks, Brilliant Smallfish Cracker Snacks, Cucumber, Dill, and Tomato Salad, My Keys are Happy! Veggie Dip, By Thecookie, Celery Snack Ideas! More Easy Celery Snack Ideas, Nethaera's Epic Chicken Nachos, 4 Layer Mexican Black Bean Pie Dip, Mexican Layered Pie Dip, Devilishly Delicious Devilled Eggs, Quickee Tasty Quesadillas, Salami and American Crackers! Pizza 101, Mini Burrito Dessert, Telaari Grape Salad, Super Stuffed Ganking Apples, Brazilian Puss in Boots, Chocolate Cream Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes, Real Whipped Cream, Really Fast, Simple Strawberry Snack, Tundra Berry Salad, Simple Fruits, Great Taste!