TABLESCAPE THURSDAY - APPLES!

Time for those pretty Fall tablescapes, huh? I picked up 2 1/2 yards of this pretty butterscotch colored linen at Walmart for under $3 / yd. Then I found a cute apple print fabric that matched perfectly with it! I purchased enough for a runner, but since it is so wide, I plan to sew up some matching napkins for the set also.


I have to be honest here. My tablescapes are VERY user friendly! These are actually table settings that are used by my family! This was our tablescape for last Sunday's dinner.
Sometimes when I look at all the elaborate tablescapes, as beautiful as they are, I have to wonder if people really do eat at those tables! haha So pardon me if mine seem a little 'simple.' I just try to make our Sunday dinner special for my special family ;-)


Here's a little trick you can use at your next dinner or ladies meeting. Core an apple and insert a taper candle in the hollowed out center. They fit perfectly and look so stinking cute!
I see one of mine is leaning a bit - sorry. I should have checked that before I snapped the pic. But like I said, it was Sunday dinner and my family doesn't take to kindly to photo shoots when it's time for dinner! haha No, they really are patient. They humor and encourage me in my foodie photos! Sometimes it's with a roll of the eyes and a grin, but still.... haha


I love this little galvanized steel bucket full of apple candles. They look so real!


Thanks for stopping by! Take time to look through the recipes and see if there is something you can use!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Today was Amy's birthday. She is my favorite bus kid! I used to pick her up for Sunday school when she was just a little girl. Now she is a grown young woman, graduated from Bible college. She is such a blessing to my heart. Now she works with me on my bus route. Talk about full circle! A former bus kid picking up bus kids for church! I love it! She loves cheesecake, so I made this for her birthday today. She came over after the bus route tonight and we sang to her and gave her a few little gifts and ate cheesecake with her! haha

I was surprised today as I sifted through the dozens of cookbooks I have, that so many of them didn't have a simple cheesecake recipe. Either it was a jello type cheesecake (no bake) or a full on NY style cheesecake (time consuming). Then I found this in an Amish cookbook. It turned out so yummy. After my first bite I realized it was the same cheesecake my Aunt used to make when I was growing up. I loved it then and I still love it today! This went together in a snap - so quick and easy - and so tasty!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Mix:

16 graham crackers, crushed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 stick butter melted

I placed the graham crackers in a heavy duty, gallon size ziploc baggie and crushed them with my rolling pin. Then opened the bag and pour in the sugar and melted butter. Reclosed the bag and shook it to mix in the sugar and butter. Then patted it into the pan.

Press into 9 x 13 pan

Mix:

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

In a large mixing bowl beat softened cream cheese with sugar until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat for approximately 5 minutes more, or until it loosens up and feels fluffy. Spread over graham cracker mixture. Bake at 375 for 15 min. (that's not a typo! 15 minutes!) When cool, pour cherry pie filling over the top. Then chill. Serve with whipped cream on top. Other fruits may be substituted in place of the cherries. Blueberry would be nice too.

This is dear sweet Amy, in the middle, between my two precious girls. Aren't they all so 'perty?' She has made herself a part of our family! We all just love her!

PEACH PLANTATION CAKE

Pardon the pic - it's not one of my better ones. I made this for a fellowship dinner last Sunday and was in a hurry to get out the door with it, so didn't fuss much w/ my camera settings. I've been making this cake since I was a teenager. It was one of my Dad's favorite cakes. It's so easy anybody can make it. Great way to use up those peaches you just bought too!

PEACH PLANTATION CAKE

1 butter recipe yellow cake mix, prepared according to pkg directions

1 large (28 oz) or 2 small (14 oz each) cans sliced peaches in light juice, reserve juice
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 (16 oz) Cool Whip
Whole pecans

Prepare butter recipe cake mix according to pkg directions. Spray a bundt cake pan and pour batter in. Bake according to guidelines on box. Remove from oven. Wiggle cake pan a bit to loosen cake from sides. Dump upside down on cake plate. Let cool completely. Use a large serrated butcher knife and horizontally cut cake evenly in half. Lay top half on separate plate. Meanwhile... open peaches and drain (reserve juice!) Pour peach juice in small saucepan, add 1/2 cup hot water, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine and heat over med - high heat until bubbly. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Now drizzle half of this mixture over the bottom layer of cake.

*Let the other half of the syrup cool and save it to drizzle on the top* Next take your drained peaches and lay them around the edge of the cake in the same direction, letting them hang over the edge a bit. *Save some of the peaches for garnish on top* Spoon on Cool whip whipped topping (reserve some for top of cake), place top half of cake on top of cool whip. Now put one dollop of Cool Whip on each large section of cake (for my pan, it ends up being 8 sections) On top of each dollop of cool whip, lay 1 peach slice and 1 whole pecan. *I ran out of whole pecans and had to opt for chopped pecans. They don't look as nice as the whole ones do. When you slice the cake to serve it - lay the cake slice on it's side and drizzle with the reserved, cooled peach syrup. ENJOY!

S'MORE POPS and MORE!

Here's a fun treat to make with the kids! The original recipe just called for sprinkles, but we decided to try a few other coatings. One that we tried was chopped up Kit-Kat bars. The end result was something similar to a S'more! The kids loved them. They go together super quick and easy. This would be fun for Grandma to do with the grandbabies when they come for a visit. I made them for our Jr church kids and they gobbled them up. Be creative with your toppings and be sure to stop back by and let me know how they turned out for you!
*The pops can also be customized to match school colors, holidays, or special occasions by rolling them in coordinating colored sprinkles, such as red and green for Christmas, or orange and yellow or red for Fall.

S'MORE POPS and MORE

2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
4 tsp. Canola oil
36 - 40 large marshmallows
18 - 20 popsicle sticks
3/4 cup colored or chocolate sprinkles (or other coating)
1 cup flaked coconut, optional
1 cup ground walnuts or pecans, optional

In a shallow microwave safe dish, combine the chocolate chips and oil. Stir and heat for 30 seconds at a time, until melted and smooth. DO NOT over heat as they will get hard on you. Thread two marshmallows onto each wooden stick. Use a pastry brush and dip it into the melted chocolate. 'Paint' each marshmallow with the melted chocolate (this works MUCH better than dipping or rolling, and helps to keep the coating from 'sliding' off afterwards). Roll in sprinkles, coconut or chopped nuts or coating of choice, such as chopped Kit-kat bars, chopped M & M's, etc... Place on waxed paper lined baking sheets. Chill until firm.

OATMEAL ALA MODE w/ FRESH PEACHES

If you're not a fan of oatmeal, you will be after trying this treat! What a grand way to wake your kids up in the morning.... tell them they are having ice cream for breakfast! We all love oatmeal this way. But I buy the Carb smart ice cream to keep it lower in sugar. Are you a fan of the hot / cold duos? This one will be right up your alley then. Give it a try and let me know how you liked it.

OATMEAL ALA MODE w/ FRESH PEACHES

Prepare your oatmeal according to package directions. I like the quick oats that cook in 1 minute. Hubby likes the old fashioned oats.

1/2 cup prepared oatmeal
1 tsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup ice cream (use good quality ice cream, so when it melts it won't be gooey)
1 fresh peach, peeled and sliced
Sprinkle of cinnamon/sugar

Place prepared HOT oatmeal in bowl, top with butter, sprinkle with brown sugar. Place scoop of ice cream on top of hot oatmeal. Top with sliced peach and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar. ENJOY!

IRON SKILLET PIZZA

Have you ever baked homemade pizza in a cast iron skillet? Oh my soul! It is so YUMMY!
The crust gets crispy on the bottom but stays moist on top. If you have an iron skillet, you simply MUST try this some time! You won't be disappointed and you'll probably never bake it on a pizza pan ever again!

IRON SKILLET PIZZA

Instructions for basic pizza dough:

Preheat oven to 400.

2 pkgs. quick rise dry active yeast
1 cup warm water (120ish degrees)
3 tblsp. veg. or olive oil, plus extra for drizzle
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Approx. 3 cups flour, plus extra for handling

It's good to "feel" out your dough. Start with the yeast in a mixing bowl. Add the warm water, oil sugar or honey and let everything dissolve together. Begin adding flour. (This can be done in a mixer, but I prefer to mix by hand, adding the flour a cup or half a cup at a time.) After mixing in about half the flour, add the salt. Mix in the rest of the flour, and when dough can be handled without sticking too badly, begin kneading by hand until soft and elastic, about 12-15 times. Let it rest for about 15 minutes. Punch it down, knead and let it rest again, if you have the time. After the second rise, form it into whatever you want (loaf, rolls, etc.) and bake in 450 deg. oven until golden brown. But this time we're forming it into our pizza dough. So lay it on the counter and begin rolling it into a circle big enough to fit your cast iron skillet on the bottom and up the sides a little. Grease your skillet heavily with Crisco. Pat dough into skillet and push up sides of the pan a little.

HAM & PINEAPPLE PIZZA

1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 lb lean deli ham, sliced into thin, bite size pieces
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained (if you don't have crushed, you can use chunk, just dice it up)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Spoon the pizza sauce (or pasta sauce, doesn't matter) evenly over your dough in the iron skillet. Top with 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Layer on your ham and pineapple and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and crust is light golden brown on the bottom.

*Feel free to add more or less ham, pineapple or cheese, according to your taste.

PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS

We had a cookout after Sunday night service this past week. Everyone was asked to bring a side dish to share. I had a ton of Rice Krispie's for some reason and figured I'd throw together a batch of Rice Krispie treats (which I did). But I still had a ton more cereal! So I whipped up a batch of peanut butter rice krispie treats. They were gone in a flash! One minute the platter was full, I turned my head and a minute later it was empty! LOL Who doesn't love a Rice Krispie Treat?

PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS

4 Tblsp butter
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 whole bag mini marshmallows
8 cups Rice Krispie Treats

1 cup chocolate chips
1 Tblsp oil

M & M’s


1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and peanut butter and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add rice krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. You could also wet your hands and pat it down into the pan good and tight.
4. Place the chocolate chips and the oil into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 15 - 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until melted. Spread evenly over peanut butter rice krispie treats.
5. Sprinkle with M & M's
Optional: Melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips w/ a teaspoon of oil in the microwave and drizzle over the top.
Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.