Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

Oh Rhubarb!  

How I love thee!  

I just love the tart accent/contrast it adds to things!  

Here is a very moist, cinnamon-y, streusel-y 

GOOD recipe 

for rhubarb muffins!  

RHUBARB STREUSEL MUFFINS

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup applesauce, (or pear sauce is what I used)
1 egg, beaten

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

------------------------------------

Streusel:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
-------------------------------------

2 cups chopped rhubarb

Combine butter, sugar, applesauce and egg in a mixing bowl and beat on low speed until combined. The mixture will look curdled. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; stir into butter mixture, just until moistened. Stir in cubed rhubarb. Fill paper-lined (or sprayed) muffin cups 3/4 full; generously sprinkle with Streusel. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. or until center is firm when touched, or toothpick comes out clean.

Streusel: Blend all ingredients with a pastry blender until crumbly. This makes a lot, so be generous on each one, you won't be sorry.

Enjoy!

What are some things you use rhubarb in?







Adapted from a recipe in the cookbook: Gooseberry Patch Christmas, Book 12

Pina Colada Salad

Need an idea for a refreshing summer fruit salad?  What about something that is quick & easy!?  

Perhaps an idea for a Memorial Day Picnic, coming right up!!?

Try some of this deliciousness, I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed!!  

PINA COLADA SALAD

1 pineapple
1/4 cup Coco Real- Cream of Coconut

Dice pineapple into small chunks, & stir in the Cream of Coconut.  Chill until ready to serve.
(Yes, it's that easy!)

If you want to mix it up a bit, add other fruit of choice, maybe some blueberries & strawberries to make it festive...Get those creative juices flowing (as if your salivary glands won't be juicing enough when you take one bight of this! :) )

ENJOY!

Wishing you all a wonderful Memorial Day with family & friends.  And thanking God for this freedom we have & those who have given their lives to make it possible!

-Rhonda

Linking up with the following Linky Parties:

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

Sunday morning we are having two of my cousins from Oregon here for breakfast. What a treat! Plus I love breakfast food, & when do I go "all out" for just the two of us?  

So here's the menu: Frozen Fruit Cups, Hard Boil Egg Casserole, Crescent Sausage Cheese Squares...and I used some of my homemade Canned Apple Pie Filling, to make this delicious Coffee Cake! 

APPLE STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE 

1 quart Canned Apple Pie Filling

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 ½ cup milk

½ cup butter, softened

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

3 TBS butter, melted

Frosting:

1 ½ cup powdered sugar

2 TBS melted butter

1 ½ tsp vanilla

4-5 tsp hot water

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan.  Combine pie filling & cinnamon – set aside. Combine brown sugar and nuts – set aside. In large bowl or Kitchen Aid Mixer, combine flour, sugar, milk, ½ cup softened butter, baking powder, salt, & eggs. Mix on low for 30 seconds.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour half of the batter into 9x13 pan. Spoon half of the pie filling evenly over batter. Spread half the brown sugar mixture evenly over pie filling. Add remaining batter to pan and spread remaining pie filling over top. Mix 3 TBS melted butter with the remaining brown sugar mixture. Spread evenly over top of cake.  Bake 60+ minutes until tester comes out clean.  Drizzle with the frosting 20 minutes after cake comes out of the oven.

Easy Apple Pie

This morning I needed to take a pie into our local nursing home.  They have homemade pie day twice a month, 

where volunteers bring in pies for the residents to enjoy.  

I wanted to do something easy, since I didn't have a lot of extra time, so I decided to use a jar of my 

canned apple pie filling from earlier this year!  

It was ready to go in the oven in no time!

  

(Proving handy to have on hand, once more!)

EASY APPLE PIE 

(WITH STREUSEL TOPPING)

1 9-inch pie crust

1 jar of apple pie filling

1/2 recipe of apple crisp topping

cinnamon

Place crust into 9 inch pie pan.  Pour pie filling into crust. Sprinkle with the streusel topping, then a little cinnamon over top.  Bake @ 325 for 15 min. then at 350 for 45 min. longer.  ENJOY!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I made a full batch of the streusel topping, and it was too much, so next time I'll just make a half a recipe, 

so there's no leftovers tempting me to eat them!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks For Stopping By!  

While You're Here, Why Don't You Leave A Comment?  

Tell Me What You Think!  

Make sure to PIN it for later too!

   

I linked this recipe up with the following Linky Parties: Desserts Now, Dinner Later!  Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training,  , We Like to Learn As We Go, Ladybug Blessings, Sew Darn Crafty,   Sumos Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do,  Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop, , Recipe RoundUP at the Gooseberry Patch, Child at Heart, 

Apple Waffles

APPLE WAFFLES

1 1/4 c. pastry flour

1 T. sugar

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

2 eggs, separated

1 c. milk

1 3/4 c. finely chopped apples

6 T. melted butter or lard

Combine dry ingredients.  Beat egg yolks.  Add milk and combine with flour mixture.  Beat until smooth.  Add apples & butter.  Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.

Serve with some {I Think I Can} CranApple Butter!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll leave you with a piece of my living room...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I linked this recipe up with the following Linky Parties: We Like To Learn As We Go, Chef in Training, , Dessert Now, Dinner Later!

Thanks For Stopping By!  

While You're Here, Why Don't You Leave A Comment?  

Tell Me What You Think!  

Make sure to PIN it for later too!

Cranapple Butter (Overnight in the Crockpot)

Here is another yummy & cute gift idea!

Well...I'll be keeping lots for myself too, 

because I LOVE to pile it on my breakfast!

Like my recipe for Apple Waffles.

I couldn't help myself, one day I looked outside and saw the ladder still by the apple tree, and the leaves on the ground...I thought what a BEAUTIFUL FALL PICTURE!  

So I took a bushel basket (aren't they soo cool!) out and took a few pics of this fall scene:

 

Anyhow...Sorry I got distracted, but it's so

GOOD TO STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES sometimes! :)

I think it helps with stress relief to just slow down & notice God's creation & the beauty of it sometimes!

Now onto the photos of the process 

for makin' this nummy stuff & the recipe...

Place apples & juice into stockpot.  Cook down until apples are very tender.

As it cooks down, the apples take on the pink from the cranberry juice!  Look at that frothy bubbly stickiness!

 Place in batches into blender, juice and all.

I thought it was so neat looking I had to take 

a more up close picture!  

(Glass measuring cups work GREAT for scooping hot stuff, my plastic one just about got ruined with the heat---so I was excited to find a glass one at a garage sale!!!)

 Puree it up, making the "applesauce".

Combine dry ingredients.  Mix all ingredients together & pour into crockpot. 

Some of us can't pour & photograph simultaneously,

teehee, I missed a little bit!  Oops.

.This is the fun part.  

Turn the crockpot on LOW and....... 

GO TO BED!!  

When you wake up in the morning 

the whole house will smell DIVINE!!!!  

Another one of my favorite thing about fall, 

the smells of apples cooking! 

Notice how it gets darker as it cooks.  

Now turn to HIGH & cock the lid to let some steam escape, as it cooks 2-3 more hours, or until desired consistency. 

It's pretty forgiving on the times, so that's nice!  

I forgot to turn it off when it was "done", 

and it went another hour & it was totally fine! 

(I think I was getting my jars all ready & everything)

Place into jelly jars-or pints.

(Make sure you wipe off your messes before placing lids on)

Hot water bath for 10 min.  Mine made 14 jelly jars, which was EXACTLY one canner full.  It's always so nice when it works out like that! :)

CRANAPPLE BUTTER

(OVERNIGHT IN THE CROCKPOT)

24 apples peeled, cored, and sliced/chunked (the tarter the apple the better in my opinion)
2 qts 100% Cranberry juice
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1-4 c. sugar 

Start this process in the evening:  Place apples & juice into stockpot.  Cook down until apples are very tender.  Place in batches into blender, juice and all.  Combine dry ingredients.  Mix all ingredients together & pour into crockpot.  Cook on LOW for 10 hours (or overnight).  Then (in the morning by now) turn to HIGH & cock the lid to let some steam escape.  Cook 2-3 more hours, or until desired consistency. It's pretty forgiving on the times, so that's nice!  Place into jelly jars-or pints, & hot water bath for 10 min.  Makes approx 14 jelly jars. (One canner load!)

I prefer mine pretty tart so I only add 1 cup of sugar.  I suggest adding less to start, and tasting it in the morning & adding more if needed @ that point.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

USES:  pancakes, waffles, muffins, bread (anything apple too of course), the other night I put it on a pork loin! YUM! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

To view handcrafted items to purchase 

as gifts for those special people in your life, 

or special occasions...

VISIT my {RLEE} shop @: facebook.com/byrlee

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I linked this recipe up with the following Linky Parties: 
We Like To Learn As We Go, 
Child at Heart Blog,
What's Cookin Love?,

Thanks For Stopping By!  

While You're Here, Why Don't You Leave A Comment?  

Tell Me What You Think!  

Make sure to PIN it for later too!

Canned Apple Pie Filling

What else "CAN" I do 

with all my apples this year?

When we had Ryleigh a dear friend brought 

us a meal, and for the dessert: 

it was a quart jar of 

Canned Apple Pie Filling, 

along with a zip lock bag with the 

Apple Crisp Topping!

What a THOUGHTFUL & neat idea I thought.  

So I tucked it away in the files of my brain until this year-when we have an OVER 

abundance of apples.  Then I got out the recipe, and canned up a storm.

I think I made about 17 quarts or so.

There's just something so NEAT about a 

BUSHEL basket FULL of APPLES!!

Maybe it's just me that thinks so????

Start by washing all them apples.

Look at them beauties!

Then peel, core, and slice your apples.

If you don't own an Apple Peeler Corer Slicer, 

they are soooo handy.  

I use it for making dried apples in our food dehydrator too.

Lookin' good!

Wow, don't they just look PERFECT!  

That's one advantage of that lil gadget too, 

they are all about the exact same shape/size!

Making a nice lookin' jar of pie filling!

I just think it's really neat how all the peelings just 

come off like little noodles or something!

If it works right, ALL the peel off ONE apple 

is in ONE long string...so it's really not that messy!

Now combine the dry ingredients: 

(sugar, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, & instant clear gel)

For those of you who live in IL, the Country Cupboard in Fairbury 

carries the instant clear gel.  Otherwise I know like Beachy's in Arthur, IL 

carries it too...or probably any bulk food store would.

Combine the water & lemon juice.

Slowly add a little at a time to the dry ingredients, 

until well combined.

Pour over the apples and carefully mix until well coated.

Now all you need to do is place into jars & can.

CANNED APPLE PIE FILLING

31 cups apples peeled, cored, and sliced

10.5 cups water

10 tsp lemon juice

Cinnamon to your taste

4.5 cups brown sugar

4 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

2.25 cups instant clear gel

Mix dry ingredients together. Combine water & lemon juice. In small amounts mix wet ingredients with the dry; beating rapidly each time to prevent lumping. Beat until well combined. Add it to the apples. *Fill quart jars just to bottom of neck. Process 20 minutes in water bath or just bring to 5# pressure in pressure canner. Makes approximately 10-11 quarts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Look at them all done!  

I think it makes such a 

pretty jar 

to give as gifts!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Lessons learned:  

-DO NOT OVERFILL JARS!*  Or else they either won't seal, or the seal will break/pop with little contact.

-When delivering to someone in a brown paper sack, beware/the handle may break, and the bag go flying to the ground, and create a mess of broken glass and sticky apple pie filling all over the inside of the bag & all the other food you made for them.  Sad day! Oh well, life could be worse!
-Make sure you choose an apple that is a cooking apple.  Otherwise the apples may not cook down properly.

Thanks For Stopping By!  

While You're Here, Why Don't You Leave A Comment?  

Tell Me What You Think!  

Make sure to PIN it for later too!

I linked this recipe up with the following Linky Parties:  Showcase Your Talent, on Whats cooking, Love?,  We Like To Learn As We Go!, Funky Junk Interiors, Dessert Now, Dinner Later!  child at heart,