Easy French Apple Squares

The apples - 2 pink lady, 2 fuji, & 2 pinata - all cooked up nicely and weren't too sweet.  According to Nick-Nick, a scoop of ice cream added 30 minutes post baking would have been fantastic.

Even cutting the finished product into 20 squares meant that it packed a whopping 6 weight watchers points using their current plan.  This could be dangerous for me since it was sweet, but not too sweet.  I could easily eat a chunk of it without thinking twice.  As such, I sent about half of it home with Nick-Nick.  Out of sight means out of mind!

Streusel

• 1c. Original Bisquick Mix
• 1/2c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4c. cold butter or margerine
• 3/4c. chopped nuts

Fruit Mixture

• 6c. sliced peeled tart apples (6 medium)
• 2tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1c. Original Bisquick Baking mix
• 1c. granulated sugar
• 1c. milk
• 2Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
• 4 eggs, beaten

Streusel Mixture

Prepared Apple Mixture

Apple Mixture with the rest of the ingredients poured over - it was very thin and I was wondering if I did something wrong!

With the streusel on top & ready for the oven!

1. Heat oven to 350F.  Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In medium bowl, mix 1c. Bisquick mix and the brown sugar.  Cut in 1/4c. butter, using pastry blender (or pulling two table knives through ingredients in opposite directions until crumbly.)  Stir in nuts; set aside.  
3. In large bowl, mix apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg; spoon into pan.  In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until well blended.  Pour mixture over apples.  Sprinkle with streusel.
4. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean and top is golden brown.  Cool 30 minutes or until set before cutting into squares.  Store in refrigerator.

Despite the amount of sugar in the recipe, this didn't seem too sweet to me at all.  It wasn't quite a cake, wasn't a pie texture wise, but it was rather tasty so I can't wait for the kids to try it tomorrow after dinner. I cut the finished product into 20 squares and we decided that would be just about right if it was going to be served following a meal.  A scoop of ice cream on top would be a nice touch if you're looking for a little bit more.  It was super easy to make, and I'll definitely be making it again. 

The Kids are Alright

On a pretty regular basis, I'm cooking for more than just the three of us, so I would be missing the boat entirely if I didn't at least mention the fact that at least three to four days a week, we have company for dinner.  These nights are typically known as Ms. Andrea day, Nick-Nick day, and the weekend.  While my kids eat just about anything, the adults (myself included) can be downright difficult to cook for when I'm preplanning our meals! (For the record, they've never officially complained though)


So here's a bit of info about all of us since we'll be the ones giving feedback on the recipes being tried: 

1. Brooke Lynne (age 6): loves most fruits and veggies but isn't always crazy about protein unless she's in the mood for it.  Oh, and don't tell her it's turkey if you want her to eat it. (You can call it chicken and she'll love it though!)  Brooke Lynne is easily intimidated by a plate full of food, even if it is a small plate, so I make her a "tasting plate" most nights that just has a bite or two of each item that I've prepared.  She is the most excited about about trying a new drink or dessert every week.
2. Amelia (age 2): loves fruits and veggies and will eat them endlessly...as long as it isn't a kiwi that hasn't had the skin removed.  Amelia will try just about anything I put on her plate.
3. Melissa (me): there are some things I just don't want in my food.  Mushrooms, chunky tomatoes, olives,  capers, artichokes, and until recently I wouldn't eat spinach either.  I grew up eating in restaurants...a lot! When my mom did cook, it was family favorites, usually comfort foods, unless it was summer and my dad was home.  In that case, we grilled (or went out to eat!)
4. Andrea (grown-up): If you want to find her on a Wednesday night, she's usually here hanging out with us.  This keeps me sane for more than one reason (and would require a whole new blog to explain).  In her own words, she likes "chicken, bacon and pork.  Some crab.  Italian food.  Noodles, cheese, carbs.  Broccoli, corn, peas, potatoes, beans, green pepper.  Chinese food.  Most fruits and nuts, except bananas.  Dislike beef, onion, mushrooms, milk, gravy, stuffing."  She likes some spicy things, but not super spicy.  Her all time favorite food is chicken parmesan.
5. Nick-Nick (grown-up):  When I asked him, he said he wouldn't even know where to start.  He didn't get a lot of variety food-wise when he was growing up.  Meals were usually a meat, potato, and a veggie.  He doesn't like squash, tomatoes, green or red peppers, most types of onions (raw or cooked) or ketchup. For him, it's a texture thing.  He's also "kind of weird about hard boiled eggs" and feels that lettuce is for salads only.

As you can see, at times I have my work cut out for me and it is the adult preferences and dislikes that tend to make things challenging at times, not the kids'.  As crazy as it may sound, I love cooking for my friends and my family and wouldn't change it for the world.  Cooking for them is my way of saying "I love you" without actually saying it.  It makes me feel good because I know what I prepare is healthier than what you'd find in most restaurants since I don't rely heavily on prepared "convenience foods" and it saves us all money too.  Hopefully this latest endeavor of mine won't make them too crazy!

So what do YOU feel like for dinner?

It seems like I'm always asking someone this question and it seems like I'm always making one of the same dozen or so family favorites.  Since Brooke Lynne and Amelia eat pretty much anything, it seems like I should be taking advantage of the situation and introducing them to new meals much more frequently than I currently do.  My new goal: to expand our culinary horizons! How will I do it? By trying out new recipes every week.  I pledge to make at least one new item from each of the following categories each week:

1. Something I can make in a slow cooker: Like everyone else, I'm busy.  I have two kids, a full-time job, and I go to school full-time too. 
2. Beverage/Dessert: We very rarely eat dessert since I am on a perpetual diet and the majority of the time I'm drinking Diet Pepsi and the girls are drinking milk or water.
3. Something from one of my umpteen "healthier eating" cookbooks or magazines: "America's Most Wanted Recipes without the Guilt," taste of home's healthy cooking magazine, and everything authored by Lisa Lillien (aka Hungry Girl - I've followed her since way before she was famous) line my shelves, yet I rarely reach for them.  It's easier to make something I already know how to make. 
4. Something from one of my "kid" cookbooks or magazines: See #3.  In addition, I hope that by cooking with Brooke Lynne I will pass along my love of cooking.  Plus it's fun and a damn good way to practice her math skills as we measure and calculate ingredients and such. 

The Rules

1. They have to be new recipes, not just old recipes that I've tweaked. 
2. Everyone eats the same thing: This isn't a restaurant and I'm not making more than one meal each night.  This means that whatever is made has to be both kid-friendly and diet-friendly.
3. The goal is to make four separate items that are new each week.  No combining the categories just because I'm feeling tired.

Ready?  Set.  Go!  Time to start planning next week's menu items (based on what's on sale at the grocery store of course!)