My Favorite Fall Treat!

Well, it is still 85-90 degrees in lovely Florida but, I am determined to get into the fall spirit!

This past weekend, we made 'Grammie Joyce's Famous Apple Crisp' 

This is my absolute favorite y'all! 

(again, I am HORRIBLE at taking pictures so, there is no 'after' picture but, trust me, it is to die for!) 

What you will need for the apple mixture:

9x13 Greased baking dish

8-10 peeled apples

1 1/2 cups of flour

3/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup of white sugar

1/4 cup of light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon of cinnamon

1/2 Tablespoon of nutmeg

What you will need for the crisp topping:

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of melted butter (cooled) 

Steps:

1. preheat oven to 350* and grease the 9x13 baking dish

2. wash and peel your apples. cut into bite sized chunks-no need to be precise. 

3. in a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugars, butter, and spices. mix well until fully combined then gently fold in apples until they are completely covered. dump into the prepared baking dish and make sure it is as even as possible. 

  

4. prepare the crumb topping by combining the flour, sugar, and butter with a fork until it forms a crumbly consistency. 

5. evenly spread out the crumb topping over the apple mixture. Top with extra cinnamon if you'd like. 

6. pop this baby in the oven at 350* for 45 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown. 

serve warm with ice cream and whipped cream or, if you're feeling extra 'betty crocker-ish', make a homemade caramel sauce to top it off! 

Enjoy! 

And On Weeknights...

We cook!

J and I are big foodies but, when living in a city like ours, it's hard not to be! As much as we love to go out to eat, it can get pretty pricey so we came up with an agreement. 

We are trying to save money for a down payment on a house together and budgeting is going really well for us so far. We decided that we/I would cook Monday-Friday and then Saturday would be our date night out and Sundays are "family dinner night" with my parents. It works for us and I LOVE to cook-J can throw down in the kitchen as well! I also decided to start mean planning and taking my lunch to work everyday so I am not spending money on crap food at the place around the corner. 

A few food related budget tips that have really worked for us is to: 

#1 plan plan plan! Being a teacher, you should be used to having a ton of sticky notes with random thoughts and countless lists of things posted everywhere so, add one more! 

I am not a couponer. I've tried and it just doesn't work for me however, the grocery store we shop at puts a weekly ad out every Thursday and I do take advantage of those deals! I typically spend part of my Thursday break making a grocery list. I also plan our menu for the upcoming week. I am lucky because other than seafood, anything is fair game for J. 

#2 Set a MONTHLY budget for groceries and don't go over it!! 

J and I split everything equally. Rent, utilities, vet bills, groceries, etc. We each budget $175 per month for groceries. I know that $350 may seem high for a two person grocery budget but it is what works for is and what we don't use each month we treat ourselves to fro-yo dates or some kind of special treat. We usually make a grocery trip once a week and follow our list closely. Since we have started budgeting, we haven't gone over the $350! 

#3 Use what you have and get creative

There are several sites online that will allow you to type in the ingredients you have on hand and then will spit out a recipe. My favorite is: http://www.supercook.com

You can typically substitute items for ones you don't have. 

Even with being a teacher and working long hours, I always find time to cook wether it is throwing something in the crock pot before I run out the door at 730 am or starting dinner right when I get home at 6pm. 

Here are a few of the top "go to" recipes we use! (All of these are family recipes) 

1.

Ground Turkey with roasted veggies, brown rice and feta cheese. This is one of my favorite bulk meals. I will cook enough for five days and bring one container a day to work for lunch. 

2. 

Pan seared pork chops with an apple glaze, butternut squash and mixed green veggies. 

3. 

Sweet and tangy chicken cutlets with mashed rutabaga and balanced green beans. 

4. 

(J's favorite) Stuffed yellow peppers 

What are some of your go to recipes?? 

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday, fellow bloggers! 

It's crazy that it is already Friday! I took off Wednesday-Friday this week at work because J's brothers are in town and time has just been flying by but, we have been having a great time! 

O and Keeg arrived Saturday the 31st in Tampa, J and I drove up to pick them up and we had dinner at Red Robin (yummmmm!) My heart is just so full when they are here. J moved down to Florida from Massachusetts 7 years ago and since then, they have only seen each other a handful of times. Plus, I have always wanted brothers and these two welcomed me into their family very quickly and didn't waste anytime before starting to mess with me haha! 

Anyways, this Five for Friday linky with Doodle Bugs Teaching is mostly a picture montage filled with family fun! 

Can I just tell you what a sickening obsession I have with salted caramels? Well it is way over the top! The last time we were in MA, in June, we went to an ice cream place called Putnam Pantry-oh my goodness!- This place is an ice cream shop with all homemade ice creams and then they have a 'do it yourself' toppings bar like at a frozen yogurt place. After you're done stuffing your face with ice cream, they also have a candy shop where again, everything is homemade. When we went, I bought a box of 6 salted caramel rectangles (the bottom box) and I was in salted caramel heaven! I was so shocked when the boys arrived with 12 salted caramel logs AND chocolate covered salt caramels. yum yum yum! 

So flip side of me gorging on salted caramels...I have started using the It Works wraps! I am not (at least yet) going to do a review or post result pictures because 1. I am super self conscious and 2. I have noticed a changed but, I want to see a bigger change and more visible results. 

So, last week, I talked about the flesh eating bacteria that has infested the Florida salt waters...yep we are still steering clear of the beach! (Well, we went an walked on the sand but, we are not touching the water!) 

Thankfully though, my momma has a pool at her house so Wednesday, the four of us spent the whole day beachin'...poolin'! We also all have Lifeproof cases now thanks to J so naturally, we all tested them out! They definitely did work! 

Well, of course I decided to play Susie homemaker again and I will be making dinner for 7-10 people tonight. I have taken the challenge to make dinner for everyone 8-12 people before and I just love it! J's grandparents on both sides live here and my parents live here so a home cooked meal for 8 is not big deal! This time, I chose spaghetti and homemade meatballs! I prepped and made the meatballs last night so that today, all I have to do is make the sauce, heat the meat balls, make the spaghetti and garlic bread! If it was up to me, I'd make everything but the relatives are stubborn so my momma will be bringing salad and J's grandparents will be bringing dessert! 

Of, course, we have been taking many selfies and group pictures as well! I just love having them here and wish time would stop going so fast! 

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend! 

-Sarah