Apple Pear Crisp

Hey guys, sorry for abandoning you the past few weeks.  I've been dealt an interesting deck of cards this month, but hopefully I'll be back to my regular postings now.

It's been ages since I cooked up a dessert, seriously it was August, so I was really excited to get the blog up and running again with this apple and pear crisp.

Is there anything better than cinnamon and brown sugar?  I just don't know.

Apple Pear Crisp

Ingredients
4 cups sliced apples and pears (feel free to use an combination you like this is not an exact science)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup butter, softened and cubed
2/3 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Place sliced fruit in an even layer in an 8x8 baking pan.
2. In a small bowl mix flour, oats, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Use your fingers to combine ingredients.  Mixture should be like wet sand. Top fruit mixture, making sure fruit is completely covered.
3. Bake for 60 minutes, until fruit is bubbling.  Let sit for 10 minutes. Serve topped with ice cream or whipped cream.

P.S. I got some pretty killer fall ice cream at the market recently.  1. Cinnamon caramel apple pie, the ice cream is cinnamon flavor! amazing! 2. Pumpkin pie, it's got a cinnamon graham cracker swirl! You probably need both of these in your freezer this fall.

Pumpkin Pasta with Butternut Squash and Chicken

This post goes out Stop and Shop.  They have been stocking their supermarket with all the pumpkin items I could possibly need as fall begins.

Pumpkin Pasta with Butternut Squash and Chicken

Ingredients

1 Jar Stop and Shop Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

1 cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded

1 cup butternut squash, frozen

A bunch of sage leaves, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 lb pasta

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, for serving

1. Boil a large pot of water for the pasta. Cook according to package directions.

2. In a large skillet heat oil on medium.  Season butternut squash with salt and pepper and toss into heated skillet.  Cook until slightly browned.  Pour pumpkin sauce into skillet along with the cooked chicken.  Allow all components to heat up while pasta is cooking.

3. When pasta is finished, coat with sauce mixture.  Top with minced sage leaves.  Spoon into bowls and top with a hearty spoonful of Parmesan cheese.

The pasta sauce is tomato based, with pumpkin added to it.

How can you not love this bowl that's just screaming FALL?

Broccoli Cheese Pizza Roll

This pizza roll can be customized any way you like.  I used a handful of ingredients I had on hand at the time, but the possibilities are really endless.

Broccoli Cheese Pizza Roll

Ingredients

1 pizza dough, store bought, homemade, you decide

1 cup mozzarella cheese

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 tbsp olive tapenade

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400. Roll out pizza dough on an oiled, rimmed, rectangular baking sheet.  Leaving a 1 inch boarder, spread tapenade evenly over dough.  Top with broccoli and cheese.  Roll dough long-ways and press together to seal.

2.  Sprinkle pizza roll with parmesan cheese and garlic powder.  Bake until crust is browned, about 15 minutes.

Pizza rolls would be great for dinner or game-day snacking.

Now what should go inside my next pizza roll.....