Yeah- this will taste good!

Ingredients

6 cups cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Coat CROCK-POT® slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place apples in bottom.
2. Combine bread crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar, butter and walnuts. Spread over apples.
3. Cover; cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH 2 hours.

Makes 8 servings

taken from family.go.com

Fudge upside down cake and ice cream. YUMMY

This past Friday my wife and i got a babysitter and had dinner with another couple from our church. This couple insisted we bring nothing and they would take of the night. And Boy Did They!

First- we had a killer salsa which was from Costco- Mango Salsa- not sure how to describe other then- go buy it now!
Then dinner came – Pork Loin marinaded in Italian dressing and grilled to perfection. Huge baked potatoes dusted with kosher salt. Then the veggies – oh the veggies- Zucchini sauted in chopped garlic, what i am guessing was an unhealthy amount of butter- but lets call it the way we tasted it- INCREDIBLE! As well as some yummy steamed Cauliflower sprinkled with shredded cheddar.

That alone would be a homerun meal fit only royalty, but then came dessert.

They were still cooking it when we got there- so I got to see how this meal unfolded. She basically followed the recipe and I would suggest you do the same.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 Cup Sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup milk 1/2 brown sugar
1 cup flour 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups boiling water

Cream together 3/4 cup sugar and butter – Stir in Milk.
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons cocoa together.
Add creamed mixture and beat until smooth.
Stir in walnuts.

Spread batter into 9 inch square pan.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over batter.
Pour boiling water over top.

Bake at 250 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
The cake will rise to the top and boiling water will combine with the sugar/cocoa mixture to make rich chocolate syrup underneath.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or plain in sherbet glasses or sauce dishes.
Forget that – grab a fork and eat it out of the pan.

It was simply put …. SICK.. in a good way- incredible delicious, yummy, tasty, awesome..

think i liked it?

Have you ever tried this or a similar recipe?

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HELLO???? REESE's - You cant eat these- go buy your own!

WISDOM: Free knowledge: know why these are called tassies? Post answers below!

This is to celebrate our 250th fan to sign up for our facebook page. I cant cook all of you a treat- so i figure bust out a classic you can do at home- makes sense this is what the site is about. Cooking. at home, with the family!
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (11 ounce) package REESE’S® Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chips, divided
2 teaspoons shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)

Directions
1 Beat 3/4 cup butter and cream cheese in medium bowl; add flour and 1/4 cup sugar, beating until well blended. Cover; refrigerate about one hour or until dough is firm. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; press each ball onto bottom and up sides of about 36 small muffin cups (1-3/4 inches in diameter).
2 Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine egg, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla in small bowl; stir until smooth. Set aside 1/3 cup chips; add remainder to egg mixture. Evenly fill muffin cups with chip mixture.
3 Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until filling is set and lightly browned. Cool completely; remove from pan to wire rack.
4 Combine reserved 1/3 cup chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Drizzle over tops of tassies.

I like to add an extra step – EAT THEM UP BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES!!!!

KID COOKING TIP:
Get the kiddies involved- any time there is mixing they can do it. My 1 year old helps- trust me anyone can. Slightly older kids can dip the French toast into the batter before yu place in frying pan.

ENJOY

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No Bake Cheesecake is great! God Bless America!

So you realize you forgot to pick up something or you are sick of bringing that chocolate pineapple cake from the national grocery store. Why not try something you can whip up and really impress your friends and family. This is my wife’s recipe and we use it nearly every 4th of July. Here we go!

Ingredients:
2 Pkg Cream Cheese (8oz. Each)
1/3 Cup Sugar
2 tbsp. Lemon juice (optional)
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Thawed
1 Graham Cracker Crust
- Strawberry halves & Blueberries

Lets make it!
Beat the cream cheese, sugar & lemon juice in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended
Gently stir in 2 cups of whipped topping
Spoon into crust
Refrigerate 3 hours or until set
Then, spread Cool Whip over top
Arrange berries in rows to resemble flag

WAH-LAH – awesome no bake cheesecake 4th of July Dessert

Enjoy

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Grill it up- throw it on some lettuce

If you have been following me for any time you know I love Grilling (BBQ’ing) and for much of my life I was a salad junkie. Recently I had Lapband surgery and one major issue I have now, is the inability to eat salad in any great volume, but I still love to make it. My wife and girls could live on salad. So what I have included here are the 3 best recipes from the net for grilled salads.

In a week or 2 I am going to cook one of these with the family. I figured it is a hot weekend, maybe someone would want to try something different. I know even I am exhausted with burgers after my 3rd family bbq of the weekend.

This is not any order-
Wilted Caesar Salad –

Grilled Asian Salad -
Quick and easy
Grill scallions and unshucked corn. Chop the scallions and cut the corn from the cob. Mix with soba noodles (you can find them at a Whole Foods) and toss with a sesame-soy vinaigrette.

Grilled Caprese Salad-
Take your romaine and lay it on a pan or tin. Grill until it just starts to brown/blacken.
While that is cooking, grill Italian bread – then add garlic rub, top with grilled tomato slices, basil, fresh mozzarella, and extra-virgin olive oil.

There is so much you can do with veggies and salad on the grill. It is a fun way to play food and flavors.

UPDATE: Although not a salad- we are grilling veggies tonight
Eggplant, Zuccini, Squash, Onions, Peppers
Take these and mix the following and let them marinate for at least 2-3 hours
3 tsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves- Crushed
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Sage
1 tsb Rosemary

Here is what it looks like before it hits the grill

We may also- take some Jersey Tomatoes and Mozzarella = grill’em up -stack’em up and eat’em up!

Enjoy!

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If you got $75 and 2 hours - DEFINITELY eat HERE

Don’t let the name confuse you. This meal was incredible. When I review site without my daughter I will indicate by going with my name “BigBites”.

Back to the review of The Melting Pot,in Red Bank. My wife loves our local radio station they offer these gift cards where you pay $25 and get a $50  card – Great deal- this is how we do most of our fine dining. She mentioned she had the card- I was having a moderately bad day at work so i took the plunge and called my mom and dad to see if they would watch the kids and give us some adult time + a chance at a new dining experience.

THANKS MOM AND DAD- I am now in love with a place I cannot afford to eat at. INCREDIBLE! I am not going to make you wait until the end for my final review. I gave it 5 BIG BITES.

Yes expensive- but oh so worth it.

from iPhone - 1st Course with Wisconsin Trio of cheese - Buttekase, Fontina and Blue Cheese

I should note- they re running a special called Girls Night Out. $30 bucks per person on Tuesday for a reduced menu/portion size meal/ We choose this being our first time- we want to try each course without breaking the bank.

1st Course was incredible – some wonderful bread and veggies, but the craziest thing was the Granny Smith Apples, which I love. They were unbelievable- cold sour bite with warm cheese. I don’t know how to explain except surprisingly good. I could have entitled this review that. I found myself looking at my wife saying- shouldn’t this taste funny? But it never did-

Step back to our server- who her name escapes me- so sweet and nice- once we explained this was our first time- she explained everything made suggestions based on our likes and dislikes, came back several times to double, triple check on us. If you have not been here the menu and ordering can be a bit overwhelming.

2nd Course- Salad – Janet ordered House Salad- thanks to my lapband surgery salad and I are not best friends- typically I can eat some but since we were new to The Melting Pot I did not want to take a chance to ruin the meal. My wife described her salad as yummy with a sweet dressing.

Main Course – We had the daily veggies which were Red Potatoes, Broccoli and mushrooms – YUMMALICIOU, Steak, chicken, tortellini,ravioli and shrimp. I was more excited about eating and was not thinking I would write a review- so i do not recall the specifics – did i mention it was ALL GOOD. We choose the basic stock for cooking our food in- the whole experience is so different- They have these incredible dipping sauces- teriyaki, sweet sauce, some goddess dip and a ridiculously tasty Blue Cheese for the beef.

Dessert: fruit, cheesecake,pound cake... milk chochlate with peanut butter...

Dessert: At this point we are 1 hour 30 minutes into the meal and cannot fit in our seats. Here it comes.  While finishing up the main meal- they gave us our chocolate menu. We went with The Original – milk Choch and Peanut Butter.  It included Bananas, strawberries, crushed oreos on marshmellows- and crushed gram crackers on marshmallows, plus cheesecake (to die for) and pound cake – oh how about Rice Krispy treats.  Officially out of adjectives.

RUN DO NOT WALK THERE TOMORROW. May want to run home as well- burn some calories. If you got the cash or have a special occassion I could not pick a better place for the relaxing environment and amazing food and service.

MAJOR SUGGESTION: Call Ahead- on this Tuesday night when thye opened at 5, we were there by 5:10 and were the 4-5 couple. By the time we left at 7:15 there were at least 3-4 parties waiting. Call ahead 732-219-0090

BONUS: We do not drink alcolohol – nice to know Sodas are free refrills – side note I do not drink soda either (lapband surgery), but still refrill being free is always nice- of course our final bill with tip was 75 bucks.