Recipes Archives - Pennywise Cook

November 3, 2014 by amy 2 Comments

When I was young, our neighbor had an apple tree in their yard. I remember first finding out that the tree had apples on it. I ran over there and picked me one and took a big bite out of it. And then I realized…this was no regular apple tree. It was a tree of crab apples. Have you ever had a crab apple? They are not so good. Very sour, hard, and give you a sore tummy.

Now regular apples, I love. I’m more of a green apple eater than red, but I’ll eat whatever I can get. And I adore dips for my apples. Just a big dollop of peanut butter and a juicy slice of apple can make my day.

Fall is the season when apples are ready for harvest. Though I find them just as juicy and fresh anytime of year at the grocery store. And they don’t seem to vary too much in price, which is nice.

I’ve got a dip for you today that you’re going to love. After we ran out of apples, we used our fingers to scrape the rest of the dip off the bowl. It’s so good.

This dip is very similar to 2-Ingredient Fruit Dip, but the ingredients are a little different.

It’s a simple mixture of cream cheese (you know its going to be good), brown sugar, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Yeah, that sour cream gives it a creaminess. Love it.

I love this dip for get togethers. It would be really great to buy a bunch of different types of apples, slice them, and put them on a platter with this dip in the middle. You would have so many colors!

Just make sure that you don’t get any crab apples.

Oh yeah and, you don’t just have to eat this with apples. It’s amazing with any fruit! The recipe was originally called “Caramel Fruit Dip”, so I was going to pair it with apples thinking, you know, apples and caramel are wonderful together. After eating it, it does not have that caramel taste I was expecting. But it is still a wonderful partner for apples!

Apple Dip

2014-10-31 12:30:47

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Ingredients

1 (8 oz) pkg Cream Cheese, Softened
1/2 c. Brown sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 c. Sour cream

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together with mixer and chill. Serve!

Notes

I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese and fat free sour cream and this still tasted wonderful!

By Pennywise Cook

Adapted from The Four Ingredient Cookbook

Pennywise Cook http://www.pennywisecook.com/

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Simple Mini Cottage Pies

My husband and I went to England a few years ago. We indulged in all of the meals that you might associate with England like Fish ‘N Chips, Bangers and Mash, and of course Shepherd’s Pie. I think I was more excited to eat their food than I was to see the sites!

You may have heard of Shepherd’s Pie here in the US and have most likely eaten it before. It’s such an easy dish that almost anyone likes. But did you know that the term started out as Cottage Pie? Cottage Pie dates all the way back to 1791 when the potato was found to be an affordable option for poor folks to eat. They’d use whatever meat they had leftover and line the dish with mashed potatoes and then top it with them as well. Sound familiar? It wasn’t until 1877 that folks started calling it Shepherd’s Pie. (via Wikipedia) There are tons of variations on making this dish, but I wanted to share this easy one with you!

I’ve been making this for years. Probably not as often as I should, but when I do it’s a hit!

You guys know me and my healthification (technical word there) of my meals. In this one, I of course use ground turkey or extra lean ground beef, but I also wanted to work on portion control. When something is really good like Cottage Pie, you need a stopping point! Or at least I do…

I busted out my little souffle dishes to make these and it was the perfect individual amount. As a side note, I just realized that I’ve never made a souffle before. Challenge ACCEPTED!

Anywho, if you need a really easy dinner idea this week you should definitely consider this meal. Here’s how to make them!

Simple Mini Cottage Pies

Recipe Type: Main Dish

Cuisine: Brittish

Author: Pennywise Cook

A simple way to change up your every day Shepherd’s Pie. Try these super simple Cottage Pies!

Ingredients

1 lb Lean Ground Beef (or turkey)
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 can Mixed Vegetables (drained)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 tsp Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 (4 serving) pkg Instant Mashed Potatoes cooked according to package
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1/2 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with onion until onions are translucent. Drain. Add minced garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant.
Add can of mixed veggies and can of cream of mushroom soup. Mix and cook until all is warmed through.
Place equal amounts of meat mixture into 4 or 5 ramekins. Top with equal amounts of mashed potatoes.
Sprinkle with cheese. Put ramekins on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve!

Notes

You can add whatever kind of “cream of” soup that you’d like to these, but the mushroom version tastes wonderful. I think cream of celery would also make a good choice.
Depending on the size of your ramekins, you may need 5 of them.
And don’t feel obligated to use instant mashed potatoes. It’s a shortcut on busy nights for me, but when I have the time homemade tastes the best hands down!

Apple Dip

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Simple Mini Cottage Pies

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