Warm Caramel Apple Cake

Easy B.C. Recipe. I know alot of people like to make their cake from scratch. So if that is your preference ,then "Do It"

Serve this yummy apple upside-down cake warm from the oven. It's all made easier with Betty Crocker® cake and frosting.

Cake


1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 1/3 cups)

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice

Topping

2/3 cup Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting (from 12-oz container)

1/2 cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping

Caramel topping, if desired


1. Heat oven to 350°F. In 1-quart heavy saucepan, cook butter, whipping cream and brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Pour into 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with pecans; top with sliced apples.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and apple pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Carefully spoon batter over apple mixture.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from pan. Place heatproof serving platter upside down on pan; carefully turn platter and pan over. Let pan remain over cake about 1 minute so caramel can drizzle over cake. Remove pan.

4. In small bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping. Serve warm cake topped with frosting mixture and drizzled with caramel topping.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 45 to 50 minutes.

Substitution

You can use cinnamon for the apple pie spice for a slightly different flavor.

Success

Granny Smith and Braeburn are good apple choices to use in this recipe.



Nutrition Information:

1 Serving: Calories 410 (Calories from Fat 190); Total Fat 21g (Saturated Fat 8g, Trans Fat 1 1/2g); Cholesterol 65mg; Sodium 300mg; Total Carbohydrate 52g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 38g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 8%; Iron 6% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 4 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 3 1/2

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Happy Friday!

Welcome to the weekend ,almost, again! I hope everyones week was fun and productive. I would really like to thank everybody once again for reading my blog. My readership is not huge by any means, but it seems to be growing slowly. One way to assure you remember to read my blog daily, is to sign up for an email subscription. There is a short form on the right hand column where you can do this. That is all that the subscripyion sign up form is for. You will not get any spam or junk mail by signing up for an email subscription. It is strictly an automated subscription service that only sends out my blog by email.
Anyway, have a good day!
Live , love, laugh!
Kent

Quick "Cheesecake"

Schmear ricotta cheese and your favorite jam on graham crackers for an instant "cheesecake."


Ingredients


4 whole-wheat graham crackers

4 tablespoons part-skim ricotta cheese

8 teaspoons jamPreparation


1.Spread each graham cracker with 1 tablespoon part-skim ricotta cheese and 2 teaspoons jam.

Nutrition

Per serving: 239 calories; 6 g fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 10 mg cholesterol; 42 g carbohydrates; 7 g protein; 2 g fiber; 259 mg sodium; 39 mg potassium.



3 Carbohydrate Serving

A classic reinvented: currant scones

Scones are a smart way to celebrate a quiet weekend morning. Nothing more than gussied-up biscuits, scones are easy to make, and a plate of them offers the perfect excuse to sit, chat and relax.




Guests are sure to be touched that you went to the trouble to bake a batch from scratch, but they may weep with joy when you let it slip that these mini currant scones contain less butter and substitute fat-free half-and-half for heavy whipping cream. For comparison's sake, the classic cream scones in "The Joy of Cooking" call for 8 tablespoons of butter, an amount that we whittle down to 3 tablespoons. And using fat-free half-and-half saves 40 calories and 5 grams of fat per tablespoon.



To resist overeating, modern wisdom says to keep portion sizes petite. We doubt anyone will notice you used a 2-inch biscuit cutter rather than the standard 2 1/2 -inch cutter.



And the end results?



A tender, flaky scone, of course.



Tips: Look for currants in the dried fruit aisle of your supermarket. Use remaining currants in place of raisins or dried fruit in other baked goods.



Mini currant scones



Prep: 25 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Makes: 16 scones



Note: Look for parchment paper in the baking aisle. Pastry blenders and silicone pastry brushes are available in specialty stores.



Ingredients:

2 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powde

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

½ cup currants

¾ cup fat-free half-and-half

1 egg white, slightly beaten



1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add currants; toss gently. Add half-and-half, stirring just until moistened. Mixture will appear slightly crumbly. Use hands to form a solid ball of dough; knead 4 or 5 times on a floured surface.



2. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut scones with a 2-inch round cutter; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush egg white over tops . Sprinkle lightly with remaining 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.



Nutrition information

Per scone: 106 calories, 19% of calories from fat, 2 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 6 mg cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 198 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

Baby Bok Choy with Yellow Bell Peppers

Baby Bok Choy with Yellow Bell Peppers Recipe


For an added touch you can include some pine nuts in step one.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil or canola oil

1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 large yellow bell peppers, stem and seed pod removed and discarded, sliced (about 2 cups sliced)

4 green onions, chopped, including green parts that are not dried out

1 lb baby bok choy, bottom root ball cut off and discarded, rinsed thoroughly, torn into smaller pieces

Method

1 Heat a tablespoon each of grapeseed (or canola) oil and sesame oil in a large sauté pan on high heat. Add the chopped yellow peppers and green onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. (Keep a watch so that the onions don't burn.)

2 Lower the heat and add the bok choy. Stir to coat with the oil in the pan. Cook only until the bok choy has wilted. The thicker, whiter ends of the baby bok choy should still be somewhat crunchy.



Serve immediately. Serves 4-6 as a side.