Monday Munchies - Cold Veggie Pizza

Hi, it's Martha from Simple Supper Saturday here to host Monday Munchies from now on. Unfortunately our friend Cheryl is unable to continue with us here for Monday Munchies due to a rigorous schedule at college this semester. I will be hosting Simple Supper Saturday this week as well as Monday Munchies. The following week one of my great foodie friends will be taking over on Saturdays. Details coming soon.

I will be featuring snacks, appetizers, dips, etc. here at Monday Munchies. You'll be armed and ready with great food for game days during football season this year and ready for a party in a flash!

My first appetizer is one I featured a few months ago over at Menagerie - Cold veggie pizza. It's like a veggie tray and dip served pizza style. It's a great addition to any appetizer buffet and works perfectly for any "chick food" events like baby and bridal showers and pot luck luncheons. It's very inexpensive to make and it can be made ahead!

This is so easy to make and so good! Just roll out a can of Pillsbury crescent rolls on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. While that's in the oven put about a 1/4 cup of raw broccoli, 1/4 cup of raw cauliflower and 1/4 of raw carrots in a chopper or food processor, chop very fine. Once the dough is finished let it cool and then spread with a light layer of cream cheese, top with the veggies and refrigerate until chilled. It's always a big hit!

I can't wait to see your favorite appetizers and party foods!

Martha's Menu Plans

Menu plan Monday is hosted by Laura at orgjunkie.com

Usually Sunday is cook and prep for meals for the week for me. This weekend turned out to be a busy one, I just plain ran out of time. Even worse with today being the last Sunday of the month it was supposed to be a cook and freeze day too, not going to happen this late! Looks like this week is going to be super easy meals and some things pulled from the freezer from previous cook and freeze days.

Sunday - Chicken Waldorf salad served on croissants (using leftover chicken from the freezer)
Monday - Spaghetti and meatballs (meatballs and homemade sauce from the freezer)
Tuesday - Spaghetti pie girlichef style (using Monday's leftovers)
Wednesday - Cheap pizza night ($4.99 each - can't beat it!)
Thursday - Crock pot meal (smoked sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut)
Friday - Appetizer night
Saturday - Kids or hubby cook night

As always breakfast is fruit, late morning is yogurt and lunch is vegetarian.

3 Sides of Crazy's Menu Plan

Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie

	DATE	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER
MONDAY	8/31	CEREAL	SANDWICHES	Recipe Experiment Night
TUESDAY	9/1	TOAST	LEFTOVERS	Lemon Lime Pepper Chicken
WEDNESDAY	9/2	YOGURT	SOUP	Carnitas ~ Traditional Style with Refried Beans
THURSDAY	9/3	FRUIT	CHEESE & FRUIT	Crab Salad with Thousand Island Dressing
FRIDAY	9/4	OATMEAL	C.O.R.N.	Red and Green Shredded Beef Burritos & Refried Beans
SATURDAY	9/5	Caramel Nut Stuffed French Toast	leftovers	Ricotta Herbed Manicotti
SUNDAY	9/6	Farmer's Breakfast	???	Tropical Glazed Pork Tenderloin

GIVEAWAY EXTENSION!!!!!!!!

We've extended the deadline to enter!

Country Bob's All purpose Sauce Product Review & Giveaway

Now for the giveaway. Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce has offered 2-two bottle sets for me to give you. The giveaway will run from today through Saturday, September 12th. You will earn 1 entry for each recipe you link to one of the tHe KrAzY KiTcHeN memes during this week. We will announce the winner on Simply Delicious Sunday September 13th. As a bonus you will earn an additional entry for every recipe that uses Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce.

Simply Delicious Sunday ~ Crab Salad & Homemade 1000 Island Dressing

CRAB SALAD & HOMEMADE 1000 ISLAND DRESSING
CRAB SALAD
8 ounces Louis Kemp Crab, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/3 cup minced red onion
salt and pepper
mayo (about 1/4 cup)
Romaine lettuce
Roma tomatoes, sliced
Snap peas, halved

• Wash lettuce, peas and tomatoes. Arrange on plate. Salt and pepper.
  
• Mix crab, celery, onion, salt and pepper together until well blended using enough mayonnaise for desired consistency.
• Place a large scoop of crab salad over the romaine mix.
  
• Serve over chopped romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes and snap peas.
• Top with dressing.
  

1000 ISLAND DRESSING
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 heaping tablespoon minced red onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

• In a mini blender blend all ingredients to desired consistency.

He all but licked his plate and drank the rest of the dressing straight from the bottle.

♥♥ ♥♥

Simple Supper Saturday - Italian Chicken

Welcome to Simple Supper Saturday! This week is my super easy baked Italian chicken ...
Marinate chicken breasts in Italian dressing for a couple hours, drain marinade, dredge chicken lightly in Italian bread crumbs. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in baking pan, place chicken in pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 or until juices run clear and chicken is golden brown - turn chicken halfway through cooking time. Serve with some fresh veggies or salad and dinner rolls.

Oh and be sure to make enough chicken to have plenty leftover - Next week I'll be posting an easy, yummy leftover chicken recipe that you won't want to miss!

I can't wait to see your simple supper ideas this week!

What Did You Bake Today: Banana Bread

This is the kind of basic recipe that I turn to again and again. It always turns out and everyone loves it. What more is there to ask in a recipe, right?


Banana Bread:
Sift together:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
In a large bowl, cream together:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
Add dry ingredients alternately with
2 mashed bananas
Spread into a well greased bread pan and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
We'd love to have you join us!

Healthy Helpings - Smothered Chicken with Pierogies

Smothered Chicken with Pierogies
4 servings - 7 WWpoints each serving

1 dozen Mrs T's Frozen Potato & Cheddar Cheese pierogies (I used a box of the mini sized, I think this makes it easier to serve if you want to give equal portions of pierogies to each person. There are 28 small ones compared to 12 big ones!)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) low fat cream of chicken soup
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained (I used 8 oz fresh and sauteed)
1 c frozen peas
2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 qt casserole with cooking spray. Thaw pierogies in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and place in casserole dish.

In large saucepan, combine soup, mushrooms, peas and chicken. Cook, stirring, about 5 min or until heated through. Pour over pierogies. Bake 15 minutes.

(My great nephew joined us for dinner unexpectedly the night I prepared this, and he gave it two thumbs up... he didn't think he liked mushrooms, but in this dish he said they were good!)

Giveaway

Don't forget that every time you link a recipe to the tHe KrAzY KiTcHeN this week you earn an entry into our Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce giveaway.

Who will be featured next on Save Room for Dessert?

Welcome back to our weekly Save Room for Dessert! I can't wait to see all the scrumptious recipes you have in store for us. Today, I am participating with Julia Child's Classic Chocolate Mousse at Joy of Desserts.

Here, I am also featuring a few desserts which you, our readers and participants have shared over the last few weeks for Save Room for dessert. You might have missed some of these great participating recipes from earlier weeks since we grew so quickly -- we have more than 100 posts, and already 61 followers in less than 2 months, not even counting the thousands who pop by thanks to search engines!

And don't forget about "What Did You Bake Today?" hosted each Friday by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. You can link your sweet desserts there too, or even link your baked savory dishes.

Bon appetit,

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

My Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookie


Aunt Janice's Cherry Berries on a Cloud

It helps everyone if you leave a link to your participating recipe in McKlinky, rather than just to your main blog, and let us know what your recipe is.
Thank you for participating!

EX: Tamy @ 3 Sides of Crazy (Banana Cake)

Cultural Connections: Pakbet

It's time to show your Culture foods again...Show us your country's soul through the food you eat.

Pinakbet or pakbet is a popular Filipino dish of mixed vegetables and pork stew cooked with bagoong or shrimp paste (anchovies).

Ingredients:
1/4 kilo pork with fat, cut into small pieces
2 Amapalya (bitter melons) sliced to bite size pieces
2 eggplants, sliced to bite size pieces
5 pieces of okra, cut in two
1 head garlic, minced
2 onions, diced
5 tomatoes, slice
1 tablespoon of ginger, crushed and sliced
4 tablespoons bagoong isda or bagoong alamang
3 tablespoons of oil
1 1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

*In a cooking pan, heat oil and fry the pork until brown, remove the pork from the pan and set aside.

*On the same pan, saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes.

*In a casserole, boil water and add bagoong.

*Add the pork in the casserole and mix in the sautéed garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

*Add in all the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.

*Salt and pepper to taste.

*Serve hot with plain rice.

Martha's Menu Plans

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at orgjunkie.com

I had previously posted my menu for the month at my regular blog Menagerie. I thought I'd repost this slightly changed version of this week's menu here since it's a super easy "Back to school" menu plan!

Sunday - Baked Italian chicken breasts (bulk package/2 pans), stuffing, roasted asparagus, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls


Sunday's baked Italian chicken recipe will be featured on next week's Simple Supper Saturday right here at The Krazy Kitchen! :-)

Monday - (Leftovers meal #1) Chicken cordon bleu pockets (recipe coming soon too!) with leftover cranberry sauce or salad with citrus balsamic dressing.
Tuesday - (Leftovers meal #2) Chicken Caesar pitas
Wednesday - Pizza night ($4.99 large pizzas) with chicken veggie soup (Leftovers meal #3)
Thursday - Spaghetti and meatballs (using homemade sauce and meatballs from the freezer), salad and garlic bread (make double batch for appetizer night).
Friday - Appetizer night - Bruschetta
Saturday - Hubby and/or kids cook

Have a great week!

3 Sides of Crazy's Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie

	DATE	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER
MONDAY	8/24	CEREAL	SANDWICHES	Recipe Experiment Night
TUESDAY	8/25	TOAST	LEFTOVERS	Chicken Marsala
WEDNESDAY	8/26	YOGURT	SOUP	Chicken Paprika in Cream Sauce
THURSDAY	8/27	FRUIT	POTLUCK	Monte' Cristos
FRIDAY	8/28	OATMEAL	C.O.R.N.	Chicken Carbonara
SATURDAY	8/29	Depression Eggs	leftovers	Chicken Cordon Blue
SUNDAY	8/30	Farmer's Breakfast	sandwiches	Fried Chicken Parmesan Potatoes Carrots and Apricots

♥♥ ♥♥

Country Bob's All purpose Sauce Product Review & Giveaway

Earlier this week I was contacted by a nice man from Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce and asked if I would be interested in doing a product review. I said I'd love to. In just 2 days time a box was on my stoop with bottles of sauce and recipe brochures. I had this little niggling in my brain though. I could not figure out why the name of this sauce sounded so familiar. I tried to find the sauce locally and failed until I finally found it at a Walmart store 30 miles away. You have to remember I live rurally for the moment. That is when it occurred to me where I had heard the name before. I had won a cookbook awhile back over at Forgetfulone, but was never able to prepare any of the recipes because I couldn't find the sauce.

As you can see from all the slips of paper sticking out of the top of the book I had marked a multitude of recipes to try and now I finally can. I found 2 meatloaf recipes, 1 from the brochure which is extremely similar to hubby's favorite one that I have made for years and years and a sour cream recipe from the book that I decided to try. In the end the recipe I made was a combination of both recipes and hubby all but licked his plate. He kept telling me to find out where to get more of this sauce. He even put it on his mashed potatoes and thought that was just scrumptious. Normally he would use ketchup on his meatloaf, but tonight he used Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. He decided Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce is our new ketchup.

I will be trying a few more recipes this week and will do a follow up for you.

Now for the giveaway. Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce has offered 2-two bottle sets for me to give you. The giveaway will run from today through Saturday, August 29th. You will earn 1 entry for each recipe you link to one of the tHe KrAzY KiTcHeN memes during this week. We will announce the winner on Simply Delicious Sunday August 30th. As a bonus you will earn an additional entry for every recipe that uses Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce.

The true test came when I made dessert with the sauce. It was the most unusual group of ingredients I had ever mixed together. I have to admit I had my doubts that we were going to like this recipe, but I also thought it would be a good test of the versatility of an all purpose sauce.

All I can say is that I was sooooooooooooooooo pleasantly surprised by the flavor. Hubby can't say anything, he's too busy licking the bowl. You have to try Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce and start with this fudge recipe.

One of the greatest things about this recipe besides the awesome flavor is the consistency. How many times have you made fudge and weren't sure it would set up okay or it turned out dry? That will never happen with this recipe. This recipe is truly foolproof.

COUNTRY BOB'S INCREDIBLE FUDGE
12 ounces Velveeta cheese*
2 sticks butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)**

• In a microwave safe bowl combine the Velveeta, butter, Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce and chocolate. Microwave on high 2-4 minutes, stirring every minute until mixture is smooth and well blended.
• Pour the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the chocolate mixture gradaully while beating with an electric mixture until well blended.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Stir in the nuts.
  
• Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.
• Cover and chill until firm.
• Store in the refrigerator.
  

*When I made a second batch of this recipe. it worked better cubed before microwaving
**I exchanged this for Heath Bar bits and loved it

COUNTRY BOB'S SOUR CREAM MEATLOAF ala TAMY
3 pounds ground beef
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup + Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper

• Mix all together.
• Pour additional sauce over the top.
  
• Bake 1 1/2 hours.
• Pour off any excess moisture.
• Let stand 5-10 minutes.
• Serve.
• Makes wonderful sandwiches with the leftovers.
  

♥♥ ♥♥

Simply Delicious Sunday ~ Asiago Garlic Mushroom Ravioli

HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH
2 to 2 1/2 cups flour, divided 2 cups and 1/2 cup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon cold water

• Place 2 cups of the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  
• Make a well in the center of the flour.
• Add the eggs and water to the flour.
  
• With your hands or a wooden spoon, gradually mix all together until well blended.
• Gather into a ball and knead on a floured surface until smooth, about 10 minutes.
• Add remaining flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands or the kneading surface.
• Divide the dough into fourths.

FILLING
2 tablespoons butter
1 large bunch green onion, minced
1/2 pound mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
3 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago Parmesan cheese
1 eggs, slightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

• Melt the butter in a small skillet and cook the onions, stir and cook until onions are transparent.
  
• Add mushrooms and simmer until tender.
  
• Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl.
  
• Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
  
• Season to taste.

ASSEMBLY

• Divide the pasta dough into 4 balls and roll out one at a time about 1/4 inch thick.
  
• Place 1 heaping tablespoon of filling about every 2 inches apart on the sheet of pasta.
  
• With a brush dipped in water draw lines between the mounds.
  
• Then place a second sheet of pasta evenly over the first sheet, but work quickly ~the dough must remain pliable.
  
• Press down between the mounds to form the ravioli envelopes. The wet areas of the pasta sheet will help seal the ravioli.
  
• With a ravioli cutter or a serrated knife separate from each other.
• Cook ravioli in large kettle of chicken broth or salted water. Boil slowly for about 10 minutes. Drain. Always add 1 tablespoon of oil to the cooking water for a better noodle.
• Layer ravioli and sauce.
  
• Sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan cheese on last layer and serve, hot.

BBQ Ribs

These are so good, a perfect simple weekend meal and great for the football gameday buffet!

All you'll need are a couple racks of ribs, BBQ sauce, foil and your oven. I love Sweet Baby Ray's brand BBQ sauce or of course you can whip up your own. I also like to oven roast corn on the cob at the same time to go with the ribs.

1. Baste ribs with BBQ sauce, wrap in foil, and refrigerate for several hours, overnight is even better.

2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place wrapped ribs on a baking sheet. If you decided on roasted corn, now is the time to rub corn with butter, salt and pepper, wrap in foil and put on a baking sheet alongside the ribs - bake for about 3 hours.

3. Open rib packs, baste with a little more BBQ sauce and broil for a few minutes until the BBQ sauce starts to caramelize.

That's it - add a salad or coleslaw and dinner's ready.

Join me at Seaside Simplicity for more simple but delicious recipes!

What Did You Bake Today: Monkey Bread

Weekends are our favorite time for sweet breakfasts. Monkey bread is one of my sons' favorites. It is easy to throw together because it starts with ready to bake canned biscuits. I have seen quite a few variations of this dish. This one is ooey gooey yummy! Monkey Bread:
3 cans buttermilk biscuits (10 to a can)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a gallon size ziplock bag. Shake biscuit pieces in the sugar/cinnamon combo and layer into a greased tube pan. Melt brown sugar and butter and boil for 1 minute. Pour over biscuits. Bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes in the pan before inverting on a plate.


What Did You Bake Today?

Healthy Helpings - Tuscan Bean Soup with Sausage

1 tbs olive oil

1/4 lb loose Italian style turkey sausage

2 tsp fennels seeds (optional - I did not use)

1 onion, chopped

1/2 head green cabbage (shredded)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1 can (16 oz) white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

2 cans (14 1/2 oz) fat free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 can (14 oz) Italian-style stewed tomatoes

Warm oil in large non stick saucepan over medium heat. Add sausage and fennel seeds. Cook 10 minutes, or until sausage is no longer pink. Remove sausage to a small bowl, leaving drippings in the saucepan.

Add onion to drippings in the saucepan. Cook 5 minutes, or until onion is tender. Stir in beans, broth, tomatoes (with juice) and sausage. Heat to boiling.

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

4 servings

252 calories, 14 g protein, 9 g fat, 8 gm fiber

Brown sugar cookies recipe - Save Room for Dessert

Like sugar cookies? You'll love brown sugar cookies! These cookies go well with ice cream, coffee, tea, or even as a cookie pie crust. Try them.

Enjoy!
See you next Wednesday for another Save Room for Dessert.
Don't forget to visit the other participants, and to comment on their blogs.
(Stop by Joy Of Desserts to enter my latest giveaway, too!)

Brown Sugar Cookies Recipe
makes about 15 cookies

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup milk
1 cup flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter. Add sugar. Beat egg whites and egg yolks separately. Add beaten eggs whites, beaten egg yolks, and milk. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add to egg and sugar mixture. Add nuts. Continue mixing thoroughly. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto well-oiled baking sheet. Bake at 400 F. for about 15 minutes.

Be sure to leave a link to your participating recipe in McKlinky, rather than just to your main blog, and let us know what your recipe is.
EX: Tamy @ 3 Sides of Crazy (Banana Cake)

Cultural Connections: Turon Saba with Langka

Food is the sum total of our cultural influences, I believe. So, hurry now show your culture foods here every Tuesday.

With the great cultural interchange being experienced now in Asia and the world, the lumpia has become a true vehicle for creative cooking. Turon is a favorite street food, a dessert exemplified in our very own.

Ingredients:
4 pcs. saba, sliced into btonettes
1 cup sliced langka (jackfruit)
8 tsp. panocha or raw sugar
Lumpia wrappers
Oil for deep frying

Procedure:
1. Place 2 pcs. of saba, a slice of langka and 1 tsp. panocha on lumpia wrapper. Roll.
2. Fry until golden brown

Yield: 8 pcs.

P.S. Am still on blog break, thank you for joining in here and I'll be right on your blogs as soon as I come back online.

Monday Munchies

Today's Recipe: Healthy, Homemade Energy Shake

I mentioned last week that I was moving soon and needed to use up a lot of food I have lying around. I've also noticed that moving and packing is hard work, and I need an extra boost of energy to get everything done. Most energy drinks are full of sugar and make you jittery, though, so I thought I'd come up with my own alternative.

This is a great recipe for a breakfast, snack, or dessert shake. It's more like a milkshake than a smoothie.

Ingredients
1/2 cup fruit (frozen works best, or just add a few ice cubes)
1/4 cup prepared pudding OR 1/8 package pudding mix
1/2 cup milk, any kind (3/4 cup if you're using pudding mix)

It's very simple - just combine the ingredients in a blender until smooth. The fruit is a good source of carbohydrates, which give you a quick burst of energy that's healthier than the sugar rush you get from candy or caffeinated drinks. The milk provides protein, which helps keep you going without a crash. The pudding adds sweetness and creaminess and takes away the need for unhealthy ingredients like white sugar or ice cream.

You can use any combination of fruit and pudding flavors. Two of my favorites are dark chocolate pudding with raspberries and lemon pudding with blackberries. The shake pictured above uses peaches and vanilla pudding. If you're making it for dessert, add more pudding and less milk to make a thicker treat.

---> Budget-friendly Tips

• Bananas are very inexpensive and make a delicious, smooth shake ingredient paired with almost any pudding flavor.
• Inexpensive boxed pudding mixes, individual pudding cups, and homemade pudding all work, with adjustments. Use whatever is most affordable for you.
  

---> Health-friendly Tips

• You can use skim milk or soy milk, as well as sugar-free pudding.
• Add any supplement to make the recipe healthier. I often use this granola-flavored vitamin shake mix in this recipe.
  

---> Kid-friendly Tips

• Serve like a diner-style milkshake with a swirl of whipped cream and a cherry on top.
• You can sneak veggies into this recipe! I know firsthand that a little shredded carrot is undetectable in a well-blended peach shake, and even spinach leaves should be hard to find in a chocolate, blackberry, or blueberry shake.
  

Simply Delicious Sunday ~ Spiced Apple Ginger Pie

SPICED APPLE GINGER PIE

SPICED APPLE GINGER PIE
FILLING
7-8 firm, juicy Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup golden rum
1/2 cup water
1 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup+ packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons honey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRUST
1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnaps
1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/4 cup melted butter

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  
• Mix water and rum together and soak raisins in the mixture while your are preparing the apples.
• Drain the raisins retaining the rum mixture.
  
• In a large skillet melt the butter. Add the rum mixture.
• Add apples and simmer until apples are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
• While apples are simmering, prepare crust. Finely grind the vanilla wafers, ginger snaps and walnuts together. I use my mini Cuisinart and do it in just a few small batches to get the crumbs extra fine and then cut everything else in with a pastry blender. Add the seasonings, melted butter, lemon and lime juices until well blended.
• Press 1/3-1/2 of crust into a greased deep pie plate.*
  
• When apples are tender, sprinkle sugars, flour and seasonings over the apples.
• Fold in the lemon juice, vanilla, honey and raisins.
• Simmer until gooey.
• Pour into the pie plate and top with remaining crust.
• Bake 50-60 minutes until golden.
• Cool.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream.
  

*I sometimes sprinkle 1/3 of the crust mixture between layers of apples.
♥♥ ♥♥