Knits ~n~ Purls ~n~ More

I love getting emails from Pillsbury, they have such yummy new recipes to try like this one:

Mini Apple Crostatas

INGREDIENTS
1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust (from 15-oz box), softened as directed on box
1 large baking apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 teaspoons caramel flavored topping

DIRECTIONS

1 Heat oven to 425°F. Unroll crust on work surface. Roll crust out slightly; cut into 4 (5-inch) rounds. Place rounds on parchment lined cookie sheet.

2 In medium bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; toss apple slices into sugar mixture. Divide apple slices evenly onto center of each pie crust round. Fold 1/2-inch of crust over filling, pinching slightly so that crust lays flat on apples.

3 Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and apples slices are tender. Drizzle 2 teaspoons caramel topping over each crostata. If desired, serve warm with ice cream.

Next week with be a family dinner at the inlaws, wonder what my father inlaw is planning on making. I am hoping for NO spaghetti. You would think I would be used to this after being in this family for the last 20 years, but nope, I can take it or leave it, and prefer to leave it. I would love to do a pulled pork sandwich, tater salad and chips and call it good, as I am dieing to try out this recipe:

Pulled Pork

Ingredients
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup(s) ketchup
* 1/3 cup(s) cider vinegar
* 1/4 cup(s) packed brown sugar
* 1/4 cup(s) tomato paste
* 2 tablespoon(s) sweet paprika
* 2 tablespoon(s) Worcestershire sauce
* 2 tablespoon(s) yellow mustard
* 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
* 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
* 4 pound(s) boneless pork shoulder blade roast (fresh pork butt), cut into 4 pieces
* 12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls, warmed
* Dill pickles (optional)
* Potato chips (optional)
* Hot sauce (optional)

Directions

1. In 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce.

2. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender.

3. With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly.

4. While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary.

5. Spoon pork mixture onto bottom of sandwich buns; replace tops of buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.

I am going to have to do some fast talking if I want to pull it off!

We will be celebrating a few birthday’s, as well as going over my father inlaws Medicare part D plans. More and more of his hospital bills are coming in, and he is having a hard time making sense of them. Hopefully this will be the last of his hospital stays! So it will be a fun, but tiring day.

One of my baking adventures for today:

I used Tastefully Simple’s Absolutely Almond Pound Cake as the topping, and boy is it ever yummy!!!

Absolutely Almond Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups sliced peaches
1 tsp. lemon juice
Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix™
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) diced chilled butter

Directions
Combine first 3 ingredients in saucepan; stir in peaches and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stir constantly, until mixture bubbles and peaches become soft (5-10 minutes).

Spread mixture on bottom of greased 8 x 8 baking dish. Pulse cake mix and butter in blender until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over peach mixture.

Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream or whip cream. Makes 12-15 servings.

Top it off with a scoop of ice cream, which is the best calcium supplement in my opinion, and you are all set for a yummy dessert! Half of it is gone so far, the rest will be polished off by tomorrow I am sure! It makes a mom feel good when her baking is appreciated!