Well, It's the day before Halloween....
The day after "FrankenStorm Sandy" hit the Northeast.
There are a lot of people without power, including my and my babes families.
As much as I wish I was there to be a calm presence for them all, I am happy to be in Florida.
The weather is as spectacular as it could be,
a breezy 68 degrees...
Sunny (my favorite part)...
and not a cloud in the sky!
I have all of the windows open,
including our front door
which my babe and I installed a screen door in over the weekend.
Music is playing...
I'm in a long sleeve tee and sweats...
and I've got my apron on!
I've got my apron on because tomorrow we are throwing a Halloween Party!
We've invited all of our friends who wouldn't normally get trick or treaters...
And we told them to dress in costume,
bring an appetizer or dessert,
bring their drink of choice,
and a bag of candy for all the kids!
The house smells amazing with this prep that I'm up to today.
The bumble bee's keep coming to the screen cause they are smelling the caramel I made!
Yes, I just said I made caramel~
I posted a pic of what I was up to, and there was a request for the recipe....
SO here it is- especially for you, Marezy!
Salted Caramel Apple Bites
2 Cups Sugar
1/4 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Vanilla
3 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Milk or Heavy Cream
Sea Salt
2 Large Granny Smith Apples cut into chunks
Using a medium pot, place sugar, honey, water in. Turn heat to medium high, and stir to combine.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add vanilla (I used the one that my Marezy made for me) and stir. It should be bubbly and simmering...continue to watch it to make sure it doesn't burn. After about 15 minutes, remove from heat. Add butter 1T at a time, whisking continuously. Add milk slowly (VERY slowly as it will BOIL and BUBBLE like CRAZY!!) whisking continuously as well. Once all butter and milk is added, bring back to heat and stir until smooth. Once smooth, remove from heat and let cool. Add in apple chunks and coat them completely. Butter a deep dish, and move apple chunks to it. Sprinkle with chunky sea salt or kosher salt, and let cool.
I'll be serving these with toothpicks in them so they are easy to pick up and eat!
This is the first time I've done this, including making caramel. I'm hoping they are awesome tomorrow when I serve them, I know they are AMAZING now.
I also saved the extra caramel sauce- not sure what to do with it, but I'm sure I can think of something.
Now, as I was making the apple bites, I was also preparing my meatballs as well.
These meatballs are my regular recipe for the meat, but the sauce was also an experiment.
For this, I actually wrote down the ingredients as I added them.
Which is a bonus for you cause I don't usually remember how much of what exactly I put in.
So here goes nothing!
For the meatballs, I just used 2.5 lbs of ground beef, 2 eggs,
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, and 1/2 cup ketchup.
Mix together everything but the meat, make a paste.
THEN add the meat, mix together with hands, then roll into whatever size meatball you choose.
For this recipe, I made them into very small balls.
I preheated the oven to 375, put all the balls onto the pan, and cooked for about 10 minutes.
Here is the recipe for the sweet and sour sauce.
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Yellow Onion- diced
1 7.5 fl oz can of Diet Coke or regular Coke
1 Large Can San Marzano Tomatoes- put through sieve to make just sauce and remove seeds
2 Palms (about a tablespoon each palm)- Garlic Salt
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Palm Herb De Provence
2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Heat a 3.5qt pot to medium high heat, add oil & onion. Saute onion until it's translucent. Add can of soda and reduce slightly (until it's about 1/2 gone). Add tomato sauce, bring to boil. Add garlic salt, Worcestershire & vinegar. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Add in brown sugar, herbs de provence, and soy sauce. Continue to simmer until it's thick (about 10 minutes). If serving immediately, add meatballs and serve hot...if prepping to serve later, let meatballs and sauce cool, then store together in a container. When you are ready to serve, just heat over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes.
I'm also making guacamole, and "bandaged fingers" which are hot dogs wrapped in pastry made to look like fingers. Very silly and fun.
I'm looking forward to seeing what else everyone else is bringing and what everyone else will be dressed as!
Hope this post finds you in safety and happiness.
Until next time.....
~It's all out there in front of us......
I'll be serving these with toothpicks in them so they are easy to pick up and eat!
This is the first time I've done this, including making caramel. I'm hoping they are awesome tomorrow when I serve them, I know they are AMAZING now.
I also saved the extra caramel sauce- not sure what to do with it, but I'm sure I can think of something.
Now, as I was making the apple bites, I was also preparing my meatballs as well.
These meatballs are my regular recipe for the meat, but the sauce was also an experiment.
For this, I actually wrote down the ingredients as I added them.
Which is a bonus for you cause I don't usually remember how much of what exactly I put in.
So here goes nothing!
For the meatballs, I just used 2.5 lbs of ground beef, 2 eggs,
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, and 1/2 cup ketchup.
Mix together everything but the meat, make a paste.
THEN add the meat, mix together with hands, then roll into whatever size meatball you choose.
For this recipe, I made them into very small balls.
I preheated the oven to 375, put all the balls onto the pan, and cooked for about 10 minutes.
Here is the recipe for the sweet and sour sauce.
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Yellow Onion- diced
1 7.5 fl oz can of Diet Coke or regular Coke
1 Large Can San Marzano Tomatoes- put through sieve to make just sauce and remove seeds
2 Palms (about a tablespoon each palm)- Garlic Salt
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Palm Herb De Provence
2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Heat a 3.5qt pot to medium high heat, add oil & onion. Saute onion until it's translucent. Add can of soda and reduce slightly (until it's about 1/2 gone). Add tomato sauce, bring to boil. Add garlic salt, Worcestershire & vinegar. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Add in brown sugar, herbs de provence, and soy sauce. Continue to simmer until it's thick (about 10 minutes). If serving immediately, add meatballs and serve hot...if prepping to serve later, let meatballs and sauce cool, then store together in a container. When you are ready to serve, just heat over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes.
I'm also making guacamole, and "bandaged fingers" which are hot dogs wrapped in pastry made to look like fingers. Very silly and fun.
I'm looking forward to seeing what else everyone else is bringing and what everyone else will be dressed as!
Hope this post finds you in safety and happiness.
Until next time.....
~It's all out there in front of us......
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