Caramel Apple Pie (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 refrigerated pastry for a 9 inch double crust deep dish pie
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups thinly sliced apples
2/3 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
20 caramels, halved
2 tablespoons milk


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. To make taffy mixture: In a small bowl combine brown sugar, melted butter, and 1/3 cup flour. Mix well and set aside.

3. To make apple filling: Place apples in a large bowl. Add white sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Toss until all ingredients are mixed well and apples are thoroughly coated.

4. Spoon half of apple filling into pastry-lined 9-inch pie pan. Top with half of caramels and half of taffy mixture. Repeat process with remaining apple filling, caramels and taffy mixture. Place top pastry over filling and seal well (this is very important-if edges are not sealed, caramel will leak out all over). Cut steam vents and brush top crust with milk or light cream.

5. Cover pie with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil from pie and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is golden. Serve warm.

More yum (healthy!) recipes

Garlic Parmesan Orange Roughy

Ingredients

4 (4 ounce) fillets orange roughy
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup prepared Dijon mustard mayonnaise blend (we used half jalapeno mustard, half miracle whip)
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 teaspoon salt
paprika

Directions

1. Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
2. Place the orange roughy filets on the broiler pan and squeeze the lemon over the top of the fish. Broil the filets in the preheated oven for about 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Combine parmesan, mustard-mayo mixture, garlic, and salt in a small bowl. Remove the fish from the oven and spread the cheese mixture on top of the filets. Sprinkle with paprika. Broil until the topping is lightly browned and the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 3 minutes.



Asparagus with Cranberries and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Break off or trim the woody ends from the asparagus and discard.
2. Fill a saucepan with water and steam asparagus spears until bright green in color, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the pine nuts, cranberries, and salt. Cook and stir until the pine nuts start to look translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the asparagus to the ingredients in the skillet and toss. Serve on a platter with the cranberries and nuts spooned over the top of the asparagus.

Fishy fishy

On Saturday morning, Dan and I decided to have a fun, special day that Elijah would enjoy (us, too!). We went to Underwater World at the Mall of America to check out all the fishies. Judging by all the pointing and smiles, Elijah thought it was pretty cool. It is so much fun to see looks of happiness and awe on his face. There is nothing better. We went through the underwater tunnel twice because it was so cool. Then we went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. I remember going here a few years ago and thinking the food was average and leaving unimpressed, but this time was much different. The food, the service and the entertainment that put many smiles on Elijah's face were all excellent. There were a few large (fake) monkeys sitting by our table that would dance occasionally. Elijah wouldn't take his eyes off the biggest one. At times he thought the monkey was funny and at other times he wasn't so sure about him. He would do his little chicken dance every time the monkeys danced, and every time there was a rain storm, he would look around like, WHOA!


That big lumpy hairy glob is an octopus. We stood looking at it for a long time saying, EEeeeewwwww!

The rest of the weekend we just relaxed and played and watched a few movies. Elijah was in a good mood. He was pretty clingy, but that has been typical lately. His cough is still lingering, but getting better. Because of daylight savings, his sleep times are suddenly perfect. Instead of sleeping from 6:30pm to 5:30am, he is now sleeping solidly from 7:00pm to 6:00am! That is perfect for us since Dan and I both work early, and now I will have a little more time with him in the evenings.


I love this. It looks like Mr. Starfish had too much to drink, so he's slumped on the couch, watching tv.

For the past month or so, Dan and I have been diligently exercising and eating well and it has improved so many things in our lives. It's amazing how we are motivated to take care of everything a little bit better when we are taking good care of our bodies. We feel more balanced as individuals and as a family. It's such a good feeling. One of the things we do every week is make two new healthy meals that we've never made before. We have made a few really yummy things in the past few weeks, but a few recipes in particular have stood out. I will paste them onto the bottom of this post in case you're interested in trying them out. I'm a little bit obsessed with healthy recipes right now. I think I have meals planned for an entire year.

Thanks for checking in on us! I hope everyone had a nice weekend...oxoxo


This was the awed look he had on his face the entire time we were in there.


This turtle was so cute. He was huge! It's weird looking at a turtle from underneath.


Sharky


More sharks


Elijah loved watching the stingrays.


Especially when they came up close like this.


Blurry, but look how entranced he is! That's a piece of cheese in his hand. He held onto it the entire time.


Elijah, Daddy, a shark and a piece of warm cheese.




Halibut with vegetables
(is it weird seeing a fish recipe after looking at all the fish pics? sorry fishies, but you're so yummy..)

Ingredients:

2 pounds halibut fillets (we couldn't find fresh halibut so we used mahi mahi and it was great)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil (we cut this amount in half to make it even healthier)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons capers
4 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Wash halibut and pat dry. Cut into serving size pieces, and place in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir together the olive oil, parsley, onion, celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, capers, and garlic; pour over the halibut.

3. Bake until halibut is slightly opaque in the center, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


277 calories per servings, with 6 total servings.





Healthy garden salad

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar (we used 3 Tbsp)
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (we used olive oil and only used 1.5 Tbsp)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes, juiced
1 teaspoon white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (1 pound) package frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans)
3 cups frozen corn kernels
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

1. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, cilantro, lime juice, sugar, salt and garlic. Set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the soybeans and boil for 3 minutes. Add corn to the boiling water and continue cooking for 1 more minute. Drain very well, and pour into the bowl with the dressing. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes, green onions and black beans. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to chill and blend the flavors.


252 calories per servings, with 8 total servings.