Oven Roasted Cheese & Apples #HolidayAppetizers

One of the things that I love about the holidays.....appetizers! Welcome to Holiday Appetizers Week! This week I am featuring a week of yummy appetizers...along with a group of blogging friends who are also sharing delicious appetizer recipes! Oh how I love appetizers! I could eat them every day instead of meals. And when I find a great appetizer recipe...I love making it and sharing it with friends! This one, which features one of the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix winners, is not only delightfully easy for the  host.....it is also melt-in-your-mouth good! The sweetness of the apples taste wonderful with the cheese and nuts, and everything has been caramelized a bit with butter & honey.

This recipe was developed using Latin Foods Queso Fresco cheese, this year's Grand Prix winner in the "Fresh Cheese with Grilling Properties" category and is made right here in Alberta. It is very tasty and makes this appetizer sing with deliciousness! What's even more....it is super simple for any busy hostess to prepare...and I love that!

Oven Roasted Cheese & Apples featuring Queso Fresco Cheese

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 15 to 20 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:
2 apples, sliced into small wedges
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup nuts {I used walnuts}
8 oz. Latin Foods Queso Fresco Cheese {Superstore}
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Directions:
In an oven safe medium dish, mix apples, butter, honey, rosemary and nuts. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper.

 2. Place cheese over apple mixture.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until hot and golden brown. Place the dish on the table and enjoy while hot!

We enjoyed it by scooping apple and cheese chunks with a forks. Very informal, but so SO good!

Canadian cheese makes such a great gift, and pairing it with a bottle of wine and a great cheese recipe such as this Canadian Grand Prix winner is a sure way to knock off your family's or guest's socks off!

Now don't forgot to hop on over and see what my blogging friends have been whipping up in their kitchens to share with you as part of our #HolidayAppetizers Week!

Stacey from This Lil' Piglet

Julie From Sober Julie

Stacie from Simply Stacie

With special thanks to Dairy Farmers of Canada for supplying me with this delicious recipe and the ingredients to make this amazing appetizer featuring Canadian cheese made from 100% Canadian Milk. It was fabulous!


This post is linked to:
StoneGable, Time To Sparkle, One Project At A Time, Take A Look Tuesday, Gingersnap Crafts, The DIY Dreamer,Inspire Me Please,  I'm Lovin It, Inspiration Gallery, Link Party Palooza,

Spiced Apple Pie Bread

I never tire of apple-inspired creations, and this spiced apple pie bread is perfect for anytime....snack, dessert or a lunchbox treat. It delivers fresh apple taste in the form of a moist bread that smells like apple pie and is perfectly delicious when spread with butter and served with a cup of tea or a glass of milk. This is my mother's recipe and she makes it often on Sunday mornings as a batch of muffins, so anyone who happens to stop by on Sundays is always rewarded with this lovely treat fresh from the oven. There is nothing better than love from the oven!

 The recipe for this is so adaptable...it can be made as muffins, a loaf or 2 mini-loaves....whatever you need!

And you can easily add more apples or nuts, or leave the nuts out if you prefer. Anything goes!

Spiced Apple Pie Bread

{makes 12 muffins, 1 loaf or 2 mini-loaves}

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups diced apples
1/2 cup-1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon apple pie spice or 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Topping:
2 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions: Preheat oven to 375.
1. In bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spice. Set aside.
2. In small bowl, mix together buttermilk, egg, melted butter and vanilla.
3. Make a 'well' in dry ingredients and add buttermilk mixture. Stir gently until just combined, then add diced apples and walnuts and just stir until combined. Batter will still be lumpy.
4. Pour batter into paper-lined muffins tin or loaf pan.
5. Bake about 18-20 minutes for muffins and mini-loaves, 30-35 minutes for large loaf, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

For Topping:
Stir together sugar, butter and cinnamon, and brush on warm muffins or loaves.

Serve and enjoy!

You might remember recently that I was chosen to be a part of the Life Made Delicious program this year  where I am able to share delicious recipes and news about the latest products from General Mills. Here are some amazing APPLE-inspired recipes from Life Made Delicious:

Gluten Free Apple Pie

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

Apple Cinnamon Cobbler

All of these recipes look so delicious and I am not sure which I am going to try first!

Wishing you a wonderful week and thank you so much for visiting!

Disclosure: I am a part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger Program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.


Linked up with: Time To Sparkle, Homestories A to Z, Show Me What You Got, A Bowl Full of Lemons,  Chef-In-Training,The DIY Dreamer, Gingersnap Crafts, The Inspiration Exchange, Workin It Wednesday,  Savvy Southern Style, StoneGable, Party Palooza, I'm Lovin' It, The Party Bunch, Show Me What You Got,  Tuesday Talent Show,

Caramel Apple Bites...

This is the cutest dessert ever....if I do say so myself!

You know when fall comes and you crave caramel apples? 

If you are like me then you don' t really want to eat  a whole caramel apple, but a couple of bites would do the trick and satisfy the craving.

Well hello caramel apple bites!

I was looking for a little dessert to go with a little lunch that I am planning for some friends when I thought of these.

Although we do love caramel apple dip in this house...the yummy kind with cream cheese...I have some girlfriends who cannot eat wheat or dairy...so this works perfectly.

And the directions are so simple...cut apples into wedges.

Swipe apples in a thick caramel dip...not a runny kind.

Then dip the caramel coated wedge into skor toffee bits.

I also used cute wooden forks that I found at a dollar store,  and embellished with a little ribbon.

I think caramel apple bites would be so cute for any tea party, ladies' lunch or a birthday party.

If I were making these ahead of time, I would be sure to bathe the apple wedges in diluted lemon juice to keep the wedges from turning brown.

Also, these would be great loaded with chocolate and nuts too!

We are having fabulous weather in my city...I am still wearing flip flops.

That makes me happy!

 Pumpkin Scones with Maple Cinnamon Frosting and Caramel Apple Bites make me happy too!

This post is linked to these great parties:

Whipperberry, 

4 Amazing Apple Recipes for Fall...

Hello Folks!

I don't know about any of you, but back-to-school week has been very tiring at my house with a busy teenager and an 11 year old who has been playing his heart out at hockey tryouts for umpteen nights in a row.

I am tired...it's been a very long week.

I didn't manage to get any decorating or creative projects done this week.

I did get some cleaning and a major de-clutter done with 3 carloads going to Goodwill.

And I did a little more baking this week, so I thought I would share our 4 favourite apple recipes...which are great for this time of year.

First up are these delicious Salted Caramel Apple Cookies. They are a nice, soft moist cookie and you have the option of leaving the caramel and salt off if you wish.

 Next is one of my kids' favourites.....Caramel Apple Dip. This recipes takes hardly any time to make and is great for an afterschool treat or take to an evening out with friends.

 And how about a different twist on brownies....Apple Brownies? A blondie with apples and cinnamon...delish!

 And then there's Apple Turnovers.... little bundles of apple goodness made with store bought crescent rolls are an easy & fun dessert to make as well when you feel like getting just a little fancy.

I hope you enjoy a beautiful weekend!

This post is linked to these great recipes:

http://www.cozylittlehouse.com/

http://www.tipjunkie.com/all-crafts/handmade-projects/homemade-projects-9-11/

http://www.craftberrybush.com/2012/09/its-party-time-happy-hour-1.html

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/strut-your-stuff-saturday-link-party_14.html

Superliciously Easy Apple Turnovers...

 A few weeks ago I was looking for a quick and easy somethin' somethin' to make for dessert for our Sunday dinner.

While pawing through the fridge I noticed we had apples and crescent rolls....so I made up these superliciously easy apple turnovers.

Who doesn't love an apple turnover...it's the adorable cousin of apple pie.

 I roughly diced 4 apples and placed them in a frying pan with butter and brown sugar.

 I cooked the mixture until the apples were soft and the mixture was thickened.

 When the apple mixture had cooled, I cracked open the crescent rolls and added a generous tablespoon of apples to each roll.

 And rolled it up into little packets. This job was so easy my son did it!

 And baked the 'turnovers' until golden.

They came out of the oven looking like this....yum!

 And then we added a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce for a final delicious flair.

Easy, Good. Superlicious!

Happy Wednesday to all my sweet readers!

 You are all so special to me and thank you for visiting!

{Thank you so much to Jamielyn at I {heart} Naptime for featuring this post here.}

This post is linked to these great parties: