Saskatoon Berry Pie Filling

Last year my husband and I went saskatoon berry picking, and I needed a good recipe to make pie. This came from the Prairie Fruit Growers Association Website, and was absolutely delicious!  I made it without the lemon rind.

Saskatoon Pie 4 cups saskatoons 2 tbsp apple juice ½ tsp grated lemon rind 2 tbsp lemon juice ½ c sugar 4 tsp flour 2 tbsp butter Pastry for a double-crust 9 inch pie Line pie plate with pastry but do not trim. Preheat oven to 425°F. To make filling, put saskatoons, apple juice, lemon rind and juice in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Combine sugar and flour, stir into the berry mixture with the butter. Cool. Pour filling into pie shell. Cover with pastry top, trim and crimp edges. If desired, pie may be glazed with a mixture of 1 tbsp light cream mixed with 1 tbsp sugar. Bake 15 minutes in 425°F oven, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake about 30 minutes or until crust is golden. Makes 6 servings. Note: If you’re short of saskatoons, use 3 cups saskatoons and 1 cup finely chopped rhubarb. This will require some additional sugar. Taste-tester notes: This is a delicious pie owing to the distinctive flavor of saskatoons and excellent filling. I brushed cream and sugar on top and it made for a lovely golden color. - Winnipeg Free Press Archive

Prairie Fruit Growers Association ©2010

Mini Apple Crisp Cheesecakes

This was my experimentation into turning the full sized Apple Crisp Cheesecake recipe into cupcake sized!  I came across the original recipe here, which was meant for a 6-inch pan.  My version for a 9-inch pan can be found here.

Mini Apple Crisp Cheesecakes

Ingredients:
(Makes two dozen)

CRUST

·         graham cracker crumbs - 1 cup

·         quick cooking oats - 1/2 cup

·         brown sugar - 8 tsp

·         butter - 6 tbsp, melted

FILLING

·         cream cheese, softened - 4 - 8oz pkgs

·         packed brown sugar - 1 cup

·         egg - 2, lightly beaten

·         sour cream - 6 tbsp

·         ground cinnamon - 1 tsp

·         ground ginger - 1/4 tsp

·         apple, thinly diced & peeled – 1 1/3 cup

TOPPING

·         all-purpose flour - 8 tbsp

·         quick cooking oats - 8 tbsp

·         brown sugar - 8 tbsp

·         ground cinnamon - 8 tsp

·         cold butter - 6 tbsp

·         caramel ice cream topping - personal taste

Instructions:

·In a medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, oats and brown sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a 24 baking cups in muffin pans.

·For filling, in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the sour cream, cinnamon and ginger.

·Spoon over crusts. Sprinkle apple over filling. 

·For topping, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple layer.

·Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until center is almost set.

·Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the muffin pans; cool 1 hour longer. 

·Refrigerate overnight.  Caramel topping may be added to taste just prior to serving. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers (no rice)

The other day at CostCo I saw some prepackaged stuffed bell peppers and they looked delicious!  It had inspired me to try something that I had never had, nor ever cooked before.  The problem was, I didn't think I wanted rice like is in most recipes.  So I set off on an adventure to create my own recipe loosely based on a few I found online.  This is what I came up with:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

6 bell peppers

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup of mushrooms

1/3 cup of feta cheese

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Spices (I think I used onion powder, garlic powder, and Club House Roasted Garlic & Peppers - I love this spice)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the tops off the peppers, remove the seeds and veins, and cut a little off the bottom to level it out if it isn't sitting upright properly.  Next roast the peppers in the oven on parchment paper for about 20 mins or until they start to get soft/slightly browned.  While they are roasting, brown the ground beef until cooked. Next throw the onions in to cook/soften, and then add the mushrooms to do the same.  When it's all cooked, add the spices and feta cheese.  When the peppers are ready, spoon in the filling and top each with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Baked at 350°F until the cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes, then set the oven to broil just until the cheese starts to brown and bubble.

Apple Crisp Cheesecake Recipe

I love a good cheesecake... and this time of year anything caramel apple is just perfect!  Now let me give credit where credit is due.  I came across this recipe here, but it was made for a 6-inch pan, and I only had a 9-inch pan.  It turned out so delicious!  Here is my slightly tweaked version.

Apple Crisp Cheesecake

Ingredients:

CRUST

·         graham cracker crumbs - 1 cup

·         quick cooking oats - 1/2 cup

·         brown sugar - 8 tsp

·         butter - 6 tbsp, melted

FILLING

·         cream cheese, softened - 4 - 8oz pkgs

·         packed brown sugar - 1 cup

·         egg - 2, lightly beaten

·         sour cream - 6 tbsp

·         ground cinnamon - 1 tsp

·         ground ginger - 1/4 tsp

·         apple, sliced & peeled – 1 1/3 cup

TOPPING

·         all-purpose flour - 6 tbsp

·         quick cooking oats - 6 tbsp

·         brown sugar - 6 tbsp

·         ground cinnamon - 6 tsp

·         cold butter - 4 tbsp

·         caramel ice cream topping - personal taste

Instructions:

·In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, oats and brown sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9-in. springform pan coated with cooking spray; set aside.

·For filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the sour cream, cinnamon and ginger.

·Pour over crust. Arrange apple slices over filling. 

·For topping, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple slices.

·Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until center is almost set.

·Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. 

·Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, remove sides of pan.  Caramel topping may be added to taste just prior to serving. Refrigerate leftovers.