Apply Pie a la Sunday

Hey Friends! So a few weeks ago, Mike and I went apple picking as we do each fall (it is New York, you know). Every time, in result, we have an entire peck of apples that we stare at until they go bad and then we toss them out. This fall, I said "no more!" I was determined to eat and use every last apple. Apple picking is not just an experience, ya know - except it is.

My idea? Apple pie. A traditional autumnal go-to. After a bit of Pinteresting (i.e. I typed in "dutch apple pie" and chose the first pin that lead to a recipe) I found this pin.

But first, I had to start drinking. Why? I've never made a pie and the idea of a pie crust from scratch terrified me. Plus - I just do things better while drinking. Exhibit A:

 Not bad, but not awesome. Done while drinking just a little.

My favorite. Done by drinking just a lot.

Exhibit B: it was a Saturday. Case closed.

So first things first. Get all the ingredients together. And there were a lot of ingredients. Nothing should need this many things.

So I got everything together and threw it in bowls and bags and everything else it called for.

Except... the dough was horrible and smelled ridiculous. It didn't roll out, and was just thoroughly disgusting. I thought an entire dough out of shortening was weird, but I was going to roll with it. I had a picture of it, but apparently lost it. But, I did find another pin that said it was "perfect"... how could that be bad? Find it here.

Second go wasn't so bad - less smelly and more dough-like.

So far, looking like a legitimate pie. Not so scary at all, really.

And then I baked it.

Looking less legitimate.

But once cut up and sliced like a pie, it moved slowly but surely back into the legitimate category.

Turns out - this tastes quite good. When you add an ungodly amount of ice cream on top.

According to my husband... because I kind of don't like apple pie. Chuck that up to another pointless pin for me, but useful for my husband.

And if you thought this pin was written weirdly, differently or with a weird tone... it's because I'm trying not to wake the cat. #crazycatperson

Fat Kid Friday - Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

(Unlike every other post I've ever written, this is early. Let's call it "in preparation for" Fat Kid Friday)

I promise this isn't a cooking blog, guys. I just REALLY like food. Like... really.

And what I REALLY like on a Fat Kid Friday is chocolate. And peanut butter. And this pin puts them together in the most gorgeous of ways. I mean - how can you not pin something that looks like this:

Heck. Yes.

I didn't plan on doing another baking/cooking post, but I already had most of the supplies and a mad hinkering for cookies. Thus, the post was born.

I got started right away and gathered all the crap I needed. And it was kind of a lot of crap.

I got the dry ingredients all together a la this:

And I may not have definitely was not a clean cook. I'm kind of a mess. Mind you, I only had to take a cup and a half of flour out of the bag, but a good 3 cups ultimately came out, most of which landed on my counter, floor, stove, pants, etc.

This is a very small amount of the flour bomb that went off in my kitchen. I continued on, though, determined that I was making these cookies. And cleaning later.

The wet ingredients were quite possibly the best looking mixture I've ever done. It was so fluffy! Don't ask me if that's how it's supposed to be though. I have no clue.

So once everything was thrown together in the bowl, they had to chill. The author of the pin recommended at least 1 hour. I went 4 because I'm and over-achiever (and also forgetful). Once they chilled they were much less sticky, so it's definitely worth it to chill the mixture. Move quick though - these little bastards get sticky super quick.

So after baking, they looked crazy delicious! (P.S. This is not a dinner plate. It just looks that way. They aren't that huge.)

And yes, I couldn't let the pin show me up, so I got fancy with it.

Touche, pinterest, touche. I owned you today! These were super, super delicious and not near as sweet as they appear to be at first glance. The best part? I have never in my life made a cookie that stayed super soft for days; but THESE - these stayed soft all. week. long. In all honesty, I'm a bit more surprised that they lasted all week to know that fact.

Okay - let's assume you owned none of this. How much will this pin cost you? Let me break it down for you:

1. Flour - $1.99
2. Cocoa Powder - $3.29
3. Baking Soda - $0.89
4. Salt - $0.59
5. Butter - $2.99
6. Light Brown Sugar - $1.59
7. Granulated Sugar - $2.19
8. Peanut Butter - $1.99
9. Egg - $3.29
10. Vanilla Extract - $2.29
11. Milk - $1.79
12. Reese's miniatures - $3.69

Grand total: $26.58. Prices are from Wegmans, and yes, I chose generic where I could. Yes, twenty six bucks is super expensive. However, chances are you're going to have at least one or two of these items (egg? peanut butter? C'mon, you know you own it.) Also - it's cookies. Chalk it up to amazingness and fork it out.

Results? Heck yes - this pin is one to keep for the long haul. Delicious.

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

For my first trick...one of the first pins I've ever pinned: Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

I love myself anything buffalo chicken. I've been making a buffalo chicken dip for years and it is chuck-full of super fat cheeses and dressings. When I came across this pin and the pictures didn't look too weird, I thought I'd save it for a football Sunday laid-back kind of day. Four years later, I'm finally giving it a go.

Here's what you'll need (obviously, check the original pin for amounts)

This was pretty straight forward. Throw crap in a pot and heat it up. So, diligently I followed. First the cream cheese...

Next, the yogurt (which grosses me out beyond belief - the smell though!)...

Next, make it look like you killed something and throw in the hot sauce...

Blue cheese! Into the hot tub you go...

Andddd then the cheese. I cheated here. It was supposed to be "part skim", but I panicked in the cheese aisle with the sheer amount of people and grabbed the first bag I saw that said mozzarella. It was whole milk. Fail.

Then add in the chicken and stir it all together.

Then, it's just a matter of letting everything melt. Altogether, I let this go for about 8 minutes on medium heat and about 10 more minutes on medium-low heat.

*Spoiler alert* it doesn't get all that less chunky after "melting".

Survey says? Delicious. I legitimately think that this is better than the one I've been making for years!  This may or may not be due to the real blue cheese (I used to use blue cheese salad dressing), but who cares? It's healthy(er), it only has a few more ingredients than my usual, and even the husband was super impressed. It was so good, we both dug right in and didn't even get classy with a serving dish, or even pictures with a "this is good stuff" thumbs up. We just. Kept. Eating.

When I finally came up for air, I pulled out my receipt to figure out "what's the cost?" Some of these pins aren't even worth it if it's going to cost you an arm and a leg. Here's the breakdown:

Cream Cheese: $1.69
Yogurt: $2.78
Hot Sauce: $2.29
Blue Cheese: $2.89
Mozzarella: $2.59
Canned Chicken: $5.98
Chips: $2.99
Total Cost to Pull This Off: $16.74
Prices were taken from my receipt today, because yes, I owned none of it (except for the hot sauce. I have that on hand at all times and googled that price).

So, not the best cost but at least it'll feed a small crowd and once you have the ingredients you can make it again once or twice before you need to buy anything again.

This is definitely going into my football food staples. Try it out!