Quick and Easy Apple Crisp

There's nothing I love more than baking. And as Autumn approaches, I've been getting more and more excited about everything it brings - falling leaves, sweaters, cozy nights in and lots and lots of baking.

Today's post is one of my favorite Autumnal recipes: Apple Crisp (or Apple Crumble as some like to say). It's such an easy recipe and so delicious. 

Emily's Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup Oats

1/2 cup Flour

1/2 cup Sugar (any kind of your choosing)

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

A sprinkle of allspice or nutmeg

1 teaspoon Vanilla

5 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2. Peel and slice apples and place in oven safe dish/bowl/cooking apparatus [I used a small round corningware bowl]

3. Grab a bowl and add 1/2 cup of oats to it.

 4. Next, add 1/2 cup of flour to the bowl.

5. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the bowl.

6. Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the bowl.

7. Next, put 5 tablespoons of butter in a bowl and soften it in the microwave. Zap the butter for a minute on half power so it doesn't burn.

8. Add the butter to the dry ingredients, stirring it together until everything is mixed.

9. Add 1 teaspoon of Vanilla to the ingredients, once again mixing until everything is incorporated. Here you can add the nutmeg or allspice.

10. Spread the mixture across the apples in the oven safe dish.

11. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the topping is crispy, bubbling, and golden brown!

YUM!

xo Emily

Emily's Berrytastic Smoothie: Fresh and Healthy for Summer

As you may or may not know, today is the official first day of summer! Today, June 21st is the Summer Solstice and the official day to kick off barbeques and pool parties aplenty!

According to my house, it's summer!

For me, and many others, summer started a whole month ago as we got out of school but I can appreciate the legitimacy of the 'First Day of Summer'. 

To celebrate Summer and to survive the truly hot and sticky day that was this Summer Solstice, I decided to make a cold, 'Berrytastic' smoothie! This is one of my favorite things to make: It's so easy, incredibly healthy, and just perfect for a hot summer day! (It also doubles as dessert, it's that sweet, creamy, and delicious) This also fits in with my 'Getting Fit and Healthy' theme that I've got going so I decided to share this with you!

If you want to learn how to make this yummy and healthy smoothie, keep on scrolling!! And Happy Summer!!!! 

All you need to make 'Emily's Berrytastic Smoothie' is:

- Fresh or Frozen Berries of your choice (I used Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, and Blueberries!) - Feel free to add/subtract the berries of your choosing. 

- Plain or Vanilla Yogurt (Mine is the Chobani 2% Plain Yogurt)

- Milk (I used Whole Milk to make it super creamy)

- A bit of sugar

- Fresh Mint

And last but not least, you need a blender and a few glasses to put your yummy smoothie in!

To start, I cut up about 8 whole, fresh strawberries and placed them in my blender. This is where I popped in about 1 tablespoon of sugar as well. (the sugar is an optional step and I don't usually do it, but I really wanted a sweet batch of smoothies this time)

Next, I threw in my frozen fruit. I love buying frozen fruit for smoothies because it's really easy to just throw in your blender since it's already all good to go. I let it thaw for a few minutes before putting it in.

I added about 15 blueberries, 15 raspberries, and 15 blackberries but choose whatever combo you want!

You always need some sort of liquid in your smoothie, so that it will actually blend. For this one, I added Horizon Organic Whole Milk. I prefer using the Whole Milk because it makes my smoothie very creamy. Because I'm not using ice cream or heavy, whipped cream, I think the whole milk is acceptable. I pop about a cup or so of this in with my fruit. Depending on how thick or how think you like your smoothies, experiment with the liquid you add in. You can always add more, so be cautious! (If you're lactose intolerant - which I have a mild form of - try cranberry or orange juice in lieu of milk)

Next, I put in one container of Chobani 2% Plain yogurt to add more creaminess to the mix. 

Now, all you have to do is blend, blend, blend until you've got the consistency of smoothie you want! At this step, I added in a few more blackberries because I felt like I needed a bit more of their taste! 

I also popped in a fresh oraganic mint leaf to add some freshness and kick to the smoothie! I love buying fresh mint in these little tiny packages. I always find I don't need as much as I think and these help cut back on waste!

 One more circle in the blender, and we've finished! The smoothie came out beautiful and delicious! To garnish, I cut a strawberry and added a mint leaf as well as adding a fun straw! This is one of my favorite smoothie recipes and I hope someone trys it out!! How good does it look??? Eating drinking healthy never tasted so good. Enjoy!

xo Emily

Homemade Donuts: Yum to the Extreme

There's nothing I love more then sweets....so I decided to make some delicious homemade doughnuts! To make them relatively healthier, I decided to do baked doughnuts - instead of the more unhealthy fried alternative.

I always like baking on sunday nights because then you have a yummy snack for the rest of the week! It's relaxing and fun!

To make these donuts, all you need is;

Butter

Sugar

Egg

All-purpose flour

Milk

Baking Powder

Vanilla

A doughnut/muffin tin

First, in a medium bowl, sift your flour and baking powder together (3/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder).

Next, in another medium bowl, blend sugar and butter together (3 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup of sugar) and after it's mixed, slowly mix in 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Once it's completely mixed, add in your flour mixture and blend those together until they're completely integrated. 

Lastly, add in 1/3 cup of milk to your mixture. Once you add the milk, the mix will be wet enough to spoon into either your muffin tin or doughnut tin. 

Cook your doughnuts for about 17-23 minutes at 325 °F) or until they're golden brown like the ones below. Obviously they don't look exactly like the donuts at Krispy Kreme, but these are homemade and baked so they're going to have a fun, unique quirks.

 Now it's time for the (almost literal) icing on the cake!!! I made six donuts so I decided on three different yummy toppings!

The first topping was a cinnamon sugar topping. For this, mix 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. Then, I melted about 2 tablespoons of butter, dipped my donuts in it and then coated the donuts with the sugar mixture! Yum!

Next topping: CHOCOLATE! (my personal fave). This one is super simple. Just mix a cup of milk chocolate chips (I recommend ghirardelli  with 1/3 cup of heavy cream and mix on low heat (either on the stove or in the microwave) until melted!

Last topping: Sweet cream cheese. This one is great. All you do is set about 1/2 of cream cheese out until it's room temperature or soft and then add 1/3 cup of powdered sugar and mix mix mix until you get a sweet and creamy topping - I love this on top of doughnuts, cake, and on cookies as well!

 

 These look (and taste) so yummy! I hope you guys all try making these donuts. They're baked - making them a bit healthier then the fried alternative and you can add whatever kind of topping you want! Experiment with your own creations or add fresh fruit on the side for a delicious dessert!

xo Emily