measurement cheat sheet

Carmel apples

• 1 (14 oz.) pkg. caramel candies, unwrapped; OR, 1 (11 oz.) pkg. caramel bits
• 2 tablespoons water
• 5 to 6 medium apples
• 5 to 6  craft sticks
• chopped nuts, cookies, or candies (if desired)
• melted chocolate for drizzling 

Directions

Wash apples, dry thoroughly, remove stems, insert sticks in stem end, and refrigerate. Put caramel bits or candies in medium microwave-safe bowl, add water, microwave on high for approx. 3 minutes until melted. Stop at 1 minute intervals to stir. Place each apple into bowl of melted caramel, swirl around until coated, using a spoon to cover apple. Remove apple from caramel and let excess drip off, scraping excess from bottom with spoon. If desired, roll coated apple in chopped nuts, cookies, or candies. Press in with hands to help them set in the caramel. Place on greased waxed paper or aluminum foil and return to fridge to chill and set. If desired, drizzle chilled apples with melted chocolate. Return to fridge. Or, wrap each caramel apple in an individual bag, tie it, and store at room temperature. They will keep for several days.

**Theyummylife.com recipe  MY picture :)

Some of my kitchen essentials

Dawn Power Clean. This soaking soap is no joke. I will never go with out it again! Anything to make clean up easier, is good with me!

A griddle! I absolutely love using my griddle! Chicken, beef tips, pancakes, sandwiches, anything you need a bigger pan for, this is the tool to use! 

The Pampered Chef mix and chop. This is perfect for ground beef or sausage. I also use mine for my lumpier mashed potato's. 

And last but not least, my favorite kitchen gadget of all time, my Kitchen Aid mixer!

I bake a lot, and I couldn't live without this! 

Roasted Red pepper & potato soup

Ingredients
1 red pepper
6-10 medium sized mushroom
4 lg potato's
1/2 a red onion
3 cups milk
1 c water
1 tbsp dry ranch
1/2 c chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
 1 tsp crushed red pepper 


Prep work:
  Roast your red pepper, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Place the whole pepper on a sheet try lined with aluminum foil for 30-40 minutes, until the skin is wrinkled and a little charred.  Be sure to turn your pepper a few times during the roasting process. Remove from the oven and immediately cover tightly with aluminum foil. Set aside until they are cool enough to handle. After about 20 minutes or so, de-stem, and cut your pepper in fourths. Discard the stem & seeds. Chop or dice into pieces.

Now you can start your soup.  Using a double boiler is best but if you do not have one, a stock pot will do.
Place your milk and water in your pot and turn it on medium heat. Add chopped pepper. Peel and cut your potatoes into halves. Put them in a separate pot of boiling water, add chicken stock, boil until tender. (I use the potato's for thickening the soup.)  In a small skillet, add a tsp of olive oil. Clean, and cut your mushrooms up, dice onion and add them to the hot oil. Once tender, add them to your soup pot. Adjust your stove to med-high and let it come to a boil. After your potato's are tender, add one cup, diced, to your soup. Take the remainder and puree or finely mash them. The starch from the potato works as a thickening agent for the soup, and unlike flour, it doesn't mask the taste. Add pureed potato's to boiling soup. Stirring until thick. Add dry ranch, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Let soup simmer for about 20 minutes, eat and enjoy!!