Weekly Tips From Home

Oatmeal Apple Crisp... Just in time for Fall

INGREDIENTS
5 - 6 granny apples (green) or mix sweet and tart apple varieties - peel and slice
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C lt. brown sugar
1/3 C flour
1/2 C quick oats
4 Tbsp. butter (soft but not liquid)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a glass pie pan.
In a bowl, combine: apples, cinnamon, sugar, and half the salt. Put into the baking pan.
Mix together: oats, brown sugar, flour and remaining salt. Blend in the butter with this mixture with a fork or by hand - make sure it is well combined.
Put topping mixture over apple mixture and bake in the oven for 45 min - to 1 hour.
Cool for 20 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream, while warm.

TIP
Making Dinner Easy
Sometimes we need simple ideas for dinner but we still want it to be wholesome and home-cooked. I started making "oven-sandwiches" years ago when we were a very busy family but I needed a way to fill hungry teens. You can use all natural (nitrite free) sliced meats; these are getting easier to find now and the cost has come way down over the years. Use various varieties and combinations of cheeses to change these up... think about your favorite sandwich shops and what you like to get there - then, create your own!
Here is what I do - open up sub-bread, put lots of shredded or sliced natural cheese on both sides, heat under the broiler for just a couple minutes - add on various sliced meats and seasoning like cajun, put it back in the oven to heat up a little more... once it is hot from the oven, top with lettuce, tomato and anything else such as pepperocini or black olives.
Serve with fruit and chips. It's easy and it's dinner!