Country Apple Dumplings

Country Apple Dumplings

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
• 2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew
• DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew™ over the dumplings.
4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Nutrition from produce

I got this email from somewhere and don't know how true the information is.  I did think it was anecdotally interesting. 

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Handmixers and other things that can make you bleed

I have learned to keep the appliances unplugged in my house.  My son decided to inspect my hand mixer (the kind that you can chop things with) one morning while I was in the shower.  I had left it on the kitchen counter, plugged in and he couldn't resist.  He was 10 at the timeand waiting for me to shower so I could take him to school.  Just before I started washing my hair, he came into the bathroom holding his hand up with blood running down everywhere.  I am, of course, aghast at the scene before me and tried to get the details of his injury.
He had picked up the mixer, which is ergonomic, and flipped it upside down to examine the bottom.  His masculine instincts to play with things sharp and power driven took over.  He stuck his finger on the blade and proceeded to spin it around.  At this same time, his other hand ergonomically placed on the start button, tensed and pressed the on button.  The blade spun around and cut the top of his finger.  The only thing that prevented it from getting sliced off was his fingernail, and the impulse to drop the mixer.
Looking at all the blood, I jumped out of the shower to deal with the gore and tried to stop the bleeding as best I could.  I spent about 20 minutes calming him down and bandaging him up, all while naked and dripping wet.  There just isn't time for clothing when a mom is faced with the chopped up finger of her son.  Happily, I got him calmed down and was able to get dry and dressed.  He was too traumatized to notice I didn't have on any clothes.
Fortunately, the doctor's office had just opened and he could look at the finger.  No stitches, just a tight bandade and he was off to school.  He got there before the morning bell.  I've decided that the military slogan, "We get more done before 9am then most people do all day" really should apply to mothers. 
The moral of the story is.....unplug your appliances when you aren't using them and don't shower until after you have taken the kids to school.

Measuring Cups

Before you pour sticky substances in to a measuring cup, fill with hot water.  Dump out the water, but don't dry cup.  Next, add your ingredient such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
I tried this and it doesn't work great.  Using cooking spray to coat the inside of the cup works better for me but, I have a kitchen tool that I really like that works like a charm.  It is a container that you measure anything from honey to peanut butter in and then push the bottom up to cleanly get it out of the measuring container.   I found this one on pamperedchef.com .  I got mine through the Betty Crocker catalog.  They are easy to find and worth having in your kitchen.

Measure-All® Cup

$10.00

Flexible Vacuum

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge, add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum.  It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings. 
In a pinch, this sounds good.  I just use my attachments and they work well too.

Newspaper Weeds Away

Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in  your soil.  We newspapers and put around the plants overlapping as you go.  Cover with mulch and forget about weeds.  Weeds will get through some gardening plastic but they will not get through we newspapers. 
This would be great if it works.  I will have to try it next year when I put my garden in.  Anyone else tried this?

Easy Deviled Eggs

Put cooked egg yolks in a resealable bag.  Seal, pressing all the air out, and mash till they are all broken up.  Open bag and add remainder of ingredients.  Reseal, mash more until the contents are completely combined.  Cut the tip of one of the baggy corners, artfully squeeze contents into waiting eggs white shells.  Throw away bag when done.
My experience:
This is a great idea if you don't have a food processor.  I find throwing all the ingredients into my small food processor bowl is a quick and easy way to whip up the filling.  I don't mind cleaning out the bowl because I can get a nice creamy filling that is harder to achieve by hand. 
Try adding a little sweet relish or some horseradish to your deviled eggs for a yummy twist.  Don't forget to sprinkle the paprika on the top.

Reheat Pizza

Courtesy of the Cooking Channel:
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on tip of the stove.  Set heat to med-low and heat till warm.  This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. 
I have not tried this trick.  I have a toaster oven though and find it works just fine for crisping up leftover pizza quickly.  And, I haven't had to stand over a pan.  
I finally tried this and wow, not worth the time!  It took so long for the pan to heat up, then it took a while for the entire slice of pizza to heat up.  The toaster oven is definitely the way to go if you want a crisp, hot slice of pie.  If you have more than a slice to reheat then just put it on a cookie sheet and into the oven at about 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Watch it so it doesn't burn.  If you don't care, then nuke it and eat the soggy slice quickly.