Slow Cooker Apple Crisp

Have dessert ready when you are by making this Slow Cooker Apple Crisp.  It's filled with warm cinnamon apples and topped with a crunchy oat topping that's perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp

During the winter we love the abundance of apples that are in season and eat them in a variety of ways.  One of my favorites is to eat them for dessert as in apple pie, or apple crisp.  Today's version is cooked in the slow cooker.  This allows you to be hands free and dessert will be ready when you are.  Love that!

Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, warm apples coated in toasty cinnamon are topped with a crunchy almond oatmeal brown sugar mixture that make this dessert irresistible.  Make sure to ready the tips as I have a trick for you so the topping doesn't get all soggy.

What do I need to make apple crisp?

• Slow cooker
• Knife
• Apple corer
• Vegetable peeler
• Mixing bowls
• Rubber spatula

What Ingredients do I need?

• apples (I chose 4 granny smith and 4 Jazz apples for flavor variety)
• lemon juice (helps the apples from turning brown)
• brown sugar (light or dark)
• cinnamon (good quality cinnamon)
• oatmeal
• sliced almonds
• flour
• butter

Substitutions and Variations

• substitute chopped pecans for the almonds (I typically use pecans in my crisps but wanted to change it up a bit)
• use coconut oil instead of butter to make this vegan
• use a variety of apples instead of just granny smith.  Jazz, envy, honeycrips, braeburn, and cortland are all good baking apples.
• Serve this with ice cream
• Drizzle with caramel
• Serve this as a hot breakfast (do I dare??)
• Substitute pears for apples
• Add cranberries to the apple mixture
• Add blueberries to the apple mixture

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• To keep the topping from getting soggy, place several paper towels over the slow cooker and then place the lid on it.  This will catch the moisture that develops.
• Use a good cinnamon since it is the star of the show
• Use ripe firm cooking apples
• Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours

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Slow Cooker Apple Crisp

serves 6-8

8 apples, peeled, cored and thinly-sliced (I used a mixture of Granny Smith and Envy)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons melted butter

In a large mixing bowl add peeled, cored, and sliced apples.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon and toss until evenly coated.   Pour the entire mixture into the slow cooker insert, making sure the apples are spread our evenly.  

In a medium bowl add the oats, almonds, flour, sugar, and cinnamon.  Mix to combine.  Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture, and then stir until well coated.  Top the apples with the oat mixture, trying to cover most of the apples.

Place several paper towels on top of the slow cooker, and place the lid on top.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours until the apples are soft and easily pierced with a knife.  Serve in individual bowls with ice cream if desired.

Homemade Hummus Topped with a Simple Israeli Salad

An essential dip is taken up a notch by topping it with a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion.  Once you make the homemade version of hummus you won't ever go back to store bought!

Homemade Hummus Topped with a Simple Israeli Salad

Hummus is a very popular dish and it's quite healthy to eat.  Even better when it's topped with a a wonderful salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion!  All you need to make this is a few ingredients such as chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, Sriracha, and olive oil.  With the exception of the tahini you probabaly have all the other ingredients.  

Oh and I forgot to mention....It's so EASY to make!

We eat hummus as a snack in our house all the time.  It's great as an appetizer as well.  With the addition of the salad you can turn this dish into a light lunch, or a side dish with dinner like we do.  This would also be great for game day or BBQs in the summer.  You could even make these into individual portions by serving them in clear party cups with a wedge of pita tucked inside.  Too cute! 

 

What Ingredients do I need?

• Canned Chickpeas or Garbanzo beans
• Tahini - sesame seed paste found in the grocery in either ethnic foods, or with the condiments
• Olive oil
• garlic
• lemon juice
• cumin
• Sriracha (optional) for heat
• salt & pepper

Substitutions and Variations

This is a base recipe for hummus. You can make variations by adding different ingredients to change the flavor such as:

• roasted red bell peppers
• avocado
• black beans instead of chickpeas
• eggplant
• sun-dried tomatoes
• mashed sweet potatoes
• fresh spinach and feta cheese
• lemon and cilantro

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• start with quality ingredients - since there are only a handful buy the best you can find. (fresh garlic, real lemons etc.)

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Homemade Hummus Topped with a Simple Israeli Salad

serves 6-8

Hummus:
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup tahini (ground sesame paste)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 
3 tablespoons chopped garlic 
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salad:
1 large English cucumber, unpeeled, halved, and diced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
3/4 cup red onion, diced 

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

Toasted naan or pita bread, for serving 

Place the chickpeas, tahini, 1/2 cup lemon juice, garlic, cumin, Sriracha, in a food processor.  Add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.  Process until the mixture is smooth.  If this is too thick to spread add in a few tablespoons of water until it is spreadable.

In a large bowl add the cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion.  Add 1/3 cup olive oil and the 1/4 cup lemon juice that remains.  Stir to combine.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Spoon the hummus onto a large serving platter creating a raised edge on the sides.  Using a slotted spoon, top the hummus with the vegetable salad leaving an edge of hummus all around.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Serve with mini naan bread or pita.

Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

A handful of winter fruits turn in to an outrageously good fruit salad.  Top it with a sweet/tart lemon poppyseed dressing and you'll be craving this dish all winter long!

Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing 

Fruit is essential in our house, and we eat a ton of it.  We are in heaven during the spring and summer months due to the abundance of fresh fruit, but come wintertime we feel a little cheated.  That is until I came across this recipe for a winter fruit salad.  The salad has a combination of pears, apples, tangerines, bananas, kiwis, and dried cranberries.  If that isn't good enough it is topped with this amazing dressing that includes lemon juice, honey, oil, and poppyseeds.  This salad is sooooo good that I've made it three times in that last 2 weeks!

This salad is perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and snacks.  Because of the lemon in the dressing the apples and pears don't turn brown so this would be great for a picnic in the park. 

However you decide to serve it make sure to do it quickly.  If you love fruit, this is going to be a new favorite in your household too!

When do I serve fruit salad?

• Brunch or breakfast
• Snack time
• After school snack
• Dessert
• Lunch as a side dish
• Use this to top waffles for breakfast or dessert
• Top Greek Yogurt with a big scoop
• Top ice cream for dessert
• Perfect over pound cake or angel food cake

What Ingredients do I need?

• apples
• pears - we love D'Anjou
• kiwis
• bananas
• tangerines or mandarin oranges
• dried cranberries
• lemon
• poppyseeds
• honey
• canola oil

Substitutions and Variations

• add dried cherries instead of cranberries
• add pomegranate arils
• use fresh orange juice in the dressing instead of lemon
• any of the fruit may be left out
• substitute you favorite pear
• use a tart apple instead of a sweet one
• add grapefruit segments instead of tangerines
• add orange segments instead of tangerines
• add blood orange segments instead of tangerines
• swap out pineapple for any of the fruit

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Double the recipe to serve a larger group
• This best eaten the same day however, the fruit salad will keep an extra day in the refrigerator but the bananas may tend to get a little mushy.
• The lemon juice in the dressing will keep the apples and pears from browning
• To make ahead prep the tangerines and kiwi, but I would cut the apple, pears, and banana pretty close to serving.

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Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing 

serves 4

Dressing

1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon poppyseeds

3 Tablespoons canola oil

Pinch of sugar

Salad

1 Envy apple, cored and diced

1 D'Anjou pear, cored and diced

1 banana, sliced

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 tangerines, peeled and segmented

1/3 cup dried cranberries

To make the dressing: In a small bowl or jar whisk together lemon juice, honey, poppyseeds, sugar, and oil until well combined.

For the fruit salad: In a salad bowl toss together all of the fruit then pour just enough dressing over top to coat.  Start out with about 1/2 and add more if needed.  Toss to coat gently.  

Serve immediately for best results.

adapted from:  Cooking Classy