Recipe Time: Skillet Apple Crisp

Since I don't have any quilting news while I'm on my Winter Respite Break in Florida, I figured it's time to post a recipe instead!

I don't know what it is about desserts baked in skillets, but they're just so tasty - chocolate chip cookies, brownies...they're ooey-gooey deliciousness. This skillet apple crisp recipe from The Pioneer Woman is perfect for cold winter days, and comes together way more quickly than an apple pie - no fiddly crust to roll out and mess around with!

The orginal recipe can be found here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/skillet-apple-crisp-3339175

I didn't deviate from the recipe all that much except to use dark brown sugar instead of light because I like it better, and I threw in some ground ginger too, because why not? Sauteing the apples first in the skillet before baking it might seem like an unnecessary step, but it gives the cooking process a head start, lets the spices bloom, and imparts a nice caramelization flavor to it all. 

Winter Escape

February in MN has been rough. First, temps dipped down to -30 below for a few days, then we got hit with an ice-storm, and then it's been nothing but snow, snow, snow.

The first foot of snow is kind of fun - it's pretty, you feel somewhat adventurous and heroic for dealing with it, there's something playful about being out in it. But the second and third feet become exhausting - your back hurts from shoveling or having to yank the snowblower around, your neck hurts from finagaling the roof rake to get the snow off your roof so the whole house isn't ruined from the dreaded ice dams in your gutters, your car gets stuck and/or run into because the roads are impassable and visibility sucks from the huge mountains of snow piled everywhere. We become vitamin deficient from not getting enough sunshine and eating like shit, because how the hell else are we supposed to survive except by comforting ourselves with large amounts of carbs and sugar and marathon TV watching?

You may get from this rant that a vacation is in order, and thank goodness I have a place to escape to - Perdido Key, FL is where I'll be parking my crabby winter-exhausted butt for the next two weeks for a much needed break from the winter madness.