Busy People's Fast & Frugal Cookbook by Dawn Hall

Photo and recipe used with permission from Dawn Hall and Thomas Nelson Publishing

I don't normally 'gush' about anything. I get excited, but I try to keep myself in check when I find something I like. I can't contain this: I adore Dawn Hall!

I got to speak with Dawn yesterday on the phone for quite some time. I called to interview her for today's post at the HalfHourMeals.com blog, Food for Thought. Once we got to talking, we couldn't stop. I knew that we had a few things in common, but after chatting for a bit, the parallels between our lives just kept going on. I could well have stayed on the phone to no end with her, but the kids kept interrupting and dinner needed to be made, so we said our good-byes and promised to keep in touch.

Today is the debut of Dawn's 10th book, her 8th Busy People's cookbook, Busy People's Fast & Frugal Cookbook. I've looked over recipes, read other reviews and talked with the woman herself and I can tell you this: There is nothing fussy about this or any one of her cookbooks - it's just good food, simply (and frugally!) prepared in 30 minutes or less and with 7 ingredients or less - and healthy to boot. It's the perfect addition to any busy person's collection (and aren't we all busy nowadays?) with the added benefit of each and every recipe fitting into a tight budget - and I know we all fit into that category lately.

You can read more about Dawn at HalfHourMeals.com or at her website DawnHallCookbooks.com, on the Cooking for Busy People Fan Page on Facebook, on Twitter, on her television show, Cooking for Busy People and at YouTube.com. That's more than enough Dawn to keep you busy for a while!

Here is a recipe of hers that I like for several reasons; my kids would all like it, it's super-fast to make and I can definitely fit it into my budget. Everything you need to know to make this is here (and in the book!) from timing to equipment to shopping lists. Also check out one of her soup recipes posted today at A Thousand Soups. You can purchase a copy of Busy People's Fast & Frugal Cookbook at Amazon.com.

Apple Pie with Granola Crumb Topping

The crust is very flaky, the filling is very tasty and the crumb topping is sweet and crunchy, thus the ideal combination for a quick and easy home-style light apple pie that is every bit as delicious as the high calorie versions but a lot easier on the waist line!

Ingredients:

10 fillo (phyllo) dough sheets
½ cup oatmeal
1/3 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons light butter
1 (20-ounce) can no sugar added apple pie filling
1(.14-ounce) pouch Alpine spiced cider sugar-free apple flavor drink mix from a (1.4-ounce) box of 10 pouches

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Make Pie Shell:

Take 10 sheets of fillo (phyllo) dough and lay them flat.
Spray each sheet of dough with butter flavor cooking spray. Individually stack the sheets into a pie plate like tire spindles, crossing in the center. Allow the extra to hang over the sides of the pie plate.
With sharp scissors, cut the fillo (phyllo) dough hanging off the edges of the pie plate.
Place pie dough in oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.
Make Granola:

Take the cut off excess of fillo (phyllo) dough and finely chop it. Place in a medium size mixing bowl.
Add to mixing bowl ½ cup oatmeal, 1/3 cup Splenda brown sugar blend, 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix and 2 tablespoons light butter.
Using a spatula cut the ingredients together. Set aside.
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Spread the oatmeal mixture on the baking sheet. Bake for 4-5 minutes, just until the butter melts.
Remove from oven and with a spatula stir the oatmeal mixture around the baking sheet making a caramelized granola.
Make Pie Filling:

In a microwave safe mixing bowl combine 1 (20-ounce) can no sugar added apple pie filling and 1(.14-ounce) pouch Alpine spiced cider sugar-free apple flavor drink mix from a (1.4-ounce) box of 10 pouches.
Cover with wax paper and cook in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and heat for 1 additional minute.

Assemble Pie:

Place the apple filling in the made pie shell.
Top with the granola that you made and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

Calories per serving: 188 (15% fat); Total fat: 3 g; Cholesterol: 5 mg; Carbohydrate: 37 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Protein: 2 g; Sodium: 125 mg

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 1/2 carbohydrate, 1/2 fat

Helpful Hint:

This pie needs to be eaten the same day it’s made or the crust will become soggy.
This pie comes together very quickly so have all of your ingredients sitting out.
This pie does not freeze well.
Phyllo Dough (also spelled Fillo Dough) is in the freezer section. It comes in 1-pound boxes. Each box has about 40 sheets in one box of Phyllo dough. It is super simple to work with, so do not be intimidated to use it, if you never have before.


Supplies List :

Oven
Pie plate
Sharp scissors
Timer
Cutting board
Medium sized mixing bowl
Baking sheet
Microwave safe mixing bowl
Wax paper
Microwave oven

Grocery List :

DAIRY

Light butter

FROZEN

10 fillo (phyllo) dough sheets

PACKAGED

Oatmeal (1/2 cup needed)
1 (20-ounce) can no sugar added apple pie filling
1 (.14-ounce) pouch Alpine spiced cider sugar-free apple flavor drink mix

PANTRY

Splenda brown sugar blend
Pumpkin pie spice
Butter flavor cooking spray
Non-stick cooking spray

This recipe is provided by Dawn Hall and is from Busy People’s Fast & Frugal Cookbook - re-printed with permission.

Homemade Toaster Tarts

I know they're a little wonky, but as all of my kids have their own aprons they decided to come and "watch". Of course that doesn't really mean watch, it means touch ... a lot.

Anyhow, we ran out of toaster tarts (Pop Tarts) and as I've had a recipe or two sitting around forever I decided to give it a whirl. Yes, it's too hot for baking, but I cut the dough in half and put one half back in the fridge so I only made 8. I couldn't keep the oven on for that long.

Once they were done and the kids decided they were way better than store bought, I did
some costing and found that for me to make my own they cost about 6¢ each as opposed to
12¢ each for the cheap kind and 20¢ each for the name brand!

They are a bit of work but not terribly so and you can put whatever you want in the middle of
them, even combos the "big guys" haven't even thought of yet. I plan on working around with it to come up with a chocolate dough too and if I pin it down I'll share it.

I promise tomorrow we'll get back to Summertime cooking.

This is a combination of a couple recipes - feel free to cut the recipe in half, it will work just as well.

Toaster Tarts

1c sugar
1c margarine or butter-softened
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 c flour
4 t baking powder

Filling:

Jam, jelly, preserves or whatever will firm up a bit when they are cooled.

Beat butter or margarine together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while beating and then add vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder until a soft dough forms. Cut in half and flatten each half a bit and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

You can either cut the dough into 16 rectangles and fit two together with filling in the center (about a tablespoon per tart) and trim the edges OR roll a large rectangle and fold in half and cut into 8 pieces so the top and bottom of each are more uniform before putting the filling on them. This is what I did - I didn't want to roll all day long.

Crimp the edges closed with a fork and poke the tops well with a fork. Set on cookie sheets (I didn't grease mine) and bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. You can poke them with a fork again halfway through baking time to keep them flat or, if that doesn't matter to you, let them bake, they don't get that puffy anyway.

You can brush them with a bit of milk or beaten egg white before baking also and when they are done they can be frosted with a simple powdered sugar icing.