As mentioned in my previous post about Drunk ‘N Nutty Pie, that recipe was born from an experiment with pork chops.
I basically made this up as I went along. I put wine in the slow cooker, diced up 2 apples, a half jar of chestnuts, about 1/4 cup brown sugar and some honey and let it cook. The topping was DE.LI.CIOUS.
And was a nice meal with some frozen veggies.
It’s amazing what happens when you throw things in a crock pot and take a gamble!
Sometimes, inspiration comes from strange places. After making a pork chop recipe in the slow cooker with wine, apples, and chestnuts, Mike and I realized that the toppings were SENSATIONAL and would probably make for a lovely pie. How could you go wrong with slow cooked apples and chestnuts in wine? And so… Drunk ‘N Nutty Pie was dreamed up. (Name is still in the works… feel free to comment with suggestions).
First up… peeling the apples. I just got this handy dandy new contraption (which obviously doubles as a torture device) from The Pampered Chef that peels, cores, and slices apples! I would say it works as intended about 50% of the time…
Delivering a perfect core.
A (mostly) peeled and perfectly sliced apple rings.
Which can then be cut in half to make perfectly sliced pie filling.
Uniform thin size! How novel!
The other 50% of the time… rough. So I wound up slicing it (and leaving SOME peel on).
Then the apples get thrown into the slow cooker with the wine and chestnuts. For the pie, I added cranberries, brown and white sugars, and cinnamon.
Put it on low for about 4 hours and v’oila! Slow cooked apples, cranberries, and chestnuts in wine.
During the last 30 minutes of slow cooking time, I started on the crust. First you take softened butter and cut it up into the bottom of a pie plate. Then you pile flour, sugar, red wine vinegar, and milk on top.
Try to combine it with a knife… give up and use your hands.
Then push it into the bottom of the plate so it’s nice and even on the bottom and sides. Poke it with a fork to prevent catastrophe.
And then put them in the oven to cook until they are just barely brown and hardened.
If you don’t have a Pie Shield, I highly recommend them. Sure you can use tinfoil to make sure the edges of the pie don’t get too brown, but why burn yourself construction a crazy tinfoil sculture when you can lay this cheap puppy on top and keep it all evenly cooked?
I even made some mini versions to see how individualized portions would turn out. (You know I love my silicone cupcake cups!)
While the pie is baking up, you can make the crumble top. I put a bit extra lemon in mine to counteract the sweetness of the crust.
Once all the pieces are ready, you scoop out the delicious slow cooked chunks and put them into the pie. (HINT: Save the wine left over and it is DELICIOUS as hot mulled wine)
Pack the filling up to the brim.
Take a moment to revel in how delicious it looks.
Try not to shove your face into the whole plate and eat it up.
Ok… maybe you can steal one chestnut from the top of the mini pie. I won’t tell.
Then start the crumbling.
Until only a little bit of fruity goodness is peaking through.
Sometimes I add even less… as I can now see through my alternate pie compared to the one above.
And don’t forget about the minis.
Sometimes you can even cover the entire thing in crumbs. No judgments here! But you will have to bake it until the crumbs start to turn golden on top.
And then slice it up and try not to eat the whole thing while your guests look on in jealousy.
Okay fine… eat the whole mini pie.
It’s just so damn cute and delicious afterall!
This was a HUGE crowd pleaser. Really unique flavors and the sweet, buttery crust combined so well with the tart wine and cranberries and the slight sour in the crumble. I think I will make this again and again and again and again and again…
I was in the mood for quinoa, so I checked to see what Weight Watchers recipes came up and found a tasty sounding one with mushrooms and spinach. The recipe was very similar to cooking kasha where you brown garlic and onions in a pan, then toast up the quinoa, then add in liquid and let it absorb.
(Side note: Does anyone else find it annoying to rinse quinoa? It’s so delicious, but I can’t find a good way to rinse it without it getting everywhere)
Then at the finale, you top it with fresh spinach (which is always surprising how much it reduces in size!) and let it steam down and stir it in.
We paired it with faux fried catfish (it’s faux fried because it’s coated in ground up Fiber One cereal and then baked… it’s a really delicious and diet friendly way to “fry” just about any white meat or fish).
It made for a great meal, although the more I eat catfish, the less I like it. I just don’t think it’s my kinda fish.
My favorite part about this meal, however, was making the leftovers for lunch the next day! I topped the quinoa and spinach with 2 poached eggs and the mushy yolky goodness was purrrrrrrfect with the nutty quinoa and spinach. Delish!
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RECIPE
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| 1 Tbsp olive oil | |
| 1 large onion(s), minced | |
| 1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced | |
| 1 cup(s) quinoa, rinsed | |
| 2 cup(s) reduced-sodium chicken broth | |
| 1/8 tsp black pepper | |
| 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional (we left this out) | |
| 4 cup(s) spinach, baby leaves, packed, coarsely chopped | |
| 1/2 tsp table salt | |
