Uncle Ben's Kitchen Kickoff Party

I was one of the lucky bloggers chosen to host a party for Uncle Ben's Rice! I received recipes, tons of product and decorations for my event as well as a gift card to purchase the supplies. We tried their Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice, Fastand Natural Instant Brown Rice and Boil-In-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice.

My husband is not normally a fan of brown rice, saying that is either "too chewy" or "too crunchy". Our favorite recipe by far is listed below and even my picky husband enjoyed it! My girlfriends are now brown rice eaters too!

UNCLE BEN’S® Chicken, Apple, Walnut and Brown Rice Salad

Serves: 6 Prep time: 20

Ingredients
2 bags UNCLE BEN’S® Boil-In-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice
2 cups shredded skinless chicken breast cooked and cooled
2 medium green apples thinly sliced
1 cup red onion finely chopped (optional)
1/3 cup toasted walnuts coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh sage chopped
6 Tbsp. low-fat balsamic vinaigrette

Instructions
1. Prepare UNCLE BEN’S® Boil-in-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice according to package directions. Let cool.
2. If chicken is not already cooked, grill in pan under medium-high heat until cooked through.
3. In a large bowl, toss together rice, chicken, green apple, red onion, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette.
4. Garnish with fresh sage. Serve cold or room temperature.

"I wrote this review while participating in a Kitchen Kickoff campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Uncle Ben's. Mom Central sent me a gift card and other Uncle Ben's items to thank me for taking the time to participate."

The Nuclear Pencil: 8 Tips On How To Eat Healthy In College

This Foodie Friday I thought I'd link to my cousins wonderful post on How to Eat Healthy in College. We all know about gaining the Freshmen 15....basically eating anything and everything! Check out his post and pass it on! Thanks Griffin www.nukepencil.blogspot.com


The Nuclear Pencil: 8 Tips On How To Eat Healthy In College

Organic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies(clean eating)

So here's the deal, I posted a recipe from Clean Eating Magazine last week for their
Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.You can find the recipe here. I got alot of questions about the cookies:

1. Were they hard like hockey pucks? NO, they were chewy BUT don't overcook...9 minutes is perfect

2. Were the ingredients expensive? NO, I had to buy all of the ingredients but I can make alot more batches of cookies or other items with the ingredients. Alot of the products had recipes on the packaging that I am going to try.

3. How did the cookies taste? I would tell you to ask my girls, they are my "official" taste testers. I had a cookie for each of them in the car when I picked them up from school. They said they were the best cookies they ever had and wanted more. They couldn't believe the were "healthy" and didn't have chemicals in them. They actually taste like a chewy granola bar. This means alot coming from my 7 year old who is a "sugar-holic" and doesn't like anything unless its full of un-healthy stuff.

What would I do differently next time? Make a double batch. The batch made 16 cookies (don't forget to flatten them with a wet spoon, as they won't spread while baking) Our 16 cookies were gone in 2 days . My girls ate the final few in the morning on the way to school. They are delicious and I am sure that you can make tons of variations!

Please let me know if you try them!

Happy Monday

I haven't posted on a Monday for awhile. This is due in part to my kids being off of school for a week for winter break, a crabby baby due to immunizations , house guests and just being a little overwhelmed.

My lifestyle changes have been amazing and quite honestly.....life changing and contagious, spreading throughout my family like wild fire.

I have lost 12 pounds , gone down a size, lost inches everywhere but most of all 4 inches in my waist. I am on day 53 of my P90, incorporating yoga and pilates.(all of my fitness activities are done at home)

Nutrition: no soda, no processed foods but still having my coffee as I can't give it up. !☺
I am taking my supplements daily as well as drinking tons and tons of water.

Funny thing...I don't miss the crappy stuff. not at all. I was at my moms yesterday and was reading the back of a package of something she got at Costco. She said to me " don't read the back or you won' t eat it" E X A C T L Y!!!! She then went on to tell me that it doesn't matter what I eat, as it won't make me sick....CAN YOU SAY HEATED discussion....With me WINNING I must say! My younger brother and sister are both taking to a healthier lifestyle and I couldn't be happier as one is in college and the other a senior in high school. They have added exercise and good nutrition to their lives are feeling healthier and have more energy.

I guess Grandma was right "you are what you eat"

Happy Happy Monday everyone. Live in the Moment. Put into your body what nourishes your body. Eat what Nature Made.

Clean Eating - Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

We have been trying to eat things that are "nature made" instead of "man made" , thus Clean Eating. I found this cookie recipe in the Clean Eating magazine and can't wait to try it. Please let us know what you think! Enjoy!

Here is a link to the magazine's site http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil cooking spray
1 1/4 cups quick-cook old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 large egg white
2 tsp unsalted almond butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark bittersweet chocolate chips (about 40 grams)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together agave, egg white, almond butter and vanilla.
Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.
Divide batter equally into 16 mounds (about 1 rounded tbsp in size) and arrange evenly spaced on prepared baking sheets. Using the back of a slightly dampened spoon, flatten each mound into 2 1/2-inch circles. Bake 9 to 10 minutes, until golden. Cool on sheets for an additional 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. Stored in an airtight container, cookies will keep fresh for 2 to 3 days.
NOTE: Substitute the chocolate chips with raisins, shredded coconut, dried cranberries or other dried fruit to give these cookies a new identity every time you make them.

NUTRIENTS per 2 cookies:
Calories: 170
Total Fat: 3.5 g
Sat. Fat: 1 g
Carbs: 35 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugar: 18 g
Protein: 3 g
Sodium: 75 mg
Cholesterol: 0 mg

8 Minute Veggie Pasta

The key to keeping all those delicious carbs in your diet is 

(1) fiber-dense whole grain bread or pasta 

(2) adding more veggies to the meal than pasta or bread

(3) portion control.

For me, this means pre-measuring everything.  But it works, and I get to eat pasta, so I'm not complaining.  Especially when I get to eat this:

8 Minute Veggie Pasta

I know when you think peas, broccoli and pasta, you think of heavy cream sauce. But if you use tomato sauce instead, you get an unexpectedly delicious dish with lower calories & fat, along with loads of nutrition.  Oh, and this is a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies...Sammy gobbled up his and begged for more!

For each serving:

3/4 c dry whole grain pasta

1/2 c fresh or frozen peas

1 1/2 c fresh or frozen chopped broccoli 

splash veggie broth

1 t. chopped garlic

2 T. fresh grated Parmasean cheese

1/2 c tomato sauce

While pasta is boiling, sautee the veggies with a little EVOO and veggie broth.  After 2 minutes, add the tomato sauce and put a lid on the veggies (heat on medium-low.)

Drain pasta when al dente, toss with the veggie sauce and add a bit of grated cheese.

YUM!

Valentine Cookies

This is a SIMPLE recipe for Cut-out Cookies

1/2 cup shortening or butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

cream shortening, sugar and egg...add vanilla, add in dry ingredients, roll out and cut into your favorite shapes!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, bake 10-12 minutes

Let cool and decorate!

Veggie Not-fried Rice

I've started altering old recipes to make them healthy.  As I've no doubt mentioned several times, my husband is a chef.  A darned good one too.  Case in point: he makes an incredible pork fried rice the day after he roasts a pork loin.  It's better than any restaurant version I've ever tasted.  The pork is flavorful and juicy, the rice is fluffy, the veggies are crisp and the egg is cooked like an omlette and then diced so you get a piece in every bite.  It's loaded down with soy sauce and fried in canola oil.  WOW.

 But I'm veg now, and I'm not eating white rice and not frying foods.  So what do to when the fried rice mood strikes?  CREATE MY OWN RECIPE.  Here's what I came up with.  It's big on veggies and flavor, low on fat and empty carbs.  It's veg, but I'm sure pork, chicken or shrimp would be a delicious edition for those carnivoires out there.

Meg's Veggie Not-fried Rice

1 cup rice (I use 1/2 c brown, 1/2 c red Thai)

1 T chopped garlic

1/2 small chopped onion

1 c sliced carrots

2 c pea pods

2 large eggs

low-sodium Soy Sauce 

Rice Wine Vinegar

Method: cook rice to package directions.  The combo of red Thai and brown takes 3 1/2 c of liquid and about 40 mins to cook.  During the last 5 minutes of cooking, place veggies in a microwave dish, cover with water and nuke for 5 minutes, until tender-crisp.  Beat the eggs with salt & pepper to taste.  When the rice is done,  add Soy Sauce and the vinegar to taste, while keeping the flame on medium low.  Add a t. of olive oil and stir.  Add the egg, stirring quickly so it cooks evenly and incorporates into the rice.  This will give the rice a creamy texture.  Once the egg is absorbed, add your veggies and toss/fold to combine.  Plate up and add extra soy, vinegar or hot sauce to your taste.

52 To Fabulous

"52 weeks to fabulous...pursuit to a better me"

ENOUGH SAID, I'M IN!!!

Cassie and Linney, 2 fabulous ladies, started a challenge for us all! More than a challenge , its an action plan to make the changes you want in your life. To live your life to its fullest potentional. It's all about you and your journey. Each month will focus on different areas of your life, I will post all information here. Join us in this journey of self reflection and set goals for yourself!

Here is the schedule of Categories for the year by month
January – Fabulous Beginnings
February – Fabulous Organization
March – Fabulous Fitness
April – Fabulous Food
May – Fabulous Style
June – Fabulous Fun
July – Fabulous Hobbies
August – Fabulous Finances
September – Fabulous Family
October – Fabulous Health
November – Fabulous Home
December – Fabulous Blogging

We hope that you will join us! Both of us will be on this journey with you...and be blogging about it here.

(Week 1 for January is "WHAT A GIRL WANTS", this will be in a seperate post)

No matter how large or how small...set some goals !

Once a month Cooking

I know that this may seem time consuming or NOT seem Practical BUT what if you could cook all of your meals in one weekend and freeze them?(VERY PRACTICAL) On a late night, instead of picking up fast food, you have a ready made meal. Just take it out of the freezer and pop it into the oven. Simplicity at its best.

Here is just one of the recipes that you can find at The Frugal Mom.


Emerald Soup

Ingredients for Cooking Day:

2 pkgs. frozen peas
1 cup water
1 small onion chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup light cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. mint leaves (or to taste)
Directions for Cooking Day: Cook peas in water until tender; place peas and liquid in blender. Add onion, celery and chicken broth; blend until smooth. Pour into bowl, add cream salt and pepper and crumbled mint leaves. Freeze using freezer bag method.

Directions for Serving Day: Defrost soup in refrigerator. This soup is served chilled

She has TONS of recipes on her site. She even has a cookbook Click Here!

Saving time for Moms and Serving Healthy Meals to our families!

Happy Friday!

How do you save time when making meals?

Roasted corn, pepper & egg scramble

We have 12 inches of snow and are in hibernation mode over here in Sam Land.  Literally, it's 12 noon and we're still in jammies.  I wanted to make something FAST for breakfast, but in light of my new-found dedication to health in the new year (hello! the AWBC is only 6 months away!) I wanted to make something good for me and Sam (since he always eats what I do.)  I rummaged around in the fridge and freezer and came up with this in about 5 minutes.

Roasted corn, pepper & egg scramble **

For 1 large serving (to be split w/ a toddler) or 2 small servings with toast:

2 large eggs (broken and scrambled in a bowl w/ a little salt)

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 c corn (frozen is fine)

1 t garlic, chopped

handfull of shreaded cheese

PAM or other non-stick spray

Coat skillet w/ Pam, then put on medium-high heat.  If your corn is frozen, put it in the pan first w/ 1 T of water and let it thaw.  Then add the garlic & pepper w/ some S&P to taste.  Cook long enough to get some color on the pepper and corn (I like them carmelized!), then add your egg.  Stir around and just before the egg is set, sprinkle on some cheese.  We used moz because that's what we had in the house and it was delicious!

** if you had more time than I did, you could remove the veggies when cooked, and make the egg into a formal omlette, then add the veggies & cheese and fold over.

Per serving: approx 200 cal (depending upon your egg size), 13 g carb, 18 g protein, 12 g fat, and 2 g fiber.

Oh, and did you spy my fabulous Breast Cancer mug in the picture?  Just another reminder of the upcoming AWBC in June.

Best party mix ever...a day late

Buffalo Chex Mix

9 c. Chex (any combo -- we use 1/2 Rice & 1/2 Corn)

2 c. mini pretzels

2 c. goldfish or other cheese crackers

6 T. butter, melted

1 pack dry ranch dressing mix

1-2 tsp. celery seed (NOT celery salt)

2 T. hot sauce (or more to taste)

Pre-heat oven at 250.

In a very large bowl (or in batches) mix Chex, pretzels and crackers.  Set aside. In a small bowl, mix melted butter, dry dressing packet, celery seed and hot sauce. Toss butter mix and dry Chex mix thoroughly.  Place in small batches on a large cookie sheet with sides and bake for 10 minutes.  Cool on parchment or wax paper, or foil.  When batches are completely cool, store in airtight containers.

1/2 c. serving (yeah, like you can eat just 1/2 cup!) is approx. 125 cals.

Best soup ever!

I know I should be posting a holiday recipe today, but I simply HAD to share this quick, easy and DEEE.LISH.US soup with you.  Its from my friend Christine, over at Five Gems.  Christine is a super-busy mom of 5 amazing kids, ranging from 1 to 18 years!  Christine and her husband work very hard to feed their children the healthiest meals possible and the whole family is veg (by choice.)  I tweaked this recipe a bit, because I used what I had in the house at the time.  Please tweak it yourself and let me know the results!

Chickpea & Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

For 4 servings:

2 cans fire roasted tomatoes, undrained (use whatever you have in the house -- I used tomatos w/ green chilies)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 onion, chopped

1 T garlic, chopped

16 oz broth (chicken or veg)

Herbs/seasoning to your taste **

Sautee the garlic & onion in some EVOO over medium-high heat until the onion is translucent.   Add all other ingredients, and turn the heat down to low.  Stir, and lid, and put the timer on for 20 minutes.  IF you want your soup spicy, add your seasonings now.  If you want it milder, add them at the end.

After 20-odd minutes, turn off the heat.  If you want a creamier soup, blend w/ a hand blender or in your food processor.  I actually added some quinoa with all the ingredients and cooked for 30 minutes.  It thickened the soup (which I then blended) and added grains so I had a complete meal in one bowl.

I did the cost breakdown and the soup is $0.60/serving without quinoa and $0.80 with the quinoa.  Calories are 188/serving for the quinoa type.  
The next day I had it with some tortillas w/ melted cheddar cheese and WHOA MAMA was that good!

**Christine used Indian spices, but I used Ethiopian (Berber) and it was fantastic.  Spicy! but fantastic.

Leafy greens are your friend

On my never-ending journey to better nutrition and health, I've discovered leafy greens.  Specifically "dark" leafy greens.  These guys are POWERHOUSES of nutrients, and shockingly low in calories.  Oh, and they fill you up like nobody's business.  When I eat 4 cups raw (cooked down to 1 1/2 cup) I barely have room for the rest of my meal. 
I get the bag of mixed greens (collard, turnip, mustard) or a large bunch of kale (yes, I said kale, don't be afraid!); whichever is on sale at the store that particular week. 
The first thing you should know about these beauties is you DO NOT need to boil/steam or otherwise, pre-cook them before your sautee.  Its unnecessary and will leech out some of your yummy vitamins.
Here's how I cook them (same method as my other fav: red and napa cabbage!)

Leafy Greens with Garlic
4 cups of greens, washed, patted dry & stems removed
1/2 t. chopped garlic
1-2 glugs EVOO
1/4 c chopped onion (any kind), if you have it around
Chili powder to taste
S&P to taste

Add your oil to a med-high skillet.  NEVER add oil to a cold pan.  Sautee your onions & garlic a minute or so.  If you don't have garlic, you can use garlic powder.  If it's salted garlic powder, just omit the salt later on.  Add your greens, 1 cup at a time.  Turn heat down to medium.  Stir quickly to avoid burnt greens.  You may add some veg or chicken broth (just a bit) if you don't have enough oil to keep the greens from sticking.  Keep adding greens as they cook down.  When adding the last bit of greens, turn your heat off, add chili powder, S&P, and put the cover on your pan.  Let sit for 2-5 minutes.

I like to have greens w/ tofu & a 1/2 sweet potato.  I find the savory and sweet flavors really compliment each other.

Do you have a favorite healthy veg recipe?  Please share it.  either post in comments or post a link to your blog posting.

Sweet and Spicy Nuts

My friend made these for Thanksgiving and was nice enough to share some with our family, they are delicious! ♥


1 ½ cups lightly salted roasted cashews
1 ½ cups shelled unsalted pecans
1 ½ cups shelled unsalted walnuts
1 ½ cups shelled unsalted almonds
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. ground red pepper
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Spread nuts on a large baking pan. Toast in a 350 degree oven until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Add rosemary, brown sugar, salt, and ground red pepper. Add melted butter and toss to coat. Let cool and store in an airtight container. Makes 6 cups.

Caramel Snack Mix

2 sticks butter
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. Karo (light)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 pkgs. corn puffs(this is basically a naked cheeto, you can substute:1 BOX Corn Pops Cereal)
1/2 box cheerios
1/2 box Corn Chex
1/2 Bag Pretzels

Melt butter, brown sugar and Karo in a pan over Med-high heat.Add baking soda. (This will bubble up.) In a Foil Roasting Pan Mix all of your Dry Ingredients, Pour the wet mixture over this and mix thouroughly. Add nuts if you wish. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Turn every 15 minutes.
Pour onto Parchment lined or Foil Covered baking sheet, spread out and let cool. The mixture will be very STICKY. Once is cools, break it apart and store in container.

This is YUMMY!!! I use the Foil Pan as it would be VERY difficult to clean a metal pan afterwards...call me lazy!

New Thanksgiving tradition: Bacon Beans

I tried something new for this year's Thanksgiving feast and it was a big hit, so I thought I'd share with you.  I think these would be great for any meal, any time of the year.  They are SO easy in the crock pot...but the flavor is amazing.

BACON BEANS

Amounts approximate for 3 qt yield

2 lbs of fresh green beans, washed & trimmed

1 lb bacon, cooked & patted dry.  (I used pork for my DH, but I think Turkey bacon or even veg protein bacon (not-bacon) would be lovely.)

1/2-1 tsp chopped garlic

1/2 small onion, chopped (optional)

1/4 c chicken or veg broth

splash lemon juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Crumble cooked bacon.  Put everything but the lemon juice in a 4 qt crock pot.  Stir to combine.  Set crock on HIGH and walk away for 2 hours.  Stir & check tenderness at 2 hour mark.  If you like tender-crisp they should be done, if you like a softer bean, continue cooking another hour.  S & P to taste.  Add the lemon juice just before serving.

If you have a favorite Thanksgiving recipe this year, please leave it in the comments section, or create a link to your blog.

Chicken Fiesta Bake

I love the traditional Tortilla Bakes or Enchilada Casseroles, this is a mixture of a few recipes but is YUMMY!

3-4 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
1 onion
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jar (16 oz.) Salsa
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can Fiesta Corn (black beans and corn)
12 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1 bag Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese,

So here's how I make it:

HEAT oven to 375°F.

Add chicken breasts to water in a pan or in Crock pot, with 1/2 onion, salt to taste and cook until done. Let cool and shred.In a skillet add oil and cook green and red pepper and remaining 1/2 of onion in oil. Add chicken to skillet and stir in salsa, tomatoes and corn.
SPREAD 1 cup meat mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with 6 tortillas, overlapping as necessary. Cover with layers of half each of the remaining meat mixture and cheese; top with remaining tortillas and meat mixture. Cover with foil.
BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Top with more cheese; let stand 5 min. or until melted.


SERVE with sour cream!

Baby it's cold outside: Slow-cook Chili

With the chilly fall weather we’ve been having in Chicago, I’ve been doing a lot of crock-pot cooking, specifically: chili. I make different types of chili, depending upon the ingredients I have on hand. I rarely, if ever, purchase something specifically FOR chili; rather, I just pull things out of the pantry and freezer. If I have dry beans on hand, I’ll use those (make sure you sort, soak and rise before using.) However, the majority of the time, I use canned beans.

If you can open a can, you can make homemade chili. It’s that simple, really. Chili is cheap & filling. Make a large vat: it freezes well. I think it’s better the second day, so we always have chili 2 nights in a row.


Slow-cook Chili
**Adjust amounts depending upon the crock-pot or stove-top pot you’ll be cooking in. These amounts are approximate for my 4 qt crock-pot.


1 15 oz can pinto beans or other white bean cannellini (white kidney) are nice too.
1 15 oz can black beans or other dark bean, like red kidney.
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes. Flavored tomatoes are fine, and Rotel would be good.
1 small can diced green chilies (optional)
1/2 t. chopped garlic
1 small or medium sized onion, chopped

½ lb ground meat. We have tried beef, chicken, pork, pork sausage and soy chorizo.
Salt & pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste (could substitute paprika + red chili flakes + extra cumin.)
Ground cumin to taste (this gives it a smokey flavor.)

I make this in the crock-pot, but you could make it in a heavy pot on the stove too. I don’t brown the meat at all, I literally throw everything but the spices in the pot, turn on low, and walk away for 3-4 hours. If it cooks down too much, add some more beans or tomatoes, depending on whether you like a thicker or thinner chili. About ½ hour before serving, add your spices to taste. Remember that if you use red chili flakes, the longer you cook with the flakes in, the hotter your chili will be, due to the oil in the flakes (source of heat.) Feel free to use one of those chili seasoning packets, if you don’t like to mess around with spices “to taste.” If I have room in the pot, and corn in the freezer, I add some frozen corn in the last 1/2 hour.

We serve chili with grated cheddar cheese on top. Sometimes with a bit of sour cream and tortilla chips on the side. I also like extra green chilies on mine.
Enjoy & have a great weekend!

Carmel Apple Pie

As promised, my Carmel Apple Pie recipe.

yields 1 nine inch pie



This is a SUPER YUMMY pie. It isn't super-sweet. Adjust and add more brown sugar or more carmels if you want a sweeter pie.  My brother-in-law actually likes it so much I have to make a separate pie for him at the holidays!





Crust
3 c unbleached flour + 1/3 c for working crust dough
1 c butter (COLD, salted)
1/2 c cold water


Filling
9 c sliced apples (I use granny smith)
1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 T. unbleached flour
1 1/2 c. chopped carmels
(you can add chopped nuts if you'd like.  Walnuts or Pecans would be good.)

Method
Unwrap carmels and place in heavy-duty zip-lock bag. Place bag in freezer.  Turn oven on to 400.
In large bowl, slice apples to = 9 cups (I do not peel the apples.) Add brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour. Stir to incorporate. Place in microwave for 5 mins on high, to get the juices going. Set aside while making the crust.
In large bowl, cut 1/2 of the butter into 3 cups of flour, using either a dough cutter or 2 butter knives. When butter is incorporated, add remaining and continue until dough is crumbly. Add cold water slowly (I use my hands at this point.) If necessary, add additional water 1 T. at a time. Turn dough onto floured surface. Turn several times, gathering into a ball. Divide ball into 2, put 1 aside. Roll 1 out into circle. Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Place in pie-plate.
Take carmels out of the freezer and smash in the bag (I use a rolling pin, but a hammer would work as well.) Stir the carmel chips into the apple filling, and pour filling into pie-plate. Roll out top crust and place on filling. Crimp edges to seal. Cut several small holes in the dough top for steam. Sprinkle top with cinnamon.

Bake for 45 mins on 2nd bottom rack, until top crust is browned. Let cool, don't cut for at least 2 hours, or juices will be runny.
Enjoy!