This recipe was submitted by Kali from Ms. Holland’s fourth-grade class at Bunker Hill Elementary School in Coos Bay.

How to make             Poppyseed Chicken

First you take 4-6 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded and put in the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. Then you put 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2 cups of sour cream and three heaping tablespoons of chicken broth or milk in a pot, bring to a boil and pour over shredded chicken. Lastly you add a crumb topping, the crumb topping is 21⁄2 packages Ritz crackers, crushed, 1 cube butter, melted, and 2-3 tablespoons poppy seeds. Mix those ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the other ingredients. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

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My parents just left for Michigan after spending their annual two-week visit with us.

Both my mom and my wife are fine bakers, and since it’s apple season while my parents are in town, our recipes usually have an apple theme.

We started with a trip to Coos Head Foods for ArtWalk! and their display of apples this month.

Along with samples of nearly a dozen types of apples, they also had a recipe for apple crisp.

This one is so good, it’s been made several times in our house in the last three weeks.

Hey, you’ve got to do something with all those apples.

Apple Crisp

Topping

3⁄4 cup brown sugar

3⁄4 cup oats

1⁄2 cup flour

1⁄2 cup softened butter (we use Smart Balance)

Fruit

3-4 apples peeled, cored and sliced

1 tablespoon of sugar

Cinnamon to your taste

 

Place apples into a 9x9 pan.

Coat apples with good amout of cinnamon (I use a lot). and sugar. Mix together topping ingredients, using softened butter.

 Pour apples into pan ( I spray ours) and put topping on top of apples. Press topping into apples. bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Zucchini bread

Original recipe

 3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

21⁄4 cups white sugar

3 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts

 

Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

 Sift flour, salt, baking powder and soda and cinnamon together in a bowl.

 Beat eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed ingredients and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour into prepared pans.

 Bake for 40 to 60 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan and cool completely.

 

(Autumn’s Note: In a constant effort to try and make things “healthier” I used white whole wheat flour for half of the flour, grape-seed oil for the vegetable oil, Splenda instead of sugar and spray Pam with flour for the pan prep. I did not peel the zucchini.)

Carrot zucchini bread

1 cup all-purpose flour

11⁄2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1⁄2 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon salt

6 egg whites

1⁄2 cup unsweetened applesauce

11⁄2 cups brown sugar

1 cup grated unpeeled zucchini

1 cup grated carrot

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1⁄2 cup raisins

1⁄2 cup chopped pecans or        walnuts

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with non stick spray.

Sift together flours, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl until well blended.

 Beat egg whites with a  mixer until light and frothey. Stir in applesauce, brown sugar, zucchini, carrots, and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the raisins and pecans. Add the flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

 Bake at 325 degrees until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 40 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, depending on oven). Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Apple cake

This recipe, my mom brought with her from Michigan to try out this year. It has also made several appearances in the last three weeks.

2 cups sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil

1⁄4 cup apple cider (plus 2 tablespoons if using whole wheat flour)

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

11⁄2 cups all purpose white flour

11⁄2 cups whole wheat flour

4 peeled, cored and diced apples. Or about 31⁄2 cups. (I use Akane apples)

11⁄2 cups walnuts.

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a bundt cake pan (or cake pan) with non stick spray.

Whisk sugar, oil, apple cider, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until blended.

Stir in flour until blended. Stir in apples and walnuts.

Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour to an hour and 20 minutes depending on oven. Toothpick test for doneness. Let cool in pan on wire rack 1 hour. ( I actually cool mine for ten minutes in pan and then put plate on bundt pan and flip. It comes right out.