Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all! I want to quickly say thank you all who click on my blog and read what I have to say. I just reached 3000 hits which is crazy considering I was only at about 300 this summer. Since my family is Vietnamese and my mom wasn't born in the US we don't "celebrate" Thanksgiving. But now that my brother and I are older, we are starting to take control and instead we make a home cooked meal for our family. My brother is making (or attempting) black bean lasagna and country quiche. I chose to make a healthy apple-cranberry crumble for dessert and some instant mash potatoes.  Update: I got mom's approval on the crumble!

I got this from Amy's Healthy Baking Blog which I will link here: http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2013/11/24/cranberry-apple-crumble/#.VFmTXYt4qmM

I will repost the recipe here to make it easy for you if you want to try this. I used honey crisp apples in this recipe which worked out nicely. I would say in the future I wouldn't use cranberries. They made the crumble I little too tart for my taste. I would sub them out with maybe blackberries or blueberries. I added a little dollop of cool whip but you can add vanilla ice cream if you want. I thought it would be a cool idea to drizzle chocolate in the top. Big mistake. The flavors just didn't mesh well. I like that it's also healthy. Just a little butter and sugar but also 6 cups of fruits and heart-healthy oats. Also, it's a crumble so it doesn't bind together well so good luck scooping.

for the filling
4 c diced red apple (about 3 medium)
2 c cranberries, halved
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
½ tbsp ground cinnamon

for the topping
¾ c old-fashioned oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
¼ c whole wheat flour (or millet flour)
3 tbsp brown sugar
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat an 8” square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

1. To prepare the filling, combine the apple, cranberries, brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir until the cornstarch dissolves and the cinnamon is evenly dispersed.

1. To prepare the topping, stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix in the melted butter until the mixture resembles a fine meal. 

1. Pour the fruit filling into the prepared pan, and evenly sprinkle with the crumb topping. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes for firmer apples, or 55-60 minutes for softer apples. (After 40 minutes. cover the top with foil if the crumble topping browns too quickly.) Cool completely to room temperature. Let the crumble rest at room temperature for 1 hour before serving to allow the juices to thicken.

Don't forget to take a minute and reflect on what you are thankful for, eat your weight in food, and trample each other over on Black Friday!

xx