Tonight's Winning Numbers Are...

Well, apparently we're lazy bloggers...we played our new food game for the first time last Sunday...and we're just now getting around to posing about it!  Shame on us, I know!  Also, Peanut has come down with a nasty cold, and since he's the one who is really "running the show" our blog has taken the back burner.  So...tonight, I'm going at it solo!  Well...he's on the couch watching American Idol, and coaching me through the blog process.  So let's get started...

My winning numbers were 1-8-288.  That brought me to "Taste of Home: Winning Recipes" and I had a choice between Spinach Artichoke Pie and Cheesy Zucchini Saute.  As I'm a huge fan of spinach artichoke dip, I had to go with the pie tonight.

I prepared my pie dish by brushing it with olive oil and coating it with bread crumbs, just like preparing a cake pan with butter and flour.

Next, I sauteed some mushrooms in some olive oil.  Once they were tender, I added the spinach, artichokes, bread cubes, and cheddar (can't go wrong with cheddar!), pimientos, eggs, and garlic powder.

Spread it into the pie dish, sprinkle with more cheese, and bake for about 30 minutes.  It doesn't get more simple than this!

While delicious, I must admit that the artichokes made the dish a little salty, but it was a good dish all around.

Peanut's winning numbers were 3 and 12.  That led us to "Down Home with the Neely's" or "Big Daddy's House".  While I'm sure Peanut would have a lot to say about either one of these shows...let me just put it this way--the hosts are annoying!  However, that's how the dice fell, so we went with what sounded the best: the Neely's "Rustic Apple Tart".  And best of all, it was so easy to make!

We cored, peeled, and sliced 2 Granny Smith and 2 Golden Delicious apples, and tossed them with a little brown sugar, cinnamon, and kosher salt.

Then we rolled out a frozen pie crust large enough to cover the bottom of a 12-inch cheesecake pan.  While that's not really the norm for making a tart, we figured baking it in the pan would be an easy way to keep things round and uniform.

We laid the apples in a pretty little spiral pattern, then folded up the outside of the dough.  Aww...how rustic!

Finally, we brushed the entire thing with melted butter.  So Paula Deen, but so delicious!  Time to bake!

Once the tart came out of the oven, we brushed the entire thing with melted peach preserves.  Mmmmm...that really made the flavor pop!

The only criticism I have about the tart is that it probably could have baked just a little bit longer.  The crust wasn't quite golden enough, and the apples were still a little crisp.  But that didn't stop me from loving the end result.