Well, I’m happy to say, the answer is YES!

I can’t believe it worked! Even the husband liked them! At least he said he did after his one big ole bite. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it! I almost ate the whole batch in one sitting. How does he do that?!?

Anyway, this is what I did. I’m working from memory hear so bear with me.

• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 tbsp honey (5g)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 small apples diced – about a cup (I used gala and left the skins on)
• 8 won ton wrappers

Preheat the oven to 375

In a small pot whisk the water, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour over medium hear. Add the apple. Stir to coat everything. The liquid should just boil and start to thicken.

Drop the heat down to medium low and cover. Cook for 12-15 minutes until the apple just softens.

Meanwhile, spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray press the won ton wrappers in to form the crusts.

Once the apples are done. They should look like this…

Scoop the apple mixture evenly into the wontons. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edges start to brown and get crispy.

I didn’t have any but boy would these be great with a dab of frozen vanilla yogurt or cool whip! Here’s a little before and after cooking…

So I took the idea behind my quick banana pancakes and gave apple a try. I was pleasantly surprised how they came out. Really Moist and fluffy! But honestly, I wish they tasted a bit more "apple-y" (is that a word?) Next time I may add another apple and double the cinnamon but overall this should give you a good starting point for your own experiments.

I do have to add the toddler, DARN IT, I mean THE KID, really liked them. We dipped in apple sauce and had a blast knocking off the whole batch which is really perfect for 2. :)

• 1 apple (I used a granny smith) grated
• 1 egg
• ½ cup (4oz) skim milk (or soy or almond)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat flour

Grate the apple, skin and all. It’s slow to start but just keep at it and you’ll get grated apple mush. :) Add the egg and milk. Whisk.

In a smaller bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and nutmeg. Sift into the banana mixture. Mix until just blended.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Using about 1/4 cup of batter form pancakes. Cook about 1-2 minutes a side, small bubbles will form but not as many as traditional pancakes. I just peak underneath for a light brown color, then flip.

Here’s the little guy chowing down. He really was a fan! :)

So this idea was totally inspired by fall and my recent trip to a local farm where I bought a bunch of apples and a giant butternut squash. I love winter squash and apple together. I blended the two in Winter Squash Soup with Roasted Seeds but this time I cubed them and added a bit of bulgur. What a great stuffing for pork or even just a side dish!

As for family approval I got the customary "it’s good" from the husband who did it a whole serving. The toddler also ate the whole dish without complaint although I did cut the pork and put the stuffing on the side all separated on his plate. I do have to add this was the FIRST time I have gotten both boys to eat bulgur, without complaint. I was shocked.

I will definitely be taking these leftovers to lunch tomorrow. :)

• About 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup cubed butternut squash (140g)
• 1 small apple cubed (with skin on) (about 120g)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp all spice
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup bulgur (80g)
• 1 pound thin cut pork loin chops
• Non–stick cooking spray
• kosher salt

Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add the onion. Cook for a minute or two until just turning transprent. Add the butternut squash and pinch of salt. Cook the butternut for 2-3 minute tossing occasionally. The bottom with start to brown. That’s OK we will deglaze the plan. If it’s getting too dark lower the heat to a medium.

After the 2-3 minutes add the cubed apple, nutmeg, and all spice. Cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the broth and the bulgur. Crank up the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and lower to a simmer. Simmer for at least 15 minutes allowing the bulgur to absorb most of the liquid.

While the bulgur is cooking preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Even though the pork is cut thin we are still going to pound it thinner. Lay a chop on a cutting board. Cover with plastic wrap and pound a few times with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Repeat for all chops.

Once bulgur is done begin stuffing the pork. Lay out a thin chop. Using a soup or tablespoon plop some of the bulgur mixture in the middle. Fold over the ends of a pork and fasten with a toothpick.

Place the stuffed chops in a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more.

I served with a side of broccoli. Here’s a little before and after baking shot.

It was yummy! If you like the sweetness of applesauce and the texture of quinoa like me, you may actually like this. It took some coaxing but I got the toddler to reluctantly try it. He didn’t want to but then when the flavor hit his tongue the gross "I can’t believe I eating this face" turned into a "Hmm that was actually pretty good face." lol

If he was a little younger I’d be able to serve this to him without a problem. Now he’s getting set in his ways. DARN IT! ;~P

• 1 small-medium apple
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup water (2oz)
• 1/2 tbsp honey (10g) (optional for more sweetness if your apple is lacking)
• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (42g)

Core and cut the apple (leaving the skin on) into chunks. Place them in a blender with the lemon juice, cinnamon and water. Blend until smooth. Taste it, if it’s not sweet enough add the honey and blend again.

Place the apple mixture and quinoa into a small pan over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until it begins to boils. Once it boils, cover and lower to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. The quinoa will absorb the liquid and just begin to turn transparent with little visible rings.

Remove from heat and eat!

I love how they came out. REAL most and sweet. Almost too sweet, so you may want to reduce the honey by a tablespoon if you don’t like a sweeter muffin. The toddler? well… the toddler took a bite and declared he "loved them!" Then he took another bite and said he didn’t. Ahhh how I LOVE 3 year olds! All in all he liked the flavor but the apple chunks got him. As soon as he hit one he made a face. I think he gets it from me, I never liked chunks in things when I was a kid either. If it wasn’t chocolate chips then I didn’t want it in my cookies. Raisins, nuts, whatever. My mom used to grind them up so I wouldn’t complain. :)

Anyway, this is how I made them and I’ll put Krista’s original ingredients in [brackets].

• 3/4 c whole wheat flour (90g)
• 1/2 c wheat bran (30g)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (61g)
• 2 tbsp molasses (41g) [1/4 c brown sugar]
• 1/4 cup non-fat yogurt + 1/4 cup water [1/2 c nonfat milk]
• 1 tsp vanilla [3/4 t vanilla]
• 3 tbsp honey (63g)
• 1 medium apple, cored, & diced (I left the skin on)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin cups by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, wheat bran, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon) in a bowl. Set aside.

Whisk the wet ingredients (applesauce, molasses, yogurt, water, vanilla, honey) together in another bowl.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together with the diced apple. [Krista also added raisins and pecans]

Spoon into muffin sprayed muffin tins (9-10). Bake about 20 minutes. Cool in muffin tin for a minute and then remove to cool on wire rack.

Here’s a little before and after baking…

And here’s my measurer. :) I really LOVE baking with him. Notice the mess.

As for the nutritional information. This is based on how I made them. I got 10 but they were small. 9 would probably be better.

So this morning I whipped this up and oh… my… word… SO GOOD! My mom is still in town so I was lucky enough to have a taste tester as the husband would touch this with a 10 foot pole. She loved it as well and we split the plate you see in the picture. I only had huge pitas so a half was 1 serving. As you can see, I served it with a bunch of fresh veggies on the side. Mom’s comment…."I wish we had some crisp fresh lettuce to serve with it on the pita.". Agreed. :~) Although I liked it straight up too.

• 1 small apple
• 1 medium bosc pear
• 1 tbsp lime juice (lemon would work)
• 1/2 tbsp honey (10g)
• 1/2 cup non fat yogurt
• 1 tbsp light mayo
• 1 tsp curry
• 1-2 slices of onion diced (about 50g)
• Kosher Salt & Pepper to taste
• 8 oz leftover cooked turkey meat (or chicken would work)

Cut the apple and pear into small cubes. Toss with the lime juice. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and let sit a few minutes.

Stuff in a pita, add to a wrap or slap on some whole wheat bread. As for the nutritional info, I didn’t do a good job measuring the final recipe, I’m thinking you could get 4 – 1/2 cup servings, but a serving all depends on your pita size. As I said we split what is pictured and I have anough leftover to make one more. Nutritional info does not include the pita.

Sunkist is in the middle of its year-long 100th Anniversary celebration. As part of that celebration, we’re holding a Sunkist Smiles contest in support of Special Olympics. Participants can upload photos of their best Sunkist Smiles (an orange wedge in the mouth) to http://www.sunkist.com/smiles for a chance to win a trip to any destination in Asia. More importantly, for every photo uploaded, Sunkist will donate $1 up to $50,000 to Special Olympics.

I rarely say no to a contest, fruit, or a recipe. So the toddler and I set up the camera and made Fun Fruit Kabobs this morning! We had a blast and ended the video with our Sunkist Smiles!

Fun Fruit Kabobs

• 1 Sunkist® lemon – freshly squeezed juice
• 1 medium banana, peeled, cut in 8 thick slices
• 1 small apple, cut lengthwise in quarters, each cut in half crosswise
• 1 medium Sunkist® orange, peeled, segmented, each segment cut in half
• 8 medium strawberries or canned pineapple chunks, drained
• 8 clean, wooden sticks with rounded ends
• Fruit Dips (see recipes below)
• candy sprinkles (optional)
• FRUIT DIP 1
• 1 Sunkist® orange -grated peel
• 1 cup chocolate pudding
• FRUIT DIP 2
• 1 Sunkist® lemon – grated peel
• 1 cup raspberry flavored yogurt

To make one portion:

• As apple and banana pieces are cut, toss them gently in a small bowl of lemon juice to keep them from browning.
• With a sharp knife, cut slots in all fruit chunks so they can be speared easily. Starting and ending with orange pieces, thread one of each type of fruit on the sticks.
• Serve the dips in several small bowls and the candy sprinkles in saucers.
• Let the kids dip and decorate! Can be made several hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.
• FRUIT DIP 1: Stir grated orange peel into chocolate pudding .
• FRUIT DIP 2: Stir grated lemon peel into fruit yogurt.

The photos above is courtesy of Sunkist (can’t you tell?) ;~P Below are some of my shots.

We all started our meal with an Autumn Squash soup and it was DELICIOUS! They garnished it with roasted pumpkin seeds and cabbage. Honestly, it was the best squash soup I’ve had.

This is my attempt to recreate it. I have to admit, it came out much better then I ever expected. The seeds add a great texture and the soup has that wonderful squash creamy texture without adding any extra cream. What a great way to start a meal.

• 1 small acorn squash
• 1 medium butternut squash (Need helping cutting? click here!)
• 1 medium red apple
• 2 cans or about 2 cups of your favorite vegetable OR chicken broth
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• Kosher salt
• Parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut both squashes in half scrapping out and saving the seeds.

Core the apple. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the squash flesh side down, place the apple and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

While the squash is baking, clean the pulp from the seeds, rinse them and allow them to dry on a paper towel.

Remove the squash from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

While the squash is cooling line another cookie sheet with aluminum, foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the seeds out and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until toasted.

While the seeds are toasting, add the squash, spices and broth to the blender. You are going to have to do about 3 ‘batches’ as it’s a lot of soup.

Start with the spices, half the acorn and butternut squash , keep adding broth until well blended and spices are all grinded. Then pour about half out into a pot over low heat, add more squash and blend with additional broth. Keep repeating this process until you are out of squash and both. When finished, mix well in the pot.

Continue to simmer until ready to serve

Place two ladlefuls, about 1 cup in a bowl and sprinkle with about 1 tbsp of the toasted seeds and a pinch of dried parsley.