Who likes putting away Christmas decorations?? Not me!!! I need to be inspired when doing something I don’t enjoy…
In this case, taking down the Christmas tree in our Yellow House living room was going to be a chore, so my inspiration was, I envisioned having a cozy place to sit while watching a snow storm…
And it happened…it snowed and I rearranged the furniture to make a cozy place to watch the storm and read a good book, it didn’t hurt to have a yummy gooey dessert and a cup of hot tea to enjoy too!!
I have a fur throw, ready to wrap around me, to take out the chill, a cinnamon scented candle and good books to browse!!
We had lots of apples that someone from Virginia had given us for Christmas and I wanted to make something chocolatey, and so I made Chocolate Apple Crisp with vanilla ice cream on the side!!
Chocolate Apple Crisp
Ingredients
- 5 apples
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
For the crumble:
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup quick cooking oats
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ⅔ cup butter, cold and in pieces
- ½ cup chocolate chips or chunks
INSTRUCTIONS
– Preheat the oven in 350º
– Butter a 9-inch glass or ceramic dish.
– In a small bowl mix sugar and cinnamon.
– For the crumble, in a large bowl, add flour, oats, cocoa, brown sugar and lightly mix.
– Add butter in pieces and work it with your hands or a dough cutter until clumps begin to form.
– Mix in chopped chocolate or chips and reserve.
– Peel and slice apples and add to the prepared dish and sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture.
– Drizzle with the lemon juice.
– Top with the chocolate crumble mixture distributing evenly. It will look like it’s too much but it’s fine.
– Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until dry, bubbly and the apples are easily pierced.
– Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
There is nothing better than, chocolate, butter, and apples with ice cream!!! However, I didn’t use all the apples in this recipe, I still had lots leftover that were starting to go bad, so I made…
Apple sauce to freeze!!
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Gina and Family, for Christmas, gave us some great eco-friendly non-paper products!! I’d like to share them with you…
Cut down on paper consumption and waste with this green friendly zero waste kitchen idea. Replace your paper towels with washable reusable “paper towels” for an eco friendly lifestyle that also saves you money!
These are squares of cotton flannel, they naturally cling to each other, making it easy to roll them up without the need for snaps…
As you can see, they look nice on our counter and work well in the kitchen!!
But, I saw this on an eco website, that folded them and put them in a basket, which I like better…that way we can still use our holder for real paper towels. We just use a lot less than we used to, with using these new “unpaper towels!!”
Gina also, gave me these cloth rounds for make-up remover!! After using them, I rinse them, let them dry and stick them in this bag…on days when I wash towels, I just wash these along with them…easy and saves paper!!
And yet another eco gift, this cloth duster, fits onto a Swiffer handle…
It actually works great, better than the throw-away refills, and just put them in the washer with dust rags and mop heads!!
Gina got all these products at Boston General Store, a cool little store in our neighborhood, a fun place to browse!!
🍃🌿🍃
You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”— Jane Goodall
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Visions of My 70s 
You’ve done it again! Great blog Carol !!
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Thank you Denise!! I so enjoy sharing what’s comforting and inspiring to me, hopefully it will help others!! Take care, stay well💖
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Thank you, Nancy!! I always appreciate your comments, you are so sweet🙏🏼 Don’t you just love a good reading nook? Glad you like mine!! We are making a library/office in The Train House, I’m so excited about it, I think you’ll like the cozy reading vibe from it!! Won’t be ready for a couple of months.
Thank you for your encouragement, hope good things are going on in your neck of the woods, at least you must be warmer?!!! Stay well🙏🏼❤️
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Thank you Dana, that means a lot to me, because your home is beautiful!!💖 Hope you guys are staying warm and well up north, it is very cold, even in Virginia❄️
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Great blog as always mom! That chocolate apple crisp was deeee-lecious.
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Thanks, glad you liked it VJ😘 I know, the apples are a good pairing with chocolate, who knew!!! But I guess, chocolate goes with just about everything🤎😂
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Good morning Carol.
Your living room at the “Yellow House” is lovely, warm, and cozy; a perfect place to watch falling snow, read
a good book, while eating delicious chocolate apple crisp and drinking a hot cup of tea. Great room to relax, Enjoy🙂
A great blog.
Warm wishes to you, Victor, and your family for a healthy, happy New Year, filled with God’s Blessings.
Be well, keep warm and stay safe.
Lucille❤️❤️
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Thank you Lucille!! Like I said before, thank you for always commenting and so thoughtful and sweet too, I so appreciate it💖 I’m glad you found the Yellow House living room warm and cozy! I love to look at cozy images, especially during the cold weather, it warms me up, gives me joy and inspiration to try new things in my homes! Hopefully I can bring the same to others! And that dessert was yummy, and might I say “healthy,” with apples, oatmeal and dark chocolate, so no guilt there😂
All my best to you, Dee and family during this new year…may you all have good health and happiness🙏🏼💕
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Carolyn,
What an inspiration you are to all who know you! You have so many talents and so generously share them on this blog.
I have to visit your blog more often!
You have gotten me really excited about how to prepare for Saturday’s nor’easter!
Keep writing!
😍
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Thank you,for your sweet comments and words of encouragement, Mary💖
So glad you get inspiration from my blog, even if it’s to hunker down during this latest nor’easter and find some joy in it❄️🔥
Hope you and your family stay safe and well🙏
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Hey Miss Carol! I just LOVED the yellow house transformation after taking down your tree. It’s so incredibly inviting and warm! You have an amazing touch for doing that with everything around you. And that recipe? It looks scrumptious, and easy to make, which is my number one cooking necessity! I’m extremely impressed with all your eco-tips. Very clever and also decorative. I don’t know how you do it blog after blog. It’s always such a pleasure to take a peak into your beautiful world!! XO
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Hey Miss Penny!! Thank you for your compliments, I value your bohemian style critique✌️💖 The dessert was scrumptious, even though it added a few pounds to my already expanding frame😂 I’m glad you liked the eco tips, if you find that shop a little pricey, you could probably get those things on Amazon, just different brands, or you could even make them out of suitable fabric!!
Thank you again for your sweet comments🙏❤️😘
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