Spend money to save money? HUH??

Are you surprise when you hear this:  “spend money to save money”?  

Talking about this, I remembered one of my ex-bosses told me many years ago that I have to learn to spend money first as a motivation to make more money.  What do you think? I think there is some truth in it because if you do not know how to spend money, there is no need to make more money, right?

However, from many articles that I read, it is true that most Executives in big organization are very particular about how money is being spent.  They based very much importance on ROI (return-on-investment) to maximize their budget.  They are more than willing to spend money now to save money in the long run.  If the indication shows that the payback is high, they will spend as quickly as possible to realize the economic returns. They seemed to subscribe to this theory of spend money to save money.

Now, I have story to tell relating to this theory. I have a friend who told me few days ago that when his wife said this to him every time after she came back from her shopping spree, he is VERY SCARED.  She said, “Honey, do you know how much I paid for this COACH handbag?”  He said, "Of course dear, I know… must be $$$ with a DISCOUNT!!!  To him, his pocket went lighter by a few thousand $ but to her, she has saved some money for him.  When he grumbled about her spending so much money on shopping, she told him that he got to think outside the box.  She is helping him to save his money by spending it….. HOW BRILLIANT!!  So to all the married ladies, you may use this answer when your “LOW KUNG” (hubby) grumble about you spending too much of his money. If that does not work, perhaps baking him a nice dessert and serve it with an aromatic expresso in a pink smiley cup may pacify him.

BLUEBERRY APPLE CAKE

Adapted from Monet of anecdotes and apple cores

Granulated sugar, for pan

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 ts[ salt

6 tbs unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 ounce

(2 tbs) cut into pieces

3/4 C plus 2 tbs packed light brown sugar

1/2 C whole milk

2 large eggs

2  apples (a little under 1 pound), peeled, cored, and cut into slices

1 C  blue berries

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

whipped cream, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, and dust with granulated sugar.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together melted butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, the milk, and eggs in another bowl. Whisk into flour mixture

3. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Arrange apple wedges over batter, and sprinkle with blackberries. Gently press fruit into batter.

4. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and the cinnamon, and sprinkle over fruit. Dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter.

5. Bake until top is dark gold, apples are tender, and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let cool. Serve with whipped cream if desired. 

Baked Brown Apple Betty

Our favorite apple dessert is the apple pie. The first time I tasted a slice of apple pie was at one of the famous Marie Callenders restaurants in California in 1996. It was exceptionally delicious and since then it became a regular dessert for us at home.

On day, a few weeks ago, I was in the mood of making a new apple dessert. While I was googling for new recipes, this name "apple betty" caught my eyes. A Betty is an old fashioned baked dessert dating to Colonial America. I wonder why Betty and not Lucy or Suzy? I googled and could not find the answer.  Hopefully someone can tell me because I am very curious to know.

This is an easy to make and flavorful apple dessert. I served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Yes I am a vanilla ice cream nut and eat most cakes, pies and tarts with it.  This is not a bad choice for a change although my other half still prefer the pie to this. 

Adapted from Diana Rattray with modification

Ingredients:

3 cups croissant crumbs or soft bread crumbs

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tsp rum

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

A pinch of ground ginger

2 large apples, peeled and cored, cut into thin slices

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/4 cup apple juice or cider

3 tablespoons melted butter

3 sweetened cherries, halfed

Method:

Butter an 9 in round baking dish. Heat oven to 350°.

In a bowl, combine the crumbs , brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut apple wedges into thin slices. Arrange half of the apple slices in the prepared baking dish. Top the apple slices with half of the crumb mixture. Top crumb layer with apple slices then top with the crumb mixture and lastly topped with remaining apple slices and decorate with cherries in the center. Combine the vanilla, apple juice, and melted butter; spoon evenly over the top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until apples are tender. 
Serves 6.

Bacon cheddar cheese apple mini pie

I saw some pictures of cheddar apple pie by “feeding maybelle” and decided to adapt the idea to clear up  some chopped apples in my fridge.  I wanted something crunchy to the filling so I added fried bacon.  The saltish sweet taste of these mini pies are uniquely delicious.  I like that they are mini and it is not too filling even if I take two but I took three after they were baked and I have to stop myself not to take the fourth! An idea came to my mind, these mini pies will be a great snacks to carry on a road trip. 


I am submitting this recipe to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011) hosted by Jean of Nom I must. To find out more click here. Do head over to Jean's blog, she has lots of great bakes. 

Makes 18 mini pies

2 ½ pieces of  10 x 10 inches Borg short crust

Ingredients for fillings:

(A)

1/1/4 cup chopped green apple

3 tbs brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

(B)

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 pcs fried bacon

2 ½ sheets short crust pastry

Method:

Put A in a small pot and cook till apple is slightly limb.  Fried bacon till crispy and drain away all facts. Cut bacon into bite size. Mix bacon bits and shredded cheddar cheese with half cooked apple. Cut out 36 pieces of round short crust dough about 2 ½ inches in diameter.  Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each piece of cut-out dough and place another piece on top and seal it. Use a fork to poke some holes in the top crust and top with 2 thin slices of cheese crossing them.  Preheat oven at 170 degrees C. Bake the pie for 25 mins.  Serve warm.

Herb Pork sausages, apple and sauerkraut (My hubby's recipe) - featured in Group Recipes

I call this my “half past six” meal.  Meaning?  Half of the ingredients are ready made and the other half added by me, haha.  We had a busy day yesterday running errands and busy eating Chinese hawker food.  By the time we returned home, it was too late to cook a meal that needs a lot of preparation.  It takes only 20 mins and Wala! dinner is ready!  The picture does not do justice to the dish, so please don't judge the book by the cover.  Although I call it "half past six", the taste is not.  Try it and let me know your view.

Serving: 1

Ingredients:

3 herb pork sausages (you can use any type of sausages)

2 cups bottled purple sauerkraut

1 tbs caraway seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 apple, (skin and core removed and diced)

1 medium onion , cut into rings

2 tb brown sugar

1 tb butter

Method:

Use a fork to pork some holes in the sausages and boil it for 10 mins.  Spray the frying pan with a bit of oil and brown the sausages. Set aside. Add butter to pan and fry the apple and onion till onion is translucent and add brown sugar.  Add  sauerkraut and caraway seeds and cinnamon and fry till you can smell the fragance of the spices.  Place sausages on top of the sauerkraut.  Serve with crusty bread and potato chips.