I am taking full advantage of the unusually chilly nights we’ve been having.

Specifically, by making warm desserts to enjoy after quick, weeknight dinners.

I think I’ve only had apple brown betty once a few years ago as part of a pre-fix dinner menu, and I remember how warm and spiced it was. Exactly what I was craving.

I did a little internet digging and found that apple brown betty is a simple combination of bread, spices, nuts, and apples. Perfect, I can handle that and make it even easier- place it in a slow cooker so it’s ready by the time I’ve prepared and cleaned up dinner.

It really couldn’t be easier. Prep your ingredients in less than 10 minutes, place them in your crock pot and it’s ready after dinner!

Don’t have a slow-cooker? No worries. Place the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake in the oven.

In a large bowl combine 1/3 cup real maple syrup, 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger & 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Add 4 cups of chopped bread.

Toss to coat.

In another bowl, combine 3 cups chopped apple, 1 chopped banana, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/3 cup brown sugar & 2 tbsp. spiced rum.

Spray the inside of the slow cooker with non-cook spray. Place 2/3 of the bread mixture in, top with 2/3 of the apple mixture, the remaining bread mixture and the rest of the apple mixture.

Cover and cook on high for 60-75 minutes.

Serve with ice cream!

Enjoy! What cold weather desserts do you enjoy?

I’ve never had a Walnut Burger before but thanks to Cheri, my boyfriends mom, I am on a mission to make and eat one!

The only time it’s hard being veggie is a cookout. Yes, I could always grill vegetables but let’s get real folks, sometimes your not in the mood for a roasted pepper or portabella sandwich. I occasionally will down a fake burger, but  I’m not the biggest fan of burgers made out of soy protein isolate. I gave up meat because I wanted a healthier lifestyle for myself and the environment and consuming lots of fake meat analogs is hypocritical to me. I promise one of these days I will actually write about nutrition (like why soy protein isolate isn’t great and you’re probably eating it in more ways than you know) and exercise but I just can’t help to want to cook all the time! As I tell my family… I majored in nutrition for a reason! I am always talkin’ food

So, thank you again Cheri for this recipe and picture. It looks delicious! It’s vegetarian but if you wanted to make it vegan, I suggest swapping out the eggs for EnerG or 3 tbsp. flax seeds mixed with water and use an alternate milk source.

Walnut Burger

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