Baked Apple Butter Custard with Granola Crust

Today in the world of Apple Crumbles exercise was the longest run ever on the treadmill and the longest run I’ve accomplished in over 12 months.  10 treadmill miles at a pace of 9.31.  At mile 8.75, my right calf began cramping.  I slowed it down and completed the run without incident.

There were infomercials all over the television this morning. It was early and nothing else was on. So after being suckered into buying the BigBossGrill, I put the radio on for half an our until 7 AM when there was something on the cooking channel.  That really didn’t interest me either. When the radio is on and the TV is off, all I can do is look at the wall or watch myself run in the blank television set.  Not at all interesting.  However, there was no way I was going to even attempt the run outside when the thermometer read:   -6 degrees F.  Too cold, even WITH a full face mask.

I came upstairs after my run and immediately reached for 1/2 of a grapefruit in the fridge. For some reason, that made me feel nauseous.  I took a bath and half an hour later enjoyed my usual mega omelet with asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, feta cheese and EggBeaters.   No time for photos, since I was multi-tasking with 3 other chores while eating. That can’t be good!

I planned out today’s “EGGstra” special recipe using Kellogg’s Low Fat Granola and Egglands Eggs.   Samples and coupons complements of Foodbuzz!

Baked Apple Custard with Granola Crust – You will need a blender or food processor and a  9” to 10” spring form pan

• 2 cups Kellogg’s Low Fat Granola *Why Kellogg? See below
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 TBS Promise “Healthy Heart” Margarine, melted
• 1 TBS Apricot Preserves
• 3/4 cup apple butter (you can use mashed bananas or 100% canned pumpkin – use your imagination here). 
• 1  (6 0z can) evaporated milk (fat free would be a healthy alternative)
• 6 whole Egglands Best Eggs **Why Egglands?  See below
• 2 TBS orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (try a good baking sugar substitute such as Splenda)
• 1 tsp Apple pie spice ( a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice *I use 3:2:1 mix)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  LIGHTLY Grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan (or use non stick spray).

In the blender/food processor, add the granola and the cinnamon.

Blend until it is a fine crumb, about 1 minute.  Put into a bowl and add the melted Promise and the preserves and mix well.  Press this mixture into your prepared springform pan and bake for 8 minutes.

Filling:

In the blender, add all filling ingredients:  Apple butter, milk, eggs, orange juice, vanilla, sugar, and spice.  Blend well.

Pour filling into the crust. *Best to cool the crust about 10 minutes before adding filling.

Place on a rimmed baking sheet that you have added just a small amount of water to.

Place the spring form pan with all the crust and filling on this water-bath baking sheet and bake for one hour. 

Enjoy the smooth texture and rich taste of apple butter and spice on your tongue.  Best served with whip cream but if you want to keep it light, eat it without any trimming. Delicious!

*Kellogg’s Granola:  Kellogg’s granola is low in fat and made with whole grains. The flavor is so “snack-a-licious”, you will eat it right out of the box. But make sure to save some so you can enjoy the above recipe!

**Egglands Best Eggs:  Here is the reason we use Eggland’s right from the source:

“Eggland’s Best eggs contain 10 times more Vitamin E than ordinary eggs, four times more Vitamin D,115mg of Omega 3, shown to be beneficial to cardiac health, 25% less Saturated Fat, 75% more Vitamin B12, over 50% more Vitamin A, 15% more Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), 200 mcg of Lutein, shown to contribute to eye health, and 10% of the daily recommended intake of folic acid.”

To end this glorious day, I took a photo of Ted practicing keyboard:

Joanne