We started EZPZ PIES, LLC a few years ago to help support our adoption as well as orphan care and other adoptive families. What a privilege to be able to bless others through our little apple company!

At the beginning we didn't really have a definitive long-term goal for our company, we just took it one season at a time. Don't get me wrong, we had a lot of ideas and hopes but we also understood:
   "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9
We knew we wanted to help orphans. That was about it. The rest was up to God.

Then came January 2012 when we flew to Bulgaria to bring our new son home. Wow! What a ride we have been on ever since. Our healthy boy has been a joyful addition to our home but he requires much more time than either of our other two children. We are happy to spend this time with him but it has altered how much time we have for other things.

One of the main things we've had to put on the back burner has been EZPZ PIES. It didn't make sense to us to spend time running a company that supports orphans to the neglect of our own son. With that said, we have taken down EZPZ PIES website and have not made any more batches of the pie filling.  Nor do we know if we will be proceeding with the pie filling in the future. As I stated earlier, we are prayerfully taking this one step at a time.

We hope you have enjoyed our EZPZ PIES Apple Pie Filling. There are several recipes on this blog if you need an idea of how to cook it. The enchilada recipe is one of my favorites and my husband's is the  Apple Topped Pork Chops. Yum!

As far as our apple butter is concerned, we made several cases this fall and still have a few left (as of January 1, 2013).  We may or may not be continuing with this next fall (2013). Please leave a comment if you are interested in checking our stock.

Thanks to everyone who have supported and encouraged us during this amazing ride! And thank you for purchasing EZPZ PIES delicious products!

Apple Topped Pork Chops

Marinade:

8 (3/4-inch thick) pork chops

¾ cup apple juice

¼ cup soy sauce

Topping:

4 Tablespoons butter, divided

½ jar (32 oz) EZPZ Apple Pie Filling

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Marinate pork chops in apple juice and soy sauce mixture overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Discard marinade. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, melt 2 Tablespoons butter then cook pork chops for 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, or until done. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish.

3. In the same skillet heat remaining 2 Tablespoons butter and half a jar of EZPZ Apple Pie Filling. Make sure to scrape sides of skillet to collect morsels from the previously cooked pork chops. When apples are heated through pour over the pork chops.

4. Bake covered at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle brown sugar and pecans. Bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered.

Serves: 8

(Altered recipe from allrecipes.com) 

Apple Topped Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

2 pound acorn squash (1 large)

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup EZPZ Apple Pie Filling

Directions:

Trim ends off unpeeled squash, cut in half, and remove and discard seeds and fibers. Slice each half into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet. Add squash, cover and cook on medium/low heat 10 minutes, turn squash, add 1 cup apple pie filling, cover and cook for 10 more minutes until squash is tender. 

Apple Enchilada Dessert-o

(That's Spanish for dessert, right?)

1 (36 oz) jar EZPZ Apple Pie Filling

6-8 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted

Cream Cheese Filling (optional):

8 oz package of cream cheese

½ cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1.            Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.            Spoon EZPZ Apple Pie Filling evenly into tortillas, keeping some of the glaze for later. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Optional cream cheese filling: Before you add the apples to the tortillas, spoon cream cheese filling into each tortilla for added flavor.

3.            Pour any remaining glaze over the tortillas and drizzle with melted margarine or butter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Can be cooked longer if you want a crisper bottom.

4.            Serve warm. Top with vanilla ice cream for a decadent dessert. 

Apple Coffee Cake

1/2 to 1 (32 oz) EZPZ Apple Pie Filling *

3 cups flour

1 cup white sugar

1 ½ cup milk

½ cup butter, softened

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Glaze:

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ teaspoons hot water

DIRECTIONS:

1.            Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9x13 pan.

2.            Beat flour, white sugar, milk, butter, baking powder, salt, and eggs in mixing bowl on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

3.            Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Cut up apples from EZPZ Pie Filling and scatter over the batter. Spread remaining cake batter over pie filling and top with the remaining portion of pie filling. *The amount of apples depends on you. I’d recommend using at least half the jar of apples per recipe but, of course, using the whole jar would be that much more apple goodness.

4.            Drizzle top with 2 Tablespoons of melted butter and walnuts (optional).

5.            Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 55 minutes. Allow cake to cool 10 minutes.

6.            In a separate bowl, combine ingredients for the glaze and beat until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Servings: 24

(Altered from Aunt Dee Dee’s Coffee Cake found on Allrecipes.com)

French Toast Casserole

1 loaf Italian bread

8 oz cream cheese

½ cup sugar, divided

½ t vanilla (or almond) extract

1/2 (32 oz) EZPZ Apple Pie Filling

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons melted butter

DIRECTIONS:

1.            Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 9x13 baking pan.

2.            In a separate bowl, melt cream cheese in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring several times along the way. Stir in half the sugar and all of the extract.

3.            Pour cream cheese mixture over the bread cubes. Note: It will not completely cover them.

4.            Cut up apples from EZPZ Apple Pie Filling and scatter them over the cream cheese layer. Drizzle glaze over apples. Top with remaining bread cubes.

5.            Beat together the remaining sugar, eggs, milk, cinnamon, and melted butter. Pour over the bread cubes.

6.            Refrigerate overnight to bake the next morning or cover well with tinfoil (or two-gallon freezer bag and freeze. Thaw completely to cook.

7.            Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until browned. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. Top with chopped nuts and/or syrup when serving.

Note: This recipe freezes very well. It is a great timesaver to make two of these at once, using one full jar of the EZPZ Apple Pie Filling. It is a great recipe for brunches, breakfast when you have houseguests, or a fun “breakfast-for-dinner” night. My kids L-O-V-E this recipe! 

(Submitted by Jen B.)

Apple Streusel Cheesecake

Crust:

1 sleeve graham crackers, crumbled

3 Tablespoon white sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 Tablespoon butter, melted

Filling:

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

½ cup white sugar

3 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Half jar of EZPZ Pie Filling

¼ cup caramel topping (optional)

Streusel Topping:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

DIRECTIONS:

1.            Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

2.            *Cut apples from EZPZ Pie Filling in smaller pieces and place on top of cooked crust. Drizzle pie glaze and/or caramel topping on top of apples.

3.            In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Blend in vanilla; pour filling on top of the apples in the crust.

4.            Blend together streusel topping ingredients until fine crumbs form. Evenly spread over top of cream cheese filling.

5.            Bake in a preheated oven for 75-80 minutes. Keep another pan of water in the oven to provide moisture. Keep cheesecake in the oven for 2 hours to cool. (Chilling it too soon can cause cracks.) Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

* If you prefer you can put half of the cream cheese filling in the crust, followed by the cut up pieces of EZPZ Pie Filling, then top with the remaining half of the filling. I’ve made it both ways and it turns out great either way.

Note: We have a nut allergy in our house so I leave out nuts in most recipes. If you prefer them you can add pecans in the crust (1/2 finely chopped, leave out some of the graham crackers) and/or put them in the streusel topping.