Littleton, Colorado

Like many others who posted, I changed it only because I find canned apple pie filling too sweet and flavorful. I sliced up 4 apples (3 honeycrisp and 1 gala) into a pan with 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 2.5 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. cloves. After sauteing for about 15 minutes on medium heat, I poured over the crust mixture in the recipe. I took this to my sister's for Thanksgiving and it was a great hit. Other than boiling over in my oven, I was really happy with it. The original recipe did not specify size of pan so I used a 9" pyrex pie pan and it did not accomodate the apple/crust mixture. I'll use a bigger pan next time because I thought the amount of apples was appropriate. Overall, I thought this is a creative way to make an applie pie without having to make a standard pastry crust.

The flavor was excellent, and very simple to make. It would stick less if you added a roux after the meat has simmered for at least an hour. I used garlic powder since I didn't have fresh. I love the flavor of rosemary, but it can easily over-power. So, I used a sprig of fresh rosemary while cooking, but removed it before serving. As there is nothing to this but meat, onions and gravy, I served it over egg noodles.

I made this as muffins as I only had one 8 x 4 pan. I also didn't discover until almost finished making that I had no nuts. Added pumpkin pie spice also. I applied melted butter and dipped muffins in a mix of sugar and cinnamon when finished baking. Thought this recipe was just great as muffins.