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Pastry-Topped, Deep-Dish Apple Rhubarb Bake

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Prepare pastry to cover a 9” by 13” cake pan. Use homemade or purchase puff pastry from a grocery store. Roll pastry into a 10” by 14” rectangle. Refrigerate the prepared pastry topper on a baking sheet or tray until the fruit mixture is ready.  

Filling Ingredients:

9 cups apples, cored, peeled, and sliced (9 to 14 apples)

4 cups sliced rhubarb, fresh or frozen

1 cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup all-purpose flour or a thickener of your choice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

⅓ cup orange or apple juice

Method:

Combine apples and rhubarb in a large bowl. Combine sugar, spices, and flour in a separate bowl. Add sugar mixture to the fruit and toss lightly to coat. 

Pour filling into a 9” by 13” baking pan—drizzle juice over the filling.  

Top the fruit mixture with the chilled pastry—pinch the edges to flute. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. I often use cookie cutters to create a unique look. Brush pastry with a wash of milk and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake the deep-dish pie at 400°F for 50 minutes or until the fruit is tender and the crust is golden brown. 

Try this recipe. You will love it!

Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup flour

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon of Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

¼ cup finely grated fresh parmesan

1 cup marinara sauce 

Thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

Cut each breast in half horizontally to create 4 thin chicken cutlets. Flatten each cutlet with a meat mallet. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. Let rest.

Prepare 3 shallow dipping bowls. Pie plates work too. 

1. Flour
2. Two eggs whisked together with hot sauce
3. Panko breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan cheese

Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour until covered. Let chicken rest on a cutting board or plate. 

Place two trays from the air fryer onto a cookie sheet and oil them with less than a teaspoon of oil. I use a paper towel to distribute the oil thinly. 

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and set the timer for 10 minutes. 

While waiting, dip each piece of meat in the egg mixture, followed by the crumbs, and place on the air fryer racks. 

When the fryer says add food, place the racks into the oven. 

At five minutes, remove the trays and turn the cutlets over. Put the trays back in the air fryer, exchanging positions. The cutlets on the top-level brown more quickly so moving them to the bottom prevents burning. Close the oven door, and the timer will resume. 

When done, remove the trays from the oven. Test with a meat thermometer; each cutlet should be at 175°F. Preheat the air fryer again to 400°F. Set the timer for 3 minutes. 

Spoon marinara sauce on each cutlet, avoiding edges. Top with mozzarella cheese.

When the air fryer reaches temperature, return the cutlets to the air fryer to melt the cheese and heat the sauce. Keep an eye on the cutlets. Mine are usually brown enough in 2 minutes.

Serve with pasta or a baked potato.