Apple Time

My sister-in-law Tracy sent me TONS of the best apples from her parents farm in Fairchild.  We've been eating as many as possible in their raw form, but there's a limit so I've been trying a recipe or two.

On Monday I made this simple, quick, apple crumble.  Here's the recipe:  Apple Crumble

Apple Crumble

These are my grandmother's "bubble dishes" and this is the vase she received from her grandparents way back when.  She had the vase in her hutch, but I've actually been using it.  We planted some sunflowers this year, and this vase is perfect for a sunflower or two.

The next day I made a delicious, fast apple cake:  Apple Cake

Apple Cake - sorry for the bad picture.  It's been a busy week.

It was pretty good, but most importantly it was super-quick!

Wednesday, I had book club on my friend Jeanine's pontoon on Round Lake, so I whipped up an apple crisp:  Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp

Friday brought me to my favorite Apple Pie.  This is the easiest recipe and also probably the best (I LOVE any sort of pie...the carb lover in me).  Greta had her first sleepover, so here's Greta and Riley enjoying pie and tea in my Grandma Evelyn's special tea dishes.  I always admired these dishes in her hutch in Osseo, I wonder what she would think about us actually using them!

Greta and Riley enjoy apple pie in my Grandma's tea dishes

I always buy the crusts pre-made.  Someday I will take the time to learn how to make my own crusts, but I find the store-bought crusts pretty tasty.  

Apple Pie:

Ingredients:

Pastry for 2 crusts
8 cups sliced, peeled assorted baking apples - about 3 lbs.  (Granny Smith, Cortland, Jonathan)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon milk

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with lemon juice.
2. Combine sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to apples and toss well to coat.
3. Fill pastry lined 9 inch pie pan with apple mixture. Dot with butter.
4. Place second crust on top of pie filling, cut slits in top of crust to vent. Seal the edges of the crust with a fork or by hand.
5. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk and milk. Brush mixture over top crust.
6. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 40-45 minutes more or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

As you can tell, we've had our fair share of apple treats this week, so on Friday I made a Waldorf Apple Salad.  What a refreshing treat!!  It's so good, that I'm already looking forward to the leftovers for tomorrows lunch.

Waldorf Salad

Waldorf Apple Salad

Cut 2 cups of apples
Cut 1 cup of celery
Add 1/2 cup of walnuts
In a separate bowl, mix 1/3 cup mayo, 2 teaspoons sugar, juice of one lemon, dash of Allspice.

Combine and enjoy!!

On Saturday, I made 3 quarts of my Grandma's Applesauce.  My kids LOVED her applesauce.  Mainly because it tasted like a super sugary treat.  Here's my Grandma Evelyn's recipe:

1 quart of apples to 1/2 cup sugar
Cut and peel apples and add to a pot.  Fill with water until the apples are just covered.  Simmer until the apples are the consistency of applesauce.  Add sugar and cook until dissolved.  Yum, it turned out great!!

Gus is my applesauce kid! 

Last but not least, I made apple bread as a treat after an awesome Sunday morning run on a perfect morning. 

Here's the recipe:  Apple Bread

Apple Bread

The bread was a little dry, so I'm looking for a better recipe.

All of our apples have been cooked up or have been added to my freezer full of produce.  I feel like a squirrel putting away nuts for the winter months.

I had better get back to putting our house back together.  It's so nice to have our house back!!

Kristin