An Apple a Day, Day 1, part 2

Ok, so what else to do with apples? APPLE BUTTER! Yum!

My friend, Ann Marie, gave me her recipe for crock pot apple butter. My house smells amazing right now. It is very easy to do!

Ann Marie's Apple Butter

5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

2 TBS lemon juice

1/2 c sugar - little less if sweet apples (I used 1/4 c because I had Stayman apples which are very sweet)

1/2 c brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

Toss apples with lemon juice. Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on high, covered for 2 hours. Uncover and cook on low until it is easily mashed. Mash with potato masher (for slightly chunky) or blend with immersion blender (for smooth). Makes about 1quart. 

I doubled this and canned it in jelly jars. Enjoy!

An Apple A Day, Day 1, part 1

A few days ago a little boy I babysit and I went apple picking. I got a little overenthusiastic about picking said apples and came home with half a bushel of apples! YUM! But.... what am I going to do with all these apples? Well the first thing was one very yummy breakfast. I got this recipe from Tracy McKay at Dandelion Mama. It was so simple and so delicious! Tracy said to top it with powdered sugar and syrup, but my brother and I both ate ours without syrup and think the syrup is totally unnecessary. It is delicious and sweet enough without it!

Dandelion Mama's Apple Pancake of Yumminess (German Apple Pancake)

1/2 stick butter
2 large, firm apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 c milk
1/2 c flour
4 large eggs
3 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450. In a cast iron skillet, melt butter. Add apple slices and cook until they are starting to turn color a little bit. This takes about 5 minutes. While the apples cook combine milk, flour, eggs, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. When apples have finished cooking, sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar over them then pour the batter over the apples. Place skillet in oven and cook for 10-12 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve. Syrup optional.

This is absolutely delicious and because of the eggs it held us both pretty well, which surprised us given all the carbs! Not saying it's good for you but it sure is good!

^ Almost done

^ Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar

^ All ready for the oven

^ Fresh from the oven

^Oh my word, yum!