My children are on Fall break from school for 2 weeks and yesterday we took a family outing to a working farm to pick some produce. It was beautiful and so much fun!
I felt like a regular farmer as we picked and harvested all of our goodies! There were sugar peas, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, peppers, squash and pumpkins!
Jen’s Guy picked enough peppers to make copious amounts of his world class salsa. I will share that recipe with you soon, but here is proof that he does not even remotely mess around when making it!
Take a look at these beautiful sunflowers that were everywhere at the farm we visited! My daughter Samantha and I wanted to pick armfuls and fill up every room of our house with them! But alas, one child had to prove allergic. Drat! They are still pretty!
As we continued our day on the farm, my husband and I started musing over what it would be like to raise our children on a farm. And then you know reality hits and we decided we should probably stay in the city. Jen’s Guy is a regular survival, Eagle Scout kind of guy, so he was probably thinking it’s a good idea for ME to stay in the city….
So since I can’t grow your food, I can share some delicious apple recipes with you here today. Almost as good right? And wait till next week when I drop the best squash recipe on you that you will ever taste!
Today though the star ingredient we will be talking about is Apples! First I will be sharing my apple pie recipe as taught to me by my pioneer Grandma. She really was one. She drove a buggy to school! This apple pie is made with homemade pie crust. Now don’t be scared by making your own pie crusts, because it is not that hard. I promise! Plus the flaky goodness of this crust will win you rave reviews.
Ingredients
- Homemade Pie Crust:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup shortening
- 6 to 7 tablespoons cold water
- Apple Pie Filling:
- 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Homemade Pie Crust:
- Stir together flour and salt.
- Cut in pieces of shortening.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cold water over the dough mixture gently. Toss with a fork and repeat about 6 more times.
- Divide dough into 2 halves.
- On a lightly floured surface (or wax paper) roll out one half of the dough.
- Place rolled crust in bottom of pie pan.
- Roll out the other half of the dough, but put aside until you are ready for it.
- Apple Pie Filling:
- Mix all ingredients together and place inside pastry crust.
- Now place your other pie crust already rolled on top of the pie and pinch edges.
- Cook pie in a pre-heated oven set to 375 degree for 50 minutes.
After making 2 pies, I still had about a gazillion pounds of apples to do something with, so here is my no fail deliciously simple applesauce recipe!
To make this applesauce you can half the apples and recipe that I suggest here or double and even triple the recipe!
Peel and cut 4 apples.
Place the apples in a large cooking pot
Add 3/4 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Cook and cover over medium heat. Let cool and mash to your desired consistency.
Now if you liked these 2 recipes, but still want more apple goodness then make sure to check out my apple crisp recipe with a twist!
Happy Fall everyone! I hope it is a wonderful season for you and your family! Full of fabulous food and cooler temperatures!
Stay Happy! Stay Informed!
Love,
Jen
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