Taste of Fall ~ Homemade Applesauce

Does Fall ever get you in the mood to bake or cook?  Well, this is my favorite time of the year for baking and cooking.  I enjoy going apple picking and I love making apple desserts.  I just recently shared a tasty recipe with all of you and if you missed the Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie then be sure to check my previous posts.  If you decide to try the recipe then be rest assured that you won’t be disappointed.  I have received lots of feedback that it is now considered a family favorite.  It can be yours too ~ give it a try!!

Speaking of recipes…. I have yet another one for you all to try.  I have made several batches of homemade applesauce and everyone keeps asking me for my recipe.  It is so easy and very tasty.  Here is what you will need.

~ Homemade Applesauce ~

4-6 apples (peeled, cored, chopped)  3/4 cup water                                                 1/4 cup white sugar                                   1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.

Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft (stirring occasionally).

Allow to cool and mash with a fork or potato masher.  I myself use a mini food chopper and it works great.

Remember ~ the longer you keep it in your chopper the smoother it will be.  I made chunky applesauce last year and loved it, but Cameron was not a fan so I made it smooth this year.  Enjoy it warm or chilled.

The pictures shown contain more then just 4-6 apples.  Feel free to add double the apples, but remember to double all of your other ingredients as well.

Have a blessed day!!      ~ Lisa

Helping Others, Helping Mom

Today was a day filled with helping others.  Who doesn’t enjoy helping others especially when it comes to decorating.  Primitive Decorating!!

I took Mom to get some gourds and pumpkins today and she really enjoyed herself.  She hasn’t had so much fun in a long time.  This home that we go to is located out in the country and this lady has great prices and lots of different gourds to choose from.  She has mums and lots of them and the pumpkins are huge this year.  We are going back in a week or two so I can get some, but we have to wait on the arrival of our money tree (lol).  I told Mom to get some gourds that would be easy to dry so she picked a few out and bought me a couple as well.  Here are the gourds that I picked out.

Cameron got a small pumpkin.

Mom asked if I could help her decorate her front porch and I gladly agreed to help.  Who doesn’t enjoy helping someone else?!?  So, I placed everything on her porch and this is what it looks like.  What do you think?

Here are some closer shots of her pumpkins and gourds.  I just love the colors of fall.

My sweet hubby even stopped in the country and grabbed me a few ears of corn.  Gosh, I love him.  So, I shared a few with Mom and kept some for myself.

Good thing we got them now because they were getting ready to pick them.  I thought after the season was over I would take them off the ear, put them in a jar with a prim label that I bought from Yankee Lane Primitives.  Sounds like an idea ~ don’t ya think?

Here is Mom’s porch completed.

Did you enjoy the decorating that I did for Mom?  I thought it looked beautiful and I think she was pretty happy with it as well.  Makes you wanna decorate ~ huh?  It is funny because her porch is completed and I am still having a difficult time trying to figure out mine (lol).  I of course will post pics as soon as my porch is done.  Hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings Always!

Fall Decorating Underway

Have you started your Fall decorating yet?  I had my hubby get all of my totes out last week.  I finally started pulling everything out on Friday.  I have some stuff done, but still working on a little bit here and there.  I am not pleased quite yet with my front porch so I won’t be sharing any pics yet.  Here are a few of my entry way as you come in the front door.

I just love that corn that I have in my basket.  I thought it looked great in my old market basket that I found at an antique mall.  Here is a closer look.

 

I also did a little more decorating throughout my home, but I am not sure if it is going to stay there.  I am not sure if you all remember the cubby in my family room.  The cubby is actually suppose to be used for our television, but I don’t like it up there because it doesn’t give us a whole lot of options when we want to change our room around.  So, I have the tv. on that Amish built cupboard that I re-finished a couple months back.  Anyway, as I was sitting there watching tv. over the weekend, I came up with a brilliant idea.  I have been trying my best to figure out a way to display my crocks or most of them.  So, I thought I would re-do my cubby in my wall, add some shelves and display my crocks up there.  What do you think?  Here is what the cubby looks like now.  Well, actually this is an old picture, but you get the just of it ~ right?  Wow, that is really an old picture.  So, can you imagine some of my crocks up there along with a “crock collector” sign above it?  Do you all think I should paint the cubby a different color or leave it as is?  So many decisions.

Please let me know your thoughts.

I also wanted to share this picture with all of you.  This is a picture of my crunchy caramel apple pie that I make every year.  It is a family favorite so we normally go apple picking and then make pie.

Here is the recipe…….

CRUNCHY CARAMEL APPLE PIE

Ingredients

1 pastry crust for a deep-dish pie 9-inch (homemade or store-bought)

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

6 cups apples, thinly sliced peeled

1 recipe crumb topping (see below)

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup caramel topping

Crumb Topping

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup butter

Cooking Directions

Crumb Topping

Stir together brown sugar,flour, rolled oats. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until topping is like course crumbs. Set aside.

Pie

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.

Add apple slices and gently toss until coated.   I normally toss mine in a plastic ziploc bag so they all get coated nicely.

Transfer apple mixture to the pie shell (I normally use store bought crust and just unwrap it and place it into my glass pie plate.  I think the crust normally has to set at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.) 

Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture.

Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don't drop into your oven.

Cover edges of pie (crust) with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes. Then remove foil and put back in for another 25 to 30 minutes without foil. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pie with chopped pecans then drizzle with caramel on top. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or at room temperature

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Antique Crocks

What do you enjoy collecting?  Alot of people enjoy collecting baskets which use to be a great love of mine, but lately I have really enjoyed collecting crocks.  Yep, I add to my collection any chance that I can get and my collection just keeps getting larger.  I am not sure if you remember me telling you about this guy that I found on craigslist, but he has been collecting for over 47 years and is now trying to sell all of his crocks, bowls, jugs and many other antiques that he has around his home.  I have become rather good friends with this guy.  He is just so nice and he is very reasonable with his crocks and the prices.  Anyway, I went to visit him this past weekend and came home with quite a few new or maybe I should say old goodies.  Are you interested in taking a peek at what I brought home?  Ok, here is a peek.

I only heard you say that you wanted a peek.  You didn’t say that you wanted to see all of my goodies so that is the only little look that you get for today.

Ok, ok don’t get your undies in a knot.  I will show the rest of my very fine purchases and at the end I will even show you the items that my Mom came home with.  Isn’t that a great deal?  You get 2 for the price of 1 (lol).  Here are the items that I came home with.  Hold on to your seats……

The brown jug is very unusual.  The brown glaze is actually very bumpy and rough feeling.  It looks very neat in person.  I liked it because it was unusual.  The “crock man” said that it was probably an error in glazing, but I thought it turned out great.  Here is a closer look.

I really loved all three of these crocks.  Here is a closer look of the larger crock in the back of the photo.

I just love the size of this crock!!

Here are a few others that I came home with.  Check them out!!

I totally fell in love with the crock on the left.  It was the first crock that I noticed when the “crock man” sent me pictures when I first found him.  The colors on that crock are just gorgeous.  Do you ever wonder what the story is on each crock and where they originated?  Here is a close up of my favorite.

Here are a couple others that caught my eye as I was looking around.

I couldn’t dare leave without this bowl.  I just love it.  The “crock man” said that it wasn’t glazed for some reason or another, but I love it.  There is some special etching on the side, but it is kinda hard to see in the picture.  It is very pretty!!

I was told I could have this for *free* since it had a crack and a chip and I was totally into freebies so I snatched it up and put a little super glue on the inside of the crock.  No one will ever know there is glue in there unless I tell them and with it being my own little collection….. what is a little crack ~ right?

I plan on using this extra large Redwing crock for dog food.  I want to make a wood lid for it and once that is done then it will be ready to use for Qbert’s food.  No one will ever know there is dog food in there.  I love it!!  Did you notice the turkey droppings on the side of the crock by the # 10 ?

Speaking of Qbert.  He finally went in for a bath and trim this past weekend.  It is the first trim he has had in a long while since being neutered.  I think he feels so much better and well he looks so stinkin’ cute.

So……. are you ready to see Mom’s crocks?  She brought home less then I did, but her crocks were a bit more expensive then mine.  I guess I like to have more for less then less for more.  What would you prefer?

Here are a few close-ups.  I absolutely ♥ all of them, but they were definitely out of my price range or at least those two smaller jugs.  You should have seen us.  Mom and I were fighting over who was going to get the #6 crock on the end.  We both loved it and it already came with a wood lid so that was a bonus.  As you can see…… she won over me.  Here are the close-ups.

WOW ~ isn’t that one a beauty?  It has major drool factor going on if you ask me.

Well, that is it for now.  I sure do hope you enjoyed looking at all of our crocks, jugs and bowls.  Nothing better then finding a great deal and if you haven’t yet checked out craigslist in your area then you should.  You never know what you could find.  We found great treasures with the “crock man”.

Until Next Time ~ Blessings, Lisa

Another Difficult Day

His arms are stretched out, his hands are reaching for me and then I hear “Don’t leave me Mommy, please don’t leave me Mommy.” 

That is what I heard this morning when I left Cameron at pre-school.  What a heart breaking moment.  I don’t know how long it takes for him to calm down, but those first couple minutes when I leave him are difficult to say the least.  I absolutely have LOVED being able to stay home with Cameron.  I have enjoyed every single moment of it, but it is extremely difficult on us when we are separated.  He has really never been with anyone else, but his grandparents so I am sure you can imagine how traumatic it is for him.  I have been making school sound like it is something great and wonderful.  He will meet new kids, make new friends, play, color and learn.  He is so excited until it is time that Mommy leaves.  Surprisingly I did pretty good today.  Then he started crying and my heart started breaking.  Day 2 of pre-school has been difficult, but I am sure that with time, Cameron will love it and my heart won’t be aching as much.

In the process of waiting for that day to come… I will watch and wait and count down the time to when I can pick him up.  Is it time yet?