Apples, apples, EVERYWHERE.

So two weekends ago, I went apple picking with my good friend Dri and a group of people.  Not only did we get apples but it was a fun filled day including lots of yummy baked goods, a haunted house, and a never ending corn maze. 

The corn maze was HUGE.  Really, you could get lost in there.  I mean look Dri blends right into the corn stalk... no one would ever be able to find her.  In all honesty the maze was quite impressive and it made us realize how a family might, with absolutely no directional sense, get lost in a corn maze. 
By the way if the readers would please note the very classy black hat Dri is showcasing... yes, yes made by yours truly.  I know black knit hat, incredibly impressive but for my slow knitting capabilities it is  pretty darn good. 

And here is a picture to remind everyone of how much of a nerd I really am...  just in case anyone forgot.

I think the way corn grows is SUPER cool.  All those roots just so that it can stand straight in the air and catch some sun.  And if you are a dork like me you can look up videos on corn and how it grows.  No, I did not watch those three videos, or like ten others... I swear.

  How beautiful upstate NY is.  It was really depressing to have to drive back to the clutter of Long Island. 

Anyways, to say that I came home with a lot of apples would be a vast understatement.  While above was not my bag of apples, mine was not much smaller.  And so after bringing them home I started getting creative and did some cooking.

Apple Use #1:  Apple Sauce.  

 Apple sauce is one of my favorite foods.  It is so easy to make, delicious, and healthy.  My easy apple sauce consists of: 

1.) apples (the amount depends on when I get sick of peeling them)

2.) a few tablespoons of brown sugar

3.) about a cup of orange juice depending on how much I am making

4.) vanilla extract, I am very liberal with vanilla, but it all depends on your taste buds

5.) Cinnamon, another thing I am very liberal with and never measure!

Place in crock pot on high for about 4 hrs.

We has the apple sauce with chicken baked with panko flakes and squash for me...and mashed potatoes for Dan.  

This is definitely my apple recipe winner.

Apple Uses #2 & #3 Starry Apple Pies and Apple Muffins

 This was the apple bag pre-uses #2 and 3.  I knew I had to get cooking and get the bag down quite a bit more so the plan became apple pie for Dan and muffins for me.  

I began with a massive apple peeling process.  NPR  aided in this and helped pass the time. Apple pie was first.  I got my apple mixture all ready and then I started the delicate process of making my grandmother's most wonderful crust.  Sorry to anyone interested but this is one recipe I will probably keep sacred to the grave.  It actually took me a bit of effort to get it from her!

I was all finished rolling out the crust when I made a discovery, our one and only pie dish was in CT.  We had left it there since Father's Day for which I had made my dad a pie.  With no desire to venture out to the store, I got creative and cracked out my souffle dishes.  By the time I got the bottom crust in all four (painstaking) I had no motivation to make four more circles for the top so cheated with cookie cutters! And thus arose the starry miniature apple pies. 

 

I made quite a mess during this process.

After I tidied up a little bit I began a recipe for healthy apple muffins.  The recipe was very healthy: little brown sugar, lots of apples, whole wheat flour, raisins, non-fat yogurt and oats.  And the taste.... was very healthy.  Not that something tasting healthy is necessarily a bad thing but when there are comments about the muffins tasting "like an apple tree" and you have 30 of them, I am just saying.

After a hard day's baking, note the amount of apples still left.

Apple Use #4: Apple Sauteed Chicken

This dinner is a favorite of mine.  It is quite simple.  Brown the chicken on both sides.  Set it aside.  Brown a few table spoons of butter in olive oil and then slowly add 1 cup apple cider and 1 cup chicken broth.  Mix in the pan on low until it looks like sauce.  Add about 4 apples diced.  Add the browned chicken and let simmer for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked.  Delicious!  

We served ours with squash (for me) and mashed potatoes (for Dan) and while we ate I got murdered playing checkers.  

Apple Use #5: Apple Crumb Pie

After the miniature apple pies I had a request from my friend Lauren to make an apple pie with a graham cracker crust.  And so that is what I did...  

I basically just made an apple crumb pie but used a graham cracker base instead of regular crust.  It was fantastic!  We enjoyed it with two of my good medical school friends, Fatima and Lauren, after Zumba class last night.  I mean what better way to motivate us to go to Zumba class than a yummy dinner, wine and dessert afterwards! 

Random Side Note:

We added some Halloween additions: check out my fantastic cat-bat jack-lantern.  Please note that his innards were well used: baked apple seeds and I pureed the pumpkin pulp for future use.

Also check out the amazing wine glass that my mom got me on our "mother-daughter" day in the city!  We had a fantastic day of girl's gossip, pedicures, craft fair shopping and dinner.  I love this holiday inspired wine glass.  The picture does not do justice!