Saturday, December 18, 2010

Sorting Apples, Using Apples

I sorted through our stored apples again today. Most are still looking really good. Some are usable with the bad spots cut out. Some are going into the chicken house. A few are going directly to the compost bin. That's all good. If the apples don't feed us, they feed the poultry or they feed the soil.

What to do with the bowl of those usable but with the bad spots? Make APPLE CRUNCH!

Butter a good sized pie plate. Peel, core and slice as many apples as you want. Prefer more crunch topping and fewer apples? Get wild and crazy and go that way.

Then make the crunch topping for the apples by mixing in a bowl:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cut in 1/2 cup butter with a pastry blender.

Evenly spread the topping over the apples in the pie plate.

Put in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Top should be brown and crunchy when it's done.

Serve with a little (or big) dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.

A good, simple dessert that's fairly quick to make. Plus, you can make the whole recipe and freeze it before baking. Then when you need a dessert, let it defrost on the counter and bake as suggested.

P.S. Forgot to say earlier: New blog header photo by Chicken Mama Designs.

18 comments:

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

It looks like my Husband made that serving. The crunch is almost hidden by the ice cream. That can only be done by a true ice cream lover. And the header looks good.

Mama Pea said...

Jane - Um, I beg your pardon. That serving was mine and I'll have you know I went easy on the ice cream. (I do loves my ice cream!) :o)

Thanks for the nice words on the header photo. Good photographer, that girl!

Freedom Acres Farm said...

Looks yummy! I made apple crisp with my home canned apple pie filling this past week. Simple and oh, so easy. But of course I forgot to blog about it. I never remember to blog about things until they're done and over with and I haven't taken pictures :-(

mtnchild said...

Your header is just lovely... 'that' girl does do beautiful work! LOL

Isn't it funny that I prefer my ice cream in the winter? In the summer it seems to get too thick in my mouth - maybe I shouldn't put so much in there! - no really, it just seems so thick.

Did you get any of that big huge snow storm that felled the Metrodome?? I'm still waiting for our big storm ...

Hugs
Yvette

Sparkless said...

I have to agree with everyone else that your new header is very pretty and eye catching.

Now you have me craving what we call Apple Betty which is similar to Apple Crunch. And we even have some ice cream to go with.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

I love apple crisp - only I usually make my "crunch" using oats instead of flour. Never knew you could freeze it before baking, but then again I don't have freezer space for that sort of thing anyway - or for ice cream!

Sue said...

That's it!!!
I am DONE reading your blog!!!
I read this at 4 in the morning. I am STARVING.......and I have to look at this. Day after day after day of delicious looking food. And I have 3 hours to wait until hubby gets up. Enough of the torture! Unless you are planning on showing up with some of this ---knock it off! I'm hungry. You are NOT helping.

Well, maybe I'll read every OTHER morning.
Sigh.
No. I'll be back tomorrow. Dammit!

Tami said...

Perfect timimg! I have some apples that need to be processed. I was thinking applesauce but a "crunch" sounds much better.

The Apple Pie Gal said...

Mmm, apple crisp and ice cream! Yum! I had to enlarge your new photo to make sure they weren't punkin's! ;) Good job Chicken Mama! Everything looks awesome!

Kaytee said...

Yum. This is just about how I make my apple pies, except I obviously have a pie crust underneath.

Mama Pea said...

Freedom - I'm the same way. Usually saying, "Duh, why didn't I take pictures? Woulda made a good post!" Having your home canned apple pie filling would make the apple crisp a snap. Some day I'm gonna get around to canning up a batch as you do.

Yvette - No, that snow all went south of us. RATS! We, too, are waiting for a big snow.

Sparkless - I was waiting for us to get a bunch of snow to take a good pic for a new header photo, but gave up and asked CM if I could "borrow" one of hers. She kindly offered that one.

Doesn't Apple Betty have bread in it? Or is that Brown Betty? Or is there a difference??

Mama Pea said...

Jen - I must not have a good recipe 'cause when I make it with oats in the topping it seems too dry to me.

Sue - Big grin, big grin, big grin. Thanks, Friend! (Now you know how I feel when I "salivate" over your gardens all summer!)

Tami - I'm going to have to make some applesauce, too, but only because we're eating up our supply of the canned stuff way too fast!

APG - Very funny! (Somehow I don't think that would work.) ;o)

Kaytee - Both hubby and daughter, who popped in for dinner with us, thought the Apple Crunch was one of my French Apple Pies. Matter of fact, daughter even commented when slurping up the last of her serving, "You know what's missing? Crust." I think she and I both would have preferred a pie (with crust!) but hubby likes the Apple Crunch better.

Amy Dingmann said...

Yum yummmmmm. My grandma left us a really great recipe for apple crunch that is very similar to this...so now I have to make some! I love that behind your baking station there, you have lovely bottles of wine. Or at least that's what it looks like to me. Not that I would know from any experience or anything....

Erin said...

You really must stop! Here we are eating out of "whatever's left" in the cabinets and fridge to clear it out before vacation and you go posting homemade goodies again! And I love your evergreen photo!

Mama Pea said...

Mama Tea - Wine? Bottles of wine? What wine? (Ooops. Apparently I need a photo editor.)

Erin - Cooking/baking? You've got more important things to do, Girl, like . . . shaving your legs. ;o)

You must give credit for the evergreen photo to CM for that is where credit belongs.

Erin said...

THAT made me laugh because I am busy trying to get the kids out the door to run and get... razors LOL! Yep, there's definitely some things that get neglected when hubby is deployed :)

Chicken Mama said...

And you didn't even complain that I kept sticking finger "Rabbit Ears" into the frame each time you tried to take that last picture! ;)

Mama Pea said...

Erin - You're so super-organized I can hardly believe you don't have a spare stash of razors in the house!

Chicken Mama - I try to ignore bad behavior. (Hahahahaha!) I should have sent you to your room without dessert!