So Much To Make

Saturday, October 11, 2014

The No Peeling Applesauce Experience

Have you ever made applesauce? Last year was my first year. It turned out unbelievably delicious, but I only made about 3 quarts because it was SO MUCH WORK--the peeling, coring, slicing, cooking, mashing-- for a small yield.

This year I had pretty much decided it wasn't worth all the work, until I saw this post from SewCreative. She made applesauce without peeling her apples. She just mashed them after they cooked in her slow-cooker. I was intrigued.

I live in Washington, and yes our apples are delicious, so when I had a chance to get 40 lbs for $24, I jumped on it, and decided I would try the no-peel deal.

SUCCESS! I will show you what I did and why I was so happy with the MUCH LESS WORK approach.

You will need:

Apples (duh.) I used half Fuji and half Sunny Sweet (a sweet variety that the farm I purchased from has developed--similar to Honey Crisp).
Bottled lemon juice
Water
Honey
Cinnamon, if desired

A slow-cooker
A blender
Canning supplies

1. Core and slice your apples. I cut mine into 8ths. Fill your crockpot with the apples. Mix 1/4 cup of lemon juice with 1 cup of water and pour over the apples. (This is for a 4 quart slow-cooker, but would work fine for larger. Cut back the water for smaller cookers).

2. Drizzle honey over the apples. I didn't measure this. but you can see that I was fairly generous. I would estimate 1/3 cup of honey. Sprinkle with desired amount of cinnamon. I probably sprinkled 1.5 teaspoons. Give the apples a good stir. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours.

3. After the time is up, uncover and stir gently. Look at how much water they produce on their own while cooking. I made multiple batches, and I never added extra lemon water after the first batch. I just left an inch or so of liquid in the bottom and added the apples.

4. Spoon the cooked apples into the blender. It is okay to get lots of juice in there, too, just not so much that it covers the apples. Blend on high 2 minutes, or until all skin is pulverized. (If you have one of those blenders that can obliterate a cellphone and keep on going, you may only need to blend for a few seconds. I'll withhold my jealousy.)

5. Look how pretty it is! See the tiny dark specks? That's the pulverized peels. They are completely undetectable in the texture when you eat this. It is smooth--like buttah, baby.

6. Pour hot sauce in to prepared jars. Place lids and rings, and process in a water-bath canner for 15 minutes (pints), 20 minutes (quarts).

My yield: 9 quarts! This was from three batches in the slow-cooker. I went on a run, taught an exercise class, cleaned (parts of) my house, shopped, picked up and took kids to and from their activities, made dinner, did some blog maintenance, and made apple pie filling all in the same day as making this applesauce. NO WAY I would've accomplished so much if I had had to peel all those apples!

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Sunday, October 5, 2014

Sugar and Spice Snack Mix

Orange spiced almonds, salted caramel pretzels, honey-kissed cereal and a melted cinnamon chip drizzle--This is not your average snack mix.

This mix came about because of a peanut allergy. I was helping out with a friend's baby shower this weekend, and after purchasing some peanut butter M&Ms to put in treat cups, I remembered the host has a child with a peanut allergy in her house. Oops--I needed to fill those little cups with something else. So I perused my pantry.

I had a full bag of Snyder's Salted Caramel Pretzel Pieces. These are pretty amazing on their own, but one bag wasn't enough for my needs, so I decided to make a mix.

I also had some raw almonds, Honey Nut Chex cereal, as well as a bag of cinnamon chips in my freezer. Eureka! I had a plan!

I micro-cooked the almonds with orange flavoring and zest, butter, spices and brown sugar. While those were cooling, I mixed everything else but the chips in a large bowl, then added the cooled almonds. I laid all this out on a Silpat-lined cookie sheet, then drizzled it with melted cinnamon chips. Perfect!

Sugar and Spice Snack Mix

Makes 8 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups Orange Spiced Almonds (recipe below)

1 (10 oz) bag Salted Caramel Pretzel Pieces

4 cups Honey Nut Chex (or generic)

1 cup cinnamon baking chips

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or shortening)

Directions:

1. Mix first three ingredients in a large bowl, then spread on wax-paper or a silicon mat. I put my mat on a baking sheet to contain it.

2. In a microwave safe dish, melt cinnamon chips on medium heat for 1 minute. Stir, then add coconut oil and heat in 30 sec intervals until smooth.

3. Using a spoon, drizzle melted cinnamon chips over dry mixture. Let cool, then break up to serve.

Orange Spiced Almonds

Ingredients:

2.5 cups raw almonds

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2-1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 teaspoon orange extract (optional)

1 tablespoon water

Directions:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter just until mostly melted. Add rest of ingredients and microwave on high, uncovered 3-4 minutes, stirring after each minute.

2. Spread hot spiced nuts on wax paper to cool.

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Branch Votive DIY

I can take little credit for this project. I know how it is made, but my son (now 13) made it a couple years ago. So if an 11 year old can do it, you can too! :)

I set this votive out with my fall decor, and I leave it all the way through Christmas. I just change the table runner and what I set around it. At Christmas I put pine cones and boughs, ribbon, and red and gold glass ball ornaments. I love the versatility. Every year my display looks a little different than the last!

To make this Branch Votive you will need:

A real wood tree branch. Ask around--people are always pruning trees or having them removed. Ours came from our old yard (back when we had trees...). It needs to have a diameter of at least 2.5 inches. Bigger is great, too.
Power Drill
1.5 inch spade bit (pictured below)
Some good clamps to secure the branch while you work
Battery powered votive candles (I found mine at Dollar Tree--4/$1 if I remember right)

1. Measure and mark where your votives will sit on your branch. I suggest an odd number for aesthetics.

2. Clamp the branch securely to your work surface. This is crucial for safety and sanity as you work.

3. Place the 1.5" spade bit into the power drill.

4. With tip of bit on the center of each marked spot for your votives, drill to at least 1/4 inch depth. This photo is not "in action." The real deal is much messier. (Wear safety glasses!) Depending on the sharpness of your bit, each indentation can take a few minutes to drill.

5. Place the battery-powered votive candles into the branch. Real votive candles are fine, too, if you are comfortable with real fire burning in a branch on your table. I'm not, so I went with the fake candle option.

See? Here I caught little hands touching the "flames." Thank goodness for fake fire!

I love seeing it "lit" at night. Enjoy!

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Poncho Tunic

One of my dearest friends just had a birthday, and I wanted to make her something cute. She lives too far to be my model, which is too bad because she will rock this piece when she wears it!

I followed my own Poncho Shirt Tutorial to make this, but made a few changes because of the length. I will walk your through it all. No biggie, I promise!

To begin, you will need 1.25 yards (45 inches) of 60 inch wide fabric. I suggest a knit fabric so it will stretch nicely. Also, many knits roll nicely on the edges, so you don't have to hem.

You'll also need elastic thread, and all-purpose coordinating thread.

1. Fold the fabric in half so it is 45" long by 30" wide (folded).

2. Cut along the fold, making two pieces, each 45x30". Lay it out with short sides on top and bottom.

3. Follow the instructions in Steps 2-7 of the Poncho Shirt Tutorial for making the neckline and shoulders.

4. Hem the neckline.

5. Cut a curve on each side of the base of the tunic, as shown. I cut one side, then folded it in half and used the cut side as a guide for cutting the other side. I also trimmed about 1.5 inches from each side of the tunic because I decided not to do a rolled hem. If you need to hem your edges, do that now, all the way around the bottom and sides.

6. Beginning 9 inches down and 4 inches in, pin through both front and back, 18 inches down the tunic, on both sides to make the arm holes and give shape to the piece.

7. With elastic thread in your bobbin, stitch along the pins, removing as you go. Tie off with a back stitch or two at the beginning and end.

8. With iron on lowest heat for fabric, press along the elastic to draw it up further, if desired.

With the fabric I chose, I liked the look best with a belt. I tried it with a jean jacket--also super cute for fall! So many possibilities here! And so easy to make!

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Monday, September 29, 2014

Caramel Chocolate Bacon Maple Bars

I had to make a late-night run to the grocery store on Saturday night. We were out of milk, and my family doesn't think they can survive a Sunday morning without milk. I don't know what got into me, but when I saw Rolos, a maple cookie mix, and remembered the bacon I had bought earlier in the week at home, I decided to make this treat.

I made my first batch into cookies. They turned out very, very good, and I photographed them to put here on the blog. We gave a bunch of them away to friends, so I told my poor, neglected family I'd make another batch. I was sick of being in the kitchen by this time, so I made this batch into bars. The bars were INCREDIBLE. A superior creature. The way this recipe was meant to be baked.

See that pocket of caramel there on the upper right side of the bar. Mmmm... The caramel in Rolos doesn't get too runny, but it is spreadable when heated. And it sets up well as it cools. Perfect.

Bacon looks more and more normal on there the longer you look. :)

Caramel Chocolate Bacon Maple Bars

Makes one 9x13 inch pan

Ingredients:

1.5 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons maple extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

30 Rolos, unwrapped and cut in half

6 pieces of bacon, cooked and torn/cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray or parchment paper.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. I used my KitchenAid with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and extracts and beat well.

3. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then add to the wet mixture. Stir well.

4. Press evenly into prepared dish (it will be thick). Be sure to press it all the way to the corners. *Cold water on your fingers will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands as you spread it in the dish.

5. Place in center of oven and bake 15 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven, place halved Rolos all over the top of the bars, and return to oven for 2 minutes.

7. Spread the melted Rolos over the bars. Sprinkle evenly with bacon, pressing pieces gently into the melted chocolate/caramel.

8. Cool and cut into bars.

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Friday, September 26, 2014

Easy-Sew Pumpkins

I made these fun pumpkins last year (before I began this blog), but I decided I should share them anyway! I used a super tutorial found here on Positively Simple. Here a few little tips I learned while making these:

I found most my fabric on the discount table at JoAnn's. They had a bunch of decorator samples (about 16"x16") for $0.50 each. Score! So check there--I have seen those samples on sale often.
I played around with the pattern to get slightly different shaped pumpkins. On one pumpkin I made the teardrop shapes more wide, on another I made them more tall. I loved the simplicity of this design that allowed for tweaking here and there to get the shape you want.
Use needle nose pliers if you have trouble pulling the needle through the pumpkin center. I was frustrated until I figured out this little hack.
I skipped hot gluing the cinnamon stick. I tend to skip hot-glue whenever possible. I am usually disappointed with its durability in the long run. I liked the look of just the ribbon. (Obviously this is just my opinion. :))

I made two Dora pumpkins for my daughter to decorate her room with. She adores them!

I loved how the two-tone orange turned out on this one. Both of these fabrics were from the discounted samples swatches I found.

I did some simple embroidery on felt to make this leaf and stem. The stem is stuffed with a couple pieces of felt, then whip-stitched on the edge. I sewed them into the middle instead of hot-gluing.

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Monday, September 22, 2014

Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Waffles

Happy Fall! One of my favorite Fall traditions is the baking I always do--especially the pumpkin recipe baking! I remember coming home from runs with my dad as a kid and smelling my mom's hotcakes. That was the smell of comfort, of love, of home.

I recently bought a package of cinnamon chips on a whim. My oldest two went on a run together Saturday morning, and I decided to make pumpkin waffles with the cinnamon chips while they were out, in hopes that they could come home to something delicious. The result? All I can say is WOW. My family LOVED these. They are bursting with rich, warm flavor even before you add butter and syrup. The only hang-up is getting full.

If you've never bought cinnamon baking chips, now is the time to find them (they are seasonal)! Check you grocery store, or you can find them online (Amazon or The Prepared Pantry are options).

Here's the easy recipe:

Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Waffles

Makes 12 large waffles

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

3 cups flour (I used half whole wheat)

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

13/4 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cinnamon baking chips

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, oil, and sugar together. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and spices, then beat well.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding the milk and flour mix to the wet mixture, beating after each addition until it is all added and incorporated.

3. Stir in cinnamon chips.

4. Bake on greased waffle iron. Serve with your favorite toppings. We had butter, maple syrup, and some homemade apple pie filling. Mmm,mmm.