Wecipe Wednesday: Apple Week Edition

Part One:  "I Declare this APPLE WEEK!"

So I've been feeling realllly discourages...like boarder line depressed.  (Yeah, I'll be transparent.) Ruthie is all in on the "terrible twos."  There's nothing stopping her.  Tess is officially out of the newborn "sleep all the time" stage and is in the coo-ing and "look how cute I am/talk to me" stage.

Those two stages mixed together + dirty house + football coach husband + LOTS o' laundry + work + *enter whatever else you want here* = the guilty failure feeling of a mother that I have become.

Now I know I'm not a failure, but the guilt that I was feeling of being a working mom and not taking care of my own children (Julie, I love you...I couldn't ask for a better sitter) was laid on thick.  AND, I was getting anxious and upset about my dirty house, so I hired a cleaning lady (Heather, you're my hero).  Those combined have been tearing me apart.  Like I was incapable of being a mom/wife.  And icing on the cake was that Nathan hasn't really been home at all with football practices and games.  We agreed to it, so I'm not upset with him, but it adds, ya know...

So, Ashley (aka Ashes aka Sister in Law) asked if we wanted to go to Tanners Apple Orchard here near us and I thought it was perfect.  Ruthie is at the perfect age where she will enjoy the animals and Tess is still at the "take me anywhere as long as I'm strapped into the Moby and warm" stage...(wow, I didn't know until I starting typing how many stages there are:).

So here are some of our favoritest pictures from the festivities.

She liked the llamas the best, but she only wanted to feed them one pellet at a time, and they weren't too happy about that.

I see one of these in her near future.  She would have done this 10 more times. 

Slides...if there was a swing set with 4 different slides on it, that would be Ruthie's.

APPLE PICKING!  I love this one, because of Tess looking at the apple.  

This was a slight issue, but we were pretty leanent.  Every time Rue would pick an apple, she would want to take a bite of out it.  I brought one or two home like that.  

She made my heart so happy with how much fun she had.  

It was the perfect antitdote for my aching heart.  Ruthie was happy...Tess was content and I got to spend quality time with my girls. 

Part Two: Wecipie Wednesday, Apple Pies

In continuation of Apple Week, I made apple pies.  We are having a potluck at school tomorrow, and I just happen to have a TON of apples from this weekend. 

I ended up making two different apple pies.  Via Facebook, I went with the peoples' choice and made a crunch top apple pie.  Then, when Nathan heard that I was making apple pie and not keeping any here at home, I decided to cut up a few extra apples and make the Pioneer Woman's Flat Apple Pie (Thanks, Ree!)

*Attempting food blogging again…

I would have to say that apple pie is one of my favorite pies to make, because of this...

God Bless this WONDERFUL tool!  I can peel and core 8 apples in 5 minutes!  I used 8 golden delicious apples, but it's recomended that you use Granny Smiths and Fujis for their tartness.  My pies will definitely not be short on sweetness.  

And it makes the PERFECT size apples!  I then added 4 T of flour, 3/4 c. brown sugar, 2 T lemon juice, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and about 1/8 tsp of salt.  

NOTE:  Don't throw these away immediately.  You will need something to snack on after you're famished from putting the pies together, and something to feed your daughter when she comes in a million times asking, "What you do-een, Mommy?"

Yes, I cheated and used frozen pie crust.  Maybe when I have a four year old, I'll make my own again, but not happening tonight.  I dished 2/3 of the apples into the pie crust making the middle a little taller.  I cut up 3 T of real butter and randomly placed them over the apples.  Then, in another bowl, I cut together, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/8 c. white sugar, 1/4 c. flour, about 1/8 c. rolled oats, 1/8 c. chopped pecans and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon with 3 T of butter. 

Then I evenly distributed it across the top of the pie and placed in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 min.  Then, I knocked the temp down to 350 and finished it out for another 35 minutes.  If you notice the crust getting too brown, take it out and lightly cover it with foil.  Works like a champ.

Then, I had one extra dough roll and about 3 c. of apples.  Easy solution...Ree makes these Flat Apple Pies that are soooo easy and very portable if you need them on the go.  I opened up the dough on my pizza stone (i use it for WAY more than just pizza) and rolled it out so I could get an extra few inches on each side.  

Then i put the rest of the apples in the center, put 4-5 one inch cubes of butter over the apples and starting folding up the sides over the apples.  It doesnt have to look pretty, It looks so rustic and yummy and home made looking!  

Then, I just put it in the oven.  It cooked at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Basically, you just cook it to the doneness of the color of the crust you like.  

HERE ARE MY FINAL PRODUCTS!

Um...I'm eating this right now, and beside having a burnt tongue because I cant stop, it's AMAZING.

My yummy apple pie...If I work with you, I hope you enjoy during lunch tomorrow.  If I could send you the smell in my house right now, I totally would.

Oh, how I love cooking...especially extremely yummy things.  

Enjoy,

Burnt Tongue