Apple Season!

Yesterday was apple day in our cozy little home. :) We had a bushel of apples from our trip to the orchard and we were itching to use them! We settle on three things: apple pie, apple butter, and applesauce. 

The apple pie was a simple affair. We used premade crust and the recipe on the side of the box. I also finally tried out God's gift to apple-lovers everywhere: my apple peeler/slicer/corer. Wow! Where has this thing been all of my life? haha I am now under the impression that our home should have a minimum of two!

The most immediately rewarding product of our endeavors was the apple pie. It got rave reviews from the hubs and the kids. We ate (admittedly too much of) it after having a family taco night. Those were also delicious. ;) I was feeling my apple fantasy yesterday, so I stabbed a rough picture of an apple into the crust. I don't hate how it came out. Next time, I think I will go back to a homemade crust. There is no flavor whatsoever in the premade crusts. 

Yesterday also marked the first time I have ever made apple butter. Don't get me wrong, I like the flavor of apple butter. It has just never been something that is on my 'to do' list. I'm not sure what changed that this year, beyond the fact that I like to try new things. That, and I was sure that hubs and the girls would appreciate having this delicious snack around. We slow-cooked it too long, as we started in the afternoon and left it overnight. Still, I think it came out alright. Everyone loves the way it tastes. 

Forgetting that I was using apples in other ways (even while doing so), I clearly overestimated how much space I needed to cook down the applesauce. lol I decided to use the large stockpot and, boy, was that unnecessary! No matter, the sauce was cooked just fine anyway. :) We never had to worry that it would foam over the top, at any rate! 

This year, my hubs was not at work when we took on the bushel of apples. As such, this was his first time ever joining up in the process. Wow, did that speed things up! Between having a second adult around and using my corer/slicer/peeler, we really whipped out everything in absolutely no time at all! I will have to schedule all of my "apple fixin'" for when he is home from now on. ;)

We also pulled out the Ninja that Hubs bought for my birthday this year and went to town. I turned all of the apple butter and applesauce into purees using the 'smoothie' option. Oh. My. Stars. The kids went absolutely wild over the softness of both items! I am not kidding! Nobody seemed to care at all that this is technically baby food at this point. The flavor is there and the sauce and 'butter' are so smooth and delicious!

All things considered, I would have to say that apple season 2021 was a huge success. So much so that that I potentially have my eye on one more trip to the orchard, if at all possible. The autumnal season has long brought me so much joy. I've struggled with that since my dad passed on. Doing things like this together as a family is good for the soul. I will never stop. <3