Morning ya’ll!

So, I’m sure many of you were wondering what on Earth we were going to do with all of the apples we brought home from the Farm….and honestly, so was I. We tend to get over excited in our family and jump into something 100% -which is great and all – until you come home with a zillion apples for a family of 3.

I originally thought I would make the following recipes:

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Crescents
The Pioneer Woman’s Roast Pork with Apples 
Easy Crock Pot Apple Butter

And I am pleased to report that I did make the Crescents and the Roast Pork but we ate enough of the apples on our own that I didn’t need to make the Apple Butter! For fun, I’m going to report on the recipes that I did make and toss in last night’s quick and easy cold weather dinner.

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Crescents

Ok, these were super easy…they literally take seconds to make and minutes to bake…but sadly, they are gross. The apple gets very mushy in the oven and that texture with the crescent just seems wrong. Think applesauce inside of a crescent roll….also, the recipe doesn’t tell you to peel the apple, but you definitely should. If you don’t you end up with applesauce inside of a crescent with a whole apple peel inside.

If that appeals to you – here’s the process!

My family voted no, but if you have picky eaters at home maybe this will work for ya’ll!

Pioneer Woman’s Roast Pork With Apples

This recipe was also super easy, but I’m pleased to say that this one was successful! The guys voted to keep it on the regular Fall/Winter meal rotation.

I didn’t really photograph it because
1. there isn’t much of a cooking process and
2. she already made it look better than I could.

Here are my notes on her recipe:

Next time, I’ll use less onion. I think the recipe calls for 3 medium onions – You could easily do 2. The recipe also suggests you caramelize the onions first – definitely do this.

I would add more apples next time…and make sure you cut them into large wedges, not slices. The slices get mushy, the wedges hold their shape.

The cooking process couldn’t be easier – you dump all of the ingredients into a pot and let it simmer for hours…the house will smell amazing while you’re cooking! We maaaaay have even left the house for a bit to play a quick 9 holes of golf (he played, I drank a bottle of wine) and the roast turned out just perfectly!

Here’s what it looks like while it’s cooking away:

I bought exactly the meat that she said to use – but mine had a bone in it and apparently hers did not. She was able to slice her finished product, I hacked at mine with a knife and ended up with chunks – tasted the same, looked interesting.

(pre “slicing”)

I will happily admit that my sauce never got as dark and thick as hers did…no matter how long it simmered….I could even really do without the extra sauce because it was so sweet.

Doesn’t look pretty but tastes really, really good.

I served my pork chunks over white rice – this dish is very sweet thanks to the apples and apple juice – if you’re a salt lover then plan your sides accordingly, you’ll need something to balance the sweetness!

Crispy Proscuitto and Apple Paninis with Tomato Soup

Last night we were down to our last few apples….and it was freezing here. I needed something warm and hearty for dinner….and we ended up with this:

I pulled out the panini maker we got as a wedding gift and let it got hot
On a good roll from the bakery (you could use regular bread, but I love carbs so I went fancy) I  layered proscuitto, sliced apples (ours are tart, not sweet), mild onion, provolone and sharp white cheddar.
While the sandwich was crisping up and getting melty on the panini press, Justin heated up Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomato Soup (the one that comes in the orange carton with the white screw cap on top).
Once everything was hot and yummy, I topped my soup with croutons, a few more pieces of sharp white cheddar and fresh cracked pepper.
Super hearty and warm!

If ya’ll make any of these recipes let me know how it all turns out!
I’ve heard from a few of you that made the Pumpkin Muffin recipes- and suggested fabulous variations! Next time I’m making those with spice cake mix!

Have a great day!

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