Apple Butter

I still have some leftover Cortlands from my visit to the orchard a couple weeks ago. I had been thinking apple sauce until I ran into this apple butter recipe on Sweetly Raw. I've never made Apple butter before, so I figured I'd give it a try. I modified it a little, of course.

6 Cortland apples chopped
3/4 cup water
scant 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice

2 tsp Vanilla

Roughly chop apples, leaving skin on. Bring all ingredients except vanilla to a boil in a sauce pan, and reduce to a low simmer for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly, and blend with vanilla until smooth.

This is amazing. I'm going to freeze half of it, and I can't wait to have some on my toast tomorrow. I also just made a smoothie with apple butter, coconut milk, protien powder, ice cubes and extra cinnamon. Delicious!

Griddle cakes VS Pancakes

There is a distinction in these two wonderful breakfast options that I've been trying to figure out. So far I'm finding all griddle cake recipes make very thick, hearty cakes. They tend to puff up and take much longer to cook. I love them, but they can be tricky to cook all the way through. They are doughy and almost feel like a cross between a biscuit and a pancake. Pancakes are a thinner and softer, generally quicker to make. I haven't done as much research as I think I want to on this, I'm certainly open to advice.

Recipe TO DO

Like anyone who occasionally blogs recipes, I read a LOT of recipe blogs. I also loose track of a lot of the recipes I want to try. I'm going to try to round them up every now and then.

Cheesy Beer Bread  - Bakin' and Eggs
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars - Bakin' and Eggs - I make a cookie similar to this, love to try it as a bar.
Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Rolls - Skinnytaste
Vanilla Bean Pumpkin Smoothie - Hardly Housewives

My favorite ingredients right now are kale, spinach, parsnips, and sweet potatoes. I'm loving the fall foods, and I can't wait till next weekend when I'm hoping to get to the farmers market to find some fresh inspiration.

Plan B

I'm getting the feeling I'll be relying on my dinner plan B tonight, Amy's Sharp Cheddar Mac N Cheese.

It started with such wonderful plans,  I had a bunch of frozen green veggies, a bunch of fresh veggies, and I'm going to make them into some kind of shepherds pie! Then I started cooking and everything went wrong. I made some quinoa to add protein, fried up some tofu that was about to expire. I think I just tried to do too much... It's in the oven now, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be pretty when it comes out. I've got the mac n cheese on standby just in case.

Cortland Apple Crisp

I made this in a 9 inch cake pan the first time, and had to pack the crust in a little more then I liked. In a larger pan it's perfect.

8 apples - I used Cortland for it's mild flavor, but would use something firmer next time. If your apples are huge use your judgement on how many to use.
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice

Peel and slice apples, and toss with spices to fully coat. Spread evenly into a 9x12 pan.

1 cup Wheat Flour
1 cup Oatmeal - quick oats
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 stick + 5 tbsp unsalted butter

Blend on pulse in a food processor until combined and in large crumbs. Top apples with oatmeal mixture and lightly drizzle with real maple syrup. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until crispy.

Oatmeal Pancakes & Apple oatmeal alternative

These are my favorite Sunday morning pancakes. I always have greek yogurt in the house, and mixing it with milk this way replaces using buttermilk with a slightly healthier alternative. 

1 cup Flour
1 cup Oatmeal - quick oats
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt

1 1/2 cup Milk w/ enough plain greek yogurt to equal 2 cups
1/4 cup Oil
2 Eggs

Combine dry ingredients set aside.
Mix wet ingredients, making sure the yogurt and milk mix is smooth. Add to dry ingredients and let sit at least 20 minutes to soften the oats.
Pour pancakes onto hot griddle and cook until edges are dry before flipping. These pancakes will take a little longer then most to cook.

These are great the day after as well.

After a fall trip to an apple orchard a had a few pounds of apples sitting around and decided to experiment with them a little. What came out was delicious! 

Apple Variation -
Add 1 tsp Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 2 tsp vanilla w/ 1-2 chopped apples. I used cortland because they are nice and soft and cook fast.