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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

APPLE PIE IN A BAG

6-7 apples peeled and sliced thin
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 C sugar
1/4 C flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp butter cut into chunks

1. Place butter chunks in freezer.
2. In a gallon freezer bag mix all ingredients except apples, butter and lemon juice and shake until combined.
3. Coat apples in lemon juice. Discard extra lemon juice.
4. Add apples to bag and shake to coat.
5. Add butter.
6. Remove air and lay flat and freeze.

TO USE:
Remove bag from freezer and lay on counter for about an hour to 45 minutes to defrost or in refrigerator overnight. Squish bag to mix well and dump into pie shell. Either cover with top crust or add a crumb topping.

CRUMB TOPPING:
¾ cup rolled oats
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
6 TBL butter

BAKE:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bake with edges covered for 25 minutes. Uncover edges and return to oven for 20 minutes.

FREEZER APPLESAUCE

Makes 3 ½ - 4 cups (1 quart)
Doubles & Triples very good.
8 cups of washed, peeled & chopped & cored apples
2/3 c. water
2 TBL lemon juice or Fresh Fruit



CROCK POT INSTRUCTIONS
Fill 6 quart crock pot to the top with peeled, sliced and cored apples
Add 2/3 cup water, mixed with 2 TBL of lemon juice
Cook on low 4-5 hours, stirring about every 90 minutes. Once apples are falling apart, use stick blender to puree. Can add Brown sugar or cinnamon if desired.




STOVE TOP INSTRUCTIONS
Put everything into large pot. Cook on medium heat until soft enough to puree, about could be anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending how soft your apples were to start. Puree up with stick blender, traditional blender or food processer.

Place in freezer containers. Let cool before placing in freezer, or you can just eat it right away. Oh, and no need for sugar, but if you like really sweet applesauce add 1/4 cup of brown sugar after you get it all mashed and pureed up. Can add ½-1 tsp. cinnamon also.

Friday, October 9, 2015

BEAN WITH BACON SOUP


2 cups of dried navy, great north American or cannellini beans
10 strips of bacon, cut into tiny pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. (or more) of fresh rosemary, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Soak your beans overnight covered in water. Drain the next day and set aside.

2. In a large stockpot, add bacon to the pan and cook until bacon pieces are brown and crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel.

3. If there's a lot of bacon grease in the pan, dump out all but 3 tbsp. of it.

4. Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in the bacon grease until vegetables start to get tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and cook for an addition 1 minute.

5. Gently pour in the chicken stock, drained beans and 5 strips of the bacon, crumbled. Whisk the tomato paste in until all has dispersed and incorporated into the soup. Add liquid smoke if using.

6. Bring mixture up to a boil then cover and let simmer gently for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.

7. When the soup is ready, carefully use your immersion blender and gently pulse the bean mixture until a desired creamy texture is achieved. If you're worried about blending too much, you can always ladle out a few scoopfuls of beans, blend the soup, then add the beans back in. Really, it's all up to preference!

8. Serve hot with remaining bacon pieces on top.