Apple Pie In a Jar!!

As if the previous apple picking wasn't enough, we ventured back for round two.

This time it was granny smith and fuji apples.

Matthew actually got to pick some this time.  Last time he just sat in the wagon while we did the picking.  He got a 'lift' from daddy so he could reach the higher apples. 



My pumpkin in the orchard.

 

Look at how much difference a year makes.

If only I can get him to keep a hat on his head now!

(And I really should put some lipstick on to add some color to my face!)

  

And what do we do with all those apples??

We make apple pie in a jar!

We made these about two years ago and we just used our last two jars recently.

So yummy (food storage)! Ha!

 

Here's the instagram version of what we did.

For the recipe with instructions check out Reluctant Entertainer

(We had dinner guest over and I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the pie before we at half of it.)

 

I love seeing all the apple recipes posted on blogs recently.  Lots of yummy ideas out there!



Apple Picking

....One of my favorite fall activities.

Enough said.

  

Apple Pie in a Jar

We finally got around to canning most f the apples we picked a week ago.  I found a recipe for Apple Pie in a Jar from Reluctant Entertainer, Sandy Coughlin.  Her site is awesome because she talks about how to entertain simple and stress-free and she has great recipes. 

We tripled the recipe and used mostly granny smith and fuji apples. The process goes much quicker when you have two people doing it versus doing it by yourself. It takes a little time, but worth it! 

And this little gadget was the biggest help to us! 

It's a must have if you love to make apple pies!

Soaking the apples in water/lemon juice so it wouldn't brown so quickly.

And the fruits of our labor....Yummy!

Now anytime we want apple pie, we just pop open one of these jars and pour it into a pie crust and bake!  Quick and easy!

These make great gifts too! 

(Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas from the Whitcomb's this year?! Just kidding!)

We still have lots of apples left so we're hoping to make another batch or two this weekend.  Steve guestimates that we will have enough apple pie in a jar to have one a week! (yeah, that might be too much apple pie overload).

Here are the ingredients for the recipe, but please go to Reluctant Entertainer for the complete step by step instructions (with pictures!) 

INGREDIENTS: 
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
7 quarts peeled, cored and
sliced apples

Apple Picking

We couldn't have asked for better weather to go apple picking this year!

It was absolutely gorgeous!

We had a house full of family and friends who came out to join us.  I packed a picnic for everyone and we ate lunch before the picking started. 

The kiddos loved it!

We picked a ton of granny smith and fuji apples to make apple pies with.

Baby MJ even had fun amongst all the apples!

All the kids in the tree (and no one fell out!)

Afterwards, we all went back to my house where my cousin made pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) for us.  Steve and I are pretty confident that we can make it on our own now.  We'll be attempting to cook it again very soon.  It was so yummy!

I was so busy taking pictures of everyone else that I didn't get any pictures of us with Abbey at the apple orchard.  Steve managed to snap one of us while we were eating. 

I think everyone had a great time and I can't wait to do it again next year.  I was super exhausted once everyone left and I came to the realization that I really shouldn't try to do so much in one day/weekend. I just don't have the energy to do it all anymore and will have to cut back.  Once this month is over, things should slow down for a bit.....then it'll be Christmas before we know it!

Apple picking and Tiredness

We went apple picking on Saturday morning.  Abbey could not join us because she had oral surgery on Friday and was still a little swollen.  Poor thing, she had a molar extracted.  We missed her at the orchards.  We'll have to take her to the pumpkin patch soon. 

My sister came out with her kids and my friend also came out with her family to join us.  It was a nice cool fall day. We picked Granny Smith apples, Fuji, and Nittany apples.  Yummy!

Nothing says Fall like apples and football right?  I was sporting my Redskins jersey, but they still lost the game!

My niece Rachel (3 yrs old)

Daniel (4 yrs) and Rachel (3 yrs)

My sister, Hanh, Me, Sina, and Josie

The kids (and the adults) all had a great time.  We then went back to my house and for some chili.  It's always fun to entertain family and friends. 

After everyone left, I took a two and half hour nap.  Boy, I was so exhausted!  Steve took a nap at 3:30 pm and didn't get up until 8:00 am Sunday morning!  And after church today, I was still very tired and slept for two hours, woke up and watched the Redskins lose, went back to sleep for another three hours!  I don't know if it was the week that just caught up with me, but I couldn't remember the last time I was that exhausted!

Tomorrow is our third Beta test.  Please pray that the numbers will go up.