A is for Apple

Hey Ya'll!

I hope the weekend was good to everyone! After the busy {and car-less} work week I had last week, I needed a really relaxing weekend. It consisted of brunch, running "fun errands" {bookstore, The Fresh Market, Tarjet, outdoor mall} and lots of football! My Seminoles gave it their best last night, which sadly didn't equal a "W" for us. But I'm certainly glad it was a fight of a game! And the Bucs won today - so that was much needed! :)

On Saturday I ran to TFM and picked up some delicious produce and burgers to grill for the FSU game. I was really excited to see that my favorite apples "Pink Ladies" are already being harvested for the fall!! If you've never had a Pink Lady - you probably should run to your nearest grocer and get some! Apples are one of my favorite things of fall!! On the way home I stopped by our locally owned Ace Hardware - their entire store front boasting huge pots of mums - already in bloom!! I picked up two tiny pots of mums and one larger pot, to sit by my front door. I planted the baby mums in the pots I had made last fall - and they're nestled on my front porch. . . the larger mums are accompanied by a hand-painted FSU "Funkin" {pumpkin, faux}, some decorative berries, and an orange fall-scented candle! Little did I know, that today would be the most perfect fall day yet!! It was so enjoyable to sit out on the porch and read with a blanket over my legs!! In Florida, y'all!! :) It was heavenly.

In addition to craving fall's produce, I couldn't help but get excited when I passed the Methodist church where Handsome Man and I went pumpkin patch'ing last year. The men were out front putting up the stakes, fence and strings of lights... Pumpkins are due out Oct. 1!!!

I got to thinking during dinner {which consisted of my first soup of the season - Tuscan White Bean - yum! and a Pink Lady apple with peanut butter} - that there are so many ways that I love to eat apples. So I thought I'd share with you a couple of them ....








Slow Cooker Apples - Perfected by Mama B.

• 6 large apples
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon 
• dash of allspice

Place your cored and 1" thick apple slice {we leave the skin on} into a medium-hot skillet with melted butter. Add in sugar, cinnamon and allspice. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved. Cover and simmer til your apples are soft. These are perfect as a side dish to dinner or as dessert!!

Apple Pocket Pies - Recipe from Williams-Sonoma, Cute Pie-Maker from Williams-Sonoma
I'll admit, I first only bought this apple-pocket pie mold {2 yrs ago} because it was so stinkin' cute. I'm a sucker for "fun kitchen gadgets" - like, badly!! I've only used it a few times, and my first pocket pies were sad looking - to say the least! But they were delish!
Here's the recipe according to Williams-Sonoma:
Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 t salt
• 2 T sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 16 T cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 6-8 T ice water
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon water

Apple Pie Filling

• 2 or 3 baking apples, cored, peeled, and sliced. (I used one macintosh and one granny smith)
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 T flour
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Mix all together, fold / cut crust into the mold - Once assembled and filled, I freeze these for 20 minutes so that they retain their shape {blame it on the humidity down here} ... Bake on 400* for 15 minutes. Cool for 10 and then enjoy~ perfectly portioned for 1 pocket pie per person {say that 5 times fast!}









That's about it y'all - I'm going to relax and watch the Emmy's ... I usually hate awards shows... Probably won't make it past the red carpet preview! Enjoy your upcoming week! I'm praying that mine isn't too crazy and that next weekend will be here before I know it! And, maybe that it stays overcast and breezy and fall-like all week and next weekend. That's not too much to ask for, right??

xoxo
B