A is for Apples

Well, Jacob knows his whole alphabet now, and is constantly doing ABCs on our fridge with our letter magnets. He lines them all up (not in the correct order), names them all then wants me to sing the song. He sings too. His new thing is to spell all of our names out. Today he put up "GATT" and said "that's mommy's name." I think I like it. Last week he spelled his own name...

He was pretty close and I was impressed.

Also... This week I was invited to a parishioner's house to pick apples. I got 1 big bag of eating apples and three big bags of baking apples. The next day I made nine jars of applesauce, one apple-rhubarb crisp, and one pan of apple bars. I had tasted some apple bars at church, they are so yummy, just like apple pie, and I was told they are easy. So I opened up my church cookbook, and sure enough I found the recipe. I wouldn't say they were the easiest thing ever, but they sure were tasty. The boys both love to eat the baking apples because they are small enough to fit in their hands. Daniel eats the whole entire apple, and i think Jacob ate four just today. Oh yea, and with all this baking/cooking/eating, I didn't even use up one whole bag of apples. But I did use up all my butter/margarine so now I have to wait until grocery day to do anything else with them. Though I have an interesting looking recipe for appe brownies that I think I will try.

Apple Bars
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Recipe By: Edberg Cookbook

Summary: 

Says it freezes well, but they are too delicious and don't last long enough.

Ingredients:

2 handfulls corn flakes 
1 egg, separated
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup margarine
1/3 cup milk
10 apples, small
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Dough: Sift flour and salt together. Mash margarine into flour. Add egg yolk and milk. Mix until it clings together. (Add a little more milk if needed.) Divide in half and roll out to fit bottom and sides of 12x17 cookie sheet.

2. Sprinkle dough with corn flakes.

3. Filling: Mix apples, sugar and cinnamon. Place on top of corn flakes.

4. Place top crust, sealing edges like apple pie. Brush with egg white.

5. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and glaze. Cool and cut into squares.

Easy To Impress

Just HAD to share a tasty new recipe with you. These are so easy and sure to impress, plus I guarantee they will disappear and you won't have to eat the leftovers.



Toffee Bars

Recipe By: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup chocolate chips, or more
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk. Stir in flour and salt. Press into ungreased 13x9 pan.

3. Bake 25 minutes.

4. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit 5 minutes until melty. Spread evenly. Sprinkle with nuts. Cool 30 minutes on wire rack. Cut into 8x4 rows while still warm.

5. Refrigerate to set chocolate.


I didn't use any nuts and these were awesome! I think they would look amazing if you swirled white and dark chocolate chips for the top. I just used milk chocolate.

While I made these I also made some oatmeal cookies that I have been trying to perfect. I think I am close, and there is only 1/2 a cup of sugar in one batch! Which I think makes them almost healthy cookies... Especially since my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, which makes the same amount of cookies, has 2 cups.

What is your favourite and most impressive recipe that you make?

The Boys get Buzzed

Well, I cut Jacob's hair, and then it was Jeff's turn, and then we decided Daniel needed a cut too! His hair was turning into mad scientist hair.

I love his Wings.

Anyways, Daniel was SO BRAVE. He flinched a little, but he didn't cry. He looks super cute with his new 'do.

Before the haircut. 

Smile my Brave Baby! 

My Three Boys looking so GOOD.

Please Be Seated

So two winters ago our church got new-used pews. Ours were somewhere less than 100 years old, and many were splitting and cracking. Well, we took one of those pews home... My plan was to put it at the kitchen table. These pews are nearly 12 feet long and it turns out it wouldn't fit in any room. It sat outside for a while and ended up in the basement as our recycling/sorting station. Last weekend we brought it outside again, and here is the transformation:

Deciding where to make the cut.

Jeff's Dad did all the hard work.

Jacob says "It's like a pew."

3 coats of Royal Indigo

I left the original wood on the back.