Baked Apples

I couldn't believe how simple this recipe was to make, and how great the fresh apples tasted! If I would have closed my eyes I would have thought I was eating warm apple pie!

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and remove the core from the center of each apple. (Make as many or as few apples as you would like.) Take a glass baking dish and put just enough water in it to cover the bottom of the pan. Add 1.5 tsp. of vanilla to the water.

Step 2. For every apple you are going to bake add a tablespoon of butter and two table spoons of brown sugar to a bowl. Mix together. Add ground cinnamon to the taste. Feel free to make it your own, some people add raisins, almonds, or other nuts. Stuff mixture into the apples until it is spilling out the top. Some people suggest peeling a thin layer of the apple skin off so it can absorb more flavor but from now on I will skip that step, I am pretty sure that it added nothing more to the flavor. Sprinkle the water and apples with granulated sugar, cinnamon, and a little nutmeg. Put into oven and bake for 20 minutes with tin foil on, and 20 minutes with the foil off. (Times may very depending on the size of your apples.)

Step 3. Bake until golden brown and soft to the touch. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream of course! Enjoy your delicious autumn treat!

Autumn's Apples

This weekend I spent Saturday with my amazing husband, my helpful brother-in-law, and my sweet grandmother. We woke up early to get a head start on the day. Josh had a little bit of work to do and then we were off to visit my grandma. Thankfully the boys were able to fix her car by putting a new battery in...grandma felt instant relief. We took her out for a pizza lunch date and then off to the orchard we went! It was perfect outside! Not too cold, not to hot, a little sunshine mixed with a few clouds. We grabbed a bushel basket and we went walking in search for the perfect apples. We ate apple after apple, taste testing each kind. We filled the basket with some for everyone. Baking apples, eating apples, big apples, small apples, red, green, and yellow apples. We over filled the basket and the boys had to use team work to carry the basket back to the barn.  Grandma and I couldn't help but look at all the fallen apples... sad we couldn't bring every apple home with us. We all had a wonderful time and I cant wait to try some new recipes with my freshly picked apples. After apple picking we stopped at my friends' grandparents anniversary party. What a wonderful couple married 50 years! I love all couples older than us, we have so much we can learn from them. A wonderful inspiration. After visiting there for a while we went to my favorite place in the whole world! HOME! And no its not my home anymore but it still feels like my home.  We had time to visit with Mom and Dad for a while and then Dad took us to a place not too far from the house to buy pumpkins, squash, and gourds. I wish I would have brought my camera out at this place! The colors were beautiful! Vegetables of every color. We filled the car with all kinds of goodies! When we returned home I was reminded of a wood sign that hangs in my moms kitchen..."A day in the country is worth a million days in the city."