I actually thought I’d posted this recipe already, but I must have posted it on a private loop somewhere.
As promised on Twitter: the recipe I’ve been following for slow-cooked apple butter. It’s a joy to make because it fills the house with its heady fragrance for hours and hours and hours. Easy, too, aside from the time-consuming angle of peeling and cutting up the apples. I found the recipe on the Internet somewhere, but can’t find the original anymore, and the printout is gone. I’ve tweaked it a bit anyway, as you must feel free to do, of course.
CROCKPOT APPLE BUTTER
makes approximately 6 cups
About 5-6 pounds apples (I like organic Delicious for the sweetness, but have also used Granny Smith)
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Crushed tops of 7-8 cloves
1/3 vanilla bean, scraped
Dash kosher salt
Juice of half lemon
6 oz (half a bottle) hard apple cider if you have it, or apple juice if not.
Peel, core and slice apples and put them in the crock pot. Stir in other ingredients, pouring the cider over the top. Let cook on low setting for 24 hours, stirring now and then to make sure the spices permeate the whole stew.
For a smooth texture, purree the mixture in a blender; for chunky, simply use a ricer or potato masher. You can freeze it or process in a water bath as per usual instructions.
It’s one of my favorite things this winter. What is one of yours? What have you been cooking a lot of?
flickr creative commons photo by beta karel
I have been making a lot of chili this past winter. I do not follow a recipe though, I just take about 2 lbs of hamburger, chop an onion, add some garlic cloves, salt and pepper and brown the meat. While it’s browning, I open 2 cans of kidney beans and drain them in a strainer, 2 large cans of tomato paste, 1 large can of stewed tomatoes, 1 large jar of medium spicy chunky salsa, and one hershey’s plain chocolate bar. I break one row (3 pieces) off of the chocolate bar and put it aside. By this time, the meat is browned, so I drain the grease, transfer it to a large pot, add the beans, tomato paste, stewed tomatoes, salsa and the row of chocolate, mix it all together, add 1 1/2 packets of chili seasoning and mix it all together. I turn the heat on to low-medium, cover, and let it simmer for about 3 hours, stirring once in awhile to make sure it’s not sticking to the pan.
Then I clean up the mess I made, eat the remaining 3 rows of chocolate, and read a book.
Once the chili is done, I put it in a bowl, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top and a dollop of sour cream. Mix it all together…enjoy
this sounds delicious! I will be trying soon…put my crock pot into use for once
During the winter I make apple crisp and apple cake but keep it calorie conscious with splenda and it is delightful and tart.