Cinnamon Apples

ATTENTION ALL CINNAMON ADDICTS!

The Cinnamon Apples are done and ready to munch!  Here's a quick recipe to make our version of dehydrated Cinnamon Apples.  We saw these being sold at one of our favorite orchard farms and tried making them for ourselves.  It's always fun to experiment and learn to make new things.  And who said everything coming out of a food dehydrator is boring!  I beg to differ!

In a large bowl add 2 cups sugar, 3 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon and mix well.

We used the apple/peeler/corer/slicer to prepare the apples. Otherwise, peel, core, cut thin with a knife.

We used a variety of apples to make this batch.  My favorites were the Criterion Apples and then I liked the Banana Apples and Spitz Apples which add a little "zing" to the mix.

Each apple slice is placed into the sugar/cinnamon mixture ONE AT A TIME to fully coat the apple and then tap the extra coating off by gently giving it a couple taps on the side of the bowl.

Place each coated apple on the dehydrator tray.  DO NOT move the apple once they are place on the trays. Be sure to place them carefully so they are not touching each other and have plenty of air circulation.

We dried our apples at 135 degrees for 18 hours.  Your drying time may vary depending on your dehydrator, your area's humidity and how thick you cut your apples.  Be sure to dry until the apples have a firm, dry, leathery feel.  When done, let cool and place in an air tight container ... if they last that long!

~ Enjoy!

*** An Added Note:  Someone brought this to my attention. Due to sugaring the apples, there most likely will be a syrup/juicy mess at the bottom of your dehydrator when you are finished.  Depending on the type of dehydrator you use, you can use parchment paper on the bottom to catch the mess, or perhaps place a solid dehydrator mat below, like the mats you use to make fruit leathers. We did not use anything in the bottom of our dehydrator and the mess cleaned up easily with a clean wash cloth and hot sudsy water.  

This is our apple peeler/corer/slicer ... makes a quick job of it!

This pic is from a different project but shows spiral apples peeled, cored, cut and then cut in half

These are the Cinnamon Apples we bought at the orchard farm that we were trying to copy ...

or what was left of them anyway before eating the entire bag!

Our Cinnamon Apples placed on the dehydrator racks.

We also tried pears with this recipe ... not recommended.

(Need to clarify: We used Asian Pears & they were a bit too mushy. But firmer pears should do great!)

The finished product is every Cinnamon Addicts dream come true!

Sacrifice On A Plate!

Well okay ... I confess!  I'm not one of those "foodie" girls who whip up gourmet meals and wear pearls at the same time.  Though I do admire men and women who can create such tasty looking gourmet dishes ... I'm just not one of those people.  I'm more of a Dave Ramsey "rice and beans and beans and rice" kind-a-gal ... to get to where I want to go!


Remember ...
to pay off debt ...
to build up your pantry ...
to plant next year's garden ...
to save up for that home repair ...
to buy that new dehydrator ...
to buy that cord of wood ...  
to buy those new shoes for your child ...
to pay that electric bill ...
to repair the flat tire on the car ...  

it takes time ... planning ... and sacrifice!  

Here's what sacrifice looks like on a plate!

  Browned burger, chopped onions, condensed mushroom soup, water

Added a good amount of dehydrated mushrooms and let simmer for an hour

Pour gravy over a bed of rice, topped with home canned green beans from the garden

And ... voila ... a filling dinner on the cheap!

Dehydrated Banana Chips

Oh banana facts!!!

Did you know that bananas are one of the world's most popular fruits and the forth largest fruit crop in the world?

Did you know that a cluster of bananas in the store is called a "hand" of bananas and the individual bananas are called "fingers"?

Did you know bananas contain no fat, however, they are high in sugar content and should probably be consumed in moderation. A banana can go head to head or toe to toe with an apple when it comes to calories.

And get a load of this!  Did you know the banana split was invented by a 23 year old apprentice pharmacist named David Evans Stickler of Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1904?  The banana split originally cost TEN CENTS, which was twice the price of other sundaes.

And here's another banana fact ... they can be dehydrated!  I have a load in the dryer now.

  Laying out all my supplies

And don't laugh ... yes, we have a banana cutter.

It was a free gift and we love kitchen gadgets that make a quick job of it!

Dipping the bananas in a honey bath of:

1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 1 1/2 cups hot water

Stir until blended and sugar is dissolved.

Then dip the bananas quickly, a few at a time, remove with a slotted spoon and place on trays

Place the bananas on your drying trays and dab with a paper cloth before loading into the dryer.

And I couldn't resist trying one tray with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

After dipping them in a bath you can also dip them in finely chopped nuts or shredded coconut.

Honey bathed bananas coming out of the dehydrator ... way sticky and way chewy yummy!

Perhaps this would be a welcomed plate of munchies for our holiday guests!
(but I'd want to mix this up with dehydrated kiwis)

Now these are something to crow about!

And Captain Head Space ... this message is for you ... I STILL GO BANANAS OVER YOU!

Happy Anniversary!!! xoxo

My Personal Recipe Book

When I was young (yes, I was young once), I took a creative writing class in junior high taught by a wonderful teacher who encouraged me to practice writing by keep a personal journal.  At that age those pages must have been packed full of emotions, exploring, expanding, exploding, experiencing and exclaiming!!!  You couldn't pay me enough money to go back to that age!!! (exclaims me!)

My need to write, later developed into writing for the school newspaper, writing a bit for the high school newspaper, writing poetry, writing love letters, writing to far away friends and it seemed I took to it like a horse to water ... until I met my match in one college course called, "Precision Writing."  No "exclaiming" in that course!  No junk words!  No extra punctuation!  No nothin!  In fact, no extra words of any kind because the course was to teach students the skill to write as if they were writing an instruction manual.  Totally boring ... but totally challenging.  I was now being s.t.r.e.t.c.h.e.d. to learn a completely new skill ... and I was determined to learn it even if I hoped to never use that skill in my lifetime!   Well now that I'm way older ... I write whatever is in my heart, wherever it pours out and whenever the mood strikes.  And yes, I am completely guilty of writing in most books I read, and because of that compulsion, I will never be allowed a library card!

One of my many "wherevers" is in my personal recipe book.  I hope over time it develops into a wonderful kitchen journal, but for now it appears to be rather untamed and in need of love and attention.  The winter months always call me to put time into it and organize it and change things around and grow it.  Wait.  Did I just say "Grow it?"  Now that's quite an understatement! At this rate Volume II is already begging for its own binder!  I'm thinking Volume II will be dedicated to my husband's favorite dishes and creations, since after all, he has been a big contributor of many recipes in this collection!

Perhaps you have created your own personal recipe book too and your method of madness just looks different than mine.  If so ... high five!  It may perhaps find its way one day to someone who finds it to be a wonderful treasure.

This project is dedicated to my Grandma who was my hero growing up.  She loved cutting out recipes and trying new cooking creations as she was also a foster care provider for much of her life and she spent endless hours preparing meals for the masses.  Each dish was about serving a nutritious meal from scratch and making those around her table feel loved, filled, served, satisfied.  When my Gram passed away, I left the hospital, went to her home and locked the door behind me.  There on the floor by her glider chair was a pair of scissors and a stack of recipes she had earlier cut out from her favorite magazines ... all recipes she hoped to cook herself one day.  I stayed in her home for three nights by myself.  I slept in her bed and pulled the covers up over my head.  I took in all the memories of her and heard her instructions as my mentor and oh how she'd scold me when I was young and tell me to stop acting like a "ninny" and to straighten up and be strong and courageous like the Lord had called me to be!  She was my greatest encourager!  And so ... when I finally found my strength and courage to leave her home and face the world without her, I scooped up the recipes off the floor ... and thus began my personal recipe book.

Every kitchen dweller has an array of books ... new, old or a combination of both and somehow ...
each book has a story of its own and how it found its way to the cook.

The big chunky one on the bottom far left ... yep, that's my recipe book! 

Yes, there's a canning recipe book started too!  Who'd have thunk it?

I wonder how much this baby weighs now?

I just know it takes both hands to remove it from the shelf because it's pretty darned heavy!

 It's thick, wide, bursting ... and total untamed!

It also serves as a photo album of gatherings, potlucks, celebrations, holidays where we served those we love.

~ Hand written hints and comments grace the pages ~ 

Give credit to where credit is due and make the print BIG and BOLD!

One from Gram's recipe pile ... and notes to go along side it.

I dedicated several pages to my Mom's favorite recipes she made when I was growing up

Additional splashes of colors and how-to's

Many pages are in color

This one is particularly precious to me because my husband's notes are all over our annual Baklava recipe!

We have had fun "fine tuning" our team work over many years of putting this Greek pastry together

And this one I am especially fond of because my Gram hand wrote this recipe.  

I've never made the recipe ... but it most certainly belongs here within the pages.

Gram, Me, Mom

Faith, Hope and Love ... The greatest of these is love.

Our Family's Indian Relish

Today's lesson learned ... No two Indian Relish recipes are alike!

When I researched Indian Relish on the internet there were many varieties to choose from, including the use of green tomatoes, cauliflower and different spices.  Not one of them was a duplicate to this recipe. And when I researched the "history" on this recipe handed down through my husband's side of the family there were several guesses as from where it originated but nobody was certain. What everyone did agree on is that it was handed down many years ago; that it is FABULOUS in and on meatloaf and when one of the ladies in the family mentions Indian Relish, it's ONLY this recipe they are referring to and no other!  Now of course, because there was a lack of family history about this recipe it just begged me to make up a tale to go along with it!  I could have made up a fun tale of how it came from my paternal great grandma's side of the family which were from the Ho-Chunk Nation, also known as the Winnebago tribe of Native Americans ... but I resisted.

I've never made or canned this recipe before and yet I was excited to try it because my Hubby goes on and on about it and was excited for us to can our own batch!  You know how contagious excitement can be!  So now here we go ... on with THE recipe!

Our Family's Indian Relish

12 large tomatoes (approx 15 cups)
6 large apples (approx 8 1/2 cups)
3 large sweet onions (approx 5 cups)
3 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon salt

Peel and chop fruit.  Place in deep pot and add the rest of the ingredients.
Do not cover with a lid.
Bring to a boil and boil for 1/2 hour.
Then simmer 1-2 hours until thick.
Stir often to avoid scorching.
Fill hot jars to 1/2" head space.  Process in water bath for 10 minutes.

Highly recommended to use in and on meatloaf ... a great alternative to ketchup ... used as a sweet meat spread ... used for dipping your fries and tater tots ... the sky's the limit!

I give this recipe a two thumbs up!  It has great texture; the sweetness from the apples compliment the tomatoes and it doesn't have a "spicy hot" taste but rather has a rich 'home sweet home' kind of flavor.    

We chopped the smaller tomatoes "as is" and peeled the larger tomatoes before chopping

We used our new handy dandy apple peeler/corer/cutter to speed things up

The food processor didn't chop apples well, so I chopped with a knife. Much easier!

Bringing all ingredients to a boil for 1/2 hour

The final product ... 8 pints of our family's Indian Relish!

Mix ~ Spread ~ Dip ~ Enjoy!