LookBack
Is it really Sunday again already? Nothing makes you lose track of time like figuring out life with a newborn!
Here’s what happened on SoS this week:
I found just enough time to throw some apples & cranberries in the slow cooker for some Crock Pot apple butter.
My friend & fellow RD Katie shared 3 super important nutrients for pregnancy.
We talked exercise & colds… when they should mix & when they shouldn’t.
My little man’s 1st week!
And baby’s 2nd week.
It’s already time for his 3 week update, ay ay ay,
Recipe
The first time I tasted a spoonful of homemade apple butter I knew I’d unleashed a monster. A fruit-butter making monster. The possibilities are endless; the choices loomed in front of me. Pear. Apple. Pumpkin. Plum. Cranberry.
The apple butter was just too good to stray too far from for my first variation. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it! But I did want to mix it up a little. I had some cranberries leftover from the holiday season and thought their tangy tartness would make the perfect complement to the sweet, rich apple flavor.
I was right. It’s good stuff.
And still super easy. Cranberries can be scary to quick with since they pop and explode, but stick them in a slow cooker with a lid and you’re perfectly safe from rupturing berries.
by Heather Neal
Keywords: slow-cooker snack vegan vegetarian
- ~4 apples {I used Gala}
- 1 cup whole cranberries
- 1 cup no sugar added cranberry apple juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
Dice apples- leave skins on.
Put apple and cranberries in crock pot, cover, and cook on high ~4 hours.
Add in juice & spices. Feel free to adjust spices to taste.
Cook another 4 hrs on high. When it looks like apple sauce, use immersion blender to puree apples.
Continue cooking with lid slightly ajar until apples have thickened and darkened {aka caramelized}.
Note: all slow cookers are different- keep an eye on yours as you may need more or less time, or to use high or low heat.
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Do you have a favorite fruit butter? What should I make next? 
Recipe
I’ve discovered an added secret bonus to silver dollar pancakes {like I needed another reason to make them}: they’re the perfect one-handed breakfast to eat while taking care of a newborn. 
This time I skipped the chocolate chips, a rare occasion in my pancake-making, and went with a fruit-loaded vegan buttermilk pancake.
In case apples in your pancakes isn’t enough apple for you, top the pancakes with more apple chunks. For super apple power, add a dollop of fresh homemade apple butter. Now we’re talking.
by Heather Neal
Keywords: breakfast vegetarian vegan
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups almond milk
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4-1/2 cup diced apples
Mix apple cider vinegar and almond milk together. Set aside.
Combine remaining ingredients except apples.
Stir in milk mixture.
Gently fold in apples.
Heat a skillet to medium; cook pancakes several minutes on each side. {Flip when you see air bubbles or the edges start to dry.}
Serve with extra apples on top.
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LookBack
Another week has flown by and we’ve gone from high 60s and t-shirts to frost on the ground, heavy comforters and warm fuzzy socks.
Here’s what you might have missed while that was happening:
The 2011 Healthy Holiday Challenge: it’s not about giving up your holiday favorites.
Pomegranate Poached Pears
Thanksgiving’s over. That means it’s time to start the Christmas cookie baking!
Peppermint Cookies
I discovered just how easy and delicious apple butter is to make; now I can’t stop eating it by the spoon full.
And my favorite blog reading tool: Super Google Reader!
Only 9 weeks to go…this week marked 31 weeks down.
My mom threw me a surprise baby shower!
Other Stuff:
The 3 Mistakes Fit Women Make…are you sure you’re not making them?
Megan’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins sound delicious!
BPA Rises 1200% After Eating From Cans…yikes.
Shocking news {I kid}: apple juice isn’t good for you… but is it because of the arsenic or the sugar?
Recipe
I had grand plans this fall. I knew I’d be making the drive to Maryland in mid-November to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, and I knew I’d be getting pretty pregnant by then {aka I’d need to stop a lot}. Charlottesville, which is almost exactly half way between my two destinations, also happens to be the home of a pick your own apple orchard.
I grew up somewhat near a pick your own farm and loved going up every season to pick whatever fruit or vegetable was ripe. Apples are one of my favorite things to pick because they’re a) delicious and b) the waxy coating from the grocery store varieties gives me the skeevy jeevies.
Breaking up the drive with a stop at the apple orchard sounded like the perfect solution: a chance to get outside and walk around, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and load up on bushels and bushels of apples.
There was only one kink in my plan. Apple season ended in October. Gah!
So grocery store apples it is this year. But that didn’t stop me from stocking up. I had visions of apples dancing in my head for months. First and foremost on the list: apple butter. {Apple pie was a close second.}
I love apple butter. Had I known all these years how easy and insanely delicious homemade apple butter is, I’d probably have turned into a big giant puddle of the stuff by now.
Let me summarize the process for you:
Cut up apples.
Dump in crockpot.
Walk away for a few hours.
Stick an immersion blender in the pot for a couple seconds.
Add some juice and spices.
Walk away for a few more hours.
The end.
Seriously. Again, slow cooker to the rescue– it does all the work while I go about my business. Meanwhile the house fills with the most delicious, irresistible apple and spice aromas.
And now I’ve unleashed a monster. I foresee many a apple butter concoctions in my future: cranberry…plum…pumpkin…chipotle…pear…
Maybe I should finally learn how to can. Although judging by the rate I went through this batch, I won’t need to. I put it on everything in sight- English muffins with peanut butter, apple pancakes, oatmeal…heck I even ate it by the spoonful.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 7-8 apples {I used Gala & Fuji}
- 1 cup no sugar added juice {I used cranberry pomegranate}
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
Dice apples- leave skins on.
Put apple in crock pot, cover, and cook on high ~4 hours.
Add in juice & spices. Feel free to adjust spices to taste.
Cook another 4 hrs on high. When it looks like apple sauce, use immersion blender to puree apples.
Continue cooking with lid slightly ajar until apples have thickened and darkened {aka caramelized}.
Note: all slow cookers are different- keep an eye on yours as you may need more or less time, or to use high or low heat.
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You can bet I’ll know to get my butt to the apple orchard before October next year.
