MY Apple Pie

I named this MY Apple Pie because I had a few recipes in my binder and this is my FAVORITE!  I have made a lot of apple pies in my day but none are like this.

 Collection of ingredients

Start with the peeling and coring of apples

Melt butter, add sugars and vanilla

Stir to combine

Bring to a boil then remove.

Pour this over the apples

Pour this into a prepared pie dish with a ready crust.  (Thank you to Lulu for taking this photo!)

MY secret ingredient.

Sprinkled on top. 

Egg washed and ready to go IN the oven.

Out comes perfection!!

 Is there a better use for Silpat??

MMMMMM!!!   

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The Recipe: 

My NEW Apple Pie

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie  (Pilsbury Box fine)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• Cinnamon Sweet Sprinkle  - optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, vanilla and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.  
3. Pour over apples in large bowl.  Toss to coat. 
4. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Sprinkle with Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle.  Cover with a lattice work of crust or full crust vented. 
5. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven ON a cookie sheet. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

    

Stock is On!

Mmmmm what kind of soup will I make tonight?  

I love the smell of this stock simmering all day - especially on a cool fall day.

I love even more when the girls walk in from school and say - YEAH Soup!

Of course, this could be because we always have fresh bread with soup!

What is your favorite soup to make?!?  Let me know!

UN-Blocked!

This morning I woke to a much more organized sewing area. 

 Fabrics were folded and put into their organized bins.

Sewing Notions are back where they belong.  

There is Elizabeth, my friend, who I need to treat much better!

 A more approachable working area.

All those projects I have been planning...

 Halloween Costumes waiting to be put together.

A MUCH better view today...

...as compared to yesterday.

This image alone brings me peace.  Why does this simple thing make me feel SO MUCH BETTER?

I am UNBLOCKED!!
I even started pressing fabrics.
I just wish I knew WHICH project to start with.  I know - the ones I can finish!

BLOCKED!

I am blocked.

I have CRAFTING BLOCK.  

Which is like writer's block with the exception that I want to be writing posts with crafts I have completed but I cannot get to the crafts. 

THIS could be the problem:

how does this happen?

Maybe I am alone in suffering from this?  It is a symptom of the late summer heatwave and the Back to School 'lazies' that I get every September.  Everything just stops here and it is all about getting the girls into their schedule.  This is one of the main reasons I did not want my sewing area in my bedroom.  

But this year it's really bad! 

I still need to get to the 'back to school' hemming.  

BUT I am spending this rainy day here taking care of this problem!!  Let's hope I can dig out of this FAST!

New England Day Trip

The COUNTY FAIR!!  Ours is boasted to be one of the oldest in the country! Started in 1820 they say!

What we know is there are bunnies, chicks, rides and terribly good things to eat.  The girls and I spent a perfect fall day (cool in the 60s) roaming the fair grounds for 4.5 hours!

Some of the highlights of our day before my battery died:

Baby chicks hatching

Hands on

Cards for the soldiers!

Bake Off!

Up, up and 

AWAY!

My most favorite part of the day - visiting the bunny nursery - so sweet!

After all that roaming and eating and playing - we were fast asleep at 9 PM!

Doing my Duty

Today I am at Jury Duty.



This is my third time at Jury Duty.

First time I was picked to serve - and was thrilled to be out of the office for 3 days.

Second time I sat all day to be dismissed at 1 PM - I was not happy to have left my little Coco home for the day with Nana.

This time - who knows what will happen.  I have had to juggle the girls schedules and arrange Daddy to stand in for their day.

It's a pain however, I am glad to be in this great country and if I am needed to serve my civic duties - I will.



Enjoy the Day!!  

But... either way

Banished!

After a long weekend of a soccer tourney on WET fields it was inevitable:

 I was sweeping up last night and said to myself what IS that?  Once I found the offending shoes - OUT they went.  

I have tried everything in the past few years.  Stuffing with newspaper seems to work the best.  When one remembers to do that.

Recently, I have turned to using dryer sheets (great use to reuse them after a dryer cycle!) but this is temporary at best.

Until we figure this out - this is where they will stay.

Let's hope they don't kill the flowers!!!