101 Apple Recipes, Crafts and Ideas

Apples are a healthy snack. The common phrase 'an apple a day keeps the Dr away' is no old wives tale. Dr Oz in episode 62 revealing wives tales stated that apples have flavenoids that reduce the risk of heart disease. When apple picking season is in full bloom, it may be hard to figure out how to use all of those apples.

Here is a BIG list of apple fun, crafts and recipes. I am looking for 101 ways to use apples, so check back for more ideas!

List care of Food Network Magazine October 2010

1. Apple Chips- Thinly slice 3 apples; bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven for 1 hour. Then sprinkle with salt.

2. Apple with Goat Cheese-Slice and apple horizontally and toss with lemon juice. Layer with goat cheese, bacon, olive oil, salt and pepper.

3. Pita filled with apples-Butter a whole-wheat pita; top with apple slices and cinnamon. Toast 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Drizzle with honey.

4. Ginger Golds do not brown as fast as other apples

5. Apple Salad -Toss 2 diced apples and baby spinach with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, blue cheese and walnuts.

6. Mock Apple Mojitos - 3 ounces of apple juice mixed with lime juice, ice and mint. Shake in a shaker and top with ginger ale.

7. Apples with Peanut Butter - top apple slices with peanut butter, raisins and a pinch of sea salt.

8. Jack Rose - 2 ounces applejack, 1 ounce lemon juice and 1/2 ounce grenadine with ice. Strain into a glass.

9. Apple and butternut soup-stir chunky applesauce into butternut squash or sweet-potato soup and warm.

10. Apple omelet - fill an omelet with thinly sliced apples, Black Forest ham and brie.

11. Make a stop to a pick-your-own orchard and replenish your apples! Here is a list of places to pick apples in the Capital District Troy-Albany-Schenectady area of NY.

12. Add apples to a cheese board.

13. Apple sauce - Partially cover peeled and cored apples with water and add a sliver of lemon peel. Siimmer until soft, strain in a potato ricer and add cinnamon and sugar to taste. For a different spin add other favorite spices such as nutmeg or apple pie spice.

14. Apple Slaw - Shred carrots in a food processor, add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cumin.

15. Apple Tea - Add diced apples to homemade tea as it brews and strain, then sweeten with honey.

16. Bob for Apples - Try long stemmed varieties such as Gala and Jonagold that are easier to catch.

17. Apple Pie with Cheddar - Top apple pie slices with cheddar cheese and warm at 250 until the cheese melts.

18. Apple-Beet Salad - Combine apple slices with sliced beets, toss with salt, pepper and plain yogurt.

19. Apple Granita - Pour 1-inch layer of apple juice into shallow pan and freeze. Scrap with fork to serve.

20. Beat a World Record - Practice peeling an apple. The world record is 172 feet.

21. Spice up Store Bought Apple Sauce - with a few diced apples and a squeeze of lemon juice.

22. Chocolate Dip - Microwave 6 ounces of chocolate and 1/4 cream on 75% power to 2 minutes and stir. Dip apples!

23. Pink Ladies - Chop Pink Lady apples and cover with a squeeze of lemon juice.

24. Apple S'mores - Put a marshmallow on a gingersnap; microwave for 10 seconds. Top with an apple slice and a gingersnap.

25. PB&A - Peanut butter and apple butter sandwich.

26. Oatmeal - Add diced apples, ground cinnamon, brown sugar and maple syrup to your morning meal.

27. Hors d'oeuvres - Golden Delicious apples wrapped in proscuitto.

28. Mac n Cheese - Add apples slices to macaroni and cheese before serving.

29. Mulled Cider - Simmer a half-gallon of apple cider with cloves, a cinnamon stick and sliced oranges for 15 minutes.

30. Farmer's Market - Head to the local farmers market for heirloom apples.

31. Caramel Apples - The food network has a recipe for perfect caramel apples

There are several products on the market to help you core and slice apples faster and easier. My personal favorite is the apple corer and divider.

Some of the great ideas today came from the Food Network Magazine. Subscribe today for great ideas for every day living.

Or the Child at heart!

1. Apple Stamping - Crave and apple into a stamp and let the kids use washable paint to make fun prints on paper.

2. Make an apple picking bag
3. - Use the same stamp and stamp on a linen bag with fabric paint.
4. Science and Math with Apples - Choose several different apple varieties and sizes and have children measure them. Which one is the biggest, which one is the smallest. Tallest? Shortest? Order from largest to smallest. Weigh. Have them guess the weight of the apples. Weigh the apples compared to other fruits. Do apples float?

5. Taste Test - Pick several varieties for a taste test. Which on is the best? Which is the sweetest? The most sour?

6. Make an Apple Doll - The Disney Channel on-line has a fun craft for Apple Dolls that look like cute cranky old ladies!

7. Create an Apple Frame - Use this idea for a fun frame craft to make an apple motif frame.

8. Floating Apple Votives - Turn apples into floating votives in a tin bucket with this Apple Votive craft from Martha Stewart.

9. Ghost and Pumpkin Apples
10. - Turn apples into
11. pumpkins and spooky ghosts
12. with another fun craft idea from Martha Stewart.
13. Make an Apple Monster - An apple, carving took and Q-tips are all you need to make this scary apple monster.

14. Cook - Find a favorite recipe and cook with apples. Try this fun and healthy Slow Cooker Oatmeal with Apples and Honey recipe from About.com

The recipe for pork loin with apples and sage comes from the Williams-Sonoma Slow Cooker Cookbook. It includes other easy crock-pot/slow cooker recipes for butternut squash soup, Italian pot roast, mole enchiladas, ale-braised short ribs, coq a vin and chicken cacciatore.

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast

INGREDIENTS

Boneless pork loin 2.5-3 lbs

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Canola oil, 2 tablespoons

Dried sage, 2 teaspoons

Yellow onion, 1/2 chopped

Garlic, 2 cloves minced

Chicken broth, 1 cup

Apple cider or unsweetened apple juice, 1 cup

Cinnamon stick, 1 small

Granny Smith apples 6 halved, cored and cut into wedges

Cornstarch, 2 tablespoons

Brown the pork

Season the pork loin w salt and pepper. Heat the oil on medium-high and brown the pork well on all sides. Transfer to a slow cooker. Sprinkle with sage.

Make the sauce

Return the frying pan to medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add the broth and 1/2 cup of the cider, bring to a boil and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bit on the pan bottom. Pour over the pork. Add the cinnamon stick, cover and cook on the high-heat setting for 2-3 hours or the low-heat setting for 5-6 hours. Arrange the apple slices around the meat, cover, and continue cooking for 1 hour longer, until the apples are tender.

Finish sauce

Transfer the pork tot he cutting board and remove the strings. Transfer the apples slices to a bowl. Cover the pork and the apples with aluminum foil to keep warm. Put the slow cooker on the high heat setting. In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch into the remaining 1/2 cup cider until dissolved. Slowly pour the cider-cornstarch mixture into the cooking liquid in the slow cooker while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until it thickens to a creamy consistency, 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Slice the pork across the grain and serve with apples. Spoon the gravy on top.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter

8 Slices whole-grain bread

1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

6 oz shreded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced.

8 strips cooked bacon

Instructions

Heat the the butter in a large skillet or nonstick saute pan over low heat. Slather 4 slices of bread with the mustard, then divide the cheese, apples and bacon among them. Top with the other bread slices and add to the hot pan. Cook until deep brown and crunchy about 10 to 12 minutes total.

Southern Living Magazine September 2011

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

APPLE CAKE BATTER

1 cup finely chopped pecans

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb)

PRALINE FROSTING

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

3 Tbsp. Milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1. Prepare Filling: Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.

2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350. Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.

3. Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife. Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.

4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).

5. Prepare Frosting: Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-quart sauce-pan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cake.

Submited to Southern Living Magazine by Robert Kindred in Seagoville, TX

Core an an apple.

Place the apple on its side and slice it so that each slice looks like a donut.

Take two slices and spread with peanut butter, almond butter, hazelnut butter, caramel or any other favorite.

Place the two pieces together like a sandwich.

Enjoy!

Take and apple and core and peel it. Place it in a small microwave safe bowl with 2-3 tbs of water. Cover and microwave for about 2-3 minutes until soft. To flavor, add a little cinnamom or brown sugar. Eat plain or spoon over ice cream ,oatmeal or another favorite food.