Apples, Apples, and more Apples

No doubt, its time to either get your Orchard time in or figure out what to do with all the apples you picked over the weekend, right? I was thinking about more than just crisps and pies this year and wanted to share what came up with.

The first one is a bit off beat,but its a wonderful school-hood memory for me. I was lucky enough to have my favorite teacher twice, as she switched grades. Ms. Abraham was this quirky lady who wore too much mascara, and was tough on us, but I loved her just the same. She had our class do this "creative writing project" that centered around...check this - Apple Head Dolls. Not heard of them? They are an old Americana craft, believed to go back to early Indian tribes.

I was going to try my hand at a tutorial, but I found a great resource and instruction site:
Apple Dolls. Org. This should at least give you ideas, should you want to try it.

Next, I found the new recipe that I am most interested in trying, its simple so it wins:

Baked Apples with Mexican Chocolate - and its Martha, of course. ( It's Halloween, so I am pretty much devouring her site right now. There is this soo cool Jelly Fish costume....I digress...)

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 medium apples
• 5 large marshmallows, 1 quartered, 4 halved crosswise
• 1 ounce Mexican chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve each apple lengthwise. Using a melon baller or grapefruit spoon, scoop out seeds, forming a small crater in center of each half.
2. Fill each crater with 1 marshmallow quarter and 1/4 of the chocolate. Cut 2 tablespoons butter into small pieces, and divide among apples, placing over chocolate.
3. Place water and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a baking dish. Place filled apples in dish. Bake until a paring knife inserted into apples meets no resistance, 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Set oven to broil. Top each apple half with 2 marshmallow halves. Broil until golden brown. Drizzle with juices.

Helpful Hint

Cooking times for different types of apples vary; begin checking for doneness after 20 minutes.

PS. Mexican chocolate is that round, individually wrapped package that says drink mix or hot chocolate on it. It smells amazing!( I know Whole Foods has it.)

**Please email let me know if you have any really awesome apple recipes or crafts to share, as my son has the day off from school tomorrow - and guess where we are going?

Happy Monday, Jennifer :)