i scream, you scream, we all scream for...applesauce!!

homemade local pink lady applesauce

applesauce, it is SO good. and i am not talking about that hideous crap you get in a jar at the store. we're talking homemade baby. oh no, you know what that means?? yep, let's add applesauce to the list to things that i will NEVER again buy at a grocery store. not only did this applesauce save the local pink lady apples that we have been storing in the bottom of the frig since october/november, but it was awesome and made a seriously good snack at work for a week. of course, it was after i made my sauce that ray saw on t.v., if you leave the skins on while cooking, they impart a nice floral taste. but then of course you need a food mill to remove the skins, which i do not have. so now that means i am on the hunt for a nice, but used, food mill. either fairly new or, hopefully, i can find a cool vintage one still in good shape. the hunt begins!!!!

i made mine in the crock pot and it couldn't have been easier.
peel and cut up apples till 3/4 full.
add 1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
some cinnamon
cook on low for 8-10 hours
enjoy!!!!
(don't forget to keep the peels and bury them in the garden.)

and while we are on the subject of the crock pot. i also made some chili the other day which was super yummy as well. same basic chili recipe (just changing the veggies a bit) that i have used before, but instead of using canned beans (which i am trying not to buy any more), i broke into my stash of dried beans in the cupboard. i am not sure which beans these are, but i used two different kinds for the chili. one bean i think i purchased as a dried bean, and the other i got fresh but never used before they were starting to dry out, so i simply laid them out to dry all the way and stuck them in a jar. i don't know how well that works for long time storage, or what kind of bacteria i am subjecting me and ray to, but we ate the whole pot and survived just nicely.

i soaked the beans in some water for quite a long time before adding them to the chili to cook.


let's see, we have hamburger deer meat, carrots, onions, celery, can of tomatoes with the juice, the beans, a bit of tomato paste, tamarind sauce, salt and pepper.
throw it all in the crock pot and cook on high till beans are tender and everything is super yummy!!!!!


served with a little shredded raw milk cheddar cheese and some homemade thyme irish soda bread and you gotta a meal!!!

(OOPS..... so the bread that is pictured on the plate with the rabbit in the previous post, was not actually the irish soda bread. it was the super ugly loaf of wheat bread that i made. fortunately, even though it was really nasty to look at, it was tasty. my bad!)