More apples!

I had a few more apples left from my trip to the orchard so I decided to test out a new recipe on our new lifegroup friends.  I think it went over well; Alexander and Charlotte took a few bites and Greg ate two big portions (sorry to call you out like that, Greg, but I figure you won't be reading this anyway).  I used a recipe from my one of my Grandmother's cookbooks.  The cookbook is called, "Women's Home Companion Cookbook" and it was published in 1944.  If you're looking to simplify your cooking life and eliminate things like processed foods and canned 'cream of' soups, I'd suggest trying to find a cookbook from your grandmother's time.  There are lots of recipes that sound quite delightful and not all of them use as much butter as Paula Deen!  Here's the recipe since most of you won't be able to turn to page 370 in your 60 year old cookbook!

Red baking apples, large, 3 (I used green because that's what I had)
Brown sugar, ½ cup (I used about ¼ cup)
Sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed, about 3 cups
Butter, 3 tablespoons (I only used about 1½T)
Cream, 3 tablespoons
(I also added some butternut squash because I had it and wasn't sure that I'd have enough filling)

Cut apples in half crosswise.  Remove core and seeds; sprinkle cavity with half of the brown sugar.
Place in a shallow pan containing a little water and bake in a hot oven (400°F) or steam over boiling water 10 to 20 minutes or until almost tender.  Scoop out pulp, leaving a shell about 1/2 inch thick, reserve pulp.
To hot mashed sweet potatoes, add apple pulp, butter and cream; season to taste (you could add cinnamon, allspice, clove, or anything else that tickled your fancy).  Beat until fluffy (I used my immersion blender for this).
Pile sweet-potato mixture lightly into apple shells or force through a decorating tube (my mixture was a little too runny to pipe into the shells, most likely due to the butternut squash).
Place in a shallow pan and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar; pour a little melted butter over tops.  Head under broiler or in a hot oven until lightly browned.  Makes 6 servings.

And because I know you haven't had enough apple recipes from me, tonight I'm making Dried Apple Rings using the recipe from "Put 'em Up", a new canning and preserving book that my Dad got me for my birthday.  So excited to try all the things in this book, although I'll probably have to wait until next spring/summer to use a lot of the recipes.  Here's the simple recipe!
Ingredients
6 (500 mg) tablets vitamin C, crushed
2 cups cold water
6 apples
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 170°F
To prepare an antibrowning ascorbic-acid bath, dissolve the crushed vitamin C tablets in the water in a large bowl.  Peel and core the apples and cut into ¼-inch slices.  Add the apples slices to the acid bath as you cut them.  Soak for 10 minutes.
Dry
Pat the slices dry and arrange them on a metal screen or cake cooking rack and place the rack in the oven.  Prop open the oven door with a wooden spoon handle to enable moisture to escape.  Dry the apples in the oven until leathery, 3-4 hours.  The slices are fully dry when you can squeeze a handful and they don't stick together.
Cool the apple slices, and then condition them by transferring to a covered container and letting sit for 1 week.  This allows the dried fruit to redistribute any trapped moisture.  If you notice moisture on the sides of the container, repeat the drying process for another hour or so.  Fully dried apple rings keep in an airtight container for up to 1 year.

Here's a little P.S. for those of you who write your own blogs.  I found this HTML tutorial online tonight.  I was trying to figure out how to make the degree symbol ° and also wanted to be able to make fractions look correct. This dude has lots of great tips so I am happy to share his pdf with you!