Apple Pie in an Apple on a Teacup Pie Stand

Tonite is the Fund Raiser for the Walworth County Emergency Shelter, held at Delavan Lanes... there will be bowling, music, food, basket drawings and auctions, bake sale, and more! All for a great cause!

I decided to try and make a cool Apple Pie in an Apple that I had found on Pinterest, along with making an individual pie stand for each one based on another idea I saw at Pinterest too.




Here are my photos from today... along with the recipe and some helpful tips I discovered along the way too.



I bought several varieties of apples, red and green (Granny Smith). I like the color of the red ones more after they are baked compared to the green apples after baked.




I used a knife and a melon baller to hollow out the apples... be sure not to pierce thru the skin of the apple and leave some of the apple on the sides because they can (and do) split sometimes.

I used the insides (minus the part with the core) along with peeling and slicing up other apples - THIN sliced for the insides. I also decided to add some craisins to my apple pies, which made it look pretty inside and tasted good too! Also added sugar, brown sugar, cinnamin too ...see the recipe for amounts (I did add a little more to my second batch of apples after taste testing the first batch, although if you are going to add a scoop of ice cream to the apple pies you probably wouldn't need to add more sugar.)




I bought the ready made pie crust, sliced it into strips and made the lattice crust for the top. On my second batch of apple pies, I sugared the pie crust a little because it tasted kind of bland, and it was much better.





Then put the apples into a baking pan or dish, add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan/dish. Cover with tin foil and bake (375 degrees) for about 20 - 25 minutes....then take off the tinfoil and continue baking for about 20 - 25 minutes. I found if you overcook (trying to brown the crust more) that the apples split. (this is a picture of the split ones, and then one of the ones that remained intact)



After taking them out of the oven, I immediately took them out of the baking dish too and let them sit on a dry plate, just incase they would get soggy sitting in the water in the baking pan/dish.



During the baking time, I took the tea cups and saucers I had bought at Goodwill (for under a dollar), and used my Amazing Goop for craft projects, and glued the underside of the saucer to the bottom of the cup, and put books on them to weigh them down for an hour or two...then turned them upright and put the books on the tops of the saucers for another hour or two.



Then after the apple pies cooled, I added them to the saucer/teacup pie stands, wrapped them up and had a great bake sale item! (also good for a birthday gift for someone special!)









Oh, yeah, and here is what the delicious apple pies in an apple look like when you cut them in half... yummy!!












Here's the recipe I pinned at pinterest.

5 - 6 Apples... make sure they stand on their own.

1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used a bit more).

1/4 cup sugar (I used a little more).

1 tablespoon (heaping) of brown sugar.

piecrust - homemade or pre-made (I used premade).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Step 1: Cut off the top of 4 apples and discard. Remove the inside of each apple with a spoon or melon baller very carefully, as to not puncture the peel.
If you’re a skilled interior apple excavator, salvage as much as you can so you can use it for Step 2.

Step 2: Remove skin from remaining apple(s) and slice very thinly. These apple pieces will give you the additional filling needed to fill the four apples you are baking.

Mix sliced apples with sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. If you prefer more or less cinnamon make adjustments as desired. Same goes for the sugar. I also added craisins ... not necessary, I just wanted to throw in something a bit different.
Scoop sliced apple mixture into hollow apples.

Step 3: Roll out pie crust and slice into 1/4 inch strips. I found the pre-made pie crust I used a bit plain tasting, so I added a sprinkling of sugar to it. Cover the top of the apple in a lattice pattern with pie crust strips.

Step 4: Place apples in a pan or baking dish. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan/baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and sliced apples are soft. Be careful to not overcook as the apples will (and do) split at times.

Add a scoop of ice cream to it while warm and serve... yummm!!! These can also be put in the microwave for 30 - 45 seconds and then add ice cream.

An "Assemblage" of the Year 2011 - in Paper!

So, this is what has kept me unbelieveably busy the last couple of weeks... or actually, guess I should say this is what I did all last year! *L*

My "assemblage" of the Year 2011, condensed on a table, waiting to put into packets for the Annual Parish Meeting (one report yet to finish). Now how does one whole year fit onto one small table like that?? *L*

To think, this was a year in the making.... All this is like a Thanksgiving dinner of sorts...all the preparation - days, weeks, and endless work that goes into all the different "dishes", and then people come for the "feast" and digest it all in a mere hour or so!! *lol*




And this is the mess yet to deal with ... arrgghh... a job that never ends!

Kaine's New Car

The last month or so, Kaine (along with some of his friends & relatives), and John, have been working on switching out engines from one vehicle to another, which didn't work out so well... the newer car body wasn't the right fit for the older rebuilt engine ...so a new engine was purchased and put into the newer Jeep body... a LOT of work!!

But FINALLY, it is finished!! And Kaine has a great "new" Jeep!! What an amazingly smart bunch of guys!! Good job all!!


Now all Kaine needs to do is sell off the old Jeep body and engine and pieces ... anyone interested??

More of John's Woodworking ... Pedestal from old wall pieces..

John has been using up the recycled wall pieces from the Christ Church renovation, and made this pedestal. It can be used for the offering plate, or for flowers, or whatever. It matches the kneelers, lectrens and the altar in the Chapel he made too.

Great job John! I'd love one of these, but the materials are almost all used up now.... it looks good in the Church!

Playing in the Kitchen .... a.k.a... Cooking...

Between getting W-2's, W-3's, 940's, 941's, 1099's, 1096's, WT-7's and all those other assorted government forms together for two businesses, I have also been using up some of the leftovers in my refrigerator. That pinterest site has me trying out, and thinking up, all sorts of cool ideas!

So, this afternoon I made appetizers with left-over mozarella cheese pearls, mushrooms and onions, spices and left over phyllo pastry cups .. VOILA!! Yummy!



And then we had breakfast for dinner ... using texas toast, and making little holes in it, I inserted fresh blueberries and dipped it in egg and milk mixture, and fried it up. Add a little powdered sugar or drizzle some syrup on the top and it's DEEEELICIOUS!!




So, that's about all the creating this wanna-be artist has done lately ... hoping to get back to assemblage art creations sometime soon!

Back to the bookkeeping for now .....

Shining Epiphany Stars!

My Sunday School kids were STARS this morning in the Festival of Lights Service at Church. They sang and signed several songs during the church service. WELL DONE KIDS!! Granddaughter Jorden also got to be a part of it since she and Daddy (Kaine) were visiting this weekend.




The Stars brought forth, to the creche, the 3 Magi, their camels and the mitten donations that the people in the parish donated.




The kids certainly shined as lights of Christ!!

Princess Jorden is here!! *G*

Kaine and Jorden are here this weekend as Kaine and John are trying to put a new engine in the body of an older Jeep ... and swapping out parts from an already owned older Jeep into this newer Jeep.... (what a mess it is too!)




Anyway ... we have "Princess Jorden" here to play with while Daddy Kaine works on his vehicle... *G*

.... not only is she a beeeeeautiful bride in her dress-up clothes, but also helping Gramma be a chef! ... here's a neat roasted veggie dish we made tonite.




Jorden helped sprinkle on the ground sea salt and pepper, and then drizzle on the olive oil before baking it.





And here are the finished veggies... yummy!!

Happy 12th Day of Christmas Everyone!

Today is the end of the "Christmas Season" ... it's the 12th day, and tomorrow is Epiphany!

SO, on the 12th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING ...

(a more serious assemblage - and the beat goes on, and on, and on and on...)



I have been posting these 12 Days of Christmas I made 2 years ago ... look back at the other assemblages, of these 12 Days in previous posts... or go to my older archived posts from Dec. 2009 and Jan. 2010 to see them too.

A Blessed 11th Day of Christmas ...

On the 11th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... (one of my favorite assemblages for this series) ... ELEVEN PIPERS PIPING



I have been resurrecting these 12 Days of Christmas I made 2 years ago ... look for other assemblages, of these 12 Days, in the days to come (and in previous posts)... or if you can't wait, go to my older archived posts from Dec. 2009 and Jan. 2010 to see more!

On the 10th Day ..... What on earth was my true love thinking??

On the 10th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... TEN LORDS A LEAPING...




So, I have been resurrecting these 12 Days of Christmas I made 2 years ago ... look for other assemblages, of these 12 Days, in the days to come (and in previous posts)... or if you can't wait, go to my older archived posts from Dec. 2009 and Jan. 2010 to see more!

Evidently these Lords are jumping over the moon ... don't know how that entices one's "true love" however...*L* Unless it's the idea of 10 guys in tights that would have me smitten? *G*

On the 9th Day of Christmas ..... DANCE!

Merry 9th Day Everyone!!

On the 9th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me..... NINE LADIES DANCING!

Check out this short little video clip of the ladies actually dancing! This kills me...heh heh...although some of those dancing ladies just wouldn't get with it! *G*



Some fun quotes on dance... may YOUR dancing in 2012 be filled with JOY, HOPE and LOVE!

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. ~Edwin Denby

I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! ~Constanze

Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn. ~Terri Guillemets

You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart. ~Author Unknown

Dancing: the vertical expression of a horizontal desire legalized by music. ~George Bernard Shaw




Note: I have been resurrecting these 12 Days of Christmas I made 2 years ago ... look for other assemblages, of these 12 Days, in the days to come (and in previous posts)... or if you can't wait, go to my older archived posts from Dec. 2009 and Jan. 2010 to see more!

Annual 99 Game - Happy New Year!

My side of the family gets together every New Year's Day for food, fun, football AND our traditional "99 Card Game"! It used to be that we would all crowd around one huge table, kids sitting on the laps of the adults... but when the family grew to over 40 or so, we started adding more tables.... not everyone can come on New Year's Day, but we have had, at times, 3 - 4 tables going for the 60 or more of us that can attend.






Harriett and Mark have hosted the New Years Day gathering the last few years (THANKS MARK AND HARRIETT!!), and this year was a fun time too! Lots of delicious pot-luck food, great PACKER game and win over the Lions!! (GO PACK GO!), and then 99!!

Our numbers were lower this year ... lots were either out of town on vacation, at the Packer game, not feeling well, or staying home (maybe recovering from last night's celebrations? - ha!)... but there were still well over 30 of us who were there to have fun!






The last three players, after about 4 hours or so, decided to split the $65 pot, and went home happy! Congrats to Josh, Conner and Chellie!!





Thank you Lord, for family, and this new year!!

Happy 8th Day of Christmas! ... and Happy New Year!

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me .... EIGHT MAIDS A MILKING!

...and what lovely maids they are, eh?!!



Note: Resurrecting these 12 Days of Christmas I made 2 years ago ... look for other assemblages, of these 12 Days, in the days to come (and in previous posts)... or if you can't wait, go to my older archived posts from Dec. 2009 and Jan. 2010 to see more!