As Happy As Can Be

I wake up every day,
As happy as can be,
Because I know that with His care
My apple trees, they will still be there.
The Lord's been good to me.
~ Part of the Johnny Appleseed Song

 

I loved Johnny Appleseed when I was a little girl.  I remember having a record player and a big record album with a story book.  I listened to that thing over and over!  This would be pre-video days...

 

Rustic Apple Pie

 

I made 2 Rustic Apple Pies yesterday.  One for us and one for a friend from church who had surgery.

I have been making this pie crust since I was a teenager.  It is so easy and delicious!!

Mix 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, with 2/3 cup of shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix 1/4 cup of flour mixture with 1/3 cup milk, then return to bowl and mix until it clings together in the bowl.  Recipe below.

Then squeeze together in 2 pieces (makes enough for a 2 crust pie - top and bottom).  I made this first and then covered with a damp paper towel

while I peeled the apples.

The crust is quite soft and can't be rolled in the usual manner.  Place crust between 2 sheets

of waxed paper and roll out that way.  If you use wax paper, you can losen the top sheet, and then the bottom and move to a pie plate (or cookie sheet in our Rustic Apple Pie case).

I like to use several different kinds of apples to make the pie taste better (I believe that little fact came from Martha Stewart).  These just happened to be the ones that I had on hand.

Left to right: Envy, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Rome Beauty, and Granny Smith.

I try to slice all the same size.  Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice, a dash of salt.  Toss with apples.

I lightly greased the cookie sheet with shortening.  Then lay crust on cookie sheet (doesn't have to be perfectly round).  Pile apples in the middle - not heaping, spread them out.  I cut 4 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and scattered that over the apples.  Then pull up edges over the apples to make a pretty rustic design.  Leave an opening in the center.

This isn't the best picture, but you can tell how flaky the crust is.  It was still warm when we ate it with some delicious vanilla Blue Bell ice cream!

 

 

Apple Pie

Crust -

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/3 cup milk

Mix flour and salt, then cut in vegetable shortening with a pastry blender or knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Take out 1/4 cup of flour mixture and mix with 1/3 cup milk.  Then pour into the flour mixture.  As you stir, it will cling together.  You can press together with your hands.  Cover with a damp paper towel if you aren't using right away.

Roll dough between 2 sheets of wax paper because it is soft and can't be rolled out in the usual manner.  Makes enough for a double crust pie.

 

Apple Filling

6 medium-large apples peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 - 1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice

dash or two of salt

Mix apples and remaing ingredients

 

Put apples in center of pie crust on a cookie sheet that has been lightly greased with shortening.

Dot with 4 tablespoons butter that has been cut in small pieces.  I also mixed a little cinnamon with white sugar and sprinkled on top to make it pretty and give a little "crunchy" on the part that shows in the opening of the dough (1/2 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon).

 

Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  Start looking at 30 minutes and make sure it isn't browning too quickly.  If it looks like it is, then cover with a piece of foil for the remainder.  Otherwise, just check every 5 minutes until nice and golden brown.  Delicous!

 

Crow & Pumpkin Platter

 

 

A few years ago, I went with some of my girlfriends to a fabulous antiquing town in Texas - Roundtop. It is awesome...  The whole town is one big antique show - 1st weekend in April and 1st weekend in October.  Vendor is all of the buildings around, and huge fields of nothing but treasures to be found!  I got this really cute hand made platter there.  I love it and leave it out during Halloween and Thanksgiving.

 

I hope that your day is fabulous!

~ Joeby