By Staff
Thanksgiving wouldn’t be a holiday without including apples somewhere on the table.
With the big turkey day just a couple of weeks away, I thought I’d give some recipes that include apples. You may find it interesting how versatile apples can be if you just give them a chance.
There are many people who feel like the meal wouldn’t be complete without an apple pie for dessert. I have one friend who puts apples into her stuffing mix. I’ve never had this particular stuffing dish, but I’m told the family raves over it every Thanksgiving.
If you have a few apples in the house and are looking for a way to include them in your meal, I’ve found a few recipes to share just for such a purpose.
Easy Apple Pie
2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie
8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and cloves. Place one of the pie shells into a 10-inch pie pan. Put 1/2 of the sliced apples into the shell and sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over them. Top with the remaining apples and the remaining sugar mixture. Cover apples with the top crust. Press edges with the tines of a fork to seal and poke holes in the top with a knife. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Here’s a quick tip on double crust pies: If you plan on using pre-made, frozen crusts allow them to thaw before using. To prepare a crust to be used as the top there are a couple of steps to take. First, leave the frozen crust in the pan it came in and turn onto waxed paper. Allow the crust to loosen and thaw completely. This makes the crust easier to handle. Cover filling with flattened crust and crimp edges to seal or cut to form a lattice pattern. Bake as directed.
This is the recipe my friend uses for her Thanksgiving dinner.
Apple Onion Stuffing
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 stick butter, softened
1 bay leaf
4 ribs celery and greens, from the heart, chopped
1 medium to large yellow onion, chopped
3 McIntosh apples, quartered and chopped
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
8 cups cubed stuffing mix
2 to 3 cups chicken stock, available in paper containers on the soup aisle
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil to skillet and 4 tablespoons butter. When butter melts, add bay leaf, vegetables and apples. Sprinkle the vegetables and apples with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 5 to 6 minutes to begin to soften vegetables and apples, then add parsley and stuffing cubes to the pan and combine. Moisten the stuffing with chicken broth until all of the bread is soft but not wet. Remove the bay leaf.
Butter baking dish liberally and fill with stuffing mixture. Bake until set and crisp on top, 20 to 25 minutes.
Here’s a simple apple recipe that makes a great snack or even breakfast treat.
Apple Squares
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups diced apples
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 13×9 inch pan with cooking spray.
Mix together sugar, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla.  Add flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Fold in the apples. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
I hope that you enjoy these recipes for your holiday meal or anytime. Just keep in mind apples are good and good for you. It might also give you a chance to get your children to try something different at mealtime.
Happy cooking!