Happy Thanksgiving my American friends!

I  am a loyal Canadian and I love our thanksgiving  but I have to admit I've always been a little jealous of American thanksgiving and all that accompanies it!
Have a great day my American friends!

Apples,Apples,Apples........

Remember how I talked about our lovely fall family outing to the apple farm?? Well i  realized something this weekend. My boys are a lot older now and much better pickers! We have been eating away at these apples and honestly it seems like we haven't even made a  dent in them. After noticing an interesting smell coming from my basement panty and realizing that one rotten apple could soon turn into an entire stinky bag I decided to take action!

Caleb and I got busy in the  kitchen(don't you love a 9 year old,pretty capable and yet still loves to spend time with Mom)   We decided to make applesauce and apple pie-pretty basic but I wanted Caleb to be able to actually  participate.  We had such a productive day-2 gorgeous pies and lots of applesauce even some for the freezer. Guess what.....those apple bags still don't look like they've gone down in size at all! Caleb's favourite part of the cooking was peeling the apples. Years ago we bought one of those handy apple peelers and even though I only use it about twice a year it's worth it. If you have kids even better. Even kids as young as 3 or 4 can do this job with a little help and they love it. Connell my 13 year old was at hockey during our cooking and he was mad when he came home that he didn't get to use the peeler!The one we use is from Starfrit but I know Pampered Chef has one too.

I use Martha Stewart's  Apple Pie recipe and it always turns out great. Her Food Processer Pasty recipe is a keeper!

The applesauce is simple and I must admit not really a recipe just a guide-it's the way my Mom always made it.

Applesauce
As many apples as you can  fit in your pot or want to do! Peeled and cored and chopped (big dice)
Water poured over the apples to just cover the bottom 1/2 or less of the apples
4 cinnamon sticks
Sugar to taste-i use brown and about 1 cup for 20 apples(we don't like it sweet)

Place on high heat until it comes to a boil and then simmer for about 2 hours-or you have to go out! Let cool and remove cinnamon sticks. Mash with a potato masher until all liquid is incorporated and you have a nice chunky thick  sauce. If you like your applesauce smooth use an immersion blender!

Done-told you it's not a recipe! This is so yummy  and there is something about using the cinnamon sticks instead of cinnamon that gives the apples such a  delicious flavour.  We eat this as a snack, over oatmeal in the morning and with pork or sausages.
The absolute taste of Fall!!

Halloween Wrap up

We've been busy here with volleyball season in full swing for #2, #1 doing drivers ed, working and  rugby and  all 3 with hockey practices and games! In the midst of this I had promised #3 a halloween party. Just a small group but I think   they had a great time. Mummy pizzas-english muffins with sauce and mozzarella cheese stringers, potion to drink and brownie skull cupcakes  and ear wax(marshmallows on either end of a  lollipop stick dipped in caramel) for dessert. They made a movie with the Xbox movie maker (scary of course) and a couple of crafts. They loved decorating small wooden coffins I found at Micheals. I found some body part chocolates for them to fill it and small skeletons-can you tell this was all boys therefore all gross and gory stuff!!

Loot bags Caramel apples and body parts !

 I found  the Halloween crowds a little thinner this year. Some are saying it is due to the H1N1 virus. It is so scary. All three boys were sick last month and I am hoping it went through our family  and we are done with it. I can't believe it is NOVEMBER!!! I have already started Christmas shopping -can you believe it?

  Love these peel off stickers I found reduced at winners. The picture isn't great but it says Scary and Spooky!  I can reuse these too!

The grim reaper aka #3

Carving concentration!

Table set for  the party-orangina bottles were a hit!

I don't know what face this is!