Fall foods

Yesterday I came home from an afternoon at the park with friends and decided I was in the mood to bake. My husband has been working so hard these past weeks, and I especially wanted to treat him. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut with a handful of the same meals. It can't be very exciting to come home to after a hard day.

So I took some fresh Italian parsley, Andy's canned spaghetti sauce from our garden, some fresh eggs from a friend, and some noodles and cheeses and made a lasagna. Then I took the loads of apples from North Carolina and made an apple cake and an apple pie. I grabbed some bread and beans from the freezer to compliment. A little music, some soft white candles, and I hope our kitchen table felt like a haven from the hard day and the chill outside. I am really looking forward to making homemade soups this season, too. There's nothing like a hot meal after a cool day!

Next week, along with apple cake, we will be pulling out some of these from the freezer for breakfast. I think that these baked goods, along with coffee, will make it hard to leave the table and start our day. Yum!

Simple apple pie

6-8 apples, peeled & diced

1/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of brown sugar

1-2 T of flour

a squeeze of lemon juice

2-3 T butter, melted

2 pie pastries *I used to make homemade crust. Now I prefer Pillsbury refrigerated crust.

Mix all dry ingredients. Line pie pan with crust. Put half of apples on top. Sprinkle half of dry mixture on apples. Put the rest of the apples on top. Sprinkle the rest of the mixture. Drizzle butter on top. Add the top layer of crust, cutting design in pastry. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.