Five years ago we planted two Jonathon Apple Trees. We have waited and waited for them to reach maturity. For four years we have had very small harvests. Last year was our largest harvest where we actually had enough apples to make a couple of pies. This year I was hoping that I would have enough apples to make some pie filling to store in the freezer. Imagine our surprise when we realized that we had COMPLETELY underestimated our apple trees! We harvested 276 pounds of apples! There is another fifty pounds still on the tree that were to green to harvest. We are totally overwhelmed with apples! To date I have made apple chips, 5 1 1/2 pints and 6 quarts of pie filling, 22 quarts of applesauce and given away about 50 pounds. This was only 1/3 of our harvest. I am chopping, pealing, canning, freezing and dehydrating like crazy! I thought I would share the pie filling recipe as well as a little how to on dehydrating and making applesauce.
The Pie Filling:
Peal and core 6 pounds of apples
In a large stock pan put 10 c. water, 4 1/2 c. sugar, 1 c. cornstarch, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. salt, 3 tbsp. real lemon juice
Put on stove and stir and let come to a boil and thicken some. Set off and cool some. Drop the peeled and cored apple in the juice. Measure out in boxes to freeze. This makes 6 three cup servings.
Put on stove and stir and let come to a boil and thicken some. Set off and cool some. Drop the peeled and cored apple in the juice. Measure out in boxes to freeze. This makes 6 three cup servings.
Apple Crisp:
1 cup butter
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
mix together - press half the mixture into an 8 by 8 pan. Pour onto the mixture one container of apple filling. Crumble rest of mixture onto the top.
To make a 9 by 13 pan simply double the recipe.
Applesauce:
Applesauce is so simple and easy to make- simply chop the apples into slices. There is no need to peel or core. Put the apples into a heavy sauce pan with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and keep the bottom apples from burning. Cook the apples until they are tender. Then run them through a sieve. Tada you have made applesauce! You can put this directly into the freezer or you can the applesauce using a water bath caner.
Happy Apple Making!
