Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without

Having been raised by Depression Era parents, I grew up not wasting food!  Mama always had a way to use leftovers, etc.  She could get several good meals from one good-sized chicken!  And so can I!

Anyway - since I'm getting 3# of organic Fuji apples tomorrow (and only 83 cents per pound!) I knew I better do something with the 2 1/2 apples I had in the refrigerator.   I found this very quick and easy Rustic Apple Pie recipe from Sprinkle Bakes.  

Quick and easy - don't you just love those kinds of recipes?  

There were no measurements given . . . just general instructions to toss cut and peeled  apples with some cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Put into pie-crust lined cast iron skillet, fold over extra dough, dot with a bit of butter and bake in 350 degree oven until done.  I don't think it could get any quicker or easier!  From the time I started cutting and peeling apples to putting it into the oven, was just less than 15 minutes!

Anyway - the author used 2 little mini skillets, but since I have only one, I used an 8 inch skillet instead.  Below is what it looked like with 2 1/2 fairly large apples.  Yes, it would have made a nicer pie with another apple - but we use what we have and make it work!  And my husband, who gets to come for lunch, was thrilled and had no complaints at all!

And I admit hers looka prettier with the course sugar sprinkled on top. . . . but I forgot and we enjoyed it without!   

You can use store-bought pie dough or use Sprinkle Bakes recipe.  Below is a favorite recipe I've used for years.  You make up a big batch of it and keep it in the freezer and it's ready when you want to bake a pie, saving yourself the time it takes to measure the ingredients and mix with the shortening.  It comes from the Make-A-Mix cookbook by Karine Eliason, which is filled with tons of homemade mixes.  Hmmmm - maybe I should started posting about some of our favorite recipes from it - one being Chicken Enchiladas.  

Below is the link to the book at Amazon.  Click on "look inside" and do a search for page 51 or Freezer Pie Crust recipe to see how versatile it is. . . . 



These apples are not burned - they are just coated with a lot of cinnamon and a little bit nutmeg.

Until next time - BON APPETIT!