Apples Galore!

John's mom has been buying me tons and tons of apples lately. We love to eat them plain or with peanut butter (Brooke's favorite) or to make homemade applesauce, but mostly, I love to bake with them! I find that the fact that they rot is my motivation because I do NOT want to waste them.

The first thing I "mastered" this year was homemade apple pie. I had always wanted to learn how to make homemade pies but I assumed that it would be too hard for me. I was wrong! Believe it or not, I'm semi-decent at making them and they actually look kind of pretty when I'm done with them! I love to make pies for our home because John loves them but I also have like to bake pies to bless others. My mom works full time and was having dinner company the other night. To relieve the burden from her, I delivered a warm baked apple pie for her and her company. I have also baked for some neighbors that we have and they seem to appreciate my efforts!

After making apple pies got a little old, I started to move on to apple dumplings. I really love making these because they require you to measure and be precise... Which is again, something that I never thought I could do. Now that I've made them a couple of times, they're effortless and I LOVE making them!

A couple of weeks ago I made apple crisp for one of John's co-workers. I had said on Facebook that I was making apple crisp and this guy and his wife both said it was their favorite so the next day I dropped some off on their doorstep. It gave me so much joy to actually be able to do something nice for these people!

Tonight I made homemade cinnamon apple muffins. Patty (John's mom) makes them all the time and they are to die for. I am still amazed at how easy they were and how delicious they taste. I also brought some of those over to the neighbors and was very proud.

Sometimes I feel like as a stay-at-home-mom that I can't do much to bless others or like I'm so busy with my girls that I'm not much help to anyone, but little things like baking have helped me realize that I'm not useless. I intend and hope to continue to reach out of my comfort zone to find projects like this around the home. What's next... Knitting? That just might be stretching it!