A Saturday to myself...

Today started out simple enough. I decided to make Apple Butter . Oh how it made the house smell wonderful as it was cooking! (More on that later..:) )

While the wonderful apple butter was cooking...
I went out and gave the chickens some scraps and decided to finally pull all of our remaining carrots in the garden

Our last remaining carrots...

 

 

I am storing the carrots in a root vegetable basket my mom got me. You add damp sand in between the layers of carrots, and they should stay crisp and fresh all winter, as long as they are in a cool, dry and dark place!

I just love decorating outside(and inside!) with things found in nature...I even have very tall, large birch branches in a vase in my living room,and they look awesome! It does help to have 13 foot ceilings, however! So today I decided to decorate my front porch, front of the garage, chicken coop flowerbox and deck with leaves, weeds, and other treasures that I found in the yard!

Front of garage~urns with birch branches and leaves

 

 

Weeds and leaves make a wonderful display! ( do

you happen to see the little cutie in the window?)

 

                                                            Chicken Coop Flower Box

 

Finally about 11:00 pm, my Apple Butter was ready to can! It looked and smelled heavenly. I got them all done around midnight..

I am not even kidding when I tell you, you HAVE to try this wonderfully thick and rich recipe! It's the best Apple Butter I have ever tasted.

Here is the recipe: Apple Butter~

6  1/2 lbs. apples-peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup Sugar
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract ( I did not use this, as I felt it was great as is, and didn't need it)

1. Place apples in slow cooker. In medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Pour mixture over apples and mix well.
2. Cook in slow cooker on low for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
3. Uncover, stir in vanilla, and continue cooking uncovered on low for about 2 more hours.
4. Use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until smooth.
5. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, freeze, or can in water bath canner for 10 minutes.
6. Enjoy on breads, muffins, pork chops or whatever! :)

I love English muffins, and decided to make homemade English Muffin bread to toast with this wonderful apple butter...

English Muffin Bread

This bread is fantastic! Crunchy crust with a very chewy inside...YUM! If you would like this recipe, please let me know!

This has been a really great weekend! Hannah went to a fun Birthday Party, and Ethan went 4-wheeling and to Buck-O-Rama with his friends...Erik is still (literally) working his fingers to the bone, so I make sure I have LOTS of wonderful food for him to come home to!
What did you do this weekend?
Until next time...

Kerry :)