Crockpot Baked Apple... Sauce?

Since I'm not one for following recipes exactly, I've learned that I often end up with something I wasn't initially expecting. For instance, I set out this morning to make some festive baked apples in my crock pot. While I'm a fairly seasoned apple baker, I've never attempted to make them in my crock pot. So, when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I was excited!

Skinny Chef's Baked Apples

Apparently, I did something wrong along the way. The apples were falling apart a full hour before they were supposed to be done. I have a few theories on what might have gone wrong. First, it is possible I scooped out too much flesh when I cored the apples. Also, the heat in my pot might have been too high, so the apples cooked much faster than they should have. Or, maybe, it just wasn't meant to be. Have any thoughts??

When I saw my apples were not the aesthetically-pleasing subjects I hoped they would be, I closed up the lid and let them continue to stew. I didn't end up with lovely baked apples today, but I come out with my very first attempt at homemade apple sauce! Meli and I ate it warm out of the pot and we were both salivating for seconds after quickly devouring our first bowls. YUMMM! What a wonderful mistake.

fully-mashed sauce

the way I ate my apples - soft and unmashed with an extra bit of margarine

I can't say that all my cooking and baking mistakes turn out this well. In fact, this is a rare treat. I'm thrilled with the results and I'm looking forward to trying the recipe again (both versions -- sauce and baked apples!).

In case you're interested, below in BLUE is the original recipe from which I took my inspiration. I modified it quite a bit. I cored the apples, stuffed them each with a few spoons of brown sugar, topped the sugar with one pat of margarine per apple, and sprinkling each apple pot with a healthy dose of cinnamon and a pinch of ground clove. I did pour cider over the apples and into the pot, as well. The apples were split open in about an hour's time and they were sauce-soft by 2.5hr. I used Macintosh apples.

coring apples, stuffed apples, happily cooking, saucy apples

Original Recipe from Skinny Chef

Ingredients

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons trans-fat free margarine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 Gala or Macintosh apples, cored
1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
2 tablespoons orange liquor (optional)

Directions

Preheat a large crock-pot on high heat and preset it for 3 hours. In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, walnuts, margarine, and cinnamon. Fill the apples with the filling and place them in the crock-pot. Pour in the apple juice or cider and the liquor, if using. Cover and cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours on high heat until the apples are soft and begin to collapse.

New Potatoes and Green Beans

This is, by far, one of my favorite side dishes.  It is so very simple, yet so satisfying.  I always find myself going back for second.. or fourths.  

I start my scrubbing and cutting my new potatoes.  These particular ones were pretty small, so I just halved or quartered them.  Cut out any blemishes or eyes.  I put the prepped potatoes directly into my steamer and set the steamer for 20 min. 

While my potatoes start to steam, I prep the fresh green beans.  I simply wash, snap off the ends, and snap in half, when I want more manageable pieces.  I remove any blemished beans as I go.  If I have the opportunity, I like to remove blemished beans before I purchase them -- no use paying for beans I'm just going to throw away.  After a total of about 10 minutes, I throw the green beans in the steamer, in the same dish as the potatoes.

After another 7min or so, I check the veggies for tenderness.  I like the potatoes to be softened through, but the beans to still have a crispness to them.  Once this is achieved, I take the dish off the steamer, give it a shake to release any excess water, and pour the veggies into a nice serving dish.  Then, I throw in a few pats of butter to melt.  This step is totally optional, as the potatoes and beans are 100% delicious without the butter.  I'm a creature of habit, though!  Finally, I give everything a final swirl and then top it off with some decorative salt and pepper.  My favorite combination right now is cracked white pepper and Kilauea black finishing salt.   

Bon Appétit!