Frugal Friday: Four Unusual Ways to Use Applesauce

 I love living in a part of a country where we have 4 distinct seasons, and Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year in Upstate New York.  I love it so much, sometimes I go a little bananas picking apples. (Get it, bananas. . .apples. . .see, that’s cute? Oh, nevermind.)  

I’m not exaggerating when I say that every year I end up with bushels of apples in my kitchen, all ready to become yummy, cinnamon-y applesauce.  My kids would eat applesauce every day, at every meal, so I never have to worry about making too much. But if you are like me and have lots of applesauce to make, here are a few different things to do with your applesauce. (And I promise none of them involves pork chops!)

1. Homemade Apple Leather -- this is a healthy, easy, and delicious snack.

2. As a substitute for oil in baked goods -- in general, you can substitute applesauce for oil in a 1:1 ratio: that is, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup oil, you can use 1/2 cup applesauce instead. If you are using sweetened applesauce, you may have to decrease the amount of sugar in the recipe.  Applesauce can also be a substitute for eggs, and even milk, but I only use it to substitute for the main fat (such as oil) --otherwise the final product might have a rubbery or tough texture. Applesauce works best in making sweet, fall-like baked goods such as pumpkin bread and oatmeal muffins.

3. Stirred into oatmeal -- Instead of sweetening with sugar or honey, add 1/4 cup of applesauce to your morning oatmeal. Applesauce is an all-natural sweetener and it helps cool down the oatmeal so you can eat it immediately. Add raisins for even more yumminess.

4. Slow Cooker Applesauce Chicken -- one of my favorite recipes, and the whole family loves it!

You’re next! I’d love to hear some more out-of-the-box uses for applesauce!

Frugal Friday: Homemade Apple Leather

With apple season upon us, I have been making quarts and quarts of applesauce for the past two weeks. My family never has a problem eating applesauce as is, but I’ve been searching for some other ways to use all that sauce! Lately my kids have been loving Wegmans new Fruit Flats, which are basically a healthy fruit roll-up, made with apples and other fruit flavors. Those are fine, and an easy snack, but of course I wanted to try making my own!  It was so easy that calling this a recipe seems kind of ridiculous, but here’s how to make your own apple leather:

1. Line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap. I used my Silpat because it is reusable, and plastic wrap is not. 

2. Spread about 2 cups of applesauce on the plastic wrap, about 1-2 cm thick. 

3. Bake in the oven for 4-6 (yes, you read that right!) hours at 150. 

4.When you take it out, peel it gently off the plastic or Silpat. 

Apple leather can be stored for months in a tightly closed container in your cool, dark pantry.  This is easy snack for kids (and adults!) that takes very little effort to make, is sweet and delicious, and best of all is completely natural and healthy. 

I used apples from my parents’ orchard for the applesauce I used to make the leather in this recipe, and it turned out scrumptious. The best thing is that I know exactly what has been done to the apples (not a thing!) and what has been added to them (again, nothing!).

Frugal Friday: Homemade Salsa with my CSA Leftovers

It’s funny how, when you put an idea out there -- into the vast wide universe -- it comes back to you.  Not to get all hippy-dippy, but this weekend I was thinking about making some beautiful fresh salsa with a few leftover tomatillos I had, and later that day, my brother-in-law offered me all the tomatoes I could pick from his garden. Score!

I had to use these up, and I knew I had more than one serving’s worth of salsa here, so I decided to freeze what I made.  

First, I gathered everything from my pantry and refrigerator that could remotely be a part of a salsa. I found:

• Cherry Tomatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Jalapenos
• Small green peppers
• Sweet Onions
• Tomatillos

Perfect ingredients for a beautiful, fresh salsa -- and all hand picked and organically grown!

Second, I started chopping everything together. I did this in batches, using my Pampered Chef Food Chopper. I seriously love that thing. Of course, both kids loved banging it on the cutting board. It provided a solid seven minutes of entertainment for them before they ran back off to play dinosaurs.

Finally, I seasoned the salsa with a pinch of salt, black pepper, and a touch of cumin, and ladled it carefully into my mason jars. Isn’t it pretty?

I’m so looking forward to opening the freezer in the middle of winter and finding this delicious salsa. It will add a fresh, healthy kick to plain cheese or chicken quesadillas, which my kids absolutely love. 

We only have one more week of our CSA deliveries. I’m glad I’ll have this little reminder of late summer tucked away in my freezer.

Frugal Fridays: Fried and Fabulous Eggplant Parmesan

My husband has never insisted that I blog about something before. After eating my version of eggplant parmesan, he was absolutely adamant that I share this recipe.  For my part, I’m thrilled it turned out well, considering I had absolutely no plan other than to use up the stuff in my CSA basket. Here’s what I had to work with:

• 7 small graffiti eggplants
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 6 beets
• lots and lots of eggs -- we get an egg share but we haven’t been eating many lately
• basil

Pretty random, right? But I have a decently stocked pantry so I decided to make some kind of eggplant parmesan. I’ve always baked, broiled, or grilled my eggplant in the past, but this time I thought, what the heck, let me fry it up and see what happens.

What happens is the cook loses an eyebrow, but the food turns out delicious. 

One Dish Eggplant Parmesan

For the fried eggplant:

• 6-8 small graffiti eggplant, cut into medallions
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 eggs + 1 tbs milk, mixed and seasoned with pepper
• 1/2 -3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs 
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Take out 3 bowls, and create a breading assembly line. The first should be flour, the second should be the eggs, and the third should be the Panko mixed with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.  2. Dip the eggplant in the flour, then the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumb mixture.

3. In a large saute pan, pour in enough canola or vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan. 4. Heat the oil on MEDIUM heat. Oil that is boiling hot pops and sprays. Everywhere. Including my eyebrow. 

5. Toss the coated eggplant into the saute pan and fry for about 4 minutes on each side, until brown and crispy. Set on a paper towel on a plate.

For the pasta: 

12-16 oz dry pasta

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1/2 cup of cooking water to help thicken the sauce.

2. Drain pasta (minus the 1/2 cup cooking water).

3. Add 3/4 cup cheese to the pasta and mix until mostly melted

4. Add the cherry tomatoes.  The hot pasta will slightly cook them until tender and sweet.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put Everything Together:

1. Spoon the pasta into a large serving bowl

2. Add the fried eggplant and mix together gently

3. Top with 1/4 cup grated parmesan and chopped basil

Mangia!!

Oh wait. I forgot to mention the beets, didn’t I?  I boiled and peeled them. That’s it. And guess what? My kids both turned their noses up at the eggplant, but devoured boiled beets. Who knew?

Frugal Fridays: Chicken Quesadillas with Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

You might have noticed that I changed the post title from $5 Friday to Frugal Fridays. I wanted to have a little more leeway regarding recipes that I'd like to share with you!


Today's Frugal recipe comes almost completely from this beautiful CSA basket that came yesterday:

The fresh cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, and onions were just begging me to make a salsa. Because I always plan my meals around condiments, quesadillas sounded like a fabulous accompaniment, especially since I had some leftover chicken from my freezer cooking extravaganza.

Chicken Quesadillas

• Tortillas
• Shredded chicken (I used 2 breasts, this is a great way to stretch your protein and use up leftovers)
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 onion, diced finely
• 1 ear of corn, cooked and cut off the cob

Sprinkle all ingredients in between two tortillas and bake in the toaster oven for 5 minutes at 400.

Tomatillo Salsa

• 5 large tomatillos
• 5-6 cherry tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Finely dice all the vegetables and mix with the spices.  The beauty of this salsa is its fresh simplicity.  All local, organic ingredients, picked fresh just hours ago. Gorgeous!

 The bright, sweet tomatoes really pop in your mouth, and are a perfect accompaniment to the cheesy, gooey quesadillas.