Apple and Pumpkin update

Cupcake and I hit the ground running this morning, like we do most weekends. We started our day by using the leftover pumpkin we cubed up and baked earlier in the week for pumpkin roll. We had around a cup left over, and I suggested we use it for pancakes. Saturday is pancake day around The Acre. After we hooked Jake up with his chocolate chip pancakes, we dumped the pumpkin in the batter and whipped it until it was smooth. We added your pumpkin pie and apple pie spice and off to the griddle. They were a hit.

After breakfast we got to work on our next new project, home made apple sauce. Cupcake being the research specialist in the house found a recipe and we had about a bushel of apples on hand, so we were off to the races. First we sliced them leaving the peel on, and cooked them soft in a cup of water.

 After they soften up, we take the pot to the blender, and blend the apples smooth...

Back to the pot, and add some cinnamon and mix it together. We add no sugar at all.

Fill jars with the sauce, and water bath for fifteen minutes. Thats all there is to it.

I know all of America is tired of hearing how home made is better than store bought, but people, it's true. This stuff rocks! We made half a bushel today and got 20 pints and seven quarts. We have apple sauce cakes in our near future.

A little smoker prep work went into tonights dinner, earlier in the week Big Man smoked two whole chickens. We had one for dinner, and picked the second one for tonight's meal, smoked chicken and dumplings. I used Cupcake's herb garden to stuff the chickens, then put a slap ya mama rub on the outside and off to the smoker.

We also had a container of smoked brisket left over from the last brisket smoke. Friday was our first real blast of cool air, so in honor of fall we made a crock pot full of smoked brisket chili.

We made a large batch, and instead of letting it go to waste, we placed the leftovers into Mason jars, and pressure cooked them. Three more dinners on the shelf, just open and heat. And speaking of prep work, we have a squirrel for Sunday morning squirrel gravy. "Critter Gitter" put one down earlier in the week and wanted to use it for gravy. So we skinned it and soaked it, and while I had the pressure cooker going I put the squirrel in a small jar with some water and cooked it along with the chili. Now we have a tender squirrel ready for gravy.

Check back tomorrow for results.
K&K