Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

You know that saying, right? Let's just pretend that my blogging hiatus was simply to make you all appreciate me even more. Or we can be realists and acknowledge that I was lame for a few months and stunk at blogging.

Either way, I'm back!

And for tonight, I'm going to post a healthy recipe.

It has apples and oatmeal.

And two types of sugar.

Annnnd butter...

But it has apples and oatmeal! Fruit and fiber.

Anyway, it's delicious and it comes from my momma's kitchen, like most of the incredibly delicious things that are made in my [excruciatingly small] kitchen. And it's perfect for this time of year with the crisp, autumn-feeling weather we've been having.

My in-laws are coming this weekend to celebrate the hubby's 22nd birthday and I've been trying to con him into letting me make this yummy apple crisp instead of birthday cake. No such luck... which is fine, since it IS his birthday, after all.

So instead, I made it tonight... just because I wanted to.

Here's what you'll need for the apple filling:

• Five large apples (I used seven smallish ones instead. I don't remember what kind I used... but they were on sale for $1.29 at Hornbacher's :))
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water

And what you'll need for the crumble topping:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup soft butter (one stick)

And here's whatcha do:

Get your apples. Here's one of mine:


Nice and pretty and red!

Now peel 'em and cut 'em up into random sized pieces.
Then, dump in 1/2 cup of white sugar to your apple slices...

And then your 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon...
And now for the lemon juice. Measure 1 tablespoon and dump that in, too!

And finally, add your 1/4 cup of water to the apples, too...
And then stir...
Stir...
Done!
So yummy. Don't be afraid to snitch one... or five. This is as healthy as this recipe gets, so enjoy it while it lasts!

After you're finished snitching, dump the apple mixture into a pie plate or an 8 x 8 pan. Unfortunately I haven't yet bought the super cute red pie plate I've been pining after for a few weeks now, so I'm using a boring glass one for now... womp, womp.















And next, the delicious crumbly topping...

Now for this, you can use a pastry cutter. In fact, I would recommend it. Unfortunately, I'm a fresh young pup and don't own one [yet]. However, we were gifted a nifty red food processor for our wedding that I love dearly but hardly ever have a chance to use! So now was the time to use it!

Ah yes, so pretty and red! Like everything else in our kitchen. Yes, we are a red kitchen family.

Now, measure out 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar and 3/4 cup of flour and dump it on in.

And then comes the stick o' butta! Put 'er in...

And now, one of my favorite parts: my friend, the Oatmeal man.

He makes the crumbly topping oh-so-nummy. Borrow 1/2 cup of oats from him and add it to the mix.

Go ahead and put the cover on the processor.

Ready...
PULSE!

Check out that spinnin' action. Nice!

And the finished product...

Yes, I know what you're thinking... does it not look like what you see when you open up your vacuum cleaner after you've vacuumed your living room? Minor detail, my friends, minor detail... it won't look like this for long.

So now you can dump it out onto your nummy apples in the pie plate:

(Ignore the pepper can/jar... those are used for something TBA at a later time...)

And spread it out so it's nice and even...

And put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Or, if you're like me and have a perpetual fear of having things be "too done", set your cute flower timer for 39 minutes instead.

And then wait for the delicious smells that come next! You'll know it's done when the crumbly top is golden brown and the apple mixture beneath is bubbly and yummy looking.

Seriously delicious.

I'm kind of a picky eater and I had gone for 23 years of my life without eating this incredible concoction... and now I wonder how that was possible! I must have been crazy.


So now you can enjoy. While watching Teen Mom on MTV. At least, that's how I choose to enjoy mine :)