Apple Butter

Whenever Michael and I go apple picking, I know fall is here! Fall is probably my favorite season of the year. I enjoy the changing weather, and the change in pace of life too!

Michael told me that he LOVES to eat Apple Butter with Cottage Cheese. Well for starters, I've never had apple butter and I also don't like cottage cheese, but don't think I won't at least try it before I knock it :)

I got my recipe from a website after looking through different options, I went with this one because 1) it seemed pretty easy 2) it had a canning option and 3) it doesn't have a ton of extra sugar in it compared to others I found. I like that it's basically just apples and spices cooked down for hours.

I started with 14 apples from Sky Top Orchard. I washed them all and then cored and quartered them leaving the skins on . I put them in my biggest pot I could find with 4 cups of apple cider.

I let that cook down for about 35 minutes until the apples were really easy to mush.
It was recommended to use a food mill, but I don't have one of those so I used my handy dandy food processor.
I processed it until it was almost like apple juice and then put that juice through a sieve just to make sure I caught any thick skins that didn't break down.
I measured 9 1/2 cups of the processed mixture and put that back in the pot.
2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of allspice and 1/4 teaspoon of clove later..

Mixed it all up and let it simmer uncovered for about an hour and a half until it was a think applesauce consistency.
What did I do with the remainder mixture and leftover thick skins? I'm glad you asked! I put it in a large bowl and put in the fridge to enjoy homemade applesauce later on this week!
Last but not least, I canned the mixture. All in all, it took a few hours, but the work was worth it! I now have enough apple butter to last me until next Fall :) 8 half pint jars. Now that's a good day.

Throw Back Thursday

For throw back Thursday, here's a picture of me and my first RA at North Greenville University. We were celebrating her birthday and I did a little cake smash :) 

There are many times that I really miss those college days.

A New Phase

Michael and I have been looking for a house for a few months. We've made an offer on 2 other houses, but those fell through. Last week, we made an offer on a plot of land so that we can build! I'm so excited about the possibilities and what the next few months will hold if things do go through. Currently, we are waiting for the lot to be graded, and once Michael approves that we will start the building process. With hurricane Karen, all the rain has postponed the grading process. The estimated time of completion is December 31rst! I have to admit that I'll probably go there every day after work to look at the progress. 

Things we're looking forward to in this new phase:

1) Raising a family

2) Watching the sunset on our back porch

3)Being able to listen and play music as loud as we want

4) Having a place to decorate

5) Inviting people over to visit 

Blessings in Disguise

This is Sasha

A few months ago, I was in an accident on Woodruff road after work on Friday. It was rush hour traffic and in the middle of a downpour when I was going through a green light, a woman tried to shoot the gap and turned in front of me. I tried to stop, but it was too late and the road was slick. Thankfully, no one was hurt. I was shook up being that this was my first accident where I was driving. I was concerned that the office would fault me for the accident since my car was damaged in the front. I explained what happened to the office and he actually marked the accident as a "no fault" accident which left it up to insurance company to decide who was at fault. I was able to get a fun rental car, a Honda Accord for free, while insurance sorted out how much it would cost to fix my car. We heard back after about three and a half weeks that my car would be totaled. 

I was definitely disappointed because if my car was totaled, then surely it would cost a fortune to fix! We received a lot of money for my car from the insurance company, and then bought it back for $200 (what a great deal)! Michael went to the junk yard and pulled off a headlight and a blinker and FIXED my car for UNDER $100. 

HERE COMES THE BLESSING: With the money from the insurance company, we were able to completely pay off our school debt and we are TOTALLY DEBT FREE! God surely has blessed us.