Yummy Dehydrated Apples

Start with your favorite apple.

Slice the apples into thin pieces. (Use an apple peeler, corer and slicer tool to make it easier.)

To help prevent browning, create a lemon juice bath for the apple slices using water and lemon juice. About 2 T lemon juice to 2 quarts of water.

Remove apples from the water and lemon juice solution and place the apples on the dehydrating tray. Remember to leave some space between the apples to allow the hot air to move around and make the drying process a little bit faster.
Take cinnamon red hot candies and place them in a blender and pulse until they turn then into a fine powder. Put the candy powder into a flour sifter and sprinkle the candy powder over the apple slices.
Dehydrate the fruit for several hours until the fruit becomes dry to the touch. Remember to rotate the trays since some of the trays closest to the heat source will dry faster than the ones farther away. Some of the fruit will finish before other pieces, so pull off those that finish early. Store the fruit in an air tight container.
Here are the finished product. It is amazing... I thought that the apples were going to have a cinnamon flavor, but they didn't. It just sweetens the apples and gives them a fun, vibrant red color.

Dehydrator

I was given some dehydrators a few months ago and I have been dehydrating lots of stuff since. Here is a picture of the dehydrator that I have. You can pretty much dry anything. Some of my favorite stuff to dry has been the fruits (strawberries, bananas, pineapple, apples) and jerky. They turn out soooo yummy and the kids like them too. A good alternative to fruit snacks.

Here is what I did...

1- First wash the fruit and then slice it into about 1/4 inch slices.
2- Lightly spray the trays with PAM non-stick cooking spray. This helps during the removal process after the fruit has dried.
3- Layer the fruit on the tray in a single layer. Each dehydrator came with 5 trays.
4- Once all of the fruit is on the trays you can turn it on. It takes several hours for the fruit to dry. I've noticed there is not a specific time that can be followed. It depends on the fruit and how much liquid is in that particular one. Watch the dehydrator and check on it every hour and a little more frequently at the end to make sure it doesn't get over done. The fruit on the bottom tray seemed to get done faster so I would rotate the trays in order to get them all to finish at approximately the same time. When I would check the fruit on the trays I would pull off the ones that finished earlier than others.
5- Pull off the fruit when it is still soft, and dry. Make sure they are not wet. There seemed to be a very fine line between done and over done. I preferred the fruit to still be soft and not crunchy, but that was my preference. I pulled off the fruit when it was dry but not stiff.
6- Store dried fruit in a zip lock bag or an air tight container. I have also used my Food Saver machine to store some of them for longer storage.

Here are how they looked before they were dried.

Mmmmmm.... Strawberries...
Bananas....
And Pineapple... oh my! (the center of the pineapple isn't very good, so I cut them out using a small cookie cutter that just happened to be in the shape of a star.)
This is what these three fruits looked like dried.
The possibilities are almost endless. I have also done apples, grapes (makes raisins), tomatoes, and some herbs. Plus a few different types of jerky. It's fun to make your own snacks.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

"We're under attack! We're under attack! Intruder! Intruder! Make her stop!"



Calm down folks, I have been given a special ticket. A special ticket good for as many posts as I want. Sonya may change her mind on this one after all. (Please don't take my ticket away.)



For my first post I present WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES. These are a family favorite. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it is a no mess, no fuss kind of meal as it is all made in the blender. Another great thing about it, it is made from whole wheat kernels. Can we say food storage in use?!



Without further ado...the pancakes.



2 cups milk (I use dry milk and water...more food storage)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat kernels
2 T. sugar or honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)



Start with the kernels and milk in the blender. I happen to have a Cuisinart, so I put it on the "food processing" setting. If you have a different kind, make sure it is on a fast and strong and high setting. Blend for 4 minutes. It is loud and long, but at the end of 4 minutes all the kernels will be blended and the mixture will be smooth and somewhat thick.



Keep the blender going and add the rest of the ingredients. I don't add them in any particular order. I rotate the wet and dry trying to keep the mixture going. With too much dry in a row, the mixture will stop mixing well. If it is too thick and not moving and all is added, you can add a bit of milk or water. If the mixture seems too thin in the end, then add a bit of flour.



Now for the fun part. Here are a few extras I add to spice it up.
*one half up to one and a half bananas (this recipe is very lenient)
*cinnamon (ummm..1/4-1/2 tsp.)
*pumpkin puree (1/2 cup...I am guessing)
*1/4 c. applesauce or pear sauce (pear sauce is again a food storage, found at the wet cannery)
*get creative with anything else like blueberries, raspberries, etc.



This recipe makes lots of pancakes. I have never counted. I would say about....umm....25 pancakes. We always have leftovers. We store them in the fridge and either have pancakes the next several days, or make PBJ sandwiches with the pancakes. These also freeze really well.



Oh. In the picture below you see my set up for making. It can be pretty messy if you just pour out the batter from the blender. I use a 1/3 c. measuring cup to pour out each pancake. Much better!



I may be breaking policy here by posting children pictures. Aren't they cute though? This is the end result. Happy kiddos enjoying breakfast.