Caramel Apple Crock Pot Party

 

 

Look what I found at the farmer's market for .50 each!  Aren't they adorable?  Gourds are so fun and interesting, and a great, cheap way to spruce up a plain old houseplant for fall.  My favorite is the one laying along the front/center.  It looks like a pipe, and makes me feel like I'm in the Shire (You know...Middle Earth, where the Hobbits live...).

 

My cousin Jan hosted a fun fall party last week.  She used her crock pot to warm up some caramel candy (the individually wrapped Kraft brand caramels) and set up a make-your-own caramel apple station.

 

The caramels have to be unwrapped of course, but after that it's super easy to just toss 'em in a crock (2 or 3 qt size) add a little water to thin, and heat on low, covered, for 1 1/2 hrs.   (This qualifies as the best excuse ever to get myself a new, cute little 2 qt crock!  :)   

 

Guests picked their own apple, right off of Jan's back yard tree, but if you don't have a tree, maybe it would be a fun thing to load everyone up and head to the u-pick farm for an afternoon of apple picking, then  home to eat some chili, all warm, ready, and waiting in your 6 qt crock, and end the day with this caramel apple station.

 

Start with clean dry apples, and add a lollypop stick securely in the stem end for a handle.  Jan got her sticks at the grocery store (sometimes this time of year they will have caramel apple supplies...if not you can probably find them at a craft store in the cake decorating section).  Then use a spoon over your crock of warm melty caramel to drizzle it on the apple.  If you want to really dress it up, you can set out a variety of toppings.  Jan used chocolate chips, almond slices, M&M's, and sprinkles. 

 

When the apples are done they need to stand and cool/firm up a bit.  Jan used waxed paper, but said that it still stuck to the apples.  She suggests maybe using some oil or butter on the paper to avoid sticking.  For that matter you could probably use butter on foil, or parchment paper too if that's what you have handy.

 

 

 

 

I'm inspired to schedule some fall fun for my family.  Thanks for sharing Jan!

 

So you may have noticed an uncharacteristic "quietness", and a distinct lack of blogging activity here at "Dinner, Done" the last few days...I've been testing my way through recipes, slow and steady, but nothing great to report.  I made "Sweet and Tangy Red Cabbage" from the Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook.  It seemed promising; healthy and seasonal.  It looked gorgeous going into the pot:  red cabbage, apples, cider vinegar, sugar, craisins...but alas, it wasn't very good coming out of the pot.

 

Before...

 

And sadly...after.

 

  In fact, I wish I had just added some oil to it, NOT cooked it, and tossed it as a raw cabbage apple slaw!  That would have been good, but cooked, it was just not very tasty I'm afraid.  Hubby liked it ok, and ate some.  I tried it and severely disliked it.  And we were the only two who even cared to give it a taste test.  So, that's test #20 for you.

 

On the other hand...I made a minestrone out of Slow Cooker Revolution which was quite good.  It's nearly gone, so I'll be back to report on that one later this week.  I've also got some gluten free, and dairy free crustless pumpkin pie in the works in my (current) 2 qt crock (which has an extremely annoying habit of gathering so much condensation around the rim that it bubbles and "clangs" as it cooks...perhaps it is time for a new, and cuter, 2 qt crock)...so check back and I'll give you the full run-down on those two things and whatever else crops up this week.

 

Meanwhile, happy apple picking!