~Bar-B-Q Beef Sandwiches~

We had a family get-together over the weekend for the big game.  Like most football games, we had alot of finger type foods and I wanted to try a new recipe.  I didn't want to spend alot of time in the kitchen, of course, and so the crock pot was going to be put to good use.

I have quite a collection of cookbooks and showed you quite a few of them in my post about My Farmhouse Vignette and also about "wanting one of these" for my cookbooks, which happens to be a chicken feeder.  Oh, and I haven't had a chance to look for the feeder yet but when I do, I'll let you know. ;)

Anyway....in my collection of cookbooks I have one specifically for slow cookers...Gooseberry Patch Slow-Cooker Recipes.  It's got some great recipes in it.  (Gooseberry doesn't know me from Adam by the way).

I found this recipe called Bar-B-Q Steak Sandwiches.  The main ingredient is beef round steak but I wanted to use chuck roast.  With that in mind, I couldn't call them "steak" sandwiches so I changed it to "beef" sandwiches.  Pretty clever, huh?  Yeah, I thought so, too. ;)  It also called for hot pepper sauce, which I don't keep on hand since we don't really care for it.  So my version is minus the pepper sauce.

I didn't get pictures on Sunday of the big batch it made but, thankfully, there was plenty left over for last night.  This is just a small part of it.  Enough for me since Mr. Bill wasn't going to be home for supper.  Doesn't it look yummy?

Look at all that juicy goodness!  Like so many leftovers, it tastes just as good the second and even third time around!  Look closely and you can see the chopped onions and celery.  My daughter added several bouilion cubes to the sauce to make it a bit richer as it seemed a bit watery.

Piled high on whole wheat hamburger buns and some chips and dip on the side.  Yum!  And I had a side dish of fresh fruit from the fruit tray I bought for Sunday and forgot to put out with everything else!  Geez...I can't believe how forgetful I get these days!!

Yes, I ate both of these little babies!  They really aren't that big.  You can tell by the size of my plate.  Are you ready for the recipe?  Okey dokey...I've created my version in a printable recipe for you below.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did~
                     

Time for a blog party or two:

Cowgirl Up at Cedar Hill Ranch

Your Cozy Home at Cozy Home Scenes

~Crock Pot Apple Butter~

I love apple butter.  Plain and simple.  I will always choose it first before any other type of jam spread.  Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who likes it.  Unfortunately, the apple butter found in stores always come in huge jars and I end up throwing about half away before it goes bad.  Why is that?  The huge jar, that is.  I know why it goes bad...I can't eat it fast enough!  Hehe.

So, I decided to try and make my own.  I've seen lots of recipes about the crock pot method and knew that it would be a no-brainer as to how easy it would be to make.  Unfortunately.....here I go again :)  I didn't know which recipe to try.  Decisions, decisions.  Sometimes life can be so hard!

I finally found one on www.cooks.com that got lots of great reviews and decided to give it a shot.  It didn't say what type of apples would be best, but I used a combination of Gala and Granny Smith even though I forgot to include them in this photo...about 3 pounds.

Other ingredients include...
     3 cups sugar
     2 tsp cinnamon
     1/2 tsp allspice
     1/2 tsp cloves
     dash of salt
     3/4 cup water or apple cider (I used apple juice)

Fill crock pot three-fourths full of peeled, cored and chopped apples.  Mix together all other ingredients and add to apples, stirring until evenly coated.  Cover and cook over low setting overnight or until the butter is a thick spreadable consistency.

If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened.  Stir often to keep it from scorching.

Note:  I was rather busy and didn't have the time to 'watch' the apple butter, so I just left the setting on low and cocked the lid just a bit to allow the butter to cook down slowly.  I did have to smash my apples as it was more chunky than what I wanted.  Look at all that yummy goodness!!

Store in the refrigerator for up to six weeks or freeze for longer storage.

But I decided I wanted to can my apple butter and used half-pint jars processing in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.  Then...ping....ping...ping. Done!  I forgot how much I enjoyed canning and the the joy of having something in the pantry that you put together.

Now, when tasting this yummy goodness, I noticed that there was an extremely strong taste of the spices in my lovely butter.  I may have...just may have doubled the cloves and allspice.  I'm not really sure.  I've never had homemade apple butter before and so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be this strong.

So....I'm asking for your help here.  Do you make your own apple butter?  Is your recipe different than mine and, if so, would you mind sharing it with me?  I would love to try a different version especially from someone I 'know'.  :)

An apple a day.....

Update:  I tried the apple butter on some English muffins and it wasn't as overpowering as I thought it would be.  It was good.  If I make this recipe again, I'll have to pay close attention to how much of the allspice and cloves I add. :)

Participating in Fresh From the Farm Recipe Swap