Donuts

For the last 2 years, I've been working hard to teach my Mia Maids (14/15-year old girls I work with at church) the value and importance of home skills so that when the day comes, they will be proud of their roles as mothers and homemakers. But in this day and age, it's a hard sell--so I've been easing them into it little by little... and what better way to start than with donuts! I had them over to my house last fall for a Mutual activity, and we had such a blast--although I was finding oil and powdered sugar all over my kitchen for the next month :o) Everyone helped out, and we had different toppings you could put on them when you were done. The girls were so surprised by how easy they were to make, and that they did it!

It's not something you want to do often (obviously!), but still a really fun group activity--whether for Mutual, Family Home Evening, or a day off school with the kids. Add some cider or hot chocolate, and you're in for a good time :o)

Here's the link to the recipe we used, but feel free to look around other sites and see if you like something else better. I just wanted to get the idea out there!

Stribling Apple Bread

About 20 years ago (am I right, Dad?), my parents created the family tradition of going to Stribling Orchard in Markham, Virginia to pick apples in the fall. Jeremy and I have continued that tradition in our little family--wherever we move, we always find an apple orchard to explore in October... Well, this month my brother Dave brought some of his friends from L.A. to give them the East Coast (a.k.a. Midaxlantic) fall experience, and of course at the top of his list of "things to do" was to go to Stribling. They kindly let us tag along, and we had a great time together. So here, in honor of all our Stribling memories...

Stribling Apple Bread (or muffins)

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups apples, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Cream sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add dry mix to wet mix, along with apples. Mix until well-blended; note that batter will be quite thick. Grease and flour loaf pan (or muffin tins); cook loaf for 1 hour, or muffins about 20 minutes.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

This one we kind of made up on our own...

Just follow the directions on your oats container for making oatmeal on the stove (steel-cut oats are the best if you have the time to cook them). When the water is boiling--before you put the oats in, throw in some diced apples. Give them about a minute in the water, then put the oats in and cook as directed. Before serving, add 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon per serving, and then add brown sugar or honey to your liking. Yum!