Crafty Moms Share: Friday Fruit Exploration: Apples!

Well it has been awhile since we posted a fruit exploration, but this past month we had fun exploring one of Hazel's favorite fruits--apples! Now we have done many apple crafts over the last few years, but this time we pulled out the magnifying glass and fruit journal.

Apple Page in Journal

Our adventure began with a school field trip to go apple picking! I got to be a parent driver/chaperone. First the farmer took us on a hayride to the apple orchard. He saw me and another mom lifting our girls up, so he brought the girls an apple picker. Here is Hazel with it and an apple she picked with it.

Hazel with the apple picker

We each had a small plastic bag to fill. They filled up quickly, but the kids kept wanting to pick!

After the apple picking, it was a hayride back to the main part and there was a snack of apple cider donuts and apple cider waiting for the kids. Plus food to give the animals. Then we headed back to school. At the farm we picked MacIntosh and Cortland apples. For our exploration I bought a Granny Smith and a Golden Delicious as well.

For our exploration I gave Hazel some slices and some cheese. We had a fun lunch that day.

She explored the outside and inside of the slices and drew in her journal. She decided she liked the yellow or the golden delicious the best. Now apples have been known to be healthy. After all there is the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Scientists have recently seen that eating an entire apple (not apple juice or applesauce) gives the value of high dietary fiber benefits that other much higher fiber foods. This helps prevent heart disease. (Source)

Coloring Page from Library

Did you know apples are part of the rose family? Many fruits are. (Source)

Since we had two bags of MacIntosh and Cortland apples, we made a few recipes with them.

I made Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts mostly following this recipe on All Recipes.

We also enjoyed some apple pie. Hazel was upset I made the pie without her, but I cheated and used a Pillsbury crust and followed the recipe on the box. I also made another recipe using turkey cutlets and apples. I modified a recipe my sister gave me for chicken. The original recipe came from Tastes of Italia September/October 2010 magazine and was called Skillet Chicken with Garlic and Mushrooms. It basically sautes the meat that is covered in a flour coating and then add sliced garlic (we don't eat mushrooms) and chicken broth. Since we don't use the mushrooms I experimented with some apple instead. Then you add some stuffing and lemon juice. Everyone loved it, and I did not get a picture of it. Sorry!