Recipe: Apple Peel Confetti Crisps
Making Apple Peel Confetti Crisps with a variety of different apples
This past fall we went apple picking with the family, even though we have eaten all the apples from that day (we picked a bushel of apples which is approximately 40 pounds) whenever I pick up apples at the store the girls have several favorite recipes that we have tried and enjoy. One of their absolute favorites to eat and take to school is their Apple Peel Confetti Crisps.
It was one of those recipes that pop into my head at the last minute and turn out really well (not all of them turn out so well). As I was peeling some of the apples to make applesauce I noticed we had quite the accumulation of apple skins. I didn’t want all the skins to go to waste so I threw all of them into a big bowl, sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon and sugar on them, stirred and put them into the dehydrator for a few hours. What came out were what the girls named Apple Peel Confetti Crisps, a delightful sweet and crunchy apple peel snack.
- Apple Peels
- Dash of lemon juice
- Dash of Cinnamon & Sugar
Put the apple peels into a bowl. Stir in a little cinnamon and sugar for flavor. Put the apple peels into the dehydrator and cook until crispy. Remove from dehydrator and put into a ziplock bag. If you do not have a dehydrator you can set your oven at 250 and stir occasionally (works great if it is a convection oven).
We stored ours in the refrigerator but they should be fine at room temperature too since they are dried. Several kids in the girls class at school wanted to know if I could pack extra Apple Peel Confetti Crisps in the girls lunches so they could have some too. I was happy to hear the girls did share with their friends. One little boy said it was the best apple skin he had ever tasted and the only thing he would do different is add a little more sugar, ha! Loved that the rest of the first graders enjoyed the goodies as much as my girls.
Start with fresh apples
Peel the apple – Karlie taking a turn at peeling the granny smith apple
Stir a little cinnamon & sugar in with the apple peels
Put the apple peels in the dehydrator and let it run for 4 to 6 hours (or until the peels are crispy like the ones pictured above)
Apple Peel Confetti Crisps ready to eat!
Family Fun: Getting a Little Fresh Air
Brina swinging on the jungle gym
One of the best parts about the warm sunny days when they hit in the middle of winter is the family can go outside and get some fresh air. Since it is the season of colds and sickness the fresh air is wonderful for everyone. We try to let the girls get some play time outside when the weather permits and we even join in on the fun. Whether it is pushing one of the girls on the swings or playing catch it is important that we spend some time relaxing together.
Karlie playing catch with Daddy
Thankful for the warm and sunny days in South Carolina as well as the opportunity to spend some extra time with my family! 🙂
Working in the Yard & Building Bonfires
We were planning on working in the yard and doing a bonfire. As soon as we got into the yard it started to rain. So we decided to take a little break and eat popsicles.
Skipper hanging out with us too Skipper decided to stay and hang out with us. Maybe she could get a nibble of a popsicle, ha!
Toasty fire to warm us up We ended up doing a fire once the rain, thunder and lightening subsided. It did sprinkle on and off but we still were able to pick a lot of sticks and limbs off the yard to make our bonfire.
Boiling water for hot chocolate We cooked the water for our hot chocolates on the stove since the bonfire was so hot.
Karlie drinking her hot chocolate and watching the jiffy pop start popping Karlie enjoying her hot chocolate and fascinated by the jiffy pop.
Brina munching on some freshly cooked jiffy pop! We made jiffy pop for a fun snack at the bonfire. The girls and Skipper loved it! It was both a productive and fun evening together with the family.
Family Outings: SkyTop Apple Orchard
We made it to SkyTop Orchard this year! We surprised the girls one Saturday morning by taking a road trip to SkyTop Orchard in North Carolina. Several friends had told us that it is a great place to go apple picking so we decided to check it out!
Too busy watching everybody and everything around them to look at the camera! Pausing for a moment to take a picture by the Sky Top 2011 Apple. There were so many people and activities going on that they girls were just mesmerized.
Hey MOM! Is this a good one? Karlie loved picking the apples straight from the tree. It didn’t take us long with four people picking to fill up our baskets!
Looking for juicy apples to pick! Karlie and Brina looking through all the apples on the branches for the ripe and juicy ones to pick. They got pretty good at picking out the perfect apples!
Brina pleased with the apple she found. Brina found a good one! She was so excited when she found a perfect apple to put into the basket.
Walking with Daddy through the apple orchard There were a lot of apples on the ground. Some of them were whole while others were turning into mush. If you stepped on a mushy apple you feet would slide. The girls held our hands when we were walking longer distances to help prevent them from sliding around so much on the slick apples.
Girls - Look Daddy there's a good one up there! Daddy - You want which one?! You know the saying “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence” well the same thing applies to apple picking. The perfect apple is always at the top of the tree out of reach!
Daddy gave the girls a few boosts to get some of the "perfect" apples at the top of the trees! Thankfully with a little boost from Daddy the girls were able to get some of those pretty apples up on top. They thought it was neat that they could reach the apples without climbing the trees.
Brina and Karlie playing on SkyTop's playground Another highlight for the girls was playing in the houses and on SkyTop’s playground. They had a blast checking out all the fun houses, slides, and fun activities.
Two sweet girls peeking through the playhouse window at me! As I was watching them play I caught them peeking at me through the window. Cute! Love those two girlies so much and thankful for an opportunity to go on a family adventure together. Great memories!
Brina Bee climbing up the wall Brina proudly climbed up the climbing wall. She came over to me and said Mom that is a lot easier then the ones that you have to get buckled into. Brina loved seeing all the babies and little kids at the orchard. Glad she had a great time!
Karlie Kook Kat peeping through the window. Sweet picture of Karlie peeping out the window. It is amazing to see how much they have grown up over the last few months.
Giant haybale spider The girls thought this giant spider was hilarious! They had fun climbing all over it!
Our family at SkyTop! We had a blast together picking apples and playing at SkyTop Apple Orchard!
One bushel of apples We picked one bushel (approximately 42 pounds of apples)! These apples were delicious! It was a lot of fun to eat them plain and in a lot of dishes from apple crisp to apple pie to applesauce to apple smoothies and more!
Family Outings: All Star Greenville Drive Baseball Game
Karlie and Brina in their Greenville Drive All Stars Shirts Karlie and Brina received their Greenville Drive All Star TShirts for completing the reading program through the library. They were super excited to get the free Tshirts, to walk in the parade, and to get free tickets to a Greenville Drive baseball game!
Brina and Karlie walking in the "All Star" parade before the Greenville Drive game The girls were loving the “parade” around the field before the Greenville Drive game. They were amazed at all the dents in the scoreboard from all the baseballs hitting it. I think it surprised them that the balls would hit it so hard. The shirts were really big (one size fits all) so they had a hard time figuring out how to wear them without them being a dress, in this picture Brina is just holding hers up and Karlie has her tied up.
Watching the Greenville Drive play baseball! The girls loved watching the Greenville Drive baseball games. They really started getting into the games, really cute. It was a great activity with the family and we had extended family join us for this game (Luke, Kristen, and Hudson) as well making it even more fun!
Hanging out at the game with Daddy Thanks Daddy for getting us great seats! The girls got free tickets for finishing the reading program and Daddy was able to get the rest of us seats through work! We had a blast even though the Greenville Drive didn’t win that night!
Family Fun with Silly String!
The girls found some leftover silly string that we had and wanted to “surprise” Daddy when he came home from work. Somehow they managed to get the silly string all over themselves and Skipper, Jake only got a few strings on him. It was something fun to do before heading into dinner and brought a lot of giggles. Of course Jake knew something was up as soon as he arrived home and heard the girls giggling non-stop…..
Karlie covered in Silly String Karlie wearing her library reading metal and a bunch of silly string. It was hilarious watching them try to squirt Daddy, each other and Skipper!
Brina on the run!! I never did catch a one of her standing still which is why this one is blurry. Brina was pretty good at escaping silly string. If any would get on her she would quickly pick it off and put it on someone else, including Skipper. Loved hearing them come up with this “plan” to surprise Daddy and hearing their giggles as they ran around the yard.
Skipper getting gained up on with silly string! Skipper really didn’t know what to do with all the silly string. She was a good sport letting the girls spray her and running around the yard with the rest of the family. I think Skipper probably got the majority of the silly string because she had the best reaction. Thankful for a dog that puts up with the goofy kiddos!
Even though Daddy was the initial target he stayed pretty clean! I did warn him to take off his work shirt prior to getting out of the car. The silly string was fun but I wasn’t sure if it would stain. It probably would have been fine but no sense making more work for me on laundry day.
Skipper’s New Dog House
Skipper's New Dog House! See the black furry spot in the middle, she's sleeping! As we were cleaning up from dinner a couple weeks ago we looked out at the jungle gym and noticed Skipper all curled up and sleeping on the floor. She had found a nice place to go to sleep. The jungle gym has an area that is dry in the rain and you can see into the house (Jake made sure I had a good view of the jungle gym from the house) as well as the driveway and a good chunk of the yard.
Skipper learned how to climb up the ladder to the jungle gym and can often be seen up there playing (or sleeping) while the girls are playing in that area. A couple times Skipper was convinced she couldn’t get down from the jungle gym, I think after a “fun” ride down the slide, so we had to re-train her to climb down the ladder.
It wouldn’t be the best place to get stuck during a 100 degree summer day, but you have to admit it is a pretty cool dog house! She enjoys her time with the girls and loves the jungle gym almost as much as the kids. Skipper is a great dog for the girls, even if she tries taking over the jungle gym!
