I have a little apple cruncher living in my house. He loves apples but, unfortunately, often takes one bite and leaves the rest. I am way too frugal to discard a perfectly good apple, but what to do? Of course, you could cut off the offending brown bite and eat the remaining apple, but apples (my favorite fruit) can also be used in many ways besides the off-the-tree Adam and Eve version. Here are some easy apple ideas for all meals.

Breakfast

1. Chop up apple and add to simmering oatmeal. A little cinnamon would be good as well!
2. Slice up apple and saute with butter, sugar and cinnamon. Top waffles or pancakes with this.
3. Slice off bitten part and remove core. Add to a smoothie for sweetness and fiber.

Lunch

1. Slice up an apple and add to a salad of greens, blue cheese and toasted walnuts. Dress with an apple cider vinaigrette.
2. Thinly slice apple and add to a grilled cheese sandwich. This would be especially delicious with a green apple, brie cheese and sourdough bread.

Dinner

1. Saute sliced apples with butter and salt. Serve as a side dish with Pork Chops or Roast Chicken. Onions and/or cabbage could also be added and sautéed in bacon fat, if desired.
2. I used to have a cookbook called Single Servings that I loved. I got rid of it when I got married, had three kids and three stepdaughters to feed- Single Servings no more. But they had this lovely cheese omelet I used to make on the regular, filled with sliced apples that were sautéed with brandy. It sounds weird, but it was delicious and I usually made it for myself, for dinner, in my Single Serving days. I made this one (that didn’t quite turn into an omelet) with mozzarella cheese, but I think the original was with Gruyere. Cheese and apples are a natural match.
3. I had the most delicious pancake when I was in Amsterdam, years ago. It was like an open-faced crepe and had apples ringed around the edges, with three slices of bacon in the middle. This would make a great breakfast, lunch or dinner. Serve with real maple syrup.

Dessert

1. Saute sliced or chopped apples with cinnamon and sugar. Top over vanilla ice cream, while warm.
2. Add finely chopped apples to tapioca or butterscotch pudding for crunch.
3. Top crepes with sautéed apples and cinnamon.

My favorite apple is Honeycrisp, but I also like Envy, Jazz and Gala. I like my apples with a little crispness, a little tartness and a little sweetness. Mealy and mushy apples are the pits! Remember when our only choices were Red Delicious, Green and Yellow? Apples come in thousands of varieties now. The apple world has come a long way baby!

If you have a lot of apples on the verge of going bad (wrinkly) you could also make homemade Applesauce, which isn’t that difficult and is always appreciated as a gift to friends. It goes well in porridge or, as a side dish with meats. Apple Butter is also delicious and a perfect topping for toast.

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