Last Chance Apple Crisp

When people feel lazy in the kitchen it's easy to look in the cabinet or fridge and emphatically proclaim "There is nothing  to eat!"  For many Americans that is not the case.   We don't want what we have.   We don't want to figure out what to do with what's left.   It's easier to order a pizza or hit the grocery store for what we want at that particular moment.    Today I had that struggle.  I scoped out the kitchen and nothing looked good.    Then I found pancake mix.  Hooray!  Breakfast accomplished.   Around lunch time it happened again.  I had a bowl of cereal.   I snacked on the last broken crackers in the pantry.   Finally my sister told me to do something with the apples in the fruit bowl.  It was the last chance for these poor apples.   We aren't eating them fast enough.  They deserve something better than being thrown in the trash.   

I pulled out a cookbook, flipped to the index, and looked under A.  For apple.  Success!  I found the recipe for "Choose a Fruit Crisp."  Not only did it help me finish up the apples, it also finished up the brown sugar.  And the coconut.  Making something new, and tasty, using what I already had on hand.  

What You Need

6 smallish granny smith apples, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup butter/margarine

1/4 cup coconut

What You Do

Preheat oven to 375.   Place sliced apples in an ungreased square 2 qt baking dish.  Stir in the granulated sugar.

Make the topping by combining oats, brown sugar, flour and nutmeg in a small bowl.   With two knives (or a pastry blender), cut in the butter/margarine until it is crumbly.  Stir in coconut.  Sprinkle over apples.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden brown.   Serve warm.   This was the debut of the new bowls I bought in Turkey.   They make the crisp look especially amazing.

The moral of the story:  It's unlikely there is nothing to eat in your kitchen.   Sometimes it takes a little work and creativity to use up what you have.  When you were little your parent may have told you to eat your dinner because there are starving children in _______ (insert country here).    Food going to waste anywhere is a shame.  If you can't / don't want to eat it, can you give it away?  Make a dish for a family or friend you know?  Freeze it for later?  Create a "last chance" dish of your own today!

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book