In your quest to get healthy and lose weight — you need to learn how to appreciate food, to take pleasure in it, and start eating REAL foods (instead of the fake stuff we’re constantly told is ‘good for us’ when in reality it’s not).

Yet a challenge people often come across is finding recipes that are easy, healthy AND taste good. 

I recently found a blog  How to Cook Like Your Grandmother, by Drew Kime, which does just that (Drew is also author of a cookbook by the same name).

Drew is all about making food that tastes good and is healthy, by using real wholesome ingredients.  As Drew makes cooking so easy, I invited him to share one of his recipes, which you’ll see below.

Be sure to also check out Drew’s 10-day online course in the basics of cooking, “Starting From Scratch” which is completely FREE!

So enjoy the recipe.  Trust me, it’s quick, easy, and much healthier and better for you than anything you could buy at the store.

Bon appétit!

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Homemade Crustless Apple Pie

Though I’ll admit to a weakness for a nice crumb topping, I’m not actually that much a fan of pie crust. To me it’s just something to hold the filling together. Something you have to deal with if you’re going to have apple pie.

Except … you don’t. I’ve had versions of this dish that were obviously out of a jar. Probably full or corn syrup and preservatives. It would have made a great topping for a banana split when I was 8, but that’s about the best I can say about it.

And the “whipped cream” … don’t even get me started on that thin, watery, artificial mess. I don’t even want to think about it, much less describe it.

Which is why I knew I had to make this when Dinneen asked me to write this post for her blog. I could show how easy it is to make from scratch. And hopefully convince you how much better it tastes when you use real food.

Ingredients

4 large apples

2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat (or butter)

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 – 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping

whipped cream

– or –

vanilla ice cream

Directions

If you’re making this for kids, you’ll probably want to peel the apples. I prefer the texture from the peel, and the color looks much better. Either way, cut them into eighths and cut out the stem and seeds.

Now you can ask the question you’ve been thinking since you read the ingredients: Bacon fat? Yes, bacon fat. Butter works, but it scorches easily. If you use butter, add about a half-teaspoon of salt with the sugar. Melt the fat over medium heat in a non-stick pan.

Once the fat is melted, carefully lay in enough apples to cover the bottom of the pan, then pour in the rest. (You want to do the a layer first so the fat doesn’t splatter when you dump it all in.) Then stir or toss the apples to coat them all evenly.

Add about a half teaspoon of cinnamon — just enough for a light dusting over all the apples — plus a tablespoon of sugar, and give it another stir.

Put a lid on, turn the heat down very low, and leave it covered for about 15 minutes. Stir once halfway through.

Check to see that they’re fork tender. (Make sure you let all the steam from the bottom of the lid run back into the pan. You’ll need that liquid later.) If they’re still crunchy in the middle, simmer for another five minutes at a time until they’re soft all the way through. Then taste. Add more cinnamon if it needs it.

Now add another tablespoon of sugar and stir. With the liquid that has come out of the apples, plus the sugar you just added, you’ve got the makings of a nice syrup. Leave the lid off, turn the heat up to medium, and stir constantly as the liquid thickens up. Don’t leave it alone, it can burn very easily.

Arrange a single layer of apples in a plate. Add a scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Spoon a little bit of the syrup over the top.

And that’s it. Four ingredients — plus a topping — and better than any candy-sweet mush you’ll get in a jar.

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For over 200 more recipes that would have looked at home on your grandmother’s table — including directions for making your own whipped cream (it’s easier than you think) — check out How To Cook Like Your Grandmother.

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