Apple Hill ~ An Apple-y Good Time!

Apple Hill is one of my FAVORITE places to go and has been ever since I was a little kid.  We had two traditions growing up ~ first to go to pick apples, picnic, get a caramel apple or an apple pie treat in the fall.  Second was the day after Thanksgiving, we would go up with our parents to hike, pick  out and cut our Christmas trees followed up with warm apple cider and turkey soup to warm up.  We sometimes would visit the pumpkin patches as well in October. 

I LOVE APPLE HILL anytime of year really because there is always something going on ~ it’s not just about apples, but, a celebration of over 50 families bringing apple everything (including wine and beer), fun crafts, events like the Apple Run and all types of fruits year round.  Of course, apple season is the biggest time of year for them too. 

My parents live in Apple Hill and have a booth up there so we usually stop to see them too before we start our drive through all the farms.  I really do look forward to going EVERY year.

This time, I had The Husband up early to get our day started :D  I wanted to try to save my appetite for all the fantastic appleness at Apple Hill so I had a light breakfast.  I started off with a grande FF decaf latte with caramel drizzle on top.

The Husband and I split this Nature’s Path Organic Peanut Choco’ Granola Bar that I received at BlogHERFood09.

LOVE the stats!

This is only about 1/2 of the bar.  I LOVE that it was covered in chocolate.  It was amazing to me and really tasted like a candy bar!   The Husband LOVED it too and he isn’t a granola bar person at all.  I am definitely going to hunt these down to buy more 🙂

Whenever we go to Apple Hill, we always grab their Fresh Apple Juice (that tastes just like you bit into an apple and their Apple Hill Guide.  It has a listing of all the orchards and who has what.  I LOVE it because it not only has a map of the orchards, but, recipes too.  We shared a mini juice .  I resisted buying the entire gallon I usually do because I figured I didn’t need to be drinking all my calories/points.  It is my FAVORITE juice though.

Our first stop was for Apples at Larsen Apple Barn.  They have a place where you can sample ALL the varieties and then buy what you want.

We picked up a bag of Mini Fuji Apples ~ My favorite!

We walked around a little to check out their Cider Mill and the scenery.  This location is perfect for picnics ~ they have a HUGE grass area with picnic tables too.

Denver Dan’s is the best place to get baked goodies I think.  It is a must stop on my list each year.

I LOVE that they give you a thumb apple ring and you take your apple slices to sample all their sauces and jams.

I got Cider Sauce which is awesome on OATMEAL, for mock Baked Apples and ICE CREAM.  I also tried something new that I fell in LOVE with ~ FIG Jam.  It’s totally butter and sweet….Maybe I do LOVE figs after all?!

For those wondering what is in cider sauce….all the “good” stuff 😉

The Husband got one of their gigantic homemade Garlic Dill Pickles.  That would be our camera bag next to it.  I had a few bites later in the day – it was awesome!  

Apple Hill is totally known for their HUGE baked goods and apple everything.  I WISH I remembered to take pictures of their mountain apple pies.  Here are just a few of their supersized baked goods that we were eyeing…..

 

I am pretty sure Tina would LOVE one of these monsters for cookie Friday 🙂

We finally decided to share one treat that sounded too amazing to pass up.  An apple dumpling with cider sauce and ice cream ~ HOLY YUM!!!! I had only about 1/3 and The Husband had the rest.

I LOVED all the fall colors driving around and seeing the Christmas trees with the Orchards.

There are tons of apple orchards everywhere obviously.  You can pick your own if that is your thing or you can be like us and buy them just picked that day 🙂

The Husband also spotted some plums he wanted to try.  I am intrigued by the brownish plums – they are called Elephant Plums.  I am not sure I’ve ever had one.

We stopped at a few other places along the way.  Our last stop was at Abel’s Apple Acres.  This is the ABSOLUTE BEST caramel and apple butter place in apple hill.  I had to buy some fudge as soon as I saw all the flavors.  I am not a big fudge person but……

I am on a HUGE pumpkin kick, right? They had PUMPKIN FUDGE!!!!   The Husband of course thought I was crazy but I had to buy it.  They had it with and without nuts.

We picked up some treats for my friend that I can’t show you since she needs to get them first plus 2 caramel apples, a big caramel turtle and probably the MOST INGENIUIS thing ever created ~ CARAMEL COVERED MARSHMALLOWS!!!!  The Husband and I shared this on our drive home because well it doesn’t really last long around us.  I could eat these for days ~ SO GOOD!  It was worth trading in the apple slices that you dip in the bowl of caramel for this…..

We usually stop at a certain place to have BB Tri Tip sandwiches for The Husband, but, the place was closed down 🙁 Boo to the economy.  So, we held out until we were done touring and opted for Texas West BBQ.  I picked a garden salad for my side dish.

I had 2 of The Husbands BBQ chicken wings ~ YUM to spicy BBQ sauce!

Then, I had 1/2 this tri tip sandwich with loads of BBQ sauce.  It was eh ok….I liked the smoked flavor, but, it was super dry and not so good without the sauce.

On our way home we were talking about how we missed the usual farmer that we go to that gives us all we want for $10 in a big apple box.  The cool part about that deal was that you can get pears and a bunch of different types of apples.  We stopped in at Trader Joe’s and I saw these mini combo pears ~ it’s like the “knew” we wanted pears too 😀

Dinner tonight was fast and simple so that we could get ready for the week.  It started off with my favorite Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup.

Topped with some shaved parmesan and freshly ground pepper.

Plus bread for dipping ~ Trader Joe’s mini ciabatta roll with a small smear of whipped butter. These rolls are 140 cal, .5 g fat, 4 g fiber ~ awesome!

Plus 2 tomato slices I stole from The Husband who made BLTA’s to go with his soup.

Since I didn’t already have enough sweets all day :), I decided I NEEDED to try out that Pumpkin Fudge.  I had resisted long enough.

OMG ~ I AM IN LOVE!!!!  It’s like a rich, creamy pumpkin cheesecake!  I am kinda glad I didn’t buy a ton because wow, I know it will be tough to resist not having pumpkin fudge for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner :)  I think I might need to try making this!

It was such a fun trip even if we didn’t do all our usual stuff.  I feel like I did ok balancing all the treats and eats.  My body is definitely ready to get back into it’s usual healthy eating and workout routine after our weekend.  It’s fun to indulge every now and then, but, I am always glad to return to clean eats 🙂

I am off to get my day started.  Have a good Monday all!