If you post this on Lois-MO's fried pie thread, she'll be notified by email. She sure knows fried pies! I found this on the Web using fresh apples. It's a really annoying site so here it is copied from the link below. FRIED PIE APPLE FILLING Peel and quarter tart cooking apples. Drop into bowl of salt water to prevent darkening of apples. Lift out of water, place in heavy kettle, cover tightly and bring to boil over high heat. (No need to add water since apples soaked up water in bowl.) Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until apples are tender. About halfway through cooking, sweeten apples to taste. Stir occasionally and add SMALL amount of water if apples begin to stick. When tender, remove from heat and mash with potato masher. Add cinnamon to taste. Cooked apples should be VERY thick. Cool to room temperature, place in pie, seal edges and fry as usual. NOTE: Filling may also be used for stack cake. Here is a link that might be useful: Fried Apple Pie Filling

Hey Melody, I dug out my "cocktails for two" book and the back pages are full of mocktails. Here are some recipes; Tomato Juice Cocktail shake together tomato juice, a good squeeze of lemon juice, a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a few drops of tabasco, a pinch of celery salt, and a shake of pepper. Strain and serve straight up or on the rocks. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a celery stick. Rosy Pippin Stir a wine glas of apple juice with a dash of grenadine and a squeeze of lemon juice. Top off with ginger ale and garnish with an apple slice. Acapulco Gold Shake together six parts pineapple juice, one part grapefruit juice, two parts coconut creme, two parts fresh cream and a scoop of crushed ice. Serve unstrained. Boo Boo's Special Shake together equal quantities of orange juice and pineapple juice, a squeeze of lemon juice, a dash of Angostura bitters, a dash of grenadine and a scoop of crushed ice. Serve unstrained, garnished with fruit. Cardinal Punch Over ice cubes pour four parts cranberry juice, two parts orange juice, one part lemon juice and ginger ale to top it off. Garnish with fruit. Hope this is of some help to you. Have fun at your party! NancyLouise

Every year I buy the luscious local strawberries from one of the many plots in the area...I don't have enough good sunny garden room to plant enough for my use. I make jam, and eat a ton of them fresh in all sorts of ways. But I also fill my dehydrator several times with sliced berries for the hot cereals we eat so much of during the winter. We like a variety of dried fruits as well as the traditional raisins. They are also very nice just to snack on during the Winter, when fruit worth eating is hard to come by. If you have a dehydrator (or a friend who has one you could borrow for the experiment) that would be one thing to do. I do freeze a number of them as well, for use in fruit sauces and smoothies. I don't add anything, just hull them and freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet before putting them into zip lock bags. That way, I can take out only the amount I need. I also eat them with ice cream or make home made ice cream with them. I only thaw them enough to quickly cut & eat or put into the cream though. If they thaw all the way they get slimy and the flavor changes.

While looking for an accompaniment to fajitas I came across this in "Fresh Ways With Vegetables." Think of it as either a side-dish or a warm salad. Either way, it's pretty good. Stir Fried Jicama w/Ginger & Cherry Tomatoes 1 jicama, about a pound 1 1/2 tbls peanut oil 1 tbls ginger, minced 1 garlic clove, minced 3-4 drops hot sauce 1/4 lb spinach, in pieces 8 cherry tomatoes, halved 1/4 tsp salt Black pepper 1/4 tsp sesame oil Peel jicama. Cut into half-inch julienne. In a wok, heat the peanut oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic and stir fry them briefly, about 15 seconds. Stir in the hot sauce, then add the jicama and stir fry two minutes. Toss in the spinach and cook until it is wilted, about a minute. Add the tomatoes and stir fry until they are softened, about a minute more. Sprinkle the mixture with the salt and pepper. Stir in the sesame oil. Serve immediately. My notes: Use the big jullienne blade on the mandoline, which cuts smaller than half inch, but worked well. Used 12 grape tomatoes instead of the 8 cherries, which worked out perfectly. A quarter pound of spinach isn't near enough, should at least double it next time. 1/4 tsp sesame oil is a joke. Use more, or leave it out.