It’s apple season! Get a taste of fall with Chef Jill’s apple recipes

It's officially Fall, which means it's apple season! With all the different varieties of apples like Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious and so many others, there's got to be something to make other than apple pie.

Chef Jill Aker Ray stopped by the Morning Mix to share some creative recipes that mainly use apples.

Simply Applesauce

Ingredients:

• 4-5 McIntosh apples peeled, seeded and cut into 1" dice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional
• 1 lime/lemon juiced
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Into a medium saucepan, add the apples, brown sugar, lime juice and water.
2. Cover the pot tightly and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes, until apples are tender.
3. Transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse 3-4 times to desired consistency. If you like it chunky, process it less, or for super smooth pulse a few more times.
4. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Apple Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 2 (8-oz.) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 pounds fresh Fuji apples , peeled and quartered (4 large)
• plus one for dicing as garnish
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or apple pie spice mix
• 1 (12-oz.) can citrus-flavored pop (Mountain Dew, Cherry Coke, Sunkist, etc.)
• Whipped topping and macerated diced apples for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Unroll crescent rolls; separate into triangles. Place 1 apple quarter on wide end of each triangle; roll up triangles around peaches, starting at wide end. Place, point sides down, in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan.
2. Stir together sugar, butter, and cinnamon, and drizzle over rolls; pour pop over rolls.
3. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
4. Top with diced apples and creamy whipped topping or ice cream.

Pork Chops with Apple Salsa

Ingredients:

Pork

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 pounds pork tenderloin or 4-6 chops

Apple Salsa

• 2 cups crunchy sweet apples (like Fuji), cored and diced (about 2 medium apples)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch baking dish with foil and coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, chili powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large shallow bowl or pie plate. Add the pork and turn each piece to coat with the cinnamon mixture.
3. In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat another tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium heat until hot and rippling. Add the pork and brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side.
4. Transfer the browned pork to the prepared baking pan (if your skillet is oven-safe, you can simply pop it into the oven and save having to clean up an extra pan). Bake for 16-18 minutes (more or less) until an instant read thermometer registers 145 degrees in the thickest part of the pork. Cover the pork with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving with the apple salsa.
5. For the apple salsa (this can be prepared while the pork is cooking), combine all the apple salsa ingredients, stirring well to coat the apples with the lime juice and other ingredients.
6. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For even more flavor, coat the pork with the oil/chili rub, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight before cooking. The leftover apple salsa is divine with tortilla chips or cinnamon grahams or just eaten by the spoonful.

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