Saturday, November 5, 2011

Super Easy and Delicious Homemade Applesauce

I love fall, and all the yummy warm food that comes with it! One of my favorite fall treats is homemade applesauce. My mom always made this for us and it was SOOO good!! I have been trying to copy her for the last few years but my applesauce never turned out just right....until now :) I FINALLY got it right and it was so good! AND, I was smart enough to take notes so that I can achieve it again! The recipe is below, but first I want to tell you that you will want to get one of these cool little guys:
This is our favorite kitchen gadget and I am telling you about it because not many people seem to know about it! :) This "apple peeler" peels, slices, and cores your apple in one quick and easy motion, its amazing. And Chad and I just discovered you can use it to peel other items such as potatoes..AMAZING!! The only problem you will find with it is keeping the kids away---they will love it as well!! And they will want to eat apples all day long :) Chad and I got ours at Harbor Freight and I know they have them at BedBath and Beyond as well--you can get it for about $15-20. Alright, there is my spiel :) Now on to the recipe!!

Homemade Applesauce:


4-5 large apples-peeled, sliced, and cored (Granny smith or Fuji apple are best)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
dash of salt

Throw all ingredients into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes, apples should be super soft. Remove from heat and let sit for 5-10 min.
Okay--here is where you might have some variety, you will want to look at your sauce and you might need to drain some of the liquid if it is really runny--it will thicken a little as it cools so dont drain all. You will also want to taste it and if your apples where really tart you may add a tinch more white sugar (do this while its still hot so the sugar dissolves).
Mash with a potato masher. I like mine chunky so I only mash it a little.
Serve on pancakes, icecream, or my favorite--homemade bread!!
Enjoy!

 Lucy LOVED it, went crazy actually :)
Mom wasnt feeding her fast enough :)
And no, we dont usually (or ever) eat in the living room, however our kitchen is currently under construction!

Bread Machine Recipes:
I love my bread machine! it is so easy! Here is the white-bread recipe I used, just in case you need one! :)

White Bread: 
1.5 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp shortening
4 2/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp dry milk
1.5 tsp Active dry yeast OR 1 tsp. Bread machine yeast.

Throw everything in breadmachine--in order of recipe! Set your bread machine settings to 'white bread' and  '2 lb loaf'. Sit back, relax and let it do all the work! Enjoy :)