Homemade Applesauce

-


As you all know we have a large family and our large family has always enjoyed snacking.  I'm all for the snacks as long as they are healthy and not too close to dinner time.  About a year ago we started to buy a box of apples every 3 weeks to make sure we have plenty of healthy snacking going on.  This really turned out to be a great idea for our family because not only are our children eating them for snacks, I can also use them in recipes including this one for homemade applesauce.  I grew up with homemade applesauce, especially in the fall time.  We would visit an apple orchard in Iowa (where I grew up), and pick fresh apples and buy a few jugs of apple cider (yum!).  My mom would use some of the apples and peel, cut, cook (which by the way is the best smell ever!), then mash them in a stainless steel food mill, love that!  I absolutely loved that applesauce there is such a big difference between store-bought and freshly made applesauce.  Now, I don't use a food mill, I cook the peeled and cut apples in a crockpot, then use an immersion hand blender to blend up the apples really well.  I encourage you to try making this applesauce you can cook the apples in a crockpot or a stockpot (depending on how many apples you use), on the stove.  I don't use any sugar in mine but you can add some brown sugar to the apples while they are cooking if you would like.  This really is so easy you can't mess it up whichever way you decide to make the applesauce.

    Apples juicy, apples round,
    On the tree or on the ground!
     
    Apples yellow, Apples red,
    Apple pie and juice and bread!

    Apples crunchy, apples sweet,
    Apples are so good to eat!


First, you'll want to cut and peel the apples, I used about 20 apples you can cut this in half if your family is smaller than mine.....and most are.
Next, place them in your crock pot or if you're cooking them on the stove use a big enough pot for your apples.  I also sprinkle them with cinnamon and I add about a 1/2-1 cup of water.  If you're using less apples use 1/2 cup of water.  Then I set the temperature to high for about 4 hours.  If you're cooking them on the stove medium-low temperature for about 40-50 minutes until fork tender.

When they are done cooking you can use a hand blender if you have one.  If not feel free to mash them the applesauce will be a bit chunkier.  Or if you really like it smooth you can let the apples cool and carefully pour them into a blender and blend until smooth.
If you don't you can use a blender as well to make it smooth or if you like it chunky just blend it a little bit.
This is the finished product! you can sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top if you like.


INGREDIENTS:

  •  3-6 pounds of apples, I used a little more than this but you don't have to.
  • 1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2-1 cup water
  • 1/2-1 cup brown sugar (if desired)
  • if you're using 3 pounds of apples use the smaller of the measurements
INSTRUCTIONS:

  1.  Peel, core, and cut the apples.  Place them into a crockpot and sprinkle them with the cinnamon, you can also sprinkle the sugar in if you decide to use it.  Pour the water in the crockpot and cover. Set the temperature to high for about 4 hours.  
  2. When the apples are finished cooking remove the lid and stir the apples, you can mash them or blend them by hand or put them carefully in a blender and blend until smooth.
  3. To store allow applesauce to cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  4. When you're ready to eat you can sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top if desired.
                                                     Enjoy!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our family

-
Image
  This is us! We are one big family of 13 plus a daughter-in-law and a grand baby on the way!! Yes, we keep on growing but I absolutely love it! So, let me introduce our family to you, First, my awesome husband, Kyle he’s a wonderful hubby and loving Dad to all our kiddos. Then, there’s me, Michelle a wife of 23 years and mama to 11 beautiful kids. Kaston is our first and he’s married to Emily the only blonde haired beautiful lady in the picture. Mac is second, Collin is third, Elizabeth our first daughter is fourth in line, Kelly is fifth, sixth is Garrett, seventh Christopher, eighth is our second daughter Isabella, ninth is Sophia, tenth is Natty Cate and lastly but ever so sweet is our Audrey who just turned the big 1! I know what you’re thinking wow! That’s a lot of kids how do you keep track?  Well, we love each and everyone of them separately they all have different personalities and along with that they have different needs so we approach each one of them differ...
Read more

We're Grandparents!

-
Image
Kyle and I are so very excited to be grandparents to the sweetest little girl, Madeline! Congratulations to Kaston and Emily they are doing a magnificent job already, so proud of them!  Children truly are a blessing! No joys on earth bring greater pleasure than a grandchild to love and treasure! We absolutely love and adore you Madeline!
Read more

Best Banana Bread!

-
Image
I love banana bread anytime of the year and anytime of the day! Ha! Who else is with me?  This recipe has always come out so moist and so yummy and I think that's because of this special ingredient called buttermilk.... yes, I love buttermilk.. in most of my recipes that is. I am going to share this recipe with you and I bet you'll try it and love it! Also, in this recipe, if you're gluten-free you can use almond flour as a 1:1 ratio instead of using all-purpose flour.  You can substitute applesauce for the eggs as well if you like. First, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray, you can use the avocado cooking spray as well. I used my small loaf pan or you can make muffins too it will be a lesser cooking time if you do use them. Second, in a mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar (I use dark brown sugar), for 3 minutes until light and fluffy making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. I ...
Read more