So Cinch Applesauce

Oh the weekend was a relaxing one.

It snowed...winter now dusts the mountains. This is one of the times I love Utah best.

After class, I strolled through the Provo Library, just pulling interesting books off the (juvenille reading) shelf. I loved it. It felt so indulgent to just grab whatever caught my attention, and I felt like a little girl again in the days where I spent most every afternoon at the library.

With the snow-capped mountains around me and some light-reading in tow, I fixed myself a cup of tea, read, and waited for my Jeffrey to come home.

Saturday afternoon I wanted to do nothing other than bake. So I did. Then I dabbled in homework. Slowly but surely this simplest, homemade applesauce perfumed our home with the rustic smell of roasting apples.

{rome apples, peeled}

{apples, cored, peeled and ready to be grated}

{crockpot of apples ready to simmer}

So Cinch Applesauce

8 apples- I like to use Rome apples and sprinkle in a few Granny Smiths
1/2 C water
scant scant 1/2 C granulated sugar
cinnamon to taste (optional)

Peel and core apples, being sure to clear out all the core and seeds from the apples. Chop, rough chop, or grate your apples depending on your preference for super-chunky, chunky, or really not chunky at all (you can always put the applesauce in the blender if you'd like to smooth it out). Put the apples in the crockpot (we like to use crockpot liners-easy peasy clean-up for my honey), pour water and sugar and cinnamon over top the apples and mix. Cover, cook on "Low" for anywhere from 6-8 hours. If you cook it for over 10 hours, you could end up with apple butter, which is also delicious.
We like to let ours cool before we eat it, then we eat it a la carte, or on cottage cheese, or in oatmeal.

Stocking Up

My sister, Krista, teases me about this.

But I think it's wonderful so I am going to share. Here's how to make superbly delicious broth at no additional cost to your budget-a kind of broth that will jazz up your soups and knock your slippers off. And since it's getting colder and soups are sounding more and more like a good dinner idea, consider this a timely suggestion.

I call it "saving vegetable ends". I must admit this wasn't all my idea, it was a suggestion I found somewhere online at some time, but I implement the technique of saving veggie ends as I'm sure no one does. It's rather simple, really. Just whenever you are slicing and dicing vegetables, save the pieces you would normally throw away, put them in a large freezer bag, and stash them in the freezer. When the bag is full, it's time to make stock!

Some stashing tips:
Thoroughly wash all vegetables-you don't want dirt, etc. in your broth
Stash the onion skins! They give the broth a rich color and flavor
Stash unused fresh herbs! I had some leftover parsley that I threw in and it was delish
Stash chicken bones! I like to buy a rotisserie chicken every now and then, separate all the meat from the bones, and save the bones (some with bits of chicken and skin on too) to add to my broth. Bonus-rotisserie chickie makes delicious soups, salads, and wraps

The first time I made broth I let it simmer in my cast iron pot for about 2 hours. But I recently made some broth in the crock pot on the "Low" setting and let it cook for about 8 hours (I put all the veggies and things in, added about 8 cups of water and just a bit of salt, left for shcool, and when I came home it was ready). I think I like this method better, and I also think that next time I'll add 10 cups of water.
After cooking, I pour the veggies and broth through a large strainer, then again through a fine strainer which rids the broth of all the dregs and such. I then put it into a large jar. If I knew how to can things, I would definitely can this. Alas, I cannot (haha unintentional pun alert!!) so I just put a lid on and store it in my fridge. It never sits there long....delicious homemade soup calls my name....

Go ahead and try this! I promise you'll love it- even if your loved ones think you're a freezer-crazy, veggie stashing, frugal frump- it's so worth it.


jars of stock pic from elanaspantry.com