Easy Homemade Applesauce

Hallelujah, I'm finally starting to feel a little bit better! Yesterday seems to have been the roughest day. I woke up today feeling a smidgen of a bit better. I actually drug my sorry butt to the gym, which amazingly seemed to help quite a bit. It was an easy day, I leisurely rode the bike and jumped on the elliptical to give my limbs a wake-up. I was still feeling a bit weak from having been sick, but the actual process of working out gave me a much needed energy boost. Truth be told, I needed to get out of the house. I hadn't left since Monday, I was going a little stir crazy. After the gym, I stopped by the library. I'm ready and set for the next snowstorm to blow into town!

I seem to be posting a lot of apple recipes lately. This could be for one of two reasons- One, apples are in season right now and they look so very pretty at the grocery store. Two, I'm crazy about apples. I just love them. We had a couple of apple trees when I was growing up, and I still remember all the apple treats my mom used to make. Apple pie, dried apples, apple fruit rollups, apple muffins, and of course, applesauce. Since I've been a adult however, I've always just bought applesauce at the store. Now, I'm wondering why. It takes about 45 minutes to make applesauce, and 30 minutes of that is hands-off cooking on the stove. It was so easy, and the results so much better than commercial applesauce. I used 3 lbs of apples, which made almost a full Mason jar of sauce.  Double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe if that's what floats your boat. I made one jar because I think that's how much the hubby and I will be able to eat while it's fresh. Making my own applesauce really fits into my New Year's goal of eating more whole foods, as my recipe isn't laden down with preservatives.

Now, I must go. I've been stalking a deer near my yard for about 30 minutes. He's so close to entering my yard where I'm going to be able to capture pictures of him using my huge paparazzi lens on my camera. He seems to have a bit of stage fright about being caught on camera however, since he's reluctant about coming further into the yard. I've got patience though, and since I'm still recovering a bit from being sick, I don't have a gigantic to-do list today. So lay in wait, I shall. I'm really wanting to work on my nature shots with the paparazzi lens.

I hope everyone's staying warm on this oh-so chilly day!

FYI- This may be one of the easiest recipes I've ever posted :)

Ingredients:

3 lbs apples (I used Red Delicious on this batch), peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup apple juice
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine apples through cinnamon over medium heat. Cover, and cook for 25 minutes, or until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Either blend apple mixture in a food processor until you achieve desired texture, or take an immersion blender to the sauce. Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck