Make It, Don't Buy It: Applesauce

One of my favorite go-to snacks and side dishes for Legs and The Hulk is applesauce. It's just so easy to slap on the side of their lunch or pour into a bowl for a snack. And, I mean, it's totally nutritious, right? You can't go wrong with a product made from apples, can you?

That's what I thought when I was buying my Motts brand applesauce in the jar or those cute little cups. Then I read the label. Yikes, that stuff has a lot of sugar in it! You might as well dip an apple in a bowl of sugar and take a bite.

Like many of my go-to food items, applesauce became one of those things I decided to try to learn to make myself. I armed myself with mason jars and apples and came out with a delicious, easy-to-make product that tastes great and guess what? My kids don't know the difference. If anything, I like to think they like my homemade applesauce the best. The best part is, this recipe calls for NO ADDED SUGAR. That's right; the sweetness of apples naturally does its thing, with no help from you or me!

This recipe is easy and effortless. The most time consuming part is peeling, coring and slicing the apples. Unless you invest in one of these handy little apple corer/slicers I bought in preparation for this project. Best four bucks I ever spent. All you gotta do is peel the apples. This great little kitchen tool does the rest. Just press down on the apple and viola! You've got a perfectly cored, sliced apple that's ready to go!

So, are you ready to make homemade applesauce. Let's do it!

What you'll need:
12-15 apples
Cinammon

That's it.

Seriously.

Use a variety of apples 3-5 of each kind. Be sure to use sweet apples. As much as I love a crisp Granny Smith, they would make this applesauce entirely too tart and then I'd need sugar. Usually your supermarket will have little signs that hint at an apples level of sweetness. At least, the ones in my area do. If not, you can go by what I did.

4 Macintosh apples
4 Golden Delicious apples
4 Fuji apples
4 Pink Lady apples

Whatever you decide to use, go sweet and remember that variety is important.

Once you've got your apples peeled, cored and sliced, place them in a large pot and cover them with water. Cook the apples. And by cook, I mean put over high heat, cover, and walk away. They don't need any help to do their thing. Check periodically for tenderness and whatnot, but really, they don't need any help until they reach a nice mushy consistency.

***Note: really, you only need about an inch or two of water to really cook your apples, but I like to use a lot of water because using more water creates a very tasty byproduct: apple juice! Once your apples cook, strain off the liquid and save it. Cool it in your fridge and drink it. It's just as good as the bottled stuff, but again, with no added sugar or preservatives***

Once you've drained your cooked apples, you can turn them into sauce by either smashing or putting in a blender. Me, I don't mind a few little apple chunks, so I just use my handy little masher. If you want a smoother consistency, then use your blender.

Add cinnamon while mixture is still hot on the stove and stir.

The jarring/canning part that comes next is up to you. If you are a person that is familiar with canning...by all means, can this stuff and put it on your shelf. I don't do it, so I simply pour my applesauce into mason jars (typically this makes about 3 jars) and refrigerate.

***Note: This applesauce will go bad if not eaten fast enough. I tend to keep one jar in the fridge and the other two in the freezer as my backups. When one jar starts running low, I place one of the frozen ones in the fridge. Usually by the end of the day it's thawed and I can open and eat!****

That's pretty much it! The process of preparing the apples to cook may seem tedious, but really, depending on how much applesauce you eat in your household, this is a task you only need to perform once a month or once very couple of weeks. You can make as much of this as you want at one time and freeze as the applesauce keeps really well. Just up the number of apples!

***This also tastes great hot! I scoop some out before jarring and eat it warm. Delish!***