Apple Sauce

Last year I made applesauce with the boys as our fall apple recipe. It went well, so we repeated it this year...and honestly...let's be real..Baking is a lot of work. I don't recall ever baking a pie from scratch. I don't recall baking a pie using a pre-made pie shell either. The thought of spending so much time baking one thing boggles my mind. There are those who decide that if they're going to spend the time (and make the mess) to make one pie, they might as well double or triple the recipe to make several pies. Very Logical. I commend them and some day that may be me..after the kids are in college, right? Or at least when they're both potty trained and can turn the TV on themselves.

It is for all of these reasons that I decided to make applesauce...'cause it would be easier and quicker and less mess...Cha! Right. It was a total mess. I had tons of dishes to clean up afterwards and it took considerably longer than I thought it would...However...I really enjoyed it. I planned ahead and started the project as soon as D and L left the house.I knew when they returned it might be L's nap time, so I knew N and I had a good chance of having a size-able amount of time alone to be in the kitchen. I choose to bake/cook with one boy at a time 'cause I learned that hard way that "too many cooks in the kitchen will definitely spoil the broth."

I think my boys enjoy making applesauce because of the apple peeler corer slicer tool we use. While N had a difficult time saying the name of said contraption, he did a great job of assembling and using it. We got into a great rhythm of peeling and cutting all the apples. N's attention span is much longer than it was last year, so he prepped all 15 apples! Good job, Buddy! (There are several ways you can tell a child it maturing. I find one of the best ways is to cook with him/her. It is incredible to see how they improve at following directions, waiting their turn, etc if you cook with them over a few months or year's time). Once we got into a rhythm and the peeling became automatic, we had some great conversation. N learned a lot about apples at school, so he enlightened me with his breadth of apple knowledge as we worked. (So cute!) He decided he was going to save a handful of the seeds to plant in our back yard to create an orchard for our family. We decided with our crop of apples from our apple orchard we would make (que Bubba Gump) apple butter, apple pie, applesauce, apple muffins and apple stew..No just kidding. No apple stew...although I'm sure someone somewhere has made it. I've had strawberry soup and liked it. So, apple soup might be a good one to try.

Below is the recipe (I got from a friend). I used Gala apples. It turned out tasting really good, especially when it was still warm after being in the crock pot. D said it tastes like apple pie (minus that pesky homemade crust, of course). This year (and last year) I told myself I would double or even triple the batch to make the most of a big mess....Didn't happen. We'll see how next year goes. ;)

Crock Pot Applesauce

8 to 10 large apples (or 15 small), peeled & cut into chunks

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker; gently stir. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until apples are tender. After letting the apples cool for a bit, I put them through the food processor in batches. Yield ~ 5 cups