applesauce - homemade

two saturdays ago my husband and i went apple picking. it was the perfect saturday. we both slept in, eased into the day, then we decided to go pick apples while the weather was still nice. then last weekend i decided to make homemade applesauce. i do not enjoy long, drawn-out processed things, but i do enjoy cooking and i do enjoy making homemade things. all that to say i found this super easy recipe on how to make homemade applesauce with very little tools - meaning less mess! below are my instructions on how to make the perfect homemade fall treat:

find a local orchard.
ours is Advanced Tree Technology

pick

wash

dry

core

peal

this process would be so much faster with an apple corer and peeler!

put apples in the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. (it did NOT take that long so make sure you are home for this process or don't leave the house for more than 3-4 hours)

add lemon juice from one whole lemon. (i find it is easier to squeeze the juice out of the lemon by hand, if i roll it out on the counter a few times) also try and keep the seeds out!

add about a cup of water (this is so the apples won't scorch)

add 2-3 teaspoons of brown sugar if you wish

sprinkle with cinnamon

keep an eye on your apples

after the apples are soft use a potato masher or an immersion blender and mash up the apples. i chose to use the potato masher because i prefer an uneven texture that the masher provides over a smooth even texture which you'll get from the blender. keep the apples in the crock pot. less mess to clean!

yum.