Applesauce

I never really considered making homemade applesauce before, although I technically did because I made baby food when my girls were little. My kids love applesauce. Now, I do too. When I saw Mel's post about making in the crockpot, I thought it would be a fun activity for the girls and I on a chilly day. They were excited about picking out the correct apples at the store (I followed her recipe exactly because she said she had tested it to make sure it was perfect without any sugar at all), and in no time at all we had the apples cooking away. If you've never had hot- off-the-press applesauce, you are missing out. This is smooth, decadent, and so incredibly flavorful. Straight out the crockpot, it was divine served warm. It's great cold, too. And the added bonus...my girls loved it!

Crockpot Applesauce

-from melskitchencafe.com

• 2 Honeycrisp apples
• 5 Golden Delicious apples
• 7 Gala apples
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cut apples into quarters, remove core and seeds. You can peel some or all. I peeled the honeycrisp and the gala, left the peel on the golden delicious. Toss the apples in a large crockpot with the lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook on low for 4 hours, or until apples are soft. Puree the apples with an immersion blender or in a food processor in batches. Feel free to leave chunks if that's how you like it. You can keep this in the fridge for a week, and freeze for up to 2 months.