Applesauce

As the Thanksgiving festivities comes to an end and our food comas begin to wear off, it's time to figure out what to do with all the leftovers!...especially your elaborate "Martha Stewart" fruit filled centerpiece! OK, so no one actually made one, but maybe you did have a pretty seasonal fruit basket as a centerpiece?  I mean one can't possibly eat 5 to 7 pounds of apples...especially when there is leftover pie ;-). Have no fear, homemade applesauce to the rescue!!!

My Mom's seasonal fruit basket centerpiece

Start out by peeling, coring and slicing your apple centerpiece.

Sous Chef Max...aka taste tester

14 apples is approximately 7 pounds.

half of the centerpiece peeled

Max was surprisingly helpful with prep...a cutting board and a butter knife kept Max busy for 30 minutes!  He was my apple slicing pro!

14 apples peeled, cored, sliced and placed in dutch oven

I used my dutch oven to cook my applesauce in, but any large heavy bottom pot will work well.

Brown sugar makes everything better!

After only 25 minutes of simmering your centerpiece turns into a applesauce dream that makes your whole house smell amazing!

Happy apples after 25 minutes of simmering

I like my applesauce smooth, so I used an immersion blender to puree it...I LOVE my immersion blender, plus it stops me from having to drag out the blender and clean it!  

14 apples makes approximately 9 half pint jars of applesauce

If your stomach is still to full of pie and turkey and there is no room for applesauce, these half pint jars freeze great!  Though I dare you to try not to eat this applesauce - it is amazing!

Ingredients:

10-14 apples/approximately 7 pounds peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Combine apples, water, lemon juice, brown sugar and cinnamon in a dutch oven and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 25 minutes or until apples are tender.  Puree with an immersion blender until it reaches the desired consistency.  Refrigerate for up to one week or freeze.



Applesauce recipe adapted from Ree Drummond