DIY homemade applesauce!

 I've been busy enjoying Fall (as you have seen from my last few posts...haha!) and one of my things that I wanted to do this Autumn was make some applesauce! So, a few weeks ago I did, and today I'll be showing you how to make your own applesauce for the yummy holidays that are coming up!

   We got a 50 pound bag of apples and I enjoyed getting my feet wet in making my first batch of applesauce. I thought I was going to make it on my own, but thankfully, my younger sister stepped and helped me peel the apples! Oh, and the rest of my family were really good taste testers. ;)

  As we went along, we squeezed all of our apple peels to make a big mug full of REAL apple juice. We boiled it down and added it to the applesauce so we could get that flavor in it. I tasted some of it...it was really good... hahaa!

After a while of cooking, I got my spices out! A bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and maple go a long way to make a taste that you won't forget. I honestly didn't follow a recipe at all. I just used what the recipe had but changed it to what I wanted. I also made a lot more than the recipe called for, so, I seriously made it up as I went.

 If you have a hand-blender, get it out! It will help speed up the process like, a lot!

Add your spices to your taste and get it to the consistency that you want. I didn't want runny applesauce nor chunky. So, I choose the happy medium. ;) Too bad that we aren't living in the age of smell-o-photo...you might faint by the wonderful smells! Your family will thank you for making the house smell like Thanksgiving. Mmmm!!

 Now, you can't forget to wash those jars!! If there is any bacteria in them...well, all of your hard work will be wasted. And, we don't want that, now do we? I wash my jars, and then put them in my boiling water to steam out anything I missed. It is also best to have hot jars to put your hot applesauce into...because hot and cold just don't mix well. If you have a cold jar and boiling hot stuff inside of it and then add it to boiling hot water..well, goodbye yummy food and hello mess! :D

 You don't want to actually boil your lids..just simmer. It helps kill anything yucky and also makes the seal on the jar a lot tighter. :) You then carefully fill your jars with applesauce and boil the jars in a big pot for 15-20 minutes..it depends on where you live. 

 Look! You did it!! I made 11 quarts of applesauce and lot of memories. I can't wait to eat it with some turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving!

Pioneer Women applesauce recipe

• 6 pounds Apples, Peeled, Cored, And Cut Into 8 Slices
• 1 cup Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
• Juice Of 1 Lemon
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, More Or Less To Taste

Optional Ingredients: Nutmeg, Maple Syrup, Allspice, Butter

That is the recipe I used as an example. It worked fine for me! If you have any questions comment below!