Canning Applesauce and more!

Making your own applesauce is SUPER easy!

Ingredients:
-Canning supplies
-21 to 25 pounds of Apples
-Water
-That's it!

Step One: Wash your apples. You want to make sure to remove any leaves left on the stems, dirt from the skins and also anything else that might be left on there. My method of canning applesauce does NOT include peeling the apples, so I want my skins to be squeaky clean since they will be cooking with the flesh of the apple in the pot.

Step Two: Core and quarter your apples. Sometimes I don't core them, just quarter, depends on how much time I have, but it's best to core them and remove the seeds. Again, leaving the peels on is just fine to do. If you own a blender or food processor you can actually just leave the peels on and blend them into your sauce. No one will even notice them and they will give the sauce a nice color. Or if you're like me and have a food mill, the skins will get removed later in the process. Put the apples in a pot with an inch or two of water at the bottom and start cooking them down until they are very soft and juicy and ready to be squished!

Step Three: Mash them up using aforementioned methods: blender, food processor, food mill. Once you have your bowl full of applesauce, heat it back up again in a big pot so that when it goes into your jars, it's hot!

Step Four: Prepare your jars by sanitizing them and keeping them warm with hot water in the bottom. You want to add hot applesauce to hot jars.

Step Five: Fill your jars with 1/2-inch headspace. Use a wooden spoon handle or spatula to poke around inside the jar and remove any air pockets. Put on your lids and process them in a canner for 25-30 minutes.

Now... once you've made your Applesauce, of course you can just EAT IT! Or you can make something fabulous... Applesauce Bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Stir well. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees. So yummy!!!