Best Easiest Applesauce

Apple Mania continues..... We got about 10 lbs of apples, so I'm trying all sorts of fun ways to cook and bake with them. Yesterday I made applesauce. Oh. My. Yum. I had intentions of making several different kinds - some for me and some for babies (I don't want to give them a lot of extra sugar, but you know I love a good sugary, cinnamony applesauce!). I ended up with just 2 different batches. The babies woke up and I ran out of time. I do want to try one more variety today or tomorrow.

Anyway, my first batch was an Original Recipe - something I rarely, if ever, do. I always, always, always follow recipes to the exact specifications. I don't stray too often. But I had an idea that vanilla would be tasty in applesauce, so I went with it.

My Very Own Vanilla Applesauce
Ingredients
4 large very sweet apples (I used Golden Crisp)
1 cup of water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Before...

 Peel and rough chop the apples. I cut mine in 8ths with my apple slicer and then cut those wedges into 2 or 3 pieces. Add to a pot with the water and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or so. Mash with a potato masher. Cool ever so slightly and enjoy!

 

 

 

After!

Babies loved it mixed in their oatmeal this morning. Mmmmmm.

The second batch I made was a recipe from the ever-delicious Simply Recipes. It turned out so good - like apple pie without the crust. She suggest to eat it as a topping on ice cream. I think that's a brilliant idea! Perhaps that's what I'll serve up for dessert tonight.

Simply Recipes' Applesauce

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)
• 4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
• Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
• 3 inches of cinnamon stick
• 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
• up to 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method

1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
2 Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.
Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.
Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

I used a combo of Gala (leftover from my last grocery store purchase) and Zestar (fresh from the Orchard). I would have preferred a bit more brown sugar and cinnamon taste in mine, but it's still SO GOOD. Like candy. And really not all that sugary - but too much for the babies. They can't have it. This applesauce is MINE.

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Muffin Mania

The weather turned to fall overnight. I swear, earlier this week I was sweating all day, the a/c was on, and I dressed B&H in my favorite of their summer clothes, knowing it was one of the last of the hot days. Today, B&H are wearing longsleeves, pants, and even jackets for our morning walk. It's so chilly that I got the hankerin' for baking!

I had a bunch of super-ripe bananas laying around, so wandered over to Weelicious to see what sorts of recipes she had for banana bread or muffins. I have made her pancakes, and they are delicious, but we have some in the freezer, so I wanted something bread-ier. This recipe caught my eye - mostly because of the chocolate, but also because it's muffins. I've tried to make banana breads for the past 10 years and they rarely turn out. But muffins. Muffins I can do!

Weelicious Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Honey or Agave Nectar -- I used plain old regular sugar
1 Large Egg
2/3 Cup Milk
3 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
3/4 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips*

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the honey, egg, milk, oil, and mashed bananas.
4. Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet, and then stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into greased or lined muffin cups, about 2/3 of the way up, and bake for 18 minutes.
6. Cool and serve.**

* Omit chocolate for babies, or as desired.
** Place muffins in labeled bags to freeze for up to 3 months.

I got 12 muffins, 6 with chips and 6 without, out of the recipe and had enough batter left over to make a little banana pancake. So I got to taste the results while the muffins were baking. Delish! When the babies get up from their nap, they will indulge in a chocolate-less muffin with their lunch. I'm sure they'll love it.

After the successful banana muffin turnout, I decided to use up some of my plethora of zucchini and make some muffins. This time I headed to another of my favorite sites, Simply Recipes. I utilize this site for nearly everything - breads, cookies, soups, meat, etc. She literally has a recipe for EVERYTHING! I knew the zucchini muffins would not disappoint.

Simply Recipes Zucchini Muffins

3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter1
1/3 cup sugar2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

2 Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

Don't they look delish?

(You'll have to forgive my terrible phography talents.... I really have no idea how to take appetizing food photos. In fact, this photo was taken on my iPhone!)

Of course I had to taste-test the muffins, and they ARE delicious! I'm sad to be informed that the zucchini ones have 8 PointsPlus values per muffin and the banana chocolate chip ones have 5 PointsPlus. Needless to say, I'll be skipping Weight Watchers today.

But, babies don't care how man points are in each muffin. Look how much they LOVE them!