homemade applesauce and Pitch Perfect

 

Hi, lovelies!

I'm planning a "things I love right this minute" blog post, and I'd love to hear what (or who!) you're in love with currently! Today, I'm chatting about two things I'm obsessed with: Pitch Perfect, and homemade applesauce.

If you haven't seen Pitch Perfect, you need to get on this level: go watch it right now. Or right after you read this post. Whichever you prefer.

Pitch Perfect is a hilarious movie about collegiate a capella singing competitions and has killer music and genius actors. Some of my favorite moments include:
   

It is a lie to say I haven't watched this movie 3 times since Saturday. What was I doing while I was harmonizing my heart out, you ask? I was eating a lot of homemade applesauce. 

Applesauce is one of those recipes you cannot easily mess up, but it can be extremely boring. I have 3, check it, THREE, secret tips to help you create magnificent applesauce.

Over the Labor Day weekend, I visited my family upstate. My grandfather and I picked at least 10 pounds of FREE apples. Imagine the scene: I rode on the back of my Papa's ATV to a field behind the town cemetery where ten apple trees and three plum trees grow. There was once a beautiful concord grapevine there. too, before it was run over by a tractor. Welcome to my hometown!

For this batch of applesauce, I used 4 lbs. of various apples, peeled, cored, and cubed.

Tip 1: It's so convenient to throw the apples into the crockpot. I added 1 cup of water and cooked the 

           apples on low for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

I used a potato masher to crush the apples into a chunky sauce. I then added ground cinnamon and the following two ingredients to taste. The amount of ingredients will change depending on the variety and ripeness of the apples, so keep adding them until you love it!

Tip 2:  I used real maple syrup as a sweetener instead of granulated sugar. The flavor is so much more
            natural! It doesn't taste fake like many store-bought brands.

Tip 3: Vanilla extract creates a depth to the applesauce that tastes amazing!

This chunky applesauce is my favorite! I set aside a jar of this for myself before moving on to the next step.

Mr. J prefers a smooth applesauce, and, since he's a tiny bit spoiled, I blended the remainder of the batch in my awesome Ninja for him. I love that thing! When the applesauce is smooth like this, you need to adjust the flavors.

Here are the two versions of the applesauce side by side. Both textures are delicious.

This batch made about 3 pints of applesauce. I froze 2 of them, and they defrosted beautifully. Give this easy recipe a try and tell me it's not better than what you usually get at the store. Go ahead and try (and watch Pitch Perfect) :D

Much love,
Danni

Linked to:
 Homemade Mondays @ Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity
What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots
Recipe Round-Up @ Goose Berry Patch
What’s Cookin’ Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven
Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts