Apple Tips

Our neighbor invited us over one afternoon to share her apples. We came home with a large bag of apples from her trees, and a few days ago she gave us another one! My friend Julie gave me a great tip for putting up apples that has worked very well for her family and for ours, so I thought I'd share it with any fellow apple-lovers out there.

Simply rinse and slice the apples, then freeze the wedges in quart-size ziploc bags. (Don't even peel them!)

Julie likes to use them for apple crisp, and she also simmers the apple slices on low on the stovetop to make homemade applesauce. I like to add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom; it makes the house smell wonderful! (Every once in a while, use a potato masher to break up the apples.)

This easy way to quickly put up apples also makes wonderful overnight applesauce. I used this recipe in my CrockPot on low for about 7 1/2 hours. (The recipe says 8 to 10 hours, but what mom gets a full 8 hours of sleep anyways?!). I used two quart-sized bags of frozen slices. In the morning the apples were tender and turned into a wonderful applesauce with a little help again from the potato masher. When it cooled, I blended it to make it even more smooth.

Anyone else have an apple abundance this fall? What are your favorite ways to use apples?