Cran-Apple Sauce

What do you do with a bunch of apples which are badly bruised but may still have some nutritional value? A quick an easy way to use up apples is to make apple sauce. Here is a recipe using apples and adding cranberries to give the sauce a tart flavor.  Fruit sauces can be eaten with granola, as jam, or just plain for a snack, breakfast or desert.

Ingredients

• 12-15 apples (different sizes and different varieties can be used)
• 4 cups cranberries (add more if you prefer a more tarter flavor)
• water

Supplies

• 1 large pot
• 1 big spoon for mixing

Directions

• Wash apples the best you can. You’ll be peeling them so you don’t need to spend cleaning them.
• Rinse cranberries and remove any bad cranberries that you may find. I use frozen cranberries as I usually stock up during the winter months when they are available.
• If you own a peeler, this is most likely the fastest way to peel your apples. For this time, I used a knife and removed any really mushy bruised brown pieces and peeled the rest of the skin using a knife.
• Once the apples are peeled, you can then cut and core the apples into ¼ inch to ½ inch pieces. The smaller the pieces, the quicker the apples will cook.

• Since the cranberries take longer to cook, start cooking the cranberries. Add about 1-2 inches of water in your pot and then add the cranberries. Bring water to boil and then lower the heat to medium. Cook the cranberries for about 5-10 minutes. During this time, you will hear the berries pop as the skin opens up.

• Once the berries are somewhat soft and have started popping, add the apple pieces. Mix everything together continuously for about another 10 to 15 minutes or until the apples have become soft. You may need to add some more water if you see some stickiness at the bottom of the pot.  I chose to use the potato masher to mash down the apples once the sauce was cooked.  You can also opt to use a blender if you prefer a less chunky consistency.

We don’t feel the need to add more sweetener since we feel there is enough sweetness from the apples.

If you have apples or other fruit which you feel may not be good enough to eat, try to find ways to use them instead of throwing them out. Get your children involved in making the applesauce. Children love all kinds of fruit sauces!

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Song of Solomon 2:3

Blessings! ~ Carmen

This recipe was shared at A Moderate Life's Hearth & Soul

Making Homemade Pumpkin Purée by Steaming or Roasting

Last week Leah and I spent time making our own pumpkin purée. If you are new to making pumpkin puree, continue reading. Since I had two pumpkins, I decided to make puree by steaming one pumpkin and  roasting the second pumpkin. By following these simple steps, you’ll be able to add more foods in your freezer to have on hand during the winter and spring months to come. We love making pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pies. How about pumpkin soup?  Yummy.  This is the ideal season to do so. Below I’m sharing two easy ways to make homemade pumpkin purée.

Making Homemade Pumpkin Purée by Steaming on the Stove

Supplies Needed

• sharp knife
• cutting board
• large stock pot or large pot with strainer, I used my pasta pot which has a strainer.
• spoon
• food processor or blender

Place the pumpkin under water and wash it thoroughly on the outside.  You want to avoid any dirt or bacteria to enter into the inside when cutting it.  With a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half crosswise.

Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds.  These can be dehydrated or roasted in the oven at a later time.
 

Continue to cut up the pumpkin halves into smaller pieces to be able to fit in a large stockpot.

Once the pumpkin is all cut up into smaller pieces, add 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water at the bottom of your pot.  Place the pumpkin pieces in the pot.  Turn the heat on high, once the water boils, lower the heat to medium, with cover on or slightly on an angle, allow the pumpkin to steam.  This took about 50 minutes to one hour for all the pieces to be completely steamed.

Remove the steamed pumpkin pieces to cool.  We used our Vita-Mix blender to blend and purée the pumpkin.  I included the pieces "with" the skin.  A food processor can also be used.  I did add some of the water when puréeing as I chose for the puree to not be too thick.  That is a preference that you can choose depending on your liking. 

Making Pumpkin Purée by Roasting in the Oven

Supplies Needed

• sharp knife
• cutting board
• baking dish big enough to hold the pumpkin halves, I used my pasta pot which has a strainer.
• food processor or blender

Preheat your oven  to 350 F.

As mentioned above, place the pumpkin under water and wash it thoroughly on the outside.  You want to avoid any dirt or bacteria to enter into the inside when cutting it.  With a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half crosswise.

Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds.  I set the seeds aside along with the seeds from the other pumpkin I was steaming.

Place the pumpkin half cut side down in your baking dish.  My first choice would have been a glass container but it was not an option for me since my pumpkin was too big for what I owned.  Add at least 1/4 to 1/2  inch of water at the bottom of the container.  Hey I caught you looking at the bottom of the oven, yes it needs cleaning, one of these days I'll get to it.

Roast until pumpkin is ready, you will see the skin changing color and will see the pumpkin softening. A knife or skewer can be used to be tested.  Roasting should take about one hour but it make take longer depending on the size.  My pumpkin was a bit bigger and it took more than one hour to roast.

Let pumpkin cool.  Once it has cooled, scoop out the pumpkin from the skin.  Leah and I were able to peel the skin off, it was that easy.  To purée we used our Vita-Mix.  A food processor with an S blade can also be used to purée.

To store, it is probably best to use glass jars.  Place in freezer or in the refrigerator for later use.

Blessings to all!  Carmen and Leah

This post was shared with
Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist
Tuesday Twister at GNOWFLINS 
Hearth 'n Soul at A Moderate Life 
Slightly Sugar and Gluten Free at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free 
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Penny Wise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet