Eat Like a Rabbit

In a floundering market consumers are looking for good food that is as cheap and nutritious as possible. I hope this post will be the first in a continuous series that focuses on time-saving dishes that don't break the bank while they impact your menu.

I have previously mentioned that applesauce is a annual tradition at our house. The following is my process.

Recipe for Apple Sauce

Cut 8 apples into quarters. Peal and core. Cut into coarse chunks (the smaller you cut the pieces, the shorter the cook time, but remember your hands will get tired before the stove will.) Pour 1 cup of orange juice over the apples to keep them from browning. Stir every 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat. If you choose to step away for 20 minutes, turn the stove down to low. For this batch, I actually had to leave the house. I turned the stove off, put a lid on the burner while letting it sit on the burner. It continued to cook while I was gone. For chunkier applesauce, cook 1 hour. For true applesauce one and a half hours should be fine. Transfer to oven-safe bowl to cool completely before refrigerating. We have also been known to let it cool in the pot and then transfer the sauce to freezer-safe Ziplock bags.

I serve the applesauce cool, warm, or at room temp with ground cinnamon and graham crackers.

Cost

• $1.38 Cinnamon Graham Crackers (Aldi)
• $7.49 Jonagold Washington Apples (Costco)
• $0.37 Orange Juice, purchased by the Gallon (Costco)
• $9.91 Total

Serving Suggestion: This recipe (doubled) with one box of crackers was served at a buffet for 25 adults (mostly male) last Friday night and they devoured it. Most of them rather enjoyed picking up a cracker and dipping it in the bowl of apple sauce.