Applesauce

I love applesauce. It's the vegetable that I don't need to eat (thanks Mom for that lesson growing up!), the dessert that's pretty healthy, and the perfect complement to a ham and cheese sandwich... And it's ridiculously easy.

What You Need:2 large apple (I like Granny Smith)
1/4 c sugar
Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon

What to Do:
1.Peel, quarter and deseed your apples. Then cut them up into little chunks. The smaller you cut the apples, the smoother your applesauce will be. Put them in a small saucepan and add enough water to reach about 1 inch from the bottom.


2. Add your toppings -- about a 1/4 cup of sugar (you can add more or less as you go along to your own taste) + a few shakes of cinnamon and a capful of vanilla extract. My personal favorite add-in is raisins (that get all juicy and cinnamony!), but you could also add in nutmeg, cranberries, ginger. Anything that sounds good.

3. Put the apple mixture over low heat, covered. Stir this mixture about every 5 minutes or so. The water in the bottom will soon come to a boil, and just let it keep boiling. Once the mixture has decreased by half, remove the cover and boil stirring occassionally. When most of the water has evaborated and the apples break up with a spoon, you're done! Turn off the burner and mash up the apples a bit. I like my applesauce kindof chunky.


Here's the finished product as a side dish for a delish ham and cheese sandwich: that's real ham (from a spiral roast that I had tons of leftovers from!) on wheat toast with rustic dijon mustard and the absolute best white extra sharpcheddar, all baked until absolutely perfect.