Apples: Recipe

A friend called out an S.O.S. - she has an abundance of apples and was in search of some ideas. Knowing she's a very good cook, I assumed she wasn't in search of an apple pie recipe. I imagined my task was to come up with another idea or two.

Here are a few ideas...

Be sure to keep apples in the fridge, by the way, they hold their flavor and their shape better than if you keep them in a pretty bowl on the kitchen counter. In fact, the sugars in the apple will remain on the surface, under the skin, if you keep them cold. And who doesn't love that crisp bite of an apple?

Often we give our kids apples with their lunch. To keep them interested, I slice the apples and sprinkle them with a little cinnamon...instant snack upgrade.

Apples are great cooked alongside a pork roast. You can peel and core them and cube them. Then simply add them into your pork dish to cook while braising the meat.

Certainly apples are a great compliment to a creamy cheese - slice apples thin and rub with lemon to prevent them from turning brown (my 4 year old just learned that in science! and she taught it to me!!) and add them to a festive plate of cheeses with some fall red grapes.

Apples are awesome with blue cheese and walnuts (forgive me peanut-allergy sufferers) and Craisins in a salad of mixed greens and an easy dressing of white balsamic vinegar and oil, mixed with pepper and sea salt. Slice the apples into matchsticks...

But here was where I thought I had a genius idea for my friend...Apple Sauce! Who doesn't love homemade apple sauce? And best of all, it can be frozen! Apple sauce is great with chicken, pork, fish sticks and on its own, of course.

Of course there are tons and tons of recipes featuring apples as the star...so if you have apples galore use any of these or make up your own!

Homemade Apple Sauce with Cinnamon
6 small - medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup (or more, if needed) Apple Juice or Cider

Put apples into a heavy pan and pour enough juice in to cover the apples. Add in the cinnamon sticks and cover. Cook over low heat until apples are soft - about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and remove the cinnamon sticks. Pour the apples and the liquid into a food processor and puree. Can be frozen in a container with a tight fitting lid up to 6 months. If there seems to be a great deal made, freeze in smaller batches to make it easy and economical to defrost.