Apple Recipes.

One of my purchases this week was 10 lbs. of apples for $5.50. I don't know about your area, but for us, this was a steal. Normally the best I can hope for is about $.88 a pound, and typically they would run me $1.10 or more. Now, of course, even spending $5.50 on apples when we have such a small budget probably seems crazy, but when I find sales like this, here's how I use my apples.

I pull 4 of the "best" ones from the bags. These will be sliced and eaten raw.

Next, I take out 4 apples to make APPLE BUTTER. I follow this recipe, except I cut it in half to make 16 servings and I use half the recommended sugar. Because ground cloves cost too much, I use allspice instead. Also, I puree it in a blender once it's cooked down. I make this in my smaller crockpot (1.5 quarts). Apple butter is served with muffins at breakfast or on toast as a snack in the afternoon.

All the rest of the apples go into my larger crock pot to become applesauce. I peel the apples, chop them and put a layer in the crock pot. I sprinkle the layer with a bit of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon sugar. I keep building layers until I've used up the apples. I then add about 1/2 cup water. I cook these on low until they're nice and mushy, but still with some chunks as my kids prefer. We serve applesauce as a side dish with chicken or ham.

I also use some of the applesauce to make APPLESAUCE MUFFINS, one of my daughter's favorite muffins.

In this way, I use up all 10 lbs. before running the risk of the apples going bad and I get 1 snack - the raw apples; 3 breakfasts - the muffins; and 3 sides - the applesauce, per person. Plus there's the apple butter, too. I keep my apple butter and applesauce in the fridge and it lasts a couple of weeks. It would probably last longer than that - but we've eaten it all by then, so I've never tested how long it would last before spoiling!