52 weeks of cooking, Week 8: Chunky Slow Cooker Applesauce

Again with the 'I'm on my own this weekend' thing, as well as the 'all my good kitchen equipment is in storage' thing, I didn't want to do some big meal in a crock-pot, as I didn't want to load the fridge down with a bunch of leftovers. Thankfully, my mom has a tiny crock pot that's meant for dips and such, but it also worked perfectly for a small batch of applesauce. I went for the chunky skin-on kind, which I'll either use in the big chunks or milled down to make some apple muffins later in the week.

Ugly picture, but tasty applesauce. It might even get turned into apple butter.

I personally didn't add any spices, since I plan to use this for another recipe. If I mill it into a jar of apple butter, I'll simmer it for a while longer with some allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. If I decide to make it into a filling, I'd just stir in a little cornstarch and cook it until the liquid thickens a touch more. It's really versatile stuff.

Small Batch Slow Cooker Applesauce:

• 2 gala apples, chopped
• 1.5 cups apple cider
• Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and ginger to taste

Put apples in a small slow cooker and add just enough cider to cover. Add spices if desired. Cook for 4-6 hours or until apples are soft and tender.