Food Storage Recipes: Homemade Applesauce for Canning

If you are lucky enough to have an apple tree (or have a generous family member or friend willing to donate apples), then making your own applesauce can be a big money-saver. In the past I have been able to pick apples from my cousin's tree for free. But when she moved, I still purchased apples to turn into applesauce because the finished product is so much tastier than store-bought products.

Here is a quick and easy tutorial on how to make and can your own applesauce.

Tools Needed
- Large cooking pot
- Handheld mixer (optional)
- Apple peeler (optional)
- Water bath canner and accessories
- 7 quart jars, rings, and new lids
- 20 pounds of apples
- 2 cups sugar

Step 1: Get your pot ready
I used my biggest pot and put a little water in the bottom to keep the apples from sticking. As I peeled the apples I just started throwing them in to start cooking.

Step 2: Peel a TON of apples
I used my handy dandy apple corer/peeler which the kids thought was WAY fun to help with. If you don't have one of these peelers, you can peel them the boring way with a potato peeler. Slice them into relatively small slices to reduce cooking time.

Step 3: Cook up those apples
By the time we were done peeling all the apples the first ones were really well cooked. I just let the whole thing cook for about 10 more minutes to make sure they were all soft.

Step 4: Prepare your canner and jars
While the apples were cooking I ran my bottles in the dishwasher to sterilize them. I also filled up my canner and started to boil the water. Lastly, I started some small pots of water boiling to sterilize my lids.

Step 5: Make the applesauce!
Once the apples were all soft, I used my hand-me-down baymix hand blender to blend the applesauce to a nice consistency. You could also use a food processor or even a blender to do the pureeing. But the baymix was SO easy because I could do it straight in the pot it was cooking in. At this point you can add any seasonings you want. I added 2 cups of sugar and it turned out really sweet and delicious. If you use a sweeter variety of apples you can even use NO sugar for a healthier applesauce. Some people like to add cinnamon or other things but I prefer to just add those when we eat it.

Step 6: Pour the applesauce into jars and seal 'em up
Use a funnel as this can get really messy. I ladled the applesauce in leaving about 1/2 an inch of space at the top of the jars. Then I used my tongs to pull out a lid for each jar. Try not to touch the lids with bare hands as you don't want them to get unsterilized. Screw the ring on tight once the lid is set on top of the jar.

Step 7: Put your jars into your canner and boil
As I filled each jar I would put it into the canner. As you put more jars in the water level rises, so you don't need to start with the canner all the way full. Once I had all 7 jars in I filled up to about an inch over the jars with hot water. You have to wait until the water is boiling before you start timing. Let it boil for 20 minutes and then remove the jars. Way easy huh?

Step 8: ENJOY! (my kids sure did)

Fresh Pumpkin Pie Recipe - The Best Homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe!

This Fresh Pumpkin Pie Recipe is so light. The pumpkin pie crust is cooked in advance, so assembling the pie is quick at the end.

This particular Fresh Pumpkin Pie Recipe calls for roasted butternut. This gives the pie a lovely rich, nutty intensity. There are two ways of roasting the butternut, both of which can be prepared in advance. Either you can place the whole butternut squash in a moderate oven and bake it on a baking tray for about an hour. Remove it from the oven. Cut it open and discard the seeds. Then scoop out the flesh which you will use in this recipe.

The other option is the one that I favor. It is a little more work up front, but quicker in the long run. Peel the butternut. People tend to hack away at butternut squashes with all manner of knives and implements. I find that a simple vegetable peeler does the job well, plus it saves my fingers from getting chopped off! Simply peel along the length of the butternut. Next, chop the butternut into cubes, discarding the seeds. Place the cubes on an oiled baking tray. Massage a little oil over the butternut cubes and roast them in a moderate oven. Simple!

Easy Preparation time for butternut: 10 minutes Preparation time for pie: 5 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 Easy Pie Crust Recipe, baked blind (see below) 14oz / 400g roasted butternut 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 ground ginger 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 3 eggs 1 cup fresh single cream 1 tablespoon brandy

Method:

Put the butternut, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla essence into a food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs and cream and blend again. Pour into the pie shell. Bake for about 40 minutes. If the sides of the pie are browning too much, you can cover them with some tin foil. This allows the filling to cook without the pastry becoming burnt. The pie is ready when the filling is no longer sloppy, but just firm. A knife inserted into the centre should come out almost clean. Avoid overcooking the pie - remember that this is essentially a custard, so the filling should be a little wobbly. Remove from the pie tin and serve with cream.

Easy Pie Crust Recipe

This Easy Pie Crust Recipe is very good with sweet or savory fillings. It is "short" but easy to handle.

The Easy Pie Crust Recipe is easily made if you have a food processor. Just be aware that you shouldn't over-process the pastry otherwise it will become heavy. However, it is also very easily made by hand.

It is important that the butter is cold, but not brick hard. With regards to the water, I usually just plunk a couple of ice cubes in a cup of water, and then use what I need. Try to keep your work space as cool as possible, making pastry before the heat of the day. Even your hands should be cold, although this is a tall order! For years I didn't understand the mystery around keeping everything so cold - but it is really quite logical. You don't want the butter to melt and become difficult to handle. One of the tricks is to work very fast - this also prevents one over-working the pastry.

A note on "resting" the pastry: wheat flour contains a protein called gluten. Interestingly, this word is derived from the Latin "gluten" meaning "glue." As you roll the pastry, the gluten strands stretch. If you cook your pastry straight away, the strands contract or shrink and you land up with hard pastry - like tough glue! To counteract this, you need to "rest" the pastry. This means that the strands relax and there is less chance of the pastry shrinking when it is cooked. You will also end up with a lighter, crisper pastry.

Easy Preparation time: 10 minutes Resting time: 1 - 2 hours Cooking time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

8oz / 225g / 1½ cups flour 5oz / 125g cold butter, diced ¼ cup iced water ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg, beaten (for an egg wash)

Method:

Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the salt and then gradually add the iced water. Mix until the dough just comes together. Don't over-handle it. Wrap the dough in grease-proof paper and refrigerate for at least half an hour, and longer if possible. If the pastry is brick hard when you are ready to roll it, allow it to soften slightly at room temperature. But, avoid it becoming warm. Using a floured board, roll the pastry into a circle (or other desired shape). Roll in the same direction. I flip my pastry over a couple of times so that it doesn't stick to the board. When the pastry is about an eighth inch / ¼ cm thick, roll the pastry onto the rolling pin and place in the pie tin. Rest the uncooked pastry shell in the refrigerator for at least half an hour before cooking.

Baking Blind:

This term refers to baking the pie shell before adding the filling. This is a method that I favor even if I am adding a filling which still has to be cooked. You get a really crisp pastry - not a soggy, half-cooked apology under the filling. If the filling is still to be cooked, for example, a pumpkin pie filling, I cover the edges of the pastry with silver foil. This seems arduous, but in fact, takes no time and is worth the effort. The method is unorthodox but it works - tried and tested over the years!

Pre-heat oven to 400° F / 200° C. Line the pastry case with tin foil and fill it with beans or pastry weights. This will help to stop the sides of the pie shrinking during the cooking process. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and the beans (the beans can be stored for later use). Bake uncovered for a further 10 minutes, until the pastry is golden and slightly crisp. Brush the pastry shell with the egg wash. Place back in the oven for a further 2 minutes until the egg sets. This acts as a kind of barrier and prevents the pastry becoming soggy when the filling is added. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack. The pastry will crisp as it cools. Once the filling has been put into the pie crust, cut the foil into strips and place loosely on the edges of the pastry in order to stop them burning during the cooking process.

Awesome Homemade Apple Pie

My children and I have a lot of fun making homemade apple pie. Over time, we have been blessed to learn how to make a tasty apple pie. We have also learned, through the process of trying, what equipment and techniques to use in order to cut down the pie making time. I remember making homemade pies with my mom and grandma. Thanks to their love and guidance, I learned how to make good quality pie crust and how to make a good apple pie filling. I am so pleased and grateful to be able to teach my children as well.

The kitchen gets a bit messy, but the goal of teaching my children, along with the opportunity for us to spend time together, is well worth having to clean up afterward. To me, having them learn through trial and error about what works and does not work is a valuable life lesson. In addition, having a sense of accomplishment is also very important. I do not think they would learn these lessons of life by simply putting a frozen apple pie into the oven, or adding a can of pie filling to a store bought pie crust. Like many others, we appreciate it when effort is put forth. When it comes to apple pie, the homemade version is definitely worthwhile. The smell of homemade apple pie on a cool autumn evening is simply splendid.

The following recipe is one of my favourites for a tasty homemade apple pie. I highly recommend using ice cubes in the water as really cold water is quite helpful. I also find that a ceramic peeler, the kind that is often used to peel potatoes, also works great for peeling apples. I like to peel the apples over a flexible cutting board as this allows for easy clean-up once the peeling process is completed.

Preheat oven to 190 Celsius, or 375 Fahrenheit

Ingredients for crust: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup shortening (recommended: Crisco) Ice water

The recipe for the pie filling follows below.

In a medium-mixing bowl cut the shortening and salt into the flour by hand or with a pastry blender hands until it is the texture of cornmeal. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ice water over the mixture and mix just until the dough is moistened. Add more tablespoons of water, one at a time, until all the dough is just moist. In most cases, you will only need a few tablespoons of water. Please be careful not to add too much water. Take care not to over mix. Divide the dough in half and roll into a ball. Roll 1 ball into a circle to fit a 9 to 10-inch pie plate. To transfer the pastry to the pie plate, wrap it around a rolling pin and ease it into the pie plate. Be careful not to stretch the pastry. Be sure to put a few pierce the crust with your fork to allow steam to escape. It is especially important to put steam holes in the crust that covers the pie crust filling. Trim it even with the edges of the pie plate. Add the apple filling (ingredients listed below) into the pastry lined pie plate. Make sure they are laying flat. Cut butter into small pieces and put it on top of the filling.

Roll the remaining pastry into a 12-inch circle. Place the crust on top of the pie filling. Trim off 1-inch of crust beyond edge of the pie plate. Crimp the edges as desired. Cut slits to allow steam to escape when baking.

Cover the edges with foil to prevent over browning, or use pie crust shields. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Ingredients for pie filling: 1/2 cup to 1 cup all-purpose flour 6 to 7 cups apples cut into thin slices 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons butter

In a medium bowl combine the apples, with the brown and white sugar. Add flour, cinnamon and continue mixing until they are well coated.

Be sure to cool pie on a cooling rack. The pie is best served after it has had some time to cool off and "settle" a bit. I cook the pie in a glass pie pan, such as one made by Pyrex. Enjoy!