Being a first time mommy has been full of learning experiences for me. One of the hardest things I have found is saying no to my son. On the one hand, I DO NOT want to create a little spoiled monster who grows up getting anything and everything he wants. On the other hand he is so dang cute and sweet and when he flashes me that adorable smile, tilts his head and says "peeese mommy", how can I possible be expected to stand my ground! Luckily at this point his major demands only include little hot wheel cars and specific addictions to specific foods. E needs at least 2 more hands to carry all of his favorite little cars. He tries so hard to balance as many as he can in his little hands and prop them against his chest and tummy. I'm convinced he is going to have arthritis by the age of 5 from contorting his little finger to manage holding 5 cars in one hand for hours at a time.
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| Some of the troops lined up for battle |
And his second major demand is his love for food. He is such a ball of energy that I can understand a growing boy needing lots of yummy, healthy foods to fuel his body...but!...sometimes his need for certain food borderlines addiction. Seriously! No joke! I am convinced that if I gave him as many of these squeezable applesauces as he wanted that his stomach would pop before he decided to stop eating them. So consequently I have had to start limiting his consumption, and it has been hard for me to say no to my sweet little boy who loves his apple sauce so much! Plus, after doing a few calculations of how much money we actually spend on these little gems, which by the way are not cheap, I definitely knew it was time to scale back.
That is when a tender little mercy appeared! After 8 years of stocking up on food storage in case of an emergency of any shape or size I thought it time to open the boxes and take an inventory of exactly what we had, how much longer it would last, and how I could start incorporating it into our meals. I was shocked to say the least at how much we actually had. But I was so thrilled when I saw how many #10 cans of dried apple chips there were! I new immediately what I was going to do with them! Rehydrate them and make my own applesauce, for a fraction of the price, for my little apple-saucier!
It couldn't have been more simple or quick to make. And it tasted even better, I might add, than any of the store bought options. Apple chips are sold almost everywhere now if you want to give it a whirl. Or in case you stocked up on too many during your last shopping trip or you have a hoard of them in your food storage like we do, give this recipe a try! Plus making your own applesauce allows you to add any flavors you want or nothing at all. Needless to say it will be a long time before I purchase store bought applesauce and I fear that Costco might go out of business when they start to realize the sales they are going to loose, from our family alone, when we stop buying their Go Go squeeze applesauce :)
Apple Chips Applesauce
Ingredients:
6 cups apple chips
6 cups boiling water
Cinnamon to taste, if desired
Directions:
Place the dried apple chips in a large bowl and fill with 6 cups of boiling water.
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| Pre boiling water |
Let sit for a minimum of 5 minutes to rehydrate.
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| Post boiling water |
Transfer apples, including any remaining liquid in bowl, and cinnamon if you are using, into a blender and puree until smooth.
Let the mixture cool before storing in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
Enjoy!
