Slow cooker applesauce
Every morning when I wake up, and every night before bed, I burn a few candles. It’s a calming thing, and I think it makes the house smell so lovely.
(Fresh Balsam from Bath and Body Works is my holiday candle obsession… I have 4 of the large ones dispersed around the house, as well as oil for the oil warmer. It smells like a piney forest)
This morning, our house was already filled with the aroma of apples and cinnamon when we woke up
homemade applesauce!
I picked up a bag of apples just for this purpose, and last night was the night.
The Pilot peeled the apples while I prepped dinner, and then we chopped them up and added them to the slow cooker with a little brown sugar, lemon peel, lots of cinnamon and nutmeg.
(I never would have thought to add lemon peel, but my recipe friend Google told me it was a good idea)
It cooked for 8 hours on low, and kept warm throughout the night.
Now the fun will be finding things to top with it.. I’m thinking ice cream, waffles and yogurt would be amazing.
Just made some hot cocoa,
and am off to work for the afternoon. It’s my last official day before leave, but I’m on call from now on. I’ll miss my work friends, but I’ll be there to workout, see everyone, and teach/work in the weight room if they need me in the meantime <3
Enjoy your Saturday!
xoxo
Gina
Today’s tip: Quite a few things can be made in the slow cooker overnight to have for breakfast- it’s a great option if you want something warm in the morning, but don’t have a lot of time to be cooking before you leave:
Some ideas:
Make ahead steel cut oatmeal (I’d do this in the slow cooker instead of stove top)
Slow cooker oatmeal (coconut would be fantastic in lieu of the half and half), adding in fresh berries and toppings in the morning
It would also be fun to try a breakfast casserole– this might be a good experiment for this week
Let me know if you have any more ideas!
Need a workout quickie? Check out the Black Friday Frenzy if you’d like some gym-spiration 🙂
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Great idea! I love my slow cooker so when I’m busy with school or work I can home to an apartment that smells fantastic and a dinner that is ready. Slow-cooking breakfast seems like a great idea! I am definitely someone who prefers a hot breakfast over cold ones any day. Cant wait to try it out!!
I love slow cooking steel cut oats with dried apricots and blueberries!! We always do this for ski trips – feeds a crowd and keeps you going all day!
You are so innovative with your slow cooker. I always just sorta assumed you could only make pot roast and whatnot in there.
Every time I see your blog being updated in my Google Reader I wonder if the tag line reads “I am in labor!”….
🙂 You can be excited for all kinds of presents this Christmas seasons 🙂
haha! any day now 🙂
best gift ever <3
I love my slow cooker! It comes in such handy, especially for warm winter time meals. So comforting!
Do you have to use a certain kind of apples to use for this? I love my slow cooker but I definitely don’t know what all I can use it for! 🙂
i think you can use any type of apples, but i’d go with red or pink. i used fuji and they worked wonderfully
How are you on call if you’re about to go into labour! you’re hardcore, girl!
yummm….the applesauce sounds/looks delicious and cozy.
I use my Wii for my cardio days a lot: Zumba and Zumba II (just got this and can’t wait to try it!) and I have all three Just Dance games. It makes cardio so fun! I hate the treadmill!
Mmmm we just got a Bath and Body Works up here in Canada and I spent hours smelling all of the gorgeous scents!! I’m in love with soooo many of them…sigh. I burn a candle all day when i work. It totally relaxes and allows the energy to flow 🙂
xxoo
ahh!! what a great slow cooker use. this post almost makes me want to go out and buy three pounds of apples just to make spiced applesauce, haha.
Homemade apple sauce sounds yum!
My husband has been lighting a candle every day in our kitchen/dining area! It makes the whole place smell wonderful!
I’ll need to try that applesauce in the crock pot! That would be an amazing smell to wake up to!
My slow cooker is one of my favorite kitchen appliances! I’ve never done applesauce overnight, but what a great idea! and lemon peel, that sounds like it would be a nice addition, yummy!
mmm… the applesauce sounds delicious. I have never made it, but now am inspired to make something in my slow cooker.
I never think to use my slow cooker overnight. I am also one of those paranoid people who can’t sleep with the dehydrator running or any major appliance for fear I’m going to burn the house down. I wouldn’t mind leaving the house with them on…but going to bed with them on, I just…can’t do it. Crazy but true! But oh gosh…your apples sound…wonderful. And that google, it’s amazing what a good friend she can be 🙂
Aw man! Your house must smell awesomely amazing!
I love the idea of doing apples in the slow cooker like this, cinnamon apples are one of my favorites, my mouth is watering right now!! 🙂
Aww darn I should have added a slow cooker to my Christmas list! I never used to think I needed one, but lately I’ve seen so many amazing slow cooker recipes floating around blogs. Actually, I think most of them were from YOUR blog. 😉 This applesauce looks amazing!
i have a deep relationship with the slow cooker 🙂
I have a family friend who always lights candles in the morning, too. She says something like, “It’s nice to start the day with something truly perfect.” I think that’s a nice thought 🙂
the lemon peel must be amazing in there! any chance you want to send out gift-jars of that applesauce? 😉
I make applesauce a lot, and do it same way. Adding 1/2 tsp of Ascorbic Acid is good too – it acts as a preservative and gives it an extra ‘zing’. I started making it when the applesauce at the market progressively became flavoured. One by one the manufacturers started adding either ‘flavour’ or sugar to their applesauce, even the ones that didn’t used to. So annoying. I rebelled and started making my own. Apple sauce does NOT need apple flavour.
Yes, any day now for the baby! Yay! My cousin had her baby boy today and he was a week early (due on Christmas day). So I started asking around.. so far I’ve got 4/4 on first babies being exactly a week early. It might just be a kiwi thing… we are competitive.
haha i love it! congrats to your cousin- that’s so exciting! my friend michele is due on christmas and should be having her baby any second (she was 8cm last time i checked)
thank you for the applesauce tip. you’re right. applesauce doesn’t need “apple flavor”
I would loveee some homemade applesauce and top it with vanilla ice cream! Our crock pot has been sitting in the cupboard for a while, I think it’s time to put it to good use 😉
These are such great breakfast ideas. I need to give it a try instead of my usual quick oatmeal—I prefer steel-cut, and making them before so I don’t have to worry about it the morning of sounds perfect!
I love anything in the crockpot, and keep seeing recipes for applesauce, apple butter and so on in the crockpot. I need to try it out!
Gina,
You might LOVE this website since you love the slow cooker (me too!):
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/12/breakfast.html
I pasted to the list of overnight breakfast foods she made, but she has tons of great recipes. She is GF too!
Apple sauce or apple butter in the crockpot are both amazing!
amazing- thank you!
Yum! Can you post the exact recipe/method you used? I’d love to make this but don’t know the measurements, etc.
i didn’t measure anything, but kind of eyeballed it. just make sure there’s enough water to cover the apples, and you’ll be good 😉