Learning to Cook...Finally

I've spent most of my life avoiding cooking like the plague. I dabbled in it slightly during my teen years, but soon decided it was neither something I was good at, nor something I care to get better at it. Fast forward to about four years ago. My interest in baking returned during law school and served as a calming distraction from the rigors of law school. As I began to transition into my adult life, I found myself with more free time on my hands and  decided to give cooking another try. Baking will always remain my favorite, I have a huge sweet tooth and love making things look pretty (which I will share here from time to time as well). Sadly, as much as I'd love to, I can't live on sweets alone. And so, I'm finally returning to the kitchen. Since this process is sure to have some ups and downs along the way, I decided this blog would be a good place to share my successes and failures (I may be completely off on this one, so apologies in advance if I end up completely boring you).


For Christmas I received several fun kitchen gadgets to start my adventures with. The first to be debuted is my crock pot. Growing up, we never had a crock pot in our home. My mom can prepare a meal, but like to cook she does not (this would be where my dislike for cooking originated). In the summers we'd visit my grandparents and I'd gaze with wonderment as my grandmother prepared an array of fabulous dishes in her crock pot. I vowed one day to own one. After my interest in cooking returned, I decided it was finally time to take the plunge and Santa granted my request. 


Today I decided it was time to give my crock pot a try. My inspiration for learning to use my crock pot for non-meat based dishes (aside from my vegetarianism) came was from this delightful blog and as the cold air returned to DC this morning, warm apple sauce seemed like the perfect snack to brighten a chilly January Sunday afternoon.


Hopefully you'll enjoy this as much as I did!


Crock Pot Apple Sauce

Unpacked and ready to go

Ingredients (super simple): apples, brown sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and cinnamon

All mixed together, ready to cook

Finished. First crock pot creation definitely a success, 

although I need to get used to the long cooking process. 

Must try cold during the summer months!

Ingredients

• 4 large apples, skinned ,cored, and cut in quarters 
• Juice from 1 lemon (I only had lemon juice so I just used that and guessed on the amount, it worked fine)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup water

 Instructions

• Skin, core, and cut apples into quarters. Plop the pieces into crock pot. Add the juice from the lemon and the water. Add in the vanilla, and add the cinnamon and brown sugar
• Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When the apples are tender, mash with a potato masher or large fork
• Enjoy!

*Recipe courtesy of:http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/crockpot-applesauce-recipe.html