Homemade Apple Butter

 Hello my long lost friends!!  How are you all doing?!  I don't even know if anyone looks at this thing anymore...it has been 2 months since my last post ;)

I have been surprised at what a change it has been adjusting from 4 kids to 5 at our house.  You wouldn't think one sweet, mellow, all-night sleeping babe would make things feel so much crazier...but it certainly has felt a little crazy!  As with any change in life you have to take a look at your priorities and evaluate if you are really spending your time the best way possible.  As I was adjusting to one more child and figuring out how to best run our house a few things had to go...and obviously blogging was at the top of the list ;)

Now don't think for one second that since I am blogging today I have it magically figured out...not even close ;)  However, my big girls are in school all day and my little man is in preschool 3 days a week.  We are getting into our school time routine and everyone is doing great.  I have found a few spare moments here and there and have felt like I may want to attempt this whole blogging thing some more.  I may be sporadic and unorganized, and I can't promise you when the next post will be, but I would love to get back to sharing some fun things that are helping us find the good in every day!

This week we are getting back into having a weekly theme, and what better theme to start with than APPLES!!

Today I wanted to share a great recipe that my sister-in-law shared with me years ago!  It is now a family favorite and the perfect way to welcome fall...

Homemade Apple Butter!

To get started you need a bunch of apples (I used gala)

2 C sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

Oh yes...your house is going to smell yummy!

Now, if you have one of these awesome peeler, slicer, corer things you are set!  My little guy loved taking care of all of the apples for me :)  If not, just make sure you peel your apples and core them.

Once that's done chop up your apples and put them in your crockpot until it is 2/3 of the way full.  Add the rest of your ingredients and mix well.  Then put your crockpot on low for 6-8 hours and let them cook away!

When they are done cooking I like to mash them with a potato masher to get it nice and smooth...although it will still have some chunks.

Throw this on some homemade bread or pancakes...delicious!  Or put it in a mason jar with some twine and a cupcake liner...you have the perfect gift for neighbors and friends :)

Thank you SO much for stopping by today!  And if you want to follow along with our weekly themes here are some fun apple activities from years past:

Apple Week