Hot Dogs, Applesauce

Hot dogs and applesauce for lunch -- you can really tell I've got a 2-year-old, am I right? Well, we still have a bunch of apples left from our trip to the orchard, and nothing is easier...or better for making the house smell AMAZING...than cooking them down into applesauce. I almost feel silly posting my recipe, it's so basic.

Applesauce
6 apples, any kind, peeled and chopped (as small as you want)
1 cup + 1 tsp. water
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
pinch of salt

In a saucepan, combine the apples with 1 cup water, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. In the meantime, combine cornstarch with 1 tsp. water in a little bowl. When the applesauce is done simmering, there will still be quite a bit of water in the pot. Remove from heat and add the cornstarch slurry to thicken it up and make a nice sauce.

I add a few drops of stevia to sweeten it. If you don't use stevia, you could add 1/2 cup brown sugar to the apples when you put them on to cook.

We ate some for lunch along with Yves veggie dogs. I'm such a control freak with food sometimes, I swear. I've eaten numerous veggie hot dogs in restaurants, but I've never been in love with them because the bun is always soft, and it gets soggy! So I decided I had to get my own veggie dogs just so I could have the bun toasted, the way I like it.

Perfect.

Miss Olivia is six months old today. It's gone by so fast! At first, we were surprised at how serious and quiet she was, compared to her big brother who is always laughing and chattering away. Now she's coming out of her shell and we fall more in love with her every day as she shows us more of her own unique personality. Happy half-birthday, little chickadee!