An apple pie filling worth savoring

It was a bit of a late evening tonight with the boys, but after a quick dinner of leftovers and a couple of appointments I wanted to do something special for them. So we worked together and chopped up some apples. First I was going to make a pie out of them, then I thought about apple crisp, then I decided to dispense with the bread part altogether and we ate it like fresh applesauce. It was yummy!

Here's how it goes down:

3 cups apples, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced
3 tbsp lemon juice (balsamic vinegar is also amazing)
1/4 c sugar
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinammon
2 tbsp butter
1/2 c raisins (1 c blueberries if you've got 'em)
1 tsp flour

Heat up a big saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the apples and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook another 30 sec. Add sugar and cook until apples are clear and soft. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinammon. Fold on the raisins, then place the butter on top and let it melt slowly. Remove from heat, sprinkle flour on top and continue folding until the apples start to stick together.

Equally good in a pie shell, under a crumb topping, or on a plate by itself.

Now I need more apples.