Our friend Matt loves eating pork. Really loves it. In fact, he had no meat other than pork a few weeks ago. He told us he thought it was one of the best weeks of his life.

So, when we were thinking of ideas for what to make for him, we came up with an American classic: pork chops with stuffing and applesauce.

When I went shopping for the ingredients, I couldn’t find applesauce. When Jonathan finally asked (it took asking 2 people until someone even knew what it was), we realized that a teeny tiny jar was $10. Um….no.

Not when I can buy 3 pounds of apples for $3 at the organic food market. (And they’re some of the best apples! And organic.)

Applesauce can’t be that hard to make right?

Nope, it’s easy. So easy in fact, that I will probably never buy applesauce in a jar again.

But, be sure to add the lemon. At first I didn’t, and I could really tell it was missing something.

Cinnamon-Spiced Applesauce
Bon Appétit | October 1998
yield: Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
• 3 pounds apples, peeled, cored, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
Preparation
Combine apples, 1 cup water and brown sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are very tender, about 25 minutes. Uncover and simmer until almost all liquid in saucepan has evaporated, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and cinnamon. Cool 30 minutes.