Apple Butter and a Pregnant Pic!

I have made this amazing apple butter recipe for at least the last couple of years and it is amazing! The best part about it is that it is delightfully easy! It makes a lot and is a crockpot recipe so the house smells of warm apples all day long! I actually plan to make it when I'm going to be home so I can smell it cooking! This time, I used half-pint mason jars and it made 8 jars of apple butter. I put one in the fridge and the rest in the freezer and pull one out when we need one!
The great thing is my kids love apple butter, especially Maddy, so I think we will go through it pretty fast! Would you believe we used more than half of the first jar in the first day after I made it? I might need to put restraints on Maddy!

These are horrible, dark shots but it was late and after it had been cooking all day, I wasn't going to wait to take the pictures! I wish I could say I had some fancy canning apparatus or something, but honestly, when I have made jams and butters I have actually just put them into jars and popped them into the freezer and fridge. I should look into actually "canning" stuff, but up until now, I just haven't.
Here's the super easy recipe:

All Day Apple Butter
From Allrecipes.com

5 1/2 pounds of apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
4 cups of white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.
2. Cover and cook on high 1 hour.
3. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
4. Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a wire whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness.
5. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate, or freeze.

I also did some research and 1 pound of apples is approximately 3 cups. So I used about 15 to 16 cups of apples. It did take some time to peel, core, and chop that many apples, but in the end it was worth it! I think you will love it!

And, since I haven't posted a pregnant pic anywhere yet, here is the latest, at about 20 weeks along. Halfway!!