I'm a firm believer in the old apple a day adage. I'm a lover of crisp apples that are more tart than sweet. And I pretty much have my daughter hooked too.

But now that it's full-on apple season around here, I like to mix it up a little bit. I'll buy giant baskets of apples from the Raleigh Farmers Market- mostly to eat whole. I also love to make homemade applesauce.

I love the versatility of it. You can eat it hot or cold; mix it into oatmeal or pancake batter; use it as a topping for ice cream or pancakes (regular or potato); pair it with pork or chicken; put it on top of toast and you (almost) have something like apple pie.

You can switch it up a bit - adding raisins, dried cranberries or cherries, honey or any kind of spice you'd use to make pie. There are a million things to do with it.

Sometimes I'll just saute some apples with a little cinnamon. But I also like this really easy recipe that I found in a Rachel Ray cookbook. Here it is:

Chunky Applesauce

4 Golden Delicious apples

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 cup of apple juice or cider

3 Tablespoons honey

Cut apples up into chunks. Mix all the ingredients together and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. This is best after it's been in the refrigerator over night.

Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:

MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!

WEEKEND: Relax!