Sauteed Cinnamon Apples

I love cinnamon apples. Tender, sticky, sweet, and spiced just right. They are the perfect side dish for pretty much anything pork, or I love them spooned over pancakes too. (They are also pretty amazing dished over some vanilla ice cream... just saying.)

Depending on your preference, cook them longer to get them "mushier" in texture, or stick to the smaller cooking time suggested below to allow the apples to retain a little "bite" and firmer consistency.

My sister made these up awhile back, and they've been hanging out in my "to blog about" queue for awhile - and today seems like a good day to go ahead and share them. There are still some amazing fall apple bounties out there - in fact we still have a handful left from our apple picking adventures last month - they're getting soft and are in need of eating, and this would be a great way to finish them off.

So life continues onward. One day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time... Kent is going to be in the hospital for about another 3 1/2 weeks, and has already been there for about 3 1/2 weeks... I cannot believe my child will have spent 7 weeks of his 16th year of life in a hospital (probably his 17th birthday too)... mostly in a hospital bed... the reality has not fully sunk in yet honestly. We get through, because we have to. We get up, get dressed, go to work, take care of the baby, eat food, prepare food, spend as much time at the hospital as possible, feel guilty for the moments we're not at the hospital, see progress Kent has made and rejoice, see his pain, sorrow, and depression and our heart's ache... Needles every morning, being woken twice overnight to be prompted to use the bathroom, new faces each day, being pushed and prodded to do things that wouldn't have taken him 5 seconds to do 4 weeks ago, relearning to eat, needing help to brush his teeth, shower, get dressed... I am grateful for all of this, grateful we have the opportunity to plow through all of these challenges and hardships with him, thankful he is here, thankful for my beautiful silly boy. But it is the most difficult and painful thing to do. To see him hurting, to not be able to take it away, to not be able to stay with him all day when I know that is what he wants - he feels lonely when we're gone... So one more day checked off the calendar, one more day closer to getting him stronger, getting him home.

Sauteed Cinnamon Apples from 356 on AllRecipes

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
4 large tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add apples. Cook, stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 6 to 7 minutes.
2. Dissolve cornstarch in water; add to skillet. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally; adjust seasonings and thickness of sauce if needed. Remove from heat and serve warm.