Roasted Goodness

I have a handfull of various produce left in my pantry and thought I'd roast it all up for freezing. Here's what I've got:
4 Pie Pumpkins
1 Acorn Squash
Tons of Apples
1/2 bag of carrots
2 garlic bulbs
1/2 onion

So I've got the whole roasting squash/gourds thing down pat by now, and I enjoy roasting garlic and onion from time to time, but what about carrots and apples? Well, ask and ye shall receive...it's just a google search away:

Roasted Carrots
Roasted Apples

later that same day...
I stand corrected, Roasted Apple Sauce sounds the BEST! I'm going for it! And Bonus: I found a new food blog! Closet Cooking is fun, down to earth, and pretty funny, if you ask me.

11/5/08:
Okay. Yesterday I made the Roasted Apple Sauce. I made one change in the recipe because I didn't have apple cider on hand, and I roasted it "low and slow" instead of at 400 degrees.

I don't want to share.

It's addictive.

It makes way too little.

Next time I'm loading up every deep pan I have and can fit into my oven.

Seriously.

Here's the recipe, with my alterations in bold:

12 apples (peeled, cored and chopped) I used empire and cortland
3/4 cup apple cider Didn't have apple cider, so I looked through my fridge wondering what I could substitute for it...I used coke. Seriously. I used 1/2 cup coke and 1/4 cup water.
3 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
I also added 1/2 teaspoon ground clove.

Directions:
1. Toss everything in a bowl.
This was kind of vague, so after mixing it all together, I laid the apple secions out on a baking sheet and drizzled the remaining juices over them. Caution: It made a bit of a mess in my oven, so next time I'll use a deeper pan, like a roaster or casserole dish. Whatever you have...as long as it has taller sides than a cookie sheet!
2. Bake in a preheated 400F oven until the apples are very soft, about 30-50 minutes.
I baked for 30 mins at 400, then had to leave the house, so I turned off the oven for an hour, but kept them in it. Then when I got back, I jacked the heat back up to about 300 and left them in there for another hour or so.
3. Mash the apples.
I let them cool a bit before transferring to a bowl to mash. Next time, using a deeper pan, I'll probably keep them in the original pan for mashing, then transfer to the storage jar or bowl.

Out of the 12 apples, I got about a quart of apple sauce (aprox 4 cups). It's actually more like an apple butter. So amazing! I don't know if I'm tasting the coke because I know it's there or not, so the next step is to give it to my hubby for snacking. He's the apple butter king!

{shhhh! the coke is our secret!}