Pear Week ~ Slow Cooker Pear Sauce

I hope you're enjoying Pear Week so far - did you check out the Maple Pecan Pear Muffins I posted yesterday?  Today I'll share the main recipes that worked for me to use up a large number of pears at once.

My hubs and I have been trying not to eat sugar recently (OK, well except for every single recipe here this week that I *had* to sample) so I knew I wanted to make pear sauce without added sugar.  These pears were so sweet and juicy that I figured it wouldn't be a problem to leave the sugar out - I was right!

So many pears! I sprinkled cinnamon over a couple layers before cooking.

I have made apple sauce in the slow cooker in the past, so I knew I could do pear sauce the same way.  I filled that slow cooker up FULL 3 times!  I found that about 4 hours on low was enough time to get the pears to the point where I could either mash them with a potato masher and fork (to leave a little chunky) or puree with my stick blender right in the slow cooker.

Chunky Pear Sauce with cinnamon and nutmeg - yum!

Pureed Pear Sauce with cinnamon - very rich!

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Pear Sauce {no sugar added}

Enough ripe Bartlett pears, cut in half, cored and peeled, to fill slow cooker
Cinnamon to taste
Nutmeg to taste (optional)
1/4 - 1/2 cup All natural apple cider (no sugar added) or other liquid

Fill slow cooker with pears.  Sprinkle cinnamon over layers as you put them in.  Add desired liquid.  Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours.  Mash or puree pears.  Stir in more cinnamon if needed and nutmeg if desired.  Cool and refrigerate.

Chunky Pear Sauce with a hint of maple and almond.

Slow Cooker Maple Almond Pear Sauce

Enough ripe Bartlett pears, cut in half, cored and peeled, to fill slow cooker
3 tablespoons+ pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon + almond extract

Fill slow cooker with pears.  Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours.  Mash or puree pears.  Stir in maple syrup and almond extract.  I was trying to keep it low-sugar and not overpower the flavor of the pears, so I only used enough to give a hint of flavor.  Feel free to use much larger quantities of maple syrup and almond extract if desired!  Cool and refrigerate.

I put the extra sauce into containers and froze it.  Though the sauce is delicious on its own, it would be a delicious topping for pancakes and waffles too.  Or maybe even over ice cream or mixed with yogurt or in a smoothie - so many yummy options!

Have you ever made pear or apple sauce in your slow cooker?  Do you consider it a side dish, a snack or a dessert?

Thanks for stopping by Pear Week!  Come on back tomorrow for some cake!

This post linked to:
~ Works-For-Me-Wednesday (WFMW) at We Are THAT Family
~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom

Have a fabulous day friends!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes

I keep hearing (when I say hearing, I mean reading of course) people talking on blogs and twitter about making slow cooker recipes.  I do love my slow cooker and thought I would share some of my favorite slow cooker recipes with you today.  It's a great way to have warm comfort foods in the winter and it's so nice to have your food all ready to go at dinner time!

I usually use 2 slow cookers at the same time so that I have extra food and can freeze some if possible.  It's not that much more work.

I've been making these in my slow cooker for several years:

Spaghetti Sauce

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

Slow Cooker Stuffing

I really like both these versions of chili for the slow cooker:

Spicy Chili

Kickin' Chicken Chili (on my other blog)

And I was delighted to find a recipe for making snack mix in the slow cooker:

Crunchy Party Mix (on my other blog)

My friend Kim even has a couple of new slow cooker recipes on her cooking blog, like her recent Potato Soup.

All this talk of slow cooker recipes has given me an idea.  You know how I like my theme weeks, right (just look at the buttons on my sidebar)?  What if I have a slow cooker week?  I could have link-ups every day and share different categories of recipes each day - breakfasts, side dishes, dinners, snacks/drinks, and of course desserts (which would most likely contain chocolate!).  What do you think?  If there's enough interest, I'll plan to have one in the next few weeks.

Slow cooker recipes work for me!  Stop by We Are THAT Family to see what's working for everybody else!  And thank you all for your great budgeting feedback last Wednesday - so helpful!

I'm also linking this to Crock Pot Wednesday at Dining With Debbie - another good place to find more recipes!  And linking to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam - more yummy recipes!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Slow Cooker Recipes

Last week in my thrifty post, I mentioned a few meals that we would have when the budget was tight. These are meals that I continue to make no matter if the budget is tight or not. Not only are the meals thrifty, but they are basic and delicious. And they are the meals that got me to start using my slow cooker.

Now, I actually own 2 large slow cookers and fill both with double or triple my recipes so that I'll have extra to freeze. I thought you might enjoy getting back to comforting slow cooker basics with these recipes. The first two come from a cookbook that belonged to my mother. It's a paperback called Crockery Cookery, printed in the Seventies. You would know it was from the Seventies just by looking at the picture of the gal on the back!

Here are my favorite slow cooker basics:

Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (1-lb) cans tomatoes, cut up (I just use diced)
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1 (12-oz) can tomato paste
1 cup beef bouillon
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In large skillet, crumble meat with onion and garlic. Brown meat and drain off excess fat. In slow cooker, combine browned meat, onions, and garlic with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 6-8 servings

* You can use less meat in the recipe to stretch it more. The extra freezes very well.

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew
2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1-1/2 in. cubes
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 cups beef bouillon
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6+ carrots, peeled and sliced
1+ cup sliced celery
4+ potatoes , peeled and cut into eighths
1 cup water

Coat meat with flour; set excess flour aside. In large skillet, heat oil. Brown meat on all sides. In slow cooker, combine browned beef, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, chopped onion, bouillon, pepper, salt, sugar and vegetables. Pour water over all. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Turn control on high. Thicken with flour left over from coating (about 1/4 cup) dissolved in a small amount of water. Cover and cook on high 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. 6-8 servings

*Don't forget the last step - so much better a little thicker. Gotta have cornbread with it! This does freeze, although turns into mushy stew - very unattractive, but still flavorful.

I used to make a chicken recipe from my slow cooker owner's manual, but I realize I've given it away. This recipe would be the most similar to it:

Slow Cooker Chicken
1 whole chicken (4 lbs)
Salt, pepper, onion salt to taste
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
A few chopped vegetables, if desired

Wash and dry chicken. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and onion salt. Put chicken in slow cooker, breast side up. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with tarragon and parsley. Add wine. Add in some chopped vegetables, if desired. Cover and cook on high 1 hour, then low 8-10 hours. 6 servings

*Then use the chicken to make homemade chicken noodle soup.

If you don't already have a slow cooker and think you might like one - try these thrifty ways of getting one:

- Check with your friends; you might have one willing to give away a slow cooker collecting dust.
- Check the thrift stores - my friend found a basic one for around $5 and it works fine.
- Check the before-Christmas sales - I got a really large slow cooker last year at a sale for about half the price.

Thrifty slow cooker recipes work for me! Hope you enjoy them! For more tips and ideas, stop by Works-For-Me-Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.