So lately I’ve been really struggling to find something that both the girls will happily eat. Especially something that doesn’t require effort on my part.
Just being honest about that!
Last week I bought some pears at the store because they were a really pretty deep red color, and you know…fruit…healthy….I’m sure my kids will happily eat it, right?
So they didn’t eat it. And to be fair, the pears were hard. Not unripe, just one of the types that is naturally hard. Know what I mean? So they weren’t super yummy.
But in a moment of sheer genius, I realized a few days ago that I also had a few apples languishing on the counter, right next to the pears. And I decided that in order to get my family to actually eat them, I was going to need to sweeten things up a bit. So I grabbed my slow cooker and made this:
Slow Cooker Pear-Apple Butter
- 3 apples and 2 pears (roughly 3 pounds total), peeled, sliced and diced
- (1) 50 oz container of unsweetened applesauce
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground allspice
This is soooo simple, which is what I love. The most time intensive part is peeling, slicing and dicing your fruit. Once that is finished, throw the fruit in the slow cooker, and add all other ingredients. Give it a good stir, then turn it on low for 10 hours. That’s it!
Apple butter tastes FABULOUS in yogurt or oatmeal, and it even makes a great addition to homemade muffins if you are hardcore and actually make such things from scratch. I just put some in a little bowl and serve it as a side dish to my kids at lunch. It’s a hit!
Do you have any new ideas for kid-friendly foods that are working in your home? I’d love to hear them!
Want more slow cooker ideas? I’ve got a great list of slow cooker soups and a list of easy crock pot recipes. Give them a glance to see if anything intrigues your taste buds!