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Greek yogurt and applesauce topped with crunchy granola.
It’s currently 8:00am and I’m at the bus stop waiting for my bus (and furiously scribbling on my notebook). I’m on my way to work you see.
Oops, I’m now on the bus. I’ve been feeling really bad about falling behind with my posts, but I’ve had quite a bit going on lately which has been stressing me out. And blogging is supposed to be a fun hobby isn’t it? At least at my level! So I decided to stop beating myself up about it and do what I can when I can. This is my intro to a very quick post and an even quicker recipe!
Despite all my “goings on” I still spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and couldn’t help but jump on the seasonal bandwagon. That means recipes with apples and pumpkin! Seasons are slightly different here in Greece, I mean we had pumpkins all through the summer, but when you read blogs from the US all the time, you get carried away by the beautiful descriptions and transferred into their atmosphere. So even though we’ve had 30oC degrees heat this week (that’s 86oF), I’m thinking applesauce, soup, hot chocolate and so on. I did do a little experiment to try and combine the two worlds, but more about that another time (after I know it was successful!).
Aaand I’ve now reached the metro station, next train in 2 minutes. So, applesauce. What a gorgeous, versatile, adaptable concoction. It especially goes with the granola I talked about here and here; in fact all granolas or even porridge can benefit from a spoonful of applesauce dolloped on top. Add a little Greek yogurt and… perfect breakfast or snack. It also goes well with ham or turkey in a sandwich. Or with cheese. As I said, versatile.
On the train now, so glad you can’t see my handwriting. I saw this recipe by Cookin’ Canuck on Slow Cooker from Scratch, where there is a great round up of applesauce variations. It’s quick to prepare, has few ingredients and tastes lovely. A winner in my book! I made a much smaller batch because I only had two apples and The Mister doesn’t really eat much applesauce anyway. Check out the original here, as well as all the other recipes on the Slow Cooker from Scratch round up here. Hey, thanks for keeping me company on my morning journey!
Easy Slow Cooker Applesauce with Pears
Makes just under 2 cups
Ingredients
2 red apples (I used a crispy, juicy Greek variety like Red Delicious)
2 pears
1 Tbs brown sugar
½ tsp dried ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup water
Instructions
- Peel, core and chop the apples into large pieces. I only peeled one of them because I got impatient and I don’t mind the skin, it gets soft anyway. Do the same with the pears. If their skin is tough (it can be sometimes) don’t leave any on.
- Pop them all into the slow cooker and sprinkle the spices and sugar on top. Mix well.
- Add the water to the slow cooker, you can use less if you want, I wanted to coat the bottom of the stoneware but I don’t think there was any need to, the fruit releases lots of moisture.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-5. Cooking time depends on how hot your slow cooker gets, and how much fruit you use (the more the fruit, the longer it takes). Stir occasionally and break up with a spoon or fork.
Other recipes for or with applesauce from around the blogosphere
CrockPot Applesauce Recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking (another slow cooker version)
Homemade Applesauce by Framed Cooks (a stovetop version)
CrockPot Applesauce Chicken Recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking
Perfect Roasted Pork Loin & Homemade Rosemary Applesauce from the LeMoine Family Kitchen
