Lyndee's Crockpot Apple Butter

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Lyndee from  Living From Home has a great apple butter recipe to share today.  It's the perfect time of year for this as apples are cheap or falling off trees, ready to be used.  I freeze my apple butter and it works great! 

Crock pot apple butter
6 quarts apples peeled, sliced and cored
(dump them in to your crock pot)
Then to the apples you add:
4 cups sugar (give or take depending on how sweet your apples are)
(I use green apples and 3 cups of sugar seems to be about right)
2 tsp cinnamon (try 1 tsp first)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
A sprinkle of nutmeg

1.  Mix together in the crock pot, cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour
2.  After an hour turn on LOW and cook for 9-11 hours longer
3.  Once it's done cooking take a hand blender or put in any blender & smooth.
4.  Cook it low uncovered until it is at the consistency you would like.

This is great to bottle and seal or even freeze.  This is very easy and adjustable, it's all about personal preference. Taste about half way through cooking time you can add sugar or cinnamon depending on what you like.  Apple butter is great on toast or cream cheese and crackers, Try adding chilies to it and putting it on a pork roast.  Put a cute bow on a jar and it will make great neighbor gifts for the holidays!

Thanks, Lyndee.  This looks great. 
If you'd like to do a guest post, email me (karenbellessapetersen at gmail dot com)

Slow Cooker Strawberry Jam

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Makes 5 cups

2 pounds strawberries, washed and stems removed

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1 (1.75 oz) box fruit pectin

1.  Place strawberries in blender or food processor and pulse until almost smooth.  Transfer to slow cooker.

2.  Stir the sugar, lemon juice and salt into the strawberries.

3.  Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, until berries start to disintegrate.

4.  Transfer jam to large pot and bring to a boil.  Add in pectin and boil jam over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

5.  Remove from heat and can jam following standard canning procedures. 

Review:

I wanted to try strawberry jam in the slow cooker simply because it is something that I haven't done yet.  And let's face it, I don't have a lot of recipes that I haven't done yet.  Also, I had about 6 pounds of strawberries that needed to be used up.  I usually just make freezer jam because it is so simple and tastes great.  But if you don't have room in your freezer you can for sure make this recipe and it will be super tasty...just a little more labor intensive and a little more clean up.  4 stars.

Slow Cooker Curried Hummus

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1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 tsp salt
4 cups water
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp curry
1 T olive oil

Combine chickpeas, salt, and water in slow cooker and cover.  Cook on LOW for about 8 hours, or until chickpeas are very soft.  Drain and reserve the liquid in the slow cooker.  Mash the chickpeas with a potato masher, a fork, or mix with a hand mixer until creamy.  Add about 1/3 cup of the reserved liquid back in to cream a mashed potato consistency.  Stir in the garlic, cumin, curry and olive oil.  Add more liquid, if needs be.  Serve with pita bread or fresh raw veggies.

Review:
Eh.  It was okay.  What I really wanted to add for a punch of flavor was lemon  juice, but I was all out.  I think that would have really kicked up the flavor to a new level and made me more excited about it.  Next time I'll do that, but I still have about 2 cups of this batch left to eat.  Those garbanzos really expand.  2 stars.

Day 361: Hummus

Pin It 1 cup dried chickpeas
4 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp water

Rinse chickpeas. Place in slow cooker with 4 cups of water. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours until very soft. Drain liquid (retain 1/4 cup). Use a potato masher or hand mixer to cream the chickpeas. Add the garlic, lemon juice, salt, water, and 1/4 cup of liquid to creamed chickpeas. Mix. Refrigerate, if desired and then serve with fresh veggies or spread on pita bread.  Makes 24 servings.

Review:
Hummus in an easy, affordable form. Tasty, flavorful, and very healthy. My little boy loved it and ate in plain like mashed potatoes. I ate mine with carrots and celery. Use as a spread on a pita, if desired. 3 stars.

Day 284: Dipping Sauce (Pizza Hut style)

Pin It 10 oz tomato sauce
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir. Cover and cook on low for 1-2 hours. Serve warm with breadsticks.

Review:
I served this dipping sauce with some yummy parmesan breadsticks. For me, the seasonings were a little too much. Next time I make this I will probably half the amount of Italian seasoning and oregano. 3 stars.

Recipe Source: adpated from http://www.recipezaar.com/Dipping-Sauce-Pizza-Hut-Style-137630

Day 270: Apple Butter

Pin It Makes 4-5 pints apple butter

4 lbs cooking apples
2 cups cider (I used regular apple juice)
3 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves, optional
1/8 tsp allspice

Stem, core, and quarter apples. Do not peel. Combine apples and cider in large slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low for 10 hours. Stir in sugar and spices. Continue cooking 1 hour. Remove from heat and cool thouroughly. Use blender to mix in skins. Freeze in pint containers, or pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.

Review:
I have never had apple butter and I had a huge box of apples so I decided to try this recipe. All day it was cooking and my house smelled wonderful, like apple pie. I really like mine on toast and I have a ton in the freezer for all winter. If you have apple trees, this is a fun way to use all those apples. 3 stars.

Recipe Source: Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook