Homemade Slow Cooker Apple Butter

When I think of fall my mind automatically goes to apple orchards, so there isn’t anything better in my mind than a sink full of freshly picked apples! My mind races….what to do with them? Apple crisp? Applesauce? Apple pie? All of them are fabulous but this year it’s time to make apple butter.  If you’ve never made it before because you think it’s intimidating or maybe too hard, think again! This was honestly the easiest recipe I’ve ever done and it came out perfect! If you have a slow cooker, this recipe is for you!

This recipe will make about six cups of apple butter.

• I used about 6.5 pounds of apples and I peeled, cored and sliced them all (by hand, yikes! If you don’t want to do them by hand, invest in an apple peeler!)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (if you like yours sweeter, you can add more sugar, or less!)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (or you can throw in a few cinnamon sticks, it’s up to you!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place all your cut apples in your slow cooker.  I HIGHLY suggest using the slow cooker liners! They make clean up a breeze, especially after you’ve had apples cooking all day in it.  Less mess!

Add the sugars, cinnamon, vanilla and salt to your apples in the slow cooker. Doesn’t that look amazing? I can smell it already!  Cook in the slow cooker for 10 hours on low.  Make sure you stir them every couple hours to keep it all even.  When it’s finished cooking, your apples should be a dark brown color and very thick.  Take your apples out of the slow cooker and place into a blender or food processor to blend smooth.  Now, this is up to you on the texture that you like! We like ours very smooth so just keep going until it’s how you like it!

When it’s finished, you can either place in an air tight container to be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, in the freezer in a container, or if you have time, you can start to can it! This makes a wonderful gift with some homemade bread or other canned items!

ENJOY!

Green & Gold Stuffed Pepper Soup (Crock Pot Recipe)

Do you like Stuffed Pepper Soup? Want to try a healthier option? Here is what I came up with today after needing to use up some Yellow Squash Zucchini & Green Peppers from our garden. Lovingly named by my son, “Green & Gold Stuffed Pepper Soup.” The name may or may not have something to do with the fact we are from Wisconsin. GO PACKERS!

Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Sized Yellow Squash Zucchini
• 1 Medium Onion
• 8 Green Bell Peppers
• Two Cans of diced Tomatoes (14.5 ounce) – I used organic, salt free)
• 1 can of tomato paste (12 ounce)
• Eight Cans of Water (Use tomato Paste Can) IF you want that “beef” taste you could add some beef stock
• 2 tsp. Chili Powder (More if you like)
• (Optional) 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

• Wash Green Peppers, core and chop into pieces
• Wash Zucchini, cut off both ends, then chop into pieces (I DO NOT PEEL. I use EVERYTHING except for the ends.)
• Peel & dice onion
• Add all chopped veggies above to crock pot
• Add both cans of diced tomatoes, can of tomato paste, and eight cans of water to crock pot
• Add 2 tsp. of Chili Powder to crock pot
• Mix it up
• Cook on high for 8 to 10 hours (depending on if you want crunchier veggies)

That is it, Simple as that. It ended up tasting delicious! My husband who DOES NOT LIKE soup even enjoyed it. If you would like your soup a little thicker, leave out a few cans of water. It tastes just as good if not better then regular stuffed green pepper soup with ground beef and rice, just a healthier version.