Apple-Pear Crisp with Peanut Butter

Funny story about this recipe...

The original recipe comes from the February 2014 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.  It caught my eye right away when I saw the unique crisp topping made with peanut butter!  I had a few nights alone ahead of me and all the ingredients patiently waiting in my kitchen.  I halved the recipe and had dessert for myself for 3 nights!

The funny thing is...on a recent flight to Indiana, the woman next to me was reading the same magazine and I commented that I had just made this dessert!  She said she would think of me when she made it after she returned home.  Wonder if she tried it out and what she thought?

Here is how you can make it.  Let me know what you think!

Apple-Pear Crisp with Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

3 small Gala apples, peeled and chopped

2 medium pears, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon water

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter

3 Tablespoons whole wheat flour

Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread oats in single layer on jelly-roll pan.  Toast 5-8 min or until golden brown, stirring once halfway through.

Meanwhile, in a 4-qt saucepan, combine apples, pears, water, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.  Cook on medium for 10-12 min or until sugar dissolves and fruit softens, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cranberries.  Pour into a shallow 2 quart baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine oats, peanut butter, and flour.  With fingers, rub to form small clumps.  Sprinkled over fruit mixture in baking dish.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until browned and bubbling.  Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Serves 6.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Pear bbq Pork

The Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken was so good that it got me thinking of how a similar preparation would be with pork.  So, I swapped out a few ingredients and changed up the sauce to create this mouth-watering, juicy pork dinner!

The pork had a delicious BBQ flavor and was fork tender!  No knife needed here.  The pears gave it just the right amount of sweetness and the BBQ Dijon mustard malt vinegar sauce was the perfect tangy match.  Here is the recipe!

Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Pear BBQ Pork

Ingredients:

4 pears - peeled, cored, chopped

4 boneless pork chops

8 slices of bacon

1 cup BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Rays Original.)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon malt vinegar

Directions:

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with non-stick spray.  In a medium-sized bowl, mix the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and malt vinegar.  Add the chopped pears and stir.  Set aside.  Wrap each pork chop with two pieces of bacon.  Lay the wrapped pork chops in a single layer in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Pour the BBQ mixture over the pork chops making sure to cover completely.  Cook on high for 6 hours.  My crock pot setting is "6 hours on high" (not low) but I turned it to "warm" after 5 1/2 hours and the pork came out perfect.  I served it with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed sweet corn.

Enjoy!