Slow Cooker Peach Butter

Peach Butter

This easy peach butter recipe is made in the slow cooker. My Crockpot peach butter is simple and delicious! 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours.

Yield: 1 Quart

Ingredients:  

About 8 to 10 good-sized peaches) = 8 cups; peeling is optional; chopped

1/3 cup coconut sugar

¼ to 1/2 cup water, optional (if your peaches are juicy, as mine usually are, omit the water)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Wash and rough chop the peaches. Pare away any softer spots, but otherwise don’t bother peeling the peaches if you are using organically-grown ones.

Add the peaches to your Instant Pot.

Stir in the lemon juice and sugar.

Cover and slow-cook on the medium setting for 4 hours. When you open the lid, do your best to capture and discard the water that has collected in the lid.

At this point I use my hand blender to puree the peaches. I’m not concerned about getting all the lumps, because I like my peach butter to have little surprises in it. If you want completely smooth peach butter, you can puree yours in a blender, then return it to your Instant Pot.

Cook for an hour or more on medium until the peach butter is as thick as you like. My guideline is that it mounds a little on the spoon when you lift some out of the pot. 

Another way to tell if it is thick enough is to run your finger down the middle of the spoonful of peach butter. If the butter doesn’t fill in the strip, it’s ready. It will thicken slightly when it cools. It will also darken a little during this last heating step.

Ladle the hot peach butter into a clean jar or jars and let cool before capping and refrigerating. Consume within a couple of weeks, or follow safe canning or freezing practices.

Serve on biscuits – Yield 1 quart.

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Pasta Fagioli Crock Pot

Pasta e Fagioli

With the cooler weather comes the crock pot. Here's a great recipe for Pasta Fagioli that is bound to be a hit. 

Ingredients:
2 lbs. of ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomato's, undrained
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 (10 ounce) cans of beef stock
3 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. pepper
5 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. tabasco sauce (optional)
1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces of pasta

Directions:
Brown the beef and drain the fat......then put into crock pot with all other ingredients except the pasta. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on High for 4-5 hours. Add the pasta 30 minutes before eating. Serve with crusty warm bread!!! Note: if you do not have a large crock pot, cut the recipe in half. Pasta Fagioli also freezes wonderfully, so you can make a big batch and freeze the rest!!! Enjoy everyone.

Polish Sausage And Cabbage Soup, Kapusnyak

Polish Sausage and Cabbage Soup 

Crock Pot "Kapusnyak."

Ingredients:
2 cups potatoes, cubed and peeled
4 cups cabbage, shred it fine
1 carrot, shredded it fine...
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons caraway seeds, crushed (optional)
1-1/4 lb Polish sausage, cooked, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 cups fat free chicken broth or you can just use water
black pepper and salt to taste

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Directions:

Place potatoes, cabbage, carrot, onion, caraway seeds, sausage, pepper and salt in crock pot. Pour broth over all.Cover, cook on low for 10 - 12 hours or high for 5 hours.

Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon

Today is the second year anniversary of the passing of my dear husband.  I thought a nice way to honor his memory would be to publish a recipe he really enjoyed.  Well, I couldn't think of any one recipe that I would say was his very favorite but this dish would be eaten with the compliment, Thanks for a nice dinner, I really enjoyed his recipe".  We had a very compatible dietary plan.  It was simply he loved to eat and I loved to cook.  I did not repeat unless by request.  His birthdate is July 29.  I will then publish his favorite birthday treat.

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients:

6 slices thick cut bacon diced
3 lbs lean stew beef cut into 2" cubes
2 yellow onions, sliced
3 medium carrots, diced
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine
3 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled
20 pearl onions peeled/skinned (or use thawed frozen ones)
An herb bouquet of (4 parsley sprigs, one bay leaf, and one quarter teaspoon thyme all tied in cheesecloth)
1lb fresh white button mushrooms sliced

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Directions:

Warm up a skillet, then add bacon.  Cook until the fat has rendered and the bacon is nice and crispy.  Remove the pan from the heat, and transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.  Pour off all but a tablespoon of bacon fat from pan, reserving the rest of the grease for cooking.

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Return the pan to medium-high heat.  Pat the beef dry and sprinkle with flour salt and pepper.  Just before the bacon fat is smoking, add a single layer of beef cubes.  Sear the meat in batches, flipping the pieces after 1 to 3 minutes.

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After each batch, transfer the seared beef to the slow cooker.  Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of wine using a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan while the wine simmers.  Pour the wine over the seared meat once the pan is cleaned.

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Add 1 more tablespoon of leftover bacon grease to the pan and repeat the searing of the meat and deglazing of the pan until all the meat is seared.

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Wipe the pan clean and warm one more tablespoon of bacon grease (or vegetable oil) over medium heat.  Cook the mushrooms with 1/4 teaspoon salt until the release all of their liquid and the liquid has evaporated.  The mushrooms should end ups nice golden brown (about 8 to 10 minutes).  Transfer the mushrooms to a clean bowl and set aside.

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Add one more tablespoon of the bacon fat and cook the yellow onions with 1/4 teaspoon of salt until soft and browned (6 to 8 minutes).  Add the carrots and cook until softened.  Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant.  Transfer the vegetable mixture to the slow cooker.

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Stir together the mixture in the slow cooker with an additional 1 teaspoon salt, the thyme, and the crumbled bay leaf.  Add the herb bouquet to the mixture and pour in the beef broth and remaining wine over the mixture.  Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

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Just before serving, stir in the reserved bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms, then cover and cook for another 10 minutes.  Remove the herb bouquet then serve.

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

 
 Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin
2 pound Pork Tenderloin
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 TBS Yellow Mustard
2-3 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS Diced dried onions
1 1/2 TSP Garlic Salt or Powder
Mix ingredients above. Pour over Tenderloin in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.