Apple and Pear Sauce with Ginger

Don't know what to do with all those apples and pears, make this sauce in your slow cooker and eat it with your breakfast, or with some of your favorite meat. You can easily make it all apple or all pear, as you wish. The ginger adds a nice heat, but feel free to omit it if you're serving it to little ones. (I didn't use the sugar or the butter and mine came out just fine.)

From Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients:

6 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered

6 firm pears, peeled, cored, and quartered

1/4 cup sugar or honey (optional)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 chunk fresh ginger, about 3 inches long, peeled and minced

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients but butter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the fruit is extremely tender and falling apart, on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or low for 5 to 6 hours.

2. Beat to make a coarse mash or use a handheld immersion blender for a smoother sauce. Stir in the butter. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve cold. The fruit sauce will keep, tightly covered, for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.