Slow Cooker Pear Sauce

I bought quite a bit of fruit early last week, and then went out of town for the weekend. When I came home, there was a big bowl full of over-ripe fruit demanding immediate attention. I just threw all the pears into the slow cooker because I didn't really want to spend all day cooking, and they turned out fabulously. Yum!

Slow Cooker Pear Sauce

5-6 very ripe pears

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Remove the cores and peels from the pears. Dice pears into uniform-sized pieces. Place into a 2 qt slow cooker. Top with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook on high for 4 hours or until pears are extremely tender. Mash with a fork or use a blender until smooth.

World's Best Pasta Sauce

I'm usually pretty skeptical of "world's best" claims, but this pasta sauce really is the best sauce I've ever had. This will work with any kind of pasta--I used orecchiette.

World's Best Pasta Sauce

8 oz ground Italian Sausage, sweet or mild flavored

6 oz ground beef

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

14 oz can crushed tomatoes

6 oz can tomato paste

8 oz can tomato sauce

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

Combine sausage, beef, onion, and garlic in medium frying pan. Cook until meat is no longer pink.

Combine sausage mixture with remaining ingredients in a crock-pot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Serves 6.