Slow Cooker Baked Apples

So life is crazy at this household, I'm working nonstop and dealing with all the fun of numerous mobile phone launches and going into the Christmas season, which in working retail becomes more and more crazy.

This is also usually the time where self care dissolves into mush.   Retail holiday season ends up living on junk food and energy drinks as in my boss provides the energy drinks and black Friday is a mass of pasta.

Working on a plan for dealing with that, as cheating is not an option - the gluten will slow me down and make me sick.  My lady mother and I have discovered a brown rice based pasta at one of the localish health food stores (Fresh Thyme in Greenwood, Indiana) actually does REALLY well for both of us.  I figure on making a batch and taking it with me - marinara sauce is usually pretty safe.

In the meantime, preparing World of Warcraft toons for an expansion (and trying to develop healthy gamer snacks) and prepare autocratting an SCA event.

Never fear though, I am taking care of myself even if gaming in the blue light blocking glasses DOES make trying to judge a good transmog interesting.

But to the point on this post...

Sometimes a girl just wants something sweet at breakfast.  Doubt me?   Pancakes, donuts, coffee cakes, etc - all examples of something sweet to eat with your eggs or bacon.    Now, bacon, eggs, veggies and sausage?   We have it all covered.    (Current favorite breakfast with my lady mother and  I is a combination of German sauerkraut from Aldis and fried eggs.  Absolutely YUM!)   The problem with cake and such is the gluten.   And the fact that if I'm opening in the morning or if there is church, there is just no time to pull it off.

Enter these apples, which I started making last week when a friend gave us a BAG of seconds from the local orchard.    I used my handy new pretty tool which is one of those apple corer slicer things to cut them into tiny wedges, mixed it up and boom!   Baked apples when we woke up in the morning!   These have gotten the Dad and Dude seal of approval as well.   (I live with my parents and my little brother)

It's almost embarrassing to post a recipe, these are so simple.    No picture because while they taste fabulous, they are not terribly impressive looking.

Slow Cooker Baked Apples

Ingredients:

1. 8 Apples, cored and cut into slices
2. 2 tablespoons of butter, you can use other fats if you are dairy sensitive
3. 1 tablespoon Cinnamon or to taste
4. A dash of salt
5. 2 teaspoons ground ginger
6. 2 teaspoons ground cloves
7. 2 tablespoons honey (we use local honey but you can use other sweetners)

This is LITERALLY the simplest recipe ever - as in the worst of the labor is to cut the apples.  I use a tool that I bought at the local Aldis - the apple slicer makes life pretty fast.

Layer the apples down on the bottom of the slow cooker.   Then sprinkle the spices on top of that.   Cut the butter into small pieces and spread it on top and then drizzle the honey on top of the mixture.

Close the lid, turn the slow cooker on low and leave it for eight hours.  

This is good hot or cold - around here Vanilla Salted Caramel Greek Yogurt is the favorite to top it.   But good quality ice cream is nice as well.

Enjoy!