Apple-Pear Sauce

This recipe was inspired by the fact that we had an abundance of pears AND apples in our fruit box delivery these past few weeks.  Aurora has decided she won't eat these two fruit items whole, so what's a mom to do??    Turn them into a toddler favourite! Apple-sauce!! Yum!  She loves it, J loves it and it goes great in and on all sorts of things!  Also its is super easy to make and modify!

Basic Apple-Pear Sauce

Ingredients
Water
Apples (any kind will do as long as they are not tart, unless you like that sort of thing, then be my guest :)
Pears (any type will do, just try to pick a type that you like and the size is comparable to the apple you choose)

Equipment Needed
Knife
Cutting board
Compost bucket ( to put your cores and peels into)
Saucepan
Stiring spoon or fork (I use a fork to test for doneness at the same time :) )
Glass Jar with fitted lid (recycle a glass jar/lid from the jam you finished last nite ;)

1. Peel, core and cube/dice your fruit. Compost the remnants. Fruit ratio is 3 to 1 (apples to pears).  For instance if you are using 3 medium apples, you would need 1 medium pear or 2 small pears. :) I use approximately 8-10 really small apples and 2-3 medium/small pears.  I find this will fill a 12oz jar and leave extra to eat right away. 
2. Put the prepared fruit in the saucepan, making sure there is about a 2" clearance from top, if not, get a bigger pot.
3. Fill a saucepan (size dependant on how much fruit you are using) with enough water to just cover the fruit, don't put too much water, else you will have to drain a lot of your flavour at the end.
4. Put the pot on the stove over high heat until the water starts to boil vigorously, boil like this for 2 minutes and turn temp to low.  Simmer fruit for about 30-45 minutes. 
5. Remove from heat and let cool for about 10-15 minutes, pour into jar(s) and store in cold area (or your refrigerator).  

Eat what wouldn't fit in the jars as a treat for all your hard work, share some with your family if there is enough.

Use within a few weeks. This stuff doesn't last long in my house, so I'm not sure about the shelf life :).
Goes great on home made crepes, as a side dish for lunch or in my strawberry apple cupcake recipe! :)

Enjoy!