Pear Berry Sauce

This is another baby food recipe. But, like most of my baby food recipes, you can turn it into an adult treat with a few additions. When I first started feeding Lola solid food, she absolutely loved pureed pears - as I'm sure most babies do. I still make her a pear sauce for lunches (similar to my apple sauce recipe, except with pears). This one is extra yummy because I add berries to it.

Pear Berry Sauce

6 - 8 Pears - I used bosc because those were on sale but you can use any kind really

14 oz frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, & blackberries) or fresh if in season

2 Tbsp lemon juice

• Peel and core the pears.
• Cut the pears into about a ½” dice, making sure they're all similar in size to ensure even cooking.
• Combine the pears, berries, and lemon juice in a large sauce pan or crockpot.
• Simmer, covered over low heat for 2 to 2.5 hours until the pears are very soft and fall apart when stirred.
• Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
• Mash with a potato masher for a chunky sauce. For a smooth sauce, ladle into a food processor and puree.
• Freeze in portion sizes.

Note: If your little one is under a year, omit the lemon juice. You're supposed to wait until one year to introduce citrus. I'm not exactly sure why but I'm guessing it must have something to do with food allergies.

Ok, to make this a grown-up treat, all you need to do is sprinkle on some streusel and top with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Here's my recipe for streusel (you can also use this to top apple crisp or an apple crumb pie):

1 ½ Cups flour

1/3 Cup granulated sugar

1/3 Cup brown sugar

½ Tsp salt

1 Cup old fashioned oats

1 Stick unsalted butter, softened

• Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and oats.
• In a stand mixer on low, mix the softened butter into the oat mixture. Or you can do this by hand but that's no fun!
• Spread the mixture out onto a baking sheet.
• Bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent burning.
• Allow to cool then sprinkle over pear berry sauce and serve with ice cream!