Recipe: Gluten Free Roasted Pears and Cranberries

My Weight Watcher leader gave me this recipe off the top of her head as we were prepping for Thanksgiving. She said it was the best cranberry dish she has ever eaten and since I'm not a huge fan of cranberries (or fruit in general - GASP, I know, right?), I thought, I should give it a try to see if it would change my mind and my eating habits (meaning - girl, you need to eat more fruit!). Originally she said the recipe had a cup of brown sugar and a stick (1/2 cup) of butter or something ridiculous like that. She lightened it up a bit and I put a tad back more in because it is all just fruit for cripes sake. I figure it's a win/win situation here - two kinds of fruit and little bit of fat and sweetness added.  The best thing about this recipe is that it is naturally gluten free! Yahoo!

All you need to do is cut up the pears and pour on the brown sugar/butter mixture.

Roast 'em until they are browning and bubbling.  Then add in your cranberries.  I used these because they are readily available right now and are super delicious -make sure you rinse them well!

 

Once everything is all roasted together it comes out looking like this!

Roasted Pears and Cranberries

Ingredients:
3 Tbs. butter (or light butter)
3 Tbs. light brown sugar - packed
6 Pears - variety of colors, shapes and sizes
12oz bag of Cranberries - rinsed thoroughly

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Core and slice the pears leaving the skins on (you can peel them if you want but the skins give great color and a health component.)
3. Place sliced pears on a cookie sheet that is lined with non-stick aluminum (you can substitute this with regular foil and cooking spray.)
4. Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the light brown sugar until completely incorporated.
5. Drizzle the butter/sugar mixture over the pears and place the pan in hot oven.  Roast for 30 minutes or until the pears start to brown.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and add the washed cranberries to the pan - toss completely to make sure the cranberries are coated with the pan juices.
7. Return the pan to the oven and continue to roast 10-15 minutes until the cranberries are soft and they have popped. Don't worry, they do not pop like popcorn so it will not go all over your oven.
8. Pour pan contents into a large serving bowl and toss thoroughly.
9. This can be served warm or cold.  The kids liked it with a dollop of whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Until Next Time,
J.K. Sasse