Pear Muffins and Pear Preserves

I was asked by a reader to share some of the recipes in my menu this week. We received a bagful of pears so I wanted to use them up. I made 6 mini loaves of pear bread and 18 muffins. I used this recipe from Recipe Zaar. It tastes similar to banana bread.

I also cut up about 5 pears and made pear preserves to try. They were really easy to make. Cut up pears into pieces. Put into a cooking pot and coat the pears with sugar. Stir to coat them with the sugar. I didn't measure, just sprinkled on and stirred them around. Cover pot with towel and let sit on the counter overnight. Yep, overnight, out of the refrigerator. The next day there will be a pot of liquid from the pears. Put on the stove and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 1 1/2 -2 hours, stirring occasionally. You are cooking them until they begin to caramelize and thicken. I then put into a jar and refrigerated. If you have a lot of pears it would be better to cook up a bunch and can. If you add lemon juice you put in cans and the heat seals the lids. Because you are not processing them you have to have the acid of the lemon. It is best to process them in a pressure canner. Anyone want to give me one?