Pears Stuffed with Blue Cheese & Pecans

This recipe is great for impressing friends and family over the holidays.  It is simple and so good.  Blue cheese is a nice companion flavor to the pear and the nuts give that yummy crunch.  You should use ripe but firm pears that will hold their shape once cooked.  This is a perfect recipe to try brown sugar Splenda to decrease the sugar and carbohydrates.

½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp butter, softened
¼ cup dried cranberries
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup chopped pecans, toasted
8 peeled Bartlett pears (about 3¾ pounds)
1/3 cup apple juice  

• Preheat oven to 375
• Combine sugar and butter in a small bowl, and stir until well blended.  Add cheese, cranberries and pecans; stir well.
• Cut 1 inch off stem end of each pear; reserve top.  Remove core from stem end, and scoop out about 2 tablespoons pulp from each pear half to form a cup, using a melon baller or spoon.  If necessary, cut about ¼ inch from base of pears so they will sit flat. Place the pears in a 13 X 9 inch baking dish.  Fill each pear with about 2 tablespoons sugar mixture, and replace top on each. Combine juice in a small bowl; pour into baking dish.  Bake pears at 375 for 30 minutes or until tender.  Serve warm.

Yield: 8 servings (1 pear per serving).

Easy tip:  Slice peeled pears in half lengthwise and scoop out the core.  Fill with blue cheese-nut mixture and bake.  Serving size would be two halves.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving (pear): Calories 194, Protein .8 g, Carbohydrates 43 g, Fat 3 g, Sodium 10 mg, Fiber 4g