Slow-Cooker Sauerkraut Brats

I apologize for my absence from the blog... things have been a bit crazy lately. I have quite a few projects going on through work, which is good crazy, and my father-in-law has been challenging the doctors lately, which is bad crazy. We have spent a lot of time at the hospital and skilled nursing facility with him lately, so I haven't been home much at all. Most of my meals have been slow-cooker meals because I am just not here to cook.

That being said, I have made this particular recipe a couple of times now, and I have used different types of brats, and both versions have been great so I am happy to share this one with you!

 For these pictures I have Chicken Brats... slightly healthier than the standard pork brats, and still full of flavor. These came from Chuck's Produce, and they are made in their deli department. Very yummy!

I cut the brats into bite-size pieces and put them in the bottom of my crockpot.

I used an entire jar of sauerkraut. Read the ingredients before you buy jarred or canned sauerkraut... some brands actually use sugar in their sauerkraut. Or, if you happen to have your own lacto-fermented or crocked sauerkraut, feel free to use that! It is about 2 1/2 cups worth in this photo.

Then I added honey, caraway seeds, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes and mixed it all together.

 I took two apples and peeled, cored and sliced them, then diced them into bite-size pieces.

 I did the exact same thing with one onion.

 Then I mixed the sauerkraut mixture with the apples and onions and spread that over the top of the brats. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or so. I mixed it when I could, but you don't really have to.

 The bit of honey and the apples gives it a sweet flavor, combined with the tang of the sauerkraut and the heat of the crushed red pepper flakes. Very tasty! I served this with some spicy dijon mustard (sugar-free, of course!) and green beans!

Slow-cooker Sauerkraut Brats

8 bratwurst, cut into bite-size pieces - I used port brats one time, and chicken brats the next
2 1/2 cups sauerkraut
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped - I used gala apples
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp red chili pepper flakes

Put the cut brats in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Spoon the sauerkraut into a large bowl and mix with the apples, onion, honey, caraway seeds and red pepper flakes. Spoon over the top of the brats. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.

Serve with Dijon mustard.