Pear Jam

Pear Jam

Ingredients:

4 cups pears, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 box or 6 tablespoons fruit pectin, (I use powered pectin)
4-5 cups of granulated sugar*
1/2 teaspoon butter

Steps

1. Prepare water bath canner, sterilize jars, lids and rings.

2.  Using a heavy 6-8 quart sauce pan add pears, lemon juice and pectin.  Add butter to reduce foaming.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Add sugar.  *if your pears are very ripe, you may need less sugar.  Bring to a rolling boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim any foam off.

3.  Pour into prepared jars, ensuring the rims are clean and place lids.  Process for 10 minutes and let rest.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I found a good deal on Strawberries at our commissary last week and then ended up getting a container of strawberries in our weekly produce box which meant I was being overrun by strawberries.  My boys eat a lot but we  had a lot of fruits and vegetables in our house and I did not want these wonderful treats to go to waste.  I decided to make some freezer jam.  It's so simple and you end up with a delightful, fresh tasting treat.  I had enough strawberries to make this recipe twice.

My boys think the jam is a bit sweet (they said it tastes like strawberry soda).  I guess it would be sweet given it has 4 cups of sugar!  This jam takes about 30 minutes to make and then you let it sit for 24 hours.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

 

4 cups strawberries, washed and cut in half

4 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin 

 

• Mash strawberries with potato masher or in food processor until slightly chunky (not pureed) to make 2 cups crushed strawberries. Mix strawberries and sugar in large bowl. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Mix water and pectin in 1-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour hot pectin mixture over strawberry mixture; stir constantly 3 minutes.
• Immediately spoon mixture into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe rims of containers; seal. Let stand at room temperature about 24 hours or until set.
• Store in freezer up to 6 months or in refrigerator up to 3 weeks. Thaw frozen jam and stir before serving.

 

Caramel Toffee Dip

I forgot to take a picture of the dip BEFORE I let a group of teen girls attack!

 I am pretty sure that this is the recipe one of my sweet friend's gave me a couple years ago after she brought it to one of our Army unit events.  It was SOOOO good.  Tonight I was in charge of an activity for a small group of girls in our youth group at church.  I wanted to bring them a treat and wanted it to be somewhat healthy.  I decided to cut up apples and then canceled out the healthy with this AMAZING dip.  It's so easy to make and so yummy!

Caramel Toffee Dip

• 1 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup heath toffee bits

Combine the cream cheese and brown sugar.  Add vanilla and mix until smooth.  Mix in toffee bits.  Serve with apple wedges!

Homemade Yellow Mustard

What happens when you run out of mustard in a home where one of your children LOVES mustard and practically eats it with everything?  Well if you're too lazy to run out to the grocery store, you make your own!  This was so ridiculously easy and I happened to have all the ingredients in my house.  My son loves it and claims he will not be sharing it with his brothers!

Homemade Yellow Mustard

(recipe found here)

1 cup ground mustard (regular or hot) - I used regular

1 cup water

3/4 cup white vinegar

1 tsp flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) - I used just a little more

1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients except for the cayenne and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Whisk until smooth and then bring to a boil. Regular mustard powder yields a mild mustard.

Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to medium and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Taste for spiciness.

Pour the mustard into a food processor. Add as much cayenne as you feel you want (if any), and the lemon juice.

Purée for 2 minutes to mix well and smooth the mustard out somewhat.

If the mustard appears a little grainy don’t worry. Sitting in the refrigerator will help smooth it out a little more. It will also thicken when cooled.

Place in jars and refrigerate.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients

20-25 tomatoes
8-10 peppers (we used about 4 small Bell peppers, 2-3 Anaheim, and 2-3 Jalapenos)
2 onions
1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
6-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons red pepper
3 cups corn (cooked and cut off the husks) (Click here for a tip on how to roast your corn easily)
1 can black beans drained
salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Cut the tomatoes, peppers and onions in half, and roast them on the grill.

1. When the vegetables are fully grilled, and lightly blackened, pull the vegetables from the grill.  Place the tomatoes in their own separate bowl to let the juices drain.

1. When the vegetables from the grill have cooled, in batches, food process the drained tomatoes and grilled vegetables, along with the olive oil. Set aside.

1. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the garlic until fragrant.  About 1 minute.
2. Add the chili powder, red pepper and cumin and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
3. Add the corn, drained black beans, and the food processed garden vegetable mixture from before.  Stir well.  Add the sugar and salt, and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

The salsa is now finished.  From here you can eat it fresh, can it, store it in the fridge, freeze it, or use it in your favorite Mexican recipe. 
When canning I use the boiling-water method.  Basically you ladle the hot salsa into hot jars, leaving about 1/4 inch head space.  Put on the two-piece caps and boil for 15 minutes in a pot of boiling water, the jars should be totally immersed in water.

Preheat oven to 350°F 2 Rinse ears. 3 Place corn cobs in middle rack in oven. 4 Bake for 30 minutes. 5 Remove corn cobs. Pull back husks and enjoy!

 

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients

20-25 tomatoes
8-10 peppers (we used about 4 small Bell peppers, 2-3 Anaheim, and 2-3 Jalapenos)
2 onions
1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
6-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons red pepper
3 cups corn (cooked and cut off the husks) (Click here for a tip on how to roast your corn easily)
1 can black beans drained
salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Cut the tomatoes, peppers and onions in half, and roast them on the grill.
2. When the vegetables are fully grilled, and lightly blackened, pull the vegetables from the grill.  Place the tomatoes in their own separate bowl to let the juices drain.
3. When the vegetables from the grill have cooled, in batches, food process the drained tomatoes and grilled vegetables, along with the olive oil. Set aside.
4. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the garlic until fragrant.  About 1 minute.
5. Add the chili powder, red pepper and cumin and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
6. Add the corn, drained black beans, and the food processed garden vegetable mixture from before.  Stir well.  Add the sugar and salt, and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

The salsa is now finished.  From here you can eat it fresh, can it, store it in the fridge, freeze it, or use it in your favorite Mexican recipe.  .
When canning I use the boiling-water method.  Basically you ladle the hot salsa into hot jars, leaving about 1/4 inch head space.  Put on the two-piece caps and boil for 15 minutes in a pot of boiling water, the jars should be totally immersed in water.

Easy Jalapeno Jam

 A few weeks ago I had a fairly large amount of jalepenos that were quickly turning from green to red and needed to do something quick with them.  I had made jalepeno jam in the past but thought the process was too long and I have little patience for jams.  As I was venturing through Pinterest, I came across this recipe and saw how simple it was and decided to try again.  Not only was it so easy to do, but the jam is AMAZING!

*CAUTION* working with jalapenos can be dangerous.  Make sure you use rubber gloves when chopping.  I had so many jalapenos it was almost like I created my own gas chamber in my kitchen so make sure you are in a well-ventilated area.

Easy Jalapeno Jam

12 ounces jalapeno peppers, stems and seeds removed

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Blend together in blender or food processor until pureed.

Pour puree into a deep, stainless steel saucepan, and add...

1 cup apple cider vinegar

6 cups granulated sugar

Bring to a boil over high heat, boil 10 minutes.

Stir in 2 (3 oz.) pouches liquid pectin

Boil hard (full, rolling boil) for 1 minute.

Remove from heat, add a few drops of green food coloring (if desired, I did not and my jam is still beautiful!), quickly skim any foam off the top.

Ladle hot jam into hot, sterilized jars, leaving a half inch headspace. Tighten lids on to fingertip tightness and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from canner and allow to cool and seal.

My favorite way to eat jalapeno jam!  With cream cheese on a Triscuit!

Spicy Wholegrain Mustard

 We have some mustard lovers in our home.  I'm always trying out new mustard recipes just keep them guessing what I'll come up with next.  My 14 year old's favorite mustard is the Spicy Brown Mustard.  I thought I'd give this recipe a try after I found it on Pinterest.

 I found the recipe on this site.

Spicy Wholegrain Mustard

• ¼ C + 2 T yellow mustard seeds

• 2 T black mustard seeds*

• ¾ C apple cider vinegar

• 1/3 C water

• 1½ t sugar

• ½ t turmeric

• Clean, glass jar & lid that can hold 2 cups of liquid.  Make sure this is sterilized by putting in the dishwasher OR pouring boiling water in and around it. Let dry before continuing.

*Apparently black mustard seeds are becoming rare. Feel free to use brown mustard seeds, or all yellow, as long as it totals 1/2 cup.  You should be able to find mustard seeds with the spices or Indian foods section.

How-to

• This makes about 2 cups finished mustard. You can pour it into separate jars when made, but to start you need one big jar!

• Place mustard seeds in jar. Pour the apple cider vinegar and water on top of the seeds.

• Put lid on and shake it up! You want to make sure the seeds are covered with the mix, so give it a shake every now and then.

• Soak for 2 days and the seeds will swell with happiness!

• After 2 days, place seeds and liquid in a food processor and add the sugar and turmeric.

• Blend until desired smoothness.

• Place into desired jar(s), replace lid, and set in fridge. Keep refrigerated.  THAT’S IT! YOU’RE DONE!

-It will be pretty spicy after this, and you can let it mellow in the fridge for a day or two. But even after a few weeks it still has bite!

Basil-Garlic Oil

I love this simple flavored oil on fresh pasta. It is very refreshing.

Basil-Garlic Oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-8 whole cloves garlic
10 whole fresh basil leaves
Generous pinch crushed red chili pepper flakes

Heat a small saucepan over low heat with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves and pepper flakes. Keep the heat on low to allow the ingredients to warm slowly and release their flavors. When the garlic is lightly browned, turn heat off and let cool for 10 minutes. The longer you let the oil sit, the more infused the oil. Strain the oil, discarding the solids.

Hot Pepper Mustard/Butter

For my inaugaral canning experience I found this wonderful recipe that would help me use up the banana peppers that were feeling sad in my veggie basket. We had eaten plenty but the kids didn't want them anymore and I didn't want them to go to waste. When researching banana pepper recipes I found this one on three different websites so I figured it must be good. It is a hit with the family and it was super easy to make. I ended up using a mixture of peppers but the flavor is quite delicious and the color is beautiful! If you are wondering why I called it mustard/butter it's because the same recipe had two different names. You can call it whatever makes you happy!

The color of the butter will vary, depending on the peppers, from a green/yellow to an orange. This is okay. It looks much nicer if you seed the peppers.

I actually cut this recipe into a third.

Hot Pepper Mustard/Butter
36 hot banana peppers (or whatever you have, you will see in my pic that I used a combination of peppers)
1 quart cider vinegar
1 quart prepared mustard (yes, you have to use mustard to make mustard, interesting concept...no?)
6 cups sugar
1 cup flour
water

Directions

Grind peppers finely (I put in food processor until they are a mush).

As you can see I left a bit of texture in it so it's not complete mush

Place peppers, vinegar, mustard & sugar in a large pot & cook a while (until pepper bits are translucent). Add flour (that has been thinned to a smooth paste with cold water) to mixture in pot, stirring constantly. Cook until thick and smooth.

Pour into hot jars,

seal, boiling water bath fifteen minutes.

And ta-da my first ever canning jars...hearing that wonderful "ping" was magnificent!

The husband and the boys have already planned what they are going to eat this with..pretzels, bratwursts, sandwiches and hot dogs!

Honey Goat Cheese Dressing

Last week I got some beautiful goat cheese from a vendor at our Farmer's Market and wanted to do something different with it. I also had some wonderful local honey that my friend gave me and I came across this recipe at SkinnyTaste.com (and a few other recipes that I'll be sure to try!)

We enjoyed this on a fresh garden salad, my husband loved it. You'll see my goat cheese has black on it, the vendor puts a thin layer on her cheese to help keep it fresh, it doesn't mess with the flavor at all. I'll definitely be making this again!


Honey Goat Cheese Dressing

• 4 oz fresh creamy goat cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp water
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small blender, combine goat cheese, honey, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, water and season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Mix until fully combined and creamy.