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.

Tip: Oven Roasting Corn

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse corn with husks still on.  Place corn husks directly on the oven rack and roast for 30 minutes or until corn is soft. Peel down the husks and use as a handle when eating.

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!

Loaded Potato Casserole

This recipe was a Pinterest find.  I've been drooling over it for a couple months and finally decided I would just break down and make it.  It was a huge hit in our house.  You can find the original recipe here.  I made subtle changes to make it more to my liking.  I don't care for overly wet potato dishes so I adjusted some of the portions.  I'll note the changes.

Loaded Potato Casserole

2 (16oz) containers sour cream (I used one 24 oz container of sour cream)

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 (3oz) bags real bacon bits

2 packages Ranch Dip mix (I left this out, I'm not a fan of ranch outside of potato chip dip and salads)

1 large (28 - 30oz) bag frozen hash brown potatoes - shredded kind

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes.

Broccoli Salad

This is one of those dishes I don't make often and when I do I wonder why I don't.  It's super easy to make and really yummy.  Ruby Tuesday has a salad like this and it's something I enjoy when I go there.

Broccoli Salad

1/3 cup hot water
4 tlbs. sugar
4 tlb. vinegar
1 cup mayo
2 heads broccoli cut into small pieces
16oz sharp cheddar cheese cut up (mild cheddar works just as well, that's all I had yesterday when I made it and it was still yummy!)
2 lbs bacon cooked crisp and crumbled  (I cheat and use the real bacon bits from the salad dressing aisle, one 3 oz package was sufficient)
1 medium red onion minced (I usually leave the red onion out, it's all about personal preference)

Put broccoli in a bowl.
Dissolve sugar in hot water.
Pour over broccoli
Add remaining ingredients mix well, refrigerate for a couple hours