Can You Guess...

.......what I canned today?

It's not tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, or salsa.

Update.....

You all made really good guesses....well most of you. 

But, none of you were right.

It's ketchup!

If you're interested here is the recipe.

8 quarts tomato juice

1 1/2 quart vinegar

6 cups white sugar

1/2 cup salt

2 onions chopped

3/4 teaspoon ginger

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg ( I omitted this)

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

Mix together all ingredients and boil rapidly for 2 hours.  Cool until you can safely blend in the blender.  After you blend it put it back on the stove and bring to a simmer, and add 1 3/4 cups of Clear-Jell that has been blended with about 1 cup of water.  Simmer until thickened.  Process in pressure canner for 10 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

 

Around this time of year I start craving spicy, crunchy, sour, flavors. 

 I think this is due to the blandness of winter foods, or it could be just because I'm a little weird

 I stumbled on this recipe on the back of a bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce, and I tweaked it a little to suit our tastes.

2 1/2 bricks of cream cheese

1/4 cup Hot Sauce ( use your favorite brand )

2 cups cooked and diced chicken

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

Soften the cream cheese a little in a glass baking dish, and then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, and serve with crackers, corn chips, or veggies.  This is exceptionally yummy with celery.

We had this last night for Sunday night supper.

Taco Rice Casserole

More comfort food!

I will admit that this casserole takes a little while to put together--but it is so worth the effort!

I have one child who is not overly fond of cornbread in any shape or form, and yet likes this casserole moderately well.

First Layer:

1 pound hamburger fried

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 medium onion diced

16 ounces tomato juice

1 cup cooked rice

Fry the hamburger with the diced onion and then add the taco seasoning.  Stir in the rice and tomato juice, and spread the mixture in the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan.

Second Layer:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Stir these three together and spread over the hamburger mixture in the 13 x 9 pan.

Third Layer:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 Tablespoon oil

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

Mix the first four ingredients together in a bowl.  Beat the egg, oil and milk lightly in another bowl and then stir the two mixtures together.  Spoon the cornbread mixture on the top of your 13 x 9 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.

Fit For A Queen Soup

If you are trying to figure out what to do with all the leftover turkey this soup is a tasty alternative to turkey sandwiches.

4 cups chicken or turkey broth

1/2 cup chopped onion 

1 teaspoon salt

Simmer together until onion is tender.

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

Make a white sauce while the onion and broth are simmering.

Mix the broth and white sauce together and add...

2 cups diced chicken or turkey

2 to 4 chopped hard boiled eggs

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat gently, but do not boil.

Don't be scared of the thought of hard boiled eggs in a soup--it's really a true comfort food kind of dish.

Freezer Pickles

We are a pickle-loving family.  My hubby, and children enjoy them both as a snack or as a side to a meal.

During the winter we first tried these tasty pickles at a friends house.  My husband LOVED them.  He kept exclaiming how good they were.

That's usually a pretty good hint that I need to get the recipe.

I'm happy to say they are as easy to make as they are to consume!

Mix together

8 cups thinly sliced cucumbers

2 cups thinly sliced onions

2 Tablespoons salt

Let this mixture stand for thirty minutes, and then drain off the excess liquid.

In the meantime mix together

2 cups of sugar

3/4 cup of vinegar

Stir until sugar is dissolved.

After you drain your cucumbers, pour the sugar and vinegar brine over them and stir.

Fill freezer boxes and press down to make sure the liquid covers the cucumbers.

Thaw for several hours in the refrigerator before serving.

This recipe yields approximately 3 pints of pickles.

Baked Beans

 

Have you ever tasted baked beans that were so flavorful and sweet that you could serve them for a main course?

  This is actually my sister-in-law's recipe, and she is so famous for them that we tease her that she can't come to our family reunion unless she brings her baked beans. :)

1 (48 ounce) can of Great White Northern Beans drained slightly 

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1/2 pound of bacon fried and drained ( or you can use the prefried variety )

Splash of molasses

After you drain the beans mix all the ingredients in a baking dish.  Bake at 300 degrees for at least 2-3 hours--more is better--the flavors blend more the longer you bake it.  Serve with your favorite picnic menu.

Do you have a favorite baked bean recipe?  If you do feel free to put a link to it in the comments.  I enjoy trying new recipes!

Friday

I'm sitting here in front of my computer.

Having my fourth cup of coffee for the day.....or is it my fifth?

Anyway, I need to share a recipe with you.

Because it's Friday.

And Friday is the day I share my wonderful tasty recipe's with you.

Unfortunately my cooking hasn't been all that wonderful lately.

However, we did discover a winner this week.

We made egg salad sandwiches, but we added some shredded CoJack cheese to the mix.

Oh my!

I don't even really like egg salad, but this was GOOD!!!!!

So, there you have it!

If you happen to be making egg salad in the near future.

Toss in a little shredded cheese.

Have a wonderful week-end!

Honey Oatmeal Bread

2 cups hot (not boiling) water
1 1/4 cups quick oats

Mix and let set for 5 minutes.

3 eggs beaten
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoon yeast
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup warm water

Add to oat mixture and let set for 5 more minutes.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons lecithin (optional)
2 tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)
7-8 cups white flour

Mix in slowly with a bread hook and knead about 7-8 minutes.  Turn into a greased bowl and let raise and punch down 3 times.  Form into 3-4 loaves and let raise again.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

This is a sluggish bread dough.  It raises quite slowly.  This doesn't mean you did something wrong---it just takes a while to raise.  The lecithin makes a softer bread, and the flax seed add some nutritional value.  I've made the bread with or without them.

Lentil Chili


I used to be afraid of lentils.  They looked complicated, and way too "healthy" for me to cook with.

 I was wrong.  There is nothing complicated about this recipe, and it's perfect for a busy day. 

It can be made on the stove or in a crockpot, but if you use the crockpot make sure that yours will bring food to a simmer.

1 onion diced

1 pound of ground beef or turkey

10 cups water

2 cups dry lentils

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 cups salsa ( I sometimes eliminate this if I'm serving it to someone who doesn't care for extra "heat")

2 quarts tomato juice

Brown beef or turkey with chopped onion.  Add lentils and water.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 15 minutes more.  Serve with crackers. 


This is a very large recipe!  It makes two meals for our family, but it is excellent the second day.

Chocolate Cream Pie

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons baking cocoa

3 cups milk

4 egg yolks

4 teaspoons vanilla

Mix sugar, flour,salt and cocoa in a heavy saucepan.  Whisk egg yolks, and milk in a separate bowl.  Gradually whisk the milk and eggs into the dry ingredients. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until boiling.  Boil 1 minute and take off heat. Add vanilla and stir. Pour into baked pie shell.  Gently place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the pudding.  (This prevents a "skin" from forming on the top.) Chill 3-4 hours.

I know it's much easier to make a chocolate pie from instant pudding. 

 However, you should try this recipe. 

 It has a rich chocolate taste that no pudding ever does. 

Besides, it uses up 4 eggs. :)

What's For Breakfast

I haven't posted a recipe for a long time.  Not because I quit cooking, but there are so many good food blogs out there, and I figured I can't really compete with them. 

This recipe fits my criteria for being easy to make, but there are some hard-to-find ingredients.

  We have a bulk food store near our home, and that would probably be the best place to find the flax seed and pumpkin seed. 

If you use salted seeds or nuts you may want to eliminate the teaspoon of salt.

Almond Peanut Butter Granola

4 cups quick oats                         1/4 cup butter  

1/2 cup coconut                           1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sunflower seeds                1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup slivered almonds               1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup flax seed                           1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sesame seed                      1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup pumpkin seed                     2 teaspoons water
                          
                                                       2 teaspoons vanilla

Toss the first seven ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat just until the butter, and peanut butter melt.  Stir the two mixtures together, and spread on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan patting lightly.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.  Cool, and break apart. 
Store in an air-tight container.

The First Snack of the Season

Party Mix is pretty much a "given" around our house at Christmas time.
1 (12.8oz.) box Rice Chex
1 (12.8 oz.) box Corn Chex
1 (15 oz.) bag mini twist pretzels
2 small cans mixed nuts.
Toss together in large stainless steel bowl.
Melt 2 sticks of butter in saucepan, and add.
2 T. dry celery
3 T. dry parsley
2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. red pepper
4 T. worcestershire sauce
Toss over the cereal mixture, and bake at 250 degrees for one hour stirring every 15 minutes.
Cool, and add about 1 quart Multi-grain Cheerios.

Help

As the holidays are approaching I'm digging through my recipe box.

I'm looking for one specific thing.

Recipes for holiday goodies and snacks................

that can be made simply.

As in--in between

diapers,

and potty training,

and homeschooling,

and laundry,

and dishes,

and dusting,

and sweeping,

and mopping,

and nose wiping,

and egg washing........................

you get the idea.

Then I had this brilliant thought.

I'll ask all my friends in bloggy world.

So---how about it?

I need simple snacky recipes--got any?

Amish Peanut Butter

 

This is not a particularly healthy recipe, but it is VERY yummy. ( In case you are wondering I'm not Amish, and I've tweaked this recipe to suit our family.)

This is commonly served in Amish circles for Sunday dinner along with pickles, and pickled beets.  We like it on sandwiches or as a snack on crackers.

It works best to mix this in a mixer although I have done it by hand. 

Place in mixing bowl-

2 cups peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

13 ounces marshmallow cream

1/2 cup light Karo syrup

Mix well. scraping bowl frequently.   I usually store it in the marshmallow cream container.  It does not need to be refrigerated.

Butterscotch Oatmeal

We eat quite a bit of oatmeal at our house.  It's a cheap nutritious breakfast food, and there's not many other foods can you call cheap and nutritious.  I usually serve it at least once a week  My children LOVE it. 

Whisk together in a medium saucepan.

2 eggs

3 1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup brown sugar ( You can use more or less depending on how sweet you like it.)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook over medium heat until boiling.

Add 2 cups Quick Oats, stir, bring back to a boil, and turn off heat immediately.



Let sit for 5 minutes and stir in 4 Tablespoons of Butter or Margarine.  Serve with a little cold milk.  This recipe serves 4-6 people depending on how much you eat for breakfast.

Summer Supper

We've been having unseasonably warm weather lately, which makes cooking a challenge.  Although we have central air conditioning I still try to not use my oven more than I have to.  This was what I made last night.
Tortillas (usually I use flour, but last night I only had corn) spread with homemade pizza sauce and topped with mushrooms, black olives, green pepper.....

.....crushed pineapple, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese.  I baked them at 350 degrees for ten minutes.

While they baked I talked to the dog.  Doesn't she look like she understands perfectly?  She didn't have much to say in response, but she is an excellent listener.

I popped them out of the oven and we enjoyed them.  A simple supper that doesn't use the oven very much, but is very tasty nonetheless.

What does your family eat when it's hot?

Cheesy Asparagus Soup

I've been thinking about asparagus a lot lately--maybe because I've spent the last two days freezing it and pickling it.

Mostly I've been marveling over how much I love it, considering that as a child I despised its flavor.  I can still remember gagging down the required mouthfuls, and trying to think if there was anything I hated more.

Somewhere along the years I decided it was actually tolerable, and then good, and then I started craving it's green springy flavor.  As soon as the first signs of spring appear I start dreaming about asparagus dishes.  A good incentive to clean out the last of it from the freezer.

This recipe is excellent for those cold winter days when you are hungry for soup.  Usually I make it with frozen asparagus.  The creamy base makes it a dish that will sometimes appeal to those who aren't as fond of asparagus. 

10 ounces fresh or frozen asparagus

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups milk

8 ounces cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

Cook asparagus, and onion in 3 cups of water with bouillon until tender-approximately 5-10 minutes. ( you don't want it mushy--just tender ) Do not drain.  Meanwhile make a white sauce with butter, flour, and milk.  After it is thickened add salt, pepper, and cheese stirring until melted.  Combine white sauce with cooked asparagus and onion and serve.  Yield 4-6 servings.

Rhubarb Sauce

                     

This is a unique recipe, and one that is surrounded with fond memories for me.  My mom would usually make several rhubarb pies, and possibly a rhubarb crunch and then toward the end of the season she would make a batch of this.

  I have an odd attraction to sour flavors, and this sauce was-in my childish mind-the definition of perfection.  A mix of tart and sweet with a pale pink color that attracts your attention because it's so obviously not artificially colored.

 Oh yes, and it's simple to make which wins it a place in my recipe box.

                             

3 cups finely chopped rhubarb

1 1/2 cups water

4 Tablespoons granulated tapioca

1 cup sugar -you can use a little more or a little less depending on how tart you like it

Cook rhubarb and water until soft. ( It only takes a few minutes.)  Add tapioca stirring to prevent lumping, and bring mixture back to a boil, and then turn off the burner.  Add sugar and stir until dissolved.  Pour into serving dish and chill. 

White Chili

Kim is asking for our favorite bean or lentil recipes and I immediately thought of this one. 

This is the first meal I cooked for my husband when we were dating. 

I didn't realize that he liked Mexican food, and I scored all kinds of brownie points with this dish.  It may be why he asked me to marry him. : )

2 cups cooked shredded chicken

2 tablespoons cumin

1 quart of salsa (mild is best since this is the base for the soup)

1 quart great white northern beans ( you can use canned or cook dried ones)

8 ounces montery jack cheese

Cube or shred cheese, and mix with all other ingredients in crockpot.  Simmer for 3-4 hours.  Serve with corn chips.  Serves 4-6