HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE

APPLESAUCE IS SOOO EASY TO MAKE.  It can be a little time consuming though.  (and a little messy!) But I have say, homemade applesauce is well worth the effort.  Once you've had homemade, you'll never be able to go back to store bought.  


The best applesauce has been made with a variety of apples.  Here are a few tips to help guide you in your apple choices.


Choose:
McIntosh for pink color

Red Delicious for mild flavor and color
Yellow Delicious and Cortland for sweetness
Rome for fragrance
Winesap for tartness


I like to find an apple that is sweet all by itself so there will be no need to add any sugar.  This time, I used Yellow Delicious and a few Red Delicious and Fugi apples for color.  This batch of applesauce still turned out to be fairly yellow.


Begin by washing your apples, and cutting them into smaller chunks (quartered) and cut out any bad spots.


Place apples in a large pot with about a 1/2 an inch of water in the bottom.  If you would like to try a spicy applesauce, add a few whole cloves as well.  Cover and steam.  Remove the apples to the strainer.  (I reserve the juice and add it back to the applesauce later as needed)

the Victorio separates the pulp
 from the seeds and  skins

Notice the difference in color.
The first batch contained more "red" apples"

And whalah! You have applesauce. 

 I used a Victorio Strainer.  You could also use a small strainer like this one, but of course it will be a lot more work.  I don't add sugar or spice to my applesauce, but you could.  

When finished, just season it to taste.   We enjoy ours au'naturel.  Hubs doesn't like cinnamon. So I just add it to mine when I eat it.  I don't bother to can it either, just put it in containers and freeze when it's completely cooled.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

I kept seeing recipes for homemade cream of chicken soup on the web. So I finally gave it a try and used it in a salmon casserole that called for cream of chicken soup.  This recipe could be made vegetarian if you used vegetable broth instead.  This particular recipe came from Tammy's Recipes.    (No, not me.  Another Tammy!)

Makes 3 cups (about 2 cans)

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour

1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).

2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes and Apples

A taste of the season...

6 boiled sweet potatoes
1 1/2 c sliced apples
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c butter

Peel potatoes and slice.  Arrange alternate layers of potatoes and apples in buttered baking dish with sugar, salt and butter between each layer.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake in 350 oven for 45-50 minutes or until apples and potatoes are tender.

Lois

Maple Twists

 I found this recipe on my favorite foodie blog, Mennonite Girls Can Cook.  It looked delicious.  And it turned out to be just that-DELICIOUS.

MAPLE TWISTS

Heat 

3/4 cup milk and

1/4 cup butter until very warm.

Blend with 1 cup flour,

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon instant dry yeast

1 teaspoon maple extract

1 egg

Beat this with an electric beater on low for 2 minutes.

Add remaining 1 3/4 cups to 2 cups of flour and knead to a soft dough.

It will become smooth and elastic in about 5 minutes.

Let rise for about 45 minutes in a bowl covered in plastic wrap. In the meantime, make…    

Maple Struesel

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup chopped nuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon maple extract

Combine this together and let sit

Divide the dough into 3 balls.

Take out a pizza pan, and butter it.(I used parchment paper but I still buttered it)

Roll out the 3 balls of dough to about 12 inches.

Put 1/3 of the streusel on the first layer of dough, put another layer of dough on top of this and put the second amount of streusel on.

Finish with the third layer of dough and again the 1/3 amount of streusel.

Put a 2 inch cup on the center of the dough and cut 16 wedges with scissors. (use the glass as a guide as to how far to cut. They'll stay even all around . .in the picture below you can see the faint outline of the glass rim in the center)

Twist each wedge 5 times. Remove the glass.

Cover with a light Tea Towel and let rise for 30 - 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I used a convection oven at 350 degrees.

Bake the twists until golden brown about 18 - 22 minutes

Cool for about 5 minutes on the pan and remove to a cooling rack.

  Make a glaze of

1 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons of melted butter

1 -2 tablespoons of milk

1/2 teaspoon of maple extract

  

COCONUT MACADAMIA ZUCCHINI BARS

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. coconut liqueur or 1 tsp. extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups raw zucchini, peeled and shredded
1 cup Macadamia nuts or shredded almonds, chopped (I actually used pecans)

Topping:

1 (3 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp. milk
1 tbsp. coconut liqueur or 1 tsp. extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Peel zucchini, discard ends and remove any seeds. Shred the zucchini just before using in a food processor (or use a hand grater).
Beat together oil, butter, and sugar. Add eggs and coconut flavoring, beating until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and salt, stirring until well mixed. Add to the first mixture. Fold in raw zucchini and nuts.
Pour batter into a greased 11x15-inch pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until done.
To make frosting, beat together softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened (not melted) butter 2 tsp. milk, coconut flavoring and 2 cups confectioners' sugar. Spread the mixture over the cooled zucchini bars. Sprinkle top with flaked coconut.

Coffee Cake

I got this tasty recipe from a cookbook put together by my oncologist's office.  Hey, one never knows where a good recipe will turn up. I love a good coffee cake that doesn't require a bucket of coffee to wash it down.  




Coffee Cake
Batter:
1/2 cup soft butter
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 pint of sour cream


Combine butter, sugar and eggs.  Beat well.  In sifter, combine salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour.  Mix to the above mixture along with the sour cream.  


Crumbs: (the best part!)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chopped 
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon


Combine sugar, cinnamon and nuts.  Put 1/2 batter in a greased tube pan and put 1/2 of the crumb mixture on top.  Then the remaining batter and top with the remaining crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Allow to cool for 10 min and flip onto cake plate.
ENJOY!

I was honored to share this cake with my friends at the YMCA who participate in my water aerobics class.  On this particular day we were celebrating the 80th birthday of one of the participants.  

Noodle Soup

I love Chicken Noodle Soup, but there's just one little problem--I don't eat chicken!  Here is my "recipe" for the soup.  Everything is an approximation because you can add more or less of the things that you like!

"Chicken" Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
Egg Noodles (Betty Crocker Cookbook):

• 2 cups of white or whole wheat flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water

Soup:

• chopped Garlic (I used about 2 cloves)
• 2 Tbl olive oil
• Quart of vegetarian vegetable stock, I used organic Swanson
• chopped up vegetables:
  carrots
  celery
  onion
  green pepper
  beans--I used Chinese Noodle Beans
  any other veggies that you like!  Just make sure you try to chop everything the same size so that they cook the same.
• 3/4-1 1/2 cups water
• salt, pepper to taste

Instructions:

Make the noodles earlier in the day so that they have time to dry (at least 2 hours). 

Noodles:

Pour the flour into a medium sized bowl.  Make a well in the flour.  Add the egg yolks, egg, and salt to the flour, and mix well.  Mix in water 1 tablespoon one teaspoon at a time until dough is stiff but easy to roll out.  Divide dough up into 3-4 parts so that it is easier to roll out.  Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it's about paper thin.  I cut my noodles about 1/2 inch wide using a ruler and pizza cutter.  Lay aside on a cloth to dry for at least 2 hours.  

Soup:

Place the onions, any garlic, and olive oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat.  Cook until the onions are tender.  Add the broth, water, and chopped veggies to simmer over medium heat until the veggies are soft, but not falling apart.  Add the noodles and cook for about 5-10 more min.  Add salt or pepper to taste.  Voila!  Your soup is done.  

I chopped everything up further and gave some to Jack...he loved it!

PEACH PIE AND CRISP

It's Peach season! Though I like peaches, peaches aren't my favorite. (that would be apples:)... But to keep the rest of my clan happy, we got several bushels of peaches to put away so we can enjoy the taste of summer this winter.

WE FROZE ABOUT 2 BUSHEL~

AND BY "WE", I MEAN ME AND HUBS- HE'S MY "PEACH."

HUBS WAS A HUGE HELP!

WITH ONE BUSHEL, WE MADE 3 PIES. ONE TO EAT AND 2 FOR THE FREEZER~

AND 2 CRISPS. ONE TO EAT, ONE FOR THE FREEZER~

PEACH PIE

7-8 cups sliced peaches

½ c or more clear gel

1 ½ c or more sugar

Lemon juice

Touch of cinnamon (or more if you like cinnamon;)

Mix the above ingredients together until all sugar and Jel disappears. Place into one large pie pan or 2 small pans. Bake at 375 for 15 min then reduce to 350 for 40-45 min or until nicely brown and bubbly.

For more tips on making pie-click here

PEACH CRISP

Mix together and place in a 9 inch pan:

4 cups of sliced peaches

A sprinkling of sugar to taste (depends on how sweet you're peaches are and how sweet or tart you want them to be)

A sprinkling of clear jel (Maybe a tbl or so)

Crumb together:

3/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c flour

1/2 c rolled oats

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/3 c soft butter

Sprinkle crumb topping across top and bake at 375 for about 30 min.

Serve warm (with ice-cream:) or enjoy cold. This recipe can be doubled and baked in an 8 x 13 pan.

The Best Pickle Ever!

I saw that Tammy posted a pickle recipe, so I thought I would put my favorite up.  I found this recipe on the web as a Claussen type of pickle.  I tweaked it to my taste:

Claussen Pickle Recipe

4 Quart Jars

Ingredients

• ·  Cucumbers to fill the jars
• 1/3 cup instant minced onion
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
•  1/2 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 4-8 heads fresh dill (put 2 small ones or 1 large one in each jar!)
• 1 dried hot pepper for each jar
•  1 1/2 quarts waters
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup canning salt

Directions

1. Slice your cucumbers how you like them (slices, quarters, halves, or just leave them whole!  I've tried them each way and it doesn't seem to make a difference.)  Add the dill and hot pepper with the cucumbers into the jars.
2. Boil liquids and seasonings to dissolve the salt then cool.  
3. Pour the liquid over the pickles and let sit on the counter turning them occasionally for three days.
4. Place in the fridge.  You can do a taste test in a week or two!

PIZZA SAUCE- All purpose sauce

PIZZA SAUCE
makes a great all-purpose

INGREDIENTS

*1 gallon tomato juice

2 t. salt (if needed)

1 t. pepper

2 T. garlic salt

1 ½ cups diced onion, sautéed in oil

2 T. oregano

4 t. chili powder

1 ½ T. brown sugar

1 sm can of paste (add toward the end of cooking)

Cook until thick. Add paste. Seal jars in a water bath for approx. 10 min.

*I cook fresh from the garden tomatoes until soft and pour off the excess juice before smooshing the tomatoes into juice. This cuts the cooking time way down. I can that excess juice and use in soups and marinades, meatloaf and more.

CANNING PICKLED BEETS

Pickled Beets

Scrub beets WELL keeping a bit of the stems and root in tact.

 Beets must be cooked slightly before the canning process. 

 This enables you to get the skins off easily before packing them into jars. 

 I cook my beets quickly in the pressure cooker for 5-6 minutes (depends on their size) on 15 lbs of pressure. 

 If you are not using a pressure cooker, place the beets in a large stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

 Remove from heat. 

Drain the beets, reserving the juice.

The skins will slip right off the cooked beets. Slice or cut the beets placing them directly into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

 Mix up the brine:

4 cups of sugar

3 cups of water 

1 1/2 cups of vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Add the brine.

Run a thin spatula or non-metallic utensil through each jar to remove air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims with a damp paper towel. Add the caps and bands. Place the filled jars on the rack in a water bath canner. The tops of the jars should be completely immersed... add additional hot water if needed. 

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

(Start timing as soon as the water begins to boil). Remove the jars from canner. 

Cool, test seals, label and store.

This recipe is for approx. 1-1 1/2 pecks of beets,.

These beets can be eaten cold, with pickled eggs (a Pennsylvania Dutch treat) , or served as Harvard beets by adding cornstarch before cooking.

PRESERVING- Dill Pickles

With all the extreme heat this summer, my dill has gone CRAZY! However it seems that the dill that seeds itself from the year before is always ready for a cutting before the pickles are ready for pickling, and the dill that I plant is not ready in time. So to fix this problem, I just dry my dill if it cannot be used immediately. Any leftovers can be used the following year. The same is also true for my cayenne peppers. (used in this particular recipe) I just dry them in the dehydrator and use them as I need them. They will keep for a long time if kept in an air tight container.

Check out this HUGE head of dill. It is the same size as the dehydrator.

I use this simple recipe for my pickles. I don't can pickles in the traditional way, but rather jar them, uncooked, and store them in our extra fridge. To date, the jars are piling up and I'm running out room to store them- the one drawback to making these claussen style pickles.

My Favorite Dill Pickle Recipe

4 qts med sized cucumbers

4 c. vinegar

1 c. salt

3 qt water

For each quart:

2 sprays dill

1 clove garlic

1 small hot red pepper

Wash cucumbers and let stand in cold water overnight. Pack cukes in jars. Combine other ing. And bring to boil. Fill jars with brine, and store in a cool dark place.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

2 (14 oz) cans reduced- sodium chicken broth

2 cups diced , peeled potatoes

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1/2 c diced onion

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups 2% reduced fat milk

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 min.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Gradually stir in milk and cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese and cook until melted. Add cheese mixture to broth and vegetables along with chicken. Cook and stir over low heat until thoroughly heated.

Serves 8

ENJOY~

Lois

A Pennsylvania Treat-Pig Belly!

Pig Belly (AKA hog maw) is a Pennsylvania treat. Now I realize most folks who did not grow up eating this stuff would not give this recipe a try. But I thought I'd share it anyway.

Pig Belly

Begin with a clean hog maw purchased in the meat department of the grocery store or ask for one at your local butcher. I usually soak mine in some salt water for a few minutes.

The ingredients for pig belly are simple. I just use an extra large bowl or container to combine these 3 simple ingredients.

Ingredients

1 part ground sausage (at least 2 lbs)

1 part potatoes (cubed)

1 part cabbage (I usually use an entire head)

Lots of salt and pepper to taste

This will look like a lot of stuffing but remember, the belly gets stuffed, and the cabbage will shrink as it cooks.

The stuffing may be baked alone or stuffed in the belly.

Many folks just use the belly to hold the ingredients together like the casing of a sausage. However, I know many who actually gnaw on the belly.

Stuff the belly with stuffing ingredients as full as possible being careful not to tear the belly. I use a needle and thread to sew up the ends of the belly. Place in a roaster on a rack. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan. (Don't let the pan cook dry.) Cover and Bake at 375 or about 3 or 31/2 hrs.

When pig belly is browned, slice and serve. Most Pennsylvanians eat this meal with some apple butter bread. If you're brave enough to give this recipe a try, Email me and let me know what you think!