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.