Carmel Apple Jam

6 C peeled and diced apples
1/2 C water
1/2 tsp butter
3 C sugar
2 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Peel and dice your apples and mix EVERYTHING into a large pot.  Stir until combined and bring to a boil on medium heat.  Cook the jam until the apples are nice and soft.  Use your handy emulsion blender to get it to the right consistency you want.  I do not like chunky jam, so I really mix it good.  Pour into hot jars with hot lids and flip upside down to seal!

Yummy!  Really good on pancakes and toast anything else!  I bet you could also use this as apple pie filling!
PS. The red jam is the Applum Jam (household name ha ha), the small brown jam is the Carmel Apple Jam, and the tall quart jars are applesauce which I will have to post about laterish.  

Plum + Apple Jam = Applum Jam

Soooo....i have an apple tree and like 4 plum trees in our yard so I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what to do with them all. On Pinterest (my newest obsession) I found this recipe. My awesome mother in law helped me make it tonight and holy cow...I couldn't get the girls away from the pan so I could bottle it up! It was soo yummy! I can't wait to make more. It was so easy!

1 lb plums (the firmer the better)
1 lb apples (we did 2 C diced)
3/4 C water
2 C sugar
2 cinnamon sticks (we did 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
1 vanilla pod (we did half a capful of vanilla extract)

Peel, and roughly chop your apples to make 1 lb or roughly 2 cups. Slice plums in half and take the pits out. The plums were 2 cups too.

Add fruit, water, cinnamon, and vanilla to pot and let simmer/cook down until fruit is nice and soft. I know 3/4 C of water is like nothing, but trust me it cooked down nicely.

Once fruit is soft I used my emulsion blender and made it nice and smooth. The recipe didn't say to do that butnI don't like chunky jam.

Add sugar and let boil until sugar is dissolved.

Store and seal in canning jars. I have no idea if it freezes good, but I don't see why not. It is kind of a runny jam, but my MIL said that if we cooked it longer it would thicken up and she also said it wouldn't hurt to add pectin. I will see how thick it is when we use it in the morning.

Enjoy!!!!

Apples

Holy Moly!  Look what I have!  I have soooo many apples.  I am now taking suggestions.  Besides apple pie and apple pie filling what should I do?  I also have a ton of plums.  Check HERE to see what I want to make.  

Ideas????  Huh, huh? 

Jalapeno Poppers

These were my all time favorite growing up.  We got them on special occasions like Super Bowl Sunday and the random eat dinner in front of the TV nights.  I went broke in college because I bought these so stinkin' much!  Well my friends, no more! 

Unfortunatly we didn't grow jalapenos this year, BUT Bryan's mom did!  The last time I was there I snagged about 25 of them.  These were seriously so good it is killing me not to eat them all in one sitting. 

20-25 medium jalapenos
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp worts sauce
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

4-6 bacon strips

Cut your peppers in half length wise, after cutting stems off.  Take the seeds and membrane out then blanch them in boiling water for 2-5 minutes.  The longer you boil them the less spicy they will be.

While peppers are cooling, combine your cheeses and sauce. 
Bake at 400 for 5-10 minutes depending on how melty you want the cheese.  ENJOY!!!

*Side Note*
Since these were so yummy I wanted Bryan to partake, but since he is gone hunting I couldn't very well save him any.  (ha ha)  So I tried to freeze them.  I assembled them and just left out the baking step.  I haven't tried them yet out of the freezer, but I will let you know if they worked or not.
Stuff jalapeno halves with cheese and then top with crumbled bacon!

**  Also - you can omit the worts sauce and instead put in some ranch dressing seasoning.  I would have done that but didn't have any on hand.

Marinara Sauce

My friend Heather M. gave me this recipe because I have SOO many tomatoes from the garden this year and I am sick of making salsa so . . . . ya.  I haven't yet used it for anything, but it tastes amazing!!!  She says you can use it for spaghetti, stuffed shells, lasagna, any pasta really.  I am going to try it with meatballs and stuffed peppers later this week.  She also says you can either bottle it or freeze it.  I will be freezing because that is how I roll.  ha ha.

In a large stockpot, saute:
4 med. onions, diced really small (about 3 cups)
4 cloves of garlic
2 T olive oil (she said any cooking oil will work as well)

Once onions are soft add:
10-16 C diced tomatoes (I did 12 because that is what I had)
1 T oregano
1 T basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Let come to a boil reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours.  The longer the better.  Before you store and cool, take a emulsion blender and make everything nice and smooth!  Once cool, store and freeze! 

When ready to use just use as is or add ground beef or Italian sausage!  Yummy!  I am wishing I had even more tomatoes so I could make a whole freezer full!

Cabbage Cheese Soup/ Broccolli

 

We have cabbage coming out of our ears!  Cabbage the size of Bryan's head!  ha ha.  They are from his Mom's garden and we have been going cabbage crazy.  We have made lots of Japanese Salad and this soup!

So this recipe was my Grandma Clarks.  It is sooo yummy.  When it was so cold last week I made this and homemade bread... yummy.   I am going to type in cooking order, because that is what is easiest for me.  :)

In large stockpot, melt 4 T butter then add:
1 lb coleslaw or 1 lb dice cabbage
2 C minced onion

Let saute and then add:
2-3 C diced potatoes
2 C sliced carrots
12 chicken bouillon cubes
2 tsp salt

Add enough water* to cover and cook until veggies are cooked through.  In separate saucepan add:
1 stick butter
1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
2 C milk

After roux is thick, add to veggie mix in stockpot and add:
1 qt. half and half

When ready to serve stir in 2 C grated cheddar cheese.  Let cheese melt, but do not boil once cheese is added.

Sooo yummy!
*if you want to substitute water for chicken broth do it!  Be careful with the bouillon cubes though, you don't want it too salty.
* you can easily switch out cabbage for broccoli and it just as yummy
*Bryan suggests using an emulsion blender to blend up the cabbage chunks so it has a better texture, but I like it chunky - so your call on that one.

Unleavened Bread

Today I started by Baking class!!!! Which means you can expect some delicious recipes here for the next four months. :) Today we started with something very simple, yet delicious! Unleavened bread! It's kind of like pita, but not. I don't know how to describe it other than it's yummy. In this class we're measuring by weight rather than the typical method with measuring cups and such- it's much more accurate. But it is possible to convert it. Food scales can also be purchased easily for as little as $20 (but I would recommend a digital display and a zero-out option- that way you can just measure the ingredients and not have to deal with the weight of the bowl). So here goes!

Unleavened Bread
11 oz (slightly less than a cup and a half) of flour- you can use all white or half white/half wheat
7 oz (a little less than a cup) of water
1 tsp salt

mix ingredients and knead (all of this can be done with your hands).
Divide into 4, and roll out into circles 1/8"-1/4" thick.
Bake at 450º for 5-10 minutes.

You can use it for a lot of stuff. Chicken salad, PB&J, hummus, etc. Maybe even for little personal pizzas?