Bottled Apples

Here we go again, Apples, Apples, and more Apples!

My favorite way to preserve apples is to just bottle them as plain old apple slices! It's not as much work as applesauce and it's more versatile.

Here's how I do it...

1. Place bottles in dishwasher and run. You'll need to get your hot water bath canner about half full and on to boil, a large stock pot about half full on to boil, and a large pot full of water and on to boil. I also put my lids in a small pan and put on low to heat up the seals.

2. Take your favorite apples and peel, slice and core them. I like to use my handy, dandy, apple peeler, corer, slicer! I love this thing. Probably more than usual, because there was a time when I did this the old fashioned way! Not anymore, thanks to my wonderful hubby who researched and found me a pretty good one!! Anyway....

3. Place in bowl of water to keep from browning. You can put in some fruit fresh, but then you would have to rinse before the next step. I just use plain old water.

4. When I think I have enough apples for a load, I put them in the stock pot and bring to a boil for 5 minutes to blanche them.

5. I place the hot apples in the hot jars (work with 1 or 2 jars at a time) to the bend in the jar. Then I add 1/4 cup sugar (if you like sweeter, you can put 1/2 cup). Then I use the boiling water from the last pot and fill the jar to the bottom of the threads. Use a plastic canning knife to go down the sides of the jar to release air bubbles and dissolve sugar. Add more water to bottom of threads if necessary.

6. Wipe rim with clean, wet rag. Place softened lid on jar and screw on band, snug but don't over tighten. Place in elevated rack of canner.

7. Repeat until you have enough for a canner load. Lower rack, make sure you have about an inch of water over the top of the jars, and process for 30 minutes.

8. Let cool 12 to 24 hours, then wipe jars clean, date and put away.

We like to eat these right out of the jars, with a little bit of cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top!!

You can also use them to make apple crisp or apple pie! I guess that will be my cue, for another post!!

Freezing Corn

I'm not sure what happened, I started this post almost a month ago. It is long past helping anyone this year (maybe next year). With Jennie's encouragement, and some really awesome pictures, I decided to go ahead and finish this post...

9/25/2009

I literally had about 15 dozen ears of corn fresh picked out of the field show up on my door step last week!! I did the only reasonable thing I could do....Shooed my family out the door to start husking it. It only took us a little over 3 hours to get it husked, blanched, cut and bagged. I feel very fortunate to have so much food just fall into my lap this summer and to have the knowledge & capability to preserve it so we can eat it in the months to come. I told Doug, I hope this isn't Heavenly Father preparing us for some leaner months as we look for work! Anyway, this is how I did it....

1. You want to use fresh picked corn, the fresher the better. (I'll show you why as we get to the cutting it off the cob.)

2. Put a large pot on the stove, half full of water, on high heat to boiling.

3. The obvious...take the husks off the corn and as much of the silk (hair) as you can.

4. Once the water is boiling, put the corn in the water for 7-8 minutes.

5. Remove from boiling water and run cold water over it for a few minutes until it isn't hot anymore. I just threw mine in the sink and put my faucett on shower and rinsed them real good. You can use ice water, but as with the green beans I found the ice melts too fast, I can't keep up with it. I just use cold tap water.

6. Use an electric knife, or just a really sharp knife to cut the corn off the cob. (I don't have an electric one, and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stay in control of it, even if I did.) I try to get close to the cob, but not so close that I cut any of the cob off with the corn. Don't worry about "getting it all" you'll get it with the next step.

7. Once you go all the way around the cob cutting off the corn, then you flip the knife around, using the back side and scrape the cob with a good amount of force to pull the rest of the kernals out of the cob as well as all the "milk"! This shows just how fresh it is. The longer the corn sits on the cob after it's picked the cob absorbs this "milk" and it just isn't the same.

Doesn't that just look wonderful?!!

8. Bag the corn and freeze. Voila!

Nanaimo Bars

This recipe is in honor of Canadian Thanksgiving this past Monday. It is altered a little for what is available in the U.S.

I had to use instant vanilla pudding powder in place of the custard powder.

Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup coconut (either sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

In a saucepan over low to medium heat, melt the butter until just about all is melted. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and cocoa powder and then gradually whisk in the beaten egg. Return to heat and stirring constantly. Cook 1 - 2 minutes. Take care not to burn.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and chopped nuts. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour).



FILLING:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 - 3 tablespoons milk or cream
2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder (Bird's) or vanilla pudding powder
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar (confectioners or icing) sugar

With your electric mixer, cream the butter. Beat in the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too thick to spread, add a little more milk. Spread the filling over the bottom layer, cover, and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).

TOPPING:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1 cup milk chocolate chips)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (use 2 Tbsp if using milk chocolate chips)

In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and then add the chocolate. Take care not to burn the chocolate, this will make it crumbly instead of smooth. Spread over the filling and refrigerate.

This recipe is intended for a 9x9 inch pan; however I used a 9x13 so the squares were a little thinner.

I used salted butter since that is what I had on hand. They are wonderfully good!!!

Scrumptious Stroganoff

I felt like Stroganoff this evening; however, I didn't have any mushrooms so I altered my other Stroganoff recipe and I really liked it.

1/2 lb ground hamburger
1/4 cup onion thinly sliced (or 1 Tbsp dried onion)
2 Tbsp butter
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup cut up olives in with juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

Brown the hamburger and onion in butter. Add undiluted soup and olives with liquid. Cook over low heat until hot. Mix in sour cream and pickles.

Serve over cooked egg noodles. This recipe goes with about five or six cups of uncooked egg noodles. It makes a lot!

Chicken and Rice

I love how simple and good this recipe is:

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 large uncooked chicken breasts cut up
1 1/2 pkgs. dried onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
4 cups milk

Place rice in buttered 9 x 13 baking pan. Place chicken on top. Sprinkle with soup mix.

Mix mushroom soup and milk in bowl and pour over rice and chicken.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours.

Dinner in 15 min flat!

The other day I got distracted and all of the sudden it was 15 minutes before Jason arrived home from work. I normally wouldn't be to worried about dinner being on the table; however, Jason only had 15 minutes before he had to be out the door to a meeting. I quickly wracked my brain for something that would be quick and palatable. This is what I came up with....

Noodles, Chicken, and Veggies
In a deep skillet, boil a couple cups of water
Add:
sliced carrots
a couple pinches dehydrated onions
chopped broccoli
Boil a couple minutes then add
2 Ramon noodle packages (don't add seasoning packet)
Boil two to three minutes
drain most of water then add:
a can of chicken with juice
sprinkle a little of the Ramon noodle oriental seasoning packet and stir

My girls really liked it and I was pleasantly surprised at how it tasted. So the question is, was it finished by the time Jason got home? Yes!!!! However, on his way home he got called into church early, so he actually didn't get home for another three hours.

Blender Wheat Waffles

I have never liked waffles or pancakes; however, if I had to eat them I preferred the Belgium waffles. This last Christmas my husband got me a Belgium waffle maker because he missed his waffles.

To make a long story short these are the best waffles I have ever had. My little girls ate more of these then any other waffles I have made.

1 cup & 1 Tbsp whole wheat kernels (I used hard white wheat)

1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp honey or sugar

Blend wheat and 1 cup milk for 3 minutes in blender. Add rest of (½ cup) milk and blend for 2 more minutes.

Add remaining ingredients. Blend only long enough to combine.

The batter is very thin.

The darker one I left cooking longer to see if it would get crusty (since that is how my husband likes them); however it didn't, but it did take on a toasted wheat flavor. I prefer the less toasted one myself. ;)