Home Canned Applesauce

I got together with a friend to do some EASY home canned applesauce.

If you've ever wanted to dip your feet into home canning, this is the project for you.  It's SIMPLE.

The result is fabulous. The applesauce is so sweet it doesn't even need sugar! It's delicious right out of the jar, ladled onto French Toast, or as a side dish for any meal!

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 3 large crock pots
• 18-20 pint Mason jars (or 9-10 quart jars) and canning water bath or large pot and canning tools
• 20 lbs of apples (I used a variety of honeyscrisp, gala, granny smith and jonagold, they can be bruised, they don't have to be pretty, and it's best to use a variety instead of just one flavor.)
• cinnamon & nutmeg to taste (I added this to one crock pot and left the other 2 naked)

 DIRECTIONS:

• Peel & Core & Slice your variety of apples.  I used my fancy (rarely used, but sorta' favorite kitchen tool) apple peeler.
• Fill crock pots with apple slices.  Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg if desired.
• Add 1/4 c. of water.
• Set crock pot on low for at least 8 hours.
• Apples will become so soft you can mash them with a fork.  If you like more pureed and less chunky applesauce, you can place in food processor or blender.
• Ladle applesauce into hot, clean jars and can according to directions. (Great site here on canning)

 

(Ann, this is your hand, now you are famous...)

 

 

 

  

 

Snickers & Apple Salad

This little ditty came from a dental school friend (thanks, S.!) who is stocked full of delicious recipes!  This one is no different.  It tastes like a creamy carameled apple AND it has Snickers bars in it/on it!  You cannot go wrong.  Delicious!  Serve it as a fruit salad, or for dessert.

8 granny smith apples
6, 2oz. snicker bars, finely chopped
1 container of whipped topping
1/2 jar of caramel sauce
Cut apples into bite size pieces (optional-peel).
Chop 5 of the snicker bars and combine with apples.
Mix in Cool whip, but save a little for garnish.
Mix 1/4-1/2 jar of caramel sauce into mixture.
Garnish with cool whip, drizzled caramel and top with remaining snickers.

Serve immediately (does not do so well for leftovers)

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins w/ Pecan Crunch Topping

Rise and shout, readers.  These are healthy, hearty, and downright delicious.  These are a cinch to make and will bring all your sleepy household members out of their rooms with a sweet aroma of banana bread wafting through the air.  These muffins are a perfect grab-n-go breakfast or snack that you can eat without the guilt.  If you are lucky enough to have any leftovers, you can freeze them for up to a month and pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds for a quick bite to eat!

*can you taste the deliciousness that IS these scrumptious muffins?  I must admit that my picture taking, while not perfect, is CERTAINLY improving, wouldn't you agree?*

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
1/2 c. low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. pecans, chopped
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Line your muffin tin (this recipe yields about 16 muffins).

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, honey, and butter. Add eggs, combining completely but not over-mixing. Add the mashed banana, sour cream, and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly (so the cups are about 2/3 full) among muffin tins. Combine the chopped pecans and brown sugar and sprinkle them on top of the batter. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to finish cooling.

Double Berry & Almond Granola

What are you going to do with all those blueberries from the summer?  Have you dried any of them?  Would you like to use some of them to make a delicious homemade granola?  That's what I did (ok, I didn't dry my own blueberries, I bought them at Costco. That's about the same, right?)...This granola is not going to save you a ton of money, but it will knock your socks off.  I've already had it twice today.  Once with milk, and once as a parfait with some vanilla yogurt.  Three times, if you count the snacking I did in between.  The vanilla flavor, along with the nuts and dried fruit make it a killer combo.

8 c. oats
2 c. chopped almonds
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. craisins
1/2 c. dried blueberries
3/4 c. canola oil
1 c. honey
1 tsp. butter extract
3 Tbsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300-degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a saucepan combine oil, honey, butter extract and vanilla and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute then pour over oat mixture. Mix until all ingredients are moistened. Divide and spread mixture over 2 large cookie sheets and bake at 300-degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave on pans overnight (cover with a towel). Break up granola and store in plastic containers.

Chunky Applesauce

Welcome, welcome - apple season!!  Let the picking (and the baking and the eating) begin! This applesauce will make your house smell fantastic, and it will make you never want to buy storebought again!  They are delicious alone, or served with a pork chop or BBQ chicken.

*this is my before photo, it seemed prettier before the apples got all steamy*

6-8 small Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
Place apples in a greased 1-qt. baking dish. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and vanilla; mix well. Sprinkle over apples. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until apples are tender. Uncover and mash with a fork to your desired consistency - I like homemade applesauce to be chunky. Serve warm.

Chicken w/ Gingered Watermelon Salsa

Adapted from Cooking Light.
(I served this chicken over a bed of basmati rice with grilled pineapple and zucchini on the side.)

Makes 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about ½ cup salsa)

For the chicken (in my opinion, you could just as easily marinate in your favorite teriyaki sauce and skip this step):
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons chili sauce with garlic
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
Four 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

For the salsa:
2 cups diced seeded watermelon
¼ cup diced yellow bell pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons mirin (sweet rice wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Remaining ingredients:
¼ teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
Cilantro sprigs, optional
Lime wedges, optional

To prepare chicken: Combine soy sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare grill.

To prepare salsa: Combine watermelon, bell pepper, onions, cilantro, ginger, mirin, lime juice, salt and jalapeno; cover and chill until ready to serve.

Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with ¼ teaspoon salt. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Cut chicken diagonally across grain into thin slices; serve with salsa. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving: 247 cal., 4.6 g fat (0.9 g saturated), 40.2 g pro., 8.7 g carbo., 0.7 g fiber, 99 mg chol., 722 mg sodium.

Grilled Marinated Pineapple

1 can Coke (or use Diet Coke, or generic cola substitute)
1/2 c. brown sugar
mix together in large bowl.

Fill bowl with fresh cut pineapple spears.  Marinate 10 minutes.

Grill until light grill marks appear.  Serve warm.

Peachy Crumb Cake

(YES - I realize I am not a professional food photographer, but I am a professional taster)

I was looking for a way to use up some of my Special K cereal (I'm sure you could use an equivalent cereal - corn flakes, bran flakes, etc.) and found this recipe on the Kellogg site. It's pretty tasty and very easy - and I think you could vary it with different fruit, or by adding some cinnamon or nutmeg.

Topping
1 1/2 cups Special K® (crushed to 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons margarine, melted

Cake
1 cup Special K®
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup margarine, softened
2/3 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 can (16 oz.) peach slices in light syrup, drained and chopped

1. In small mixing bowl, combine the first three ingredients; stirring until crumbly. Set aside for topping.
2. Crush the 1 cup cereal to fine crumbs. In mixing bowl combine cereal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in milk and egg until well combined. Fold in peaches. Spread batter evenly in greased 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Sprinkle with topping.
4. Bake at 400°F about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool.

Frozen Chocolate Coated Bananas

Do you remember going to the fair, or the pier? Since almost all of my memories are associated with food, it's no surprise that my fair and pier memories from childhood involved frozen chocolate bananas. I had one, recently, at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and I must say, it was disappointing. Too much chocolate (gasp! is that possible?), too ripe of a banana, and no nuts on it. So, it was to my pleasure when I came across a super-easy frozen chocolate banana recipe at Noshtalgia. Try it out - it's perfect. I made some plain, some with crushed Oreos, and some with chopped walnuts. I liked them all!

6 tbsp. butter
1-1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate morsels
8 Ripe but not too ripe bananas
8 wooden sticks
Assorted coatings; Nuts, sprinkles, cereal, crushed cookies whatever you like it's completely optional because these taste just as good with the banana and chocolate alone.

Melt butter and chocolate together and simmer over low heat stirring until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture into a dish and set aside. Peel bananas; insert stick into end of banana. Immediately dip each banana into melted chocolate and coat evenly, then roll in your choice of coatings pressing gently into chocolate. Place on waxed paper lined tray and freeze until firm, about 2 hours, serve frozen. To store wrap each in aluminum foil and keep in freezer, they keep for weeks!

Peach Pie Muffins, I Kid You Not.

As if peach pie and peach muffins were not already amazing on their own, someone had to go and combine the two and make the most heaven sent recipe ever!

Peach Pie Muffins, from one of my favorites...FoodBlogga!

Makes 12 regular size muffins + a mini bread loaf.

Pecan Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Muffins:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

3 tablespoons honey

1 cup light brown sugar

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup fresh diced peaches with skins

1. Place rack in center of oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F. Spray a 12 mold regular size muffin pan with cooking spray.

2. To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and pecans, and toss until well combined. Pour melted butter evenly over mixture, and using your fingers, quickly toss and pinch the mixture until little pebbly pieces form. Refrigerate while making the muffins.

3. Combine flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl, and stir well.

4. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, honey, sugar, butter, eggs, ginger, and vanilla, and whisk well. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in peaches.

5. Spoon the batter evenly into the into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle pecan crumb topping evenly over the muffin tops. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing each muffin and placing on a wire rack to cool.

Bet you can't wait to let them cool!

Quick Peach Cobbler from Cake Mix

1 29 oz. can of peaches in light syrup, partially drained

1/2 box of white cake mix, give or take, depending on how much crust you like

1/2 stick of butter, softened

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. brown sugar

sprinkle of quick oats, optional

chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375. In greased round casserole dish pour a bit of the juice from the peach can. Sprinkle with a small portion of the cake mix. Cover with entire can of peaches and an remaining juice. Cut butter into small dabs, to generously cover the dry cake mix. Sprinkle with cinnamon, brown sugar, oats and walnuts. Place in oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Serve with ice cream!

Rosalie's Pork Chops 'n' Baked Apples

This will be a new family favorite - we had it first at Christmas, and again for Sunday dinner tonight. It is scrumptious! Some people prefer the apples on the side...but not me. Slop 'em right on top and smear it all together...Delish. Oh, and you can bake them both in the oven at the same time!

BAKED PORK CUTLETS

2 cups finely crushed Ritz cracker crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teasponns garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
6 boneless pork chops
1 cup plain yogurt

In a medium-sized bowl combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and sage; set aside. Coat each pork cutlet with yogurt, then dip both sides into crumbs. Place in greased baking dish. Bake at 350 F. for 45 minutes or until tender. Makes 6 servings

APPLE TOPPING

6 apples, peeled, pared, and sliced
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine ingredients in an 8X8-inch baking dish and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until tender. Serve as a side dish or atop the pork chops. Makes 6-8 servings

Fresh Peach Cobbler a'La Mode

I cannot believe I haven't posted this recipe yet. This is a summertime favorite and I would ONLY recommend it during summer, when peaches are FRESH!

 Preheat oven to 400. Arrange 3 cups (or more) fresh peaches in a buttered baking dish. Mix with:
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon peel
1/4 tsp. almond extract
Place in hot 400 oven while sifting:
1.5 cups flour
1 TBS. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Cut in:
1/3 c. shortening
Add:
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 cup milk
Mix well until you have a good dough. Remove peaches from oven. Spoon dough over hot peaches. Smooth to cover fruit. Sprinkle with 2 TBS. sugar. Bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Then, eat it for breakfast the next day (just because you have to).

Easy Fruit Pizza by Guest Chef Summer

Fruit Pizza
I love to get creative and decorate with this one! You can throw the fruit on or you can make it pretty.

For a round pie pan:
Use, 1, 1/2 sugar cookie dough packages
Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes

Enjoy the other 1/2 of the cookie dough or make small sugar cookies :)

You also need all types of desired fruit (different colors)
Cream cheese topping:
1 lb cool whip
2, 8oz phil cr cheese
1, 2 lb powdered sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp vanilla
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

The key to this one is to let crust cool out of the oven then put cream cheese over it and let sit for at least 4+ hours (or overnight covered with Saran Wrap and placed in the fridge). This makes the crust very soft and perfect...even if you over bake the crust. This is always a huge hit at big get-togethers.

Autumn Apple Salad

This is great for the upcoming apple season!

Ingredients:
4 tart green apples (cored and chopped)
¼ cup blanched slivered almonds (toasted)
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup chopped dried cherries
1 8oz. container vanilla yogurt
½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
In medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until evenly coated.

Lemon Fruit Dip

This fruit dip recipe is from my friend Shalyse.
4 eggs

2 C. Sugar

2/3 cup Real Lemon Lemon Juice from Concentrate

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 C. water

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 C (1 pint) whipping cream, whipped

In bowl, beat together eggs, 1 C. sugar, and lemon juice. In saucepan, combine remaining sugar and cornstarch; stir in water. Cook and stir until thickened; remove from heat. Gradually beat in egg mixture. Over low heat, cook and stir until slightly thickened. Add vanilla; cool. Fold in whipped cream. Serve with fresh fruit. Refrigerate. Makes 6 cups.

Easy Fresh Peach Freezer Jam

12 medium sized ripe peaches - peeled and pitted (you know they are ripe if they smell delicious, and the peel is easily removed.) This should make about 3.5 cups crushed fruit.
1 packet freezer jam pectin
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 TBS. lemon juice

Crush peaches in food processor. I like to leave chunks, but crush it more if you like your jam smooth. Once desired consistency is reached, mix in lemon juice with the peaches. In separate bowl mix pectin and sugar until well combined. Add 3.5 cups fresh crushed fruit. Mix for 3 minutes. Ladle into 5-8oz. freezer-proof tupperware containers. Let stand for 30-60 minutes until thickened. Keeps in refrigerator for 3 weeks, and can be frozen for up to 1 year. If you're like me, it won't last even close to that long!

Frog Eye Salad

1/2 (16 ounce) package uncooked orzo pasta (I USED acini di pepe)*
1/4 cup white sugar
1 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (20 ounce) cans crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 can mandarin orange segments, drained
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained and chopped (OR USE FRESH)*
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup*ish sliced strawberries

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, rinse under cold water and drain. In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, eggs, flour, salt, pineapple juice and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool. Toss together the pasta and cooked pineapple juice mixture. Refrigerate overnight (or for a couple of hours)*. Break up chilled pasta with a spoon and mix in pineapple, mandarin oranges, cherries, and strawberries. Fold in thawed whipped topping, chill and serve.