Roasted Apples & Brussel Sprouts

This is a great recipe; the combination of the savory onions and brussel sprouts with the sweetness of the apples it awesome!  It makes a great side dish for roasted pork or poultry.

I found and adapted this recipe from allrecipes.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-16 oz. frozen brussel sprouts {I think fresh would be fantastic too!}

-2 apples, peeled, cored and cubed {I actually used 4 apples}

-1 to 2 sweet onions, cubed

-2 tbsp olive oil

-salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste

-zest and juice of 1 lemon, optional {I didn't use because I didn't have any at the time}

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Toss onions, apples and frozen brussel sprouts together and arrange in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet.

3. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

4. Toss to coat.

5. Roast veggies in preheated oven about 20 minutes.

6. Toss veggies and roast another 20 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Homemade Taco Sauce

I adapted this recipe from joyofkosher.com; its a great one and it really tastes so much better than the store-bought stuff.

A single recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Ingredients:

-8 oz. tomato sauce OR 1/4 cup tomato paste + 1/4 cup water + 1/8 tsp salt OR 16 oz. crushed tomatoes

-1/3 cup water {omit if using crushed tomatoes}

-1/4 tsp chili pepper

-1 1/2 tsp cumin

-1 1/2 tsp dry minced onion

-1 tbsp white vinegar

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1/4 tsp paprika

-1/4 tsp sugar

-1/4 tsp cayenne

Process:

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.

2. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. I used crushed tomatoes I canned from last summer's garden; so I ran the sauce through the food processor.

4. Cool and place in an airtight container and use or refrigerate for up to 1 week {or freeze and thaw as needed}.

If you have any extras, it would be great mixed in taco meat, pasta sauce, used as pizza sauce or in a mexican style soup!  Enjoy!

Excellent Sweet Coleslaw

This is the BEST basic coleslaw recipe!  Its very easy to make and is always a huge hit.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.

Ingredients:

-16 oz. bag coleslaw mix {or the equivalent in thinly sliced cabbage and carrots}

- 2 tbsp diced onion {we like red onion and I usually add more than 2 tbsp}

-2/3 cups miracle whip

-3 tbsp vegetable oil 

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 tbsp vinegar

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Process:

1. Combine coleslaw mix and onion in a large bowl.

2. Mix together miracle whip, oil, sugar, vinegar, salt and poppy seeds.

 3. Pour dressing over cabbage mixture, toss well to coat.

4. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes:
*Sometimes I will just put everything in a bowl together and mix it all at once.
*Its also easy to mix the dressing ingredients in the large bowl then add the onion and coleslaw.
*I don't always allow 2 hours for chilling and its still great!

Enjoy!

Canned Blueberry Jam

This is such a super recipe, I actually made this one last winter when we needed jam but I just can't get myself to buy jam anymore since I am always making it homemade.  

The original recipe makes about 3 pints.  I doubled the recipe, so I used 8 cups of berries; listed below are the ingredients for a single batch.  It uses frozen fruit so its awesome for winter!  I found this one from Food.com, the original recipe says to thaw and drain the berries, but I didn't.  

I also think you could use any single or combination of frozen fruit too! Enjoy!  This jam can be used as you would any other jam, or get creative and drizzle warmed jam over vanilla ice cream or fresh fluffy angel food cake! 

Ingredients:

-2 pints frozen blueberries {4 cups}

-2 tbsp lemon juice

-1 packet liquid pectin

-5 1/4 cups sugar

Process:

1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.

2. Place frozen blueberries in a large pot.

3. Add sugar and lemon juice.

Stir to combine.

4. Turn on heat to medium-high, stirring occasionally until berries are thawed and the sugar begins to dissolve.

5. Stir in pectin and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.

For a single batch you would use one of these pouches.

6. Remove from heat.

7. Ladle jam into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe rim, top with lid and ring.

8. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.
9. Remove to a wire rack or a clean kitchen towel.  Allow to cool.

Enjoy!

Canned Blueberry Nectarine or Peach Jam

This is a fantastic recipe, the combo of blueberries and stone fruit is great.  I found this one from McDunn Jams, Jellies and Butters {although I wasn't able to find the original link}.

The great thing about this recipe is that its very versitle and you can mix and match the fruits as you wish.  You can also use fresh and/or frozen fruit.  I used fresh blueberries, local peaches and one pear to equal a total of abour 4 1/2 cups.

Ingredients:

-4 to 4 1/2 cups fruit {I used 2 cups fresh blueberries, almost 2 cups chopped peaches(with the peel on) and one pear chopped, peel on}

-1 tbsp lemon juice

-7 cups sugar

-1/2 tsp butter, optional {I didn't use}

-1 pouch CERTO liquid fruit pectin

Process:

1. Prepare water bath canner.

2. Place prepared fruit into a large pot.  Stir in lemon juice.

3. Stir in sugar.  Heat pot over high heat.  Add the butter to minimize foaming, if desired. 

The sugar will begin to liquefy as it pulls the juices out of the fruit and heats up.

4. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly for as long as you like{the longer you boil the more broken down the fruit will get, I did mine for about 15 minutes}.

5. Stir in pectin and return to a full boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

6. Remove from heat.  Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/8 inch headspace.  Wipe clean and top with lids and rings; place in the prepared canner.  {Water should cover jar tops by at least one inch; add more boiling water if needed.}
7. Cover canner and process jars for 10 minutes.  Remove jars to a wire rack or clean kitchen towel to cool. 

Enjoy!

Canned Apple Peel Jelly or Syrup

This is a great recipe; its perfect for the fall when we have access to fantastic fresh local apples!  It has a beautiful color and will be very transparent if strained through a jelly bag or very opaque if squished through a sieve.  I found this recipe from Recipelink.com.

When I made this I intended to make it as a jelly, although mine came out more like a syrup {after I cooked up enough apple peels to equal one gallon/16 cups of apple "juice", I realized I only had 6 tbsp pectin}.  For us that was a fortunate mistake since my son loves this on his morning french toast, waffles or pancakes.  Actually he LOVES it; and uses it over maple syrup every day!

Ingredients for Apple Jelly:

-apple peels {and/or apple cores, enough to equal about 4 inches in the bottom of a large pot}

-5 cups water

-1 box pectin

-7 cups sugar

Ingredients for Apple Syrup:

-apple peels {and/or apple cores, enough to fill a large pot}

-15 cups water

-6 tbsp powdered pectin

-7 cups sugar

Process:

1. Add apple peels and/or cores to a 4.5 quart pot.  {There should be about 3-4 inches of apple peel in the bottom of the pot.}

2. Top apple peels with water; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat, place lid on pot and allow to sit at room temperature overnight. {Optional: Add a cinnamon stick to the mixture while mixture is resting overnight; for apple cinnamon jelly/syrup.}

4. Strain mixture into a large measuring cup or container {I used a 1 gallon pitcher with a colander on top.}

5. You should end up with 5 cups apple "juice"

6. Return apple "juice" to pot, dissolve pectin into "juice" and bring to a full boil over high heat.

7. Add sugar to apple "juice" all at once.  Stir to dissolve, return to a rolling boil and boil for about 1 minute.

8. Remove from heat and ladle into hot 1/2 pint of pint canning jars, top with canning lid and ring, place in hot water bath.
9. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
10. Remove lid, allow to sit for 5 minutes; then remove from canner to a wire rack or clean kitchen towel.

Enjoy jelly as you would any other jelly.

Enjoy syrup for breakfast over pancakes, waffles, french toast or dessert over angel food cake or even warmed over vanilla ice cream!  Yum!