learning the ins and outs of making jam

I love to eat bread and jam - who doesn't?!  I have been meaning to take photos for this post but am realizing it's time to just get on with it.  It's summer and I am too lazy to take pictures of things like jars of jam, even if they are beautiful!

With the help of my friend Laura, I made over a dozen jars of Rhubarb Cherry Jam last weekend while my boys were away camping.  It turned out to be great fun and the product is a super sweet yummy concoction that we will enjoy for the rest of the year!  (And a few of them will be tied with ribbon to make gifts for our teachers this Christmas too - the bright red color of the jam is magnificent!)

You may just want to try it yourself so here's the recipe thanks to Grandma Una!

Rhubarb Cherry Jam
(made about 9 cups)
6 cups diced rhubarb
4 cups sugar
1 can of cherry pie filling        
l pkg (reg size) Cherry jello   

1. I put rhubarb and sugar in a big bowl and let it stand a few minutes --long enough to draw some of the juice out and wet the sugar.   (No water is added)
2. Put in a large kettle on stove over medium heat and stir until the sugar is all dissolved and bring to boil. 
3. Boil about 15 minutes, it will boil over if you don't have a big enough kettle and stir it often.
4. After boiling 15 minutes add a can of cherry pie filling and boil 10 minutes more. 
5. Add cherry jell-o stir until dissolved. (This does not set up hard like some preserves, expect it to be a bit runny!)
6. Fill  your jars.

Okay, so step six is a bit more difficult than that.  This was my first experience with canning anything.  I recommend following the directions on the jars you purchase.  The most important thing is getting a good seal.  We could even hear them pop when they sealed.  Good luck!

a little twist

Sometimes a sandwich really hits the spot when you are hungry.  We eat a lot of sandwiches with meat and cheese or veggies but this little baby tops them all.  Try Martha Stewart's Southwestern Turkey Club.  You'll feel like your are zapped from your kitchen table into a small delicatessen!  I made it even easier by just using  deli meat and not even cooking it.  Served up with a fresh fruit salad and some veggies and dip: Delicious!

dinner done by noon

Well maybe that title doesn't sound so exciting if you call the last meal of your day supper...

Point is, my dinner is ready to be served for tonight and it was done by noon today! I threw together the ingredients for Chili Cornbread Salad which I shared with you way back when for a Foody Friday favorite. I love this dish because I can do it in advance when I have time and because we can take it to the park in a cooler. On a beautiful day like today a picnic is just what we need for some family time!

got play-dough

When I need a moment to myself to blog or check email, it helps to have something new for Seth to stay preoccupied with for awhile. This week it was some homemade play-dough. There are so many recipes out there but this one has yet to fail me so I wanted to pass it along...

Cooked Play-dough

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. cream of tarter
Food Coloring

Stir together ingredients in a medium sized pan. Using medium heat cook until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Turn out onto waxed paper or a play-dough mat and knead a bit. Store in an air-tight container.

emeril's got kid friendly cookies

I love to bake cookies but have little time with our recent travels. Today we made time so I could try out a new recipe. I love these little peanut butter guys and you MUST try them soon. They are super easy and absent flour in the recipe; great to make with the kids!

Thanks to Martha Stewart's Every Day Food Magazine:
Emeril's Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Double this batch right off like I did and they might last more than a day or two. I can't seem to get my hand out of the cookie jar! Milk and cookies anyone?!

pound for pound

Another new recipe for you to enjoy!

As a Biggest Loser fan I also am a fan of the Pound for Pound Challenge. Honestly I should have signed up as I lost my baby weight. It would have been some free pounds anyway.

But the reason for this post is not about losing pounds, it's about baking some. Today Seth and I made pound cake - something I have never attempted to make before. It is a yummy treat and also a great way to use up a ton of eggs if you have too many around as I do...did. The crust is crunchy and the inside melts in your mouth. You MUST try it.

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
(thanks to Family Circle Magazine)

makes 24 slices (2 loaf pans)
prep: 10 min
bake time: 1 hour 12 min.

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray; dust with flour and shake out excess. Set aside.

Lightly flour pans prevent sticking.

2. Stir together flour and salt; set aside. In small bowl, stir together eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Set aside.

My Kitchen Aid Stand mixer is the best for baking and this recipe is no exception.

3. Mix butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 6 minutes or until very light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and gradually pour in egg mixture. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Into a hot oven for more than an hour and then cooling time takes patience!

4. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans and smooth tops. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 30 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on rack.

So yummy the photo makes my mouth water...

blue in the face

Blueberry Pops, Martha Stewart Style

Today has been an all day rain fest so we are snug inside the kitchen. Seth's first request: more Popsicles please! Today we tried Blueberry Pops thanks to Martha Stewart. They are still freezing but if the taste of the blue goo we poured into our popsicle makers was any indication; they will be amazing.

The important step in this recipe is getting the "blue goo" for the Popsicle and leaving the skins and yuck behind. We used a sieve as Martha suggested. (I also used this method making homemade baby food with Seth and will be doing it again soon with Eli.)

This is how the finished product looked thanks to my handsome demonstrator!

Seth was a riot with the blueberries, considered by him to be a special treat. We have a huge bag a frozen blueberries that we use for the recipes. Thus I knew I had extra out on the counter for snacking but lo and behold the kid downed a pint of them while we were baking today! I think we can expect blue coming through, if you know what I mean...

The Blueberry Bandit!

The blue dude strikes again looking more like a dinosaur this time...

This photo was Seth's idea - I can't agree more. I love time with my big boy!

ice, ice baby

Summer days require special summer treats. Since I can't hardly justify a daily Dairy Queen we decided to make some fun treats of our own. Check out these simple recipies from my favorite, but now long gone magazine, Wondertime: Ice, Ice, Baby.

There are three recipes to try. We started with watermelon pops to help use up the enormous amount of watermelon we had leftover from Memorial Day weekend. Seth loves them!

I am fortunate to have a hand-me-down Vintage Tupperware set of Popsicle makers (from the 50's?!?) but these would be great to have too. So much fun and it isn't even summer yet... officially...

enchiladas you'll want to sink your teeth into

I love cheese enchiladas and couldn't wait to try this recipe from my Taste of Home magazine. It makes two pans so either split the recipe or do what I did: throw one in the freezer to enjoy another week. Too easy and super yummy!

Cheese Enchiladas

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
• 1-1/3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 16 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2-1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Shredded lettuce, sliced ripe olives and additional sour cream, optional

Directions:

• In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon 2 tablespoons sauce over each tortilla.
• In a large bowl, combine the Monterey Jack, 2 cups cheddar cheese, onions, sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper. Place about 1/3 cup down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dishes. Pour remaining sauce over top.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake 4-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Garnish with lettuce, olives and sour cream if desired. Yield: 16 enchiladas.

Loaded Baked Potato Chowder

Last month I tried this dish at a Pampered Chef open house. I hope I will not be in trouble for sharing it publicly, but it is too good not to pass on. I changed it to my own wording just in case : )

Loaded Baked Potato Chowder

3 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
3 1/2 cups milk, divided
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. butter
2 -3 green onions (optional)
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Optional toppings: sour cream, bacon, or steamed broccoli

1. Slice potatoes lengthwise and put in microwave safe covered dish. Pour half cup milk over potatoes and cook on High 11 minutes covered. Remove and rearrange potatoes for more even cooking. Cover, microwave on High 8 to 11 minutes more or until potatoes are tender. Remove from microwave and coarsely chop. (You can leave skins in or take out, up to you.)

2. Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth slowly adding milk. Add cream cheese-milk mixture and butter to potatoes and cook covered on High 3 to 5 minutes or until heated. Slice up green onions if using.

3. Add cheese, salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted.

Of course if you are used to Pampered Chef recipes you know that they recommend you use their specific products, however mine turned out just fine. Hopefully yours will be just as enjoyable. It was great comfort food!

You can always contact my rep for more info here.

Sweet and Salty Bite Sized Treats

We are ready and waiting for our baby to come now. There is no longer church commitments, day care commitments, just a mom waiting to hold her little one. Seth has been sick with a cold, we all have been actually, so taking it easy has been the going thing around here. Today we needed a project in the kitchen. (Let's face it, I was craving chocolate!)

I had these cute little pretzel treats last year, but had never made them myself. We had no recipe just an idea in mind and went for it. I don't even know what to call them...

Pretzels with Rolos and Pecans

We laid small pretzel twists out on wax paper and then put a Rolo on each one. I put them in the oven at 350 degrees for just a few minutes, until slightly softened. Then we pushed a whole pecan into the top of each one and let them cool. They make a yummy bite sized treat.

While we were at it, why not make a bigger mess with more chocolate...

Pretzels with M&M's
My tiny man has become quite the model it seems.

Again we laid small pretzel twists on wax paper. This time I melted semi-sweet chocolate (almond bark would work great too) in a small metal bowl over a boiling pot of water (double boiler style, I just don't have one). We then spooned a glob of chocolate on each pretzel and poked M&M's into each of the pretzels three holes. Again, let them cool and harden. (Wondering about the all-green M&M's? I found a bag from Valentine's Day that had never been opened. They are those sweet sexy green girl M&M's now a cute candy treat only ten months later...he, he.)

It was fun and Seth loved being able to be a part of the whole process, minus heating the chocolate of course. We are enjoying our bite sized treats and waiting for the contractions to get stronger. Baby this week? We certainly hope so...

Homemade Snow Dough

The kids working their Snow Dough.

Looking for a fun way to bring some snow inside this season? Here is a fun recipe for Homemade Snow Dough. The kids enjoyed making snowmen and snow monsters!

Seth's snowman - we used toothpicks for arms.

A Snow man closeup - we made two batches of dough. One with green sprinkles for Seth and one with red sprinkles for K.

A Cranberry Surprise

I am normally not a huge fan of cranberries but my cousin made this salsa during the holidays for us and I loved it. It went great on tortilla chips and wheat thins too. You should give it a try. It is surprising enjoyable!

Cranberry Salsa

1 pkg. fresh cranberries
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients (a food processor works good).
Cover and chill for at least 2 hrs.

Meatball Subs, sort of...

I am not a huge fan of meatball subs. In fact I have never ordered one out and about before only nibbled off a bite of someone else's to try it. However I do like a meatball from time to time with pasta. Thus this recipe in Family Circle turned my head recently.

Turkey Meatball Heroes

If you know me you know I have a hard time following the directions so here are some things I did different just for your information...

1. I used ground beef - shame on me.
2. I only made a half batch as 24 meatballs could literally feed six to eight and we are two to three in our house.
3. I opted for Mozzarella cheese as my deli no longer sells freshly sliced Provolone.

We enjoyed them with fried potatoes and asparagus but they could really go with about anything. Let me know if you give them a try.

Easy Flatbread Tacos

These tacos are not only filling but a great change of pace from the ordinary!

Flatbread Tacos
(with Ranch Sour Cream)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 2 teaspoons ranch salad dressing mix
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 tube (16.3 ounces) large refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• Optional toppings: sliced ripe olives and shredded lettuce and cheddar cheese

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, dressing mix and lemon juice; chill until serving.
• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning and pepper sauce; heat through.
• Meanwhile, roll out each biscuit into a 6-in. circle. In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook each biscuit for 30-60 seconds on each side or until golden brown; keep warm.
• To serve, spread each flatbread with 2 tablespoons ranch sour cream; top each with 2/3 cup meat mixture. Sprinkle with toppings if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

I have to admit we did not try the ranch sour cream aspect of the recipe. We are huge sour cream fans so we just spread low fat sour cream all over our "flatbread" and the loaded them with the meat mixture and toppings. They were almost impossible to hold so we dove in with forks.

I actually used deer burger to make it lean, okay not really, I just have a lot of deer meat to use up. The biscuits I bought store brand and paid $1 for. The beans and tomatoes both cost less than $1 each. Talk about cheap and easy. It made enough for two plus meals by the way so I put half in the freezer to pull out in a few weeks. All I have to do is fry up some more dough and we have dinner served! Then again, the homemade guacamole served with chips on the side was a nice touch and might need repeating too.

Spiderific Cookies

One mean little spider!

To complete our baking/measuring unit we had to have a recipe that related to Halloween. These tasty little spiders were just the thing! The kids loved being able to do so much of it and of course the tasting part never hurts either.

Try them out for yourselves at Betty Crocker: Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

Seth loves helping in the kitchen but has a rag handy as he does not like to have sticky fingers. Funny how he can play in the dirt and pick up worms with no trouble though...

K has on the day's official shirt - Trick-or-Treat!

I think Seth was trying to bulk up his pumpkin for this shot. Not sure...but I do love the chocolate mouth. "No mom I haven't tried the Rolos." Whatever!

The idea is thanks to Crystal over at Shining Moments.

Chili Meets Chicken

A mildly spicy and body warming chili for a chilly outdoor fall party.

I have always wanted to try white chili and today is the day. We are headed to a neighborhood Halloween party which also includes a chili cook-off for the meal. It seemed the perfect opportunity to try it out. Here is the recipe I chose to use on my guinea pigs at the party. I even went out a bought a smaller crock pot (4 qt.) so I could keep it warm during the event. I sure hope its a good seller! I hear there are prizes at steak...

White Chili with Chicken from Family Fun Magazine

Apple Cake Perfection

Apple Cake Perfection

I made this cake for our ECFE group this past week and now I am making it again for a neighborhood party. It is full of apples and yummy spices that just melt in your mouth!

Apple Cake
Serves: 16
Prep Time: 20 min.
Total Time: 1 hour

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 lbs apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 by 13 in pan; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add the apples, walnuts, butter and eggs; stir just until combined.

2. Spoon into pan; smooth with a spatula. Bake 40 to 45 min or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar to serve.

Notes:
Best apples for baking are hard and crisp so they retain their shape when baked. Gala and Golden Delicious are good choices however I have used Honey Gold both times myself.

Thanks to this handy Food Conversion chart I learned that 1 1/2 lbs of apples is equal to about 6 cups chunked.

All-Natural Play Clay

As we are once again stuck inside it's time to start pulling ideas out for...hmm... shall I say the "cold winter" months?! Yuck! Since we are in our Baking/Measuring Unit until the end of October it seemed appropriate to get into the kitchen. Today we tried a recipe I found in my Family Fun magazine called All-Natural Play Clay. It took a few tries to get it just right but the kids had fun being able to make it on their own and then play with it too. Check out the link and have some indoor fun!

Note: For the measuring cup challenged: 3/8 cup is the same as 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Hate to admit it, but I had to call my mom to figure that one out. Math genius I am NOT!

Deluxe Corn Muffins

I pulled these together to have with homemade chili the other night and the whole family enjoyed them. I wasn't sure about whole corn kernels but it was actually pretty good. Hot with butter and honey is the way to go!

Ingredients:

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup yellow cornmeal
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
* 1/3 cup canola oil
* 3/4 cup whole kernel corn

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the egg, egg yolk, buttermilk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in corn.
Fill greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400° for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.