Sunday, September 11, 2011
~Healthy pumpkin apple butter recipe~
Fall is in the air! Before we know it pumpkins will be in season and I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for a good pumpkin – based recipe. Here’s a great one to go with those homemade breads!
Pumpkin-Apple Butter
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup apple juice or cider
2 cups pureed pumpkin or other winter squash
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup natural apple sauce
1/4 cup agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener such as maple syrup)
1/4 cup sugar (or other sweetener to taste)
pinch salt (optional)
Put the raisins in a medium-sized saucepan, and pour the apple juice over them. Heat on low until raisins plump up, adding water if they get dry. When they are plump, puree the raisins in the juice.
Return the pureed raisins to the pan and add all remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about an hour. Makes about 3 cups.
Homemade goodness~ Sweet potato biscuits!
These biscuits are super yummy with a nice Sunday dinner.
1 1/2 cups White flour
1 Tbsp. Baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup of sweet potato, mashed
1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Cut in butter with knife or use hand until it looks like coarse meal.
Mix in the cold, mashed sweet potato and slowly add milk until combined. Flour your counter-top or bread board and push out the dough. Cut with biscuit cutter or recycled tin can, put on pan and bake 20-25 minutes.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
This recipe is entirely up to you. This is my basic starter but i’ll add what ever I have in fridge or use seasonal vegetables that are on sale like fresh green beans and asparagus. You can convert this to root veggies such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, turnips etc. As the vegetables roast they carmelize and get sweet. Preheat over to 450
INGREDIENTS:
2 pkg’s Italian, chicken, kielbasa or smoked sausage, left whole or sliced
1 16oz Baby bella mushrooms, cut in 1/2
2 med Sweet onions quartered
4-5 Garlic cloves, lightly smashed but left intact (for removal later is you wish)
1 pint Grape tomatoes, left whole
1-2 Zucchini and yellow squash, cut into 1-2″ pieces
2-3 Colored bell peppers (orange, red, yellow) cut into 1-2″ pieces
2 med Red potatoes, diced no more than 1′ cubes (optional) or
1 pkg Tortellini or penne pasta (optional)
1-3 tbs Olive Oil
1-3 tbs Italian seasoning and Weber’s Roaster Garlic and Herb, both to taste
1 tbs Parmesan cheese, to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Put all veggies in a large bowl and toss with olive oil and season. Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer, you may need 2 sheets. Top with meat and cook for 20 min. In the meantime cook the pasta if using and set aside. Remove pans, stir and put back in oven. Check every 10 min from then on until veggies are tender/crisp. Once it’s done to your taste place in large bowl, add pasta, slice meat and add to bowl. Toss, top with parmesan cheese and enjoy.
I use Italian chicken sausage, leave it whole, place it on top of the veggies and slice when done. Sometimes I omit the carbs and substitute for a healthier carb on the side and add a salad. If using pasta I really recommend the tortellini. It adds another great layer of flavor and texture.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
I've have been looking for a blender, bread dough mixer, wheat grinder, but did not what to buy all three items and had no where to store them all. I found this items and love it, found several great reviews on it.
Make perfect dough
The Mix n' Blend II features a smart auto-knead button which kneads your bread to the perfect gluten level then automatically shuts off, (up to 12 lbs). No more long and tedious kneading.
Saves counter space
A 4-quart mixing bowl and 64-ounce blender jar makes even large jobs a breeze. Its compact size fits nicely on the counter.
Easy one button operation
Preparing food is fast, easy, and fresh with the Mix n' Blend II. With 5 automatic mixer cycles and 8 automatic blender cycles, the Mix n' Blend II is the complete kitchen machine. The touchpad controls and easy-to-read display make it simple to navigate the many available options and choose the right one for the job.
- 1000 Watt Motor
- Dimensions: 11" wide x 15.5" tall x 8" deep
- Actual weight: 11 lbs
- Shipping Weight: 15 lbs
- Package Includes:
- Mix 'n' Blend II Motor Base
- Basic Pitcher
- Vented Pitcher Lid
- 4-quart mixing bowl with domed lid
- French Whisk
- Medium Whisk
- Stainless Steel Dough Hook
- Kneading Arm
- Recipe Book
- Owner's Manual
Components: 2 Years
Jar : 1 year
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Are you prepared? Want to know how to use your food storage so you can rotate? Want to feed your family cheap. Really good book on the beans. Ways to use beans that you won't know it is beans, a must read.
Canning
Last summer I wasted so much veggies from my garden because I could not eat them all and they went bad. So this year I'm going to try canning. SSSSSOOOOO---------
Well today I'm researching canning. (why today? because there is a snow blizzard today and woohoo my work place closed for the day) I want to make sure all my food is safe and sealed to last 2 years or more. One important thing I did not know was that are two different canning methods BASED on the type of food. You must know if the food is acid or alkaline. VERY important. Acid foods can use this type of canning because you don't have to get the food that hot to kill bacteria.
growth of these bacteria. Acid foods contain enough acid to block their growth, or destroy them more rapidly when heated. The term "pH" is a measure of acidity; the lower its value, the more acid the food. The acidity level in foods can be increased by adding lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar.
vinegar to make them acid foods. Acid foods have a pH of 4.6 or lower. They include fruits, pickles, sauerkraut, jams, jellies, marmalades, and fruit butters.
- pickled,
- frozen,
- dried or
- canned in a pressure canner (where there is a safe recipe determined for them - there is no safe recipe for canning pumpkins and squash)
Foods can be acid because they are:
- naturally acid foods
- foods that have acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, added
- fermented foods, such as sauerkraut. During the fermentation process bacteria produce an acid.
Naturally acidic foods include most fruits, such as:
- apples
- berries
- blackberries
- blueberries
- cranberries
- peaches
- pears
- raspberries
- strawberries
Low Acid or Non-acidic Foods
These are considered to be LOW acid foods:Certain fruits:- figs,
- Asian pears,
- melons,
- bananas,
- dates,
- papaya,
- ripe pineapple,
- persimmons
Sunday, January 30, 2011
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup buttermilk (i use the powdered buttermilk in the can, in the baking area of your store)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pierce sweet potato in several places. Bake potato until very tender, approximately 1 hour. Remove from oven. Cut potato in half and cool slightly. Scoop flesh from potato into small bowl and cool completely.
Place 1 cup sweet potato flesh into large bowl. Add butter and brown sugar; beat until smooth. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon into a medium bowl. Mix dry ingredients into sweet potato alternately with buttermilk in three (3) additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
Transfer dough to a generously floured surface. Roll to 3/4-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out biscuits; place on an ungreased baking sheet. Gather scraps into ball; reroll and cut.
NOTE: If you need to hold the uncooked biscuits, the cut dough rounds can be refrigerated for up to 1 hour.
Bake biscuits until golden and puffed, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack and cool slightly. Serve biscuits warm or at room temperature.
Makes 10 to 12 biscuits.
Friday, January 28, 2011
You don't need to be vegetarian - or vegan - to appreciate a savory nut spread. This mixture can be thinned for a dipping sauce or spread like peanut butter. Season it as you wish - if you make it once, you'll probably never make it the same way twice.
1 1/2 cups plain, raw cashew nuts
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons dry white wine (or water)
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or good vinegar
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
freshly ground pepper, cayenne, paprika (any or none - to taste)
Directions
- Place the nuts in a large bowl, cover with cold water, and let stand for 2 hours.
- Drain the nuts and place them in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add 1/4 cup water and the rest of the ingredients, and mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl every once in a while. Add more water if necessary to process - remember that the spread will thicken as it sits.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover, and place in a cool cupboard (not the refrigerator) to ripen for 24 hours. Store in the refrigerator.
