CRANBERRY-APPLE SAUCE

This is a recipe for those jellied cranberry sauce lovers out there. It has only 4 ingredients, PLUS it couldn't be easier to make. My picky-picky husband loves 100% jellied cranberry sauce, but it is just a little too tart for me.

With the addition of a couple of medium sized Gala apples.....that "pucker-tart" cranberry taste is mellowed just enough...and picky-picky husband really likes it too!! 

Whether you make half a recipe or a double a recipe, this is quick and easy. Did you know you can freeze jellied cranberry sauce?  I just put the leftover sauce in the freezer. 

Simple Ingredients:
12 ounces (3 cups) fresh cranberries (frozen is OK)

2 medium size Gala apples (cored but NOT peeled)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup pineapple juice (or water in a pinch)

Wash and sort the berries, throwing away any light pink or mushy ones. If I'm using frozen cranberries, I don't even thaw them.

Core (but don't peel) 2 medium sized Gala apples. Chop fine in the food processor.

Put the cranberries, chopped apples, sugar and juice in a heavy pot and bring to a boil(cover the cooking cranberries with a splatter screen to reduce any potential mess). After it boils for a minute or so, turn the heat WAY DOWN to just a MILD SIMMER and cook for 20 minutes (stirring occasionally). 

After 20 minutes, remove from heat and PRESS the berries through a strainer, into a bowl (I just press on the berries with a big spoon). It takes a couple minutes, but just keep pressing until all you have left in the strainer, is skins and seeds (throw that part away). 

Stir, the strained cranberry sauce,then chill in the fridge (sauce will thicken as it cools). 

Cranberry sauce freezes well too!! We are "empty nesters", so I freeze small containers of leftover cranberry sauce and none of it goes to waste.

ENJOY !!! 

 

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November 12, 2021

We love thick and sweet barbecue sauce like the Sweet Baby Ray's brand. When I found myself out of BBQ sauce recently, because of the Corona Virus grocery shortage, I dug out this old recipe....it is DELICIOUS and very MUCH like Sweet Baby Ray's regular barbeque sauce.



Bacon wrapped Shrimp coated with

BBQ Sauce and Baked

1  1/4 cups regular ketchup
1  cup dark brown sugar (deeper flavor than light brown)
1/4  cup molasses
1/4  cup pineapple juice
2  teaspoons hickory liquid smoke
2  1/2 teaspoons ground dry mustard
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2  teaspoon garlic powder (not salt)
pinch of cayenne pepper
1  1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (not fine table salt)
1 teaspoon black pepper

Put everything into a saucepan and whisk it together. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to slow simmer and simmer 5 to 15 minutes, depending on how thick you want it to be.

You can use this immediately or store in fridge for a week or so or portion it out and freeze it for future use. 

NOTE: If you don't have kosher salt, you can use regular table salt, just use LESS, since kosher salt and table salt measure very differently.





 Happy Grilling!!

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April 22, 2020

This relish is absolutely delicious and we use it in everything from tuna fish salad, to potato salad, to hot dogs, you name it.........NO ONE has EVER guessed it is made with zucchini, it just tastes like the BEST bread and butter pickle relish you have EVER eaten !!!

12 cups unpeeled zucchini (chopped small)

3 cups sweet onion (chopped small)
1 cup celery (chopped small)
2 large red bell peppers (chopped small)
2 cups peeled carrots (chopped small)
1 cup pickling* salt (see important note)
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons DRY mustard powder
1 tablespoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon corn starch

Wash and dry the vegetables before cutting them (the only one you should peel is the carrot). Coarsley chop the vegetables, then put them in the food processor (2 or 3 cups at a time) and pulse them a few times to get the pieces small enough for a good relish (but not too small). The chop size should look like this:

Measure the vegetables AFTER you chop 
them in the food processor.

Mix the small chopped vegetables and 1 cup of pickling salt. Place this mixture (covered) in fridge overnight (The salt will draw excess moisture out of the veggies).

IMPORTANT NOTE: After the vegetables have chilled overnight, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you rinse the salt off of them. I rinse the chopped veggies THREE TIMES (in small batches).

Whatever method you choose to rinse the salt off, just make sure you rinse, rinse, rinse then squeeze as much water out of the chopped veggies as you can(I use my salad spinner). Set aside.

In a large, non-aluminum, pot, mix the vinegar, sugar, celery seed, spices and corn starch. Bring to a boil (to dissolve the sugar). Add all of the rinsed vegetables to the pot and bring BACK to a boil. Once it is boiling hard, turn heat to medium low and GENTLY boil everything for 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so.

While the relish is simmering, sterilize 7 pint jars and 7 (two piece) screw on lids. I do this by putting the JARS through a hot cycle in my dishwasher. Keep the jars in the (unopened) hot dishwasher after the last cycle.

For the LIDS, I just wash them with hot soapy water, rinse them well and then pour boiling water over them in a large saucepan which I keep HOT on a burner.

Also, while the relish is simmering, bring your canning water to a hard boil, here is how:

 Place a rack on the bottom of a large stock pot (or something to keep the jars up off of the bottom of the pan) and fill the pot with water (water should be deep enough to cover the jars by 2". Bring the water to a full boil.

Now that your relish has boiled for 20 minutes, remove it from the heat and place it in the clean hot jars, leaving 1/4" space at the top of the jars (make sure there are no air pockets in the relish). Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, hot, wet kitchen towel and screw on the two-piece lids fairly tight. Lower the jars into the already boiling water and keep them in there  10 minutes for half pint jars and 15 minutes for pint jars.

Remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature on your kitchen counter. As they cool on your counter, you will hear the lids "pop" when they make the correct seal.  If they don't "pop", just keep them in the fridge.

NOTE: Do not use regular table salt for this recipe because the anti-caking agents in table salt cause the relish to discolor.  If you don't have pickling salt, the next best thing to use is kosher salt (but I highly recommend pickling salt).

NOTE: The recipe calls for 12 cups of chopped up zucchini. I have found that if I am a cup short of zucchini, I just add an extra cup of chopped carrots. Works well.

NOTE: This recipe makes 7 pints of relish.

ENJOY !!!

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September 21, 2019

This quick fix addition to a burger, or salad is oh so addicting!!!
You can make this crunchy, salty, sweet-ish, treat in batches and keep them warm in the oven. There are a million and one ways to serve onion strings!!

1 large sweet onion (I like Vidalia's)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Peel the onion and slice it as thin as you can. A mandolin works well here, but I don't have one, so I just slice the onion as thin as I can.

Soak the onion slices in the buttermilk for about an hour, making sure you press the slices down into the liquid. When I'm in a hurry, I've done this step in 1/2 hour and they turned out great.

In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne and set aside. Heat a quart of vegetable oil to 375F. 

Using tongs, remove a handful of onion slices from the buttermilk and put them into the flour.  Toss around gently to coat. 

With the tongs, take the slices out of the flour and tap the tongs on the edge of the bowl to remove excess flour from the onion pieces.

Put the floured slices into the hot oil and stir gently to separate the slices. These will be golden brown in a minute or so, so watch them carefully.

Drain on paper towels and salt them to taste.  Repeat batches until all onion strings are cooked.

ENJOY !!!

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March 18, 2019

This is a great "all around" taco sauce.  It is a LOT like the mild taco sauce at Taco Bell and it is made from ingredients that are in EVERYONE's pantry.  The only "trick" is that it's best to let it chill in the fridge overnight to develop that great taste!!

As for "degree of heat"......this one is A-OK with teens AND picky-picky husband, so it is fairly mild. If you want more heat, add extra cayenne pepper.

16 ounce tomato sauce
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (this will give you a mild heat)

Mix together in heavy saucepan and simmer gently for 15 minutes or just until it is slightly thickened.  

You can eat this right after it cools down, but it is SO MUCH TASTIER if you chill it in the fridge overnight!!!

This keeps in fridge for a week (if it lasts that long). You will find yourself using it on everything!!

ENJOY!!!

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November 05, 2018

Croutons are a big part of any good salad, but I tend to shy away from commercial ones for a couple of reasons. First, they are expensive and secondly they can be teeth breaking-ly hard (is that a  real word?).

This is a very simple crouton recipe that has a wonderful flavor and is a good use of that day old French bread in your kitchen. After the cubes are baked, just store them in an airtight container and they will stay crunchy for 2-3 days or you can put them in the freezer for longer storage.

Start off with a half a loaf of day old french bread. The amount of bread isn't really critical...just use what you have.

Mix:
4 tablespoons olive oil (see note below)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I use the cheap kind w/ green cap)
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (more if you like a stronger flavor)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dry parsley flakes (not necessary, but pretty)

Cube the bread (or tear it up) into 3/4" pieces and spread them out on a cookie sheet.

Combine the olive oil, Parmesan, garlic salt and pepper (save parsley flakes for later in the recipe)and mix well. Dot the cheese mixture all over the bread cubes and toss very gently to distribute.

Spread seasoned bread cubes out on a cookie sheet so they aren't touching each other and bake in pre-heated 400° oven for 5 minutes. Depending on how small you make the bread cubes...5 minutes MAY be long enough to get a toasted crouton. If they aren't toasted enough, toss again and bake for another 5 minutes. Depending on how crunchy you like your croutons. Keep an eye on them, so they don't get too dark.

When they are done, sprinkle with the dried parsley flakes and toss.
Cool completely, then store in airtight container.

NOTE: Recipe calls for olive oil, but if I am going to eat them right away, I like to use melted butter (excellent flavor).

NOTE: Depending on what I intend to serve these croutons with, I sometimes add a pinch of cayenne to the cheese mixture.

ENJOY !!!

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March 05, 2018

This French fry dipping sauce is a delicious condiment that is quick, easy to make and very versatile. It goes together in minutes and everyone loves it.

There are a MILLION fry sauce recipes out there; some have a TON of ingredients, some have just a handful. This is our recipe.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons finely minced dill pickles (see note below)
1 teaspoon regular old yellow mustard
dash of salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

When I make this, I put the pickle into the food processor first and pulse it until it is finely minced (2 tablespoons minced pickle is about 1 large pickle). NOTE: You can also just use 2 tablespoons of your favorite pickle relish.

Then add the rest of the ingredients and pulse them all together until the sauce is well mixed and smooth.  You can do this in a full size food processor, although a small food processor (or an hand held immersion blender) works even better.

This recipe makes one cup of French fry sauce. Keep chilled. It is excellent to dip just about anything in, but it is also good on hamburgers.

ENJOY !!!

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September 08, 2016

Do you have a lot of heavy whipping cream leftover from the holidays like I do?  If so, consider turning it into butter with your stand mixer. It only takes about 15 minutes tops, and the mixer does all the work.

This isn't something I would make on a regular basis, but it IS perfect for very special occasions (try mixing in your favorite herbs or spices). It is also a fun project you can do with your kids.

All it takes is some heavy whipping cream + salt, + a stand mixer + 15 minutes .... and "hocus-pocus", you will have butter!!

 

Start out with a quart of ICE COLD heavy whipping cream

Whip it, on medium high, in your stand mixer, using the wire whisk attachment. It will try and splatter a little, so I usually cover my whole mixer with a dish towel.

Whip until you get nice stiff peaks, like this (should take about 4-5 minutes.

Now this next step is where the "butter" starts to happen. Change from your whisk to your paddle attachment. Let the mixture beat for a few more minutes (at medium high speed,)and it will start to look a little more yellow and it will "loosen up" considerably. This is when you need to make a serious plastic wrap cover for the top of your bowl because it starts to splash.

The mixture will start to separate like this:

 

Don't freak out, this is what its supposed to look like. The buttermilk is starting to separate from the butter.

After it has whipped a little longer, the mixture will completely "break down" and separate, like this: (click on the photo to get a better look).

Although this liquid is called buttermilk, it is very thin and nothing like commercial buttermilk. 

You are now done with the whipping stage (the whole process takes about 12-15 minutes) but there are a couple more steps:

Put the butter into a strainer, and drain off the liquid, It will look like this:

Rinse the "chunks" under VERY COLD running water (the water will not effect the butter as long as it is very cold). Squeeze the pieces together as you rinse the butter. You are basically trying to rinse out any little pockets of milk liquid.

 

Work 1/2 teaspoon table salt into the butter (or you can leave it unsalted). To do this step, I put the butter back in the stand mixer and beat it for a few seconds, so the salt would be evenly distributed.

Finally you have butter !!

 

A quart of heavy cream will make 10 ounces of delicious butter. It will keep in the fridge for about a week, or you can freeze it.

 

 

This sounds like a LOT of steps, but they are really

very simple and straight forward.

 

 

 

ENJOY !!!

 





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December 26, 2014