Flavored Water in Mason Jar

Target has the cutest pink Mason jars, and then I happened to find a matching drink lid from Wal-Mart. The strawberry infuser is from Hobby Lobby, that I used with dried fruit to add a bit of flavor to my water. I think they all pair up nicely! The only other thing I’d like is a fabric sleeve that would fit a mason jar.

Amish Friendship Bread

My version of Amish Friendship Bread. Adam and the kids ate up four mini loaves and a large loaf in three days!

Teriyaki Turkey Jerky

-2 lbs. turkey breast tenderloin
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
-4 Tbsp honey
-2 tsp pepper
-2 tsp onion powder
-2 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp liquid smoke

Freeze meat until firm (not frozen). Cut into thin slices (I use my mandolin from pampered chef). Combine ingredients and meat in a large bowl. Refrigerate overnight covered with a lid. Put meat in dehydrator for 4 1/2 hours or until it’s the consistency you like.

Homemade Cashew Butter

I’m severely anemic, but my doctor said I should be able to regulate it with diet and supplements. I decided to try this raw cashew butter, which is supposed to be a good source of iron.

-26 oz raw cashews
-Blended in my Ninja blender for 10-20 minutes (intermittently). Starts out crumbly, eventually turns into a smooth consistency.
-Made a jar and a half. I keep it in the fridge, I’m hoping it will keep at least a couple weeks or more.

Homemade Egg Nog

Egg nog just isn’t the same from the store. So, I make my own every year around Christmas time. My mom gave me her recipe when I first got married, and since then I’ve added a couple touches to make it my own.

Egg Nog

-36 eggs
-12 cups whole milk

-6 cups half and half
-3 cups sugar (or substitute granulated Splenda, it tastes {almost} the exact same)
-2 Tbsp vanilla

-Pinch of salt

-Nutmeg and cinnamon for seasoning
-2 empty milk jugs

-Blend all ingredients with a hand blender in a large bowl or a couple of large pitchers. It should be fairly smooth, but if desired strain with a cheesecloth into two empty milk jugs. Serve with nutmeg seasoned to taste. Enjoy!

Processing Persimmons

I love persimmon. It’s a unique fruit that people here in southern Indiana (and other places I’m sure) bake with, and my favorite recipes are those passed down from older generations. My husband’s grandma had a fantastic persimmon pudding recipe that I’ve adjusted to fit what I normally have on hand in my pantry, and we absolutely love this dessert! My mom has a couple of young persimmon trees, and she gave me a few buckets full to process. This year seemed to be ideal conditions for persimmons, and the fruit was so healthy and abundant that I ended up with 40-50 cups of pulp. To process persimmon, I use a food mill by putting a couple cups of whole persimmons in the colander and then cranking the pulp into a bowl below. Once the bowl is full, I transfer pulp into my Ball freezer jars, and I freeze the pulp for up to a year or so.

Persimmon Pudding

-2 cups persimmon pulp
-2 cups sugar
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-pinch of salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-3 tsp cream of tartar
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/4 cup butter melted (I use salted sweet cream)
-1/4 cup heavy cream
-1 1/2 cups milk
-2 large eggs

-Combine everything and blend with a hand mixer. Use a buttered 10”x15” glass baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. Pudding will rise as it bakes, but will settle as it cools. Serve chilled or at room temperature, cut into small squares, and eat with whipped cream.

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese sandwich cookies

These pumpkin and cream cheese sandwich cookies were delicious!

Pumpkin Cookie

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups fresh pumpkin purée
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Dash cloves, nutmeg, vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the ingredients well until most lumps are gone. Pour into your baking molds and bake at 350 degrees until done. Remove cookies and allow to cool. Once you’ve used all the batter, make up your cream cheese icing and fill the cookies.

Icing

- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- pinch almond extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar

New products I am trying

Adam and I started a diet. It's based off the book The Maker's Diet (http://makers-diet.net/), which is a Bible based meal plan. We could stand to lose a few pounds, but mainly we just want to feel good again. Adam still struggles with not feeling healthy, and if you recall from some of my previous posts we have never found answers as to why he has been achy and tired. But hopefully this diet will help, because I am definitely a big believer in fueling your body and not just feeding it. It's not always easy to practice, however.

As a result, I have come across some new products through my own research and a few offered by the author of The Maker's Diet. The idea is to try and maintain as much of a natural lifestyle as possible. Here are the current staples in our cupboards:

-Ezekiel Bread: usually in the freezer section of the health food aisle (I have not found it at Walmart). It is a sprouted, protein packed bread that comes in loaves, buns, pita pockets, cereal, etc.
-All natural 100% yogurt, honey, maple syrup, salad dressings
-Chia Seed: order from Amazon or buy from a health food store (not carried by many groceries); great for baking breads or put it in your favorite liquid for a pudding consistency
-All natural frozen yogurt. Our favorite is Caramel Praline Crunch by Blue Bunny which I have only found at Walmart
-Frozen coconut milk ice cream
-Locally grown meats or venison bought from friends during deer season
-Fresh fruit and vegetables; every meal we try to eat one fruit, one veg, and a meat
-Coconut oil and olive oil for cooking; coconut oil is also a great weekly hair treatment
-White Distilled Vinegar-I use this for hair conditioner (1:4 vinegar to water ratio), fabric softener (measured out of a recycled softener bottle with a few drops of essential oil), Fabric softener "sheets" (a reusable sponge soaked in vinegar and thrown in the dryer)
-Best beverages: raw milk (goat and cow), WATER, all natural smoothies, hot green tea, any hot naturally decaffeinated all natural tea, whole milk, all natural half and half
-Natural sweeteners (i.e. stevia, monk fruit, etc.)
-Raw nut butters
-Grass-fed cow's butter (Sam's Club)
-Nuts and seeds
-All natural cottage cheese, sour cream, salsa, and block cheese (good for slicing and grating)

Cinderella squash recipes

Recently I processed a Cinderella squash, which is basically like a pumpkin, and made some bread and a cheesecake for Thanksgiving. I thought it all turned out great!



Pumpkin Bread

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups fresh pumpkin purée
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Dash cloves, nutmeg, vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

I'm not big on all the crazy directions with cakes. Basically, combine the ingredients well until most lumps are gone. Pour into a cake pan, and bake at 350 degrees until done (45 minutes approximately).





Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups fresh pumpkin purée
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined. Add eggs and egg yolk. Blend but don't overly beat the eggs.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Freezer corn

Freezer corn day! Every summer my mom, sister Nicole, and I take a day to process 4 bushels {5 dozen ears per bushel} of sweet corn from a local farmer's market. They usually throw in a few extra for good measure, and I add in any other ears I have gotten from family members who have shared.  Overall, corn day has become a huge job.  

To prepare the corn for the freezer we shuck the ears pulling off all the silks and outer leaves, then rinse each one in a bucket of water. The ears are then placed in waves in a large stock pot of boiling water.  They are boiled for a few minutes until their color turns a deep golden yellow.  Once the color has changed, the corn is removed from the water and placed in a sink of cold water to stop the cooking process and make it cooler to handle.  Then, using either a sharp knife or a corn cob peeler, we remove the kernels and corn pulp from the ear without digging into the cob.  Then, using gallon freezer baggies we use a 1cup measuring cup and scoop four cups of corn in each bag. Press all the air out and it will keep at least a year in the deep freeze.  And voila, you have an easy side dish for lots of family meals until next corn season.

Pumpkin butter

This recipe for pumpkin butter is simply delicious.  I fell in love with the first taste, and you will too.  I would suggest adding spices and sugar to suit your own tastes, but here is what I used if you need some guidance:

Fresh pumpkin puree (I used two pumpkins minus 3 cups for my pumpkin bread I used in my previous post's recipe.  I would approximate around 4 cups was used for this butter).

maple syrup
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
ground cloves
nutmeg
cinnamon
vanilla
a couple spoons of regular butter or salt to offset sweet taste

Blend all ingredients into a pot on the stove, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Drop into shallow jelly jars and keep refridgerated until you are able to enjoy!  Don't worry about spoiling - as long as it is in the fridge it will keep for quite awhile.

Pumpkin bread

Pumpkin bread

2 cups flour (I substitute some wheat flour and it still tastes great)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
3 large eggs
3 cups fresh pumpkin pulp puree

A healthy dash of the following (don't be stingy!):
cinnamon
nutmeg
baking soda
baking powder
salt
vanilla
ground cloves

Mix your ingredients together until smooth.  I love using my stone mini-loaf pan for the batter.  This recipe I believe made about 6 mini-loaves.  I am sure it would also bake up nice as a cake or in a normal loaf pan.  Bake at 325 degrees until the top feels firm (25 minutes?), but be careful to not overbake.  Enjoy!

Processing pumpkins!

This year, I wanted to try something new that has interested me for a long time - canning pumpkin!  Now, from what I have read, you technically cannot safely can pumpkin pulp.  But, I did find a recipe for pumpkin butter (dropped in jelly jars and refridgerated) and also pumpkin bread (which you can freeze).  I am all about easy, and I was a little nervous about the work it would take to process a whole pumpkin, but it turned out to be a cinch. 

Note: This post will have instructions for processing the pumpkin, the next couple will have recipes for the bread and butter.

Processing the Pumpkin

First, you need a young pumpkin, between 3-5 pounds.  It needs to still have its yellow-orange color and should not have the mature dark orange appearance.

Bake the whole pumpkin in the oven at least 90 minutes at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  I think I left mine in around 2 hours just to be safe, but 90 minutes should be fine as long as the pumpkin has a soft feel and has a deflated appearance.  Take the pumpkin out of the oven and allow it to cool.  I left mine in the refridgerator overnight (still on the aluminum foil - it will leak so put a plate under it or something to catch the liquid). 

Pop off the stalk and cut the pumpkin in half over a sink or something to catch the liquid because there will be alot. 

For each pumpkin half: Cut the small round portion where the stalk was and discard.  Use a spoon and scrape out the seeds and most of the stringy innards.  Use a sharp knife and skin the outside.  The skin is tough, so this takes some time!  The whole pumpkin, although soft, should still 'stick' together, making it easier to process the entire half of meat. 

Cube the cleaned pumpkin meat.  Put cubes into a food processor.  Puree until there are no lumps you can see and the consistency is smooth.  Now you are ready to add it to a pot for pumpkin butter or to batter for pumpkin bread!

Canning day

It is that time of year! The gardens have peaked, and now the refrigerator is bursting with food waiting to be processed.

As for me, I like to keep canning as simple as possible. Our family also freezes any food we are able to help cut down on the processing time jars take, and to utilize the deep freezer in our garage. But in each case food preparation should be your utmost concern for safety and preserved taste.

Today, I am tackling a batch of salsa. I love cooking from scratch, but when I do salsa I love the seasoning packs of Mrs. Wages you buy from the store. It may seem like cheating, but it's all natural and pre-measured so if you are missing a spice in your cupboard you are covered. I still enjoy seasoning to taste and adding more ingredients than just tomatoes, the packet just helps take some of the stresses away of figuring everything out.

A few things to remember if you are going to undertake a batch of salsa:

-Drain the tomatoes and double the number the recipe calls for. This will make your salsa thick and chunky.

-My favorite add-in flavor enhancers are paprika, salt, and a bit of olive oil.

-Use a food processor to finely blend bell peppers, onions, banana peppers, etc. and add to your salsa. I am not a fan of onions, but when I make salsa I always add a few for taste and to give the batch more body. Plus, the more vegetables you add, the more health benefits you get.

-Use a food processor to cut your tomatoes and leave the skins on for your salsa. Tomato skin is loaded with vitamins, plus it's easier to just leave it. When you cut the tomatoes, don't purée, just pulse the on switch to keep your fruit chunky.

Enjoy!

Next time you camp . . .

You have got to try this stuff. It is not only the best pancake mix I have ever tried, but it is the most convenient for trips! It's organic, made with cinnamon and brown sugar, and dispenses like a dream out the spout. Try it with 100% pure maple syrup and fry them up in butter in mini-pancake portions.

White Hot Chocolate

3 cups whole milk (or half and half)
2/3 cup white baking pieces
3 sticks of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of vanilla
Pinch of almond extract

In a pot, combine 1/4 cup of the milk, the baking pieces, and spices. Stir until baking pieces are melted. Add remaining milk until heated through. Remove from heat, remove cinnamon sticks, and add extracts. Serves four. Sprinkle with nutmeg for flavor. Double or quadruple for more servings.

Banana bars

I love this recipe. Especially because it uses up leftover bananas that are over ripe, preventing me from throwing them out. Give it a try and add your own touches.

- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 over ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup softened/melted butter
- pinch salt
- pinch baking soda
- pinch almond extract

Blend all ingredients and bake at 350 for 25 minutes in a bars pan (13x9). Or use a normal pan (11x7) for a more bread/ brownie quality. Bake until it appears done, usually about 35 minutes. Icing once completely cooled.














Icing

- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- pinch almond extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar

Blend and then spread over bars. Enjoy!