Home Canned Apple Pie Filling

18 cups(about 6 lbs.) peeled, cored, sliced apples
3 cups white granulated sugar
1-1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn starch
1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground all spice
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 64 oz. bottle unsweetened apple juice or cider
2 cups water
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract(or 1 tsp. double strength)
1 drop doTerra Ginger Essential Oil
1 drop doTerra Wild Orange Essential Oil
7 Quart Sized Jars with disks and rings for canning

Peel apples.  Segment peeled apples using an apple corer/wedger* and place in a large bowl with water and lemon juice(1/4 cup per 4 cups cool water), set aside.  Bring a large pot of water to boil to blanch apple wedges for one minute, 6 cups at a time.  Set aside apples in another large bowl and keep warm(I just covered with a towel).  In a very large pot combine sugars, cornstarch, dry spices, and whisk.  Add apple juice or apple cider, lemon juice, and water and bring to a boil.  When it starts to thicken add apple wedges and cook another 5-10 minutes until thick and apples are heated through.  Turn off heat and stir in vanilla, and essential oils.  Ladle apples and syrup into sterilized hot jars, leaving 1" head space.  Run a chopstick or canning tool through to remove bubbles.  Wipe rims and add disks and rings.  Process 25 minutes, or as recommended based on your altitude.  Remove and let cool overnight.  If any have not sealed within one hour, refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.

Recipe yields 6-7 quart jars.  One quart for a 9" pie plate.

Do not use if seal breaks, if lid is bulging, or it smells.  A few of my jars oozed pie  filling a little while processing, but my canning expert friend assures me this is okay so long as they seal properly.  Just wipe down any residue being careful not to break any seals.  All but one sealed properly.  Oh darn, if we MUST make a pie.

Whisk sugar, corn starch, and dry spices before adding apple juice/cider, lemon, and water.

Curry Butternut Squash Soup

1 Large Onion, diced
4 Whole Cloves Garlic, peeled
1 Tbl. Butter
1 Tbl. Coconut Oil

S&B Hot Curry Sauce, 2 pieces*
1 Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, & cubed into 1" pieces
4 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1 Can Cannelini Beans, undrained
Vegetable or Chicken Stock
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

Toppings:
Sour Cream, Plain Greek Yogurt, Toasted Coconut, Toasted Almonds, Croutons, etc....

Put diced onion, garlic, butter, and coconut oil in large slow cooker sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  DO NOT use slow cooker bags you will need the immersion blender and it will shred your bag and ruin your recipe(yucky plastic soup, no thank you).  Turn the slow cooker on high and cover for one hour, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and beginning to brown.  Add apples, squash, curry squares, beans, red pepper flakes, and just enough stock to come up to the bottom of the top layer of squash cubes.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours, until squash is very tender.  Turn slow cooker off, fish out the garlic cloves and discard.  Use the immersion blender to puree until smooth, or use blender in batches.  I prefer the immersion blender to avoid burns.  Return to slow cooker to warm until ready to eat.  Serve with a variation of toppings.

*There are 5-4 squares/rectangles per package.  I found 2 to be the perfect heat, and I like things hot.  So, you may want to start off with one square and add the other after taste testing, they do dissolve pretty fast.

Mushroom Risotto

This was dinner tonight.  I missed the photo because we just couldn't wait to dig in.

2 1oz. packages dried mushroom blend, or your favorites*, chopped
4 Tbl. butter or reserved bacon grease
1 medium onion, diced
2 8oz. packages sliced, cremini mushrooms
2 cloves crushed garlic
splash of olive oil
fresh ground pepper
kosher salt, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste
2 cups arborio rice
2 bottles non-alcoholic beer(you can us regular beer if you don't mind)
5 cups good beef stock(or use veggie broth)
3-4 cups reserved liquid from re-hydrating mushrooms

Grated Parmesan Cheese and sliced green onions or parsley for toppings.

Get all of your ingredients together, because you do not want to step away once you start this.  Trust me.  You need approximately 9-10 cups of liquid.  Feel free to half this, but I promise, this will be devoured quickly.  Pour 4 cups boiling water over dried mushrooms and set aside, allow to re-hydrate for 20 minutes, at least.  Heat a very large deep frying pan and add bacon grease or butter and a splash of olive oil(to prevent burning).  Add onion and cover, reduce temperature, and cook stirring often until translucent.  Drain mushrooms, reserving the liquid.  Measure 4 cups and add to a medium saucepan.  Add hydrated mushrooms and fresh mushrooms, garlic, a large pinch of salt, fresh ground pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Mix well and cover, reduce heat if needed.  Cook, stirring often until fresh mushrooms cook down and reduce in size.  Add beef stock to mushroom stock in a saucepan and heat to boil and then turn to low for simmering.  Add uncooked arborio rice to mushroom mixture and stir until rice is coated and edges start to turn translucent.  Add one bottle of beer and stir until it is absorbed.  Add second bottle of beer and stir until it is absorbed again.  Add beef/mushroom stock, one cup at a time stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed.  Repeat until all liquid is incorporated.  Add more kosher salt and pepper to taste as needed.  Cover and let rest 3-5 minutes.  Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and sliced green onions.

* The blend I used has porcini, shitake, morel, oyster, and lobster mushrooms from Monterey Mushrooms
**The non-alcoholic beer goes better with beef stock than the white wine I had on hand.  I've also made this using red wine though and it's seriously delish!

Guilt Free "Ice Cream" (WW pts.+)

1 mashed banana (0 pts.)
1 8 oz. carton Dannon Caramel Delight Light & Fit Yogurt(or any other fat free yogurt) (2 pts.)
1 Tbl. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Just mix them all together and freeze for at least 45 minutes.

Pomegranate Spinach Salad

Potluck size:

10-12 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed & spun dry
1.5 cups Salted Caramel Walnuts, chopped
1 cup Pomegranate infused Craisins
1 cup Feta Cheese(or Bleu Cheese, my fave)
Pomegranate Dressing(recipe follows)

Combine spinach leaves and dressing JUST before ready to serve.  Top with walnuts, Craisins, and Feta Cheese.

Pomegranate Dressing:
2 Tbl. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Tbl. Dijon Mustard
4 Tbl. Pomegranate Infused Vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 Tbl. honey
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients well.  Store in refrigerator until ready to use.  Shake or stir well before using.

Mashed Cauliflower

1 lg. head Cauliflower
1 pkg. cream cheese
milk or half and half
salt and pepper

Steam cauliflower until very soft, add cream cheese and mash with a potato masher with with tines that are close together. Add milk or half and half until you reach the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper. Serve just as you would mashed potatoes. Can also be topped with grated cheese, bacon bits, chives, etc....

If you like, add a few wedges of Laughing Cow Cheese.  Yum!

Cauliflower Leek Soup

2 leeks
1 sweet yellow onion, diced
1 large head cauliflower, diced
Vegetable or chicken stock
Seasonings:  Fresh grated black pepper, white pepper, bay leaf, ground mustard, nutmeg(all to taste)

Discard any leek leaves that look questionable.  Slice leek lengthwise down the middle and then into half moons.  Place in fine sieve strainer that fits inside another bowl.  Cover with water and soak.  Rinse several times to remove all sand.  Pour all ingredients into large crockpot.  Add enough stock just to cover veggies.  Cover and cook on high 4 hours, turn to low another 2-3 hours.  Remove bay leaf.  Using an immersion(stick) blender puree until smooth, it helps if you use a potato masher first to break up large pieces.  Optional toppings:  bacon pieces, Parmesan cheese, shredded chicken, pumpkin seeds, a drizzle of flavored olive oil, etc....

Ratatouille over Drunken Beef

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion(or Maui), diced

approx. 1 cup chicken, beef, or veggie stock

2 firm eggplants, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced(or 1/4 cup minced chopped from jar)

1 Tbl. dried oregano

fresh ground black pepper

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 packets Stevia(or any other sweetener, sugar)

2 med. zucchini, diced

2 yellow crookneck squash, diced

 

Prepare all veggies ahead of time

Spray large pot with non-stick spray, add diced onion and 1/4-1/2 cup broth.  Cover and simmer until onions are nearly translucent.

 Add eggplant, peppers, spices, garlic, and remaining broth.  Mix well, cover, and let simmer for approx. 10 minutes.  Stir often as eggplant begins to reduce in size.

Add stewed tomatoes and stevia and mix well.  Bring mixture to a boil and simmer about 15 min. 

Add zucchini and squash and mix well.  Cover, and let cook for 5 minutes.

 Mix well again, remove from heat and let sit 15 minutes.

Zucchini will also reduce in size, and should be slightly al dente.

(Use veggie broth and omit beef for vegetarian Ratatouille.)   Serve over couscous, quinoa, or rice for a starchy base.

Paleo would not use sweetener.  I used homemade beef stock

Drunken Beef
1-2 cups red wine(NOT cooking wine)
Any lean steak(such as London Broil) with all visible fat trimmed
5-6 sprigs Rosemary, fresh, cleaned
2 cloves pressed garlic
Seasonings:  Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Salt(optional)

Spread steak out on a large cutting board and season both sides, rubbing in spices and garlic.  Place in large crockpot and pour wine over, enough to cover the meat.  Turn on Low for 6-8 hours, until meat begins to fall apart when pressed with fork.  Remove from crockpot and rest 20 minutes.  Shred for serving.  Serve approx. 4-5 oz. beef on place and smother with Ratatouille.

Easy Refrigerator Pickles

12-15 small pickling cucumbers
2 cups cold water
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbl. sugar
1 Tbl. kosher salt
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
about 10 twists of fresh ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, sliced

Scrub and rinse cucumbers.  Put cleaned cucumbers in a large ice bath(lots of ice) and let set for at least half an hour.  In a measuring cup add remaining ingredients except garlic and stir often to dissolve sugar and salt.  Remove cucumbers from ice bath, cut ends off and quarter lengthwise.  Put pickles in large gallon size ziploc type bag.  Add garlic and cold pickling mixture to bag.  Add fresh dill, jalapeno, citrus peels, or other flavor enhancers if you like. Refrigerate for 2 days before eating.  Will keep for 1 week after pickling is done.

I'm not a pickle fan, but I saw someone make some on t.v. and thought these looked easy enough and worth a try.  I'm SO glad I did!  What I did learn is that the ice bath is crucial to keeping the pickles snap crisp.  And they are!  I picked up these organic pickling cucumbers at our local farmers market.  

My Favorite Salad Dressing

We love Melissa D'Arabian from Food Network's Next Food Network Star.   I've started making my own salad dressing for all of my salads now.  I use a lot less olive oil though, or even some homemade chili oil or white truffle oil.  It has SO much flavor!  Sometimes I'll throw in a splash of agave nectar or honey, even a packet of Stevia to have a sweetened dressing.  Play with your vinegars too!  Rice Vinegar is REALLY good.  I also use a golden balsamic almost daily, and champagne vinegar.  And try different mustard types, Jack Daniels is good, and there's a cranberry mustard that is really tasty too.  Just play, it's really hard to go wrong!  The soy sauce was a surprise, but I found it really does make a difference.  Yummmmm!

LINK

Ingredients

Mustard Vinaigrette:

• 1 garlic clove, sliced in 1/2
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Small splash soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

3 cups mixed greens, the darker the better (not iceberg)

Rub the inside of a large wooden bowl with the garlic clove and then either discard it or save it for another use. Put the mustard in the bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (a French secret!) vigorously for about 10 seconds to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle in the olive oil as slowly as possible with 1 hand while whisking as quickly as possible with the other hand to emulsify. Lay the salad greens on top of the dressing and toss just before serving.

Edamame Pesto Spread or Dip

Ingredients:

3 cups Edamame, shelled & blanched

1/4 cup olive oil

Basil(1/2 bunch, or 1/4 cup Gourmet Garden Basil Blend)

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

salt & pepper to taste

Sriracha sauce, a few drops

3 cloves Garlic, minced

juice of one lemon

Blend all of the above ingredients together in food processor, add water if needed, continue to scrape down sides until you get a pretty smooth consistency or leave chunky if you prefer.  

Slice Ciabatta bread into toast size pieces.  Spray with butter flavor non-stick spray and broil just until crisp.  Spread toasts with dip.

Also a tasty alternative to Mayonnaise on sandwiches.

My kids LOVE this.

Crockpot Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1" pieces
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large or 2 small apples, peeled and diced(any kind, gala or fuji best)
1 qt. vegetable stock
1 rounded tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. each: black pepper, white pepper, nutmeg, cardamom, and cumin
pinch of red pepper flakes or more to taste
1 cup plain almond milk(or milk/cream)

Preheat oven to 425'. Spread diced butternut squash on large cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil. Drizzle olive oil over squash to coat, mix with hands if needed. Bake for 15-20 minutes, just until some pieces are starting to golden up around the edges and pieces are all sizzling. While baking add the diced onion and apple to crockpot. When squash is done add to crockpot. Sprinkle seasonings over the vegetable mixture. Pour vegetable stock over crockpot ingredients and just give it a gentle stir. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours. Just before ready to serve, blend mix with an immersion blender(stick/handheld blender). Pour in almond milk and mix well. Serve in a mug or bowl. Top with toasted coconut, croutons, grated parmesan cheese, and toasted pine nuts on the side and soft garlic breadsticks or rolls.

2 Too Good Vegetarian Taco Soup

Do NOT drain!

2 28 oz. cans Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans
2 15 oz. cans black beans, undrained
2 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes
2 mix packets of taco seasoning
1 can of vegetarian refried beans
1 onion finely diced

I snuck some Sneaky Chef vegetable puree in mine. Mix all ingredients in a large crockpot, cover, cook on high 3 hours, switch to low for the last 2-4. You can also add corn in the last hour, play with it. I did not add any extra salt at all. Top with chopped cilantro, sour cream and cheese with tortilla chips or warm tortillas on the side.

Pesto

Did someone say pesto? If I could have one food to take with me to a deserted island, it would be pesto. I thought my last born must have been switched at birth because she won't touch the stuff, turns out, she just won't eat store bought pesto. Trust me, I've made her try them all. I wanted to make some homemade to go on top of salmon(my favorite way to cook fish) and so I came up with this. Less oily too.

1 bunch of basil washed, stems removed, and spun through salad spinner.
1 generous tsp. crushed garlic(from a jar is fine)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pinenuts
a few pinches of salt & pepper
1 packet of "True Lemon"
Olive Oil
Water

In a food processor, pulse basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, pinenuts, salt & pepper, and True Lemon until finely chopped. Turn processor on continuous and drizzle olive oil down shoot until it becomes more pasty, I use approx. 1/8-1/4 cup. Add water to thin down too until desired consistency. Stores in refrigerator for several days.

I added about a Tbl. of this to Hungry Girl's Fettucine Girlfredo instead of the parmesan her recipe calls for. Oh, this is my FAVORITE Mommy Favorite and Figure Friendly lunch. Add 2 tsp. of reduced fat bacon bits, and it's pure heaven.

Fresh Herb Sauce(WW-0pts.)

1 bunch(es) watercress, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped or torn (about 2 cups)
3 tbsp parsley, fresh, leaves
1 medium scallion(s), chopped (about 2 Tbsp)
3 tbsp basil, fresh, leaves
1/2 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt, Greek-style
1/2 tsp table salt

In bowl of a blender or food processor, place all ingredients and pulse until well combined. Pour into a bowl or plastic container and refrigerate until ready to use. Yields about 1/4 cup of sauce per serving.
Notes
This sauce will keep for up to 3 days, covered, in the refrigerator.

You can substitute any fresh herb for either the parsley or the basil. And consider swapping spinach for the watercress for a milder flavor. Or for a peppery flavor, use arugula instead of the watercress.

Daddy's Potatoes

4-6 Large peeled and diced potatoes(any variety, if you use red you don't need to peel, it adds lots of flavor
1/2 chopped onion
1 stick of Nucoa Margarine or butter
1 cup of milk
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a med. sized stock pot. Turn on med heat and cook until tender. Slightly mash if desired. The milk and butter combine with the potato starch to make a yummy sauce or you can mash to make it slightly thicker.

These are also wonderful in a dutch oven.

Corn & Bean Cilantro Salad

This is one of my favorites, because I feel full for hours, it's full of fiber, protein, and lots of healthy stuff, it's also low fat. I'll try to figure out the nutritional info later and get a picture. It's also something all of my kids will eat! To make it a bigger meal, try stretching with some rice, chicken, avocado, or egg, or even scooping up on chips.

1 pkg. Trader Joe's Frozen Roasted Corn(or any package of frozen corn)
2 cans of black beans rinsed and drained
2 cans of kidney beans rinsed and drained
2 cups of frozen peas
1 large red pepper diced
1 large sweet onion diced
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
2 jalapenos seeded and diced
white balsamic vinegar(regular works just fine too, this just has a lighter taste)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 packets of Splenda(the yellow kind only)
2-3 fresh limes or 6 packets of True Lime
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt & pepper to taste(I use the McCormic grinders)

In an extra large bowl, mix together the corn, peas, both variety of beans, chopped red peppers, onion, crushed garlic, lime powder(or juice of several limes and lime zest), Splenda, salt & pepper, and about half of the cilantro leaves broken into small pieces. In a blender combine diced jalapenos, about a cup of cilantro leaves, 1/3 cup of EVOO, 1/3-1/2 cup of white balsamic vinegar. Blend until smooth. Pour over mix and combine well. Let sit for at least an hour to absorb the flavors.

Vegetable Egg Rolls(WW-1pt. each)

This recipe calls for 8 egg roll wrappers, but it's so much stuffing, I needed 16! I don't think this would change the point value though because the stuffing is all veggies. My entire family devoured these and did not miss the fried version.

1 head(s) Chinese cabbage, outer leaves removed, shredded
2 medium carrot(s), peeled and shredded
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
2 medium scallion(s), white and green parts, chopped
1 tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
8 average egg roll wrapper(s), about 1/2 oz each
4 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray, or enough to coat egg rolls

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place cabbage in a microwavable dish and cover. Microwave on high until wilted, about 4 minutes; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add carrots, garlic, scallions, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch and oil; mix well.

Arrange egg roll wrappers on a clean, dry surface. Spoon cabbage mixture diagonally onto each wrapper. Fold over one corner to cover filling. Fold up both corners. Moisten edges of remaining flap with water and roll up wrapper jellyroll style until sealed. Transfer egg rolls to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Devil'd Eggs

Oh gosh, how to write down a recipe I just "do"? I've never measured ANYTHING, so this is how I see me doing it. You can cut it down, I make this much because they go really fast and any leftovers are turned right away into egg salad sandwiches or dip for wheat thins.

18 hard-boiled eggs*
Best Foods regular mayonnaise
Yellow Mustard
Sweet Pickle Juice(I use a few teaspoons from a jar of sweet pickles/relish)
salt & pepper to taste, paprika to sprinkle on top if desired.

*To boil the eggs, put them in a large saucepan with lid. Add tap water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, put lid on and come back to them 10 minutes later. Drain hot water, fill pot with ice and add enough tap water to make sure all the eggs are covered. "Chill" for 15-20 minutes. This "icing" shocks the eggs so the shells peel off easily and pretty. Cut eggs in half, dump cooked egg yolks into food processer bowl, and set whites on plate aside. Add a few Tbls. mayo(you can add more if needed) to bowl with yolks, a few tsp. sweet pickle juice, and around 1 Tbl. yellow mustard. Blend until smooth and there are no chunks. Add more mayo if needed, it shouldn't be chalky or dry, but it should be able to set up. Add salt and pepper as desired. Put mixture in a frosting bag with large star or round tip and pipe into white halves. Sprinkle with paprika if you like.

IF you have leftovers, chop up for egg salad sandwiches!

Classic Swiss Fondue

1 garlic clove, halved
1 1/2 cups dry white wine(we use non-alcoholic or n/a beer)
1 Tb. lemon juice
1 lb. grated Swiss Cheese (I mix it up sometimes to make it different, it's really good with a sharp cheddar)
3 Tb. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg(nice, but not needed)

Toss grated cheese with flour, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl until the cheese is evenly coated with the flour. Rub inside of pot with the garlic and toss. Pour wine into fondue pot, over low heat, heat until hot but not boiling. Stir in lemon juice. Add cheese to wine mixture by handfuls, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it is melted. Either pour into a crockpot on warm/low to keep warm, or pour into a fondue pot set with candle.

Some of the things we like to dip: chunk cooked chicken breast pieces, diced ham, cut up vienna sausages(kids love 'em), cut up french bread(it's best if you cut it up and let it sit a little to harden up a little or you end up with crumbs in the fondue, bleck), cut up veggies and fruit like cauliflower, button mushrooms, broccoli, pears & apples. We like to do this for Christmas Eve, it's SO fun. We've also tried cooked shrimp too, but make sure everyone else likes it too or pour it over the shrimp, lol.