Here is the recipe for the apple butter like I promised.
4 lbs of apples (about 16 medium)
4 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
Directions:
To prepare pulp: Wash apples, core, peel and quarter apples. Combine apples and 2 cups of water in a large saucepot. Simmer until apples are soft. Puree using a food processor or a food mill, being careful not to liquefy. Measure 2 quarts apple pulp.
To Make Butter: Combine apple pulp, sugar and spices in a large saucepot. Cook slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in boiling-water canner.
Note: If butter becomes too thick, add water or apple juice for desired consistency.
Okay so tonight I decided to take the 20 lbs of apples that I bought the other day and make some homemade applesauce and apple butter. I wasn't really to sure on how they were going to turn out, but oh my goodness they turned out amazing. The kids (except Kenzie) loves the applesauce. I added cinnamon to it to and it was a hit. Apple butter is amazing also...I have never had apple butter until I went to Cracker Barrel. So I thought I would give it a shot. So here is the recipe for the Applesauce. I will post the apple butter and pics in another post. Hope everyone is having a great weekend, I know I am. :)
3lbs of apples per quart
water
sugar
DIRECTION:
Wash apples; drain. Core, peel and quarter apples. Cook apples until soft in a large covered saucepot with just enough water to prevent sticking. Puree using a food processor or food mill. Return apple pulp to saucpot. Add 1/4 cup of sugar per pound of apples or to taste, if desired. Bring applesauce to a boil (212 F), stirring to prevent sticking. Maintain temperature at a boil (212 F) while filling jars. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts 20 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
Recipe Variation: spiced applesauce can be made by adding ground spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice, to they sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking. For a chunky sauce, coarsely crush half of the cooked apples; process the remaining apples through a food processor or food mill. Combine crushed and sauced apples mixtures; continue as for Applesauce.
Well tomorrow we will be making homemade applesauce, apple butter and apple jelly. Plus we will be making more sweet n sour sauce and more sweet n zesty sauce. I'll post later tomorrow how it all turns out. Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Well the menu for tonight is slow cooker venison sloppy joes. We didn't have enough elk for the recipe so we added beef tips. We have it cooking in the slow cooker now and the house once again smells amazing. Here is the recipe that we used. Either I or Keith will get on on post a review after its all said and done. We will also let you know what the kids think.
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound bacon
- 6 pounds venison stew meat
- 3 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3/4 cup wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
- 3 cups ketchup
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove from skillet, crumble and set aside. Brown stew meat in bacon grease for flavor.
- Put onion, sugar, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, garlic, mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper in slow cooker and mix well. Add bacon and venison and stir together.
- Cook for a minimum of 8 hours on Low setting. Use a fork to separate the meat into a thick and yummy Sloppy Joe-style barbecue.
Well our seafood Lasagna was a BIG hit. The kids and our friends LOVED it. All the kids had 2 helpings of it, and some of our friends had anywhere from 3 to 5 helpings. So I think it was a hit. We served it with salad and corn. Here are a few pics of how it turned out. I will have to say, it was defiantly a crowd pleaser tonight.
the original recipe this is based on calls for halibut, of course halibut fillets are for some reason not normally carried in northern Arizona grocery stores, so we substituted tilapia fillets and crab meat. will have to get some halibut fillets during a trip to mesa, since I have only seen halibut steaks with the skin on still here, while I have seen halibut fillets in central Arizona. (I've been there and done that on skinning halibut when it is whole.) the house smells absolutely amazing, as I write this down. in fact Aurora just walked by and told me it "smells so amazing" I will get back on here after dinner to put up what the kids, Robin and I think of this, as well as the guests joining us for dinner. with everyone coming for dinner we doubled the recipe, and substituted tilapia and crab meat for the halibut. we ended up using three pounds tilapia and one pound crab meat, and putting them into two 9x13x2 pans to cook. Maybe this one will have some left-overs to enjoy. there weren't any of the sweet-n-sour meatloaf from the other night...and Robin was bummed she didn't get to take any to work with her for her dinner.
here is the base recipe with a stated yield of 8 servings:
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
- 1 1/2 pounds halibut steaks, bones removed and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
- 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- Minced fresh parsley
Directions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add halibut, garlic and thyme. Cook until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add the remaining butter to the skillet. Stir in flour and salt until smooth; cook and stir until golden brown. Gradually add broth and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
- In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish, layer half of the noodles, halibut, white sauce and cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle with parsley if desired.
Well last night Keith made meatloaf with homemade sweet n sour sauce. I tell you what it was a hit with the kids. They scrapped their plates clean. I do have to admit, I don't think I will eat meatloaf any other way except with sweet n sour sauce. Now I know what you're all thinking....ewww how gross (i know cause thats what I thought at first too) but let me tell ya, try it. I think you will agree with me. So I challenge you to try it and then come back and leave us a comment on what you think.
