Farmer's Market

Inspired by Val, I started going to the farmer's market. It's a bit of a drive so I made it worth my while. Heres what I got.....

potatoes - $2

half pint of blueberries and half pint of raspberries - $3

a little over 7 pounds of tomatoes - $8

celery - $2

6 ears of corn - $2

I heart fresh produce :)

Apple Pie Filling for Canning

By popular demand.... here is the recipe I used for the apple pie filling I canned.

I used this recipe as a shell and added the spices to taste. Below are the ratios for the spices from the original recipe. Feel free to scale it for more quarts.... that's what I did :)

For 1 quart of apple pie filling:

• 3-1/2 cups apples (cored, peeled and sliced)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Cut apples and blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes. This will stop the enzymes from turning the apples. Strain them into a colander but keep them warm
2. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a large pot with the apple juice and water. Stir constantly while cooking on medium heat until it begins to bubble.
3. Mix the corn starch and lemon juice into the pot. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.
4. When filling the jars, layer liquid, apples, liquid, apples. Since the liquid is thick layering is the best way to get it nicely distributed.
5. Pack the jars tightly with apples otherwise the bottom will be nothing but syrup. Leave at least 1/2 inch headspace.
6. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 25 minutes.

Enjoy ^_^

Apple Pie Jelly!!

I knew I was going to have a lot of apple peels and cores left over from making applesauce. Since I live in an apartment, it's a bit of a hassle to compost. I heard somewhere that the peels are very high in pectin so I :swagbucked: around and found Bethany's post about the same dilemma. Easy solution - APPLE JELLY! Since everyone seems curious about the process - here it is! Her post linked to this recipe which I followed loosely. Here's how I did it (you'll laugh once you see how easy this is ^_^):

1. Save all your peels, cores and random bits of apples into a large stockpot.
2. I used a 5 quart stainless steel stock pot and practically filled it.
3. To the peels cores and bits, I added about 6-7 cups of water/apple juice (I approximated...)
4. Simmer until everything is soft and mushy, stirring/mushing every so often so nothing scorches. I think I simmered it on a low/medium heat for an hour or so.
5. After it cools a little, strain out all the large mushy chunks of apple bits.
6. Pass the remaining liquid mixture through cheesecloth folded 4 times.
7. I ended up with a little over 7 cups of liquid. Bring this to a simmering boil. Slowly dissolve 2 boxes of pectin as it's heating up.
8. Using the 5/7 ratio of liquid to sugar from the original instructions, I added about 9 cups of sugar (all at once) to the liquid/pectin mix I had boiling. * I read somewhere that sometimes the jelly will taste flat because it's just peels and cores so I added cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.... BTW - IT TASTES LIKE APPLE PIE!! *
9. Dissolve sugar well and test the viscosity of the jelly by dipping a cold spoon into the hot mixture and let it chill in the freezer. Keep the heat on until it reaches your desired level of jellyness on the chilled spoon.
10. Then ladle into jars and process in a boiling water bath for 15-20 minutes.

I ended up with 14 half-pints.

Breakfast the morning after it was cooled - cream cheese and apple pie jelly on toast ^_^

It was around 5am when I took this pic and the lighting in my kitchen is sucky.....

....so here's the real color of the jelly with the bright flash LOL!

The jelly isn't as clear as I'd like it to be but since I added the cinnamon and nutmeg it's a little cloudy. BUT it is the BEST freakin' apple jelly I've ever had!!

If you have a ton of apples, you definitely need to make this stuff. It's the yumminess of an apple pie in jelly form ^_^

Coconut Shrimp

I LOVE coconut shrimp from Outback. I saw Lucy's version so I needed to try it out. I made some modifications and, even though they don't look like much, they tasted wonderful. The BF even gave them a 9 out of 10! The picture below is of the ones that were left on his plate. I snapped a pic as he was devouring them :)

Coconut Shrimp

24-30 raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 eggs beaten

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1. Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel.
2. In a small bowl combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon juice.
4. In another bowl, place the coconut.
5. Coat the shrimp with the cornstarch and shake off any excess. Dip into the egg mixture and then press into the coconut to get full coverage.

6. Place shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 6 minutes. Turn shrimp and continue baking for another 6 minutes, until the coconut is crispy and the shrimp is done.

Enjoy ^_^

Toasted Egg

I saw this cute breakfast idea here and had to try it. Here's how it turned out:

Instructions (as if you need them....)

• butter both sides of bread
• cut hole in center slightly larger than an egg yolk
• place toast on pan on medium heat and wait for it to past a little
• crack egg into the hole
• wait till it firms up a bit and then turn carefully
• cook until you think it's done

I like my eggs runny so I LOVED this!!

Too bad the BF doesn't like eggs.

Apple Sauce and Apple Pie Filling

OMG so many apples!! I stayed home from work to help my mom with something but that didn't happen so I worked on my pile of apples. Luckily I have my handy dandy apple peeler/corer/slicer to make the work easy. My first adventure into the world of canning was a success!! And if I wasn't sick for the first part of the day, it probably would have been better lol!

Anywho.... I made 3 quarts of apple pie filling and 8 quarts of cinnamon apple sauce. I saved all the peels and cores and am planning to make apple jelly out of it. Huzzah for being resourceful! Here are some pics of my work :)

We shall see how the apple jelly turns out. I have a full- time job that I have to get back to tomorrow.

Cheers!

Apple Picking in PA

On Sunday, my sister and I met my BFF and her husband and son at Maple Lawn Farms in New Park, PA. I hadn't been there in probably a decade or so. We ended up getting lost a few times but it's ok. Everywhere we stopped we supported the local economy. I came home with a few little squashes, blueberry honey, apple butter, pear butter and a delicious homemade chocolate peanut butter roll cake.... This was all before we made it to the orchard LOL! It was a gorgeous day and we had lots of fun. I picked 1.5 bushels of Gala, Golden Delicious and Johnny Red apples. From the little orchard store I bought another little squash and some local apple cider made on-site ^_^ All in all it was a great day. Here are some pretty pics :)

Me and my precious sister

Me and my BFF

My BFFs son! he's freakin adorable!!

Now I have to go make something with all the apples I picked!!

Yard Sale Finds

I made out like a bandit at the latest yard sale! Here's what I got:

apple peeler/corer/slicer - new (yes I got another one!): $2

heavy duty metal mini-loaf pan - new: $2

pretty red basket for my freshly picked apples - 50 cents (was technically free but I gave the Boy Scouts 50 cents for it)

grater: $1.25

mortar and pestle - new: $3

3pc. stainless steel bowl set with lids (from Woolworths!!) - new: $2

crab pot/water bath canner with canning rack - $5

metal apple crusher/strainer thingy with wooden stick thing - $3 (someone please tell me what the actual name for this thing is lol!)

giant pink purse - new: $8 (waited till the end of the day - down from $24 ^_^)

Stuff I got for free from my BF's mom that was trying to get clean out the garage:

2 pasta cookers - free!

2 Penn State glasses - free!

pretty little tin with apples and pears on it - free!

2 canning jar type mugs - free!

5 quart stock pot - free!

pretty crackled glass candle holder (not pictured - forgot it in the car) - free!

Total Spent: $26.75 :)

I'm bushed..... resting up for apple picking tomorrow ^_^

Apple Picking this Sunday!!!

If anyone is in the MD/PA area, Maple Lawn Farms is a great place to pick! I used to go there when I was little. I just called them and they have a half bushel of apples for $10!! Applesauce, apple butter, apple pie filling, apple jelly..... here I come!! ^_^

Chicken Pot Pie

Earlier this week I roasted a chicken just for this recipe. I ended up boiling the bones down with celery bits and carrot peels to give it the broth a good flavor. I had 4 jars of yummy concentrated chicken broth in my freezer. I used one of them for this recipe. I actually doubled this recipe so I could have one pot pie in the freezer for another dinner.

Chicken Pot Pie

1/2 c butter

1/3 c plain flour

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1-1/2 c broth

2/3 c milk

2 c cooked chicken

10 oz. frozen mixed vegetables - I used fresh corn off the cob, peas and carrots.

9 inch double pie crust

Put your chicken in just enough water to cover it. Let it cook for about 4 hours on low to get all the flavor out. You can cook it faster, but this makes the broth richer. I add some pepper, salt and a celery stick and onion to it. Strain out and keep 1-1/2 c broth.

Melt butter, stir in flour, garlic, salt and pepper. Then stir in broth, milk and bouillon. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer about 2 minutes. Add chicken and vegetables. Roll dough out for a 9 inch pie crust. Pour in filling and cover with more pie crust dough. Seal edges and cut 2 slits in top to vent steam. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes.

~ adapted from Sandra's recipe at Keeping it Simple