This is a very good and easy recipe! Try it!

Apple Butter

Jackie Clay

18 lbs. apples
water
5 c. sugar(or to taste)
4 t. cinnamon
2 t. cloves
3/4 t. allspice

Wash, core, and quarter apples. Place in large stockpot and pour in enough water to nearly cover them. Simmer slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Put pulp through a strainer or food mill and pour back into large roasting pan. Add sugar and spices. Put in oven and bake at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally, for several hours. When thickened sufficiently, ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. of head space. Wipe rim of jars clean; place hot, previously-simmered lid on jar, and screw down ring firmly tight. Process pints or quarts for 10 min. in a boiling water bath canner.
Tip: You can also boil this down on your stove top, but you must watch very carefully as it will want to scorch as it thickens. Its easier on a wood range, as the heat is more evenly spread across the bottom of the pot.

Also : to tell if its done take a spoon full and put on a clear plate, if there's no liquid its done

Blueberry Cobbler Baked in Jars

Blueberry Cobbler Baked in a Jar
this was fun to make, great when you have company and kids love it! Oh yes and its easy to make! I don't make anything thats hard!
http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/piesbakedintinyjars/


Filling

• 1/3 cup (3.5 ounces) sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• pinch ground cinnamon
• pink salt
• 6 cups (30 ounces) fresh blueberries, or 36 ounces frozen blueberries or you can use blackberries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Biscuit Topping

• 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour (I used my BFF Sheperd's Grain)
• 2 tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal
• 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for sprinkling)
• 2 teaspoons sugar (for sprinkling)

I highly suggest weighing or measuring out your frozen blueberries before letting them defrost as it's far, far messier to do this when they are defrosted and have let off a bunch of juice that will stain your fingers, your counter top and everything else.

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. For the filling:

Stir the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together in a large owl. Add the berries and mix gently with a rubber spatula until evenly coated; add the lemon zest and juice and mix to combine. Divide evenly between 12 half-pint jars. Place jars on a rimmed cookie sheet (lined with foil, if you dislike washing oversized dishes the way I do). Bake until the filling is hot and bubbling, about 25 minutes, 30 if you've used frozen berries.

3. For the biscuit topping:

Whisk the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl to combine. Whisk the melted butter, buttermilk, and [/b]vanilla together in a small bowl. Mix the 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. One minute before the berries come out of the oven, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; stir with a rubber spatual until just combined and no dry pockets remain.

4. To assemble and bake the cobbler: remove the berries from the oven; increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
Divide each batch of dough into eight equal pieces and place each one in a jar on top of of the hot blueberries. (Heating the berries like this first helps the dough cook from both above and below.)

Sprinkle each mound of dough with the cinnamon sugar. Bake until the filling is bubbling and the biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through, 15 minutes, maybe 20 if you're using frozen blueberries. Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes before serving or if you're planning on taking them somewhere cool until just sort of warm before placing the lids on.

My Apple Crisp!

Apple Crisp!

5 apples (about 2 lbs) peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
3 to 4 T. white sugar(depending on how sweet your apples are)
1 t. gd. cinnamon
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. oatmeal(uncooked)
1/3 c. flour(your favorite kind)
4 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1. Heat your oven to 350°F . Lightly butter or spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
2. Mix the apples, white sugar, cinnamon, and 1/4 t. of the salt in a bowl and toss to coat. Place apple mixture in the baking dish, now set aside.
3. Mix together brown sugar, oats, flour, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl until evenly combined. using your hands, blend in butter pieces until small peas form and butter is mixed in. (kinda like pie dough)
4. Sprinkle the topping evenly over apples and bake until topping is crispy and apples are tender, about 50 minutes.
*this is also good with peaches!
*this can also be done in a dutch oven- what i do is double recipe and put about 12 briquettes on bottom and 18 on top, check it a couple times, should be done in about an hour!! tastes good over a camp fire!

Apple Pie Filling

Apple Pie Filling
This is from 'Growing and Canning your own food'

6 qt. peeled, apples
5 c. apple juice or water
5 c. sugar or to your taste
1 T. cinnamon
2 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. clearjel( ordered online, health food stores or food coops)
3/4 c. lemon juice

blanch sliced apples in a large pot in a gallon of water for one min. after the water begins to boil. Drain and keep slices covered and hot
combine apple juice or water sugar, cinnamon, and water in a large saucepot and bring to a boil, stirring freq. Mix clearjel with lemon juice and add to pot of syrup. Boil 1 min. , stirring constantly. Dont let it get very thick. Add apples and ladle quickly into hot qt. jars to within 1/2 in. of the top. Wipe rim clean, place hot, previously-simmered lid on, and screw down ring firmly tight. Process qts. for 25 min. in a boiling water bath. the clearjel works better than cornstarch.

Apple Butter!!!

Apple Butter

this is so good! and i didnt have to stand there and stir it all the time!

13 lbs. apples or so
water
3 c. sugar(or to taste)
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves

Cut the apples in half. Toss in large stockpot and pour in a bit of water to nearly cover the bottom. Simmer slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Put pulp through a strainer or food mill and pour back into large roasting pan. Add sugar and spices. Put in oven and bake at 300 degrees, stirring sometimes, for several hours. When thick and theres no liquid left when you put a spoonful on a plate , ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. of head space. Wipe rim of jars clean; place hot, previously-simmered lid on jar, and screw down rings firmly . Process pints or quarts for 10 min. in a boiling water bath canner.

My Blueberry Cobbler

My Blueberry Cobbler
This was so good!!

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 cup white sugar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons white sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
cinn/sugar mix for the top


Lightly grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Place the blueberries into the baking dish,
and mix with vanilla and lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of flour,
then stir in the tablespoon of melted butter. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups of flour, baking powder,
and 6 tablespoons sugar. Rub in the 5 tablespoons butter using your
fingers, or cut in with a pastry blender until it is in small pieces.

Make a well in the center, and quickly stir in the milk. Mix just until
moistened. You should have a very thick batter, or very wet dough. You may
need to add a splash more milk. Cover, and let batter rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spoon the batter over the
blueberries, leaving only a few small holes for the berries to peek through.
Sprinkle the cinn/sugar mix over top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

*serve with fresh-made whip cream!
*you can also use canned blueberries, dont use the first 6 ingred. if you do.

Pumpkin Pancakes!!!!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Its time for pumpkins now, there almost like having zucchini!!
abundance! i found this recipe at http://missourifamilies.org/features/nutritionarticles/harvesttohealth/pumpkin.htm

1/2 cup regular, uncooked oats
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/3 cup low-fat or skim milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 tablespoon sugar

Combine oats and buttermilk and let stand for 15 minutes to soften. Mix eggs, oil, pumpkin, and milk and blend well. Combine dry ingredients and mix with the egg mixture. Add oats and buttermilk and blend until batter is fairly smooth. Add extra milk if batter is too thick. Bake on lightly greased griddle.Makes: 4 servings.

Making Pear Sauce my Way!!!

Making Pear Sauce my way!
I dump a whole lota pears , skins and all in a large water bath canner, with enough water to just cover bottom of pot.
Turn the fire on med low and let soften for a while, check and try to stir every once in a while.
After about an hour or so they are soft enough to run through the food mill
Taste to see if you need any honey or sugar, or anything else you like to put in pear sauce.
Gather all your canning stuff!!! Well really you should have it all ready to go!
I use pear sauce the same as i do apple sauce.
prcess pints for 20 minutes.

*pear sauce is also good dried in a food dyhydrator as fruit leather.
When down drying, roll it up in Saran Wrap and store in ziplocs.

Canning Japanese Apples??

hahahah i accidently put my kitchen note on my homeschool blog!!hahahaha

A friend just gave me 3 plastic gallon bags of APPLES!!!! so guess what i'm gona be doing!!! these are japanese apples, i dont know anything about them so i better do a bit of research first!!

debbie

next day!
well these apples are hardly soft at all!! not sure what i'm gona do with them! heres a picture of them, maybe there not apples at all!! what are they??????????

My Canning Plum Jams!!!!

Plum Jam

6 cups crushed plums (about 3 1/2 lbs plums)
1 package powdered pectin
8 cups sugar

To prepare fruit
Sort fully ripe plums, wash, cut into pieces, and remove pits.
Crush fruit.
To make jam
Measure crushed plums into a pot.
Add pectin and stir well.
Place on med/high heat and, be sure to stir!!!
Bring to a full boil with bubbles over the entire area!
Try not to get any on you , they hurt!!
Add sugar, keep right on a stirring, and heat again to a full bubbling boil.
Boil hard for 1 minute.
Remove from heat; skim.
Pour immediately into hot, sterile canning jars to 1/4-inch from top.
Seal, and process 5 minutes in boiling water bath.
This recipe yields about 9 half-pint jars.
Enjoy on a piece of nice warm homemade bread!! theres a recipe on here! try it while your making your jam!
This makes about 4 1/2 pints!!

My Wild!!! Plum Jam (Freezer Jam)
3 cups wild plums (nice and smashed or run though your sieve!)
6 cups sugar
1 box powdered pectin
1 cup water

Mix the fruit and sugar together.
Let stand about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, getting it mixed in .
Boil powdered pectin and water rapidly for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
Add the fruit and stir about 2 minutes will do it.
Pour into jars; tighten lids.
Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set.
Store in freezer or refrigerator for up to a year!!! yummmmmm
7 to 9 half-pints.

My Freezer Strawberry Jam!!

My Freezer Strawberry Jam!!

4 c. ripe strawberries
4 c. granulated sugar
1 box Sure-Jell powdered pectin
3/4 c. water

First wash and hull the berries; crush them completely, a few at a time,sometimes i use a fork or a potatoe masher! (Should end up with about 2 cups.)

In large bowl, mix together the berries and sugar. Let stand 10 minutes.

Next combine pectin and water in saucepan. Bring to boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir the hot pectin into the fruit bowl and continue stirring. Don't worry if the sugar is'nt completely dissolved.

Now ladle the jam into freezer containers, could be plastic containers or small jars. I buy my plastic containers at walmart for a good price. Put lids on immediately.

Let stand at room temperature for about 24 hours or until set, jiggle it to tell.

Next you can either refrigerate it for a few weeks or freeze for up to a year.

*now make a loaf of bread!!!

debbie

My HomeMade canned Pumpkin!

Canning pumpkin

You will need about 2 lb. per quart. Make sure the pumpkin
is completely ripe.

Wash, cut open, take out the seeds(use for pumpkin seeds- clean seeds, soak in salt water brine overnight, strain, put on cookie sheet cook in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or till dried. )

Back to pumpkins !

Lay pumpkin on a cookie sheet and put in oven at 350 degrees until its soft enough to cut. About 20-30 minutes.

Take out, cool, cut in cubes and put in quarts, fill with water leaving 1 ½ in headspace.
Process in pressure cooker
Quarts: 55 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure
Over 1000 ft. do it at 15 lbs pressure

The reason I cut them into cubes is if you puree the pumpkin it gets so dense that it might not can properly. Although I do can it pureed its *not recommended by the canning people*.

I use this canned pumpkin just like the pumpkin you buy in the cans in the store.

Blueberry Buckle Recipe

Blueberry Buckle Recipe
6 servings

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Blend in egg. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour into greased 8" square pan. For topping combine ingredients and cut in butter. Sprinkle over batter. Bake 40-45 minutes. Cool on a rack.
after you take it out of oven drizzle some powdered sugar glaze over the top! yuuuum

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 c. pd sugar
1/8 t. vanilla or any flavoring!
2 or 3 T. milk or canned milk
mix it all up and drizzle it over the cake as soon as it comes out of oven!

Fruit Leather!

Fruit Leather
i use a borrowed dehydrator , it has these plastic things you lay down in it to make leather with. i just pour a bit of the sauce on those and spread it around put the lid on and turn it on, it takes a while, the thicker you pour it the longer it takes.
when done just peel it up and roll it in saran wrap, that makes it easier to unroll. so good with homemade apple or pear sauce!
Canning pear or apple sauce
if you have some apples or pears you can make sauce real quick, well not reallly quick!
what i do is put my whole apples(rinsed off) in a huge pot(i make a lot at one time) put a little bit of water in the bottom so it wont burn, (there will be plenty of liquid once the apples get to cookin!) put the lid on, turn the burner on med heat or a little higher, just watch and see what you feel comfortable with, and let it cook for about 15 min check to make sure its not burning with a long wooden spoon, mix it up best you can. just keep checkin every 15 or 20 min.till its all soft (its doenst have to be squishy soft). then i turn off heat let it sit for about 10 min. to let the steam stop and cool off a bit. i get out my food mill, put it over a large bowl and put a cup full in it and turn the handle till its all quished up and runny falling into the bowl, i do this till the pot is empty. (all the stems and skins will stay in the mill so you'll have to empty it every once in a while. ) then i mix that sauce in my bowl, taste it to see if i need to add honey or cinnamon. if you do just put some in to your taste. or just leave it plain old apple sauce.
if you can it just read the directions for your water bath canner! or if you want to dry it, do the above!

Preparing the Pumpkin for pies!

I always just bake the pumpkin in the oven . i cut the pumpkin in half , scoop out all the seeds (put them in a bowl of water to soak , this helps with cleaning of the pumpkin seeds) and lay it open side down on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 30 min. depending on the size. Just poke it with a fork to see if its tender or not!

After its done take it and peel off the skin, most of it will peel easily, then just cut it up, either can it, freeze it or use it for some of the recipes i have on here!

Heres what i do with the pumpkin seeds(also i do this with the sunflower seeds we grow)
take them out of the water i had them soaking in, clean the up a bit, its ok if theres still pumpkin goop on them, now i put them in a bowl of salt water for a few hour to overnight to soak. When i can get to them i strain them and spread a bit on a cookie sheet, put in oven and roast at 350 for about 15 or so min. They roast up pretty fast so keep an eye on them. Take them out, cool off, and put in plastic bags or jars to store!

Pumpkin Pecan Crumble Pie

Pumpkin Pecan Crumble Pie

Pie Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening, chilled
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 egg, beaten

Filling:
2 eggs, beaten
2 Cups fresh pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

Pecan CrumbleTopping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened

Crust: Chill all ingredients, including the flour and vinegar. Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles cornmeal. In another bowl, mix water and vinegar with the beaten egg. Add the liquid mixture, one tablespoon at aShape into 3 disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours, before attempting to roll out. (Overnight actually works best). Hold no more than 3 days in refrigerator. For longer storage, place in a freezer bag and freeze. Use one disk for a single crust pie. Use 2 disks for a double crust pie. To roll out for pies, work quickly on a floured pastry cloth. Flip the dough at least once adding a little more flour to the pastry cloth. Roll out to fit pie pan. (Store pastry cloth in freezer).

Filling: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Beat eggs until frothy. Add all remaining ingredients in order given, beating only until well blended. Pour filling into crust. Bake for 25 minutes.

Topping: Combine topping ingredients. Remove pie from oven and sprinkle topping over filling. Return pie to oven and bake 25 minutes more or until center is set.

Apple Pie in a Jar

Apple Pie in a Jar

28 c. sliced peeled apples
4 ½ c. sugar
1 c. clear gel
2 t. cinnamon
¼ t. nutmeg
1 t. salt
10 c. water
3 T. lemon juice

Pack apple slices tightly in quart jars. Make a syrup from sugar, and cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg salt and water. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Add lemon Juice. Mix good. Pour liquid over apples ‘ don’t fill liquid all the way , only halfway.’
Wipe and seal process in waterbath for 20 minutes.
Makes 7 quarts.