Apples....

Just when you think you're finished....  someone you love brings home a bushel of apples! No, I'm not complaining. I made applesauce, we ate lots of them fresh, I've made apple pizza, apple bread, apple cake...  and now, I'm trying something new to me!

Freezing Apple Pie Filling

24 cups sliced, peeled baking apples (6-7lbs.)
3 TBsp. lemon juice
4 1/2 Cups sugar (I use half brown, half white)
1 Cup Cornstarch
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
10 Cups water

In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and set aside. In a large kettle, over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt & nutmeg. Add water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add apples, return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until apples are tender, about 6 - 7 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Ladle into freezer containers or freezer bags, 1 quart per container, and cool to room temperature before freezing! This is enough to make about five 9 inch pies!

After thawing, put it in a pie crust, dot with butter and seal with a top crust! I'm hoping it will be as yummy as it was smelling!

I made one and a half times the recipe, that's why there's more then 5 bags ready for the freezer!

Have You Ever Tried Mincemeat?

I've heard of mincemeat.

 I've said no thank to mincemeat.

I've looked at recipes

for making things with mincemeat.
And then, I've put those recipes away!

And now, finally...

I trying my hand at MAKING mincemeat!

(I will admit, it is at my husband's request!)

OK, it is on the stove top.....

I just tasted it for the FIRST TIME EVER.

I have to admit, it wasn't bad!

Pete's 89 year old aunt shared this recipe

with me ... so I had to try it!

Green Tomato Mincemeat

2 Quarts ground green tomatoes

2 Quarts ground apples (firm apples)

4 Cups brown sugar

1 1/2 Cups vinegar

3 Cups raisins

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 tsp. allspice

3/4 tsp. pepper (I used 1/2 tsp.white pepper)

2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. mace (I used nutmeg instead)

3/4 Cups butter

Chop apples & tomatoes and drain.

Add this and the remaining ingredients

except the butter in a stock pot and

bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 hours.

Add the butter and stir in until melted.

OK, here is what I did. I read a few

other recipes, including the one in the

Ball Blue Book. In the Ball book, it

said to combine all the ingredients and

simmer for 15 minutes then ladle into

hot jars and PRESSURE CAN both

quarts & pints for 90 minutes!

So, I compromised... I used Pete's aunt's recipe

with the exception of mace. I didn't have any.

When I looked it up to see just what it was,

I discovered it was kinda like a peppery nutmeg,

so I used nutmeg instead!

Also, since I wasn't

sure about NOT at least water bathing the

jars, I decided to follow the Ball Book

instructions to be on the safe side and

used the pressure canner!

This recipe made

3 quarts and 3 pints

AND 3/4 cup that I held out!

NOW... to try this stuff in a recipe!

SOFT MINCEMEAT COOKIES

1/4 Cup softened butter

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 Cup mincemeat

1 1/2 Cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Cup Choc. chips

1/2 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter &

brown sugar. Add the eggs & mincemeat

and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and

mix well before adding the chocolate chips

and walnuts. Bake on GREASED cookie

sheets at 350* for 10-12 minutes or

until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: about 4 dozen.

I shared this on Healthy 2Day Wednesdays and
Simple Lives Thursday!
Go check out the other wonderful posts!

Sun Dried Tomatoes ... Who Knew?

Who knew it was this easy?!

We LOVE sun dried tomatoes!
(Ok, technically... dehydrator dried!)

It is nearing the end of the garden season and 

I am TIRED of canning tomatoes.

I never thought I'd say that...  but I am.

I think it is mostly because the more I can, the more space

I need to come up with to store it!

(But that's a discussion for another day.)

I decided to give the dehydrator a try. Check this out!

Saturday night was my test run was with 2 apples and

one tray full of fresh picked cherry tomatoes ...

washed & cut in half!

I sprinkled the tomatoes with a little bit of sea salt

(didn't do that for the following batch)

and I lightly sprinkled the apples with cinnamon sugar!

Can you say DELICIOUS!!! I AM SOOO ExCiTeD!

Sunday night I loaded up the trays with more cherry tomatoes

and left them overnight (roughly from 9PM to 5AM)

and they came out perfectly!

Storage for these little guys is a mason jars

with olive oil and in the back of the fridge!

There is a total of 7 dehydrator trays in these 2 jars.

It doesn't look like much... but it is!

You ask, 'now what?'... 

I can't wait to use them in pesto-chicken,

turkey sandwiches and can't you just smell

the bread cooking!?

Ahhh, I'm going to start drooling if I don't stop now!

I'll share pictures with you as

I figure out more recipes to use them in!

The apples came out awesome too!

I only did two apples... but everyone like them!

I'll definitely be doing more of these as well,

but, most likely without the sugar!

I need to do some more investigating,

but I've seen both tomatoes

& apples stored in zipper type bags (remove air)

and store on a pantry shelf or in the freezer.

 I'll let you know how that all works out!

Next up.... regular sized tomatoes. I'm going to try thinly slicing them and then adding a little basil & sea salt before dehydrating them!

(Posted on Healthy 2day Wednesdays )